The Main Character's Personality

[Thane]

Hello everyone.

Assuming Fire Emblem Switch follows a similar formula to older installments, what do you want to see of the lord in the next game? Do you want there to be more than one? Do you want them to have a particular background or personality? Do you want them to be lords at all, or do you want them to be something else?

I don't think it's too controversial of an opinion that many lords are a bit too similar and follow certain tropes a bit too loyally. Sure, you've got elements that stick out, like Alm's aggressiveness and Ike's humble background and blunter personality, but in the grand scheme of things, you often know what to expect out of a Fire Emblem main character. There's nothing inherently wrong with this if it works well within the context of the story, but games like Fire Emblem Heroes and maybe Fire Emblem Warriors will make the similarities stick out a bit more.

That's why I'd personally prefer someone who's a bit less about fighting for their friends and instead has more personal ambition - I'm not saying I want an edgelord or anything, and they can still be a nice person, but I do think a more egotistical streak could work. I'd also like to see someone at least start as a tome-wielding bandit - maybe their personal arc can be trying to get into high society, or maybe they run into a lord and their destinies get tangled up in a typical fantasy fashion. A personal arc in addition to the main story could work well in fleshing out the main character and their motives. 

Those are just some quick, disjointed thoughts though. What do you want FE Switch's main character's personality to be like?

Edited February 4, 2017 by Thane

[AlexArtsHere]

I want a Lord who's markedly brash and reckless. Not necessarily a bad person, but someone kind of like Chrom, were he not held back by those around him. That, or I'd like a Lord who's less humble about themself. Who uses his or her power and status to get what they want from those outside their army, such as access into neighbouring territory; someone who's willing to bend the rules. Most of all, I want a female Lord worth a damn. One who can headline a game on her own, unlike Celica, Lyn or Eirika. A woman of stature who doesn't lose focus to a male counterpart.

[saisymbolic]

I wouldn't mind a main lord that is something of a spoiled brat. They would expect people to follow and obey them because of who they are, showing a bit of immaturity and genuine confusion when they don't get their way. They would have some manners and some appreciation to learn for the people of their nation to help them get over their hubris attained by living with a silver spoon in their mouth for the entirety of their life; there would be some difficulties establishing alliances and gaining officers because of their childish temperament. They would obviously be educated and privy to battle formations, but they would lack the experience and patience leading a troop would require. They would initially be overly confident in their orders and reckless in the execution of them. Participating in a battle for the first time would obviously shake them and losing troops would devastate them—slaying someone with their own hands and hearing of a battle from their parents' generals are two completely different things. I suppose from that, there would be a sort of hesitance in their actions that makes them somewhat wary to enter battle—or a coward on an extreme spectrum.

On a side note, this main lord would require an older mentor character (who may or may not later betray them) to keep them grounded for a portion of the story.

At the end of the day, any sort of personality can work as long as care, common sense, proper backstory and development are given to the character, in my opinion.

Edited February 5, 2017 by saisymbolic
clarification

[MCProductions]

Just give me a Leif or FE3 Marth again, the naive or idealistic prince growing into their role as ruler can be done very poorly if Corrin is any indication, but those two I adore so much that I'd really want to see a game with modern FE's production values develop a Lord as well as those two.

Can't do that, then just make Tiki the Lord

[SatsumaFSoysoy]

I hope we get a Lord who's kinda cold and emotionless, but is scared of the fact he doesn't feel. Every lord we've had so far carries some kind of emotional baggage like dead parents, fighting for their country, not wanting to kill, etc., so I think it'd be interesting.

[Ivy Wife Supremacy]

2 hours ago, SatsumaFSoysoy said:

I hope we get a Lord who's kinda cold and emotionless, but is scared of the fact he doesn't feel. Every lord we've had so far carries some kind of emotional baggage like dead parents, fighting for their country, not wanting to kill, etc., so I think it'd be interesting.

I don't see that ever happening too edgy for a FE Lord I expect either a strong but kind Lord or a brash but cares for their friends and army Lord like the usual Lords we have already.

Edited February 5, 2017 by Blade Lord Lyn

[Slumber]

I'd like another Ike. Obviously different in personality, but somebody who isn't a noble. Just had a very important teacher that taught him how to fight in a different way compared to everyone else, justifying the Lord status.

Maybe instead of just being a humble bumpkin like Ike, make them a bit of a slacker, and kind of a delinquent. As others have said, somebody brash and kind of selfish, but still a good person at heart. It'd make the interactions with high-class nobility later on entertaining.

Kinda common character, but it could be fleshed out, and be entertaining if it's executed well.

[Thane]

7 hours ago, SatsumaFSoysoy said:

I hope we get a Lord who's kinda cold and emotionless, but is scared of the fact he doesn't feel. Every lord we've had so far carries some kind of emotional baggage like dead parents, fighting for their country, not wanting to kill, etc., so I think it'd be interesting.

I get being wanting a lord that's more distant, but making characters emotionless is the fastest way of making sure a large portion of the players will simply not care about them - if they don't give a shit about anything, why should we? I think we should stay clear of edgelord territory, too, even if it would be nice to have a protagonist who doesn't feel the need to hold friendship speeches.

[Gima]

I'm thinking that we'll get a Lord of the same formula for Lords that we've always had: a wise and noble character (Marth, Eliwood, Eirika) or a brash but well-meaning character (Hector, Ike, Chrom). They will also probably be customizable... sadly.

[SatsumaFSoysoy]

1 hour ago, Thane said:

I get being wanting a lord that's more distant, but making characters emotionless is the fastest way of making sure a large portion of the players will simply not care about them - if they don't give a shit about anything, why should we? I think we should stay clear of edgelord territory, too, even if it would be nice to have a protagonist who doesn't feel the need to hold friendship speeches.

I think it could work out. Haven't really thought about it in great detail, but the Lord definitely shouldn't be completely emotionless, just more so than average.

[Slumber]

1 hour ago, Thane said:

I get being wanting a lord that's more distant, but making characters emotionless is the fastest way of making sure a large portion of the players will simply not care about them - if they don't give a shit about anything, why should we? I think we should stay clear of edgelord territory, too, even if it would be nice to have a protagonist who doesn't feel the need to hold friendship speeches.

Yeah. If you want to introduce a character who eventually becomes an enemy that acts like this(Or an enemy that eventually becomes an ally. Or just a flat-out enemy.), cool. But for the main character, I don't think an actual sociopath is the best way to go. Every line of theirs would just be a line from "Numb" of "In The End" by Linkin Park. And Linkin Park lyrics stopped being cool before Linkin Park even became a thing.

Edited February 5, 2017 by Slumber

[EricaofRenais]

I want one main lord who is female and kicks butt, while I like Erika, Micaiah and Lyn they just didn't quite do the job right.  Plus Lyn really wasn't a main lord, Erika came the closest but I don't like naive characters as lords and poor Micaiah had Ike and Yune take her spotlight .  I don't really count Corrin since you can choose gender and again being too naive.  Honestly I want a main female lord along the lines of Minerva in terms of personality, straight forward follows what they believe and cares about the people who follow them and their family but can admit when their family is wrong as well.    

[Ivy Wife Supremacy]

53 minutes ago, EricaofRenais said:

I want one main lord who is female and kicks butt, while I like Erika, Micaiah and Lyn they just didn't quite do the job right.  Plus Lyn really wasn't a main lord, Erika came the closest but I don't like naive characters as lords and poor Micaiah had Ike and Yune take her spotlight .  I don't really count Corrin since you can choose gender and again being too naive.  Honestly I want a main female lord along the lines of Minerva in terms of personality, straight forward follows what they believe and cares about the people who follow them and their family but can admit when their family is wrong as well.    

Don't see how you don't count Lyn or Female Corrin as Lords since they ARE but eh whatever also RD Ike felt there to be there it's no wonder PoR Ike is preferred over. Eirika was very similar to Elincia both are royal Pacifists that still has to use other methods they don't like (to fight) but know they have to plus has the better route story which I love her development. A central female Lord similar to Minerva would be unique I'll agree on that.

[EricaofRenais]

I was talking about female only lords which is why I don't count Corrin as a female lord because corrin can be either gender, and while Lyn is a lord in her chapters she quickly becomes less and less involved in the story and is over shadowed by Eliwood and Hector and once you beat her story you don't have to play it again and as I recall her death in EM or HM does not cause a game over once you have her in your army.  I want a female lord who stays a major part of the story the whole time.  Don't get me wrong I like all the female lords (except Corrin who I don't count) as characters a great deal, but as lords they were rather poorly done.

[Magical Glace]

7 minutes ago, EricaofRenais said:

I was talking about female only lords which is why I don't count Corrin as a female lord because corrin can be either gender, and while Lyn is a lord in her chapters she quickly becomes less and less involved in the story and is over shadowed by Eliwood and Hector and once you beat her story you don't have to play it again and as I recall her death in EM or HM does not cause a game over once you have her in your army.  I want a female lord who stays a major part of the story the whole time.  Don't get me wrong I like all the female lords (except Corrin who I don't count) as characters a great deal, but as lords they were rather poorly done.

Lyn dying causes a game over throughout the game.

Anyway...

I don't want there to be more than two lords at most.  Maybe make one more traditional and Marthlike, while making the other more of a no nonsense guy?

I dunno I just want them to be better handled than the recent lords have been.  We have had good "Marthlike" lords and that's not really a problem, but recently lords haven't been handled as well.

[EricaofRenais]

1 minute ago, Glaceon Mage said:

Lyn dying causes a game over throughout the game.

Anyway...

I don't want there to be more than two lords at most.  Maybe make one more traditional and Marthlike, while making the other more of a no nonsense guy?

I dunno I just want them to be better handled than the recent lords have been.  We have had good "Marthlike" lords and that's not really a problem, but recently lords haven't been handled as well.

Ok thanks for the info I never saw a game over when Lyn died in EM or HM when I played but maybe I missed it.

[Troykv]

20 hours ago, EricaofRenais said:

Ok thanks for the info I never saw a game over when Lyn died in EM or HM when I played but maybe I missed it.

Well, it's easy to miss it because Lyn is only obligatory in some few chapters.

[Night Zap]

I would like to see a morally ambigious protagonist who's not a noble, and cares more about the wellbeing their group and themselves than about who's good or evil in this war.

They could for example be a mercenary leader who ends up joining the invading army, because it's better for the gang than fighting against it. Eventually, they grow a consience regarding people they're not on first-name basis with discounting the fact that only about five people in the entire series have last names and only start rebelling against the evil empire when they realize that, while quislings like them are going to benefit from the empire's new world order, the rest of the world is left to pick up the scraps.

By then, they will have trouble gaining the trust of the good guys after fighting against them for so long.

[Thane]

5 minutes ago, Night Zap said:

I would like to see a morally ambigious protagonist who's not a noble, and cares more about the wellbeing their group and themselves than about who's good or evil in this war.

They could for example be a mercenary leader who ends up joining the invading army, because it's better for the gang than fighting against it. Eventually, they grow a consience regarding people they're not on first-name basis with discounting the fact that only about five people in the entire series have last names and only start rebelling against the evil empire when they realize that, while quislings like them are going to benefit from the empire's new world order, the rest of the world is left to pick up the scraps.

By then, they will have trouble gaining the trust of the good guys after fighting against them for so long.

I like this idea, and I definitely think it could work, though I think the mercenary stuff might be a bit too similar to Ike's schtick, and the protagonist would be written in his shadow. Maybe the protagonist could even be an assassin? 

In general it does sound like a nice line between being too Marth-like and too edgy. I know, I know, "edgy" is such an overused word, but it's a practical one since most people know what you mean in discussions like these. 

[Refa]

I want one female Lord without any dudes getting in the spotlight.  Also while I'd like to have a morally ambiguous Lord, generally these kinds of stories work well if your main character is essentially a good person (obviously it's not a rule or anything, but it's a lot easier to create a likeable main character if they don't have questionable motives).  That being said, I'd prefer it if the main character had a different personality than any of the previous FE lords.  Kind of sick of similar archetypes being reused over and over again at this point.  

[Ivy Wife Supremacy]

On 2/5/2017 at 3:35 PM, EricaofRenais said:

I was talking about female only lords which is why I don't count Corrin as a female lord because corrin can be either gender, and while Lyn is a lord in her chapters she quickly becomes less and less involved in the story and is over shadowed by Eliwood and Hector and once you beat her story you don't have to play it again and as I recall her death in EM or HM does not cause a game over once you have her in your army.  I want a female lord who stays a major part of the story the whole time.  Don't get me wrong I like all the female lords (except Corrin who I don't count) as characters a great deal, but as lords they were rather poorly done.

Becoming "less involve" doesn't mean not a Lord as she obviously is as people said already game over if a lord dies also applies to Robin as well since their a second Lord and has their own focus as well especially the Grima Arc, You personally think Corrin doesn't count is like saying the M/F MC in Pokemon isn't the main character no hate just saying my say on it also I blame the writing for their reception but I digress I personally want multiple Lords like Lyn/Hector/Eliwood and other games with multi Lords each segment for each one with their own group until they merge into 1 later on also a female focus Lord out of the bunch (if multiple Lords come back) would be nice!

[Refa]

11 minutes ago, Blade Lord Lyn said:

You personally think Corrin doesn't count is like saying the M/F MC in Pokemon isn't the main character no hate just saying my say on it

It's not like that at all because she didn't say anything about Corrin not being the main character...

[MediocreLee]

I would love to see a MC that is not actually a noble or doesn't descend from royal blood.  At this point, it's definitely something that should be expected, but it would be cool to get a curve ball thrown at us in terms of the MC, similar to Ike.  It would also be nice to see a rather selfish character who grows to become compassionate and willing to help others.  Honestly, we need a change of pace for the personality of the MC.

[blah the Prussian]

I feel like the default personality is fine in general. If I were to make two changes, I would firstly make being good at strategy an explicit part of their personality; have them be smart, make them leading a small country to victory against a massive enemy believable. Don't make it over the top like Ephraim, but also don't make it "oh my God, how do they still have an army" like Corrin, either. I'd also like to see someone a bit like Sanaki; on the one hand, make them a bit of a snob, a stickler for tradition, who does demand respect (but still likable); they take their feudal obligation seriously, and will fuck you up if you mess with their people, but they also take their feudal rights, their rights to authority, seriously.

[Sasori]

I don't have any wishlist for the lords personality in the next Fire Emblem, but there is one thing I want to see. I want them to drop the naive angle Corrin had going. The main character is almost always a lord so you can assume they know about politics and about how to lead an army.