Alastor plays and ranks the whole series! Mission Complete! ...For now.

[Shadow Mir]

8 minutes ago, Benice said:

It's a bit like Oliver's map in RD, actually.

Except without you being forced to field three (or at least two) deadweight units.

Edited May 21, 2020 by Shadow Mir

[Benice]

1 minute ago, Shadow Mir said:

Except without you needing to field three (or at least two) deadweight units.

Yeah, that is one map that I hope they TorModify if there's a remake.

I should have brought Laura to that map, though.

Edited May 21, 2020 by Benice

[Hello72207]

1 hour ago, Alastor15243 said:

The reduced mov of troubadours is... confusing and annoying. I don't get it.

Riders who promote from foot units only getting 7 mov horses? That I understand, sort of. But troubadours getting shitty ponies that can't even match the movement speed of units whose horses are weighed down by standard cavalry armor? That utterly baffles me.

Priscilla and Clarine were too broken in their games, this was their way of fixing it. At least I think so.

1 hour ago, Eltosian Kadath said:

1 hour ago, Alastor15243 said:

...Interdimensional Observer, I have to assume that “in two chapters' time” didn't mean this chapter, but the one after it, because the only thing I can see I'd need C staves for... is a sleep staff troubadour.

Yeah its next chapter where you want 2 (preferably 3) people able to use restore staff on Ephraim's route.

Ah yes, the sleep and berserk druids with 20-21 magic and are basically taken straight from fe6, minus the op formula.

51 minutes ago, Benice said:

1 hour ago, Alastor15243 said:

Cormag's level ups have been kind of lopsided, and his speed is still significantly lower than I'd like, but holy shit, he managed to cap strength at level 17

Apparently, his growths are identical to Raven's.

And you will DEFINITELY want to bring many restore staves and cavalry units to rescure squishies out of the way; 14 EPH is hellish without a staffbot, to be perfectly frank.

It's a bit like Oliver's map in RD, actually.

Oh come on Benice I did it just fine, but it was hard and it was just two ludicrously overpowered trainees waltzing through, but still....

Yeah, just bring some restores.

And Cormag has a much better defense base then Raven, so he is better off. But he kicks butt in the game.

[Boomhauer007]

14 Eph is only bad if you try and charge both sides at once. A lot of the maps problems become easier if you just send everyone left. 

[Interdimensional Observer]

I used to like Selena, but Camuses need good reason to be loyal, and plenty of chafing at having to do the bad. The good reason for loyalty in the past is extant for Selena, generally speaking and ignoring the nitpicky details. But the Fluorspar does not have reason to stay loyal in the present. Selena not chafing at all is the second problem.

Eldigan at least could see six months of Grannvalian occupation of Agustria and might have seen that Grannvale was in no rush to leave, and possibly cynically and correctly seen they had no plans to depart after "restoring order". In that case, he's fighting for Agustrian independence, setting aside its current monarch is a douche.

Camus himself in retrospect did a relatively great amount of chafing. But it took BS FE to get that point across I think. As translated in the Archanean Chronicles version of BSFE in FE12:

Spoiler

Camus:
Gah! Medeus...!

Medeus:
Be proud, Camus. Your exploits forced my hand, and had me come here personally. You have annihilated an entire batallion by yourself, and even killed Bulzark. I must take care of you myself... You know, the last one who gave me this feeling was that troublesome Anri. However, your end has come. Your sword is broken and your spear lost. Even you cannot fight bare-handed.

Camus:
...Indeed... It seems... I've reached my limit...

Medeus:
All hope turns in fear before me... Give up. Surrender quietly.

Camus:
...Very well. As you wish. ...I have fulfilled my duty...

Medeus:
Men, seize him!

Soldier:
Yes sir!

Medeus:
Throw him in a cage, and drag it behind the carriage. He'll prove a fine example of the fate that awaits those who oppose Dolhr. Strip him! Give him only enough food to keep him alive. Everyone shall laugh at the misery of their once great hero, Camus...

Camus:
Nyna... Did you reach Aurelis safely? Forgive me for my cowardice. Nyna... I...
 

I mean, King Ludvik the unseen being a weak king is no reason to stay loyal to Grust when Marth has invaded and numbered the kingdom's days. But not defying Dolhr after being treated this badly is fair grounds for stopping your chafing, one more defiance, and it's easily death that could await Camus.

 

1 hour ago, Boomhauer007 said:

14 Eph is only bad if you try and charge both sides at once. A lot of the maps problems become easier if you just send everyone left. 

The game does divide your army in two from the start though. Even if you can unite them and push in a single direction (or abandon a side and send the second group to the center, which you could've otherwise saved for after pushing towards Vigarde) in three turns tops. 

Although, I could point the same problem at Conquest 22- the final Sakura battle. Defensive Stance everyone to the left and it's all easier. And other non-mandatory split path battles can be made easier throughout FE, if less efficient, if you opt to congeal for strength in numbers. I never at Gronder 1 or 2 in 3H sent anyone to the east side and barely anyone to the center, I poured them to the left. Nor during the part 2 indoor Edel fight on BL/GD did I ever go any direction in the castle but west.

Now, if we looked at Thracia and its unadjustable deployment slots and in the case of Chapter 24, walls that mean the groups can never unite barring Warp/Rescue, we could have a solution to this "nah, I ain't gonna divide and die" problem. But it isn't the best solution thats for sure!

The simple inclusion of strong incentives to divide up from the very start- without pure turncount being one of those incentives- with FE6 and beyond flexible deployment positioning, is the best answer.

Edited May 22, 2020 by Interdimensional Observer

[Hello72207]

1 hour ago, Boomhauer007 said:

14 Eph is only bad if you try and charge both sides at once. A lot of the maps problems become easier if you just send everyone left. 

buT tHEn YoU LosE oUt oN AlL thE JuICy xP bOoMHauer.

[Jotari]

Yeah, Dussel really should have been a more vocal character in Ephraim's route. Especially in this chapter. He's the one that should have played up the tragedy here. Ephraim has no reason to give any more fucks for Selena than he does Calleach or Valter.

1 hour ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

I used to like Selena, but Camuses need good reason to be loyal, and plenty of chafing at having to do the bad. The good reason for loyalty in the past is extant for Selena, generally speaking and ignoring the nitpicky details. But the Fluorspar does not have reason to stay loyal in the present. Selena not chafing at all is the second problem.

Eldigan at least could see six months of Grannvalian occupation of Agustria and might have seen that Grannvale was in no rush to leave, and possibly cynically and correctly seen they had no plans to depart after "restoring order". In that case, he's fighting for Agustrian independence, setting aside its current monarch is a douche.

Camus himself in retrospect did a relatively great amount of chafing. But it took BS FE to get that point across I think. As translated in the Archanean Chronicles version of BSFE in FE12:

  Hide contents

Camus:
Gah! Medeus...!

Medeus:
Be proud, Camus. Your exploits forced my hand, and had me come here personally. You have annihilated an entire batallion by yourself, and even killed Bulzark. I must take care of you myself... You know, the last one who gave me this feeling was that troublesome Anri. However, your end has come. Your sword is broken and your spear lost. Even you cannot fight bare-handed.

Camus:
...Indeed... It seems... I've reached my limit...

Medeus:
All hope turns in fear before me... Give up. Surrender quietly.

Camus:
...Very well. As you wish. ...I have fulfilled my duty...

Medeus:
Men, seize him!

Soldier:
Yes sir!

Medeus:
Throw him in a cage, and drag it behind the carriage. He'll prove a fine example of the fate that awaits those who oppose Dolhr. Strip him! Give him only enough food to keep him alive. Everyone shall laugh at the misery of their once great hero, Camus...

Camus:
Nyna... Did you reach Aurelis safely? Forgive me for my cowardice. Nyna... I...
 

I mean, King Ludvik the unseen being a weak king is no reason to stay loyal to Grust when Marth has invaded and numbered the kingdom's days. But not defying Dolhr after being treated this badly is fair grounds for stopping your chafing, one more defiance, and it's easily death that could await Camus.

 

The game does divide your army in two from the start though. Even if you can unite them and push in a single direction (or abandon a side and send the second group to the center, which you could've otherwise saved for after pushing towards Vigarde) in three turns tops. 

Although, I could point the same problem at Conquest 22- the final Sakura battle. Defensive Stance everyone to the left and it's all easier. And other non-mandatory split path battles can be made easier throughout FE, if less efficient, if you opt to congeal for strength in numbers. I never at Gronder 1 or 2 in 3H sent anyone to the east side and barely anyone to the center, I poured them to the left. Nor during the part 2 indoor Edel fight on BL/GD did I ever go any direction in the castle but west.

Now, if we looked at Thracia and its unadjustable deployment slots and in the case of Chapter 24, walls that mean the groups can never unite barring Warp/Rescue, we could have a solution to this "nah, I ain't gonna divide and die" problem. But it isn't the best solution thats for sure!

The simple inclusion of strong incentives to divide up from the very start- without pure turncount being one of those incentives- with FE6 and beyond flexible deployment positioning, is the best answer.

Funny thing with that Camus scene is that Medeus is powerless outside of his keep and this point in the story. So there's actually a fair chance Camus could have taken him on barehanded! Heroes, give us a gauntlet Camus alt based on the alternate reality where he saved Archanea by punching Medeus to death XD

Edited May 22, 2020 by Jotari

[Benice]

5 hours ago, Hello72207 said:

Oh come on Benice I did it just fine, but it was hard and it was just two ludicrously overpowered trainees waltzing through, but still....

Def/Str screwed Amelia +Awful Ewan + Marisa (enough said) = not good. Plus, you are much better than me. (Leila...)

Also, @Alastor15243, you should also rate TearRing saga and Berwick saga! Perhaps Vestaria also if you want to pay for it. I'd be interested to see what you think of those.

[Alastor15243]

2 minutes ago, Benice said:

Def/Str screwed Amelia +Awful Ewan + Marisa (enough said) = not good. Plus, you are much better than me. (Leila...)

Also, @Alastor15243, you should also rate TearRing saga and Berwick saga! Perhaps Vestaria also if you want to pay for it. I'd be interested to see what you think of those.

Is Berwick saga translated? If someone already said so a while back, I can't remember. I seem to remember Tearring Saga is though. But I'd have to figure out how to emulate and mod PS2 games. Also, the window of time to do it strictly in chronological order has passed... so when should I do it, if I were to say yes?

[Jotari]

2 minutes ago, Alastor15243 said:

Is Berwick saga translated? If someone already said so a while back, I can't remember. I seem to remember Tearring Saga is though. But I'd have to figure out how to emulate and mod PS2 games. Also, the window of time to do it strictly in chronological order has passed... so when should I do it, if I were to say yes?

Since the chronological window has passed, I would suggest after you've finished the Fire Emblem library (though that's in some small part because I haven't got around to playing it yet and want to do so before you).

[Benice]

4 minutes ago, Alastor15243 said:

Is Berwick saga translated? If someone already said so a while back, I can't remember. I seem to remember Tearring Saga is though. But I'd have to figure out how to emulate and mod PS2 games. Also, the window of time to do it strictly in chronological order has passed... so when should I do it, if I were to say yes?

Yep, they're both translated! I'll link you to the threads in a sec.

TearRing was released...Ooh...May 2001, I think? It is a bit late for that.

Berwick was released a month before PoR was, so we are in time for that! It is a bit tough figuring out how to emulate PS2 games, but doable enough. (The BIOS stuff confuses me, so I needed a guide.) And honestly, I think it's worth it. Berwick's mechanics are NOT super similar to FE's, and because it's Kaga, a guide will be helpful for not missing stuff, (Czene's promotion is so easy to miss,) the gameplay is quite hard but lets you ease into it, (the first few maps are quite easy but things get crazy fast.)

EDIT: The patches.

 

Edited May 22, 2020 by Benice

[Hello72207]

55 minutes ago, Benice said:

Plus, you are much better than me. (Leila...)

I'm not really that much better then you are. The dread isle is going fairly well for you, but for me I lost 3 units on Fargus's ship, 2 on Uhai if you count being unable to recruit Fiora, 1 on 19x + the silver card, and then both the member card and my stat-screwed Lowen on 20. (seriously the guy leveled like luck and skill and that was it. Not even defense). Of course no resets but still, you are doing much better then me so far in the dread isle.

Also what is  with the Leila thing. 

 

[Benice]

7 minutes ago, Hello72207 said:

Also what is  with the Leila thing. 

Matthew's death quote.

Which I got to see in the very first chapter.

7 minutes ago, Hello72207 said:

m not really that much better then you are. The dread isle is going fairly well for you, but for me I lost 3 units on Fargus's ship, 2 on Uhai if you count being unable to recruit Fiora, 1 on 19x + the silver card, and then both the member card and my stat-screwed Lowen on 20. (seriously the guy leveled like luck and skill and that was it. Not even defense). Of course no resets but still, you are doing much better then me so far in the dread isle.

I lost literally my whole army except for Oswin. Thank goodness that Lyn brought some helpful recruits.

[Alastor15243]

7 hours ago, Benice said:

Yep, they're both translated! I'll link you to the threads in a sec.

TearRing was released...Ooh...May 2001, I think? It is a bit late for that.

Berwick was released a month before PoR was, so we are in time for that! It is a bit tough figuring out how to emulate PS2 games, but doable enough. (The BIOS stuff confuses me, so I needed a guide.) And honestly, I think it's worth it. Berwick's mechanics are NOT super similar to FE's, and because it's Kaga, a guide will be helpful for not missing stuff, (Czene's promotion is so easy to miss,) the gameplay is quite hard but lets you ease into it, (the first few maps are quite easy but things get crazy fast.)

EDIT: The patches.

 

Alright. Anyone wanna buy my friend a ridiculous amount of time to play Path of Radiance by having me play Tearing and Berwick saga in a row after Sacred Stones?

[Jotari]

25 minutes ago, Alastor15243 said:

Alright. Anyone wanna buy my friend a ridiculous amount of time to play Path of Radiance by having me play Tearing and Berwick saga in a row after Sacred Stones?

Just get it back off your friend. They've had plenty of time. Then can have it back when you're done.

[Benice]

4 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

Alright. Anyone wanna buy my friend a ridiculous amount of time to play Path of Radiance by having me play Tearing and Berwick saga in a row after Sacred Stones?

They are really long games, you may just want to play Berwick first, then see if your friend neeeds more time.

[Alastor15243]

1 minute ago, Benice said:

They are really long games, you may just want to play Berwick first, then see if your friend neeeds more time.

Why Berwick first? Isn't Tearring the first one? And it's the one I'd have a better idea of how to emulate since I've actually emulated PS1 games before.

[Benice]

2 minutes ago, Alastor15243 said:

Why Berwick first? Isn't Tearring the first one? And it's the one I'd have a better idea of how to emulate since I've actually emulated PS1 games before.

I just thought that it may make sense to do just Berwick now and then put TearRing somewhere else, but if you're going to do both, yeah, TRS is the better option.

And also, just so you know, Narron is, no joke, the best unit in TRS.

 

[Alastor15243]

7 minutes ago, Benice said:

I just thought that it may make sense to do just Berwick now and then put TearRing somewhere else, but if you're going to do both, yeah, TRS is the better option.

And also, just so you know, Narron is, no joke, the best unit in TRS.

 

I guess I'll do a poll. Strawpoll, or thread poll, do you think?

[Benice]

21 minutes ago, Alastor15243 said:

I guess I'll do a poll. Strawpoll, or thread poll, do you think?

Probably thread? It's certainly easy that way.

[Alastor15243]

Sacred Stones Day 20: Chapter 13EIR

Quick aside I discovered during my shopping: Luna apparently costs 4200 gold.

More than half the price of a stat booster.

That is hilariously pathetic. Now then, onto the chapter.

...I just realized something I should have noticed much earlier, before the narration basically spelled it out for me:

Jehanna is yet another barren country famous for its mercenaries.

This has been in three consecutive continuities of the franchise. We only have one continuity that doesn't have one so far in this marathon. It's such a frequent and yet completely innocuous trope in this series by this point that I can't help but think it's based on something in reality. Were there any examples of medieval countries in barren wastelands that survived due to importing food and exporting mercenary work? The two things don't seem to naturally logically follow.

Also, Ismaire apparently is only queen because her husband, the former king, wanted her to be. I... see.

Anyway, now we get the scene with Cormag and Valter, and... okay, part of me thinks it's really dumb for Valter to be this stupid.

Okay. So. Cormag. Your brother is dead. And his body has been so thoroughly brutalized and fucked up that Valter comments on how hard it's going to be to do a proper burial with it. Is the clearly sadistic and psychotic murderer who bested your unbelievably badass brother in single combat:

A: The sheltered princess of a nation once on extremely good terms with Grado, and that Grado started a war with for no stated reason, a princess your brother said he met once and who was at least at that point a completely stable and harmless girl, or...

B: The deranged, sadistic psychopath with a known vendetta against your brother, who brought back the corpse from a location he wasn't even fucking supposed to be in?

And apparently Valter told this lie to trick Cormag into fighting Eirika to the death, as some weird, creepy, fetishistic way of testing Eirika and, uh... “tenderizing the meat”, as it were? Making the kill more satisfying? I'm not sure which metaphor he'd use, because he didn't use one there.

...PPPPFHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

OH WOW.

So apparently Innes never sent word that he was safe to the reinforcements he called for in his recruitment chapter? He just fucked off with Eirika, leaving the reinforcements utterly confused and horrified when they got there and there was nobody there alive!?

Also... Apparently the latest news from Ephraim in Chapter 13EIR... is what Ephraim did in Chapter 9EPH.

Okay, so... let's... just for the hell of it, as if there's going to be any consistency at all... try to line up the chronology of these routes.

So, by the time of Chapter 9EPH, enough time has passed since Chapter 9EIR that a messenger announcing Eirika's plans to rescue Innes has made it to Ephraim. Which suggests that at least the beginning of Ephraim Route takes place after the beginning of Eirika Route.

By the time of Chapter 13EIR, enough time has passed since Chapter 9EPH that a messenger announcing the conquest of Fort Rigwald has made it to Eirika. That also suggests that Eirika Route starts significantly before Ephraim Route. Granted, chapters don't take a uniform amount of time, so the further we get past the beginning of the chapters, the harder it is to pin down passage of time... but this seems to suggest that Eirika Route is going to conclude significantly before Ephraim Route does.

...Which makes me wonder how the fuck Ephraim arrives to rescue Eirika over the course of a single map, and why news that Eirika's in trouble doesn't arrive in the middle of Ephraim's campaign instead of at the climax.

But I'm going to have to see for myself when it happens.

Hahahaha! I forgot that L'arachel hasn't yet revealed that she's the princess of Rausten! Her “the wind told me” excuse for her Rausten intel is so ridiculous that I love it.

I like how this map has a lot of stuff it encourages you to do on turn one, mainly to get rid of those damned ballistae to give your team some breathing room. I had Kyle, Lute, Seth and Franz deal with that, and then I had Tethys dance Lute back so she can quickly get into defensive position if too many of those enemies start charging and she needs to get to the nearest forest to enemy-phase tank them all.

Gerik took care of the unimportant soldiers with a hand axe. His stats aren't exactly fantastic compared to my other units, I promoted him 10 whole levels early after all, but he's a fairly decent choice against lance-using enemies.

Incidentally, as Gerik kills the zanbato user and obtains it, I wonder to myself, and to you, why the zanbato is called the zanbato. Is there some Japan-esque far-off land the sword design came from, like JRPGs often do when they want to justify katanas and the like in a world modeled after European fantasy?

Anyway, I'm having Tethys focus on helping L'arachel spam the barrier staff to make sure we use the whole thing this chapter. This... will be a recurring strategy until I get her promoted. 30+ Exp per turn isn't bad.

Oh right. I forgot I was supposed to prove I could clear this in four turns. Well, I still have one more turn left, and given that I forgot I was trying, I trust you can cut me a bit of slack here for my improvisation.

Okay, I'll just have Seth and Franz move forward from their place up north with the rest of my half-turn before the big one (incidentally, Gerik moved up northwest to deal with the fighter-mercenary reinforcements, hence how he got the zanbato), to assist Lute and Kyle coming from the middle. Between the four of them, the boss will surely die.

The mooks going after Seth and Franz face an utter curb stomp. Franz's defense has picked up enough that these guys can barely touch them. Though I have a feeling that's, again, just because Eirika Route is really, really easy.

Unfortunately, an unlucky encounter with a sleep staff means I can't use Franz to help this proof of concept, but all I have to do to win on turn 4 is kill this knight with Kyle's killer lance (reasonable chance), making room for Lute to come in and kill him in a single round with help from Seth. Or, more reliably, dance Innes over to kill the knight blocking the path with his silver bow.

Checkmate.

Alright, I've proven I can do it with ease, so now I will not do it. So I can get Cormag. Let's back off, everyone.

I have Seth rescue Franz so that Lute can restore him. There. Now I just need to wait for Cormag to show up, and then recruit him. Should be easy.

Oh wow. That's really cool. Cormag's motivation for joining your army is completely different between stories. Here, he's just flat out joining for revenge. He doesn't care what Eirika's trying to accomplish, he just wants to side with someone who will give him the opportunity to kill Valter personally.

Let's see if we can make that happen, shall we?

Anyway, while the rangers aren't very impressive offensively, their bulk is pretty annoying to deal with.

But Kyle's reached level 20, and as long as we remember to kill the boss and don't let this clock out, we'll have his knight crest.

That shouldn't be too hard. This is mostly cleanup phase at this point. I can kill the boss whenever I want, and if reinforcements don't arrive soon, I'll probably do it early. But let's wait to se if we can kill Pablo too.

Yep. Pablo just arrived, over to the east, on Eirika's side of the map. The sheer number of enemies he brought with him, combined with how utterly close to them my reserve troops are, would be... a complete nightmare if I couldn't finish this early by killing the boss. So let's do a last-turn attack to get as much exp from this as possible.

HAHAHAHA!

PABLO TRIES TO BUY HIS ATTACKERS OFF.

EVEN IF IT'S THE PRINCE OF FUCKING FRELIA!

Eirika finishes off Pablo, and gains defense again. She's at 8 now, at level 11. And even with all of that, she's still almost certainly not worth training.

Wow. Aias just flat-out compliments Renais's tactician for managing to cut through his defenses. As far as one-shot villains go, he's pretty cool.

But that does beg the question of who exactly Renais's tactician is. This game never really says who's organizing and giving the orders, at least for Eirika Route. At times it feels like everyone's just doing their own thing, and I'm just controlling all of their independent decisions.

Anyway, that immediately prompts the arrival of the Rausten reinforcements, and L'arachel's cover is blown, including the fact that...

...Okay, this kind of bugs me.

They refer to an event where the “court troubadour” inspired L'arachel to go on a Don-Quixote-esque quest for justice with a deranged axeman and a petty criminal as her knights. Which means the actual definition of the word “troubadour”, a medieval singing poet, is also a thing in the lore of Fire Emblem. Not just in this continuity, but in the next one too, as Radiant Dawn's narrator confirms when he says “or so the troubadours sing” in the intro to one chapter. Which really makes me question why the fuck mounted healers are called troubadours in the first place, especially when real-life troubadours are exclusively male. A woman who does what a troubadour does is called a trobairitz.

But anyway, we get 5,000 gold, and now we have to go rescue Queen Ismaire.

I'm sure that won't go horribly, horribly wrong.

But that'll have to wait for Tuesday. On Monday, we storm Grado Keep.

Stay safe, everyone!

[Koops]

Wait... 8 defense on Eirika at level 11?

Shit, not even I, who has an amazing Eirika track record, have never gotten this lucky. She is quite a bit bulkier than Lyn is, tho, that's for sure, at least.

[Benice]

34 minutes ago, Alastor15243 said:

But that does beg the question of who exactly Renais's tactician

It is implied to be Eirika; in the italian version, he uses the female pronoun before tactician. Of course, that could just be a thing in the italian version of the game.

35 minutes ago, Alastor15243 said:

But anyway, we get 5,000 gold, and now we have to go rescue Queen Ismaire.

You have to haul some arse if you want to get Rennac/the Member card, just so you know.

[Interdimensional Observer]

37 minutes ago, Alastor15243 said:

This has been in three consecutive continuities of the franchise. We only have one continuity that doesn't have one so far in this marathon. It's such a frequent and yet completely innocuous trope in this series by this point that I can't help but think it's based on something in reality. Were there any examples of medieval countries in barren wastelands that survived due to importing food and exporting mercenary work? The two things don't seem to naturally logically follow.

I don't know if there were. 1700s Europe did have some German states in the mess called the Holy Roman Empire, most famously Hesse-Kassel, were known for making a living off of mercenary work.

As for Medieval mercenary use in general, I stumbled on this in Civilization VI, taken from its entry on Hungary's Black Army unit:

Medieval armies can be loosely classified between feudal and mercenary armies. Feudal forces were raised and commanded by nobles on behalf of their sovereign. Generally only the nobility had any significant experience in warfare, and long-standing laws prevented the feudal armies from being fielded for very long. Mercenary forces were generally seen as better-trained, but were more expensive to maintain. A ruler failed to pay his mercenaries to his considerable peril—mercenaries frequently switched sides or revolting against their employers over delayed or missing payment. The Black Army was a mercenary army, because it employed professional soldiers from within and beyond Hungary.

Mercenary armies had to be really expensive (not helped by the Black Army having an unrivaled quantity of early gunpowder weapons and many cavalry), going off the rest of this entry.:

Matthias Corvinus had studied the legions of the Roman Empire, and had conceived of the Black Army in similar terms—professional soldiers who acted at the direction of the sovereign, and who were paid through state taxes. In this case, the nobility and population were extensively taxed. An army as large and well-equipped as the Black Army was expensive to field. At its height, the Black Army was larger than the armies of France, and compiled an excellent record in battle and siege.

The Black Army did not last long after Matthias' death. His successors were unable to sustain the taxation system that paid the army, and it gradually declined in quality and size. By the time of the disastrous Battle of Mohacs, Hungary's armies had returned to the old feudal model, and were utterly crushed by the Ottoman Empire, which was using weapons and tactics that would have been recognizable to the captains of the Black Army.

Matthis Corvinus was King of Hungary (r. 1458-1490, the very end of the Medieval period/very beginning of the Renaissance outside of Italy), and is considered to be its greatest monarch ever or very close to it. Reading his bio, FE absolutely needs to make a character based off of him.

 

59 minutes ago, Alastor15243 said:

Yep. Pablo just arrived, over to the east, on Eirika's side of the map. The sheer number of enemies he brought with him, combined with how utterly close to them my reserve troops are, would be... a complete nightmare if I couldn't finish this early by killing the boss. So let's do a last-turn attack to get as much exp from this as possible.

In the past, I've tended to underestimate Pablo's force time and again, and yet insist on destroying it because the Warrior(?) in the pack has a Body Ring which I wanted to steal.

 

If Aias isn't killed by the way, he goes back to Caellach:

(Screen goes to Jehanna castle. Aias is riding up to Caellach)

Caellach:
“Hey, Aias.”

Aias:
“Caellach…”

Caellach:
“That was something awful. I never expected to see you get beaten so roundly.”

Aias:
“Yes. It was a complete failure. The Rausten knights arrived far more quickly then I’d anticipated. But it doesn’t matter, does it? Whether I won or lost? You were planning on abandoning me from the start, weren’t you?”

Caellach:
“…Yeah, sorry. I’m not going to let things end for me here. I want to rise… To climb higher and higher. I will not be chained to my past. I will not be chained to you. I truly apologize, but you die here. Good-bye, my friend.”

(Caellach kills Aias)

(Chapter ends)

 

---

As for TRS, I can assure you it probably won't be your favorite. I had a loving honeymoon with it and still admire certain aspects, now I'm struck with a certain... emptiness of not being able to use all the stuff it gives me as I wish I could.

Since it was released between FE5 and FE6, I think it's a question of whether you'd be less willing to return to and bear with Kaga-isms later than you would be now. Fortunately, the headbanging gameplay Kaga-isms are usually less severe in TRS than in FE5, but you still have 'em.

[Alastor15243]

31 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

I don't know if there were. 1700s Europe did have some German states in the mess called the Holy Roman Empire, most famously Hesse-Kassel, were known for making a living off of mercenary work.

As for Medieval mercenary use in general, I stumbled on this in Civilization VI, taken from its entry on Hungary's Black Army unit:

Medieval armies can be loosely classified between feudal and mercenary armies. Feudal forces were raised and commanded by nobles on behalf of their sovereign. Generally only the nobility had any significant experience in warfare, and long-standing laws prevented the feudal armies from being fielded for very long. Mercenary forces were generally seen as better-trained, but were more expensive to maintain. A ruler failed to pay his mercenaries to his considerable peril—mercenaries frequently switched sides or revolting against their employers over delayed or missing payment. The Black Army was a mercenary army, because it employed professional soldiers from within and beyond Hungary.

Mercenary armies had to be really expensive (not helped by the Black Army having an unrivaled quantity of early gunpowder weapons and many cavalry), going off the rest of this entry.:

Matthias Corvinus had studied the legions of the Roman Empire, and had conceived of the Black Army in similar terms—professional soldiers who acted at the direction of the sovereign, and who were paid through state taxes. In this case, the nobility and population were extensively taxed. An army as large and well-equipped as the Black Army was expensive to field. At its height, the Black Army was larger than the armies of France, and compiled an excellent record in battle and siege.

The Black Army did not last long after Matthias' death. His successors were unable to sustain the taxation system that paid the army, and it gradually declined in quality and size. By the time of the disastrous Battle of Mohacs, Hungary's armies had returned to the old feudal model, and were utterly crushed by the Ottoman Empire, which was using weapons and tactics that would have been recognizable to the captains of the Black Army.

Matthis Corvinus was King of Hungary (r. 1458-1490, the very end of the Medieval period/very beginning of the Renaissance outside of Italy), and is considered to be its greatest monarch ever or very close to it. Reading his bio, FE absolutely needs to make a character based off of him.

Well, mercenary work paying so well is a good explanation for why it's what these countries turn to in dire straits at least.

32 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

As for TRS, I can assure you it probably won't be your favorite. I had a loving honeymoon with it and still admire certain aspects, now I'm struck with a certain... emptiness of not being able to use all the stuff it gives me as I wish I could.

Since it was released between FE5 and FE6, I think it's a question of whether you'd be less willing to return to and bear with Kaga-isms later than you would be now. Fortunately, the headbanging gameplay Kaga-isms are usually less severe in TRS than in FE5, but you still have 'em.

Well, the poll's up, waiting for people to vote on it! I'll go with whatever people decide.