Do you consider Azura a lord?

[DarkDestr0yer61]

I feel like she is the most important character in the game except for Corrin all things considered. But at the same time she isn't forced and I believe she can die (retreat).

[Abvora]

No; she's the deuteragonist, but I don't consider her a lord because you don't get a Game Over if she dies.

[Zxtakuto]

Not really. Her role is more like the last two Avatars. a friend and ally of the Lord that has nearly as much importance to the plot

Edited June 12, 2016 by Zxtakuto

[Locke087]

If they don't cause a game over they are not a Lord... Pure and simple (not counting Chris and Robin, ehh who am I kidding they are the actual main characters of their the actual respective games...)

Edited June 12, 2016 by Locke087

[MCProductions]

No. She's more a Ninian or Lewyn than a lord.

[Rezzy]

She's an important character, but not quite lord status.

[NekoKnight]

Although she is[spoiler=Revelation]

Vallite royalty, which technically makes her a lord,

it hardly comes up in the plot so she's mostly just a plot important dancer, like Ninian. She's not required to use, you won't get a game over when she dies and she's not in charge of the army.

[Raguna]

I just think she's like Ninian. She's the dancer you get later on and gets caught up in the story. She's nothing really new plus, she's a potential mom for Roy so it's not like the kid thing is new either.

[deactivated]

Well, I mean she has blue hair, she's in the story more than most, plays an important role, and more than one Lord in a FE game has happened before...

[Time the Crestfallen]

No, but she should've been. *salt intensifies*

[NekoKnight]

No, but she should've been. *salt intensifies*

I wonder how the plot would have been different had she replaced Kamui. Would she still be bound to inaction or would knowing the plot details let her act sooner?

There is an idea, what if Azura was a protagonist who knows most of the story details, but the player is only told things bit by bit, as revealed by her actions.

[karamatsu]

i do consider azura to be a lord, mainly because she seems to be the 'chrom' of the three games, although if you can let her die/faint and keeping on going, you do lose a character important to the plot, and your guide.

[Time the Crestfallen]

I wonder how the plot would have been different had she replaced Kamui. Would she still be bound to inaction or would knowing the plot details let her act sooner?

There is an idea, what if Azura was a protagonist who knows most of the story details, but the player is only told things bit by bit, as revealed by her actions.

I think she'd act sooner, considering that the only reason she doesn't meta-wise is that her inaction is the only thing that enables the choice mechanic.

[blinkingbrave]

Not really. Since she mostly contributes the world-building-y exposition (with a side of mysterious waif), I find her writing misses a lot of what I find in the other series lords (focus on a leadership position, driving action, etc, etc). Between that and not having a lord class title, I don't really consider her a lord. Hell, I'd be more apt to put the royals as lords before her. Seconding that she's more like Ninian.

I'd imagine Azura as the protagonist would just be hella frustrating though, unless you're changing the plot & her character to go along with it. She's prejudiced against Nohr and distant from Hoshido, so already the 'unifying the two nations' is hard to believe. Beyond that, the choice scene would just be entirely irritating, I imagine. Corrin has justification to choose Nohr/Hoshido, and not only does Azura not, she has major justification to only choose the third route instead. Toss in the fact that she's generally guarded, and you've got an audience that may end up struggling to connect with her emotionally, too, because she doesn't express that in the story as it is and she doesn't have anyone to express it to, without making changes.

Edited June 12, 2016 by blinkingbrave

[Admiral "Bull" Halsey]

In short: no.

[Thane]

Gameplay-wise I can continue without her, and story-wise she's a walking exposition bot, and I periodically forget she's in the game.

My answer is no.

[Dark Holy Elf]

Mm, I don't think being important makes you a lord (Sothe isn't a lord), and simply being a foreign royal certainly isn't enough (Tana and Innes aren't lords). Azura can die without causing a Game Over, is pretty much never force-deployed on any route (early maps where everyone is auto-deployed don't count), and doesn't have a Prf weapon. Feels like she meets pretty much none of the criteria.

[Nihilon]

Not really. Her role is more like the last two Avatars. a friend and ally of the Lord that has nearly as much importance to the plot

This pretty much summed it up.

Both Azura and Robin are very close friends of their respective leader, and both have a deep, significant connection to the game's antagonist, even if it isn't immediately apparent.