Jotari Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 57 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said: Congrats on finishing Old Mystery. I don't know if you'd care, but I did post about my thoughts about FE3 when I had freshly completed nearly five years ago. The endgame barbs are just another reason why the original Lady Sword was so good.😄 ...Thinking of LoZ: ALttP because of my aforementioned old review, maybe Gharnef should've kidnapped Gotoh (why not eventually sacrifice a wise Divine Dragon to help resurrect Medeus? Who cares if he's old? Energies/spirit don't age.) and have him occasionally telepathically communicate with Marth. Treat him like Zelda sending Link messages in the dungeons in the Dark world via special stones in the walls. Maaaaaaybe that would've fixed some things.😛 It would certainly make Gotoh feel less useless and selfish. Unfortunately Gharnef's plan specifically needed maidens, and we all know Gotoh has been getting it on with Xane for years. Where else could Nowi come from? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Interdimensional Observer Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 1 hour ago, Jotari said: It would certainly make Gotoh feel less useless and selfish. Unfortunately Gharnef's plan specifically needed maidens, and we all know Gotoh has been getting it on with Xane for years. Where else could Tiki come from? Fixed. -Unless Naga is capable of parthenogenesis, which maybe she ("they"?) can, some IRL reptiles do, including Komodo dragons, and Naga is pretty powerful. And thanks for the imagery.😆 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jotari Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 4 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said: Fixed. -Unless Naga is capable of parthenogenesis, which maybe she ("they"?) can, some IRL reptiles do, including Komodo dragons, and Naga is pretty powerful. And thanks for the imagery.😆 If not parthenogenesis, then I assume Naga had some hot stud of a Divine Dragon boy friend that some how got himself killed at some point. Either that or she took a quick trip to Valentia to get some of that Duma Dick. Exiled doesn't mean Sexiled. But by the time Nowi is meant to be born then only genuine Divine Dragons around are Gotoh, Xane and Tiki. And since Tiki meets Nowi and doesn't suggest any potential adult child relationship, then the only math left is Gotoh and Xane. Make the fan art @Saint Rubenio (by the way, love the look of lawyer Gotoh in the previous batch). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ping Posted February 20 Author Share Posted February 20 (edited) FE4 Prologue: Birth of a Crusader Chalphy --> Jungby Spoiler In an age beyond living memory... A devil's shade cast upon our land Plunging it into the deepest darkness And condemning us to grief without end. In vain, we prayed to the bleak heavens... The twelve gods descended from above ____ We and our world were thus reborn. And so... As time flows endlessly on... Our nightmare has faded into legend... Eugenics Simulator 1.0: Go. __ This is the second time I will start playing Genealogy, and hopefully the first time I'll finish it. As you can see, I didn't get particularly far last time (I believe this is the castle right before Deidre becomes available) before the playthough petered out. That was about 2.5 years ago, according to the age of the save file on my external HD, so I don't quite remember what made me stop playing. Can't really be frustration, since this last save doesn't exactly look like something awful is about to happen. Likely that I just didn't have the time, or maybe had the time but got sucked into another game. So, let us start anew. Unlike FE3, where you have to play through both Book 1 and 2 (without casualties, too, iirc) to see the official Akaneian timeline, Jugdral is a lot more upfront about it: 440 - Advent of the dark god, its vessel, Galle, founds the Loptyrian Order. 447 - Rise ofthe dark god's Deadlords. The Grann Republic falls. 448 - Archbishop Galle is crowned the first ruler ofthe Loptyr Empire. 449 - The Great Purge: Over 100,000 are murdered. 452 - The Sorrow of Miletos: As sacrifices to the dark god, children are burned alive in droves. 453 - The Edda Massacre: Over 10,000 victims of the Empire. 535 - Prince Maira rejects his royal kin. 611 - A resistance arises across Jugdral. 632 - The Miracle of Darna: The gods bestow their power upon twelve rebels: the Twelve Crusaders. 633 - The Holy War begins... 648 - Downfall of the Loptyr Empire. Seven Crusaders unite to start a powerful new state; others form five independent kingdoms. 649 - The Kingdom of Grannvale is born. 757 - Grannvale declares war on the eastern nation of Isaach. An age of crisis begins... Not the greatest choice of colours for readability... ...a kingdom founded by Saint Heim of the Twelve Crusaders. Supporting the royal family, the heirs of Heim, are six noble houses, each also descended from a crusader of old. The six states, while still subservient to the royal family, each occupy vast swaths of Grannvale's land and maintain mighty militaries of their own. Owing to King Azmur's advanced age, the governance of Grannvale falls to his son, the highly respected Prince Kurth. Kurth has two trusted advisors in his rule: Lord Byron of House Chalphy, and Lord Ring of House Jungby. Grannvale's chancellor, Lord Reptor of Freege, has long objected to the threat to his influence posed by Kurth and his advisors, and has allied himself with the avaricious Lord Langbalt of House Dozel to form a faction opposed to Kurth's rule over Grannvale. The young duke of House Velthomer, Lord Arvis, leads the Royal Guard in the king's care and so has little time for the circus of politics. Only Father Claude of House Edda, could foresee the oncoming storm. Into the midst of this tense situation, comes dire news from Jugdral's east. ...is now besieged by savage worriors from Isaach. Reports of a brutal massacre abound. The news is met by the people of Grannvale with furious cries for retribution, and before long the kingdom declares war on Isaach. Prince Kurth leads Grannvale's charge on his father's behalf, commanding the military might of the kingdom's six houses. At Kurth's side as always is none other than Lord Byron, a highly decorated hero of peerless valor in his own right. Grannvale has poured its entire military might into the Isaach campaign, and precious few soldiers remain behind. With its neighbors - __ ...none dare to dream they could ever be threatened. It is not long at all, however, before the people's confidence is shattered. As if from nowhere, a vast horde from Verdane led by Prince Gandolf crosses the Grannvale border and lays siege to Jungby Castle. In Lord Ring's absence, his daughter, Lady Aideen, is Jungby's only guardian. Lord Byron has entrusted the defense of Grannvale in his absense to his son, Sigurd, who remains at Chalphy Castle with a mere handful of soldiers. A friend of Aideen since childhood, Sigurd is horrified to hear of the Jungby siege, and even with so few soldiers, is determined to protect Aideen and his fatherland from the savage Verdanite hordes. The year is 757, Grann calendar. And thus the threshold of fate is cast open. Nobody could have known then that this simple disturbance was but the first of countless calamities to come. -- I know that some people in this thread have... opinions on this game - but I have to appreciate that this intro already provides us with more of a cohesive backstory than Akaneia got in the entirety of two games. The presentation is far better as well: the world map scrolling left and and right and marking the countries that are mentioned in the script; portraits popping in and out to make it easier to associate the characters with their names. I think this is worth pointing out because this is the same console as Old Mystery, where the greatest special effect is the map scrolling from where the last battle was fought to the next location. __ : "You must ensure that as many of you survive this as possible." : "No, milady. We might not stand a chance, but every last one of us will give our lives to protect you, right to the very end." : "Thank you, Midir. ...I'm so sorry." : "Gandolf's army already has Jungby surrounded. Aideen is in grave danger! Noish, I'm going to help her. I'm leaving Chalphy in your hands." : "Hold, milord. Surely you don't intend to go alone?" : "Nearly all of our forces are already on the march to Isaach with Father. There's hardly anybody left to call upon. They may be simple savages, but Verdane's army is still huge. I can't risk your lives by forcing you to face them." : "Perish the thought, milord! I was born a knight, and I will gladly risk dying a knight's death in your name. To allow our lord to die alone in battle would be an unspeakable disgrace. We shall be by your side, every step of the way. Alec, I trust you're of the same mind?" : "Yeah, of course! But there's more than just Jungby at stake. We've got to stop by the nearby villages first. Those thugs'll try to beat us to them, and they'll loot, massacre, and burn them all down if they do. We've gotta get there first, and led the locals a hand in locking the villages down and fortifying their defenses." : "Absolutely. We mustn't neglect our knightly duties to the people, especially not at a time like this. Good point, Alec." : "Actually, that was all Oifey's idea. That id is every bit the tactitian they say he is. Give him a few years and he'll be a match for his old grandpa, Lord Cesare!" : "Oifey's still around the castle, huh... Oifey! I know you're here. You can come out now!" : "My apologies for still being here, sire. Still, if you would allow it, I'd like to join you in battle. I can't just sit back while you risk your lives." : "I don't know... You're still so young. Are you sure you're ready for this?" : "I'm already fourteen, sire. I may not be battle-ready just yet, but there's still so much I can do to support you. Please, allow me to accompany you. I swear I won't let you down." : "Fair enough, Oifey. After all, you've already spent two years training as my squire. Real battlefield experience would be fantastic for your training, but you're still definitely not up to actual combat duty for now. How about you ride with me as my advisor instead?" : Y-yes! Thank you, sire! Thank you!" : "Milord, what of the defense of Chalphy itself in our absense? Leaving the castle unattended is risky. Should the enemy slip past ups, an unguarded castle will fall easily and spell us a swift end." : "Noish, I'd say there's only one man who we can depend upon for that... Eh, Arden?" : "Hold on a moment! Why me, Alec?" : "Sturdy as a brick wall! Strong as an ox! Slow as a turtle! Face it, Arden, you were born for guard duty! Haha!" : "Pah... I'm strong and tough, I know, but you really don't need to call me slow!" : "He has a point, Arden. Would you? You're the most apt at guard duty." : "Sigh... Fine, I'll do it. But you have to bring me with you at least once! I don't want to be left out of the action." : "Right, men, it's time to set out. Let's start by assisting the villages, and then it's onward to Jungby!" Ephraim: "I'll capture a fort with only three companions!" Sigurd: "It would be madness to try that. I will do it alone!" Honestly, it's almost getting comedic how these initial characters are trying to out-hero one another. Aideen wants to sacrifice herself so that her knights don't die a pointless death - her knights would rather die a pointless death, thankyouverymuch - Sigurd want to run to Aideen's aid on his own so that only he dies a pointless death - his knights would also rather die a pointless death, thankyouverymuch. I get it, these are knighty knights, but it seems a bit over-the-top to start with this level of self-sacrifice. Since the maps are going to get rather big in this game, I don't think I'll show them in full. Instead, have the ingame minimap (a new feature! It's great!) with helpful annotations. This prologue map is still fairly simple (although a tad more complex than Eirika and Seth fighting two brigands): Get to castle #1, upon which the way to castle #2 opens up. Now, the quartett of units that we start with...: [HP 110% | Str 50% | Mag 5% | Skl 50% | Spd 30% | Lck 40% | Def 40% | Res 5%] Skills: Pursuit Weapon Level: Swords (*), Lances (B) Major Baldur blood The growth rate table on serenesforest defaults to the values without the Holy Blood bonuses. I predict that this will lead to at least one instance where I forget to hit the toggle and end up with (uneditable) false information in my post. Anyway, I of course know that Sigurd is on the "strongest FE character of all time" shortlist. Looking at his stats, I assume that comes from a combination of great offense and the resulting snowball effect, since his raw defensive bases aren't actually that impressive. He can tank a little more than Alec and Noish, but we're talking 2-3 HP and 1-2 Def here, not an Oswin-vs-Eliwood comparison. However, his offensive power is significantly higher. In compasion, Noish has 3 less points of Str and needs a skill proc to deal more damage than a single hit, while Alec may have Pursuit like Sigurd does, but his base Str is a whole 5 points worse. Alec and Noish can team up to kill a generic Fighter, Sigurd can simply one-round them. Even though Sigurd's Spd growth is pretty middling, between the low weight on swords and the doubling threshold only being 1 point of AS, I don't expect that he'll have too much trouble doubling most enemies, as long as they don't use swords (or maybe Wind magic, dunno how common that is) themselves. [HP 80% | Str 40% | Mag 5% | Skl 30% | Spd 20% | Lck 20% | Def 40% | Res 5%] Skills: Critical, Accost Weapon Level: Swords (B), Lances (C) Stat-wise, Noish is just a lesser Sigurd, with lower bases in every stat except Mag, and lower growths in every stat except Mag, Def, and Res. And skill-wise, his two skills combined are also worse than Pursuit, since they require a proc to deal more damage - Critical by potentially doubling his Atk (i.e. before subtracting enemy Def), and if I understand it correctly, Accost by initiating another round of combat (so an enemy could strike back another time if that second hit doesn't kill them). To get an idea about how often one can expect Noish do deal extra damage: Crit% = Skill, so 7% for base Noish, while the activation rate for Accost is the AS difference between Noish and his enemy, plus half of his HP. Because axes are so heavy in this game and negative AS is actually a thing, enemy Fighters sit at roughly -10 AS, which should result in a proc rate of roughly 30%, although it's significantly lower against the enemy hunters on the map. So basically, not something to rely on - I suppose the best way to go aboint it would be to attack with Noish first in case he gets lucky, and then work with the outcome. [HP 70% | Str 30% | Mag 5% | Skl 40% | Spd 30% | Lck 30% | Def 30% | Res 5%] Skills: Pursuit, Nihil Weapon Level: Swords (B), Lances (C) Alec delivers more reliable outcomes for his fights, but as a trade-off, his Str is another step down from Noish's, who is already a step down from Sigurd in that (and every other) regard. It doesn't help his first impression that unlike Sigurd and Noish, he starts with an Iron Sword. It's probably the best play to swap him to Sigurd's Steel Sword, since he should probably get his legendary Silver Sword not too long after seizing the first castle. Overall... eh. More reliable than Noish, but still far less powerful than Sigurd, I would guess. I think if he procs Spd once, an unequipped Alec doesn't get doubled by Ayra! [HP 90% | Str 50% | Mag 5% | Skl 10% | Spd 20% | Lck 10% | Def 40% | Res 5%] Skills: Vantage Weapon Level: Swords (B) It's nice of the game to be upfront about Arden being a bit of a joke character. That said, he has better Str than Noish and Alec, and better (physical) bulk than even Sigurd, and his low Spd gets saved by swords being as light as they are. I know that he can get a Pursuit Ring from an event at some point, and with that, his combat is probably not that bad. But of course, Genealogy is famous for its enormous maps, so even the Warp staff might not save poor Arden. The way Vantage works in this game is that Arden will always attack first if his HP is below half. Not as good as in PoR, but still reliable. __ Generic enemies on this map are all pretty bad, although they do hit relatively hard. 19 Atk is precisely enough to three-shot Noish, which makes his bulk advantage over Alec that bit less relevant, and Sigurd's few extra points on HP/Def actually kinda important. But how about we start actually playing the game? Genealogy manages another significant step up in ease of play by showing an enemy's attack range instead of only their movement. It's not as significant for these basic enemies, since I can count to two, but I hope it'll make facing long-ranged enemies less of a guessing game than it was in Book 2's endgame. Counting to ten was quite challenging in Old Mystery. ____ Combat forecast is also better than ever, showing all relevant stats on a single screen. Hurray for technology! And it's always a nice touch when enemy stats are tuned so that your own new characters can precisely get a kill. At the start of the first enemy phase - more dialogue. __ Gandolf then proceeds to crit Midir, who of course pulls a Cecilia and miraculously survives that. : "Urgh... Milady, I... Forgive me..." __ : "Er, yes, sir..." : "Hah, relax! Won't be long, and I'll be bringing Kinbaith's lot along for the fun. When I do, all Grannvale's our oyster. Even Belhalla oughta be easy pickings, what with nobody around to stop us! The kingdom's all ours, boys!" : "Leave it to us, sir!" How. Dare. Gandolf then proceeds to drag Aideen westward. (It seems that Gandolf was renamed to Munnir in the Heroes popularity polls. Honestly, I'm not even mad that his name isn't a slightly modified "Gandalf" there. I like LotR.) (I wonder if the name change is related to that, actually. I know that the Tolkien estate had been very insistent that DnD wasn't allowed to call Halflings Hobbits and I don't know how zealous they are about these things today, so maybe the Heroes guys wanted to avoid a conflict.) : "Oi, quit your dawdling! We don't have all day, y'know!" : "..." __ : "Oi, Gerrard. I'm going back to Marpha for now. You're in charge of the border. Stay sharp, we clear?" : "Yes, sir. But, er, your lordship... Who's that there dame you have?" : "The spoils of war, m'boy! She's coming back to Marpha to marry me. Whaddya think? A real keeper, eh?" : "I'll say! Just looking at her's makin' me mouth water." : "Back off! This one's mine. You'll have your pick of all Grannvale once we're done here. Keep it in your pants a little longer, yeah?" : "What animals... ...Gods above, I implore you, bestow upon these men a hint of human decency..." : "Oi, what're you mumbling about now? We're outta here. No dawdling, y'hear?" I hate that I can mention this already this early in the game, but I really can't stand when authors use sexual violence as a quick and easy way to establish that a villain is, in fact evil. "I made the bad guy a rapist. See how gritty and realistic my fantasy setting is!" Fuck. Off. It's arguably even worse here, since Gandolf's interactions with DiMaggio and Gerrard make sure that it's not just Gandolf being set up as a rapist - our entire first impression of Verdane is that of a country of rapists. Ahem. Back to the broadcast about moving anime boys on a rectangular game board. : "Get to work, boys! Our next stop's Chalphy. Don't forget to milk the villages for all they got!" And indeed, houses start to burn. I'll be honest, this is something my completionist butt has to get used to. What do you mean, I have to watch 500 gold per turn and village go up in flames while I'm still several turns away from doing anything about it?! In this case, only the one village is under attack immediately, although the other ones will follow shortly. But here's my ticket to at least allow one village to remain unscathed! : "It looks like we made it in time, Lex." : "Mm. And by the look of it, Sigurd's staring down the entire Verdane army with just a handful of men! Bet he'll be glad for the help! But geez, Azel, I can't believe I let you drag me into yet another mess like this." : "With the war in Isaach going on, there's hardly anyone left to defend Grannvale. Sigurd's few knights are all we have, and they're out here risking their lives on behalf of the entire country. I just couldn't leave them to die..." : "Heh... We both know there's more to it than that. Come on, Azel. What's the real reason we're here?" : "Er... I... I have no idea what you mean!" : "It's that Lady Aideen of Jungby, isn't it? Come on, everybody knows you like her. You just came for her sake, didn't you?" : "N-no! Of course not, you dolt!" : "Really? Then why's your face beet-red? Looks like somebody's got a giiiiiiirlfriend!" : "L-lex, knock it off! Come on, we've wasted enough time." : "Hahaha, got it. Time to teach these Verdanite thugs a lesson or two!" Yeah, sorry Azel, you're going to stay a bachelor. Skills: Vantage, Paragon Weapon Level: Axe (A) Minor Neir blood Lex with Brave Axe good Lex without Brave Axe bad I think that's how that goes? Even for a unit without Pursuit, axes seem like an awful weapon type, since their high weight still cuts into a unit's survivability by tanking their Avoid. 90 hit isn't great, either, although that one isn't actually that much lower than on Noish and Alec. Lex does have very focussed growths, so in conjunction with his doubled XP gain from Paragon, I can imagine that he can become fairly tanky despite his bad Avoid. And I know that he's an excellent father, because more XP is better than less XP. [HP 70% | Str 10% | Mag 40% | Skl 20% | Spd 50% | Lck 20% | Def 20% | Res 10%] Skills: Pursuit Weapon Level: Fire (B), Thunder (C), Wind (C) Minor Vala blood From what I remember, Azel has the reputation of a "high potential mage" like Nino or maybe Lilina, despite his very early joining time. If you get him to promotion, he gets a horse and then you have a high-movement unit with good offensive stats targeting Res, but it's a pain to get him there because of his bad mobility pre-promotion. I also have to mention that his Def is just awful compared to the physical units, so he's never going to be much of an enemy phase monster (unless he gets some crazy promo bonuses in HP/Def). Also, I just looked up the stats on tomes and... why exactly is Fire strictly worse than Thunder and especially Wind? Apart from the legendary tomes, which differentiate themselves with different stat bonuses, the Fire spells are identical to their Thunder and Wind equivalents with the sole exception of significantly higher weight, and that is true for the tier 2 and 3 spells, as well. With Azel having Pursuit, his combat prowess might be heavily impacted by how early he can get his hands on a different magic element. Although I don't really plan to make much use of Azel long-term, he's really quite good on this map, being exactly strong enough to one-round enemy Fighters. And Lex then steals the village Azel just saved. He is going to marry, so I'll probably try to rely on him more heavily, too. : "Pay attention, kid! Weapons aren't created equal. See, swords best axes, axes best lances, and lances best swords. This right here's why you've gotta use your head before you blunder into battle. Speaking of battle, if you ever find yourself hurting out there, a chapel is the best place to go. It ain't free, mind. Every bit of health you regain there'll cost five gold pieces. But you can't put a price on your health." __ At the home front, Alec and Noish save the closest village, too, although neither goes to get the reward. I actually still haven't grabbed the village now as I'm typing this - I'm thinking Ethlyn (oops, spoiler), maybe? I don't know how expensive it is for her to repair her staves. (but really, I'm just going by vibes here. I have no real clue who will have money to spare and who needs a lot of help) And while all the scrubs work together to save villages, Sigurd goes ahead and murders stuff. Honestly, Genealogy gameplay gravitates towards having Sigurd do all the work arguably even more than SacSto does with Seth. The burning villages really discourage going slow for the benefit of your weaker units. Next turn, next batch of recruits. (notice poor Arden lagging behind already) : "I want to do all I can as a healer to help out and save lives... Quan, I'm sorry I dragged you into this mess as well... I know Chalphy isn't my family anymore, now that we're married, but I couldn't just sit back and do nothing. Thank you so much for coming. Not just from me, but from Sigurd." : "There's no need for thanks, Ethlyn. Sigurd is every bit as important to me as he is you, remember? He is my brother-in-law now, after all. ...And I couldn't possibly leave you to fight all alone." : "Thank you, dear... Thank you so much..." : "Milord, milady, we should hurry. Lord Sigurd still awaits us on the battlefield just ahead." So business-like, that Finn fellow. [HP 110% | Str 50% | Mag 5% | Skl 30% | Spd 40% | Lck 10% | Def 50% | Res 5%] Skills: Adept Weapon Level: Lances (*) Major Nova blood Like Noish, Quan needs a skill proc to do more than hit the enemy once. His chances are a bit lower than Noish's (Adept has a [AS+20]% proc rate, so that's 18% right now), but Quan comes with the rather significant advantage of having Sigurd-like stats - even more Str and Def, and slightly lower numbers elsewhere. Because he rarely doubles, I don't think Quan has the same snowball potential as Sigurd, but he seems to be on a level clearly above the plebs that don't have major holy blood. I know that he, Finn and Ethlyn leave the party a fair bit before the garden party starts - I'll look up when exactly, since it's important for item inheritance, but that's still not something I really need to worry about right now. [HP 70% | Str 30% | Mag 5% | Skl 40% | Spd 30% | Lck 50% | Def 30% | Res 5%] Skills: Pursuit, Miracle Weapon Level: Lances (B) Finn joins with stats almost identical stats to Alec, albeit with a stronger, but heavier weapon type. With their Str stats being below average, I can see that actually working in Finn's advantage, but I don't know how enemy stats will look later in the game. What's definitely an advantage is the Miracle skill. I don't know if I'm capable of using it to great effect, but I know that it's a very powerful tool for players that are actually good at the game. The way this works, if I understand it correctly, is like this: When Finn is reduced to 10 or less HP, he will gain +10 Avoid for every HP below 11 (i.e. +100 Avo at 1 HP) for the rest of the turn. I assume that "rest of the turn" means that if Finn gets into Miracle range during player phase, he'll still have the Avo bonus on enemy phase? I'm also not sure if the Avo bonus gets updated if Finn is reduced from, say, 10 HP to 1 HP, or if he'll still only have the +10 Avo bonus. In any case, you can not "take the skill into the arena" - you only benefit from it in that scenario if you're go into Miracle range during the fight. Understandable, since losing in the arena puts a character at 1 HP, so it would kinda break the arena if that would count. [HP 60% | Str 30% | Mag 5% | Skl 30% | Spd 30% | Lck 20% | Def 20% | Res 10%] Skills: Critical Weapon Level: Swords (A), Staves (C) Minor Baldur blood 5% Mag growth. Hm. Oddly underwhelming stats in general, really, with no non-HP growth above 30%. She does tie Sigurd for highest Spd base, which also gives her very reasonable Avo, but she still doesn't really give the impression of an impressive combattant, which only makes her miniscule Mag growth more unimpressive. I assume she's still really good, of course, being a healer that can keep up with the boys. A bit of a Cecilia situation, where the utility weighs more than the stats. Alec and Noish split off from the main group a bit to go towards the furthest village - mistake, in hindsight, since Alec is already injured and they can't really fight multiple enemies anymore as a result. And at this point, I remember the whole "save at the start of a turn" thing that Genealogy introduced. This looks like a perfect "let's see if it works" situation. __ It works! ...in a second attempt, after using up some RNs somewhere else first. Tragically, now this can't be a ranked run anymore. After that, Azel splits from Lex and joins with the Xmas cavs, which results in three characters having to dance around enemy ranges. Oddly, these two Fighters go towards the south instead of these three scrubs. ____ Lex, meanwhile, goes to save the top left village. He is strong enough to 1v1 a Brigand, although he frustratingly wastes 500 gold because his movement is ever so slightly too low. To put a cap on the sideshows, here's what the village has to offer: : "The lords of this land, House Chalphy, have been revered as most magnificent swordsmen for generations. It's no wonder, being that they bear the bloodline of Baldur, the god of light of old. Those Verdane thugs are lucky Lord Byron isn't around with his holy sword, Tyrfing. They wouldn't stand a chance!" (+3000 gold) ____ And Sigurd still does Sigurd things. Standing on a forest is actually ideal in this situation: The uncounterable Hand Axe Fighter doesn't attack him because he has 0 hit, while the Iron Axe Fighters... also have 0 hit, but still give it a shot. I vaguely remember that there's some sources of avoid that the AI doesn't register - presumably, Sigurd providing Sigurd with his leadership is one of them? __ And more progress, while Quan and co. (and Arden) clean up the leftovers. I'll sum up the following process with "and then the other enemies die, too". Somewhere in the middle, Quan finds the time to have a little chat with Sigurd: : "Sigurd! Glad to see you in one piece." : "Quan? What are you-" : "We heard about the Verdane attack and couldn't just leave you be. We're here to do what we can." : "But what about Leonster? Aren't your hands full there, keeping an eye on Thracia?" : "Indeed. That's why Finn is the only knight here with me. The Lanzenritter are all back at home, under Father's command." : "Is that so... Quan, I'm sorry for pulling you into this mess, too. I know you're-" : "Sorry? Surely you jest, Sigurd! Don't you recall our old pledge?" : "Hm?" : "Come now! How could you forget? All those years ago, when we were students at the Belhalla academy? You, me, and Eldigan. Dear friends and fierce rivals in equal measure? Surely you recall that night, talking late about our hopes and dreams, and pledging our aid to one another in times of need?" : "Ah, of course! I remember it well." -- "It only slipped my mind for a second to give you an excuse to reminisce for the benefit of our viewers." -- : "Excellent. Now, shall we? With both of us here, what hope could those Verdanite savages possibly have? Never forget, Sigurd. I'm here for you, now and forever. I'll not let you lose to these lowlives!" And with that, he runs off to let Sigurd face the boss lone, so that he can try and fail to stab the Brigand who's currently burning down the nearby village. The first boss of the game hits hard, but not very reliably, especially with the weapon triangle being +-20 in this game. __ The Fighters around him don't move, but will attack adjacent enemies, which makes this manoeuvre slightly risky... __ ...especially because DiMaggio goes ahead and reminds me that 1RN is a thing. But Sigurd three-shots him, so he can then safely take the kill and seize on player phase. : "No... This ain't right..." : "Oh? ...That's Midir! Midir, hold on! What happened here?" : "Unhh... You... ...Lord... Sigurd?" : "Are you alright, Midir? Where's Aideen?!" : "I... don't know. But Gandolf..." : "Gandolf... That's all I need to hear. Midir, I'll do all I can to rescue her. You stay here and rest up." : "I can't, sir. I've got to help! I can't stand staying here, knowing those thugs still have her!" [HP 60% | Str 30% | Mag 5% | Skl 30% | Spd 40% | Lck 10% | Def 30% | Res 5%] Skills: Pursuit, Accost Weapon Level: Bows (B) Midir is the third member of the "Cav with Pursuit and low-ish base Str" clique, alongside Alec and Finn. His bases are just a tad worse than those of those other two, but it's really not by a significant degree. Since enemies seem rather weak, I'm not sure how useful Midir is going to be. The uncountered chip damage to set up kills for non-Sigurd characters in particular is probably good, but earlygame archers for whom this is the preferred role tend to fall behind in levels pretty hard, since they don't get kill XP that way, and typically don't have a good enemy phase. For what it's worth, he can introduce himself with a kill immediately. : "DiMaggio stuffed up, huh? Shoulda known he was worthless! Prince Gandolf's not gonna like this. Put the bridge back up, boys! We ain't gonna blow it like DiMaggio!" : "Sigurd... So this is all you've amounted to..." And that's where I'll end this already very long update: With the second enemy castle waking up, and with this handsome fellow introducing himself. He looks vaguely important, doesn't he? The Team: Lv. HP Str Mag Skl Spd Lck Def Res Funds XP Sigurd 8.42* 38 16 0 13 12 8 11 3 5000 +342 Quan 4.76* 34 16 0 10 10 5 10 3 5000 +76 Noish 3.68 33 11 0 7 8 4 8 0 2000 +68 Alec 2.27 32 9 0 9 10 4 7 0 2000 +27 Lex 5.56 34 11 0 10 11 8 10 0 13000 +156 Finn 1.68 32 9 0 8 10 8 7 0 2000 +68 Midir 2.28 32 9 0 7 9 3 7 0 2000 +28 Arden 3.86 36 13 0 5 4 3 13 0 2000 +86 Ethlyn 1.60 28 5 8 11 12 8 4 6 4000 +60 Azel 2.09 31 1 11 7 10 2 2 6 5000 +109 +2 Str and +2 Def on Sigurd thus far. No Spd, but still an auspicious start to what surely will be a long and prosperous career for the young man. (a * after the level and XP means that the character in question is in a promoted class. Hopefully, this will always be obvious enough for me to spot) On 2/19/2024 at 12:00 AM, Interdimensional Observer said: Congrats on finishing Old Mystery. I don't know if you'd care, but I did post about my thoughts about FE3 when I had freshly completed nearly five years ago. Thank you! As well for the link to your own thoughts. Definitely interesting to see the thoughts of another first-time player. On 2/19/2024 at 12:00 AM, Interdimensional Observer said: The endgame barbs are just another reason why the original Lady Sword was so good.😄 I had it equipped on Catria in the endgame, but hardly used it at all because a lot of the barbs had to be set up for Sheema to kill. Very important! On 2/18/2024 at 11:18 PM, Jotari said: Also I don't think you mentioned it, but in Old Mystery these aren't three maps, it's one continuous map like the GBA's final bosses. No saving or changing your team in between (hence Jeigan's comment). So that's even more reason to warp skip Gharnef. I only mentioned it indirectly (in that I had to bring Julian, Siriüh, Minerva, and Merric for all three maps), but didn't state it explicitly, yeah. The "no saving" thing is honestly a bit strange. Kaga FE seems really undecided about how they feel about regular saving - I thought that Gaiden's maps were shorter than FE1's in part because that allows for more frequent between-map saves, and Genealogy has the "start of turn" battle saves... but then there's FE3 and (I believe) Thracia, which really don't seem to give a crap about players losing characters on turn 29. (For me in that final chapter, not being able to hard-save between didn't matter - I used a save state to check how Imhullu and Silence interact, anyway, and then another one at the start of Medeus's map because I didn't want to risk screwing up the rescue/warp/again shenanigans) Edited February 20 by ping Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Interdimensional Observer Posted February 20 Share Posted February 20 (edited) @Saint Rubenio I forgot to mention my "Sigurd killability calculations" in the chat thread were slightly off, I miscounted his Authority Stars, 2 instead of Seliph's 3 means he actually had 10% higher chances of getting hit than I thought.😅 1 hour ago, ping said: 5% Mag growth. Hm. Oddly underwhelming stats in general, really, with no non-HP growth above 30%. She does tie Sigurd for highest Spd base, which also gives her very reasonable Avo, but she still doesn't really give the impression of an impressive combattant, which only makes her miniscule Mag growth more unimpressive. I assume she's still really good, of course, being a healer that can keep up with the boys. A bit of a Cecilia situation, where the utility weighs more than the stats. Mend my friend, Mend. 20 + 8 should be plenty of healing. And honestly, mounted staffers need much lower Mag, how else do would they not obsolete their infantry brethren? ...I should've posted these a little sooner, but... ...I mentioned these in the chat thread over a month ago, in case you didn't see. Nintendo Power, August 1996 issue (FE4 released in May '96), apparently. Why NP did this? I do not know. -Unrelated, but Genealogy was originally not going to be a Fire Emblem game. It was going to be called "Holy Sword Elm Kaiser" and featured squads as the base unit, not individual soldiers. Holy Sword Elm Kaiser was later changed to "Sword Emblem". We got to Faia Emuburemu: Seisen no Keifu after the game had been internally remade 2 or 3 times, losing some of the radical gameplay differences that likely justified not calling it Fire Emblem at the very start of development. Edited February 20 by Interdimensional Observer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint Rubenio Posted February 20 Share Posted February 20 41 minutes ago, ping said: Eugenics Simulator 1.0: Go. Arden time. 41 minutes ago, ping said: Won't lie to ya, this looks like the save file of someone who was like "ok that was fun and all, this is a good place to stop, I'll keep going later" and then just went ahead and did other things. 44 minutes ago, ping said: I know that some people in this thread have... opinions on this game - but I have to appreciate that this intro already provides us with more of a cohesive backstory than Akaneia got in the entirety of two games. The presentation is far better as well: the world map scrolling left and and right and marking the countries that are mentioned in the script; portraits popping in and out to make it easier to associate the characters with their names. I think this is worth pointing out because this is the same console as Old Mystery, where the greatest special effect is the map scrolling from where the last battle was fought to the next location. Very true. Already we're seeing improvements over Archanea's incredibly barebones storytelling and dry visuals. ...Even if the portraits aren't much better lol 46 minutes ago, ping said: : "You must ensure that as many of you survive this as possible." Cool portrait rips! I like the little FE3-esque style. It's so cool, it even turned Aideen into a pink-head! 47 minutes ago, ping said: Honestly, it's almost getting comedic how these initial characters are trying to out-hero one another. Aideen wants to sacrifice herself so that her knights don't die a pointless death - her knights would rather die a pointless death, thankyouverymuch - Sigurd want to run to Aideen's aid on his own so that only he dies a pointless death - his knights would also rather die a pointless death, thankyouverymuch. I get it, these are knighty knights, but it seems a bit over-the-top to start with this level of self-sacrifice. And then there's Arden that everyone just wants to leave in the castle. 48 minutes ago, ping said: his raw defensive bases aren't actually that impressive. Fun fact: If you send him to take on the first group of brigands in the game alone, he can die on EP. Chances are low, but it can happen. 50 minutes ago, ping said: Combat forecast is also better than ever, showing all relevant stats on a single screen Singlehandedly makes this game less of a hassle to play than FE3. 51 minutes ago, ping said: How. Dare. I can't believe the Verdane royal family were Luthier's ancestors all along. 52 minutes ago, ping said: (It seems that Gandolf was renamed to Munnir in the Heroes popularity polls. Honestly, I'm not even mad that his name isn't a slightly modified "Gandalf" there. I like LotR.) (I wonder if the name change is related to that, actually. I know that the Tolkien estate had been very insistent that DnD wasn't allowed to call Halflings Hobbits and I don't know how zealous they are about these things today, so maybe the Heroes guys wanted to avoid a conflict.) As far as I can tell, etimologically it's a completely arbitrary change. He's called Gandolf in JP, Munnir doesn't seem to have much of an origin other than Munir being a regualr Arabic name and, well, they're obviously completely different. 54 minutes ago, ping said: I hate that I can mention this already this early in the game, but I really can't stand when authors use sexual violence as a quick and easy way to establish that a villain is, in fact evil. "I made the bad guy a rapist. See how gritty and realistic my fantasy setting is!" Fuck. Off. It's arguably even worse here, since Gandolf's interactions with DiMaggio and Gerrard make sure that it's not just Gandolf being set up as a rapist - our entire first impression of Verdane is that of a country of rapists. Kaga is not a very creative man. 55 minutes ago, ping said: Lex with Brave Axe good Lex without Brave Axe bad I think that's how that goes? Even for a unit without Pursuit, axes seem like an awful weapon type, since their high weight still cuts into a unit's survivability by tanking their Avoid. 90 hit isn't great, either, although that one isn't actually that much lower than on Noish and Alec. Pretty much. Lex is pretty much just a worse Noish/Alec if you don't get his brave axe. His entirely hidden, hintless, guide-baity brave axe. Whoop! 56 minutes ago, ping said: : "Pay attention, kid! Weapons aren't created equal. Classist grandpa 57 minutes ago, ping said: [HP 70% | Str 30% | Mag 5% | Skl 40% | Spd 30% | Lck 50% | Def 30% | Res 5%] Skills: Pursuit, Miracle Weapon Level: Lances (B) Finn joins with stats almost identical stats to Alec, albeit with a stronger, but heavier weapon type. With their Str stats being below average, I can see that actually working in Finn's advantage, but I don't know how enemy stats will look later in the game. What's definitely an advantage is the Miracle skill. I don't know if I'm capable of using it to great effect, but I know that it's a very powerful tool for players that are actually good at the game. The way this works, if I understand it correctly, is like this: When Finn is reduced to 10 or less HP, he will gain +10 Avoid for every HP below 11 (i.e. +100 Avo at 1 HP) for the rest of the turn. I assume that "rest of the turn" means that if Finn gets into Miracle range during player phase, he'll still have the Avo bonus on enemy phase? I'm also not sure if the Avo bonus gets updated if Finn is reduced from, say, 10 HP to 1 HP, or if he'll still only have the +10 Avo bonus. In any case, you can not "take the skill into the arena" - you only benefit from it in that scenario if you're go into Miracle range during the fight. Understandable, since losing in the arena puts a character at 1 HP, so it would kinda break the arena if that would count. Finn wants to be forever alone so that he gets to keep his brave lance. Fuck love, he deserves it more. 58 minutes ago, ping said: : "Come now! How could you forget? All those years ago, when we were students at the Belhalla academy? You, me, and Eldigan. Dear friends and fierce rivals in equal measure? Surely you recall that night, talking late about our hopes and dreams, and pledging our aid to one another in times of need?" Look, look! It's le Three Houses inspiration moment that has basically nothing to do with Three Houses because the wonder trio from Houses are not friends in the slightest! Claude doesn't even know the other two at all! 59 minutes ago, ping said: __ ...especially because DiMaggio goes ahead and reminds me that 1RN is a thing. There he is, folks. FE4's invincible protagonist. Nothing can ever kill him, ever. He's better than Seth! 59 minutes ago, ping said: [HP 60% | Str 30% | Mag 5% | Skl 30% | Spd 40% | Lck 10% | Def 30% | Res 5%] Skills: Pursuit, Accost Weapon Level: Bows (B) Midir is the third member of the "Cav with Pursuit and low-ish base Str" clique, alongside Alec and Finn. His bases are just a tad worse than those of those other two, but it's really not by a significant degree. Since enemies seem rather weak, I'm not sure how useful Midir is going to be. The uncountered chip damage to set up kills for non-Sigurd characters in particular is probably good, but earlygame archers for whom this is the preferred role tend to fall behind in levels pretty hard, since they don't get kill XP that way, and typically don't have a good enemy phase. As I recall from my run, he was... forgettable. 1 hour ago, ping said: : "Sigurd... So this is all you've amounted to..." And that's where I'll end this already very long update: With the second enemy castle waking up, and with this handsome fellow introducing himself. He looks vaguely important, doesn't he? Eh. I'm sure he'll be less harmful than Gotoh. On 2/19/2024 at 6:47 AM, Jotari said: the only math left is Gotoh and Xane. Make the fan art @Saint Rubenio The only thing I'm letting Gotoh get is a slow, painful death., On 2/19/2024 at 6:47 AM, Jotari said: (by the way, love the look of lawyer Gotoh in the previous batch). Gotoh being a lawyer fits him really well. And not a good lawyer either, he's the lawyer that defends a mob boss. Just now, Interdimensional Observer said: @Saint Rubenio I forgot to mention my "Sigurd killability calculations" in the chat thread were slightly off, I miscounted his Authority Stars, 2 instead of Seliph's 3 means he actually had 10% higher chances of getting hit than I thought.😅 History continues to prove me right. Historials will record my name as "Ruben the Correct." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nauriam Posted February 20 Share Posted February 20 (edited) 1 hour ago, ping said: This is the second time I will start playing Genealogy, and hopefully the first time I'll finish it. As you can see, I didn't get particularly far last time (I believe this is the castle right before Deidre becomes available) before the playthough petered out. That was about 2.5 years ago, according to the age of the save file on my external HD, so I don't quite remember what made me stop playing. Can't really be frustration, since this last save doesn't exactly look like something awful is about to happen. Likely that I just didn't have the time, or maybe had the time but got sucked into another game. Given the time of your last save, it may have been the realization that you had to move your whole army through the spirit forest that urged you to quit. I may be a Genealogy apologist, but that spirit forest does absolutely suck. 1 hour ago, ping said: The presentation is far better as well: the world map scrolling left and and right and marking the countries that are mentioned in the script; portraits popping in and out to make it easier to associate the characters with their names. I think this is worth pointing out because this is the same console as Old Mystery, where the greatest special effect is the map scrolling from where the last battle was fought to the next location. In my opinion, I find that this game presents its scenarios and politics better than any other game in the series. Not only are the cutscenes really comprehensive compared to the previous games, but each in-game map modeling the world map so closely really ties together a sense of place that I don't get in any of the other games. 1 hour ago, ping said: Honestly, it's almost getting comedic how these initial characters are trying to out-hero one another. Aideen wants to sacrifice herself so that her knights don't die a pointless death - her knights would rather die a pointless death, thankyouverymuch - Sigurd want to run to Aideen's aid on his own so that only he dies a pointless death - his knights would also rather die a pointless death, thankyouverymuch. I get it, these are knighty knights, but it seems a bit over-the-top to start with this level of self-sacrifice. This, and the emphasis that Sigurd's army is so tiny, but they're noble and well trained compared to those Verdane savages does give a really weird vibe. I think the setup of a country invading while a full scale war is happening on the other side of the continent is a great intro for a Fire Emblem game. However, they didn't need to make it so pretentious. 1 hour ago, ping said: : Y-yes! Thank you, sire! Thank you!" "Please sir, let me experience the horrors of war and murder. I may be too young to commit them myself, but I am honored to commit murder vicariously by your side". I'm being a little facetious, but Oifey's enthusiasm only really works in the scope of these game-ified battles. Maybe someone who knows history can correct me on whether or not this kind of enthusiasm is realistic. 34 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said: ...Even if the portraits aren't much better lol I actually am very fond of FE4's portraits. The 90s era anime influence and big hair are very endearing (although I can understand why some people aren't a fan of them). Edited February 20 by Nauriam Added comment about Oifey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jotari Posted February 20 Share Posted February 20 Hell yeah! Genealogy! Just seeing those intro frames is getting me hyped. It's not perfect, but it's still a great game. And not just for it's day, in general imo. Wait Oifey is fourteen. That would make him seventeen by the end of the First Generation! More than old enough to hold a lance and die for his country. Hell by Chapter 3 he's already older than Roy! Munnir was a stupid change. If the Tolkien estate was being bitchy, they should have had the balls to call him Ganondorf. There's already a Mario in this game! Also, is it a coincidence that Gandolf is attacking a place ruled by a Lord of (house) Ring? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint Rubenio Posted February 20 Share Posted February 20 12 minutes ago, Jotari said: Hell yeah! Genealogy! Just seeing those intro frames is getting me hyped. It's not perfect, but it's still a great game. And not just for it's day, in general imo. Wait Oifey is fourteen. That would make him seventeen by the end of the First Generation! More than old enough to hold a lance and die for his country. Hell by Chapter 3 he's already older than Roy! Munnir was a stupid change. If the Tolkien estate was being bitchy, they should have had the balls to call him Ganondorf. There's already a Mario in this game! Also, is it a coincidence that Gandolf is attacking a place ruled by a Lord of (house) Ring? I sincerely doubt it's a coincidence, Kaga loves to reference LotR. Berwick Saga, for instance, has a Faramir, a Nazgul, a guy who was probably meant to reference Eowyn (but FE brainrot led the community to translate his name as Olwen, and then the fanslation's creator further tweaked that into Owen), and probably another couple of references I've missed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ping Posted February 20 Author Share Posted February 20 35 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said: Mend my friend, Mend. 20 + 8 should be plenty of healing. And honestly, mounted staffers need much lower Mag, how else do would they not obsolete their infantry brethren? ...I should've posted these a little sooner, but... ...ohhh, the "10+" is inside the bracket that is then doubled. I said to myself, "huh, Mend is a bit weaker than usual (although 26 HP wouldn't have been a terrible heal). Too bad Ethlyn can't use Recover", but that really doesn't matter, then. I will say that Clarine manages to not obsolete Saul and Ellen despite having six times Ethlyn's Mag growth, as well as her own fun little niche as a dodge tank after promotion The scans are interesting, thank you! Nintendo Power is an American (and official) magazin, right? I guess that makes "Zigludo" Zigludo's canon name! 38 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said: Won't lie to ya, this looks like the save file of someone who was like "ok that was fun and all, this is a good place to stop, I'll keep going later" and then just went ahead and did other things. Honestly, that might be accurate. I'll also say that this is right before a big-ass forest you have to walk though, including a choke point in its middle, so maybe I really didn't want to do that. 39 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said: Cool portrait rips! I like the little FE3-esque style. It's so cool, it even turned Aideen into a pink-head! Thank you, and also damn it! Luckily (and surprisingly), I was able to edit my post, so now you look a little silly. Apologies for that. 43 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said: I can't believe the Verdane royal family were Luthier's ancestors all along. Luthier 🤝 Yubello Should've been an axe user 45 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said: Finn wants to be forever alone so that he gets to keep his brave lance. Fuck love, he deserves it more. You'll have to fight @Shaky Jones over that. Actually, I think if you win, you'll get two of your requests fulfilled that I would otherwise ignore. 33 minutes ago, Nauriam said: Given the time of your last save, it may have been the realization that you had to move your whole army through the spirit forest that urged you to quit. I may be a Genealogy apologist, but that spirit forest does absolutely suck. I swear I wrote my reply to Ruben before reading this! 35 minutes ago, Nauriam said: In my opinion, I find that this game presents its scenarios and politics better than any other game in the series. Not only are the cutscenes really comprehensive compared to the previous games, but each in-game map modeling the world map so closely really ties together a sense of place that I don't get in any of the other games. Even without the "Sum [in-game maps] = World Map" part, FE4 definitely seems a lot more deliberate about showing where's where than any other FE game I've played. I honestly couldn't tell you where Gra lies in relation to Altea without checking a map of Akaneia, for example. 38 minutes ago, Nauriam said: This, and the emphasis that Sigurd's army is so tiny, but they're noble and well trained compared to those Verdane savages does give a really weird vibe. I think the setup of a country invading while a full scale war is happening on the other side of the continent is a great intro for a Fire Emblem game. However, they didn't need to make it so pretentious. Yeahhh, "weird vibe" sounds about right. This opening is very insistent that the Grannvalians (or at least those from Jungby and Chalphy) are just better (tm) than the Verdanians both martially and morally. 30 minutes ago, Jotari said: Wait Oifey is fourteen. That would make him seventeen by the end of the First Generation! More than old enough to hold a lance and die for his country. Hell by Chapter 3 he's already older than Roy! To be fair, if people are to be believed, Roy can't fight, either 30 minutes ago, Jotari said: Also, is it a coincidence that Gandolf is attacking a place ruled by a Lord of (house) Ring? ...huh, I can definitely see that. That would be a funny reference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint Rubenio Posted February 20 Share Posted February 20 10 minutes ago, ping said: Thank you, and also damn it! Luckily (and surprisingly), I was able to edit my post, so now you look a little silly. Apologies for that. The quote is unaffected, so proof of your goof remains for posterity. Oof. 11 minutes ago, ping said: You'll have to fight @Shaky Jones over that. Actually, I think if you win, you'll get two of your requests fulfilled that I would otherwise ignore. Implying Shaky is even going to look in the general direction of a Genealogy playthrough. I have already won. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrightBow Posted February 20 Share Posted February 20 (edited) 3 hours ago, ping said: The presentation is far better as well: the world map scrolling left and and right and marking the countries that are mentioned in the script; portraits popping in and out to make it easier to associate the characters with their names. I think this is worth pointing out because this is the same console as Old Mystery, where the greatest special effect is the map scrolling from where the last battle was fought to the next location. Considering FE6 to FE8 all copied this intro style, it's a bit of a surprise that FE5 didn't actually do that. So many one-time things suddenly became "tradition" with FE6. Starting a game with a big info dump is not exactly ideal. It's particularly funny in FE7, where the other countries don't actually matter. But hey, we copy & pasted the FE6 opening narration. Might as well copy the intro too. Fortunately FE9 finally had the bright idea to only introduce new countries once they become relevant to the plot instead of frontloading it all. Maybe in FE4 it was impossible to avoid, though. Considering there is the war with Isaac on one end and the invasion with Verdane on the other. Quite a lot going on right out of the gate. 3 hours ago, ping said: Honestly, it's almost getting comedic how these initial characters are trying to out-hero one another. Aideen wants to sacrifice herself so that her knights don't die a pointless death - her knights would rather die a pointless death, thankyouverymuch - Sigurd want to run to Aideen's aid on his own so that only he dies a pointless death - his knights would also rather die a pointless death, thankyouverymuch. Could be more elegant for sure. But you can most certainly see that they wanted to do something about the starting squads in FE3 not getting a proper introduction. Although this starting knight squad still feels somewhat neglected. Like, Alec has a convo with Sylvia in chapter 2 and I think that's about it. Arden at least has his events, though. 3 hours ago, ping said: Stat-wise, Noish is just a lesser Sigurd, with lower bases in every stat except Mag, and lower growths in every stat except Mag, Def, and Res. And skill-wise, his two skills combined are also worse than Pursuit, since they require a proc to deal more damage - Critical by potentially doubling his Atk (i.e. before subtracting enemy Def), and if I understand it correctly, Accost by initiating another round of combat (so an enemy could strike back another time if that second hit doesn't kill them). It's weird how Re-Move was specifically added to counteract player units dying because of how many enemies they kill on enemy phase, but then they add all this chance-based nonsense that makes the problem so much worse. 3 hours ago, ping said: It's nice of the game to be upfront about Arden being a bit of a joke character. That said, he has better Str than Noish and Alec, and better (physical) bulk than even Sigurd, and his low Spd gets saved by swords being as light as they are. I know that he can get a Pursuit Ring from an event at some point, and with that, his combat is probably not that bad. But of course, Genealogy is famous for its enormous maps, so even the Warp staff might not save poor Arden. Leaving him in the castle for this one is most certainly an advice best ignored, since this is easily his best map. Not exactly damned by faint praise either. With healing rather limited for the time being and Arden being a good match for the enemies due to them all wielding axes, he is genuinely useful here. 3 hours ago, ping said: But how about we start actually playing the game? Genealogy manages another significant step up in ease of play by showing an enemy's attack range instead of only their movement. It's not as significant for these basic enemies, since I can count to two, but I hope it'll make facing long-ranged enemies less of a guessing game than it was in Book 2's endgame. Counting to ten was quite challenging in Old Mystery. This works quite well here since enemies with long ranged tomes also have their movement set to 0. So you don't see the attack range on top of the movement range. 3 hours ago, ping said: I hate that I can mention this already this early in the game, but I really can't stand when authors use sexual violence as a quick and easy way to establish that a villain is, in fact evil. "I made the bad guy a rapist. See how gritty and realistic my fantasy setting is!" Fuck. Off. It's arguably even worse here, since Gandolf's interactions with DiMaggio and Gerrard make sure that it's not just Gandolf being set up as a rapist - our entire first impression of Verdane is that of a country of rapists. In this case this also seems a bit self-defeating, I suppose. I mean, the idea is that Verdane was tricked into believing Grandbell was about to invade them. If the Verdanians were expressing the belief that they were protecting their country, it would create some mystery and intrigue. Instead it comes across like they just pillage for the fun of it. 3 hours ago, ping said: : "Pay attention, kid! Weapons aren't created equal. Indeed. Poor Fire magic. Meanwhile Light and Dark is just plain better than everything else. 3 hours ago, ping said: Speaking of battle, if you ever find yourself hurting out there, a chapel is the best place to go. It ain't free, mind. Every bit of health you regain there'll cost five gold pieces. But you can't put a price on your health." Worth noting that it's not just churches. You also need to pay the same price if you get healed in castles. 3 hours ago, ping said: (but really, I'm just going by vibes here. I have no real clue who will have money to spare and who needs a lot of help) Money is generally not much of a concern for anyone remotely competent in the arena. So giving some help to staff users is not a bad idea since most of them are rather expensive. Especially for poor Aideen because unlike Ethlin she not only cannot do the arena at all but she also has poor movement, so she is a bad choice for grabbing villages. Not to mention Ethlin is already married, so in a pinch Cuan can just transfer his money to her. Of course next map you also get Dew, who has the ability to give his money to anyone. 3 hours ago, ping said: There is also the matter of Leadership stars. 2 Stars means that Sigurd gives a +10 boost to hit and avoid to all allies in 3 tiles. The way this works is that 1 Star does not give anything. But starting with 2 starts, each additional star gives +10. So at 2 starts you have +10, at 3 you have +20, at 4 you have +30 and so on. 3 hours ago, ping said: I assume she's still really good, of course, being a healer that can keep up with the boys. A bit of a Cecilia situation, where the utility weighs more than the stats. Yeah, statistically speaking she is more of a warrior who happens to be able to use staffs. I do like that characters are not necessarily optimized for their role. Characters don't necessarily pick careers that make the most sense for their growth spread. That being said, she is a sibling and a spouse, so this does come with some superpowers. If a sibling or a lover is adjacent, a unit gets a +20 critical hit chance. So even units without the Critical skill can deal critical hits that way. As for lover-specific powers, they also gain +10 to hit and avoid if the significant other is in 3 tiles. And they can give each other their money. 3 hours ago, ping said: Somewhere in the middle, Quan finds the time to have a little chat with Sigurd: Speaking of, if you have Remove you can actually still perform any action you want after attacking or using a staff. Talking, visiting villages or castles, giving money, freaking seizing... The only commands you cannot use afterwards are "Attack" and "Staffs". Everything else is fair game. It's another way characters with horses get to save time. They can perform 2 actions in the same turn. 3 hours ago, ping said: Midir is the third member of the "Cav with Pursuit and low-ish base Str" clique, alongside Alec and Finn. His bases are just a tad worse than those of those other two, but it's really not by a significant degree. The big problem are bows, I'd say. They are both heavy and inaccurate, without really getting any power in exchange. So archers generally struggle to get by with mere average speed and skill stats. Edited February 20 by BrightBow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Interdimensional Observer Posted February 20 Share Posted February 20 (edited) 1 hour ago, ping said: The scans are interesting, thank you! Nintendo Power is an American (and official) magazin, right? I guess that makes "Zigludo" Zigludo's canon name! I don't think Nintendo owned it or anything, but it yeah it was the US's primary Nintendo magazine until the digital era put it out of business. They also did a nice job making guidebooks for a while (they seem to have stopped at the end of GBA and start of the Wii eras, the diffusion of the Internet again probably), and I owned all three of their Fire Emblem ones (Blaz-SS-PoR). Thank the Internet Archive for preserving these. And thanks for the -imperfect- advice and pretty pictures for a child to behold.😄 Really drew me into FE more than I might've otherwise been. *Ahem* I shared the above old pages because they're like the first Western exposure to FE, if oddly so since there was seemingly no indication the games would leave Japan (and of course, they did not). -And because it has Zigludo, Serlis, the heroes of Fire Emblem: The Descent of Jihad (also "Marus", "Medious", and "Hardaine"; plus I love how "Descent" both has the intended meaning of "lineage" and the unintended of "unleashing").😛 1 hour ago, ping said: Even without the "Sum [in-game maps] = World Map" part, FE4 definitely seems a lot more deliberate about showing where's where than any other FE game I've played. I honestly couldn't tell you where Gra lies in relation to Altea without checking a map of Akaneia, for example. They also very deliberately designed the map with Grannvale in mind. It's not merely that the story is Grannvale-centric, it's that the world is Grannvale-centric (to a degree).🌍 That central location is no mistake. ...Lycia and Renais would later fall into this geographic centralism, though used somewhat differently. Edited February 20 by Interdimensional Observer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPGuy96 Posted February 20 Share Posted February 20 Man, I love Genealogy, stupid as it often is. Huzzah for finishing Mystery! The story starts strong with Lang, and then, as you said, it's disappointing with all the Book 1 villains villaining the way they did in Book 1, with the exception of Hardin. I mentioned already, but I do like how Kaga starts to explore more with gameplay/story integration in Book 2. 2 hours ago, ping said: Also, I just looked up the stats on tomes and... why exactly is Fire strictly worse than Thunder and especially Wind? Apart from the legendary tomes, which differentiate themselves with different stat bonuses, the Fire spells are identical to their Thunder and Wind equivalents with the sole exception of significantly higher weight, and that is true for the tier 2 and 3 spells, as well. With Azel having Pursuit, his combat prowess might be heavily impacted by how early he can get his hands on a different magic element. This was the first attempt at splitting spells into different types and it's...kind of bad, since the only difference is weight. Berwick does the three different anima magic types reasonably well, and so does Engage. That might be it? Maybe TRS too, though all the cool tomes in that are prfs anyway. 2 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said: Nintendo Power, August 1996 issue (FE4 released in May '96), apparently. Why NP did this? I do not know. I think I had this Nintendo Power, though it was long before Melee imprinted Fire Emblem on my consciousness. I'm pretty sure I remember a DQV or VI NP as well, although maybe there was more of chance of them making it over. 1 hour ago, Saint Rubenio said: a guy who was probably meant to reference Eowyn (but FE brainrot led the community to translate his name as Olwen, and then the fanslation's creator further tweaked that into Owen), and probably another couple of references I've missed. Owen is absolutely nothing like Eowyn, though I suppose that goes for Gandalf here too. Maybe references just don't have to make sense. 40 minutes ago, BrightBow said: This works quite well here since enemies with long ranged tomes also have their movement set to 0. So you don't see the attack range on top of the movement range. The biggest downgrade from SNES to GBA FE is not the lack of skills, simpler graphics, or smaller maps, it's that you have to count to 10 for long range tomes and status staves again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrightBow Posted February 20 Share Posted February 20 3 hours ago, ping said: And that's where I'll end this already very long update: With the second enemy castle waking up, and with this handsome fellow introducing himself. He looks vaguely important, doesn't he? I'm sure there is nothing unusual on his holy blood screen. Btw, whenever you seize a castle, it's a good idea to check the status screen for any new Talk options. That marks the point when new options will unlock. There isn't anything here this time, but you want to keep that in mind starting with the next map. And definitely always make sure to check all the Talks before seizing the final castle. 2 hours ago, Saint Rubenio said: Kaga is not a very creative man. I do still very much like Hilda calling that brigand boss a goat fucker, though. 2 hours ago, Saint Rubenio said: Eh. I'm sure he'll be less harmful than Gotoh. For one thing, he is actually helping out in the fight. So that's an improvement. 1 hour ago, Saint Rubenio said: I sincerely doubt it's a coincidence, Kaga loves to reference LotR. Berwick Saga, for instance, has a Faramir, a Nazgul, a guy who was probably meant to reference Eowyn (but FE brainrot led the community to translate his name as Olwen, and then the fanslation's creator further tweaked that into Owen), and probably another couple of references I've missed. Dark Knights are also just the Peter Jackson Nazguls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ping Posted February 20 Author Share Posted February 20 5 hours ago, Saint Rubenio said: The quote is unaffected, so proof of your goof remains for posterity. Oof. Not my fault that you can't even quote correctly 5 hours ago, Saint Rubenio said: Implying Shaky is even going to look in the general direction of a Genealogy playthrough. I have already won. You'd think that he'd never miss the opportunity for a big rant. But it'll be a little while until Finn's potential bride joins, so I'll see what happens 5 hours ago, BrightBow said: Starting a game with a big info dump is not exactly ideal. It's particularly funny in FE7, where the other countries don't actually matter. But hey, we copy & pasted the FE6 opening narration. Might as well copy the intro too. Fortunately FE9 finally had the bright idea to only introduce new countries once they become relevant to the plot instead of frontloading it all. Maybe in FE4 it was impossible to avoid, though. Considering there is the war with Isaac on one end and the invasion with Verdane on the other. Quite a lot going on right out of the gate. Yeah, it seemed to me that most of the intro was relevant to what is happening in the prologue. The timeline is the only big exception. And Agustria, too, technically, but that was just a single line saying that it exists. 5 hours ago, BrightBow said: This works quite well here since enemies with long ranged tomes also have their movement set to 0. So you don't see the attack range on top of the movement range. 4 hours ago, RPGuy96 said: The biggest downgrade from SNES to GBA FE is not the lack of skills, simpler graphics, or smaller maps, it's that you have to count to 10 for long range tomes and status staves again. And unless it's the boss sitting on a throne, you can't even be certain if a Bolting Sage in GBAFE will move or not. This really does sound like Genealogy is much better in this regard. 5 hours ago, BrightBow said: That being said, she is a sibling and a spouse, so this does come with some superpowers. If a sibling or a lover is adjacent, a unit gets a +20 critical hit chance. So even units without the Critical skill can deal critical hits that way. As for lover-specific powers, they also gain +10 to hit and avoid if the significant other is in 3 tiles. And they can give each other their money. Those are significant boosts. I'm not very good at making use of supports in GBAFE and PoR, so I'm not too optimistic that I'll get too much value out of this, though. 5 hours ago, BrightBow said: It's another way characters with horses get to save time. They can perform 2 actions in the same turn. Yeah, Lex already did that when visiting the village in the northwest. At least he wasn't able to move again again after that, so the whole thing is only very OP instead of completely bonkers. 5 hours ago, BrightBow said: The big problem are bows, I'd say. They are both heavy and inaccurate, without really getting any power in exchange. So archers generally struggle to get by with mere average speed and skill stats. I know that the Killer Bow is really good in Genealogy, so Midir should get a power spike once he can grab this from Jamke (who I probably won't be using) next map. But yeah, the other generic bows don't seem too awe-inspiring. 4 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said: They also very deliberately designed the map with Grannvale in mind. It's not merely that the story is Grannvale-centric, it's that the world is Grannvale-centric (to a degree).🌍 That central location is no mistake. ...Lycia and Renais would later fall into this geographic centralism, though used somewhat differently. Lycia is kind of the opposite of Grannvale in that regard - instead of the central superpower, it's a bit of a playground for the two neighboring hegemons. SacSto I'd say doesn't do that much with the relative positions of its countries. It's honestly mostly important for Eirika, and the route she takes to Jehanna/Rausten. 4 hours ago, RPGuy96 said: Huzzah for finishing Mystery! The story starts strong with Lang, and then, as you said, it's disappointing with all the Book 1 villains villaining the way they did in Book 1, with the exception of Hardin. I mentioned already, but I do like how Kaga starts to explore more with gameplay/story integration in Book 2. Huzzah! Looking back on it - yeah, Lang's death was pretty much when the story started to go downhill. Hardin's appearance afterwards is a cool moment (on a cool map, no less), but overall, the second half of Book 2 feels a lot less cohesive than when Lang was there as an arc villain. 4 hours ago, BrightBow said: Btw, whenever you seize a castle, it's a good idea to check the status screen for any new Talk options. That marks the point when new options will unlock. There isn't anything here this time, but you want to keep that in mind starting with the next map. And definitely always make sure to check all the Talks before seizing the final castle. That is a good reminder. I'll probably still keep an eye on the wiki for Talks, to make sure that I don't accidentally pair up characters that I don't want to reproduce. I'd like to see as many convos as possible, but iirc, there's some that lead to instant, or very quick, love and mawwage. 4 hours ago, BrightBow said: For one thing, he is actually helping out in the fight. So that's an improvement. You mean he's stealing XP, the dastard!!! There can't be a bigger crime than that! (#PentForJail) (I haven't actually played further than what I've posted already, so maybe I'll be able to prevent that from happening ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jotari Posted February 20 Share Posted February 20 6 hours ago, ping said: ...ohhh, the "10+" is inside the bracket that is then doubled. I said to myself, "huh, Mend is a bit weaker than usual (although 26 HP wouldn't have been a terrible heal). Too bad Ethlyn can't use Recover", but that really doesn't matter, then. I will say that Clarine manages to not obsolete Saul and Ellen despite having six times Ethlyn's Mag growth, as well as her own fun little niche as a dodge tank after promotion The scans are interesting, thank you! Nintendo Power is an American (and official) magazin, right? I guess that makes "Zigludo" Zigludo's canon name! Honestly, that might be accurate. I'll also say that this is right before a big-ass forest you have to walk though, including a choke point in its middle, so maybe I really didn't want to do that. Thank you, and also damn it! Luckily (and surprisingly), I was able to edit my post, so now you look a little silly. Apologies for that. Luthier 🤝 Yubello Should've been an axe user You'll have to fight @Shaky Jones over that. Actually, I think if you win, you'll get two of your requests fulfilled that I would otherwise ignore. I swear I wrote my reply to Ruben before reading this! Even without the "Sum [in-game maps] = World Map" part, FE4 definitely seems a lot more deliberate about showing where's where than any other FE game I've played. I honestly couldn't tell you where Gra lies in relation to Altea without checking a map of Akaneia, for example. Yeahhh, "weird vibe" sounds about right. This opening is very insistent that the Grannvalians (or at least those from Jungby and Chalphy) are just better (tm) than the Verdanians both martially and morally. To be fair, if people are to be believed, Roy can't fight, either ...huh, I can definitely see that. That would be a funny reference. I not only know where Gra is, I can even name the internal duchies of Archanea that are barely alluded to. Maybe I'm too much of an Archanea fan XD 4 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said: Why is Ninian alive if Eliwood is wielding Duruandal!? Freaking hack artists don't even play the game *grumble* *grumble* *continuity* *grumble* *grumble* 4 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said: *Ahem* I shared the above old pages because they're like the first Western exposure to FE, if oddly so since there was seemingly no indication the games would leave Japan (and of course, they did not). -And because it has Zigludo, Serlis, the heroes of Fire Emblem: The Descent of Jihad (also "Marus", "Medious", and "Hardaine"; plus I love how "Descent" both has the intended meaning of "lineage" and the unintended of "unleashing").😛 Are these pages still before or after the English localization of the anime? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ping Posted February 20 Author Share Posted February 20 Just now, Jotari said: I not only know where Gra is, I can even name the internal duchies of Archanea that are barely alluded to. Maybe I'm too much of an Archanea fan XD Yes, clearly it is something that is wrong with you, and not me not paying enough attention. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jotari Posted February 20 Share Posted February 20 I'll take a moment to defend the rapist Verdanians... narratively speaking that is (obviously rape is morally indefensible, don't do it kids!). Yes, the prologue is very much setting up a Grandvale good, Verdane bad set up. And yes, rape is a cheap way to make the bad guys obviously bad. But that's to Genealogy's advantage, not detriment. Since things do get turned on its head, or, dare I say it, the narrative subvert expectations. That's kind of the entire point of Gen 1. Despite being still really early in the series it is a subversive Fire Emblem narrative and remains probably the most non traditional Fire Emblem story in the series (well, other than TMS). Because Grandvale are the bad guys. Not Sigurd as an individual, but the nation as a whole. We see these cracks in the very next chapter with Shannan, prince of the country Grandvale is at war at and he's just an ordinary kid. Then we see Verdane's king itself and learn it's not just random banditry and that they did have reason for it even if the Verdane princes had a bit too much fun with the rape and pillage. We also get to see Jamke firmly reject the notion the Verdanians are inherently things (and Dew too? Is Dew from Verdane? I never questioned his origins). So yes, making the bad guys rapists is a reductive story telling mechanic to show they're bad, but it works well here because the story wants to seem simple as it starts out and then gradually get more complex both politically and morally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Interdimensional Observer Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 3 hours ago, Jotari said: Are these pages still before or after the English localization of the anime? I don't know. Sounds like before? 2 hours ago, Jotari said: and Dew too? Is Dew from Verdane? I never questioned his origins I don't think the kiddo has a dram of backstory. He just exists to be a playable thief ...and child character who fights in the First Gen, despite looking as young as Oifey. Maybe 4 Remake (whenever it happens) will add a support that addresses this. 3 hours ago, ping said: Lycia is kind of the opposite of Grannvale in that regard - instead of the central superpower, it's a bit of a playground for the two neighboring hegemons. SacSto I'd say doesn't do that much with the relative positions of its countries. It's honestly mostly important for Eirika, and the route she takes to Jehanna/Rausten. With SS, I merely meant Renais being in the center, sandwiched between the invader and the ally country, not unlike Lycia. -Just less developed because that's how Magvel is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jotari Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 46 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said: I don't know. Sounds like before? I don't think the kiddo has a dram of backstory. He just exists to be a playable thief ...and child character who fights in the First Gen, despite looking as young as Oifey. Maybe 4 Remake (whenever it happens) will add a support that addresses this. It would be nice if he were from Verdane as a middling point between brarbarian bad guy, knights good guy, we have thief good guy. Though that I think of it, Deirdre is also Verdanian and is one of the most pure and good characters in the series. Unless one wants think of the Spirit Forest as its own little enclave nation independent from wider Verdane. Which functionally it may very well be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Interdimensional Observer Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 (edited) 21 minutes ago, Jotari said: Unless one wants think of the Spirit Forest as its own little enclave nation independent from wider Verdane. Which functionally it may very well be. It seems like Verdanians might be very proud of having the Spirit Forest though. Someone else pointed this out to me recently.: Honestly makes it sound like it might not have been the best place to hide someone of a cursed lineage. Too much veneration. An obscure fishing village in the boondocks someplace else might've been better. Edited February 21 by Interdimensional Observer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jotari Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 (edited) 19 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said: It seems like Verdanians might be very proud of having the Spirit Forest though. Someone else pointed this out to me recently.: Honestly makes it sound like it might not have been the best place to hide someone of a cursed lineage. Too much veneration. An obscure fishing village in the boondocks someplace else might've been better. Hide her in Miletos. Despite being a mercantile centre of trade (in the south with Verdane to it's east and North Korea, dah, I mean South Thracia to it's east), no one seems to ever mention or care about Miletos. Seems obvious retconned into existence at the last second because they needed Chapter 10 to start somewhere outside of Thracia. Edit: Read the link. Cool stuff. Especially about Jamke's family. I wonder if the myth of the lake monster is meant to have someone to do with Lex's Brave Axe lady. Edited February 21 by Jotari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Interdimensional Observer Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 (edited) 31 minutes ago, Jotari said: Hide her in Miletos. Despite being a mercantile centre of trade (in the south with Verdane to it's east and North Korea, dah, I mean South Thracia to it's east), no one seems to ever mention or care about Miletos. Seems obvious retconned into existence at the last second because they needed Chapter 10 to start somewhere outside of Thracia. The Miletos District is totally the least-developed country in Jugdral. There's a general attempt at some measure of world-building everywhere else, Miletos indeed gets pretty much nothing, other than that random namedropped slaughter of children in the timeline. And why didn't a single Crusader choose to make it their domain? Verdane is a barbaric land of people as wild as the boundless forests and not worthy of holy blood, I'll buy that propaganda. But that can't be the reason for Miletos. Personally, I'll just fanfict that during the reigns of whoever immediately ruled Manster District and Kingdom Thracia after Nova and Dainn died, that Thracia invaded Miletos. After all, no Crusader in charge (propaganda- why not extend Miletos the "blessing" of being ruled by the righteous descendant of a holy warrior?), Thracians are starving, Miletos gotta have some better soil and surplus food. Manster District charges into Miletos not so much to help the Mlletosians, as to block the ambitions of South Thracia. A war goes on in Miletos (and along the Thracian borders as one would expect), reaching deadlock at some point. Attempts at peaceful mediation are made, yet neither side refuses to back down after at least months, maybe a couple years. It takes Grannvalian military intervention on behalf of the suffering, pleading Miletosians, to tell the two Thracian countries to GET OUT! and fearing Grannvale, they do. Henceforth, under short-term Grannvalian protection, Miletos is established as an independent realm, and the divided Thracian peninsula on both sides accept Miletos's official neutrality in their peninsular squabbles and its territorial inviolability. The Chalphys being geographically nearest of Grannvale's holy Dukes to Miletos, are at least nominally placed in charge of the District's protection should the two Thracias ever break the agreement. The Chalphys also reap sizable custom duties on trade with the Miletos District, and you can find many luxury artisan goods in the great estates of the dukedom imported from Miletos.🤓 Edited February 21 by Interdimensional Observer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jotari Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 16 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said: The Miletos District is totally the least-developed country in Jugdral. There's a general attempt at some measure of world-building everywhere else, Miletos indeed gets pretty much nothing, other than that random namedropped slaughter of children in the timeline. And why didn't a single Crusader choose to make it their domain? Verdane is a barbaric land of people as wild as the boundless forests and not worthy of holy blood, I'll buy that propaganda. But that can't be the reason for Miletos. Personally, I'll just fanfict that during the reigns of whoever immediately ruled Manster District and Kingdom Thracia after Nova and Dainn died, that Thracia invaded Miletos. After all, no Crusader in charge (propaganda- why not extend Miletos the "blessing" of being ruled by the righteous descendant of a holy warrior?), Thracians are starving, Miletos gotta have some better soil and surplus food. Manster District charges into Miletos not so much to help the Mlletosians, as to block the ambitions of South Thracia. A war goes on in Miletos (and along the Thracian borders as one would expect), reaching deadlock at some point. Attempts at peaceful mediation are made, yet neither side refuses to back down after at least months, maybe a couple years. It takes Grannvalian military intervention on behalf of the suffering, pleading Miletosians, to tell the two Thracian countries to GET OUT! and fearing Grannvale, they do. Henceforth, under short-term Grannvalian protection, Miletos is established as an independent realm, and the divided Thracian peninsula on both sides accept Miletos's official neutrality in their peninsular squabbles and its territorial inviolability. The Chalphys being geographically nearest of Grannvale's holy Dukes to Miletos, are at least nominally placed in charge of the District's protection should the two Thracias ever break the agreement. The Chalphys also reap sizable custom duties on trade with the Miletos District, and you can find many luxury artisan goods in the great estates of the dukedom imported from Miletos.🤓 That's the kind of fanfiction I can get behind. One confusing part of it is Hilda who is referred to as Hilda of Chronos at some point. Despite that she's proud that her family hails from Velthomer like Alvis's (now) royal family. So despite being married to the Frieges which are a royal family of Leinster, and still holding their Duchy in Grannvale, was she given a castle in Miletos just because she's so pro-reigime? Or is she genuinely from Miletos and one of her parents is from Velthomer and married into Miletos? And is her class of Queen purely because she married Bloom, who has the regular old Baron class (aka not a king) or is she a Queen of Miletos in her own right? Does Miletos even have monarchy (or monarchies) or is it council ruled like Carcino? So many headscarchers simply from calling one person from a castle there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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