Hardric62

Thing is, by the point she can take action the Mole Men control her empire, and she can only win back nobles by playing on the desire of reuniting Fodlan to outbid Duke Aegir, aka following the Mole Men's road map, and hope to maneuver things so the tables are turned. Do nothing? Mole Men and the likes keep driving things to the ground, because she's not snatching the ministers away, while gearing up for the war on their own terms. And she can only watch. Go to the Church (assuming the mole Men pushing cards for a 'Church First' failed)? Could purge the Mole Men, but in the Empire only, from the viewpoint of someone without all the cards, it means taking only part of the symptoms down, while leaving the actual disease (the system who made the sort of actions undertaken by the Seven desirable) to fester. So it would mean using the Mole Men to show the Church's ineptitude, to rally people for a change which has no change of being peaceful. Because even without Rhea's uncompromising attitude, no pope-like figure would take kindly to the ruler of half their 'flock' denouncing the Church's tenets and its failings. They would lose all legitimacy. Cue war, with a devastated Empire this time, or an Empire which got a few years to rebuild, depending on how things are negotiated. And potential Mole Men lurking in the shadows. That's the thing about decisions: sometimes, only poor choices exist, and it all comes down to chosing the least bad option. Unless she appoints/'adopts' her own successor, which would mean she choose someone to transfer her 'legitimacy' (Roman adoption of heirs with very faint, or non-existing, genealogical ties to their predecessors). And it is a counter coup, what is done at the moment of the succession is several years away down the line, there is enough distance to make the two things different beasts.

Technically, it's still the same dynasty, it can be presented as a counter-coup. This piece was more about how centralization of power isn't an automatical downhill fall towards dictatorship. France's monarchy was all about centralization against its vassals so they could actually be the kings of their kingdom, and things went not terribly bad I think. And accountability is precisely why I think Rhea would have to step down from power in 3H. Problem is, means of accountability (here the ministers) can become as corrupt as the authorities they are supposed to check. I mean, both Lambert and Ionius are Garreg Mach alumni, intending on enforcing reforms for their territories. I guess whatever changes they have in miind have been influenced by their studies there, and so likely opposing the Mole Men's agendas. Both of them are opposed, then disposed/assassinated by corrupt nobles with Mole Men support. And given the fact the Mole Men supported the corrupt nobles over the monarchs, when they can worm their ways into power at theirs side too (see Loog), I guess the nobles' agendas were more favorable to them, aka maybe these reforms, including the centralization, might have been threats for their unraveling of fodlan.

It started from the very birth of the HRE, when the pope did some small modifications to the coronation ceremony which made the emperor (then Charlemagne) appear as subordinate of the pope, rather than the opposite. Charlemagne was quite salty over that, and following emperors and dynasties tried for a long while to put themselves over the pope, as part of an effort to truly be emperor of the mess of fiefdoms the HRE eventually became, with... mixed results, to say the least, with both sides not hesitating to create anti-popes and anti-emperors to show their superiority. Oh, and there was this forgery produced for the popes, the 'Donation of Constantine', which affirmed he had willed to them the western half of the Roman Empire. Yeah, the inspiration for Adrestia and its conflicted relationship with the Church isn't to search really far. At the same time, the same can be said of all endings (although AM has the Mole Men still allowed to go for the next round in the future). And the Revolution wasn't just killing all nobles either. And there is the possible calculation of keeping them alive, so they don't feel cornered into forming counter-revolutionaries armies (having the Ministers' first successors picked from their families got to help too). And... I think Duke Aegir thought an extensive lesson on the concept of 'Cruel Mercy' to Edelgard with the Insurrection. Ionius was basically not needed once the coup succeeded, they could have been regents of one of his kids. But they kept him, lilkely because it was still the easiest way to go. And he lived to see the Empire confiscated and his projects reduced to ashes, his family butchered in these experiments... I mean, look at the guy when he crowns Edelgard, they took everything from him, at this point keeping him alive to see that ruin every day was pretty cruel. It probably was part of why Edelgard came to abhorr the idea of surrendering: her father's fate was a perfect example of just how much you can destroy someone while 'sparring' them.

Sulla took over power while the Republic was beginning to going down the drain, and his conflict with Marius marked the first major civil war for control of the Republic. He led a conservative counter-revolution of the optimates (pro-aristocrats) against Marius and his partisans of the populares (pro-plebeians), who had just tried to confiscate Sulla's command for a campaign (and thus the pretige and money to be earned there). That would also be the start (for both sides) of proscritptions, aka mass purges of members of the opposition depending on which one was having the control of Rome, beyond the 'mere' elimination of heads of factions. Marius was the first to do that when he retook Rome, but Sulla answered in kind when he took back control. After that, 3 years of dictatorship passing laws intended to preserve the aristocratic Republic. Not that stopped the civil wars with the Triumvirates and the end of the Republic. Sulla was also the first to lead armed forces to Rome itself, a big taboo of the time (something like that was how Caesar started his own civil war). Next to that, Edelgard... Welp, letting Hrym between the hands of Tharundel isn't a high point of anything she did. And even in CF, there is a mention of civilian unrest because of the war with the Church. Although that when it only pops up in CF, and to be mentioned has having lost in intensity over the five years of the timeskip... Unanimous support most certainly not, but I think her anti-Church agenda could have been a bit more favorable amongst the common people than what is usually expected when a monarch publically goes 'Duck the Church! Duck the pope-equivalent figure!'. The HRE never 'won' against the pope like that in the Middle Ages, or until the Reformation cut into both of their power bases/legitimacy.

Well, historically... It wasn't that good. You could argue that the exam systems for mandarins of the Chinese imperail dynasties (meant to fight nobility's power) was a form of that system, but corruption would always creep in. For succession like Edelgard intends? A close thing would be the Antonian dynasty of the Roman Empire. Yes, it did provide Rome's greatest emperors, but they were still looking for some minor family bonds before adopting, and of course, there was Commodus which ruined it all... Now I think about it, the Roman Empire wasn't exactly that big on dynasties, despite attempts by the Julio-Claudians, Flavians, Antonians, Severians... More often than not, if the emperor wasn't deemed up to the task (or enough ambitious men tried their luck), revolts would happen, and eventually succeed. And there is the whole mess of the 3rd century after the last Severe, after Diocletian... Let's say it would take titanic work to make the system idiot-proof, and it would still need reformations as time goes. Nothing is forever.

My vote would be for France, 'Eldest Daughter of the Church' for comapration with the 'Holy Kingdom', plus the weigth of nobility over merchant classes and the likes. Although as opposed to the HRE (see Canossa), Franc ended up affirming royal authority over things like nomination of bishops, which eventually led to the Avignon popes. So yes, maybe not a relationship as smooth as the one between Faerghus and the Church.

The whole conflict between nobility and royal/central authority for power is pretty much a constant of the Middle Ages, and the following centuries actually. And while victory of the elites could lead to things like England, it also led to the Commonwealth of Poland-Lithuania (congrats, the nobility votes and elect the king, plus the major laws. Except they kept chosing, with a few notable exceptions, weaklings which couldn't get them to do anything, while voting in a way that assured everybody was doing whatever in their little corner. Cue the big power of Eastern Europe wasting away until all is left is an open bar for Prussia, Austria and Russia), the latter definitely making me thinking of Leicester in their worst moments. In Adrestia? I see it as a reflect of the struggle for Holy Roman Emperors to make the title have any meaning against the German, Italian nobles, and the popes. And it didn't work here either, the Habsburg eventually keeping to Austria, Hungary and bohemia while the rest was a dog-eat-dog mess. I would also compare the ministers more to the Electors, the top dogs of the HRE, than anything else. And absolutism isn't worst regime by itself. Louis XIV and Louis XV managed to run the country pretty well, and had their own ministers to help them do so (Colbert, Louvois, the latter which opened officier carriere for people without the money to buy a commission by the way). Except these ones weren't hereditary titles, which could lead to ineffectual leadership. There is also the fact the turn for absolutism in France was a reaction to the nobility being greedy ambitious backstabbers. And lazy ones to boot, because when the Regent of Louis XV threw them a bone, they immediately wasted it by their intense laziness, leading to it being taken away. Heck, it is the nobility doing obstruction because they went 'Muh Privileges' which led to the French Revolution. Everyone knew they were the last social class with a meaningful amount of money to tax, but they refused to give an inch for so long the Revolution happened. Yes, there is no tangible signs of how things were before the Seven. But centralization hardly happens only for naked power-grabs.

Civil war a little tiny bitty too much of dirty business to ever be called 'simple' things. And if she began taking the axe to Crest Nobility within Adrestia, what exactly are the odds of Rhea ignoring the leader of half of Foldan taking said axe to the social system she is enforcing by virtue of being the head of the continent's religion, when her track records for reactions to opposition to her rule... is rather blunt and cutting straight to the point? The Refrom's wars started for even less than that in reality. Oh, and they are all these corrupt nobles in Faerghus (the same ones who killed Lambert) and Leicester (Which was on the way to bloody self-destruction before Calude played the miracle heir), who once they have looked at these sorts of measures within Adrestia, reailze it might make the peasants at home get some nasty ideas, will sure as duck play that heresy angle to get a nice crusade to erase this stupid idea that the nobility is anything else than the divinely mandated elite meant to rule Fodlan. And these people already proved they are ready to assassinate their way through uncooperative leaders if someone thinks of Claude and Dimitri. And let's not forget the Mole Men, who will most certainly stir the pot for maximum carnage (assuming they didn't just putch Faerghus right after losing Adrestia).

I have doubt it would be that subtle. Church of Seiros definitely has undetones of Catholcism, and when the leader of half the conitnent just breaks away through the explicit ditching and criticism of key aspects of the doctrine... The terms 'Heresy' and Crusades' come to mind while the Church could still organize them (Cathars, Hussites...), or at least civil war (the Reform). I mean, it is an even bigger challenge of Rhea's autority than the Western Church's one, from the nation whose she crowns the ruler (who likely skipped that part in this reality too). Her unwillingness to bend aside, she'd need to react, or her authority and prestige would just go poof. For inside nobles... I'd say it's dicey. Most of them 'shift' from Aegir to Edelgard (where everyone remain under Mole Men puppeteering, no matter how unwilling from Edelgard, unless CF) under the promise of reunifying Adrestia, so there is a need of changes here for Edelgard to manage to take her throne. And she is probably running purges inside Adrestia precisely because she can't have nobles backstab her in these conditions. Interestingly, I notice a... lack of mention of inner purges during the war, beyond one mention in first chapter of CF after the timeskip. The 'only' civil unrest comes from Hrym and Tharundel, and I guess if resistance pro-Church was a thing, it would warrant a mention in other routes, or desertion of believers from the army. It would imply that while it would certainly not be monolithic, Edelgard could have the support of the majority of the population of Adrestia against. the Church. I would consider such an idea... Again, interesting.

Euh her father did go to the Academy, she says so in her scenes around the Goddess' Tower. I think the lack of Hresvelg of last years at Garreg Mach would have more to do with the shortage of Imperial Princes and Princesses caused by the Mole Men.

My personal take on this it that, at some level, she had given up. While she had the stated goal of enforcing peace and order on Fodlan, it is also painfully clear the situation has been going down the drain, up to the mess of canon start, with the sort of reformers the Officiers' Academy produced to correct that mess like Ionius or Lambert suppressed more or less definitievly by corrupt nobles and the Mole Men. I'm pretty sure Rhea is aware of that failing of her rule, but she also has this mindset of 'Only Mama Knows Better Than Me'. So I guess that at some point in time, resurrecting Sothis became not only about bringing back Mama for herself, but also so she could fix it all. but focus on that objective meant probably less time for day-to-day managing, beyond maintaining general peace. After all, once Mama was back, everything would be alright again. Except devoting all that (probably increasing as disasters pilled up) time to this chimera meant more headway for the Mole Men and whatever pasties they chose, leading to mess like losing Church Branches, deposition/assassination of leaders fighting that corruption... And while she was looking at the long-term Immortal Way, current suffering eventually boiled over to the point she tripped, and total war happened...

Pretty sure the favoring and disowning sparked the multiple life attempts, not the reverse. I mean, for things to reach that point, much toxicity had to happen beforehand. You know, there is another Martin Luther you could have used: the one who sparked Reformation. It all started as a criticism for indulgences, aka Catholic Church selling pardons for money. From there, he developed a wider critic of the Catholic Church. The pope reacted poorly, excommunicating him, and asking the emperor to squash the grubby little monk and his partisans... Who sold out to the German Princes over the revolting peasants believing in his message to get the military firepower to ensure protestantism's survival. PS: Opportunistic weasels jump the better looking ship, or the one opposed to their political opponents, how unexpected. Thing is, nothing say thy are keeping their power and position once Edelgard wins and their importance begins to drop (I think the Mole Men's presence is a sign that there is a shortage of more palatable allies here).

Euuuuuuh... What about the nobles who helped killed Lambert during Duscur, because they wanted to halt his reforms? Or Lord Gautier? I mean, Miklan deserves his fate for chosing banditry and the likes, but the toxic attitude of Dearest Daddy was definitely a lead cause here. And in Leicester? Oh look, power-hungry Daddy Gloucester, He who murders merchants for following trade routes because that means they are not giving him ALL THE MONEY, and that has been going for years (Raphael's parents), or Acheron, clearly set-up for being a recidivist backstabber, willing to go to petty wars for the smallest patch of land. I tihnk the rot is slightly more system-wide than you think.

The book is about Lycaon III, aka, Not I, aka unknown number of years after the War of Heroes. It is also said it is a marriage feast in the first part of it. You will also note that the start of the part where they are mentioned say 'clown dressed as Saint Seiros' and 'criminal dressed as Nemesis', aka, a piece played for a marriage feast. For the relationship... Dicey. CF Rhea does talk fondly of Wilhelm at Tailten, but speak of 'his scion', not 'our scion'.

The scene you are talking about is CF's scene where Edelgard talks about how Rhea/Seiros distributed the Relics. I, and Jingle Jangle, are talking about Edelgard's affirmations that the Church was the one who divided the Empire to affirm its strength on the continent, and the 'reveal' the Mole Men did it (of course they did). I objected to the interpretation it means Edelgard is a naive fool believing everything the Mole Men say.

Problem being, these books are only accessible in Part II, aka too late to change things. Also, 'naive about the true nature of the Mole Men'? Why exactly do everyone assume Edelgard just blindly trust everything the Mole Men say, when lack of trust is one of her defining character traits? Especially when these guys carved her and her siblings up like raw burger for these Crest experiments? My guess is that they played the same game that Solon did with Claude in VW: seed forbidden texts (maybe one forgery to really bend things in their direction, for instance a slightly edited version of that Burn Report, but truth usually serves you better), and let things like Church censure, not so good damage control (the negociations for the HK of Faerghus, for instance. By that point, the Kingdom was pretty much happening, so I think Rhea tried to get all levers she could get within the new country, but didn't think about how it would affect the 'privilegied relationship' she had with the Empire, visible with things like the calendar stuff or her role in emperors' crowning, or bit the losses to get this leverage), hints of hidden agenda speak for themselves, leading to draw the 'logical' conclusion that the Church had a hand in shaping Fodlan's politics. If they are already playing with the rest of society, it isn't that much of a leap to make. The Mole Men have been shown here to be long game players, I'm sure they could do that, or literally anything else thant 'told Edelgard their version of stuff', which she would have literally 0 reasons to trust. And ultimately, Edelgard remains a young girl agianst a conspiracy which has been playing that game for centuries. Odds are rarely in favor of the plucky kid in that scenario, no matter what video games say.

So tech withholding is actually a thing... not so surprising all things said, Catholic Church in real life could be a bit nitpicky about some aspects of progress. Well... I would not actually call this a surprise. To break Adrestia and Faerghus like they did, the Mole Men had to start far earlier than Duscur and the Seven to manage the level of infiltration necessary. It was fairly logical to assume they would have been trying this for a while, and breaking up the continent's unity like that would have very much been in their interest. Nice expansion of the lore here. And the rest of the DLC just looks as good as this.

Well, my biggest hope for this Abyss Mode is some interesting lore. The new folks look already solid for now. And thank Sothis they have a nice support list.

And... they were not there until Chapter 14, before... So no proof. And it is actually an instance of 'tell not show' here. The narrative of the switch to the War Phase speaks of feigned neutrality for Claude and his faction of the Alliance, but some other elements would have been nice. Reports from spies saying that Claude looks like he is discussing opening his borders to a Church army to flank the Empire, for instance... Or say that the pro-Empire called on the Empire to topple Claude and his faction for a casus belli so they can pledge their full support behind Edelgard to break the stalemate with the Kingdom and the Church.

I remember when I completed the part of the hack which had been done before the project's... Well, I think it can be called a reboot now. Wish you manage to make that kickstarter work. I know I'd like to get and play to a complete version of the story.

Got to take a look at AoE 2 Definitive Edition. New factions are interesting if OP in some aspects, with Tatars as a personal favorite amongst the new faces, and the complete overhaul the old Forgotten campaigns and battles got is quite impressive. However, holy gygax is it taking its toll onmy computer when I play, worth it though.

Except actually looking at medieval history beyond cliches or betrothal made before effective marriage shows that idea is an actual exageration. I suggest you search for the word 'regency' in a dictionnary. Plus another for 'coup' to see what sort of choices a 14 years old would have in an hostile court. Real Life usually waited to see the would-be ruler get close to 20 before they are declared apt to rule, with variations owing to the future ruler's ability, stability of the country, and how 'accomodating' whatever regency in place was. Heck, Dimitri is under a regency himself, and he is far older than 14, and can't get his own army to stop slaughtering people in Duscur in Dedue's paralogue. Why would Edelgard magically have more power than him at same age exactly?

Thing is, Dimitri is the one pulling the trigger here. Mole People set up the situation, yes, but it would be him breaking down and going for revenge which would trigger that. The thing is that the Mole People/Rhea tango created a situation where everyone was approaching a situation where declaring war was becoming the only way forward because peaceful changes had been debunked by coups and assassinations, and uncompromising attitudes. Euh, the narrative is all going about 'feigned neutrality' for Claude, that kinda sorta looks like a potential reason. Dude, it is a medieval society. Church and Religion are at heart of how the State works, in terms of education, influence on society, and political power. You said it yourself, emperors get Archbishop as 'witness' for their crowning ceremony (and a 1000 years old tradition? Boy you can bet your very soul that sometihng that old carry a hell of a weight). That's pretty much textbook divine right to rule, and echoing RL HRE where the pope was the one crowning the emperor. It's hard to get closer relationships betweeen Church and State than that (and elsewhere... 'Holy' Kingdom, dedicated branchs of the Church... Seriously?) Well, given the sort of society she wants to build and her supports on the subject, basic logic makes it a quite safe bet. And that's when I'm sending back the headcanon argument back to your face. Renewed doesn't imply doing the exact same thing, and since the idea is education for all, the high tuition thing would be something rather self-defeating.

Exactly. Faerghus was incredibly volatile and toxic. There was a lot of widespread issues across the entire continent that needed someone to actually do something. The biggest issue is that overall, Rhea and the widespread number of corrupt nobles needed to be dealt with. And when you think about it... Leicester isn't in that much of a better shape, even sans Almyran raids. Current heir Claude is a complete unknown appearing after an 'accidental' death of his uncle. Not the nice stable situation. And the Paralogues happenning here show that: Lorenz's? Petty warfare which looks like something of a constant, with treaties signed and broken one after another. What a peaceful situation. Raphael and Ignatz's? Welp, looks like it was what Daddy Gloucester's troops were busy doing while Acheron attacked. Banditism, for the most petty and stupid pretext (of ducking courses merchant caravans will go to the trade port, you moron). Alois and Shamir's? The Alliance capital and seat of power of House Riegan, Derdriu, is under attack by pirates, and is unable to mobilize troops to defend itself, or have allies from within the Alliance to do so. For its capital, its big city, reserve of manpower, and big moneymaker. Even when the raiders pretend to be more Almyran invaders. Look at history and ask CK2 players. When you can't defend your own capital, against bandits to boot... Your kingdom is pretty much up for grabs.

Euuuuuh, his reaction to the Flame Emperor in AM, and his behavior in VW and AM before Rodrigue's death kinda sorta tells me than yes, he is totally going to do that sort of mad dash for 'justice', and to the eternal flames for everything not helping him get that revenge. 1) Amyr doesn't exist yet. Mole People created it for that war, likely after Garreg Mach since Edelgard only got it after that. 2) You assume the Mole People is letting their precious Nemesis 2.0 get away like that. The way MoniKronya was glued to her pretty much screams 'handler' to me, and before her, ThomaSolon was creeping around. Kinda doubt it was ever gonna be that easy, even once that little bitch and the human-sized the Brain were shanked. And before Garreg Mach, I guess she was watched over quite closely precisely to avoid that sort of move. 3) It would also mean ditching her personal goals of reforming the shit out of Fodlan's rotten structure, since it would mean The Church would remain the central moral authority, and it is probably not taking kindly to reforms which take an axe to the social order they support after the deed is done, and an Empire already gutted by a war won't be able to resist pressures to ditch these reforms. 4) Also, timing. Before Remire and the chapel, she can't exactly prove that Mole People thing. Rhea had to get the truth pulled out like a rotten teeth by Claude in VW, and by Seteth in SS actually, despite the fact other people already knowing part of the truth were telling her 'time to fix it all for good about the secrecy and the lies' after the humble pie of the emprisonment for five years. And it still took Shambhalla razed to get her to fess up for good. She is so not telling anything now. After? Look at Dimitri's reaction, and tell me it is good idea of doing that after the Mole People have burnt all bridges needed to jump ship. 5) Dialogue was tried, and no trust was reached between Edelgard and Claude in VW, chapter 4/5. Why would it succeed and trust be reached for something twith even higer stakes? And Dimitri explicitely tells in his Goddess Tower event that he is uniterested in renewing dialogue with Edelgard. 6) That would also mean leave the entire country in the Mole People's hands. Who would wish that to their own country?