The defining trait of each lord

[Jotari]

So I made this thread about Alm's personality because I was slightly worried IS would forget about his more aggressive personality. Something that I hope they don't over look since even with basically no other character traits, it does set him apart from the rest of the lords in the series. That then got me thinking about how challenging it would be to create so many protagonists that essentially fill the same role and still make them distinct from one another. I kind of started analyzing them and looking for a key defining trait of their personality that stands out from the other protagonists. And this is what I ended up with.

Spoiler

 

Marth has his tenderness. Almost everything about regarding Marth's character focuses on how much he does not like war and has to force himself to fight even though he's apparently quite good at it.

 

Alm as I mentioned has his aggression. Can't speak for any examples (nor can I say anything about Celica) as I haven't played Gaiden.

 

Sigurd, ironically given his stats, has his powerlessness. If you can call that a trait. Most of Sigurd's encounters are basically someone telling him something, him going "No! We can't allow that" yet being utterly powerless to actually stop it.

 

Seliph's is confidence. Never does he back down from fighting his enemies even though he probably had to fight the most powerful empire the series has seen. The ghost of Sigurd even has to warn him against getting too over confident.

 

Leif in contrast to Seliph has is self-doubt. He's constantly questioning his own worth and. this leads him both to make mistakes but also gives him a drive to prove himself.

Roy I think has his intelligence. As a learned book geek he knows when to hold em and knows when to fold em. Stand outs include getting help from a more powerful ally and not rushing off to save his father on account of a rumour.

 

Eliwood I guess has his wooby status. He loses both his father and most heavily implied love interest throughout the game. He's not overly melodramatic about it but it is pretty clear he's suffering. Which is slightly amusing when you realise he probably looses less than the typical lords (who generally start out the game losing both parents and their home country).

 

Hector has his boisterousness. He takes action without caring about consequences.

 

Lyn...I'm can't really think of anything specific right now. Like she certainly doesn't seem like any other character in the series but I can't really pin down an specific reason why. Maybe someone else has some ideas.

 

Erikia has her kindness. Distinct from Marth's tenderness is the way that her story has more character focus hence there's specific people she can worry about and try to help unlike Marth who passively worries about everyone.

 

Strength comes to mind to Ephraim. Of course quite a few lords are strong but I can't think of any whose strength is highlighted so much in the story as a character trait rather than a pure physical trait. Erikia talks about how much she admires Ephraim for his strength and Lyon talks about how he was jealous of it.

 

Ike has his abstinence. He's a simple man who believes what he believes in and won't change his mind because people with more authority say otherwise. Nasir even comments on how he's surprised that war has changed Ike.

 

Micaiah has her patriotism. Obviously a trait pretty much all lords are going to have a bit of but I can't think of any other character who frequently talks about how much they love their country.

 

Chrom I guess has his friendship. Everyone has a certain degree of I fight more my friends going about them but Chrom's dialogue seems to consist of things like "We can do this together" more so than the other lords. Not surprising given that it introduce the pair up mechanic.

 

Robin has his general Mary Sueishness Tactical Prowess (allegedly).

 

Lucina has her determination. Most of her dialogue is about how she won't let anything stop her from saving the world.

 

Corrin I'm finding it hard to pin down. Given his supports I'd say his (or her) defining personality trait is childishness but that doesn't really hold true for any significant character moments in any of the three routes (even though it does make sense with the backstory). I guess going purely by the story it would be Resolve. Once Corrin makes that major decision they tend to stick to their goal and reaffirm that it was the correct choice quite often.

 

So, what do you think? Do you agree/disagree with any of these assessments and what do you see as the defining character trait of the lords from the games you've played?

[Nym]

I would say Lyn is quite a strong and brave woman considering what happened to her tribe (since they got all killed except her and grandfather).

I can be wrong tho.

Edited January 19, 2017 by Nym

[BalancedPro]

Strong, kind, and serious could describe most of the FE lords.

[Thane]

In the Awakening DLC, Alm states he does not understand Celica's "more compassionate approach" to enemies, wondering how you compassionately stab someone. He also talks about hurting people back tenfold. In Gaiden, his attitude towards Rigel's invasion is pretty much "well, they attacked first, so anything goes". He's probably the most aggressive lord we've had to my knowledge - he's not a monster or anything, he just seems to believe that as long as you start a fight, he's allowed to do whatever it takes to stop it. It's also worth pointing out that he joins a rebellion against his grandfather's wishes.

I'd say Eirika is more naïve than kind, or at least, that's what sets her apart - pretty much all of the main characters in Fire Emblem are kind. 

Chrom, I'd say, is more trusting than focused on friendship. He's willing to give everyone a second chance, though that might not be unique for the series.

Corrin is sheltered more than anything, though that's not conveyed well in Fates. They know very little about the world, unlike lords who are written as being more capable - I believe Roy is written to be very smart and well-read, for example. Ike and Robin also start the game knowing little about the outside world for different reasons, but it's told in a much different way.

Of course, you could just go with "Corrin has a mysterious charisma".

Edited January 19, 2017 by Thane

[TheGoodHoms]

I think for Corrin the best word would be naive. He's innocent to the ways of the real world because of his lack of experience outside the conditions he was raised in. The only reason he avoids getting into some seriously bad situations in my opinion is because he has to have wiser characters steer him in the right direction. Think of the end of chapter 13 when Hans slaughters the villagers and Azura has to stop Corrin from interfering to win back Garon's trust.

[Darros]

I'd mark down Lyn as prideful. Not in a stubborn pride kind of way, but she's damn proud of where she came from and refuses to allow anyone to walk over her.

[NOTchazbc24]

Sigurd = Horse.

[Busterman64]

58 minutes ago, Darros said:

I'd mark down Lyn as prideful. Not in a stubborn pride kind of way, but she's damn proud of where she came from and refuses to allow anyone to walk over her.

I second that.

For a good example(gonna get some things spelled wrong so please forgive me), I forget the guy's name(it's the guy Rath worked for in Lyn's Story FE7), but he's pretty much was racist to Sacaeins and Lyn honestly didn't want anything to do with him after that(and wouldn't even ask or beg for any kind of help from him) and continued on to take on Lundrung herself.

Probably another instance(not too sure, but...) when the army needs a boat to go to the Dread Isles, the only people available to do so is pirates, something she immediately shoots down and tries her best to find another way, but gives in to the idea of needing the pirates' help!

 

I will say though, when it comes to Lyn, she has wisdom(level headedness) and boldness too(maybe a little bit protective). But I guess that can fit into her pride too! 

 

Edited January 19, 2017 by Busterman64

[Darros]

That's what I mean by not subborn pride. She recognizes that sometimes there are better decisions and is willing to be lenient (on non-racist things).

[Tuvy]

Corrin's trait is his Naivety  

[Flee Fleet!]

Marth cares too much for his friends. While not liking is pretty much a trait among all the lords except Alm, Marth will try his best to do anything to save anyone, and prevent war. Heck, he got significantly closer to the Avatar and Katarina  in FE12 mainly because they saved a village, and thus put quite a lot of trust in them.

Sigurd is well, I dunno, rather protective I guess? I mean he did stop Deidre from completely leaving the castle in Ch3 (and that turned out to be a mistake) just for her safety, and he sent the kids of the paired up units away with Oifaye and Shannan, again, for their safety.

Seliph, is however, like the OP said, quite confident, confident enough to go against the most powerful empire known in the history of FE. After all he did manage to get through Isaac, with his allies of course.

Roy is actually intelligent compared to the other lords. He sides with a powerful army rather than going straight to battle, and iirc, found out the boss of one of the early chapters was faking his attitude towards Roy and his army, just so he could kill them as they enter the fortress (someone needs to correct me on this one, I think I'm wrong)

Hector is the typical aggresive guy and Lyn's is prideful of where she came from, and will not ask for the help of anyone who's racist towards Sacaens. She's also quite confident, believing she can defeat the Talivar bandits if she becomes the best with her sword. And she's kind enough to help a stranger like Mark.

Eirika is a bit naive actually, and admires her brother and Leon quite a lot. But other she's kind, just not to the extent of what Marth is like.

Ephraim is the guy who's smart enough to know which fights he can one. And...that's pretty much it.  

 

 

That's pretty much all I know.

 

 

[Thane]

1 hour ago, Flee Fleet! said:

Ephraim is the guy who's smart enough to know which fights he can one. And...that's pretty much it.  

The problem with that is that the there seem to be no limits to what battles he can win. I mean doesn't his very first map revolve around taking a castle with four people?

[Irysa]

Marth - The OG

Alm - Not Marth

Celica - Wants Alm's D

Sigurd - Barbequed Marth

Seliph - Marth v2

Leif - Ghetto Marth

Roy - Red Marth

Eliwood - Not Roy

Hector - Angry Marth

Lyn - Who?

Eirika - Femarth

Ephraim - Siscon Marth

Ike - Gay Holmes wannabe Marth

Micaiah - Mary sue

Chrom - Father of Martha

Lucina - Martha

Corrin - Brain problems

 

This took a lot of effort.

 

Bonus Round

Runan - Bootleg Marth

Holmes - Oh shit its an original character

 

Edited January 19, 2017 by Irysa

[ping]

1 hour ago, Flee Fleet! said:

Roy is actually intelligent compared to the other lords. He sides with a powerful army rather than going straight to battle, and iirc, found out the boss of one of the early chapters was faking his attitude towards Roy and his army, just so he could kill them as they enter the fortress (someone needs to correct me on this one, I think I'm wrong)

Yep, that was Wagner the Shaman who killed his liege and tried to sell out Roy €: Guinivere to Bern. I agree that his intelligence is Roy's most defining feature.

Lyn's independent or at least strives to be, which is rather unusual for a FE lord. Right at the start she refuses to be the distressed damsel when Sain and Kent want to save her from a hired hitman; she refuses help from that racist marquess and (unless she's paired with Eliwood or Hector) she doesn't care about her noble heritage, either.

Hector is rough, but loyal to his friends and (even moreso) his brother to the point where he would willingly accept a violent death in order to help Eliwood.

Eliwood is a bit bland, tbh. He is tough when he has to deal with Elbert's and Ninian's deaths, he might be a bit too trusting towards strangers, but neither of those feel like defining traits to me.

Eirika and Ephraim both seem to be rather green. Eirika is idealistic and will trust people she knows (Lyon, Orson). Ephraim is reckless and thinks that punching through the way of toughest resistance will solve all his problems. It works better than it should until he tries to confront Lyon/Demon King on his own.

Ike is honest to a fault. Silly concepts as diplomacy are completely alien to him.

Micaiah... well, patriotism would be my best guess, too, @Jotari. Other than that, I don't know if IS was sure where they were going with her.

I only know Awakening and Fates through Let's plays, but if my memory serves, Chrom is another noble nice guy with no real distict personality traits.

Corrin is sheltered and as a result extremely naive. How many traitors does Fates feature, again? And doesn't the game even acknowledge Corrin's naivity at least during the Anthony arc?

Edited January 19, 2017 by ping

[General Banzai]

Ephraim is reckless and self-sacrificing. Eirika is naive and idealistic.

[Thane]

I think Chrom benefits a lot from his interactions with Lucina. Remember, it's not just about the traits they have, but how they're portrayed. Otherwise, pretty much every other Fire Emblem lord would be the same, or at least overlap even more than they already do now.

[BrightBow]

I think that Lyn's defining attribute is her romantic, idealistic view of family bonds.

This is something that is fairly consistent with her. When she first learns about her heritage, she completely ignores the part of the story where her Grandfather renounced her mother. Or any other parts of the story which would reflect bad on her Grandfather that she learned later for that matter. She just wants to see him because he is the only family she has left, despite everything she hears pointing towards the Marquies being a massive asshole who would look down on her for being a nomad. Sure, these days he is regretting his past actions but Lyn didn't know that.

Her attempts to become more of a noble women are also motivated by wanting to fulfill her grandfathers expectations, to the point where her pride as a Sacean starts to erode and she sounds actually ashamed of her nomad heritage.

Lyn: Yes, but I have so far to go! I’m not like a lady at all. My grandfather took me in, a mixed-blood child, but I fear the other nobles of Lycia will not be so accepting. I do not want the Sacae blood in my veins to bring my grandfather shame.

 

There are also some smaller events, like when she feels the need to bump into Will's family business and actually orders him to write a letter, despite knowing nothing about his relationship with his parents. And I also found rather interesting how she commented on the relationship situation of the Bern royal family with “…… His parents are alive. Yet they’re both awful.” as if it seriously never occurred to her that one's blood relatives might be awful people.

Edited January 20, 2017 by BrightBow

[NekoKnight]

Eliwood: I would describe him as noble. He's rescues Ninian early on and helps out Lyn in her story without much prompting. He's also polite and restrained, a foil to Hector's brash straight-forwardness.

Micaiah: Micaiah is patriotic but in a lot more personal way than other lords have been. She serves her people because she cares for them as individuals, not out of a general sense of responsibility. She's also is very self-sacrificing, willing to jump into dangerous situations even to save a small number of people.

2 hours ago, BrightBow said:

I think that Lyn's defining attribute is her romantic, idealistic view of family bonds.

I think this has more to do with her valuing family bonds so much more because her family in Sacae was wiped out. It's not the disbelief that parents could be bad, just that she wishes her parents were still alive and it's ironic that Zephiel has both his parents alive but he can't be happy about it.

7 hours ago, Irysa said:

Lucina - Martha

In the original draft for Awakening, Lucina is about to kill Robin but suddenly Robin says "You have to save.. Martha!" and Lucina responds "Wait, that's my name!" Then they become friends and team up to fight Doomsday the Dragon. The story was changed later after a copyright claim made by Warner Brothers from the future.

My uncle works at Nintendo.

[Slumber]

A major part of Hector is how deceptive his personality was. He was loud and boisterous, but his whole purpose in BS is greatly downplayed just by virtue of him merely being positioned as Eliwood's sidekick. In reality(If you want to consider Hector Mode as the same events as Eliwood's story, but with more input from Hector), he actually manages to learn more about the plot, learns more about Nergal and morphs. In fact, it's Hector's persistence that manages to let the heroes ultimately win in 7.

He also manages to resolve more conflicts and recruit more people to his army. And since his is the route you get Karla in, wouldn't that make his version of the events the canonical version?

So I'd say there's slightly more to Hector than just being loud and reckless. I'd add persistence.

Also his sweet beard is a pretty defining trait.

Edited January 20, 2017 by Slumber

[Jotari]

8 minutes ago, Slumber said:

A major part of Hector is how deceptive his personality was. He was loud and boisterous, but his whole purpose in BS is greatly downplayed just by virtue of him merely being positioned as Eliwood's sidekick. In reality(If you want to consider Hector Mode as the same events as Eliwood's story, but with more input from Hector), he actually manages to learn more about the plot, learns more about Nergal and morphs. In fact, it's Hector's persistence that manages to let the heroes ultimately win in 7.

He also manages to resolve more conflicts and recruit more people to his army. And since his is the route you get Karla in, wouldn't that make his version of the events the canonical version?

So I'd say there's slightly more to Hector than just being loud and reckless. I'd add persistence.

Also his sweet beard is a pretty defining trait.

Massive missed opportunity that he didn't have that during his own game.

[Cornguy]

I believe obstinance is the word you were looking for when describing Ike, although abstinence is hilariously accurate in its own way. *Priamisnotacanoncharacter*

[Hero of the Fire Emblems]

"The nomads of the plains do not abandon their fellow tribespeople. Eliwood and Hector are my dear friends...Their sorrow is my sorrow. Their anger is my anger. Nergal! In my friends' names, I will cut you down!"

I think the defining trait of Lyn is loyalty, at least by the endgame. Honor seems to be major traits of both Lyn and Eliwood as well, and seems fairly consistent with them.

*Priamisacanoncharacter,hehassupports*

[ping]

On 20.1.2017 at 8:02 AM, Jotari said:

Massive missed opportunity that he didn't have that during his own game.

That would probably have been too not-bishie for a main character :D

On 20.1.2017 at 2:27 AM, BrightBow said:

She just wants to see him because he is the only family she has left, despite everything she hears pointing towards the Marquies being a massive asshole who would look down on her for being a nomad. Sure, these days he is regretting his past actions but Lyn didn't know that.

To be fair, Kent only states that Marquess Caelin disinherited his daughter because she "eloped with a nomad", without emphasis on the "nomad" part. It's implied at worst that racism was a reason for that.