Interdimensional Observer

The big problem, besides surviving the long crossing of the ocean, is that in FE1 and Book 1 of FE3- Camus sat on the castle gates, and wasn't able to freely move around like in FE11. And the nearest body of water visible isn't that close to the castle. So how in the world did he terribly injured wander to over to the ocean or a river? Does Marth not want to make absolutely sure that Camus, a major threat by himself, is dead? And why wouldn't Nyna want to see his corpse?

Quite possibly the best of the very feminine looking males that IS has ever conceived of. He has grace, calm, pacifism, and reason, but at the same time is bold, serious, capable of being quite angry and even sarcastic, and he is no overly gentle gentle idealist. Even if you want to called the Begnion arc of PoR (C14-17) filler, Reyson is wonderfully written through the whole arc, I love his Naesala interactions. His C19 conversation with Naesala is a keeper (I dropped the bonus Knight Ring dialogue): Even after Begnion, he remains prominent in the plot even if you turn down his recruitment via Leanne's capture, the Palmeni Temple visit and Lehran's Medallion. The Herons as whole were fairly well executed, as was Reyson's motivations for hating Beorc and the reason behind his rugged behaviors. RD just offers us more of the same, but that isn't problem with Reyson given how good he already is. His ending where it's said he became a politician seems quite appropriate- a world both crude and classy where rhetoric replaces physical strength (the one thing Reyson lacks). I'd vote for him for sure.

With 1RN and competent enemy stats dodgetanking isn't as easy, although SoV makes it possible via crazy powerful terrain vs. physical units. My Kliff had a like a 4% chance of being hit by Berkut 2 via Forest + Coral Cover. On the other hand, once you drop enemy hit to ~30 or below in 2RN, dodging becomes way too easy. Mayhap IS could make it so SMs and like dodgy classes get 2RN when enemy hit rates are below 50% Hit, while everyone else operates under 1 RN at all times. As for hitting, I hate missing as anyone else with high hit rates, but at the same time I don't think every hit rate above like 75% should be a virtually guaranteed hit as in 2RN. 1RN does lend a little more value to low Might high Hit weapons and the Skill stat. And needless it be said, 1RN doesn't lie to players who don't know the truth- aka anyone not on SF or other gaming sites.

Alternate dialogue can be a bit depressing given it mostly exists because you let somebody die. I remember that if Matthew dies in Blazing before you get to Dread Isle/Valor, Hector says he'll bury Leila next to him. It happened once when I was a newbie kid playing FE7.

You do get Nosferatu just in time for this fight. Only 20 uses is a drag, but it should last through a particularly vicious enemy phase at least. If Micaiah is able to trail Laura close enough, she can safely Hammerne the tome if you don't mind burning a use. High Luck and Speed on Laura's part will be your durability the rest of the time. And Rescue can drag around Sothe or anyone else you bring that you might want to pull ahead, though you might want to give it to Soren for Oliver's chapter or save it for P4 Final.

I feel a ting of guilt stealing good characters from others- but alas, that's a draft for you. In particular I pity thee Elincia- not a single mage or flier for the desert, but maybe that's just because I've been playing too much SoV with its terrain nightmares. Stefan the Lion Branded. Ya know I wonder why people bother with trying to raise Mia/Zihark/Edward for P4 Final when Stefan is pretty much just as good with very little cost. Sure he'll need a few levels of BEXP or from fights in Final to cap Speed- but he only needs that by the very last fight for the Auras. And seeing how this is Normal Mode, are Battle Saves are permitted at all for rigging things?

I think I underestimated the sea of trees- I always thought a few squads of fire and thunder mages could burn it down. But I guess Serenes was just fragile, while Gallia's forests are probably denser, of bark more resilient to flames, and likely have a quick regrowth rate. And the sheer size of the forests might be too much to for anyone to raze completely, particularly if you never know when a giant cat is going pounce on your jugular while you're burning their homeland to the ground. And looking at C11's script, Ashnard actually doesn't want Gallia to come out in full force at the time. Why? Logistics possibly, a desire to maximize chaos production over the long term, a need to excite Begnion more? Also, given Caineghis was able to scare off the BK, it has to be the case that Cain is comparable to the BK; and given Giffca is roughly Cain's equal and is able to stand up to Ashnard, it should be indeed wholly possible for Caineghis to best Ashnard in 1v1. But enough with this tangent from the actual topic at hand.

Yes he does, given he orchestrated so much. I recoil at the idea that his master could be disliked- he's one of my personal favorite FE villains, but hey different people have different tastes. No problem with that.

Isn't Ulki better with his +20 Avoid? Though Janaff does average and start with +2/4 shifted Strength, so I guess that's a fair tradeoff. And my choice? Well I was thinking I could use some more wings for Izuka and the bridge, and there is only one character left who can do that- why none other than Ulki himself!

I don't care for timelines that try to connect the disparate personally, but Fates being a mythical land should not be taken seriously whatsoever. Chrom calls every place a legend or myth. It's just an excuse so he's not bewildered every time an Einherjar joins up in Awakening's DLC. While Priam exists, I'd say Tellius is a separate dimension- the mythos suggests the Goddess of Dawn was around since the beginning of time and looks over all of creation. Where was she when Naga and the Earth Dragons warred if she exists in the same world? She split in two due to her desire to help resolve the differences between early Laguz and Beorc- you'd think she'd have drowned dragonkind if she was around then. Similarly Elibe and Magvel are likely in separate worlds as well- dragonkind functions differently in these realms than in Archvalendral. The Magvel similarity to part of Bern is superficial at best.

You do make a lot of good points on the Crimea situation- I always found it odd that Renning isn't said to have had any children- the main branch of the Crimean royal (assuming there are cadet ones too) is in a pretty precarious situation as is- and that is something no monarch in reality would ever want. Your solution which wouldn't require Elincia to be kept secret is pretty logical too- unfortunately "mysterious girl you suddenly encounter" is a cliche which IS thinks actually works. Now to a topic I've ruminated on- Begnion: As for your mention of Begnion and its Empresses. We never hear of a male Apostle, so we can assume that Begnion ever since Yoram the 1st Apostle (which is the vast majority of its history) females alone are qualified to be Apostles. In the Kingdom of Begnion pre-Yoram (-131 to -95) you could have a ruler of either sex, because we know Altina was the first ruler, and somewhere later along the line (we're never told when exactly) Soane the White Lion and fellow Hero of Ashera ruled as King. It's stated in the latest two Tellius artbooks that Begnion started with alternation between Laguz and Beorc rulers- so perhaps the Begnion Kingdom pre-Yoram was an elective monarch. (I'm assuming Yoram's claims to divinity changes everything- maybe not all at once, but surely at a rapid pace, for in 95 years after she becomes know the Apostle, the possibly elective king/queendom is replaced with a hereditary empire.) Altina I hypothesize stepped down when she became pregnant and had to take care of her child. I wouldn't rule out the indirect male rule in Begnion once the Apostle title and later its secular equivalent seemingly always wedded to it until Sanaki- Empress- led to the highest of positions in the realm being exclusively for women. The Senate does try to render Sanaki a puppet ruler, and given tension between the Senate and Apostle is said to have existed for a long time- there probably have been Apostles-Empresses who were but puppet rulers, and we know at least one was killed by the Senate due to feuding with it. While the Holy Guard is entirely women too, misogynist men rule the Senate and the aristocracy, and probably much of the rest of regular army too (but Veyona is proof that not all of it is). While we never hear of males born to the Apostle line, assuming no magic genetics are at work- there has to have been males born the the Apostle line. And I'd wager that not being able to claim the title of Apostle-Empress didn't stop some of them from achieving political power under the guise of regent or some other special office while their sister/daughter/niece was naught but a nominal ruler. Also IS never in any FE seems to deal in second cousins, barring whatever Chulainn is supposed to be, and one boss in Binding Blade. Given what we know of how the Brand- I'd think it possible that some of Sanaki's second cousins (if she has any) would be able to hear the Goddess's voice, and males included. Yet as no one in Begnion knows a real Apostle has to be Branded, it's possible they just assumed that hearing the Goddess's voice was innate to all females in Altina's lineage. Well I guess it depends on the state of civilization in Archanea and Valentia. Given the smallness of Archanean states, and what seems to be vast tracts of unorganized lands in the northern regions (basically anything north of Khadein and Aurelis), I'd say things are too primitive in Archanea for them to be able to need to send a royal aboard. Or rather, to express myself more clearly- Archanea is not so internally unified nor technology sufficiently advanced for it and Valentia to have strong constant connections which would make either fear each other out of worries of invasion and conquest, nor be able to provide aid in case of war. If Macedon fought Archanea- logistics would be too imposing and keep your hypothetical Emperor Berkut from sending his sister-in-law Minerva Queen of Macedon (he married Maria) effective military support. And why would Minerva wed her sister to a guy across the ocean if she couldn't get any tangible benefits from it? She'd be better off wedding Maria to one of her more boisterous Macedonian nobles- or Marth or Yubello or a cadet branch of the Archanean or Aureiian royal family. Likewise, Rudolf would have been better giving Berkut a daughter of Desaix or Slayde. I like this kind of macrocosmic geopolitical stuff- I once wrote some Jugdrali fanfiction dedicated to exploring the status of the Church of Bragi in the various countries. And another bit on the history of Nohrian expansion and the various provinces, their climate and percentage of the total population.

I'm not too surprised, 20 HP 8 use Vulneraries and 40 HP 6 use Concoctions makes healing not necessary. And while this is the first draft I've ever done (I can assure you outdoing me won't be too hard), dumping all of our resources on a handful characters should make steamrolling with few concerns for durability possible. And now as to my next pick. The GMs are almost out and I've yet to grab one. Mist's base Strength is crappy and has a low cappy, but she does have mobility and Rescue stuff for P4 Final I guess. Even so, I'll take Rolf- the Bowgun is weak and a Steel forge and Florete could get Mist to deal the same damage pretty quickly, but I'll pass on logic here and just pick Rolf because I like him. So Rolf if you can't tell from my longwinded answer.

The Global Terminal theme from Platinum HG & SS moves me for some reason. It touchingly gives the sense of harmonious global interconnectedness, an ideal we can only hope for.

Whatever the Boundless Chaos is, please oh please don't dragonize it. I beg you IS, don't make it the echoes of the degeneracy of dragons across time and space. Who shall I sacrifice Aztec-style in order to appease you?

Actually you have to keep them from dying in the one battle and then head back to the port to recruit them.

I understand that, but I still think we should've gotten the illusion of the other kids being a tad more relevant. For instance, if Inigo came with Lucina to the Emmeryn assassination, chopped down an assassin she didn't, exchanged a quick word with her and then ran off to fight baddies off screen, and afterwards became an optional recruit. And maybe later if you have Inigo recruited before you begin a certain chapter he throws in a little extra line or two when Lucina speaks. Just something a little more substantial. I'm not asking for either them nor all the Shepherds (which could use a little more group development too- they ain't no GMs) to chime in all the time- that'd be difficult to do without making things overly verbose. I will agree that Future Past helped the children out, if at the same time making Lucina's plans a little more futile because the time/universe mechanics it establishes, which are more vague in the base game, makes it impossible for her to save her own world. Tiki also got a much needed relevancy boost.

Calill- they both like being paid well (see Calill's recruitment convo) and are strong and bold independent women. I can see them being friends. And I'll name Selena

Summons a Silky for them. It's a kind fairy woman who lovingly serves their master and performs all household chores. In addition they will gladly beat up anyone who tries to do harm to the people they serve. Now you'll never have to fear anyone trying to capture you, and you'll have someone to constantly brush your furry Eevee coat to maintain its signature fluffiness and sheen. On top of doing whatever else you want from it.

Valbar didn't drop off completely for me until the Grieth diversion was done. He tanks Wolff's arrow hell and Deen's Brave Sword of doom quite well, and can still possibly help out in Grieth's battle and the Dragon Shrine. Once you're done with Act 3 though, all of his usefulness vaporizes pretty much. Kamui indeed finds himself being fairly mediocre. He's your backup swordie to Saber, and Deen is optional, while Jesse comes underleveled. He's lucky Celica's team gets a Holy Sword and a Shadow Sword- which can be cheaply turned into a second Brave Sword- as it means even as a backup unit he won't be lacking for a good offense. Dreads have it decently on Celica's route, but let's not kid ourselves, they're still playing second fiddle to the Whitewings.

I'm in agreement Fates's Deeprealms are worse than whatever Awakening did with the 2nd Generation characters. But even with recognizing this, were the children characters in Awakening truly executed well from a plot perspective? I've only ever in all my playthroughs of Awakening recruited two children who weren't Lucina- Noire and Kjelle (the former was an experiment in seeing if it was possible to create a good ingame no-grind Bow user, even though Tharja and Stahl were both heavily used, she didn't turn out as well as I hoped). From what I remember, neither child's Paralogue had a story that in any way related to the overall plot. If this is the case for all the child Paralogues, then do the children really matter? The idea of people coming from the future to warn others of a coming calamity and to help avert it is a cliche, but it can still be done to good effect. The idea of the children in the plot was good, but the substance of the children in the plot was weak. The only one who ever shows up is Lucina, and while I buy the idea that timespace travel can scatter people who hop in at the same time, you'd think they would've made an active effort to find each other again, or at least make a beeline for Chrobin and co.. The only purely story problem I see is that the children can start being recruited during the Valm arc, and that you can still recruit them during the Grimleal arc- so to which arc do you set stories of the Paralogues? A bigger problem seems at first superficial- variable hair color. You can't have the non-Lucina kids show up in the plot prior to their parents' marriage, because it'd be odd if Owain had blonde hair in a cutscene, only for it to turn into a shade of green later. (IS should really just give us hair dye in the future if they want character appearance customization.) The second gameplay issue, the biggest issue of them all, is that Awakening likes giving us the freedom to take all the time in the world making the babies. From a gameplay perspective this rocks, but from a narrative perspective it means the children characters can only show up when we the players feel like it- and in my case I mostly never felt like it. How does one write the children into the narrative when random human whims are the sole determinant for each of them individually can appear? You can't. Lucina is forced to be born and forced to be blue, and thus constitutes the sole child to actually matter at all in the plot. Though more critical to the plot and better done than the Taguel's farcical imitation of the Laguz and the Serenes Massacre or Tiki's cameo, the children of Awakening are in my eyes an idea of potential wasted.

Not that we got the clearest feeling of what Ashnard's Daein was like. I mean we get some stuff, like Sothe's Base Conversation in C22 and Shinon's reason for defection, also the Black Knight (a total enigma Ashy welcomes in due to his strength). Yet I feel we could use more examples and anecdotes of Ashnard's meritocracy, maybe an orphan background for Petrine, or the replacement of some ugly old generic boss for a younger guy who rose to their current position solely due to Ashnard's policies (or we could just give this to the C19 boss Homasa). The fact guys like Tauroneo, Bryce, and Kasatai (miniboss in Ena and Tauroneo's chapter) are still around is proof Ashnard didn't suddenly replace the old order entirely either- he left at least those who could fight half decently intact. And on a rather admittedly unrelated note, Ashnard's outright abandonment of Daein for Crimea, while proof he stands for his ideals above petty national ties, nonetheless constitutes his glaring flaw. Nothing in his plans of creating a world of chaos with the dark god unleashed demanded he sacrifice Daein to achieve it. He also needed to press faster and harder on Gallia- if he'd done it while Ike and Elincia were at sea or just newly arrived in Begnion, it would have made his ultimate goal easier to achieve.

Heather.

That's roughly on par with Bravely Default- where Braev tells his adopted son about the big secret, but not his flesh and blood daughter. At least Berkut would've possibly been all envious and jealous of Alm and thus would've endangered Alm's life. Braev had nothing to fear from telling Edea, heck there wouldn't be a battle against Braev had Edea known the truth (she still might've defected though- but only due to Braev's minions going immorally beyond what the big secret requires).

So far I'm finding them fairly useful. I sent Yuzu and Shade to Alm just as I started Act 3, and Randal and Emma to Celica once I recruited the Whitewings. None have broken anything, but they've helped out of a bunch. Emma's stats aren't the greatest (her Def is below the Falcoknight base), but as the Whitewings aren't invincible (at least not for a while- mind you I'm delaying their promotion until 20), so they could always benefit from another winged ally. Randal is also very strong- with just enough Spd to avoid being doubled by all the non-boss foes, which made him fairly durable. And his high move still finds use even in the land of deserts. I often gave him the Angel Ring to fix his one problem. Yuzu I underestimated- her base offense is stronger than I originally thought, even if she lacks on the magic side. I've also heard some suggest turning her into a Falcoknight via a Pitchfork- and I can see myself doing that eventually. Shade has only been busy with Physic so far, in addition to baiting the Arcanists out in Alm Act 3 Battle 2 alongside Slique. Even so, more heals and heals from afar mean I can take greater risks. She'll be golden for sure once she gets Rescue. Design-wise, I think Randal's is best. Mature and rugged, but at the same time he exudes a youth via his hair color. I'm a little disappointed by the maps being recycled for their DLC battles, but I thought the battles themselves were solidly designed (the Emma-Randal one more than Shade & Yuzu's). I will say I absolutely loved the music! The weapons they come with are also nifty- the Trainee Lance looks like it'll be a forge priority since Solo Triangle Attack should bail out Palla and Emma when they're too slow to double things naturally. The Wayward Lance could stay on Randal, but Catria has been having fun with it so far. The Warrior's Sword isn't as good as Brave Sword, but it's close enough and still very much a keeper.

I was just joking with the edited Awakening cover art Thane posted- Chrom has muscular arms, Say'ri the legs, and Tharja the body.