The Main Character's Personality

[Extrasolar]

I'd like to see someone from the underbelly of society rather than its top; a protagonist from a thieves' guild, or a some similar underground institution, would be interesting. Maybe they'd be the people that keeps the good, shining kingdom running behind the scenes, being forced to do the things that no one else wants to do, the like. They'd be a very cynical, very cold person, who kept a few close friends they could rely on and that's it. He or she would be forced to grow a conscience after getting wrapped up with the princess or prince of the kingdom, who is very much a naive, cheerful sort. They wouldn't get along at all at first, but come to appreciate one another slowly.

That's actually a pretty interesting setup, now that I think about it, and one that hasn't really been done in FE. They'd basically have to help the princess/prince either reclaim their kingdom from the villain, defeat an ancient evil, something selfless, and learn the meaning of bonds and such.
 

On 2/15/2017 at 0:40 PM, TheInternetExplorer said:

Personally I'd like someone like Luke from Tales of the Abyss.

An asshole who learns to not be so much of an asshole? Or an amnesiac who, when he learns the truth, gets his entire world and everything he believed in turned upside down? Or...not gonna get into that third thing, as that's spoiler territory. While I do generally like Luke and think he was an interesting character (and love Tales of the Abyss as a whole), Luke's definitely one of the more controversial main characters in the series. I don't know how...well that would go over with the fandom in general, and sales of the new game.

52 minutes ago, André The kid said:

Hector is the only one who is the exception to this rule. (No wonder he's the best lord :D )

Don't forget Micaiah! She was bitter at the world and cold at points, and at the end of the day, she tended to just do what had to be done. Sothe himself was a somewhat grim, cold guy as well. He counts as a lord, right? Considering he was superglued to Micaiah's side most of Radiant Dawn anyway, and forced in most of the chapters she was in.

52 minutes ago, André The kid said:

And please, don't be a dragon. Be a Beorc.

Aw, but dragon lords could be so cool. Just because Corrin didn't do it right imo doesn't mean the concept can't be done right! Also I would love a sidestory game where the Tellius dragons were the main characters or something

52 minutes ago, André The kid said:

Give the character some personality, LIke Hector, or Hector..... Or Hector..... Or Ike. Because those are the only ones that were well written.

Hey, the other lords had personality! Granted, a lot of them were a very similar "wise, noble, and compassionate" personality with a few tweaks, but it still counts as a personality. Hector was definitely the stand-out in this regard, which in turn inspired Ike. But getting a more brash lord would be pretty interesting this go around, in the same vein.
 

Edited March 7, 2017 by Extrasolar

[NekoKnight]

1 hour ago, Extrasolar said:

An asshole who learns to not be so much of an asshole? Or an amnesiac who, when he learns the truth, gets his entire world and everything he believed in turned upside down? Or...not gonna get into that third thing, as that's spoiler territory. While I do generally like Luke and think he was an interesting character (and love Tales of the Abyss as a whole), Luke's definitely one of the more controversial main characters in the series. I don't know how...well that would go over with the fandom in general, and sales of the new game.

I couldn't stand Luke (and most of the cast of Abyss, for that matter). There is a line between having a flawed character who grows into a more likable one and having someone who is just plain unlikable. He starts off as an asshole and then he metaphorically cuts his balls off and can't stop apologizing to people. I think rather than being generally unpleasant, a flawed protagonist should be fundamentally a good person but have some hangups that rub people the wrong way. Eventually they grow past their flaw or prejudices but still keep the base (ie the likable parts) of their personality in tact. 

[Extrasolar]

16 minutes ago, NekoKnight said:

I couldn't stand Luke (and most of the cast of Abyss, for that matter). There is a line between having a flawed character who grows into a more likable one and having someone who is just plain unlikable. He starts off as an asshole and then he metaphorically cuts his balls off and can't stop apologizing to people. I think rather than being generally unpleasant, a flawed protagonist should be fundamentally a good person but have some hangups that rub people the wrong way. Eventually they grow past their flaw or prejudices but still keep the base (ie the likable parts) of their personality in tact. 

Yeah, I honestly don't blame you on that, even if I did like them. Personally, Luke himself had enough hints of depth and redeeming qualities even when he was in full asshole mode (his relationship with Guy, how much he looked up to Van, and him showing that he did care about people underneath his brattiness), but I can see how other peoples' patience would run out a lot faster.

But you definitely make a good point.. I know start-of-game Luke was made purposefully unlikable in an exaggerated manner so that the turning point would feel cathartic, but that's very dangerous to do, because you risk alienating the audience at the start if they don't buy into it. I can agree on the main character at least being somewhat likable right off the bat, even if he's a bit of a dick.

I'm not so sure how well Path of Radiance would have gone down, for instance, if Shinon or Soren had been the main character.

Edited March 8, 2017 by Extrasolar

[NekoKnight]

13 minutes ago, Extrasolar said:

I'm not so sure how well Path of Radiance would have gone down, for instance, if Shinon or Soren had been the main character.

I think abrasive/cold people work better as supporting protagonists. Ike is a solid base (he's naive at worst, but he always has the best intentions) and Soren (or Shinon) are effective foils. The main character is the person the player follows most closely, so they must be appealing in some way, or you risk destroying the player's desire to move forward (case in point, Nohrrin). It's hard to say how well the likes of Soren and Shinon would fair as a protagonist because they have very divergent personalities from Ike and would thus make different choices and get different development.

There are a number of flaws you can attach to a protagonist, such as arrogance, overconfidence, or prejudice, but the player needs to see why other people would like them despite their flaws. A good redeeming feature of abrasive types is personal kindness or strong sense of justice.

[Extrasolar]

34 minutes ago, NekoKnight said:

I think abrasive/cold people work better as supporting protagonists. Ike is a solid base (he's naive at worst, but he always has the best intentions) and Soren (or Shinon) are effective foils. The main character is the person the player follows most closely, so they must be appealing in some way, or you risk destroying the player's desire to move forward (case in point, Nohrrin). It's hard to say how well the likes of Soren and Shinon would fair as a protagonist because they have very divergent personalities from Ike and would thus make different choices and get different development.

There are a number of flaws you can attach to a protagonist, such as arrogance, overconfidence, or prejudice, but the player needs to see why other people would like them despite their flaws. A good redeeming feature of abrasive types is personal kindness or strong sense of justice.

I agree. Generally you see very compassionate and caring people as protagonists, not just in FE but in general (Ike counts, though he's much more blunt in the matter, and plays wide-eyed idealist less straight than Marth or Eliwood do, for instance), simply because they're more liable to want to get involved with other peoples' problems and help solve them. There's a reason why tabletop DMs prefer good parties to neutral ones - you can easily come up with someone in trouble the good party's gonna want to help during an adventure, whereas neutrals have to have special incentive to want to get involved (and it could vary from person to person).

I just think that had they been protagonists, if the audience hadn't been turned off by their general asshattery at first and quit, then they would have had a hard time getting invested in the same vein as Luke. Shinon was all about money in the first place, so unless Elincia could slap some coin in his hand (which she couldn't), he'd have tossed her out to Daein anyway. Soren is much of the same, more out of general pragmatism than greed.

Not saying asshole protagonists who do terrible things can't work, but...it has to be handled very delicately. IS bungling the Conquest path on that end is my main problem with that path in question.

And yeah, FE has done that before with other protagonists to great effect. Ephraim is cocky and arrogant, but a good, straitlaced guy at the end of the day. Hector is brash and rude, but loyal to his friends and a brave guy. Even Shinon, racist and unpleasant as he is, has a soft spot for Rolf and even Gatrie to some extent. Soren's got his relationship with Ike...though of course, the latter two took some time for those traits to show through. It's lucky that they weren't the main protagonists, or players might have lost patience with them before these depths were shown.

Edited March 8, 2017 by Extrasolar

[Gima]

I think it's worth noting that Ike was directly inspired by Hector... It feels incredibly odd to place him among the good and boring protagonists. Although I haven't played the game, what little I do know of his character makes him seem similar to Chrom. Meanwhile I HAVE played Awakening, and Chrom doesn't really fit that mold as much as Marth, Lyn, Eliwood, or Eirika. Robin, Lucina, Corrin, and Azura sadly DO fill that mold, but at least Chrom (who is supposedly the protagonist of Awakening and not the deuteragonist or tritagonist) was an exception.

[Extrasolar]

14 minutes ago, Gima said:

I think it's worth noting that Ike was directly inspired by Hector... It feels incredibly odd to place him among the good and boring protagonists. Although I haven't played the game, what little I do know of his character makes him seem similar to Chrom. Meanwhile I HAVE played Awakening, and Chrom doesn't really fit that mold as much as Marth, Lyn, Eliwood, or Eirika. Robin, Lucina, Corrin, and Azura sadly DO fill that mold, but at least Chrom (who is supposedly the protagonist of Awakening and not the deuteragonist or tritagonist) was an exception.

I didn't say that the good/idealistic protagonists were "boring," far from it in a lot of cases (I like Marth and Eliwood a lot, for example). And Ike was inspired by Hector, but he's definitely a more dialed-back and subdued version, in that he's straightforward, but not quite as aggressive as Hector is. And he's got the "all-loving hero" bit as well (him comforting Soren over the fact that he's a Branded, him immediately befriending laguz and telling Jill to knock it off with her racism), whereas Hector didn't.
 

[André The kid]

21 hours ago, Extrasolar said:

Hey, the other lords had personality! Granted, a lot of them were a very similar "wise, noble, and compassionate" personality with a few tweaks, but it still counts as a personality. Hector was definitely the stand-out in this regard, which in turn inspired Ike. But getting a more brash lord would be pretty interesting this go around, in the same vein.

Well... Yes. Eirika and Ephraim, or even Eliwood and Roy were by no means badly written characters, but, just as you've said, Hector stands out the most, as being a Lord packed with Charm and personality, that is abrasive, agressive and rash, but is still of a kind heart, who cares for his people. He always believes everything he does to be right, and will stand with his Allies in the battlefield until the bitter end, Just as shown in his support conversations.

Ike is very much like hector in that regard, and that's what made him stand out. By making him a Mercenary, instead of a Noble, made much more of an impact, and the fact that Ike would become a Noble through his deeds, just made his achievements even more impactful and interesting, making the battle against the Black Knight in Both Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn really impactful, with a very well written Character.

Well, Inteligent Systems? Are you taking notes? Hopefully you are. I'd say to take inspiration on the Tellius series for Writing. These tittles are (in my opinion) the 2 games with the best story in the franchise (And although Fe4 had an intricate plot, It was too Thick and with too many loose references, I've played the game 2/3 times through, and still couldn't recite the whole story if you asked me to, only the more impactful moments.)

21 hours ago, Extrasolar said:

Don't forget Micaiah! She was bitter at the world and cold at points, and at the end of the day, she tended to just do what had to be done. Sothe himself was a somewhat grim, cold guy as well. He counts as a lord, right? Considering he was superglued to Micaiah's side most of Radiant Dawn anyway, and forced in most of the chapters she was in.

Well, I do think that Micaiah Stands out as a quite forced Lord, like Lyn. Although yes, she turned out as a very interesting character in the end, and the fact the she became even colder during the game made her a very well written character. unlike most lords, Her personality changes by witnessing the true horrors of war, and the way that Begnion operated in Daein. So yeah, If the Next protagonist turned out to be like Micaiah, i wouldn't be really upset. 

Sothe would be a great inspiration for this next game. The way he was handled was pretty good actually, his cold, but softhearted, he was a good balance between good and evil in his personality (Weird way to phrase it, i know.)

 

2 hours ago, Gima said:

d Chrom doesn't really fit that mold as much as Marth, Lyn, Eliwood, or Eirika. Robin, Lucina, Corrin, and Azura sadly DO fill that mold, but at least Chrom (who is supposedly the protagonist of Awakening and not the deuteragonist or tritagonist) was an exception.

Very True.
The idealistic "For the people" is indeed fit by those characters. Chrom though did not fit that description. That can be clearly seen when he puts his friends' and families' lives in front of what's best for the kingdom, he's also somewhat abrasive. Not Agressive or Rash, and a bit too Trusting. 
Chrom could have been a little more refined, but he was still overall a solid lord.

[Extrasolar]

13 minutes ago, André The kid said:

Sothe would be a great inspiration for this next game. The way he was handled was pretty good actually, his cold, but softhearted, he was a good balance between good and evil in his personality (Weird way to phrase it, i know.)

I do think a Sothe-like lord would be cool (my idea was a FE where one of the lords was a member of a thieves' guild, or something similar), though I don't want to dip too far into edginess, considering that's often a bad thing. So long as the lord is snarked at, makes the occasional dorky reference or pun ("This is Sothe, the father of Ike's children"), then I'm good. I am excited for (hopefully a bit more aggressive) Alm in Echoes.
 

1 hour ago, André The kid said:

Well, I do think that Micaiah Stands out as a quite forced Lord, like Lyn. Although yes, she turned out as a very interesting character in the end, and the fact the she became even colder during the game made her a very well written character. unlike most lords, Her personality changes by witnessing the true horrors of war, and the way that Begnion operated in Daein. So yeah, If the Next protagonist turned out to be like Micaiah, i wouldn't be really upset. 

I don't necessarily think that lords have to be cold or grow colder during their stories to be interesting or well-written characters.

I like Marth's development in Shadow Dragon and New Mystery and think it's well-written - he starts off very much as wide-eyed, sweet idealist, but is emotionally destroyed by Gra's invasion and losing all of his family. He's generally kind, but shows surprising moments of bitterness and anger (his conversation with Nyna, for example) that shows that even he struggles with cynicism. Even though he's in war, he continues to be optimistic, even if it's difficult. He continues believing in the good of people, even when he's betrayed by Hardin, and the like. I think that's a strength, and is compelling in its own right.
 

12 minutes ago, André The kid said:

Well, Inteligent Systems? Are you taking notes? Hopefully you are. I'd say to take inspiration on the Tellius series for Writing. These tittles are (in my opinion) the 2 games with the best story in the franchise (And although Fe4 had an intricate plot, It was too Thick and with too many loose references, I've played the game 2/3 times through, and still couldn't recite the whole story if you asked me to, only the more impactful moments.)

I definitely agree on the point that Tellius is the high point for writing (character writing and plot writing) and worldbuilding in the series. I think a lot of FE4's problem is that a lot of what fleshes it out and makes it deep is in supplementary material like interviews, art books and concept books, as well as in the manga. Just strict FE4 doesn't actually have room for a lot of development and text, but the manga and such really made the characters come alive (Lewyn from Oosawa manga is my darling, but in the game...meh, I could take him or leave him).

[Harvey]

A character who is selfish in nature, doesn't care about what people think about him and simply does things his way and this somehow makes others want to join his army.

 

[Thane]

1 hour ago, Harvey said:

A character who is selfish in nature, doesn't care about what people think about him and simply does things his way and this somehow makes others want to join his army.

 

So Nohrrin, then?

[Harvey]

1 hour ago, Thane said:

So Nohrrin, then?

Garon forces people to do his doing. I'm thinking about someone who can do the same thing like Luffy from One Piece.

 

[Thane]

1 minute ago, Harvey said:

Garon forces people to do his doing. I'm thinking about someone who can do the same thing like Luffy from One Piece.

Nohrrin wouldn't have returned to Nohr if it wasn't because of their selfishness, and their whole shtick in Conquest is to become a villain for the greater good. Hence, Nohrrin fits your criteria.

I have no idea who Luffy is.

Edited March 9, 2017 by Thane

[Harvey]

3 minutes ago, Thane said:

Nohrrin wouldn't have returned to Nohr if it wasn't because of their selfishness, and their whole shtick in Conquest is to become a villain for the greater good. Hence, Nohrrin fits your criteria.

I have no idea who Luffy is.

Luffy is a character in one piece and the main guy there. Basically, he's dumb but the way his actions are noticed by other pirates makes other pirates want to join in his crew or develop fears about the kid himself. He has this odd ability to lure people to help him and he relies easily on help to get a lot of things done.

 

Oh you mean Corrin? um...how is he selfish if he was selfless that he joined his foster family because of how they cared for him there?

 

[Thane]

1 minute ago, Harvey said:

Luffy is a character in one piece and the main guy there. Basically, he's dumb but the way his actions are noticed by other pirates makes other pirates want to join in his crew or develop fears about the kid himself. He has this odd ability to lure people to help him and he relies easily on help to get a lot of things done.

So...he's a run-of-the-mill anime protagonist, then?

1 minute ago, Harvey said:

Oh you mean Corrin? um...how is he selfish if he was selfless that he joined his foster family because of how they cared for him there?

You just answered your own question. Corrin returns to Nohr only because of their family even though they were waging a war against a country that had done nothing to deserve it.

Also, "cared for him there" is a nice way of putting it, but Corrin was kidnapped and used as a living bomb by the man who not only directly killed their "father", but also indirectly killed their mother and father figure in Gunter. Going back to such a man who's waging an unprovoked war just because you care about those you grow up with is selfish and stupid, since you'd most likely end up being executed anyway.

This is derailing the thread though, so let's stop talking about it. 

[Nanima]

1 hour ago, Thane said:

So Nohrrin, then?

Oh but Nohrrin does care what people think about them. Considering they are less concerned with sacrificing the lifes of thousands and more about people hating them for it, I'd argue it's the most important thing to them.

 

Anyway, personally I would just like a protagonist who doesn't fit into the archetypical Lord character type (brave and kind but not much else) or any archetype really. I want them to be an actual person, with their own beliefs and fears, strengths and glaring flaws, and I want the game to call attention and aknowledge all of them.

I had this story idea of a young (late teens-early twenties) crown prince/ss who feels trapped by their duties and responsibilities (along with their court being full of scheming snakes) and abandons it all by running away and becoming a simple sell-sword. Kind of like a reverse-Ike. They do experience their share of adventures and total freedom, but always end up finding themselves in positions of athority anyway (like becoming the leader of their own small mercenary band, and playing general in a couple foreign wars). They just can't look away and mind their own business, both changing things for the better but also fucking some things up in the meantime (and getting called on it). So eventually they start questioning whether they really hate having authority or want to run from responsibility, and contemplate their actual problems with being a royal. Coming to the decision that it's more to do with how things are run in their country and resolving to improve it, they start making their way home.
Once there, they find out that their father/mother has been dead for a couple years at this point, and their younger sibling has ascended the throne in their absence. The younger sibling is understandably less than pleased about their return, having held the country together for so long only to be essentially told "Thanks for keeping it warm, now shove off.". So there ends up being a civil war, with the younger sibling leading the "traditional" faction and the older one leading a "reformist" faction. The tradtional faction, and especially the younger sibling, would have their sympathetic points, while the "reformists" wouldn't be entirely in the right either.

That's the basic premise I have thought up. It obviously needs some refining, but I am curious what others think of it.   

[Thane]

6 minutes ago, Nanima said:

Oh but Nohrrin does care what people think about them. Considering they are less concerned with sacrificing the lifes of thousands and more about people hating them for it, I'd argue it's the most important thing to them.

I actually meant to joke about just that but then it turned into a mini debate.

10 minutes ago, Nanima said:

Anyway, personally I would just like a protagonist who doesn't fit into the archetypical Lord character type (brave and kind but not much else) or any archetype really. I want them to be an actual person, with their own beliefs and fears, strengths and glaring flaws, and I want the game to call attention and aknowledge all of them.

I had this story idea of a young (late teens-early twenties) crown prince/ss who feels trapped by their duties and responsibilities (along with their court being full of scheming snakes) and abandons it all by running away and becoming a simple sell-sword. Kind of like a reverse-Ike. They do experience their share of adventures and total freedom, but always end up finding themselves in positions of athority anyway (like becoming the leader of their own small mercenary band, and playing general in a couple foreign wars). They just can't look away and mind their own business, both changing things for the better but also fucking some things up in the meantime (and getting called on it). So eventually they start questioning whether they really hate having authority or want to run from responsibility, and contemplate their actual problems with being a royal. Coming to the decision that it's more to do with how things are run in their country and resolving to improve it, they start making their way home.
Once there, they find out that their father/mother has been dead for a couple years at this point, and their younger sibling has ascended the throne in their absence. The younger sibling is understandably less than pleased about their return, having held the country together for so long only to be essentially told "Thanks for keeping it warm, now shove off.". So there ends up being a civil war, with the younger sibling leading the "traditional" faction and the older one leading a "reformist" faction. The tradtional faction, and especially the younger sibling, would have their sympathetic points, while the "reformists" wouldn't be entirely in the right either.

That's the basic premise I have thought up. It obviously needs some refining, but I am curious what others think of it.   

Hey that sounds very neat, I'd definitely be behind that! Would the older sibling really have a right to claim the throne then though? If anything though, there'd need to be a reason for them wanting to ascend the throne, because if they just tell their younger sibling to abdicate after they had spent time holding the kingdom together just because the protagonist finally feels ready to take responsibility, then they would come across as very unsympathetic.

[Extrasolar]

2 hours ago, Thane said:

So Nohrrin, then?

 

Spoiler

kek.png

 

26 minutes ago, Thane said:

So...he's a run-of-the-mill anime protagonist, then?

Spoiler

topkek.png


you are really on fire with these witty lines

 

35 minutes ago, Thane said:

Nohrrin wouldn't have returned to Nohr if it wasn't because of their selfishness, and their whole shtick in Conquest is to become a villain for the greater good. Hence, Nohrrin fits your criteria.

+1
 

Spoiler

Conquest is the selfish path; Hey, let's side with a black-hearted villain who wants to destroy an innocent kingdom's way of life because he's our dad and might hug us again after we murder all the Hoshidans. we're morally good people we swear

 

17 minutes ago, Nanima said:

That's the basic premise I have thought up. It obviously needs some refining, but I am curious what others think of it.   

 

4 minutes ago, Thane said:

I'd definitely be behind that! Would the older sibling really have a right to claim the throne then though? If anything though, there'd need to be a reason for them wanting to ascend the throne, because if they just tell their younger sibling to abdicate after they had spent time holding the kingdom together just because the protagonist finally feels ready to take responsibility, then they would come across as very unsympathetic.

I was just in the middle of typing this, before I was ninja'd. I'd say in order for this to work, the younger sibling would have to be somehow unfit to rule and/or a colossal screw-up that's dragging the kingdom and its population down. That way it would feel cathartic when the older sibling comes to take their rightful place

Edited March 9, 2017 by Extrasolar

[Nanima]

14 minutes ago, Thane said:

Hey that sounds very neat, I'd definitely be behind that! Would the older sibling really have a right to claim the throne then though? If anything though, there'd need to be a reason for them wanting to ascend the throne, because if they just tell their younger sibling to abdicate after they had spent time holding the kingdom together just because the protagonist finally feels ready to take responsibility, then they would come across as very unsympathetic.

Well yes, since the younger sibling doesn't really do anything about the system of courtly decadence and intriuge. They do a decent enough job of not letting the country go entirely to shit, but they are really only staving off the inevitable collapse once a less competent king/queen claims the throne. Because of their bitterness towards their older sibling and the influence of some of the "traditionalist" courtiers, they refuse to implement reforms that would rid the system of it's corruption. Their stance is essentially "It's always been this way, and can only ever work this way.", while refusing to think of other ways out of a personal grudge and being more suceptible to courtly intrigue than they want others to believe.. They also believe their siblings ideas are utopian and naive.

Edited March 9, 2017 by Nanima

[Thane]

5 minutes ago, Nanima said:

Well yes, since the younger sibling doesn't really do anything about the system of courtly decadence and intriuge. They do a decent enough job of not letting the country go entirely to shit, but they are really only staving off the inevitable collapse once a less competent king/queen claims the throne. Because of their bitterness towards their older sibling and the influence of some of the "traditionalist" courtiers, they refuse to implement reforms that would rid the system of it's corruption. Their stance is essentially "It's always been this way, and can only ever work this way.", while refusing to think of other ways out of a personal grudge and being more suceptible to courtly intrigue than they want others to believe..

That does make more sense, but just how deeply is this corruption rooted? One would think the main character wouldn't need to become a king to weed them all out. Hell if anything this sounds like some anime fantasy medieval Batman stuff where the protagonist would be better off knocking some sense into these senators rather than risking falling for one of their schemes while sitting on a throne.

[Nanima]

14 minutes ago, Thane said:

That does make more sense, but just how deeply is this corruption rooted? One would think the main character wouldn't need to become a king to weed them all out. Hell if anything this sounds like some anime fantasy medieval Batman stuff where the protagonist would be better off knocking some sense into these senators rather than risking falling for one of their schemes while sitting on a throne.

Because the problems are structural, not a matter of just stab-killing/punching enough bad guys. Things like all higher offices being passed through family lines, factionism, bribery and corruption being endemic to the system (like present on even the smallest of levels), nobles essentially owning the peasants on their lands and oftne bleeding them dry to finance petty disagreements (and if they don't do that, it doesn't mean their kids won't), which looks like it might lead to something like the peasants revolt of 1381 in the not too distant future.
Also the older sibling doesn't have enough authority to make huge changes anymore. Their younger sibling won't listen to them because they find their ideas unrealistic, and because of that (and a lack of majority support) they also have no authority over the rest of the nobles/senate.

I know Fire Emblem doesn't usually deal with the problems of a feudal system and would rather focus on glorifying it, so this might not really fit into the series for some. 

[Thane]

6 minutes ago, Nanima said:

Because the problems are structural, not a matter of just stab-killing/punching enough bad guys. Things like all higher offices being passed through family lines, factionism, bribery and corruption being endemic to the system (like present on even the smallest of levels), nobles essentially owning the peasants on their lands and oftne bleeding them dry to finance petty disagreements (and if they don't do that, it doesn't mean their kids won't), which looks like it might lead to something like the peasants revolt of 1381 in the not too distant future.
Also the older sibling doesn't have enough authority to make huge changes anymore. Their younger sibling won't listen to them because they find their ideas unrealistic, and because of that (and a lack of majority support) they also have no authority over the rest of the nobles/senate.

I was about to say that it would sound like a peasant revolt wouldn't be too far off. Anyway, that sounds nice; I just wanted to check that the main character didn't come back to their country after having been gone for years only to say "you're in my seat, move" to their sibling.

Anyway, like I said before, I like the idea, so you've got my support for what it's worth! Now, to get this to Intelligent Systems...

7 minutes ago, Nanima said:

I know Fire Emblem doesn't usually deal with the problems of a feudal system and would rather focus on glorifying it, so this might not really fit into the series for some. 

Whaaat? You mean to tell me I haven't been playing a realistic simulation of medieval battles all this time? Next you'll tell me that young teenagers in mini skirts with the ability to supplex fully armored knights didn't make up half of the armies in 12:th century Europe.

[Nanima]

3 minutes ago, Thane said:

I was about to say that it would sound like a peasant revolt wouldn't be too far off. Anyway, that sounds nice; I just wanted to check that the main character didn't come back to their country after having been gone for years only to say "you're in my seat, move" to their sibling.

Anyway, like I said before, I like the idea, so you've got my support for what it's worth! Now, to get this to Intelligent Systems...

Yeah, I should have specified that the "Move, kiddo" thing was mostly just what the younger sibling sees it as.

Glad you like my idea though, even if neither Intsys or me (because I am lazy) will ever make anything of it.

7 minutes ago, Thane said:

Whaaat? You mean to tell me I haven't been playing a realistic simulation of medieval battles all this time? Next you'll tell me that young teenagers in mini skirts with the ability to supplex fully armored knights didn't make up half of the armies in 12:th century Europe.

Shocking isn't it? I felt so betrayed when I learned that none of the swords the British royal family owns was ever actually used to kill an evil dragon god. What a let-down.

Joking aside, I was more talking about how such an idea would be received in a fandom that is used to monarchies being portrayed as the perfect kind of government (aside from the occasional psycho of course).

[Thane]

3 minutes ago, Nanima said:

Yeah, I should have specified that the "Move, kiddo" thing was mostly just what the younger sibling sees it as.

No I got that. What wasn't too clear was why the older sibling felt it necessary to ascend the throne now in the first place, but you explained that later.

4 minutes ago, Nanima said:

Glad you like my idea though, even if neither Intsys or me (because I am lazy) will ever make anything of it.

Maybe they'll read this and misunderstand it, thinking the younger sibling wanted nothing more than to give the throne to the main character (i.e YOU, the player) and all of the senators immediately ceased their bickering due to the radiant glow of you, the awesome player, and then the land prospered for eternity. 

6 minutes ago, Nanima said:

Joking aside, I was more talking about how such an idea would be received in a fandom that is used to monarchies being portrayed as the perfect kind of government (aside from the occasional psycho of course).

I know. I think the zealous faith a lot of knights have in their lords contribute to that as well. I mean I know this is anime fantasy and that asskicking equals authority, but a slightly more realistic approach could work well, I feel like. Path of Radiance did bring up how silly it was to inherit political power, but not too much was actually done with it, sadly.

[blah the Prussian]

2 hours ago, Thane said:

Hey that sounds very neat, I'd definitely be behind that! Would the older sibling really have a right to claim the throne then though? If anything though, there'd need to be a reason for them wanting to ascend the throne, because if they just tell their younger sibling to abdicate after they had spent time holding the kingdom together just because the protagonist finally feels ready to take responsibility, then they would come across as very unsympathetic.

If they had just run off without renouncing their claim then yes. And to add to the rest, have the parents be abusive to the younger sibling because they always wanted their older son, who they preferred, to rule. That opens the door for a complicated villain. Also, May I suggest having the protagonist be based on Tsar Peter the Great? He also ran off to see the more developed Western Europe (he worked in the ports of Amsterdam) before going back to Russia and reforming it. The hero's adventures could take him to a more developed kingdom that doesn't have the problems with corruption, and the monarch of that kingdom could convince him to get off his ass and do his duty. But yeah, overall this is a pretty kickass idea.