Darkmoon6789

I would agree with that. Edelgard needs people at her side, a lot of the Empire's best policies weren't her doing alone. And yes, Edelgard is amazingBut suggested to her through her supports with the other members of the Black Eagles and other characters. Like Ferdinand, suggesting the whole thing with free education to help even the playing field between nobles and commoners. Not to mention how Byleth is very important to her as an emotional pillar to lean against, serving a role that Hubert just can't. And yes, Edelgard have a great look about her, great personality too. So majestic and simultaneously adorable

Just managed to get my hands on fallen Corrin. What could be good skills to complement him? I am also currently running Naga with fury and desperation, saw this as a recommended build, but I am uncertain if this is really that effective. Also currently trying to build Ashnard with distant counter and quick riposte. How effective would you say this is?

I think that it is more accurate to say that she is the girl people have the strongest opinion on, whenever negative or positive. There is a reason why characters everyone are meant to like usually don't have such a strong stance on a controversial topic. Edelgard stands for what she believes in 100% and is completely non-apologetic in her beliefs. This will alienate some people who have a different view from the character, but it is also the only way to reach the higher levels of support from those who do agree with her way of thinking. Which is why characters like her always have a strong base of haters and loyal supporters. Ultimately, I think that if the way she went about it was wrong, that assumes that the really was another way. I do think it is really naive to always assume that peaceful solutions are always possible. That peaceful reforms will always work, and that nonviolent resistance will always yield results. The hard truth is that sometimes there is no peaceful solution to a conflict of ideas. Some ideas are so incompatible that they simply can't coexist. Sometimes, in order to reach the greater good, conflict is inevitable. Sometimes you simply don't have any options that won't carry horrible consequences. Ultimately this is what Edelgard represents and why she is so controversial. It is essentially the innate contradiction between: "the road to hell is paved with good intentions" and: "the only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good to do nothing". "Damned if you do and damned if you don't". Is what really comes to mind.

The voice of the Flame Emperor is distorted because the mask to begin with. It is clear that she hates the Agarthans but it is pretty much the only group she shows such hostility towards. You realise that in the negotiation, when Dimitri says that: "you can't expect people to be as strong as you are". Her response is: "so you think I am strong, do you?". The meaning to this is obvious, Edelgard doesn't think of herself as strong. Think you just choose to interpret things in the most unfavourable way possible. You are right that she could have survived in Azure Moon, but it isn't because of her hatred. She doesn't, it is because she has no intention or desire to survive. The motive is actually the exact same as in Verdant Wind, dust with the knowledge that she knows that Dimitri would never him/her unless provoked. I don't know about you, but I can't see a shred of hatred or anger on her face. In fact, the last expression. She makes appears to be a smile, and not in a malicious or sadistic way. More like she is amused that Dimitri would try something like this. But she knows it can never be. There is absolutely no sign that she shows any disgust towards Dimitri in this moment. More seems to me that the knife was a calculated move to get the exact result that happens. Looks to me that she considered his offer in her head for a moment until finally deciding that she should not live on. You should watch the scene again as what you claim simply isn't supported by what we see. The fact of the matter is, she isn't as lost in hatred as Rhea at the end of crimson flower. Even at her most desperate, what she did still isn't as bad as burning down the kingdom, capital. Edit: ehm... I have no idea why the last paragraph of text turned into a link to Edelgard's solo ending. Probably some issue with Dropbox.

I guess it is Path of Radiance then, I always get those games mixed up. Honestly, I am just going by reputation. Ashnard to my understanding also wanted to remove the nobility system to create a society where anyone could rise to any rank. But maybe it makes more sense comparing the two in theory than in practice. I am assuming this is the same game with Micaiah and the Blood Pact? I have seen some scenes from it I do play heroes, however, so I have gained some familiarity with some characters that way. I also wonder what will happen if Naga had a conversation with Sothis. From what I can tell that they do seem to have a lot in common.

I haven't actually played Radiant Dawn, but to my understanding, Edelgard isn't that different from a way less evil and more mentally stable Ashnard. They have a similar philosophical core. But one obviously is better than another. Ashnard is essentially what Dimitri accuses Edelgard of being, someone who wants to create a world where the strong rules of the weak. The truth of the matter is that Edelgard wants those who are qualified to rule to have positions of power, regardless of their bloodline. I would also love to see a support between her and Arvis. Why? I don't think there is a coincidence that both of them have the title of Flame Emperor (or I guess Emperor of Flame in the case of Arvis) I will also love to see a support between Edelgard and Dimitri because irony. I usually pair them up in the game because I actually like seeing them get along.

I would have if it was an online game, but I am playing with the life, friends, and we meet up once a week. I am more than willing to share my notes though. When it comes to crests I usually handle them as a feat you can only pick at first level when you first create a character. If you use fifth edition, use variant human and replace the starting feat.

I am actually doing something similar as I am running a game set in Fodlan for first edition pathfinder. I guess that is close enough? I set my game five years after the end of the Crimson Flower route. It is primarily about Edelgard's shadow war with the Agarthans. The player characters are hired by Hubert von Vestra to the source of a plague that has been sweeping the lands. Turns out that this is a refined version of the Remire strain, an illness that turns people into plague zombies. It was spread by the Agarthans in the guise of priests from the church of Seiros (because of course they would try to frame this on their ancient enemies). The plague is being spread with the use of rats (frequent use of rats swarms carrying the illness). Primarily because the Agarthans know this will mess with Edelgard psychologically. There is also another plotline of Rufus Blaiddyd trying to start a rebellion against the Emperor. Emperor Edelgard, not wanting this to escalate into another continental conflict, sends the players as diplomatic envoys to settle matters with Rufus peacefully. Rufus believes the old king Dimitri's claims that Edelgard is responsible for the tragedy of Duscur. So he seeks revenge both for his brother and nephew. As well, as trying to liberate the kingdom from Imperial occupation. Edelgard makes it clear that while she would wish to avoid further conflict, if a compromise can't be reached,which she considers acceptable then she wouldn't hesitate to bring down the full might of the imperial army down upon the rebels. Hubert convertly gets another solution to the players, assassinate Rufus and the rebellion would fall with him. Little do either of them know that the rebellion is being supported by what appears to be church of Seiros remnants that I stoke the flames of hatred. Rufus has an old high priest at his court that is in reality Myson of the Agarthans in disguise. I could link you a few resources. If you want, even if I am using if a different game system. It might be similar enough for it to be of some use. As the two systems at least have similar core rules.

Yes, just refering to the fact that Dimitri, Edelgard and Rhea dies in golden deer. No other route have them all dead like that. Claude survives whenever you side with him or not and have a quite good ending. Still, it is my second best ending. It is just that crimson flower basically accomplishes the same as Claude does in verdant wind, this is because at the end of the day, the two of them basically want the same thing. With the main difference that less people are dead in crimson flower. (But verdant wind does have a final two chapters that probably should also have been in crimson flower, Edelgard really needed some closure when it comes to those people.) I think Blue Lions is the darkest, not necessarily because of the casualty number, but due to its exploration of Dimitri's mental issues and the extreme cruelty he can be capable of sometimes. It actually has the least amount of major characters dying. There is also the tragedy of what happens between Dimitri and Edelgard, makes you kind of hope that things might have been different.

I can think of one common enemy, Thales. I also found Azure Moon the saddest, or rather the darkest. Crimson Flower I actually feel is the most hopeful, despite the sacrifices. Would say Verdant Wind if it didn't have the highest casualty number of any route. There is no perfect path really. The game is a tragedy

Like elves really, we don't actually know what their the Nabatean maximum lifespan is, but it is definitely over 1000 years. But even sure if Rhea is considered all that old for her species. Granted, I would classify her as an ancient dragon going by Dungeons & Dragons terms. I also have no idea what effect living for thousands of years really has on the grieving process, maybe it is actually harder to process loss. If you are not used to your people dying around you. Maybe the death of a Nabatean is a bigger deal to them than for humanity as the limb so much longer and don't need to deal with death all that often. But I do have a concern with leaders being immortal, we have issues with politicians that are to all the being out of touch with today's technology and culture. Now just imagine the same issue with people capable of living for thousands of years. It is inevitable that they would live in the past and have trouble adapting to change. It is actually a blessing that leaders die and get replaced with new ones. Rhea used to be a good leader, but I think her inability to move on from the past made her incapable of handling a changing world. Her goal was always to restore how things was and bring back her mother. The opposite of Edelgard, who is all about bringing something new that the world has never seen. That is frightening to people like Rhea. I do believe that if Edelgard was capable of living for thousands of years, she would also inevitably be unable to adapt to a changing world. As the world would eventually become rather different from the one she grew up in, not to mention what her guilt over the casualties inflicted in the war could do to her mental state over the centuries. It is actually a good thing that Edelgard isn't immortal and that she will die, leaving room for a new generation to take over. I don't believe she would want it any other way. I guess I am trying to say that it isn't necessarily Rhea's fault, it is just to be inevitable consequence of living for us long as she did, especially with such trauma. Leadership does eventually need to be replaced. Otherwise it gets stale

Think about it like this, what does Edelgard value? That is what is merit in this case. But there are scenes suggesting that she values people who are capable, kind and with strong principles. But I have considered that Huberts methods could be a problem in the future

So do we know how long she actually does live? I always just assumed she was more or less immortal like most dragons in fictional media

Agreed, Rhea should have been treated like the Lord in silver snow. Why else would you side with the church, if not to get to know Rhea better? Seiros is the original badass conqueror of Fodlan. She makes for a good archenemy to Edelgard. While this argument is usually used to make Edelgard look bad, I do think there is legitimate reasons to compare her with Seiros. They are both conquerors who was motivated by the death of their immediate family. It just shows to me that Edelgard really is the descendant of Seiros, their crests alone invite the point of comparison

Is the first part, referring to Rhea or Edelgard? Because the one I was referring to many people misunderstanding was Edelgard. It is just that it is like some people just can't accept that the aggressor and a conqueror can be justified, or even a good person. And yes, Rhea is ironically a very human character, I also think that Edelgard would be more sympathetic towards her. If she actually knew the entire truth, but she has mostly just seen Rhea's worst sides, Rhea also do not truly seem to understand Edelgard. Yet the ideological divide would still remain even if both were informed of the truth. Regardless of their actions. I don't think either of the two are that bad as people. I would actually say that Rhea was in the right initially back 1000 years ago, it is only recently,she has started to slip. Also ,Rhea in her Seiros outfit is freaking gorgeous. Rhea isn't really fit for leadership in her current state, as Azula is not fit to be Firelord while she is literally hallucinating and wrongly believe that everyone is out to get her because of the paranoia induced by her mental breakdown. Granted, maybe Dimitri is the closer comparison as he also suffers from hallucinations. But both Rhea and Azula do seem to have a thing that they both kind of venerate their mother/father. The primary difference that I am uncertain about Sothis true nature and Azula's father is most definitely evil.

I think there is one connection, muted emotions. In the case of Kronya, muted empathy and remorse. Wonder if the evil of the Agarthans is artificial

I never said you called her bad in particular. I guess I am just ranting because of how many people have called her Hitler in other discussions I have read. The eternal dilemma wary hold my position on morality, don't believe there is some objective right and wrong, especially not in situations like this. That people disagree is usually a sign that the situation is indeed morally grey. But ultimately, most people do believe that their own views are right, at least that is right for them. I am utilitarian in my philosophy, so I ultimately believe that who was in the right depends on who's mission leads to the least suffering in the long run. So it is completely comparative. So in my view, if Rhea is worse than the Edelgard, that does make Edelgard in the right, even if she isn't perfect. It just has to be better than the alternatives. Honestly, I don't think Edelgard ever had any good options, she was born right into a complete mess of a political situation and have strings attached to her ever since she was a child. People like to say this is Edelgard's war, but that is ignoring that the Agarthans has planned this for far longer than Edelgard has even existed. Also point out that Loog is rather similar to Edelgard, both start a war, both get aid from the Agarthans. Yet Loog is remembered as a hero king (ironically, even Pan is remembered like a hero and they were very likely one of the Agarthans). Honestly, very few people in this game are entirely bad, I feel sorry for most of them. Rhea's problem mostly comes down to her brutal ways of keeping the peace, her unstable mental state and the fact that she is jumping to conclusions about the Edelgard that are completely wrong. I honestly do believe she could have defused the situation at the holy tomb if she was more forgiving the way she was with Aelfric. The way she acted just confirmed Edelgard's view her as a despot. Same with how she handled the dissent of Lonato and the Western Church. But honestly, if there was an option I would have spared her life. It also seems that Edelgard would have spared her life if she surrendered. The only time she ever kills her is one Rhea burns down the kingdom, capital. It is very clear that Rhea would not spare Edelgard if given the opportunity. The end of the day. I don't believe it matters who started it, it is only the final result that matters. Fodlan is united regardless, so that mission will always be accomplished, even if it wasn't what Dimitri set out to do. It is ultimately how they gather and that determines if someone is a tyrant, not how they got into power. By the way, what do you think would happen if Rhea was successful in bringing back Sothis, would she be able to fix things? Would she even have an interest in being the goddess and ruling over the world? I generally get the impression that Sothis is more kind than Rhea (on the other hand, she did supposedly flood the world, so I can't be sure.)

Thanks, I guess it is a certain limit per account, I really thought it was per post. I guess I will use external image host for images in the future.

If you're going to be technical, the President of the United States is also the highest official in their military. Still, consider who Byleth would likely be after the war, very likely the highest ranking general in the Empire, if not actually the spouse of Edelgard like in my playthrough. Being such a influential factor in winning the war would mean that they do essentially have the final say on all the military matters, as Edelgard would trust them completely. Not a mention the authority that is implied by being married to the emperor (but I guess this is not every version of the ending). Doesn't that make Edelgard and Byleth pretty much equal when it comes to authority? The Empire is ruled by a duo in this case, not Edelgard alone, and one is clearly more focused on military matters. Aren't Faerghus also technically a military dictatorship through its upper class of knights, who also answers to the king? I think this is a pretty normal arrangement for the times. Edelgard is hardly unique as it is the norm in Fodlan and most probably be other nations outside of it as well to have an absolute monarch, the Leicester alliance being the one exception I can think of, which is probably an oligarchy. It feels pretty weird for people to give Edelgard crap for what basically amounts to the emperor being an emperor. She is not going to be able to turn a feudal society into a democracy in the time span of a few years, so I don't know why that is the standard we hold to her. But as you can tell my primary issue here isn't with the idea that Edelgard is an absolute monarch, she is, but with the automatic assumption that this is automatically bad. The truth of the matter is that this is actually a great system as long as the ruler is benevolent and competent, the problem in real life is that such people are very rare, and that dictators are more frequently absolute douchebags. But Edelgard are one of very rare people in such a position who are benevolent towards their people and actually have their best interests at heart rather than personal power. Her intentions alone makes her infinitely better than the likes of Stalin was really just a criminal and a thug before he became a dictator (much like Nemesis), he never had any intention of improving the lives of his people. I find it kind of strange that King Dimitri, as well as God King Byleth are both absolute monarchs in the other routes. Yet Edelgard is the only one who gets called a dictator. They are all absolute monarchs (assuming that is synonymous with dictator, which I think it is). Which is the norm in this sort of world. We shouldn't hold any of these societies to modern standard, just as it isn't fair to judge people in the past for not having established a democracy. Edelgard is trying to bring freedom to the people, but it won't be a fast process. You are making a good point with that Edelgard did establish her society with military force and that initially the military is going to maintain it, but that it is also likely to be phased out with time as things calm down and the Agarthans are eliminated, together with implementing free education for everyone. I would say it kind of depends on the interpretation, people are allowed to think what they want of her. But half the time they don't even get the facts right and make blatantly untrue claims about Edelgard's intentions and the way she governs. Edelgard is an absolute monarch, you have to be if you are the Emperor, but she isn't a tyrant Yes, there will be proponents of the old crest system she has to deal with, but really, such people are used arguing that they have a right to stand above others because of circumstances of their birth I don't consider that any more legitimate than those Middle Eastern countries who consider women second-class citizens, people deserve to be equal whenever they want to or not. As I have said before, I don't believe that human rights are up for popular vote. But you know, I respect the opinions of anyone who respect mine, which included many people I disagree with, I just prefer if people have the facts straight. And if they are going to hate Edelgard they should do so for things she is actually guilty of. Wasn't the thread supposed to be about Rhea? You mentioned, but some people will just not like Edelgard because of her system of government (even if most endings aren't really that different.when it comes to being a dictatorship). I feel that way about theocracy. I simply do not believe it is ever right for a single religion to hold complete power over a nation, not to mention an entire continent or world. The ultimate authority in a nation belongs to the government, they are supposed to act as representatives of the people as a whole. Not serve the interest of a single religion or the interest of private corporations. Rhea's system is exactly that, a system serving the interest of the church of Seiros above all, promoting unity through religious dogma and a lack of religious freedom. Claude mentioned that he was worried about being labelled a heretic for his spiritual beliefs. But I will give credit where credit is due, the church of Seiros is actually less awful than the actual historical church during the Middle Ages. I don't see any trace of gender discrimination or bigotry towards LGBT people. It has many other problems, but as far as theocracies go, Rhea's system could be worse. Even if it still having issues of executing people for heresy (the Western Church). I'm also not seeing any signs of witchhunts. But to be fair, Magic was also viewed differently in the early Middle Ages, compared to later.

Doesn't seem to work with what we know of Edelgard's regime, especially as the highest millitary officer is not Edelgard, but Byleth. She defers to them in all millitary matters and obeys their orders in battle. Also, every king or emperor is by defination a dictator by modern standards so I will not hold it against her that the emperor acts as the emperor https://www.dropbox.com/s/t23br1q0hydkbl5/Screenshot_20200430-222222.png?dl=0 This should give little doubt for Edelgard's intentions with her goverment. I hope the link works. Can someone tell me why the image filesize upload limit has been 0.12MB lately?

Nothing I could ever say could change the minds of some people, the way we think is fundamentally different. In my view it isn't really about being entitled or having a right to do anything. It is that at the end of the day. The only thing that really matters is the result of their actions rather than the actions themselves. I think it is naive to think that you can make the world a better place without a willingness to dirty your hands, sometimes in order to reach the greater good, you have to do things that aren't necessarily morally right. It is why I believe that people who are too concerned about preserving their own personal morality wouldn't make great leaders. It is quite literally their job to make sacrifices for the greater good. Sometimes the only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good to do nothing, which is a situation you could easily slip into if you're hesitant about doing what is necessary. Both Rhea and Edelgard are sympathetic regardless in my mind because their actions are understandable, given their history. And I feel sorry for both of them. But only one of them could be right in that their actions would lead to the better future. Granted, feeling sorry for someone without necessarily being able to get behind their actions is actually exactly how I feel about Rhea. Even if there is an argument to be made that the extreme cost of war makes it so that it might perhaps be justifiable to go to extreme measures to prevent it. It is basically what Rhea is doing. It is just that, ultimately, I believe that freedom is more important than just quantity of life. I am not comparing Rhea and Edelgard to some perfect objective moral standard, I am comparing their actions against one another and deciding which one is more beneficial for world the long term. That is how I determine what is morally right. Sometimes you have no choice but to choose between two evils, an oppressive system that causes suffering or a conflict to get rid of said oppressive system at a large cost. Pick your poison, because you need to pick one.

Fan works like this doesn't really express how much suffering Edelgard went through though. Hopefully this and too graphic for this forum, if it is a mod should remove it. But it does express perfectly how bad things were for her. It should also be noted, it is mentioned that Edelgard has a fear of chains and rats in her profile. Which definitely implies that she was chained up in a rat infested dungeon for however long. Not exactly great prison conditions. She also makes direct reference to them, cutting open her body for the experiments and innocence being sacrificed in what appeared to be blood rituals. And this is in addition to witnessing her siblings succumb to either a slow, agonising death or complete insanity. If any of this was shown directly. It would be beyond horrifying. But probably would help people supervise with Edelgard. I guess more directly showing the massacre at the Red Canyon would also have a similar effect. But I guess it might be beyond the games age rating. Always found it kind of weird when it comes to ratings that you can have themes of genocide, people being tortured into insanity and blood sacrifice, and still have a low age rating as long as you don't directly show any of it. At the end of the day three houses does explore a lot of the very dark subject matters (and I love that it does that). In most cases I can imagine how bad things were from the descriptions. Like with Edelgard, I can visualise what she went through and it isn't pretty. I am also completely in favour of the fan interpretation that Edelgard has a lot of scars left from the experiments. It would make sense given that she says that they did cut open their very bodies on an almost daily basis. If you really think about it, Edelgard never display any of her skin on her arms or her hands through the entire game. She always wears gloves, always. My headcanon is that she is trying to hide her scars.

I guess that Byleth getting a crest stone attached to the heart did numb their emotions. Replacing it entirely could have an even more extreme effect. Kronya is an assassin, and it isn't in the best interest of Thales for his assassins to be capable of mercy or remorse. I wonder if Thales did the same to the rest of his followers, it is essentially altering their personality to better carry out their revenge against the church. Thales is certainly evil enough to do it and we know they have done screwed up experiments before. I was also thinking that if Kronya did survive, what are the odds of her turning against the Agarthans for betraying her? She might still consider the surface dwellers to be vermin, but she might not want to work for Thales anymore.

I think the enemy is your fighting in white clouds mostly consist of what is basically a group of factions with a very loose connection with a common enemy, and different goals. The three primary ones being those slither in dark, the Flame Emperor's troops and the Western Church. Despite all wanting to bring down the central church.

They could just use them on other important targets that isn't Byleth. I was going to suggest Edelgard, but then I realised they actually need Edelgard. But they could use it on Rhea, doubt she would be able to escape. The Agarthans has strongly don't mind sacrificing one of their own, even against their will