Which does the plot line treat as better?

[I don't play for turns]

YOU SHOULD READ THIS BEFORE VOTING!

Anyway, I've just always wondered this. I don't mean who has better bases, who performs better, or who has better stats at level 20. I'm asking who does the game treat as better. I mean, Jaffar is supposed to be death incarnate, but Karel killed an army by himself! I just want to know your opinion. In plot line conversations and support conversations, they're both supposed to be really strong, I just want to know who you guys think is supposed to be stronger.

[MacLovin]

Well, considering the fact that both mellow out soon, but Jaffar goes missing during fe6, unlike Karel.

Of course, I'd say Karel is stronger, look at all those ridiculous achievements.

Jaffar is just another run of the mill, experienced Assassin

[HF Makalov Fanboy Kai]

i have to agree with karel here, he achieves so much in his backstory

[whase]

they both have their own specialties. Karel is better at killing hundreds of ordinary soldiers, while Jaffar is the better assassin, killing any 1 man, no matter his/her strength (by surprise attack, most likely).

[NTNP]

I'm gonna have to agree with everyone else. Karel is just presented as better.

[Original Alear]

Using support conversations (I assume people are talking about Dart's?) is kind of dubious, since Karel himself says that Dart's description of him is embellished.

At the same time, I do think that it's true that Karel is stronger. When he shows up in the snowy chapter, he seems to be pretty confident of his success against a horde of black fang. Jaffar, meanwhile, only seems to be trying to buy Nino time, and expects to die.

[Rehab]

either a 6-4 or 7-3 matchup in Karel's favor IMO; I'd reckon Karel's technique and experience would give him the edge in an average fight, but Jaffar's probably a brilliant enough killer to pull an upset occasionally, and if Karel were disadvantaged at all (say, ambushed), it could quickly become Jaffar's game

gather round, place ya bets

[I don't play for turns]

Using support conversations (I assume people are talking about Dart's?) is kind of dubious, since Karel himself says that Dart's description of him is embellished.

At the same time, I do think that it's true that Karel is stronger. When he shows up in the snowy chapter, he seems to be pretty confident of his success against a horde of black fang. Jaffar, meanwhile, only seems to be trying to buy Nino time, and expects to die.

I'm just playing devil's advocate here, but Jaffar was against one of the four fangs, and it seemed that he didn't necessarily expect to die; it seemed he just didn't care.

Also, it was implied that Karel was only confident because he thouhgt that the enemy was black fang recruits, not Jerme or Kenneth.

Again, I'm only playing devil's advocate.

Edit: Responding to Rehab, I see your points, but you did makeone mistake.

Karel and Jaffar have both been killing during their entire lives, and the game never states who is older, so Karel my not be any more experienced than Jaffar.

Still playing Devil's advocate.

Edited April 28, 2012 by I don't play for turns

[Rehab]

I am basically going for speculation here, but I feel like I got (from a source I can't remember well enough to cite) that Jaffar is 16. which is also why I don't have a problem with himxNino, who I similarly heard was 13)

I never heard how old Karel is, but somehow I just get the impression that he's, y'know, older than that. His body and facial structure, the fact that he's pushing middle age in FE6, possibly his supports, and the fact (I think) that Karla (who looks like a late teenager at least) is younger than him- they all make me think what we saw in FE7 was Karel in his prime, say early to mid twenties.

There's probably still room for devil's advocacy on a lot of those points, though.

[Sunwoo]

Both Karel and Karla are said to be in their 20s in the character ages' page, which was from the FE6/7 official guide or something. Jaffar's age is never mentioned. (For some reason, I think I recall hearing somewhere that he's 16, but I cannot confirm this. ._.)

[Ansem]

Angel of death can silence

[Loki Laufeyson]

I dont think Jaffar is much older than Nino actually. Maybe three or four years difference.

I voted Jaffar only really because i never could get Karel's supports and i still havent finished FE6. I really liked Jaffar's character story arc because it ties with Nino's and hers is pretty good too. As for who is stronger? Hell if i know but i think Karel would be in the long run.

[Geriba]

Both Karel and Karla are said to be in their 20s in the character ages' page, which was from the FE6/7 official guide or something. Jaffar's age is never mentioned. (For some reason, I think I recall hearing somewhere that he's 16, but I cannot confirm this. ._.)

From what I understand, all of the talk about Jaffar's age is speculation. He certainly looks like he's in the range of 18-21, but there's been no confirmation. A fitting ambiguity.

[Serene Flight]

From what I understand, all of the talk about Jaffar's age is speculation. He certainly looks like he's in the range of 18-21, but there's been no confirmation. A fitting ambiguity.

This.

Sigh... Why IS couldn't just give all character ages <_<

[Silent Mercenary]

Both statwise and storywise, the games show you Karel was stronger and could evade Jaffar's lethal attacks more easily since he was attuned with nature and more skilled at combat (including mass murder).

Also, I thought the 14/17 ages for Nino and Jaffar were canon and present somewhere, although my original thought was their age cap was at least 2 years wider. Jaffar's art and sprite look 19/20 to me.

[Samias]

Both Karel and Jaffar both have histories of killing many, many people. Karel's backstory seems to be somewhat embellished in his supports, but from what I can gather, it looks more like he is seeking a worthy opponent in a duel. Jaffar, on the other hand, does not really pick targets of his own but was instructed by Nergal to kill whoever was in the way of his ambitions. Karel has a reputation swirling around him and he does not keep his ambitions to himself. He lives and dies by the blade and goes out of his way to seek new targets. Jaffar, on the other hand, must conduct his kills with little fanfare. It defeats the purpose of being an assassin if everyone and their mother knows who Jaffar is. Therefore, I'd say they are probably equals as killers, except Karel is older, and Jaffar is forced to be more secretive about his feats.

Karel's backstory in general doesn't really factor into the main game as much, so if you never read any supports, Jaffar's status as a mass killer is much more obvious. If you take supports into account, it's impossible to say how many people either have them have killed, except for the fact that Karel admits to Dart in their A-rank that his backstory is exaggerated.

[I don't play for turns]

I am basically going for speculation here, but I feel like I got (from a source I can't remember well enough to cite) that Jaffar is 16. which is also why I don't have a problem with himxNino, who I similarly heard was 13)

I never heard how old Karel is, but somehow I just get the impression that he's, y'know, older than that. His body and facial structure, the fact that he's pushing middle age in FE6, possibly his supports, and the fact (I think) that Karla (who looks like a late teenager at least) is younger than him- they all make me think what we saw in FE7 was Karel in his prime, say early to mid twenties.

There's probably still room for devil's advocacy on a lot of those points, though.

I ... can't come up with anything that I haven't already said. But Jaffar is 16?!?!?!?!?!?!

[Geriba]

I ... can't come up with anything that I haven't already said. But Jaffar is 16?!?!?!?!?!?!

His official age is unknown.