Pitch a Story Idea for FE Switch

[semolinaro]

It seems that the general consensus in terms of FE's storytelling these days is that it could use some work. Awakening and Fates, while groundbreaking titles for the series, suffered from some very flawed writing, and I hope that IS takes more time into crafting a solid narrative complete with detailed worldbuilding, complex protagonists and a cast with characters that feel real and believable (I think it's time to tone it down on the tropes). 

With that said, what kind of thing would you like to see in terms of story on FE: Switch? Would you like to see a callback to a previous setting/continent (like Awakening to Archanea) or a completely new realm? What kind of aesthetic would you like to see, a continuation of the medieval/Roman/Renaissance feel or something new like we saw with the feudal Japan aesthetic in Birthright? Would you prefer a story functioning more on the notions of high fantasy (heavier on mythology, dragon-slaying and powerful forces of evil) or something a little more politically charged (misguided leaders, corrupt government, grey morality, etc.)? What about the lord/main character? Should they be royalty, or no?

I thought about a FE nation that was more along the lines of a theocracy rather than a monarchy. They believe that the nation is built on the back of a massive sleeping dragon god, and that earthquakes and other disasters happen when the dragon entity is angered and begins to awaken. I think it would be interesting to have the church hold most of the country's wealth and power while also being terribly corrupt (nods to the Roman Catholic Church on that one). The church uses fear tactics to keep their power, and preach that if people aren't faithful to the teachings of the country's religion, they could awaken their great dragon god and bring an end to the world. This keeps the church well funded as people are afraid of being unfaithful. There could be an interesting social landscape involving the treatment of those believed to be 'infidels' and non-believers, as well as the activities of underground extremist cults. Instead of a royal family, there is a 'holy' family, and rather than a Prince, Princess, King or Queen, the country is ruled by a Hierarch and his bishops and priests. I'd like to see a story like this because I feel like it could make for a perfect blend of political tension, moral greyness and some new and interesting mythology.

What kind of story do you want to see in FE: Switch?

 

[Acacia Sgt]

Though perhaps unlikely to be, if there's one thing I would like to see not necessarily restricted to the upcoming game, as long as it happens at all, would be taking the classic "main protagonist's homeland is invaded" but with a twist.

My idea would be as such: The main/starting setting would not be in the "protagonist" country, but rather, in said country's... well, this could vary. A frontier zone, a far-off duchy, a colony, a client state, etc. The point is, it's not the kingdom itself, but still answers to it. So, enter ye olde cliché of the warmongering kingdom/empire. They veni, vidi, vici. They do the usual, capture the royal family, put someone of their own in charge (let's say, it's the king's/emperor's brother), the usual.

So, back with our starting area, a political crisis rises, since the liege country has been taken over. A provisional junta is stablished, swearing loyalty to the deposed liege, but the truth on the matter is that feelings in the area were fractured. Some poeple thought that they really should remain supportive to their liege country, others that perhaps they should embrace the new bosses, and for others perhaps this is a chance for a new start as an independent realm since they didn't quite owed anyting to a now defunct government. And thus, civil war erupts.

Thus, the protagonst steps in. Perhaps he's tied to one of the three factions, or perhaps this can become another "choose your side" ala Fates. Either way, the protagonist goes to do what a protagonist does. Leads armies, recruits people, crush their enemies, etc. All this while mostly off-screen, a coalition rises to fight the antagonistic kingdom/empire.

Not sure how to go after this, since I'm still not quite decided on having a set path, or allow for the liberty of choice.

Spoiler

If anyone hasn't figured it out yet, what I described is a 85~% accurate representation of the Napoleonic Wars and Spanish America's Independece Movements. And yes, it would be mostly what I would want to see in FE someday. Hopefully.

 

[Thane]

Currently exhausted, but I want to see if I can come up with an interesting-sounding premise/first chapter in one sitting. 

 

Spoiler

In the southern island of Vahles lies a great desert from which the Red Sky Bandits hail. Ira, daughter of their leader, gets caught trying to steal water to bring back to her clan (group? Friends?) from one of the several Sacred Oases in the land from which only the nobility and the royal family may drink. Outraged by the injustice of it all, she stabs her captors in the thighs and runs off aimlessly into the desert, where she wanders for almost an entire day before she collapses and is found by none other than the young queen of Vahles.

Taking her to the nearest town, the queen waits for Ira to wake up and explain what has happened, which she does, stating that she hails from a people that is in dire need of water and is constantly on the move in search for it, though she withholds the little detail about being a bandit who has robbed innocents of their water supplies in the past, leaving them to an uncertain fate.

Then Ira vaguely tells the queen about the Sacred Oases, saying they could help hundreds of people like her in the wastes - it's not like the northern part of the country needs them.

The queen is unsure what Ira means. Everyone should be allowed to drink from them. Ira tells her that's poppycock, and lets it slip that she tried doing just that but was caught.

The queen gets confused. That can't be right; why would that be? She's the queen, and she says the Sacred Oases are for everyone. 

Unsure of what to say, Ira falls silent. She knew she was dealing with a fancy lady judging by the clothes, but she hadn't expected to run into the queen of all people. Swallowing her pride, she wonders if her clan could get access to one of the Sacred Oases at least for a little while; times have been hard lately. 

Laughing, the queen explains again that the Sacred Oases are for everyone, even members of the Red Sky Bandits like Ira. 

Before she can reply and ask how she knew who she was, Ira gets her weapons ready as she spots armed men entering the town, heading towards the large tent in which she had recovered. 

The queen asks what's going on, and one of the men replies that the ruler of the province they're currently in has accused the queen of treason. She can either come with them willingly or they will knock her out and drag her back with them. 

Ira steps forward, weapons drawn, and the first battle begins. After a victory, Ira grabs the queen's hand and the two run back into the desert, heading to the last known location of the Red Sky Bandits.

So yeah, change up the locale a bit - deserts, snow, rainforests and all that jazz. There's a lot of fun stuff you can do with that.

Also, no bloody dragons or ancient evils. Do a Walhart and make a world of man.

[grandjackal]

A great and massive nation fractured and in ruins after some catastrophic civil war. The main character's major motivation is to unite these fractures once again, because unity brings greater strength and safety. Not restoring the old kingdom, but forging a new one. 

One thing about Fates is that originally it was supposed to be If (I believe the Japanese version is still called If?). It was sold as being about choices, a constant chain of "what if". It was disappointing when ultimately were are given basically two choices (one of which has no real bearing on anything). Also, Corrin is supposedly an avatar of us, yet there is no opportunity to even minorly roleplay. For a character that supposedly represented us, he clearly wasn't us. If they want to have that sort of thing, they need to put in the actual effort. I feel like the above would leave enough room for this to happen.

You could be the peaceful negotiator who unites hearts and minds, but is taken advantage of and backstabbed at every turn. You could be the ambitious manipulator who will play both sides to get what they believe is the ideal outcome, only to have your methods exposed, and the reigns of your kingdom are put in the hands of people you wanted away from it the most because you are the one that opened that opportunity to them. You could be the subjugator, who believes that peace isn't a choice, only to have your kingdom implode on itself much like the old kingdom did. Maybe you enforce neutrality between all these nations because the only way for there to be peace is when everyone leaves each other alone. Arching idea of the story is the impossibility of chasing perfection. Might be a bit sour way to end it, but I find such things more interesting.

Would also bring up interesting moments. Let's say one of these tribe nations worship a war god (I'm ok with dragons or gods, as long as they aren't the big bad or the overarching cause of all the ills in the story/the world. That's gotten old). Lets say you subjugate/recruit some other nation first, and this nation hates the war god ("Your god is why the old kingdom fell in the first place! You and your god wanted this!"). So it comes time to try and recruit the war god nation, or subjugate them, or simply wipe them out. Would you go that far for peace? Slay one tribe so another can be happy? Or, do you subjugate them, and have them make peace which opens the possibility of distrust and ire having them fight eachother anyways? Maybe you leave them be, and your allied nation turns your back on you because their hate is that deep. A war god tribe is maybe a bad example, but you get my point.

This also leaves open room for flavor. Though the most obvious comparison would be to the fall of Rome into the supposed dark ages, you could have this happen in any setting because as a fantasy world, we are not bound to our own history. One thing that I liked about Fates is that Hoshido was clearly a different place with different customs and culture (even if not totally fleshed out). Was a nice departure from older games being clearly European nation vs other European nation. It shows that IS is capable of at least doing that. Could have it based on dynasty era China. Russian era that lead up to Peter the Great. Feudal era Japan. The kingdoms of Africa. Ancient Egypt. 

Fire Emblem story-wise has room for a lot of potential if effort is put into it. It's made good on less, but there's potential for grander things. Maybe a bump to light mature rating would be worth it. While IS hasn't exactly hit the board on writing lately, from what I hear Echoes's additional writing is good? I know Echoes is based on very familiar territory, but if what I hear is true, then there's no reason to be full on pessimistic on the thought. 

[Thane]

I know this isn't a thread for whining, but it does make me a little sad when you look around the internet and see so many fun ideas thrown around and realize they'll never happen. It does pain me a bit when Fire Emblem, which has such potential for intriguing plots and conflicts, tends to just be about variations of a very familiar formula.

Edited April 29, 2017 by Thane

[Kahvi]

While I do think an entirely new continent would be good for a new game, I've been pondering a few ideas for a while for existing settings.

One would be Ylisse before the events of Awakening took place. It kinda bothered me how Chrom told what an awful person his parents were. I think those things could be expanded a bit more. Essentially, if the main character would be Chrom, Lissa and Emmeryn's father, it would mean that at the end of said game, the main lord wouldn't be hailed as some great hero, like in pretty much all the other fe games but might be more of a tragic character. I really doubt that he'd do "hard decisions" because he's purely a bad person (like Chrom kinda makes him out to be) but because he's forced to. I do believe that Chrom's opinions are biased anyway since he felt neglected by his parents. It would certainly be different.

Another one is mostly just a what if (heh) story for Fates. Corrin pretty much just ends up saving the world no matter what path they choose. Of course, there's some consequences but I felt like in the end, Corrin's just always right and that's one of the major things that annoy me with the story. So what if Corrin never existed? The story would focus on the child characters because I can't really see Ryoma and Xander striking any kind of peace treaty with Hoshido and Nohr. I've been kinda thinking of making the whole thing into a fanfic so I have been thinking of some actualy plot twists to the story too. But that'd take way too much time to explain so I'll just leave it at that. I always felt that the story in Fates tried to achieve moral ambiquity but never quite achieved that so the story would strive to have more of that. Like, if Xander would die before the story takes place, Siegbert would probably feel a bit inadequate to step into his father's shoes. Let's also say Ryoma dies at the very start of the story and Shiro, being the shounen jump protagonist he is, would set out to find out what exactly happened to his father and make sure to bring the people responsible to justice. So, when these two meet, it would make Hoshidans the aggressor and Nohrians the one that just wants nothing to do with this. Also, I feel like Fates was too gentle with its characters. I'd also like to have the characters go through some tougher times, that isn't Conquest's "I know I'm helping the baddies even if it's kinda idiotic but in the end it'll achieve good things because the magical plot device says so and I'm angsty about it". So, some suffering would be in order.

So yeah, I like moral ambiquity and I like tragedies. That does effect what kinda stories I'd like to see.

[Interdimensional Observer]

4 hours ago, Thane said:

It does pain me a bit when Fire Emblem, which has such potential for intriguing plots and conflicts, tends to just be about variations of a very familiar formula.

Weltschmerz- German philosophical term for when the physical reality of things you come to realize will never match/sate that which you conceive of in your mind. Such is the sorrow that comes from writing fanfiction.

 

Two things I would like to see (not necessarily both in one game):

A conflict between centralization of power and decentralization within one kingdom- it is a problem which has always plagued humanity. In the old days, it was regional nobles vs. monarchs who wanted more power. In the 1800s US, it led to the Civil War. In the 1950s-60s it sparked the Polish and Hungarian uprisings of 1956 and Prague Spring of 1968 against Soviet control. In the 1990s, Yugoslavia fell apart in bloody ethnic conflict due to nearly a century of inability to solve problems of the centralization-decentralization of power among the constituent republics and autonomous regions. Nowadays, we have concerns of countries pulling out of the EU, Scotland from the U.K., the Basque/Catalan regions from the rest of Spain.

A more microcosmic character-centered plot. No world-saving story, keep it smaller. The adventure can still be global, but keep the stakes lower. I've been running around with three ideas for this:

Option 1- When I thought of the possibilities of a open-world FE, I was thinking "How can I justify a royal engaged in war with a big bad kingdom traveling to the far ends of the world willy-nilly?" My answer? No. Not a king/proxy who holds down the fort. No, the royal is not a minor royal/noble. No, not a mercenary. A Roma! The MC is a member of a traveling band Romani (Gypsies is their more common, but not so well liked by them name) who fights to protect it from bigots and bandits. The plot focuses on this group, and to a lesser extent their kin across the world, trying to find a home in a land where they have no homeland. Where even when all is going well, devastating racism may suddenly surface and destroy all their happiness and efforts to assimilate.

Option 2- I've been wanting to write a late-Dark Ages FE featuring a heroine named Leona. Her goal is simply to survive in a chaotic world and expand her realm (against Germanic barbarians, Vikings, other warlords, the early coalescing of pseudo-Christian forces, maybe even a few Al Andalusian raiders or Slavs). At the end of the game, she establishes a fairly good sized kingdom by the standards of her time. She does kill about 3/4s through the game her Germanic barbarian stepfather and she confronts (player's choice whether to kill or not) her mother who betrayed her father who she holds in high esteem, but there is no battle against the Pope, no fight against the Abbasid Caliph, no fight against the king of the Vikings (though I was considering a route split between the three groups for the final 1/4- but then again, that might be too ambitious like much of this plot). Things stay centered on Leona from beginning to end.

Option 3- And then there is this one. When some beta FE6 information first came in, I thought the captivity part in the beginning meant Roy was captive (it was in all likelihood Guinevere) and then the idea that Roy would become King of the Western Isles. So, I decided to use the geography of Elibe to tell a story based on this (I like having a geography to work off of- I can't write good fanfiction if I don't). I haven't finished it yet, but here is what I've done so far.

Spoiler

• Returning home for our fair lord was something he had long awaited. Since the age of seven, he had spent his life a prisoner, a captive being held by a nomad tribe of Sacae. His father’s territory was part of a the greater polity of Lycia which had waged war with some of the nomads. When a treaty was signed, his father had impersonally offered him as a hostage as an act of diplomacy. He resented his father, having removed him from all he knew, for a culture wholly different from his. Now eighteen, diplomacy beyond his control meant that our young lord was now returning home at last. A small band of his father’s men had come for him on a midsummer’s day. They were led by an old knight, a man steadfastly loyal to his father.
• The old knight looked upon his liege with disdain. He expected perfection of Lycian traditions in the boy, but all he saw were imperfections. Our fair lord had at the age of three been taught the tongue of his nation, and then to write in it as well. He had been thoroughly raised a lesser nobleman’s heir, with the education to match. But that was cut short when he was sold to the nomads. There, he started a weakling. He was taught not as Lycian, nor as a Sacaen per se, for he belonged to no tribe. He learned the equestrian art and the arts of the blade and bow, all as they are taught in Sacae. He donned Sacaen garb, ate Sacaen food, and took on a Sacaen accent. But his education was always incomplete, the ritualized finishing touches denied to him. He forever spoke with a slight Lycian accent, and no matter how much he dirtied or tanned his flesh, it always bore the Lycian pale. No matter how well his captor, his foster father, treated him there was always a distance that forbade true intimacy. This prevailed in nearly all the contacts he had for eleven years. And almost as to insult him further, his father felt the need to educate his one heir for the day he inherited the throne, despite the fact that educating a Lycian heir held captive in Sacae was impossible to do well. Our lord’s continued Lycian education was restricted to a lone grown man, who was inconstant for every so often it was changed- none of them wanting to stay out in Sacae. The education was the rudiments of Lycian weaponry and attire, history and politics, customs and manners. Rudiments they were indeed, it was difficult to learn more than that in such isolated conditions. There were other captives like our ill-educated lord, but the Sacaean nomads kept them apart and scattered them among the tribes so as to keep them from forming some sense of shared identity. Our lonely lord dreamed of meeting some of them, but he only ever learned a few sparse names with no details. When he left Sacae, he left alone, with no idea as to whether any like souls were coming to or going from Sacae.
• Yet, life was not totally bad. Our lord had befriended a Sacaen of a lowly tribe, denied the right to ride a horse, the privilege of the best and the strongest of tribes, he nonetheless was allowed to wield the bow. He served as a servant to the captor tribe of our lord, and from the age of four when he first had arrived, had spent much of his existence serving him. Thus, when permitted to depart, and our lord was charitably given permission to bring a familiar from his captive years, he chose him, one of the few he had genuinely gotten close to.
• He rode back on the back of Lycian horse, a bulkier, less agile breed than the beautiful and swift Sacaen stock which the nomads jealously guarded and sold but the absolute worst of to outsiders. Not used to such a sluggard, he took time to adjust, and returned home at a decent pace and in relative comfort. Alongside him, his servant and the old knight were two young knights. Friends, they had been sent with the old knight to add some liveliness to the escort group. Lastly, there was a heavily armored knight, a representative of Lycia as a whole to this minor diplomatic act.
• But just as he departed, our lord was befallen by bandits. They had noticed the rare sight of Lycian knights and decided they were worth trying to kill and plunder. Drawing his new Lycian blade, our lord decides to join with his escort and his servant in battle against the bandits. Vanquishing them, our lord continues onward, towards the mountain border between Sacae and Lycia. The border is defended, but that has not stopped the nomads from crossing it before, else our lord would never have ended up where he has spent the majority of his young life.
• Reaching the border wall, our lord approaches it in silence, looking up the border wall for sentries, but strangely there are none. Even stranger, is the absence of guards at the wall when he gets closer, he and his escort is on edge. A shadow then suddenly falls upon them, and looking up, it is a pegasus knight. The young lady descends and warns the group that the border is being overwhelmed by bandits just ahead. She was intending to look for work in Lycia, but unfortunately she cannot cross here. The old knight asks just how many bandits there are and how things fair, the lady says the Lycian knights were putting up a fight. Knowing this pass is by far the fastest way to our lord’s domain, and feeling his loyalty to his Lycia boil, the old knight states they should assist in saving the border guard. Our young lord, a little apathetic, asks if it is truly possible for us to help- how many bandits are necessary for overwhelming a border guard? Furthermore, shouldn’t the guard have sent a messenger? Reinforcements should be on the way. The old knight replies they have an obligation to Lycia to defend it, our lord should rush to its defense in his first act as a nobleman’s heir in a long time. Worse comes to worse, the old knight says he will see to it that they successfully retreat and find another way into the country. Our lord then agrees to it, and asks the lady if she would want to join them for this battle, they have a bit of travel expenses unspent which they won’t be needing for too much longer, she can have it. The lady turns down the money, simply being able to cross the border is enough for her. Thus, reaching the border gates, our lord and his group open it, only to discover the bandits almost unopposed at first glance. The bandits turn their attention to our lord’s group and take battle to him. Somewhere in this bandit group is a thief of mixed origins, a mongrel born of Lycian and Sacaen blood. Feigning himself a member of this group of thugs, he hopes to raid this border defense of its valuables and get out. Vanquishing the bandits, our lord’s group looks for survivors of the border guard- there are none, save a cleric who came here with the intention of traveling to Etruria. She arrived just as most of the guard left, and she remained here seeking to assist the skeleton crew who continued to guard the border. Asked why most of the guards withdrew, she replies that she overheard that Bern has invaded Lycia.
• Alarmed by this news, our lord and his band, now including the thief, the pegasus knight, and the cleric, leave the silent and empty border wall for his home territory a couple days’ journey away. Our lord’s domain is not that large. It is a smaller fiefdom, of knights few and prestige even less, its importance lay in its northeastern position in Lycia, a bastion against Sacae, and also Bern. Thus, it is feared to be one locale that may have fallen under attack by Bern. When he is within a day’s march of his homeland, our lord spots Bern soldiers ahead, a woeful sight, the soldiers notice our lord’s group. Demanding these knights in Lycian garb surrender, our lord states they just returned from Sacae, and have no intentions of doing battle with Bern. Ignoring such an excuse, the Bern soldiers attack our lord, and he is forced to respond. Within a turn or two of this noble fight, our overwhelmed lord receives help from a band of three mercenaries, two axe fighters and their leader a mercenary. This group, though it is currently not under any particular contract, supports Lycia in this war, and is willing to back our lord simply because he is Lycian and fighting Bern, they can worry about payment later. Overcoming the small contingent of Bern soldiers, our lord hurries to his home territory. Reaching it, he sees smoke as soon as he arrives, the people of the town are fearful, impoverished, and heartbroken, much damage has been done. Then thinking what of the family estate, he hurries to the hilltop in the distance. Things are scarcely better there, his father is nowhere in sight, nor is his second wife, our lord’s mother the first had died some time ago while he was away. With the estate vacant, the old knight states he has found none of the fiefdom’s knights, it appears they have all been killed or fled. Whatever has happened, our lord is saddened, and then looking out the window notices what appears to be a Bern group marching in the far distance. As quickly as he came, our lord must now leave his home for now most bittersweetly to avoid being captured. The old knight suggests they go westward, Lycia cannot have fallen completely, to the west, Lycia should still be fighting. Our lord agrees with this and departs his broken home, seeking vengeance. 
• Catching word that Lycia is gathering its forces on the other side of the great river that splits the country roughly in two, our lord hurries there with his entire group. Reaching it, he is impressed by the sight of this city, not the greatest in all of Lycia, but certainly a few ranks greater than his own. The realm is filled with activity, so many soldiers have collected, and our lord goes directly to the army headquarters to describe himself and his group. There, he is told after some record searching is done that his lord father fled his realm with most of the knights to join other lords in defending at a more vital location further south. Unfortunately, our lord cannot reunite with his father yet, but at least he knows he is possibly okay at the moment. Asking then what he can do, our lord is told that more help is needed to the south on the other side of the river. With aspirations to be a good Lycian noble high in his heart, our lord goes there and fights. Victorious, he proceeds to await further instructions, with ambition alit in his heart. (C4)
• As it turns out, the north eastern part needs more help, our lord thus proceeds north, to where his father may be. Unfortunately, despite dealing Bern a blow, our lord realizes Bern is coming on strong, and is forced to withdraw, with uncertainty as to what has become of his father. Our lord experiences discrimination due to his Sacaen speak and lack of adequate manners. (C5)
• Word is spread that there is chaos in Laus. Apparently a usurpation has occurred, and now Lycia has collapsed. Seeking to desperately save his homeland, our lord returns to Laus to vanquish the insurrection with help from Ostia. (C6)
• Our lord is almost successful in restoring stability to Laus, but Bern continues its strong attack and our lord is forced to flee west even further. Only Ostia and its allies have still survived. Fighting with Ostia once again to defend Lycia from Bern’s domination, our lord helps stave off Bern long enough for a mysterious army to arrive, it is none other than the Etruscan army. Apparently they have come to Lycia’s defense. (C7)
• Etruria repels the Bern attack and our lord joins with them. Together, they cross the river, and our lord is gracious that Etruria would help so. But then, with the stunning success of the river crossing making our lord hopeful that all of Lycia can be liberated, word comes of a truce. Etruria and Lycia, and Bern have agreed to stop fighting for now. Apparently the Etruscan Army is exhausted already and needs to consolidate its gains. Our lord cannot believe this, victory was in sight! He is then told that he must return to Ostia. There, he learns that the half of Lycia which has been liberated will be defended by the Etruscan army for now, the remaining portion will be unfortunately be under Bern’s rule for now. As his realm is in the Bern half, our lord asks what will become of it. He is told that he may return there if he really cares about it, provided he cooperates with Bern. Otherwise, he may stay here and assist the reconstruction of Lycia’s forces under Ostia’s wise hand. Our lord leaves and confronts the old knight with the news. Our lord is furious, Ostia has betrayed Lycia and sold it to Etruria, and in return it gets to be its overseer. His father is dead, he died fighting Bern, in a hopeless charge at that. His stepmother he has never known has fled to Etruria from what little he has heard. Angered, our lord says he has tried to amend for his absence for all these years from Lycia, but, despite everything he tries, fate has ordained it he may neither serve Lycia nor may its joys be known to him. I have no reason to stay to here, I don’t want to stay here. Lycia is nothing to me. The old knight tries to convince his liege otherwise. But, he will not be persuaded otherwise, he will abandon Lycia. But where to then the old knight counters. Our lord asks if the ports are still open, if so what of these Western Isles he has heard of? Are they not open to outsiders? The old knight says they are indeed, but they are also like Lycia a pawn of Etruria. Our lord says that matters not to him, he simply must get out of here. The old knight thus agrees to go help look for a ship. Why? Because, he needs a lord to live, and he can think of no other other than the one before him, even if he forsakes his title. Thus, our lord boards a ship to the Western Isles, having earned a decent sum for the selling of his title and estate, even if it is not actually in his control. With him is not only the old knight, but everyone else who joined our lord. They too share in our lord’s frustrations, and though it is not easy for them all, for now at least, they will all join him in the Western Isles. (C8)
• Time passes, about three quarters of a year, our lord has settled into life on the eastern coast of Caledonia. He has taken a job as a laborer in the port city, nothing glorious. Everyone else has also found some form of work, and they have scattered all over Caledonia, and some have even gone to Dia and Fibernia. Our lord is now apathetic. He doesn’t care about the plight of Lycia or Etruria or Bern or Sacae, all he wants is to find his way up the ladder here in the Western Isles and make a decent living. His apathy is such that he even no longer hates Ostia or Etruria or Bern. The old knight stays by his side through and through, and he lets him, because the codger deserves it. Word then comes that Etruria is hiring mercenaries, lots and lots of mercenaries, eager to get in on it, our lord calls everyone together again- a large band should equal a larger profit even factoring in per capita distribution. Meeting with the Etruscan governor of Caledonia, he is told to head out to the mines to west, where a large rebellion has broken out. Heading there, our lord encounters the rebels. Though sorry for them, our apathetic lord prepares his blade and readies for battle against them. Victorious, our lord shakes off any rebel cries and returns to the governor for payment. Given his sum, he ignores the bigotry displayed towards him, treated like a native Western Isles inhabitant, and instead focuses on resuming his old work. (C9)
• Rumor spreads that a new rebellion is in the works on Caledonia, and that the Western Isles as a whole are alit with rebel activity. Our lord decides to take advantage of this and strike a deal with the Etruscan governor, he will go undercover and destroy the rebels from within. The old knight despairs of his master’s soul, but nonetheless agrees to this, and everyone else is not informed of the matter. Joining a rebel group easily, he seeks to prove his loyalty by smashing some downright thugs hired by the governor- he’ll understand. In the rebel group, our lord gets an understanding as to why the rebels are revolting. He personally finds it strange that people would do such, fate can be a cruel mistress, nothing can be done about it. Someone in the resistance tries to convince him otherwise. (C10)
• Having shown his talent to the rebels, they appoint him to a nice position. He continues to play along and fein loyalty, and to do this, he must attack those hired by the governor once again. Constantly, the resistance members are hammering into him words which gradually make him question his apathy. The rebels are a motley bunch, most are native Westerners, but a few from the desert country of Nabata-Kafti and even a handful of Etruscans have joined. They are all united by opposition to oppression by Etruria, and also a desire to unify the Isles. (C11)
• Now, the time comes to betray, the rebels are about to descend on the governor’s city of residence. To dash their hopes now, our lord tricks a handful of its leaders to gathering at a certain location, wherein he the governor’s men come to arrest them all. Thus beheaded, the governor’s men tell our lord to finish the rest of the resistance, he will be paid afterwards- deducting for the damages he has done while in rebel service. The rebel leaders are astonished by this betrayal, but our lord scarcely flinches. As the rebel leaders are led away, our lord feels a bit of bad conscience, the rebels came rather close to victory, one more effort, and Caledonia could have been their’s. Convinced that the governor will never truly offer him the material reward he seeks, and holding a certain fondness for the Isles in his heart, he changes his mind. Speaking to his old knight, he states he has had a change of heart, so far he has sought to fit into the corrupt system, but he senses it will do him no good. Persuaded his life will never be easy, our lord decides to throw his lot with the rebels. Our lord now hurries  with his personal forces to save the rebel leaders he had just sold out. A battle unfolds, and as time passes, the bulk of the rebel army arises led by one of its other leaders, wondering what is happening. Our lord manages to save the rebel leaders he had betrayed, whilst dealing another blow to the governor’s forces. The rebel leaders are angry with him, and are flabbergasted by what he has just done- what is his deal? Our lord says it is understandable if you don’t trust him, stupid apathy towards all in life had led him to seek his personal fortunes with Etruria. But now, he wants to sincerely help. He has been a pariah for much of his life, a Lycian in Sacae, a Sacaen in Lycia, and mongrel just like the rest of you to the Etruscan governor. Yet, the natives of the Isles treat him like one of their own, he will embrace the Isles and at last become an exemplar rather than an outcast. (C12)
• During the prior battle, our lord managed to destroy the outermost defenses of the port city capital. Not expecting that this would happen, the governor becomes convinced that Caledonia cannot be defended any longer- the heathen’s treason is to blame. Thus, he sails out of Caledonia to Fibernia, still under Etruscan control. Taking the port city, the rebels seize all remaining ships, and relying on continued trade with Nabata, Ilia and Lycia, as well as Etruscans. They acquire their own flotilla, and manage to land in Fibernia, for the crossing distance is not large, and Etruria’s hastily assembled defense fleet which must cover a rather large expanse of water is quickly disabled via fire. Then, the rebels inch their way north. Once again, a port city is the capital, and Etruria has gathered many many men there to defend it. The rebels take their time, and seize the mountainous parts of the island, leaving but the port city and the surrounding landscape to Etruria. Our lord and others wait for the right moment, and when it comes, they strike. Among the victims of this final successful rebel operation are the governor of Caledonia, though the governor of Fibernia has escaped. Our lord is glad to see things have been done- the machinations of politicians for once have been undone, and the rebels forgive him in full for his betrayal, for his talents were essential to the outcome of events. (C13)
• The Western rebels now move to Dia, the last of the Isles, where only a small Etruscan guard remains. Apparently, the Etruscans have resigned themselves to the loss of the Western Isles. Here, with the Isles wholly liberated, the rebels decide they must establish a new government. As the three great isles and the many smaller siblings are all so different, and as the mountains make even different parts of Caledonia and particularly Fibernia distinct from each other, they cannot have an overly strong monarchy. Nor however, do they find the Lycian model appropriate either. A confederation of sorts is decided as the ideal form of government. The current provisional government of the Isles needs leaders, and our lord is appointed as one of the top military commanders of the Isles, to be precise, he settles on the less than glorious role as Military Commander of Dia. While the new Western Confederation spurns royalty and titles, it still feels the need to have the ritual of such. And thus, our lord undergoes a coronation of sorts, which, on his insistence, they add elements of Sacaen ritual to. For, they were always denied to him, but he saw them so much. Now, our lord and his comrades await what will come next, they must be ready for a Etruscan army to be sent to reclaim any of the Isles at any time. However, this doesn’t come within a half year, and the rebels wonder why. Then, in need of establishing diplomacy with the outside world for the sake of the Western Isles’ legitimacy, they choose to send ambassadors to Ilia and Nabata. Our lord, who is of the world given his past and has a fairly boring job, is asked to be one such ambassador. Our lord decides he will do his new home proud and contemplates which country to head to.

I had also been working on something similar but set in East Asia. It begins with a young naive prince of Korea helping his elder brother and father fight barbarians. The barbarians are subdued and their lands conquered, and time passes (about a year) when a rebellion in the north and newer and stronger barbarians must be subdued. This time, the little prince's efforts are not enough, one of his generals betrays, the Jagen's daughter whose hand he had been courting is killed, his father dies of old age and sickness, and his brother then seizes power defying their father's last wishes. China sees an opportunity to assert control over Korea by helping them destroy the barbarians, and the elder brother, hating this, sends away the little sibling he despises as a hostage in China. Apathy develops there, but the little prince has gained some military talent and goes to work helping the Chinese with their own internal revolts before being sent to fight his own brother who has broken his shackles to China. Just when China is about to assassinate him to seize Korea entirely, the young male Chinese son of a general he has befriended saves his life and the two work to free Korea from China.

[Slumber]

You know what I want? I want a game that deals with the very first massive crisis of a FE world.

Nearly every story in the FE universe has some sort of "And just last week, this band of superheroes made these pacts with these lizards to make these crazy powerful weapons that allowed them to beat Mega Satan. And now YOU get these weapons to do the same thing!"

You get the Crusaders from FE4/5. The heroes of yore that fought the earth dragons like Anri, who was the biggest, baddest mother fucker ever and was Marth's ancestor. You have Bramimond, Roland, Athos and the other legends who fought off the dragons 1000 years before FE7. You have Lehran, Deghinsea and again, the other legends that fought Ashunera 1000 years before FE9.

How about we get to play a game where WE get to make the legendary weapons, and make crazy blood pacts with dragons and shit like that?

I don't care about the little details, but I want something like this.

Edited May 1, 2017 by Slumber

[Arthur97]

I want a story that follows the first exalt from the Awakening timeline. It would help to fill in some plotholes that a lot of people don't like in Awakening and could flesh out that rather minimalist back story.

Alternatively, maybe make a game that actually stars Anri.

[SavageVolug]

Here's something that came to mind while I was lieing in bed.

The world features 7 major kingdoms each with various towns cities and a captial. The proud and powerful kingdom of Gorlok with it's mighty Wyverns, the mountanious land of Shaukenberrg with it's strong but proud fighters and mercenaries, the frozen Biifrost located close to the sea and it's war hardened barbarians (the pirates of the GBA games). The cultured and disciplined land of Lom with it's soldiers, knights and cavaliers, the mighty plains and forests of Mesta with it's deadly archers and nomads, right on the borders of Mesta is land of the Skinwalkers (essentially the beast laguz) known as Nolaufhenein this land has proud men and women who are stronger than any seasoned warrior and have the power of turning into beasts wolves, tigers, lions, hawks and eagles of great size, speed and strength lastly the mysterious desert land of Lorestia home to powerful sages, druids and manakettes/dragon laguz.

In ancient times the Nether Dragon sought to destroy the world but especially man he brought his armies of monsters, demons, vampires and other horrors from the Nether World and joined forces with a cult of dark mages and extremists. A bloody war began. The sun did not shine during this time only the blood moon shone near the end of this war called the Invasion the Seven Dragons forged magical but powerful weapons and with these weapons the seven legends killed many of the Nether Dragon's forces and drove him back to the nether world. And with the help of the Seven Dragons the seven legends sealed the gate by which the Nether Dragon came into this world and the cult who opened the gates was chased down and destroyed. It has now been more than 600 years since those dark days and the world has known great peace and prosperity will this peace remain unbroken? (Of course not, this is Fire Emblem peace never lasts)

Arc 1 the land is plagued by bandits

Arc 2 The Emperor of Gorlok begins acting very aggressive and hostile to his neighbours, and bands of mercenaries are causing trouble acting no more than better trained bandits.

Arc 3 The Empire's forces begin invading and taking over other lands

Arc 4 Some nations have banded together to resist the emperor and there's rumors that the Emperor seeks a way to open the Nether gate

Arc 5 the Nether gate is opened and the forces come in

Arc 6 the emperor has been defeated but more Nether gates all over the land are opening

Arc 7 It is revealed during this arc that the emperor was influenced by his court mage who is a part of the cult that centuries ago opened the Nether Gate

Arc 8 Before The Nether Dragon or his minions can be faced the Solar Soldiers (a mercenary band) and Luna Legion needs the aid of the Seven Dragons. First they must find the Seven Weapons hidden in hard to reach areas. Obtaining each of these is similar to the trial Eliwood had to go through before he got his sword Duttard (I think, I'm not sure of the name but I think that was it). Upon obtaining all seven the Seven Dragons appear and give our heroes words of wisdome and encouragement

Arc 9 Now it's time to face the Nether Dragon but before we can get to him, we must go through his army who have set up forts at strategic points these all must be captured.

Arc 10 Defeat the emperor's court mage and then face the Nether Dragon driving him back into the Nether World. Upon driving the Nether Dragon out of this world the Seven Dragons appear again Closing the Nether Gates and taking the legendary weapons from our heroes the Seven Dragons return these weapons to where they will be safeguarded. The End

Ok, not perfect but I'm happy with this.

[Sentacotus]

I had an idea somewhere that basically involved having a set main character male or female (character choice) but their personality and story arc was impacted by choices in the game i.e who they decided to recruit, spare, fight etc.  It would involve essentially building your own mercenary force and accepting missions from the larger nations to sustain it but of course these missions and your military actions would impact the story and politics between the nations.  Maybe its too ambitious.

[SavageVolug]

1 minute ago, LordOTaco said:

I had an idea somewhere that basically involved having a set main character male or female (character choice) but their personality and story arc was impacted by choices in the game i.e who they decided to recruit, spare, fight etc.  It would involve essentially building your own mercenary force and accepting missions from the larger nations to sustain it but of course these missions and your military actions would impact the story and politics between the nations.  Maybe its too ambitious.

This sounds awesome. However this would probably make it the "Breath of the Wild" of the FE games. From what you describe I LIKE the sound of this and would definitely play it. My only concern would be that the story would not be as flushed out as it could be. However I definitely think this could be done and still have complex characters and a good story.

[SimplyUnknown]

My story idea goes like this:

A young prince who has been banished from his country for supposedly murdering his father must round up a bunch of loyal fighters in order to take back his rightful crown. It all goes swimmingly for about 10 chapters, where he defeats his half brother and takes his rightful place...and then you learn that every horrible thing that's been said about your lord is true and that he really did murder his father. Cut to 15 years later and you're leading the rebellion against this psychopathic king and trying to gain allies in all the other countries he's waging war on. No big dragon god to act as a super-villain; no Bigger bad behind this guy. Just a psychopath who you trained up in the earlier chapters and all your former units as bosses.

I think this would be interesting because we've never had a Lord who was...evil before. We've had lords on opposing sides, but never a truly evil lord. And I think it would be interesting to build up a character to get through the levels only to have him eventually become the big boss and your biggest enemy.

[Extrasolar]

One of the big reasons why FE4 is so liked is that the first generation is a deconstruction of a lot of the common tropes that FE1 used, to the point of Sigurd himself being a deconstruction of Marth, a sort of "this is what happens in the real world." Granted, Seliph was a reconstruction and restoration of the Marth Archetype, but the impact still stands.

I'd like an FE game following a deconstruction of the magnetic leader that FE protagonists are. About how difficulty and messy having and keeping power actually is. What it does to a person.

Our hero (or heroine, because we definitely need more female protagonists) starts off young, fiery, and full of spirit, but compassionate and a great person to be around, a young crown prince or princess. They're intelligent, good-looking, and not too shabby with a sword/spear/axe/bow/tome/whathaveyou. Their kingdom is the typical benevolent kingdom, though small in comparison to the rest of the continent, without a firm, consolidated base of power. In the past few decades, more and more of their original kingdom has been swallowed up by the oppressive neighboring state, an empire ruled by a dictatorial madman. The enemy, inhumanly cruel. The heir is disgusted by them and the kingdom, and someone so vile deserves nothing but death. Any day the remainder of their kingdom could be invaded and overrun, crushed, and subjugated, everyone murmurs. Talks of diplomacy have been tried and failed. The people live anxiously.

The heir, seeing the distress of the people, resolves to work so that no one in their kingdom should fear the future. They've got plenty of colorful personalities as friends, other nobles, servants, and the like that pledge their lives to the cause. With the monarch's blessing, they depart, intending to reclaim their lost territories and (though the heir keeps this bit a secret to only their closest friends

The business of war and control is an ugly one, and it changes people, after all. Kind and noble deeds of the protagonist during the wartime come back to bite them. Release a gaggle of captured enemy soldiers? Get your camp raided in the middle of the night, lose supplies, and have nearby town burned. Release a mysterious stranger? He's a spy, and tells the enemy of your location. The battle is harder, as reinforcements have been sent.

Well, they . Pragmatism is what is needed. The protagonist dips into territory he or she has never been, and never hoped to be, for the safety and longevity of their kingdom and people. Or, that's what they tell themselves. They're not going to take any chances.

The protagonist finds that they can no longer be relaxed, friendly and open about everything. There are eyes and ears everywhere, spies working for the enemy, but also for themselves in their court. People who seem innocuous aren't. They don't now who to trust. Even those that claim loyalty and love for him/her could be lying simply to advance themselves. They become colder and more distant, and lash out at their friends in frustration. They've come too far to let everything slip from their grasp now. They grow more and more unstable, more violent, and prone to force, but also more powerful, more intimidating, and more cunning.

The protagonist succeeds in their goals. They siege the empire's castle, and put to death the emperor that had threatened their lands. Any and all supporters remaining, the emperor's guard and soldiers, are to be found and executed as well. No chances.

The protagonist realizes they're now in charge of not only the empire, but the original kingdom and all of its lands. They're declared emperor, and immediately they work at securing their own power base. Neighboring states are turned into vassal states, if not annexed completely. Martial law rules. They won't allow a rebellion raised against them, the way the previous emperor had. He had grown complacent, and foolish.

In the end, the protagonist has become just as despotic as the men/women that they so despised and set out to destroy all that time ago. Now, this could end either with the protagonist being bitterly overthrown by their own people, or the protagonist ruling the now-merged empire, unfulfilled, bitterly regretting the path they were forced to take. No longer trusting people enough to form bonds. They remain paranoid the rest of their life, viewing even their own children as potential threats to security. They are unhappy, and unfulfilled. Never again can they sleep soundly.

Dark, but a fascinating character study about the descent of decent of good, well-meaning people into horrific acts that are so common in history.