Would you say that FE 4 and 5 are similar to the tellius series in terms of story?

[VincentASM]

Having an Ike 2.0 doesn't have to be cringe-worthy, but you will need to reflect on what makes the original Ike a good character.

So be sure to think about your character's personality, upbringing, motivations and the way they see the world and others. Basically, you want your character to feel like a real person, somebody you could emphasise with, whether they're a hero or villain or something inbetween.

Definitely don't make your character cool and badass just because, otherwise you run the risk of making them a Mary-Sue (i.e. a self-insert character). Maybe he's cool and badass because he needs to be a good role model for his group or because he really looked up to someone like that, etc.

[Dinar87]

Having an Ike 2.0 doesn't have to be cringe-worthy, but you will need to reflect on what makes the original Ike a good character.

So be sure to think about your character's personality, upbringing, motivations and the way they see the world and others. Basically, you want your character to feel like a real person, somebody you could emphasise with, whether they're a hero or villain or something inbetween.

Definitely don't make your character cool and badass just because, otherwise you run the risk of making them a Mary-Sue (i.e. a self-insert character). Maybe he's cool and badass because he needs to be a good role model for his group or because he really looked up to someone like that, etc.

I feel that Ike was a good character because of the following reasons...

1. He's no lord or noble but instead just a commoner-this makes him more relatable than your standard FE protagonist. We even get to see his way of life for a few chapters until war breaks out between Crimea and Daein.

2. He stays true to his ideals-this is represented with stuff like threatening Jill that he'd chuck her off the ship if her laguz prejudice continues. It shows he stays true to himself no matter what. Him speaking out against the racist crowd of peasants or the arrogant begnion nobles are also good examples in my eyes.

3. Game play wise he's an incredibly good unit with further emphasizes his strength and powerful nature.

I'd basically like to replicate those qualities with my protagonist. Also, I'll definitely try not to make him seem cool just because...I want him to be cool because they'd be powerful and relatable. They'd also need to keep up their image for the sake of the soldiers' morale so they mustn't show any weakness when around them.

Edited July 20, 2016 by Dinar87

[Katie]

I liked Ike myself. But I wouldn't want the next Lord to be a carbon copy of him. The next lord should be their own thing, not Ike 2.0. I'd definitely want them to be a powerful unit though, since if a unit's gonna be forced, they might as well be good.

[Dinar87]

I liked Ike myself. But I wouldn't want the next Lord to be a carbon copy of him. The next lord should be their own thing, not Ike 2.0. I'd definitely want them to be a powerful unit though, since if a unit's gonna be forced, they might as well be good.

Well I'd plan on having their character flaw being that they're sort of naive at first and this causes several "good guys" to eventually use them and betray them. Of course, that can be scrapped if that sounds annoying.

[VincentASM]

By the way, Ike is inspired by Hector from Blazing Sword and I think Chrom is vaguely inspired by Ike (mainly the friendly and no-nonsense personality and they both have Aether). So it's fine to borrow elements sometimes.

Having your hero be naive and inexperienced at first sounds fine. Most people are like that near the beginning. The only way it's annoying is if they're overly naive and don't change as the story progresses.

[Dinar87]

By the way, Ike is inspired by Hector from Blazing Sword and I think Chrom is vaguely inspired by Ike (mainly the friendly and no-nonsense personality and they both have Aether). So it's fine to borrow elements sometimes.

Having your hero be naive and inexperienced at first sounds fine. Most people are like that near the beginning. The only way it's annoying is if they're overly naive and don't change as the story progresses.

Well they'd learn to be more careful after being betrayed by former allies. They'd learn that everyone (including themselves) have the potential to be as evil and greedy as possible if certain conditions are met.

Edited July 20, 2016 by Dinar87

[Katie]

Well there's nothing wrong with borrowing elements from other characters, as long as the character has enough traits of their own to stand out as their own character instead of being a rip-off of another character.

Edited July 20, 2016 by Matthewtheman

[Dinar87]

Well there's nothing wrong with borrowing elements from other characters, as long as the character has enough traits of their own to stand out as their own character instead of being a rip-off of another character.

I'd mainly have moments like say, them defeating a group of bandits and sparing them all from death...only to find that they keep raiding and plundering from innocents. So the next time they meet, even though they plead for their lives, the protagonist and the gang slaughters them all without mercy. Essentially the lesson learned is don't just trust random strangers from the goodness of your heart otherwise it might bite you in the arse later on.

But back to your original concern, my character would aim to be both flawed and relatable. However, I'm in dire need of suggestions currently so any advice would be appreciated.

Edited July 20, 2016 by Dinar87

[blah the Prussian]

I'd mainly have moments like say, them defeating a group of bandits and sparing them all from death...only to find that they keep raiding and plundering from innocents. So the next time they meet, even though they plead for their lives, the protagonist and the gang slaughters them all without mercy. Essentially the lesson learned is don't just trust random strangers from the goodness of your heart otherwise it might bite you in the arse later on.

But back to your original concern, my character would aim to be both flawed and relatable. However, I'm in dire need of suggestions currently so any advice would be appreciated.

Ooh, I actually have an idea of my own regarding being betrayed. Basically the evil Sorceror helps your group as a way to play your group and the evil country off of each other, and then when you start getting the upper hand he betrays you to manipulate the evil country.

[Dinar87]

Ooh, I actually have an idea of my own regarding being betrayed. Basically the evil Sorceror helps your group as a way to play your group and the evil country off of each other, and then when you start getting the upper hand he betrays you to manipulate the evil country.

The villain wouldn't be just some 1D villain though would he?

[blah the Prussian]

The villain wouldn't be just some 1D villain though would he?

Of course not. I'm planning it to be based on Christianity vs Paganism, and have the villain be based around a Oagan style religion that were persecuted by the Church. Now, they want revenge, by reviving their God. Sort of like Gangrel written better. And anyway, I only want him as a secondary antagonist; I think it would be cool to reverse the stereotypical evil empire-dark cult dynamic you see in most FEs.

[Dinar87]

Of course not. I'm planning it to be based on Christianity vs Paganism, and have the villain be based around a Oagan style religion that were persecuted by the Church. Now, they want revenge, by reviving their God. Sort of like Gangrel written better. And anyway, I only want him as a secondary antagonist; I think it would be cool to reverse the stereotypical evil empire-dark cult dynamic you see in most FEs.

That sounds interesting actually...could make for a sympathetic villain like count bleck in SPM. Maybe his friends and family were killed by the ruling church and now he wants revenge!

[Etrurian emperor]

I think both continents have good stories but I don't find them alike at all. Tellius gets it strenght from its world building and I don't find Jugdral any good in that regard. Tracia and Lenster are exempt from this because they have their own game but in 4 you generally don't learn much about the countries, not even main country Grandbell.

Instead of world building 4 Jugdral uses more human drama

[Dinar87]

I think both continents have good stories but I don't find them alike at all. Tellius gets it strenght from its world building and I don't find Jugdral any good in that regard. Tracia and Lenster are exempt from this because they have their own game but in 4 you generally don't learn much about the countries, not even main country Grandbell.

Instead of world building 4 Jugdral uses more human drama

Would you play a game that combined the best of both worlds?

[Jave]

Dinar, why don't you just play the games and see what fits your style better when you make your own game? You're asking for so much advice you'll end up with tons of conflicting info.

[Dinar87]

Dinar, why don't you just play the games and see what fits your style better when you make your own game? You're asking for so much advice you'll end up with tons of conflicting info.

Fine. I'll wait until I've completed 4 and 5 before I'll ask for advice again.

Edited July 20, 2016 by Dinar87

[Seo]

Dinar, why don't you just play the games and see what fits your style better when you make your own game? You're asking for so much advice you'll end up with tons of conflicting info.

Isn't that supposed to be the main purpose of a forum ?

I saw the topic and got interested since I really like FE4 and found this information exchange really interesting.

Although you're right, we must not provide too much infos and stuff, I just thought that topic got interesting thoughts.

[Jave]

Isn't that supposed to be the main purpose of a forum ?

I saw the topic and got interested since I really like FE4 and found this information exchange really interesting.

Although you're right, we must not provide too much infos and stuff, I just thought that topic got interesting thoughts.

It was a suggestion. In no way I was bossing him around.

I didn't expect him to reply so directly to my post, to be honest.

[Just call me AL]

I'd personally say that the FE games with good plots are FE3 (mostly Book 2), I've heard FE5 is good, FE8, and FE9.

I honestly wouldn't call FE8's plot anything "noteworthy". It seems pretty standard fare for the most part, and some questions left in its story aren't even answered even if you play through both routes.

[blah the Prussian]

Well, Sacred Stone's plot is mostly good in Ephraim's route, because that's where Lyon is at his best. He's the second best villain in the series IMO, and it all shines through on Ephraim's route. Eirika's route, meanwhile, features Glen being killed off like a bitch without a fight, someone literally betraying his country because he wants to have sex with the Queen, leading to all sorts of implications (was he supposed to be sympathetic just because he asked Calleach not to rape her?) and Eirika just up and giving the Sacred Stone to Formotiis. Sigh.

[Just call me AL]

I find Lyon to be better personality-wise on Eirika's route than Ephraim's route. Same with FE8's story too. A little bit more questions answered than usual, a little more world-building, I can't imagine Lyon giving into something petty as a motivation for being evil, and the Demon King seems the type to "use force if necessary". So...

[blah the Prussian]

I find Lyon to be better personality-wise on Eirika's route than Ephraim's route. Same with FE8's story too. A little bit more questions answered than usual, a little more world-building, I can't imagine Lyon giving into something petty as a motivation for being evil, and the Demon King seems the type to "use force if necessary". So...

But his motivation in Ephraim's route is that he's a teenager who has suddenly become Emperor of Grado after his father died, depriving him of the only family he has. Then, he learns that he is facing half of his country being outright destroyed, causing economic devastation and millions of deaths. So, faced with all this, he turns to the power of darkness. He's an inexperienced, desperate kid who's trying to do the best he can for his people, and so he makes a mistake. Most importantly, he also stays as Lyon for most of the game. I also think that Formotiis works much better as the manipulator he is in Ephraim's route, seducing Lyon and making him think he's still in control, than in Eirika's route, where he's just a generic dark lord.