Fire Emblem

Re: Edelgard:

I can't speak authoritatively since i haven't played her route but I don't think that thinking Sothis is a false deity while saying she can exist as a support system for the commoners isn't necessarily mutually exclusive. You can be the biggest atheist in the world while recognizing religion's importance as the people that holds together the lives of much of the people.

Golden Deer probably has the best base roster, next to Blue Lions imo. Blue Lions has a better early game because of broken Dimitri and Felix, as well as an actual tank in Dedue. You can't really deny that all the GD girls and Claude all get really really solid, eventually; Claude, Leonie and Hilda, in particular, get the strongest starts out of anyone barring the other lords, Felix and Petra.

It's undeniable that your roster is average-to-bad for those early chapters, though; Especially that fucking Miklan map, which is abominable. What's funny is that later on, the balance gets skewed the other way. Enemies get really strong, but so does your toolset. In particular, this game's version of canto + bows lets you break a shitton of maps. It's intensely flawed but it's a fun mode that pushes you to use all your tools. I'm glad you were able to beat it.

Edited by mrsunshinesprinkles on Dec 8th 2019 at 3:01:28 AM

It's a rather cynical and hypocritical thing to do, to pay lip service to a deity you don't believe in in order to exploit other people's faith. Puts one in mind of the papacy in the middle ages.

Hilda is strong but she always ends up with Dex issues for me, which makes using her something of a roulette.

Edited by asterism on Dec 7th 2019 at 7:08:39 PM

Hilda's one of those characters who benefits even more than usual from dipping into bows (pretty much any physical character will benefit from it, though). Hit +20 can easily make up for that Dex deficit and until that happens, Curved Shot + her big Str stat leads to putting on the hurt without having to worry about her Hit. Even just being deployed is often also a huge boon, since +3 damage is a big deal in the early game (and still notable later on). In fact, she's part of why Golden Deer's Curved Shot is so abusable (not to mention Hunter's Volley). It's kind of too bad Shamir's female (or that Seteth is such a late joiner), since her early Hunter's Volley would get even dumber with Hilda's boost. I guess there is Cyril and Point-Blank Volley for anyone who wants to bother investing in him.

I made the mistake of not levelling her bows to at least c, lol. Oh well.

She became a hit and run kind of unit, with her Relic's unique weapon art: +15 might and especially +20 hit on a powerful weapon attack, before killing the unit, then cantoing the hell out of there was her life for the late game, and it was fun.

I mean freedom of religion is a thing. Just because you don't believe in a deity doesn't mean other people aren't allowed to.

As Edelgard says, she has made an enemy of the church, not faith.

Up to 8x of Binding Blade. 7 is a massive fuck, but 8 and 8x were cakewalks in comparison. My units are finally at a point where they're a league above the goons. My speed-blessed Allen and God-king Rutger, in particular, are just ripping through. I'm excited to eat my words in the coming chapters (though I'm almost certain those two are at a point where they just need a few more levels to be set for the rest of the game.)

debating on whether or not to promote Lugh early. He's at level 11 and pretty much at his averages, except for a really good speed blessing.

Organized Religion and the Faith go hand in hand. Destroying the foundations of the institution of a religion typically lead to the destruction of the faith.

Abrahamic Faiths grew so big as organized religions that they avoided this, with those of the Faith able to branch off and start differing Organzed Religions, but many of the Pagan faiths that were stamped out by them did not. And many of these heretical faiths were also hunted and stamped out. Its why very few Gnostic Sects exist in the modern day, and in small numbers.

Also Tobias Drake you gotta play Azure Moon and by the end you'll realize Edelgard totally had a choice to work with Those Who Slither in the Dark when you see what happens to their leaders and the ones that make them a threat(Arundel/Cornelia) are gone.

Edited by OmegaRadiance on Dec 8th 2019 at 7:34:41 AM

there are several religions that have suvived without any authortiy beyond the local level. Buddhism is probably the most notable example, but Shinto also ocmes to mind, and the old Greek religion only really died off due to state endorsement of a competing religion.

In my Maddening run, I made Claude and Catherine my dodgetanks though only Claude utilize the Alert Stance as I was a bit too late to realize that I should build up Catherine's Flying rank. Hilda is my crit killer by using Defiant Crit., Goneril Valkyrie, 2 Axe Critical, Killer Axe, and her Dex. I switched her from Wyvern Lord to Warrior and she practically kills everything. I actually took screenshots showing her killing Thales and the one to finish off Nemesis. And my Lysithia is a magical artillery. Has the highest magic in the party since I gave her a lot of magic stat boosts.

Japan made sure to also keep the influence of Christianity from spreading back when it first appeared in their borders and was gaining traction as well.

All of those religions have (or had) temples, shrines, and priests of some kind. Those are the church. You can't say, "I have nothing against your faith, but you'd better not organize in any way, shape or form!" Organizing is part of faith and vital to its continuance.

I mean, if you went to Tibet and said, "I have nothing against your faith, but I'm going to kill the Dalai Lama and take over your monasteries because I don't like the way you're doing things," that would be a problem.

Edited by Tarlonniel on Dec 8th 2019 at 10:05:25 AM

Well, you can do that with Buddhism, because Buddhism is not at all like Western religions, or even Hinduism or Shinto. Particular strains of Mahayana, such as is practices in Tibet, are a different story.

In my epic Crimson Flower writeup, I draw parallels between Edelgard and Cromwell; there is some evidence that he didn't consider it practical or worthwhile to obliterate the very concept of Catholicism from people's hearts, but while he was in charge anyone found to be a Catholic was going to die.

Random thought: If we get a Fire Emblem Warriors 2, it should include Petra and Gregor just for the support conversation.

Other random thought - A fifth route where you recruit everybody could work if you spend the campaign after the timeskip fighting against both those who slither in the dark and the Church.

Edited by VampireBuddha on Dec 8th 2019 at 7:19:11 PM

Cromwell's a pretty good comparison, at least in terms of his ideological extremism and the controversy he generated. The divide between people who thought him a devil and those who thought him a saint was pretty marked; I imagine the divide moderated with time, but over a hundred years later people still had strong feelings about him. And even his enemies had a sort of grudging respect for the guy.

Personally, I imagine Edelgard's reforms would go over about as well as his did

Edited by Tarlonniel on Dec 8th 2019 at 11:46:24 AM

Edelgard failed debate class. A lot makes more sense when you see her that way.

I heard Axe-to-Face tends to be a pretty cutting debate technique, though. It often has the final say, in any event.

As our good friend Caspar says, might makes right! Right?

Thus Nemesis was the most right person in the backstory as he was All-Powerful. *Gets taken down by surprise. Twice*

Welp.

Edited by OmegaRadiance on Dec 8th 2019 at 12:33:24 PM

Random scene I'd like to see.

Count Varley: (Banging on door) BERNADETTA, OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW!
Bernadetta: No! Go away!
Raphael: Hey mister, you know Bernadetta?
Count Varley: I'm her father.
Raphael punches him in the chest, sending him flying.
Mercedes: Goodness sir, are you OK?! Starts healing him Raphael, how could you?!
Raphael: He's Bernadetta's father.
Mercedes drops Count Varley and kicks him while he's down. Count Varley scrambles to his feet.
Count Varley: Why you commoner scum, I'll... notices a sword pressed to his throat, held by Dorothea
Dorothea: (softly, right in his ear) You'll leave right now. And if you ever harm one more hair on Bern's head, or speak a single word to her, you'll lose a lot more blood than this. Presses the sword against his throat so a little trickle of blood emerges. Lets him go. Alas, it's only acceptable to kill someone in a big battle, so run along before we decide you're a threat who needs to be dealt with. And just remember it was three commoners who put you in your place.
Count Varley: DON'T YOU KNOW WHO I AM?!
Mercedes: We know you're a monster.
Raphael: And we've fought demonic beasts.
Count Varley: I am the Imperial Minister of Religious Affairs, and you three are commoner scum! Do you know what happens to those who strike someone in my position?! The emperor will hear of this!
Edelgard: No need to go all the way back to Enbarr to trouble my father. We can resolve this here and now.
Count Varley: P-p-princess Edelgard... How much did you see?
Edelgard: All of it. I'm sure the archbishop would love to hear about your night-time consortings, and maybe you'd care to show Count Hevring your territory's accounts?
Count Varley slumps and trudges off

Edited by VampireBuddha on Dec 8th 2019 at 11:24:03 AM

The threat of Count Varley is what leads to the fifth route where everyone works together.

Hubert pretends to not give a shit and then it turns out that Bernie’s dad got poisoned in his sleep.

Having to fight Claude on Crimson Flower really reinforced how much I'm still a Golden Deer at heart. I felt really bad about shattering his dreams and I wanted to give him a hug before he went home to Almyra.

I haven't 100% made up my mind on either the Church of Seiros or Team Eat The Rich ( And Dragons!), but I do know that Claude is best dude.

Edited by TobiasDrake on Dec 8th 2019 at 4:36:21 AM

Fortunately, Claude always lives, unless you actively choose to kill him.

Catherine and Rhea have an ending. It's Catherine solo mixed with no Rhea support from Byleth.

On a fashion level, I really like Caspar's grown-up armor. The uniforms of the Academy are unflattering for some, and Caspar is one of those. As a kid, he just looked like a belligerent prat, but the armored breastplate and guantlets really suit him. They reinforce his Tough Guy personality.