Favorite Random Recruitable Characters?

[Jotari]

I'd say Jill without a doubt. She's a shining example of enhancing the story through optional means. Many more characters should have an arc like hers. I'd argue the difference between her and Minerva is that Minerva is a key player on the world stage. She's a princess and potential queen while Jill is just some random soldier. Minerva is built up, encountered and even fought before recruitment and a recruitment that involves another character. These are all very much things that highlight her importance especially make in the early days of the series where we recruited characters with no lines at all. Jill might get a lot to say but at the end of the day she is one random soldier who's death means nothing. Even if the game doesn't have the time/ability to show it, Minerva's death would have affected a lot more people than Jills. I think it best not to lump Jill in with plot centric characters who shape the outcome of the war because, as I said, I think more of our random recruitables should be like Jill.

That Thief dude from Thracia is also pretty cool IMO. Prin or Phan or however it's translated these days.

Edited April 22, 2015 by Jotari

[Ryo]

Stefan, only because how utterly stupid his recruitment condition was

Jill, for reasons already stated by others.

[Irysa]

I'd argue the difference between her and Minerva is that Minerva is a key player on the world stage. She's a princess and potential queen while Jill is just some random soldier. Minerva is built up, encountered and even fought before recruitment and a recruitment that involves another character. These are all very much things that highlight her importance especially make in the early days of the series where we recruited characters with no lines at all. Jill might get a lot to say but at the end of the day she is one random soldier who's death means nothing. Even if the game doesn't have the time/ability to show it, Minerva's death would have affected a lot more people than Jills. I think it best not to lump Jill in with plot centric characters who shape the outcome of the war because, as I said, I think more of our random recruitables should be like Jill.

Erm, Jill is encountered, given dialogue, and fought before her recruitment too, and is also directly involved in a recruitment of another character. Jill can die without a notable impact on the main plot, as can Minerva. I mean the Whitewings join you even if you killed Minerva and Maria! You can't even pull a canonicity argument because both Jill and Minerva are alive in their sequels. All of Minerva and Jill's extra scenes and dialogue after recruitment are wholly optional, because of their nature of being optional recruits, but if you can accept that this doesn't reduce Minerva's actual importance in the story, how can Jill not be important? Saying "well more people would care if Minerva died than if Jill died" is pretty ridiculous, because Lilina (effectively a princess as well) can die in FE6 and this has no significant impact on anything, since she's only plot relevant up until you rescue her.

Edited April 22, 2015 by Irysa

[Jotari]

Erm, Jill is encountered, given dialogue, and fought before her recruitment too, and is also directly involved in a recruitment of another character. Jill can die without a notable impact on the main plot, as can Minerva. I mean the Whitewings join you even if you killed Minerva and Maria! You can't even pull a canonicity argument because both Jill and Minerva are alive in their sequels. All of Minerva and Jill's extra scenes and dialogue after recruitment are wholly optional, because of their nature of being optional recruits, but if you can accept that this doesn't reduce Minerva's actual importance in the story, how can Jill not be important? Saying "well more people would care if Minerva died than if Jill died" is pretty ridiculous, because Lilina (effectively a princess as well) can die in FE6 and this has no significant impact on anything, since she's only plot relevant up until you rescue her.

True but the crux of my logic is that in universe Minerva is simply more of an important figure, as is Lilina, though not as much in her case since she doesn't have a family member she's trying to depose. Though if you want to ignore that, which is what makes her important, then I would be perfectly happy classing Minerva as a random recruitable unit alongside Jill.

[Irysa]

I wouldn't be willing at all to class Minerva as a "random recruitable" though, not because of her percieved importance in the society of the world she exists in, but because of how she is important to secondary plot threads. I believe Jill fufills that requirement too, and as such, wouldn't class her as just some random. The fact they can both participate in some lengthly scenes after recruitment should add more leverage to their claim of importance compared to characters like Lilina or Cecilia who do things before joining, but nothing after.

To me, a random recruitable is someone that has no real importance whatsoever. Darros would be an example, pretty much nothing would be lost if he wasn't in the game. Or Danved. Someone like Raven has his own substory, but because he has no impact on anything anywhere, he's less important than someone like Legault or Nino, who whilst optional, are connected to major antagonists and can have conversations with them.

[Robert Stewart]

Radd

Because he's Radd.

I'm also fond of Roshea if he counts.

[eclipse]

Alas, Minerva is semi-forced in FE12 (and maybe FE3). . .ahem.

- Marisa's recruitment is hilarious, no matter what

- Midir, but only for the imagery

- Jeorge in FE12 - when he explains why he did it

[Hardin]

I have to throw Warren a bone, dude is perhaps the most forgettable character in 25 years of franchise history.

[Anacybele]

Zihark, he's awesome. ^^ He's not your typical myrmidon/swordmaster in that's some kinda serious dude looking to sharpen his sword skills or take down opponents (unlike a certain purple-haired girl who gets recruited before him in PoR...). He just cares about the laguz and wants to protect them and is just a really nice guy all around. He also has a cool design, imo.

Oh yeah, Kieran should count too, because you don't HAVE to recruit him in PoR. I LOVE this guy. lol

Edited April 22, 2015 by Anacybele

[Roivann]

Dolph, Athena, Echidna, Etzel, Beck, Belf, Robert from FE5, and Sheema.

[Original Alear]

I'll elaborate on why I love Nowi's recruitment

She comes out of the blue on your side being followed by Gregor, who she at first thinks is a weirdo stalker/Manakete kidnapper, and joins your party just like that. Then when she actually gets into combat for the first time in that chapter, Chrom is shocked when he sees her turn into a dragon

Not to mention my personal Nowi bias

I'm convinced that this part of the game is drawing on FF6. There's a sequence early in the game where, if Terra uses magic during a boss battle, Locke and Edgar (the other two party members) put the entire battle on hold to rant about how awesome she is (the enemies stop attacking).

EDIT-I forgot to mention the most important part - the sequence in FF6 also takes place during a battle in a desert.

I rather like Dalshin from FE5. Tbh, I feel like there are a lot of enemies with armor-piercing weapons, so he's probably not really a wonderful unit. But he's one of the few armors I've usually gone out of my way to use. And I was lucky once and got a movement growth procced for him. I also really like Olwen, if she counts.

I wish I could say Pent and Louise, but they're fairly important.

Edited April 23, 2015 by Severlan

[Batter the Beast]

Ralph because he looks generic enough to be a random villager

[Robert Stewart]

I rather like Dalshin from FE5. Tbh, I feel like there are a lot of enemies with armor-piercing weapons, so he's probably not really a wonderful unit. But he's one of the few armors I've usually gone out of my way to use. And I was lucky once and got a movement growth procced for him. I also really like Olwen, if she counts.

I think Olwen is too important to really be "random," what with her story involving Kempf and her brother.

From FE5, Homeros is quite memorable. I'm also attached to anyone named Robert because of the sharing a name thing.

Edit: How could I forget Saber/Savor from FE2? Shame on me!

Edited April 23, 2015 by #RR. shinpichu

[StrykerZ]

I like Ilyana just because of how cute she is and how she is always hungry.

I also really like Darros too cause he is just awesome.

[Ike-Mike]

Roger. He only wanted to join on the prospect of getting laid.

Inigo too for pretty much the same reasons but with confidence issues layered on top.

Then there's Radd and Caesar. I especially like that Radd's death quote is "end of the line."

[gabethegreen]

I also like astrid from PoR for being an independent woman who just wanted to be free and fight for what she wants to fight for.(then radiant dawn makolov ruined it)

And julian , roger, and athena from SD because of their introduction and characters

[Caster]

Okay fine I judged Erk unfairly don't kill me >~>

With regards to story important I'd say Minerva kinda is more story important, than a lot of other characters especially considering most characters in SD.

So..