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Cyflan posted:Huh, was the same gender maid/butler joining you added later? Yeah, I didn't spell it out specifically, but it's a separate patch. Mechanically it just switches the relevant scenes and events between MCorndog and FCorndog, making a few pronoun fixes to the script in the process because while the game has a system to just put in stuff like lord/lady, the script uses it inconsistently. edit: whoops, update on last page
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May 18, 2022 19:47
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Update 03: One Bad Dad (Ch.2 - Gift of Ganglari) Chapter 2 - Gift of Ganglari Ganglari? Is that what we were quarantined against?  it's almost too easy of a joke  Kingdom of Nohr: Capital of Windmire Encircled by many, many walls lies the capital. Right in the middle of a massive nasty swamp. I suppose "mire" is in the name.   The city itself is that glowing pit, which up close reveals its nature as a giant channeled cylinder into the ground with the homes and buildings being built into the walls. Pathways and platforms branch across, almost like webs. This would be a pretty neat Dwarf Fortress, although a swamp seems like one of the last places you'd want to live below sea level at.   Far below in the center of the pit, we spot the royalty crew walking along a bridge. Elise is running across, and even stops to wave back at Corndog who is lagging behind drastically. She doesn't even make it to the center platform before we fade out.  Music: Obsidian Ruler (Suitably intimidating, I'd say.) A quite large man stands at the top of a staircase...  And the crew arrives!   GARON: I see you made it here safely, Corndog.  CORNDOG: Yes, Father. Long have I wished to see you and visit Castle Krakenburg again. I feel like I'm dreaming... This is Corndog's dad, who is an absolutely massive man. His sprite pretty much claims one half the screen. The two tone beard is definitely a... choice. I'd also expect a king to have a much more grand crown, but I guess not. It's a toss up between if Krakenburg is named after an actual kraken, or is this just them coming up with the most not-evil name they could. I think there's actually some creedence to the former? It's been a while.  GARON: It is only thanks to your diligence that you are here. GARON: I am told you are now a warrior almost on par with Xander. You finally possess the strength to be an instrument of Nohr's power in the world. (we absolutely aren't almost on par with xander)  ELISE: But, Father, will she be all right outside of the fortress?  CAMILLA: I worry about that as well. Isn't it dangerous for Corndog to live outside the fortress's magical barrier? CORNDOG: I appreciate your concern, but I earned my way here and I'm ready to fight. GARON: Corndog, as you know, Nohr is at war with the eastern kingdom of Hoshido.  CORNDOG: Yes, Father. I have heard as much. Hoshido is basically Not-Japan and Nohr is roughly Not-Europe, if Europe was obsessed with black and spikes, kinda.  GARON: We of the royal family are descendants of the ancient gods, the First Dragons. GARON: As inheritors of that divine strength, we conquer those who oppose us with ease. One who learns to wield that power can destroy an entire army of common troops. GARON: Xander, Camilla, and Leo have already shown that they possess this power. I expect no less from you.  CORNDOG: I am aware of your expectations, Father. And I have trained every day to become more like my siblings. GARON: Hmm...you show promise. But you will need a suitable weapon in order to serve Nohr. It's about time we got our magic sword with a fancy name! That being said, I wish we kept the bronze sword too for a reason we'll get to when we hit the combat for this chapter.  Suddenly a violet light flashes in front of our heroine!  From it emerges a curved sword nearly as tall as her, made of some black material speckled with glowing red like volcanic rock. It's also vaguely glowing purple. What I'm saying is that it's totally not evil, and also looks like a Dark Souls weapon.  CORNDOG: Wow... GARON: This is Ganglari, a sword infused with magic from another world. With this sword at your side, you will crush the Hoshidan army with ease. CORNDOG: Thank you for this generous gift, Father.  XANDER: Hmm... Generous indeed. I suppose we have that other world to thank for the name of "Ganglari". Just... what a name.  GARON: Now, let us see you put that sword to its proper use... Bring out the prisoners!  NOHRIAN LANCER: Yes, sire! CORNDOG: Prisoners?  She looks behind.  Some sort of barbarian woman with a cool skull crown and a green haired ninja run in. GARON: These are prisoners from our most recent skirmish with Hoshido. I want to see your power with my own eyes. Use that sword to strike them down. I get the feeling Dad really likes the strategy where you corner defenseless archers and healers for exp grinding.   GUNTER: I shall join you, milady. My lance arm is perhaps rusty but still serviceable. GUNTER: Felicia, will you join as well?  FELICIA: Of course! I'm as much a bodyguard as a domestic, after all.  FELICIA: To be honest, I was never that great at the domestic stuff anyway. Luckily we don't have to go 1 on 2 here, we've got our entourage joining in to help. Also, yes, our maid is our bodyguard. This isn't as ridiculous as it sounds, as it turns out.   RINKAH: I am Rinkah! Daughter of the Flame Tribe's honorable chieftain. RINKAH: What is your name, Nohrian princess? CORNDOG: I'm Corndog. It seems we're not fighting just faceless generic prisoners, these ones are important! I say "just" because they did bring a generic each as backup.   KAZE: Corndog... Can it be? CORNDOG: Huh? Have you heard of me?  KAZE: I am Kaze, a ninja of Hoshido.  KAZE: Show me what you can do.  GARON: Kill them all. I think Kaze's more stunned by the name than anything. It has to be a very exotic and rare name, truly emblematic of Nohrian high culture. But if he wants to see our spinny attack animations, I guess he'll get to do so!  Victory - Rout the enemy It's strategy time!  Music: Dusk FallsMusic: Dusk Falls (Fire)(I've listened to a decent bit of this game's soundtrack before this, and this is one I've gone to pretty often. I quite like this one.)  CORNDOG: Is that...  FELICIA: Is something wrong, milady?  CORNDOG: I feel...something emanating from the ground. Could it be... This is our little tip off on the first Dragon Vein we get to use. This is one of the main new mechanics, effectively strategic buttons only pressable by lords- we've seen the kind of things they can do twice already. Just know that Corndog's the only one who can use these for quite some time.  First on our things to look at is our fancy new sword. Our old bronze sword was only 4 damage, prevented activation skills and crits, all at the advantage of 100 hit and +10 crit evade. I guess it helps to not let you just do like you'd do in Awakening and toss a bronze weapon forged up to the power of a steel one. Although we'll sorta be doing that later anyways, we'll get to that. Ganglari on the other hand has 7 damage, and a bit of crit and crit evade, but 15 less hit. This is why I wish we still had our practice sword, at least we could guarantee hits with it if needed. Oh well.   Next up is Felicia. Her class is actually Maid, a unique one that wields throwing knives and healing staves. Healers who can attack? Count me in. Her stats lean on somewhat low HP, STR, and DEF, but quite good everything else really. Her RES is a fantastic 11 right now, so she can definitely cover our heroine's main weakness. (Maid's also some kind of promotion to Troubadour, the classic mounted healer. Despite this, Felicia will level as if she was unpromoted.) Her personal skill, Devoted Partner will give Corndog specifically +2 damage dealt and -2 damage taken when partnered up, and only Corndog. Her class skills are Resistance +2 which does what it says, and the other Demoiselle, which lightly increases the defense of male allies. Speaking of male allies...!   Here's Gunter, who's come prepared on his heavily armored horse. He's a Great Knight, the usual sidegrade of Paladin that gets wide melee weapon access and higher defense at the cost of speed and a vulnerability to armorslaying. His stats are good for this point in the game, and abysmal for a pre-promote. And this isn't him holding back like Xander was, alas. With nary an inherent stat growth over 15%, experienced players may recognize this man as a Jagen, (but not the smug Jagen). Characters of the Jeigan archetype are useful early game walls to block hits, and to soften up weaker foes for your other characters, and Gunter is no different. He's still useful.   I find I prefer just not using this Vein on this map, but for the sake of showing it off, here it is. Gotta impress Dad after all.   FELICIA: Oh! Th-that's amazing! You blew away all the debris! GARON: Heh... Well done.  GUNTER: Excellent plan, milady—now we can hide in there and ambush our foes. It's really easy to just corral them around the sides of this building instead. Just go up one side, bonk 'em, and then the other two aren't far away. This just shortens the path both groups have to take to reach you. Anyways, the inside of this building is also all Healtile for 20% max HP.  FELICIA: You should know I'm trained to use daggers—up close or thrown from afar. FELICIA: I can even hit enemies hiding behind walls, which might come in handy! This is just one of those FE things that makes sense outdoors, but stops doing so indoors. Who knows how she manages it? I mean, she can already throw them for vaguely lethal damage which is an accomplishment in and of itself. I opt to go ahead and position her inside the room. Luckily that top door is locked so we don't have to worry about our foes attacking from there.  GUNTER: Remain focused, milady. GUNTER: This is no mock battle—a mistake here could cost you your life. Thanks for the heads-up, but I don't think I'll be needing the reset button here. I stick him in the center and that's it for our turn.   Our foes approach! They're not that close though.  GUNTER: Remember your training. Each weapon has strengths and weaknesses. GUNTER:You would do well to consider them before you attack. This prompt brings up the weapon triangle. Rock, Paper, Scissors is a bit different this time around, as in this game it encompasses all weapons. There's no separate magic triangle, just one simple color coded triangle. Red (Swords/Magic) beats Green (Axes, Bows) which beats Blue (Spears, Throwing Knives) which beats Red. It's the usual triangle, but with the three other weapon types slotted in. Bows finally have a real weapon advantage, instead of being a two-way thing where the bad RES of archers and bad DEF or mages meant that trades hurt. All in all, it gives two ways to handle any enemy, which I quite like in theory. We'll have to see how it works out in practice for me though.  FELICIA: I'm sure you know this, milady, but it's useful to stay close to your allies. FELICIA: If you fight side by side, you can help each other in battle. GUNTER: Indeed. Supporting each other will likely be the key to victory. This isn't actually a tutorial about Supports, but rather Pair-Up, or what they've done to it in this game. Starting with Awakening, units adjacent or stacked on top of one another could join in with not-so-rare extra attacks, or rarely block hits while also giving stat boosts when pasted to each other. Fates modifies this system a bit by dividing it into Tag Team (units adjacent) and Pair-Up (units stacked on each other). Those extra attacks now only happen in Tag Team, and while at a small damage penalty they are guaranteed now. The blocking and the stat boosts only happen in Pair-Up, but the guard builds up a meter first, then activates when it's full. This lets you predict it a bit better, rather than it being random. Pair-Up also blocks enemy Tag Team attempts. Oh, and enemies can also use the system as well. On the whole I guess it gives you more reason to not play with your army almost always pasted together. Enough mechanics talk, let's bop some dudes.  FELICIA: Maids can also use staves to heal wounds. FELICIA: If you get hurt, let me know right away! As previously mentioned, Maids can heal. Felicia's less a bodyguard in the sense she's here to fight for us, but more so that she'll help us fight.  My final position for the turn is to block the left entryway with Corndog, Felicia behind her for tag teaming and Gunter just standing out of range of anything. Both Kaze and Rinkah can reach the entrances this turn, but he will stay at range and annoy us if we go over there. Better to get these two off our back first.  Enemy turn, the generic Samurai moves in. The Samurai is just the Myrmidon class from other games, frail crit-n-dodge units with swords. Nohr only gets Mercenaries, their buffer counterparts. All of the Hoshido classes are unique, but they're familiar classes at heart.   He dinks off Corndog's DEF for no damage, and the Princess/Maid pair one-round him. Sorry, doesn't pay to be a myrm and be low level, dude. Also Felicia has snowflake particles on her attacks because of her Ice Tribe heritage. It doesn't do anything but look pretty though.  CORNDOG: Looks like the training is paying off! All those days fighting our brother on the rooftops, validated... I guess. Following this, Corn levels up for just HP, SKL, and DEF. Normally I'd shrug at SKL, but with the poor accuracy of the gangly sword and the axes we'll use as a Wyvern Rider, I'll take it.   RINKAH: Behold the might of the Flame Tribe! Following this, Rinkah comes in to avenge this generic man. Music: Misery In Hand(With her comes boss music! That's a rather sinister sounding name, really.)  Evidently the might of the Flame Tribe is 2 damage  Rinkah has fun fire effects on her attacks, but more importantly, she's of the Oni Savage class. They're effectively Hoshidan reflavors of the usual axe Fighters, but with some different skills and some slightly different stat balances. We deal just over half her HP in return.  A weird effect shows up on her before the other two enemies approach and end their turn.  This happens because she's been debuffed by Felicia! Throwing knives and the Hoshidan counterpart of shurikens inflict status debuffs on hit, in our case -2 MAG, -3 DEF, and -3 RES. That's rather good, especially on a ranged weapon she can assist with! Maids are awesome so far. (Also the stats recover at a rate of 1 per turn, and hits from the same weapon only refresh the debuff rather than stack it.)  This debuff even works out to let Felicia take the final blow with Corndog's help.  Also somehow Felicia retrieves her dagger from somewhere under her skirt, kicking it over her head and into her hand. These opening flourishes are so over the top.  Rinkah goes down with teamwork, and Felicia gets most of the way to a level from this alone.  RINKAH: Nohrian scum... The Hoshidans love this phrase by the way, get used to it.  I spend a bit trying to work out how I'm going to give Felicia one or both of the kills on this side, as she's only level 1 and Lady Corndog won't have any trouble catching up on levels. Kaze is a Ninja, the Hoshidan variant of the classic Thief class, featuring very high SPD and good RES. They wield shurikens, the alternate versions of the daggers our maid uses. He's not really a threat, even the debuff on his Shurikens are basically nothing, but his ability to attack at range is annoying.   KAZE: A ninja's shuriken may not cut deep, but it can sap you of your strength. KAZE: Your death need not come all at once. But, Kaze, what about the turn count?! We must play as fast as possible to see number not go up!  Because I want Felicia to get this experience, I leave Gunter to body block these alone and to soften up the incoming generic Samurai. This is a reminder that throwing weapons debuff. Kaze's only got a Brass Shuriken, so he does next to no damage to our HP or stats with it.  Unfortunately for me, I blanked out on the fact Gunter will always one-shot the Sam when making my master plan. Whoops.  GUNTER: Age and guile. Those 9 experience points will take him far, I guess.   I send in our heroine to soften Kaze up, but she misses. I guess 71% was asking a lot.  So Felicia moves in and trades with Kaze anyways.  ...He insists on dinking shurikens off of Gunter, as he's not capable of counterattacking.  Our turn again, and Felicia knifes a man.   KAZE: I regret...nothing... Good for you, just don't get it tattooed on you. They tend to misspell that for some reason.  FELICIA: All my hard work is paying off! Felicia levels off of this, netting her HP, SKL, SPD, LCK, and RES. Almost everything I'd reasonably expect her to roll. It'd be nice if she'd get some STR or DEF, but she's not likely to hit either of those.  And that's the map over! 5 turns! Probably could've done better, but I regret... nothing... Had we died, we would have gotten this:  CORNDOG: I can't believe I failed... in front of Father...  XANDER: Corndog?! Answer me, Corndog! What have we done? We never should have taken you out of the fortress...  Music: Silence KAZE: So this is how it ends...  CORNDOG: Phew! They're really tough, aren't they? I hope all Hoshidans aren't this strong. GARON: Don't just stand there, idiot girl. Finish them! CORNDOG: But, Father...they're beaten. You want me to execute helpless prisoners? Our dad is not a very nice guy, I'm not sure if you noticed.  Music: How Can That Be?(There are other, more sinister tracks, in name and sound, but this is what plays here.) GARON: You dare question me?! I order you to kill them! CORNDOG: No! It's wrong!  GARON: I won't argue the point any further.  *He raises his hands as magical runes spread around him*  *A large firestrike kills the two generics in the background* Rest in peace generic units, you were worth experience points. Garon probably only got 2 exp off of that, but still.  CORNDOG: Gods! No specific god or gods, just calling out to some gods. They've got a filter for that, so they get less annoyed when you invoke their name merely as an exclamation.  *Garon casts again!*  *But Corndog jumps in and blocks it!* corndog no you have 1 RES  ...how are you alive  KAZE: Hm?  ELISE: Corndog! What are you— XANDER: Unbelievable... GARON: You would defy me directly, Corndog?!  XANDER: Father, please forgive her! GARON: Fine. Xander, you kill them. And if anyone gets in your way, kill them too. XANDER: Ngh. Unfortunately, our heroine's actions has caused a loyalty cascade.  GARON: DO IT! KILL THEM ALL!  XANDER: ... Well, we've made a right mess of this.   XANDER: Stand down, Corndog. If you don't, I will be forced to— CORNDOG: No, Xander. I won't let you do this! Xander approaches Corndog, his not-evil glowing sword readied to clash with our not-evil sword. We've beat him while on the horse, how hard could it be off the horse?    Xander hits his sister, and she gets blocked on the return attack, taking another hit in return. xander you are the worst we didn't even want to wake up today and this is why  XANDER: Why do you refuse, Corndog? You know the Hoshidans are our sworn enemies. CORNDOG: I know, but...this is different. These people can't fight anymore. Why not show mercy? Corndog isn't a fan of waking up early in the morning, or of warcrimes.   CAMILLA: Please, Corndog, don't fight him... My dear, sweet Corndog...  ELISE: No no no! Leo, what should we do?  LEO: *sigh* Why does this fall to me?  *He raises his arm...!*   *...and the two remaining captives are struck with some tree magic!* ...seriously, I don't know how else to describe it but "tree magic". Leo doesn't really look the fantasy druid type, but there you are. Also there are a surprising amount of unique animations in cutscenes so far, Awakening mostly worked off default ones.   LEO: Father, I have dispatched our enemies on behalf of my softhearted sister. GARON: Hmph.  LEO: I only ask that you would be merciful in your punishment of her... GARON: Enough! I will consider the matter later. He was really hoping the battle training and locking her in a tower would make her a bloodthirsty god-unit, but it hasn't worked out. At least he outsourced all of that work to Xander. Following this, he leaves.  CORNDOG: Leo! How could you?! They were beaten! There was no reason to execute them!  LEO: Agreed. Now hush. CORNDOG: Leo, did you— Leo's got our back it seems. Thanks, man!  XANDER: Enough, both of you. The battle is over. XANDER: Mark my words, Corndog... One day an act of kindness may be the death of you. CORNDOG: Perhaps, but if I'm kind, I will die without regrets.  XANDER: ...Well said. That must be Kaze's logic too. I think the real reason is that less conflict means more sleep and less people bothering her.  XANDER: Guard! I would examine the prisoners' belongings. Bring their remains to my quarters. NOHRIAN LANCER: Yes, Your Highness! CORNDOG: Leo, your spell... LEO: Was only enough to weaken them, yes. I should have followed Father's orders. LEO: But Camilla and Elise always make such a fuss when I do anything to upset you.  CORNDOG: Thank you, Leo. I'm sorry for teasing you about your collar. LEO: *sigh* You can repay me by not mentioning it again. Alright, Leo's definitely the better brother. Xander over here hitting us with a sword outside of combat. Twice even! ...on that note, elise, we probably really need a heal right now   ELISE: That was great, Brother! CAMILLA: It was, but I doubt this will be the last we hear of this. Father never forgets a slight. Oh, please, I'm sure this'll have zero long reaching complications at all.  And so the camera dramatically pans up to the chandeliers...  Music: Homesick (Dark)(I couldn't figure out the right music here, so have this, it's close enough.) The scene changes to outside, somewhere in Nohr far above the castle. Xander, Corndog, Rinkah, and Kaze are all here.  XANDER: Listen well. It is only my sister's kind heart that has bought your freedom. XANDER: Disappear now, lest you be spotted by our king. KAZE: ...  And so he promptly bails.  RINKAH: Tch. I am not a hostage to be freed. You said your name is Corndog? RINKAH: When next we meet, I will make you pay for this humiliation! CORNDOG: I was hoping the next time we met, it could be as friends.  RINKAH: Softhearted fool! I am a Hoshidan warrior. You do not understand what you suggest. CORNDOG: I understand that right now Hoshido and Nohr are at war. CORNDOG: But I'm trying to plan ahead for the day the war is over and we can live in peace. "Think about it, uninterrupted sleep. Peaceful sleep." "...Also you've got a unique design and are probably ending up on my team somehow."   RINKAH: I've heard rumors of a sheltered Nohrian princess who knows nothing of the world. I see those rumors are true.  RINKAH: If we do meet again, the world will have no doubt taught you the error of your ways. Rinkah, you should probably stop telling the princess how hard the real world is and follow your ninja buddy. Seriously, given you're still in the capital, you're probably going to need his help getting out uncaptured. It'd also be best if you don't get caught on the way out, buys us a bit of time before Bad Dad realizes what's up.  There you go!  And that's Chapter 2 down! Next time, real combat for real. I've already played up to Chapter 6 on my own time, and the game starts to pick up on everything there. Honestly, if you've just been waiting for the story to go off the deep end in some way, it will happen very soon in fact. Last time I said they could've moved the weakening enemies at range tutorial to here, and I think Felicia's debuff daggers would've been a good choice. They both deal damage and lower defense, it's great. Still, the reason why I'd want to replace the prologue hasn't really shown itself yet. Meanwhile, we're starting to get a better look at the allegiance of our siblings. Xander defers to Dad, and Leo defers to Camilla and Elise. Camilla's on our side, but not willing to cross Dad, and we haven't been shown Elise's actions much yet but rest assured she's totally on our side. It's a timely dynamic to present now that we've gotten a clear view that Nohr isn't a great place and that our Dad is probably a villain. What consequences are in store for us next time? We shall find out then. RINKAH: After you left she started mumbling something about my face and joining her army. KAZE: She is a sheltered royal after all, they're bound to be a little unusual. RINKAH: You mean aside from how she brought a servant to throw knives at us? ----------------------------------  Felicia, Nohr Maid "One of the avatar's retainers. A clumsy Ice Tribe scion. Flora's twin sister." Personal Skill: Devoted Partner- If the Avatar is the lead unit, Avatar’s damage +2, damage received -2 Reclass Options: Troubadour, Mercenary Base Growths + Class Growths HP___ STR__ MAG__ SKL__ SPD___ LCK__ DEF___ RES 40 ____10 ____35 ____30 ____40 ____55 ____15 ____35 00 ____10 ____10 ____15 ____15 ____10 ____05 ____10 A healer who can also debuff at range? I'm sold. 10/10 class right here. Felicia's obviously not inclined to get stronk, but there's nothing saying we can't make that happen. Her MAG does mean that any MAG based weapons will be pretty good on her. Maid's also a weird side promotion of Troubadour as far as I understand. There's no Cleric on Nohr's side, just horse healers. Still, Felicia gains normal experience rate despite all this, so I can't complain. ----------------------------------  Gunter, Nohr Heavy Knight "A veteran Nohrian knight and one of the avatar's retainers. Extremely strict." Personal Skill: Evasive Partner- If the Avatar is the lead unit, Avatar’s Avoid +15, damage received -3 Reclass Options: Cavalier, Mercenary, Wyvern Rider Base Growths + Class Growths HP___ STR__ MAG__ SKL__ SPD___ LCK__ DEF___ RES 15 ____05 ____00 ____05 ____00 ____15 ____05 ____05 20 ____20 ____00 ____10 ____05 ____05 ____20 ____00 When you factor in the class growths, Gunter's a little better off, but not by much. He is Not-Jagen, here to serve Jagenesque purposes, and that's about it. When stat backpacked to the princess, between his skill and his stat boosts he'll make her functionally invincible if she wasn't already. In theory, you could try to make me level him. I'd probably have to sink every stat booster in the game into him, but it's not impossible. I'd just rather not when we've got so many other characters we could do. ------------------------------------------------ Left 4 Bread fucked around with this message at 05:01 on May 22, 2022 |
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May 22, 2022 04:58
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I like Felicia much more than Jacob (both for writing and stats; I feel I can always get a reliable magic unit out of her and Jacob just plateaus after the first few chapters) so I appreciate the focus on her. 
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May 22, 2022 07:36
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Seems more like Felicia is hiding those knives at the bottom of her heels rather than under her skirt. Not sure how that works, but that's what the animation looks like to me. And yeah, I like Felicia better out of the two too. Cyflan fucked around with this message at 08:31 on May 22, 2022 |
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May 22, 2022 08:29
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Felicia and Jakob are actually examples of off-the-wall character designs that I can really appreciate, honestly. Essentially, promoted people in this actually remember the level they promoted at. So someone who promotes right at 10 takes the experience of a level 11 unit to gain their next level. It actually goes some distance to reduce the penalty for promoting early. Felicia and Jakob's level for this purpose is 0, so they gain experience completely normally, and their max level is 40. Because their stats already take promotion bonuses into account, their stats will be lower in the late game. But they serve as excellent early boosts that don't completely lose all function at the end, and they gain some benefits exclusive to them. Starting out as ultimate support characters, or the fact that they'll gain promoted skills far earlier than anyone else. It's just really nifty design in that respect.
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May 22, 2022 08:41
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I like Jakob as a unit more, he can take hits better and his magic being worse doesn't hurt his healing ability too much. He does fall off harder if you keep him as a Butler compared to Felicia though. Personality wise I'm not so sure... Jakob's a jerk but he's also funny, and while Felicia's more likeable her supports tend to be a bit one note. "Jakob is rude" is a little easier to get multiple jokes out of than "Felicia breaks stuff"! The most fun thing about the servants is getting them into weird promoted classes through supports though, this hack should be great for that. Priestess/Onmyoji Felicia through Sakura? Levin Sword Swordmaster Felicia through Hana? Oni Chieftain Felicia through Rinkah??? You could marry Jakob to Kaze and get early Shurikenfaire on him too, that would be fun.
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May 22, 2022 13:17
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Ventadour posted:I like Felicia much more than Jacob (both for writing and stats; I feel I can always get a reliable magic unit out of her and Jacob just plateaus after the first few chapters) so I appreciate the focus on her. I've found her to be quite fun so far, and her stats are really holding up. She'll be one of our only units for quite a few maps, so the focus will definitely get to stay there. Cyflan posted:Seems more like Felicia is hiding those knives at the bottom of her heels rather than under her skirt. It's possible that's what it is, I'd be able to see it better without the support effect. Regardless, it's an impressive trick. If the whole maid thing doesn't end up working out, she could always go into professional knife throwing. Keldulas posted:Felicia and Jakob are actually examples of off-the-wall character designs that I can really appreciate, honestly. I remember reading about how the internal level is maintained instead of doing all the adjustments Awakening did, it sounds like it makes some good changes to the system. I don't think our starting maid or butler would work out as well if it wasn't that way either. I hadn't even thought about how her stats are representative of promotion bonuses, that does change it a bit. I quite like the resulting mechanical design of Felicia and Jakob as well, having these hard support prepromotes who have two avenues of backup that can remain useful even when their stats fall off rather than being relegated to just a support/stat backpack at best. Having a ranged weapon also synergizes really well with Nohr's classic 1 range staves and the Tag Team system, as it means they can drop a heal and be in range for a debuffing dual strike as well. I can say I do see why folks go to bat for Fates' mechanics, there's a lot of interesting ideas and retweaks to what Awakening laid out. I'm not deep enough in to say anything concrete, but I do like what I have been seeing. midnight lasagna posted:The most fun thing about the servants is getting them into weird promoted classes through supports though, this hack should be great for that. Priestess/Onmyoji Felicia through Sakura? Levin Sword Swordmaster Felicia through Hana? Oni Chieftain Felicia through Rinkah??? You could marry Jakob to Kaze and get early Shurikenfaire on him too, that would be fun. Honestly, anything that gets to make use of her MAG at some point or just inherits Staff or Throwing makes a good pick. Her RES should remain pretty good no matter what, so she's a good magic tank. It looks like this game's got plenty of Magic weapons, so she'll have something to use even if we drop her in something like Berserker or General. The reclassing shenanigans are going to be great. I am reminded of how I grinded Olivia into the best Swordmaster on my team the first time I played Awakening because it was funny.
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May 22, 2022 15:50
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midnight lasagna posted:You could marry Jakob to Kaze and get early Shurikenfaire on him too, that would be fun. I actually did this in my run with Gay Conquest, and it was phenomenal. The best part of it was that you can get Replicate early with Jakob by going Mechanist, then you can pass that down to child units so you have at least 3 characters who can go forth and multiply, at least 2 of which have access to healing if needed. poo poo was very silly, but effective.
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May 22, 2022 16:51
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Update 04 - They Set Us Up The Hans Chapter 3 - Journey Begins We were waiting for it to!  We resume the tale of the sleepangry princess Corndog, at view of a massive door.  The view pans down to let us see Elise and Corndog approaching.   ELISE: All right, Corndog. Let's go in there together. I'll help as much as possible. ELISE: This is our father we're talking about. He has to forgive you, right? CORNDOG: Thanks, Elise. I hope you're right.  ELISE: All right. Deep breath, and...here we go.  ELISE: Father! We have something we need to talk to you about! We might've pissed our dad off, but luckily we've got our younger sister to help us out. Hopefully this is one of those families where the parents can't say no to the youngest kid.  Music: The Dim Abyss GARON: Gah hah ha! CORNDOG: Father? ELISE: It sounds like he's with someone... Maybe we should come back later. oh oh dear   GARON: Hrmph! Who's there? ELISE: Oh! Sorry to bother you, Father... CORNDOG: Yes, we apologize if this isn't a good time. GARON: What do you two want?  ELISE: Father, we're here to apologize. ELISE: Right, Corndog? CORNDOG: Yes, that's right. I'm sorry for questioning you. Elise is probably leading this conversation because she probably had to drag Corndog out of bed to do this now rather than later.  GARON: You may enter. Luckily it seems to have worked.  *They enter the room to find Garon sitting upon his throne, bored.*   The camera looks back and forth to show that there's nobody else here... strange. I guess Garon was just having an evil laugh to himself.  GARON: Corndog... You disobeyed a direct order from me. GARON: Ordinarily you would not still be alive. CORNDOG: I understand... ELISE: No! Father, I can explain— GARON: Silence! GARON: As you are my child, Corndog, I will grant you some leeway. Yay for nepotism!  GARON: I have something in mind for you. A mission. GARON: If you complete this task successfully, I will pardon your crime in full. That's a pretty good deal! There can't be any catches to this!  CORNDOG: Really?! What sort of mission? Up until this point, Corndog's been standing with her head hanging like kid getting told off, but now she looks up. Luckily this is work and not a Nohrian mission- our heroine doesn't have the best magic stats, she'd be terrible as a cleric!  GARON: There is an abandoned fortress perched on the Hoshidan border. GARON: I wish to know if the building there remains serviceable. You are to travel to the site and inspect the premises. No battle will be required. GARON: Do you understand? I won't tolerate being disappointed twice... CORNDOG: Yes, Father. It shall be done. Alright, now this is something our semi-pacifist can get behind. Just a scouting job? Sure, yeah, it's perfect! I'm glad Dad is recognizing how to use our talents properly now.  Music: Dim Moonlight (A thanks to ajkalan for getting me the right title for this!) Garon's now since left the room... and...  All the siblings are here!   CAMILLA: Darling, are you sure you're going to be OK out there? I don't like this... CORNDOG: Of course! Please don't worry. It's just an abandoned fort. LEO: You're acting rather casual about all this, Corndog. It isn't like Father to be so forgiving... CORNDOG: Huh? What do you mean, Leo?  ELISE: That's enough, Leo! Don't be so worried all the time, sheesh. ELISE:And don't even try to scare Corndog before her first mission! Yeah, why's everyone so suspicious? Nothing about this is suspicious at all!  Following this, Elise bops Leo across the back of the head. Being a caster doesn't lend you to have much DEF as other classes, making slapstick from your unpromoted little sister a thing that can still happen.   LEO: Hey! That's not necessary. CAMILLA: I suppose I'll just have to come along. That way I know Corndog will be safe.  IAGO: I'm afraid that's not possible. Who is this?!  Approaching from the darkness behind the throne is Iago, a grim and pale mage wearing some rather spiky armor.  CAMILLA: Why ever not, Iago?  IAGO: Lady Camilla, King Garon intends this expedition as a test of sorts. As his top advisor, I have been entrusted with coordinating this mission. IAGO: He would like to know whether Princess Corndog is worthy... After all, she IS a part of the royal lineage. IAGO: Therefore, your assistance would simply muddy the results. CORNDOG: Understood. Camilla, I need to do this all by myself. Surely you understand. To be fair, she'd sap a lot of experience, and we've already got Gunter and sort of Felicia as our pre-promotes. 3 pre-promotes for one starting lord is a bit overkill.  GARON: Not all by yourself, Corndog. What's this?  *Garon approaches from somewhere to the left.* CORNDOG: Father! I didn't see you there. GARON: Rest assured, I don't intend to send you out there completely defenseless.  And so approaches a burly man who probably outmatches Camilla in how breezy his armoring is. Is it leather or metal? I can't tell.   HANS: ...Milady. GARON: This is Hans. He is a veteran warrior and will ensure no trouble befalls you. CORNDOG: Thank you, Father. XANDER: Hmm... He looks oddly familiar! also he's a berserker dad get your class names right, psh Following this, Xander walks up to whisper in our heroine's ear.  XANDER: I'd be wary of that man if I were you, Corndog... CORNDOG: Why do you say that? XANDER: He's a criminal. A murderer and scoundrel. I arrested him myself, years ago. XANDER: Father seems to think he's rehabilitated, but I'm not so sure. I didn't know Nohr even had rehabilitation systems for prisoners, I thought it was just executions. XANDER: That said, he is a formidable soldier. CORNDOG: I see. Well, if he's formidable already, that means he's not getting any exp if I can help it. Music: Silence  We are brought out to the world map for the first time. We travel from the castle to...  Bottomless Canyon North?   CORNDOG: Wow... Is this it? The Bottomless Canyon? GUNTER: Yes. It's the natural boundary dividing Nohr and Hoshido. CORNDOG: It can't really be bottomless, can it?  GUNTER: Let the eternal darkness below be your answer. Those who fall in never return... Well, we can never know ourselves unless we try it out! Later though, we've gotta fix our dad's opinion of us.   GUNTER: I truly despise this place. Something about the land around here just isn't right. GUNTER: The sky here is always dark and foreboding, and lightning strikes all who fly across. GUNTER: This is clearly a place us mortals were never meant to enter. Normally we'd go around... But the fort that King Garon wants surveyed is right over there. CORNDOG: Oh, it's not so bad. Or perhaps I'm just happy to be outside in the fresh air! Compared to the inside of that fortress, this is downright exciting. GUNTER: Ha! That certainly puts things in perspective, milady.  GUNTER: Come, let's proceed. Corndog's just happy to see some environment that isn't just swamp or spooky castle. There is rather frequent lightning strikes in the background as we remain in this area. It's perhaps not the best idea to be fully clothed in pajarmor with very low RES here, but we should be fine. Our father didn't send us here to get killed.  Suddenly a samurai runs up to interrupt our conversation!  Music: Prelude to Dispute(A fancy title to say "get ready to throw down".) GUNTER: Blast! It looks like this fort isn't as abandoned as we thought. Why the devil is this place crawling with Hoshidans? Our information must be out of date- good thing we scouted this out!   HOSHIDAN SAMURAI: Hold on! Do not advance any farther, soldiers of Nohr.  OMOZU: Crossing that bridge is a violation of our border treaty.  OMOZU: Turn back at once, or we'll be forced to attack! Right, right, we should probably stop sightseeing and leave.  FELICIA: What should we do? CORNDOG: We're not here to fight. I suppose we'll have to turn back and report to Father. GUNTER: Wise decision, Lord Corndog. Mission success guys and gals, let's-  HANS: Who asked you, old man? GUNTER: What?!   HANS: Gyaaah!  *Hans brutally crits the visiting samurai out of existence*  HOSHIDAN SAMURAI: AAAAUGH! Hans, no! He was barely worth experience!  HANS: Ah ha ha! Die, scumbags! OMOZU: You'll...pay for this! Well, this has gone south fast.  CORNDOG: Hans, what are you doing?! We had no reason to engage these troops! CORNDOG: We should have tried diplomacy first. We weren't sent here to fight!  HANS: Speak for yourself, weakling. CORNDOG: What's that supposed to mean?  OMOZU: Soldiers of Hoshido, hear me! Do not leave a single Nohrian alive!  HOSHIDAN SAMURAI: Prepare to attack! GUNTER: Argh! Looks like there's no getting out of this now. Get ready to fight, Lady Corndog. What, you thought we were going to get through a chapter without a battle? Silly you, this is Fire Emblem!  Victory - Seize the building Music: Dusk FallsMusic: Dusk Falls (Fire)(This is the last time we'll hear this theme, I think. I could be wrong though. I still like it.)  GUNTER: Now then, Lady Corndog. There are two kinds of battle formations. You'll need to learn both, and fast! GUNTER: You can take a defensive position by moving to the same space as an ally. Your ally will benefit from your support, but you won't be able to attack. GUNTER: If you want to unleash the most potent attacks, stand in adjacent positions. From that alignment, allies may be able to attack simultaneously. GUNTER: I'd tell you more, but you're about to receive some practical experience... Gunter opens up this chapter with a more specific tutorial on tag team and pair ups, whereas we only got a bare overview of its existence last time. If my explanation then wasn't clear enough, I hope Gunter's here does it for you.  To start out our turn, I have Felicia and Gunter stack up, move to block one tile of this two wide bridge, and then have Corndog block the other spot. Hans is just a green unit, so I'm going to try and keep him from getting any more kills here.   CORNDOG: How did you do that!? These Samurai are very wimpy though still, so they can't even hurt our princess as is. Said princess is still trying to figure out where and how Felicia hides her knives.  The second Samurai dies exactly the same as the first.  Ally turn, Hans runs ahead on his own. That's fine though, because...   GUNTER: I'm afraid the enemy's position across that bridge may be impenetrable. GUNTER: We've got to look for another way across. GUNTER: Lady Corndog! See if you can find a Dragon Vein around here. If you can't read the sprites that well, that's a Samurai and an Archer paired on top of a fort in the path ahead's chokepoint. Around him stand 3 more Archers all with a shot on that chokepoint.  The archers alone will chip Corndog for about 6 damage each, and the Sam on the fort will be hard to even hit. Without Gunter's backup, our heroine will likely die on attempting this. Even with it, she'll lose a hefty chunk of HP. I could in theory find a way to punch through, but I'll stick to what the game wants me to do. So we'll take Gunter's advice to seek out other means across the divide.  To the south are two Dragon Veins that create bridges to the other end of the map. So we, move south with our team and leave Hans to his own devices.  HANS: Gyaaah! Die! Now Hans may have a high crit chance, but he nearly dies to the fort Samurai alone.  Somehow he does manage to hit a 22% chance hit though. He should be dead, but the other archers don't bother shooting at him.  Ignoring barbarian man, we return to our Dragon Vein Situation. The northernmost one exits out above the building to the edge of the map, forcing us to march through some forest to reach the boss.  On the other hand, the one to the south immediately brings us to the enemy- a much better deal. I had Felicia give Gunter to our heroine last turn to give her an extra point of movement, a promotion bonus from the Heavy Knight class. Felicia herself already has 6 move as a promoted unit, but Corndog only has the base 5. This 1 extra move range lets us juuust reach this Vein this turn.  Bring on the foes!  OMOZU: Gods! Did you see what just happened to the cliff? OMOZU: Who are we dealing with here? You're dealing with Princess Corndog   Felicia borrows Gunter and hides behind Corndog here, which is honestly probably far more protection than she needs. Enemy turn!  The fort Samurai finishes Hans off. Who saw this coming?  HANS: Bwahaha! Looks like I've done enough damage for the time being. HANS: Time to lay low and see how this all plays out... He's not actually dead though, just pretending to die. He's playing on Casual, evidently.  To the south, a Samurai attempts the same futile maneuver as the others who have faced Lady Corndog.  This nets her a level for STR, SKL, SPD, and LCK. Quite good to see, although it's not like she wasn't already deleting her foes.  For whatever reason, this Archer decides to shoot Felicia for minor damage, despite the fact she can easily return two daggers to his forehead for almost lethal damage.  I mean, Corndog was right there, completely unable to retaliate, but okay. She even has 1 less defense than Felicia paired with Gunter.  On our turn, she cleans up.  She gets an okay level of MAG, SPD, and LCK. I'm really hoping she grabs a point of DEF at some point.  We approach the boss, end our turn.  In theory we could try to clean up the fort to the north, but why bother. There's plenty of experience to get later.  On our turn, we move up on the boss with Felicia, positioning her so she can tag with Corndog.   OMOZU: Do you even realize what you've done here today? OMOZU: Hoshido won't stand for unprovoked attacks like this. Revenge will be ours! Music: Rage in the Light(This is the usual Hoshidan boss theme. Rinkah and Kaze's was different because of reasons.) I mean, we were kind of already at war. At least I think so?  Felicia outdamages this boss, although it's pretty much papercuts on both sides.   However, the debuff and the higher strength of the Ganglari nearly takes the boss out on Corndog's first attack.   On the enemy phase, the boss opts to make my life easier and throws himself at our princess. This ends predictably.  OMOZU: drat you! This isn't over... It is for you!  The remaining generic Samurai seeks to avenge the map boss, targeting Felicia. Truly Omozu has gotten his revenge in death, as this Samurai deals a whole 1 damage to her thanks to his debuff.  FELICIA: Look! More troops are arriving from the south! GUNTER: More enemy reinforcements... Take caution, Lord Corndog. Following this, reinforcements! They're a bit late, unfortunately.  Also something broke, and the tutorial text telling me to seize to end the map returns nothing. Oh well.  The reinforcements are Hoshidan Sky Knights, effectively the Peg Knights of this game. As to be expected, they are frail, but fast. These two are level 1, and thus feature the combat capabilities of wet paper.   So, Felicia donks the remaining Samurai, moving into range of the fliers. As a reminder, I'm wanting to focus on getting her experience because Corndog will have no problem catching up at any point. She'll have plenty of opportunities to vaccuum up levels in the coming chapters.  By setting up a Felicia and Corndog tag team, these Pegs get themselves one rounded.  The first one also nets a level for both characters!  YES *cough* Sorry, just happy we finally saw that DEF growth and somehow managed to get STR as well. SKL and SPD too. Good level, good level.  By comparison, Princess Bedhead gets an incredibly Lord level of HP, SKL, and LCK. Normally disappointing, it's only moreso now with the good level our maid just got. Eh, not every level can be a winner.  On our turn, I have Felicia heal for some chip experience and just pass. I don't really care who the flier goes for.  She chooses death by maid, but is instead taken out by Corndog's supporting strike.   And that's the end of the map!  CORNDOG: This wasn't what I had in mind...but at least I've completed Father's mission.  Music: Endless Nightmare*Suddenly, more Hoshidans!*   SAIZO: You're the leader of these troops? Pah. You're a little girl. CORNDOG: Who are you? SAIZO: My name is Saizo. I've come to claim your life. CORNDOG: Hey, everyone! We're still under attack!  SAIZO: Destroy them! Fun fact, Saizo here calls Lord Corndog "just a boy" and doesn't insult our hero's size. It's not really important, just thought I'd point it out.  XANDER: I won't allow it! As the ninja with a pec window approaches us, a familiar voice suddenly calls out!  Music: Guest of Shade(Another thanks to ajkalan for the title. Spent forever looking for this one.) *ting* It's our older brother! And he's not here to hit us with his sword this time! But, why are you here, Xander?   SAIZO: What?! This must be their real commander... XANDER: What's going on here, Corndog? CORNDOG: Xander! How did you know we were in trouble? It's almost like this whole thing was really suspicious and we're too sheltered to have noticed!  *The Sibling Cavalry arrives!*  LEO: We've arrived just in time. Your luck never runs out, does it, Sister? CAMILLA: Are you all right? I was so worried about you.  ELISE: We're all here for you, Corndog! CORNDOG: Thank you, everyone! CORNDOG: Um, but before we get too carried away... we ARE under attack. There are better times for family bonding, yeah.  CAMILLA: Who dares atack my beloved Corndog? I'll have their heads on a platter!  CORNDOG: I'm not hurt, Camilla.  CAMILLA: But, darling... it's the thought that counts! She did just get healed by Felicia after all.   And so she deletes the two Samurai generics that came in with Saizo. CORNDOG: I never knew Camilla could be so... ruthless... ELISE: Heehee! That's right, you've never seen her on the battlefield before. SAIZO: This is not going well... not for you at least  *Another ninja arrives!*  KAGERO: Saizo! What's wrong? What's our status? SAIZO: I misjudged the situation. We're outnumbered. Kagero, do we have anyone else on the way?  KAGERO: Affirmative. Lord Ryoma is right behind me. SAIZO: Ahh... Then I think this battle is as good as won. Ah, seems like we're close to that situation the prologue proposed. This has gone from an accidental skirmish to almost a deciding battle of the conflict in no time.  XANDER: It looks like more Hoshidan reinforcements are on the way.  LEO: Indeed... What should we do? XANDER: Well, Corndog is safe, and the fort's condition has been evaluated. There's no reason to engage Hoshido further at this point. XANDER: Corndog, you take the lead with Gunter. We'll follow close behind. CORNDOG: Will do. Thank you, Xander. Nevermind, we outta here.  A diplomatic situation completely ruined, Corndog and Gunter flee across one of the strangely rigid dilapidated bridges, but...  CORNDOG: Gunter, have you seen Felicia? She was here a second ago... GUNTER: I'm sure she's right behind us. GUNTER: Now hurry up. I can't stand being on this bridge a moment longer. How could you leave her behind? She's literally 1/3rd of the team!   *From the darkness approaches Hans!*  HANS: Don't worry—you won't have to stand there much longer. CORNDOG: Hans! GUNTER: What is the meaning of this? HANS: Less talk. More death.  Music: Advance Confusion *He rushes Gunter, striking him twice!*  *Gunter and his horse slip off the side!* Jagen, no!  CORNDOG: Hans, no! CORNDOG: Why are you doing this? Your own ally... HANS: Aww, did I knock your babysitter into the ditch? Here—you can meet up with him at the bottom!  *She raises her arm and it transforms into a large spike!* what CORNDOG: You'll pay for this!  HANS: What?! What kind of...freak...are you?  *A strange horned mask appears over her face as she attacks!*  *A stab with the arm spike, and...*  *Transforms her arms into a magic breathing maw!* You might've already known she could do this if you've played the later Smash games. This is actually just side smash and side special respectively, if I remember right. Maybe it's neutral special, I'm not sure, I mained Captain Falcon, not Corn.   HANS: It can't be... CORNDOG: I want answers, Hans! Why are you doing this? Why did you provoke the Hoshidans? And why did you kill Gunter? CORNDOG: Answer me! As this goes on, a white misty aura is furiously blowing from her.  HANS: Just following orders. King Garon's orders. CORNDOG: What?! You lie!  It was a trap all along!  CORNDOG: Come back here! Meanwhile, Hans takes this opportunity to cut and run. Smart move, really.  Then the Ganglari begins to glow with a purple mist!  CORNDOG: Huh? Noooo!  And then it flings our heroine straight into the abyss! I can't believe the evil-looking sword was also a trap!  Well, RIP us, I guess. Too trusting for our own good. Never should've woke up today. I guess we'll get to test the depth of this infinite abyss now. But then...!  Someone dives in after us?!   Our pink haired princess plummets calmly into the endless darkness...  But then the other person catches up with us! She's glowing now!   LILITH: My kin, my gods, my blood...  LILITH: Dragons grant me strength! Great Moro, I beseech you! Lilith?! How the heck did you get here?! also i don't know if we ever learn who Moro is   *She flashes and everything goes white!*  She's now become some sort of fish...lizard?  With that, she dives underneath Corndog and pulls her upwards!  Music: In the Stars(This starts playing here partially through the track.) We catch up to them floating upwards above the chasm.  CORNDOG: Lilith? Is that you? What...ARE you?  LILITH: Lady Corndog... I knew this day would come eventually. This may come as a shock, but I am not a human. CORNDOG: Well, I can see that. Are you a dragon? LILITH: Yes, this is my true form. You've seen it before. Do you remember? That strange bird you rescued in the barn... CORNDOG: That...was you...? That affinity with dragons, really showing itself, I guess. At least everyone thought she was a strange bird, but she really looks nothing like a bird. I don't think Nohrians have ever seen a bird.  LILITH: It was. Once I recovered, I was able to take human form.  LILITH: You were so kind to me that I decided to remain a human that I might serve you.  LILITH: But now I have used a power that goes beyond the capacity of a human body. I will not be able to return to that form. LILITH: I don't mind, though. The most important thing to me is that you're safe... If you liked Lilith's human look, well, earlier is the last we'll ever see of it. Because reasons. Also, didn't Gunter say it was a bad idea to be flying here?   *A lightning bolt suddenly strikes the two, causing them to fall!* welp got saved just to talk too long just to die again  LILITH: Eeek! CORNDOG: Lilith! Be careful! Drop me if you must... I won't have you sacrifice yourself for me! LILITH: First Dragons, I call on you. Grant us access to the astral plane!  *The ground beneath the two erupts into a green light!*  And so they dive in at high speed for about 2 frames.  *We wake up to a blue sky with soft clouds.* CORNDOG: What just happened?!  As the camera pans down, we find we're suddenly in a very Hoshidan courtyard. Lilith, you didn't just warp us into the middle of enemy territory, did you?  Music: Abundant Solace*(This isn't exactly the right theme, but it does make sense here. Seriously, I have no means by which to discern what track is what, I just have to trawl a playlist until I find it.) CORNDOG: Where...are we? LILITH: This is a world parallel to the one in which you live, Lady Corndog. It is known as the astral plane. CORNDOG: How were you able to get us here? LILITH: The First Dragons have granted us the power to inhabit this dimension. Under their protection, we are safe here. So, yes, suddenly we're meddling in parallel dimensions, talking about First Dragons, and our stablegirl is a flying fish lizard.  LILITH: Oh! Allow me to prepare a place for you to rest... Now you're speaking Corndog's language. She really just wants to go back to sleep, not get involved in dimension hopping and political conflicts.  Suddenly, tree house!  CORNDOG: Did...did you just use a Dragon Vein? DRAGONLILITH: Yes. The power of the First Dragons flows freely in this realm. You should know that space and time operate differently here as well... CORNDOG: I have so much to learn... Is there anyone else here? DRAGONLILITH: No, we are alone. There's no one left here... CORNDOG: I'm sorry. I didn't mean to invoke any bad memories. LILITH: It's OK, Corndog. I'm not lonely as long as I have you in my life. Now... you should get some rest. Our stablegirl-turned-dragon is very attached to our heroine, but said heroine will never really ask in what way. The call of potential sleep means most of this goes over her head.  LILITH: How are you feeling, Corndog? I know this is a lot to take in. CORNDOG: Yes, it is. But I feel much better now. My wounds seem to have healed already. CORNDOG: And my mind is racing! I have so many new questions about this world... The story absolutely just takes a hard turn here with all of this. It's far, far too much to just introduce in such a short time.  LILITH: All in good time. For now, some business remains in the other world. CORNDOG: Yes, you're right. I can't relax until I know everyone made it safely home. LILITH: Of course. There is just one thing you should know before you go back. When I open the portal, you will return to the same location you came from. LILITH: That means you'll arrive right on the Hoshidan border. There may be soldiers lying in wait for you... CORNDOG: I understand. I'll be ready for them. LILITH: Very well. Then I will open the gate. Yeah, there's no way this could go wrong, right? We might be on our own, but Princess Corndog can handle herself against some Hoshidans. She's done it a couple times already.  *With a flash of green light, we are once again transported...*   Music: Silence We're back at the the abyss again, at least on land.  CORNDOG: Ah, I'm back. But...where is everyone?  ???: You're mine, Nohrian! CORNDOG: Hmm?!  *She looks around, but before she turns around...!*  *CRITICAL HIT*  Well, RIP, guess we died for real this time. This is also the end of the chapter! I do feel like the whole bit with Lilith and the Astral Plane could have waited for some other time, it feels rather shoehorned in where it is right now. I mean, we were just dealing with the revelation that Hans is here to get us killed, Garon wanted us dead, Gunter is dead, we have weird powers, and we just acted the catalyst to reignite the Nohr/Hoshido conflict. Adding astral plane shenanigansery on top of that is a bit much. It doesn't even need to be here right now, there's better places for it later. Say, like, when we unlock the ability to do anything with said astral plane in a few chapters. Next time, things go in a different direction. CORNDOG: I would've just stayed in the Astral Plane for good after all that, but I thought I should probably find Felicia before she got captured. CORNDOG: I was pretty sure she'd be lost without me. Flora and Jakob are halfway across the world after all.  CORNDOG: ...What about Gunter? CORNDOG: In hindsight, I got over his death pretty easily. I blame it on the shock value of being introduced to parallel dimensions. Left 4 Bread fucked around with this message at 05:45 on May 27, 2022 |
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May 27, 2022 01:41
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Edit: Because this update ran so long, I didn't originally get add the bit onto the end, but after fixing some music links, I have just barely enough room! Left 4 Bread fucked around with this message at 05:47 on May 27, 2022 |
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May 27, 2022 01:42
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Some corrections!Odd Wilson posted:
quote:
And track names! quote:Music: Nohrian Bravery* quote:Music: Abundant Solace* quote:Music: Siblings of Shadow*
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May 27, 2022 04:18
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ajkalan posted:Some corrections! Thanks for catching these! I thought I caught all the screenshot errors, but I guess not. When I originally wrote this one up, I didn't expect it to be so long as well as having to clean up some more stuff in my workflow. There have been modifications to my converter scripts of late, I'll say that. Also, thank you for the track names! I swore I looked at those two when trying to make the music link, but I guess not. Edit: Got em, seems like I somehow never took two screenshots when I thought I did. Happens to the best of us, but it always feels bad when it does. Later updates will be structured with a base and preparation -> battle -> ending story type of deal, but that's for when we actually unlock the base and prep stuff. Still, if these next few chapters run this long, I may split them in half by some means. 150+ screenshots might be a new record for me. Left 4 Bread fucked around with this message at 05:52 on May 27, 2022 |
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May 27, 2022 05:30
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I honestly really like having a base like the castle in this game, and I think I prefer it being on the astral plane than how you implicitly trek back and forth to Garreg Mach after every single map in 3H, but it's complete nonsense, and the game trying to make it gel with the rest of the worldbuilding (such as it is) just falls on its face. Lilith's dragon form is much cuter than the humanlike one.
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May 28, 2022 13:37
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Ventadour posted:I honestly really like having a base like the castle in this game, and I think I prefer it being on the astral plane than how you implicitly trek back and forth to Garreg Mach after every single map in 3H, but it's complete nonsense, and the game trying to make it gel with the rest of the worldbuilding (such as it is) just falls on its face. In theory, you could just have forward bases, although that would mean the resource system present would need some heavy adjustments. I don't hate the idea of the astral plane, one might even be able to make it fit into the game passably, I just know that it needed to be introduced more carefully than this. As is, this just comes out of nowhere with much whiplash, and they also just don't do much with it as time goes on. The dragon form is pretty cute though, the fish tail and fin is kind of like a goldfish's. This did just make me realize the ways this game pushes an aquatic theme that I hadn't really thought about before.
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May 28, 2022 18:28
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Odd Wilson posted:This did just make me realize the ways this game pushes an aquatic theme that I hadn't really thought about before. It also fits how Corrin's name isn't a coincidence - she's a kirin/qilin, a creature from East Asian mythologies often strongly associated with water and in artwork frequently depicted as vaguely draconic.
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May 28, 2022 18:33
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Update 05: How I Met My Second Family (Ch.4 - Hoshido) Ah, we're back! I got a bit distracted with some other stuff, it's why I said the update schedule for this is "whenever". Where were we again?  -cleanoh right we died  Chapter 4 - Hoshido   We now move from the Bottomless Canyon to the Valley Settlement, presumably in Hoshido. That's pretty far off for a funeral.  *Campfire crackling* Well, our heroine is laid out across the floor in some tent with a cooking pot close by. I don't know if we're about to be eaten or what.  oh wait, we're alive nice  RINKAH: Ah, you're awake. RINKAH: Sorry about that bump on your head. Oh, hey, it's you! Ah, don't worry about it, at least you apologized.  I guess you did make good on your word you'd get us back. I respect that. CORNDOG: It's you! From the Flame Tribe, right? Where are we? RINKAH: Yes, I am Rinkah. This is a Flame Tribe village within Hoshido's territory. I'm going to hand you over to the Hoshidan authorities. I think this might also be the only Flame Tribe village.  CORNDOG: I see. I suppose they'll want to hear an explanation for the unprovoked attack. CORNDOG: And then they'll probably execute me. RINKAH: Heh. I don't think so. Well, that's one difference from Nohr already. *KNOCKING*  CORNDOG: Gods...they're here already, aren't they? RINKAH: Yes. It's time to go. Probably the first FE protagonist to be arrested for warcrimes.  As the two walk outside into the snowy, low-res wasteland, we see yet another familiar face.  CORNDOG: We meet again. Kaze, right?  *He kneels*  KAZE: Yes. I'm glad we found you, Princess Corndog. CORNDOG: You are? Wait, am I missing something? KAZE: Please come with me. All will be explained. CORNDOG: Very well. Corndog's not very well versed in political matters, so she doesn't realize she's probably been taken as a political prisoner. These Hoshidans are so polite, it's confusing. A Nohrian would've punched us for no reason right about now. *So we fade to black, yet again...*  From the Valley Settlement, we travel all the way to Shirasagi: Throne Room, presumably the Hoshidan capital. At no point during any of this long journey does Princess Corndog consider escaping. Well, she might have, but that's too much work.    Music: Paradise (Light)(We hear our first alternative track! This is the Hoshidan variant of Paradise, redone in a classical Japanese style. It's quite different, but if you like the traditional sound like I do, this game's a good source of it.) Kingdom of Hoshido: Castle Shirasagi And what a castle it is! I nearly needed four screenshots for this view of it! If it wasn't apparent from the samurai and ninja, the design of this place shows that Hoshido is most definitely Not-Japan. There's even the pre-requisite cherry blossom trees!   We cut to the inside, a panning down view of a throne even grander than Krakenburg's, as Kaze kneels before an intimidating figure at the foot of the throne.  Corndog slowly approaches as Rinkah just stands with her hand on her hip. She kneels to no one, evidently.   RYOMA: Welcome back, Kaze. Good work. KAZE: Thank you, Lord Ryoma. CORNDOG: Did...did you just say Lord Ryoma? It's that guy! From the dream!  RINKAH: Yes, this is the high prince of Hoshido, Lord Ryoma. CORNDOG: I understand.  RYOMA: Hmm... CORNDOG: What are you waiting for? If you're going to execute me, please get on with it. *She hangs her head low* In the long journey here, Bedhead Princess has talked herself back into thinking she's getting executed. This man could absolutely one-shot us by the way.  *At the sound of light footsteps, everyone looks to the left.*    *And we get a very detailed view of this new arrival!* Long, wide white dress with lots of gold metal trimmings, long straight-cut hair, and a fancy little crown. Evidently she's important. How important though?   MIKOTO: I cannot believe it is really you... CORNDOG: I'm sorry, do we know each other? I know the look is definitely not what you'd expected when you heard Nohrian Princess-   MIKOTO: Oh, I've missed you so much! Come here, Corndog, my sweet child! uh alright then  Implore the Dawn(Very good, the melody sticks in your head. A thanks to ajkalan again for the title..) *She walks up and hugs our heroine.*  CORNDOG: Your sweet child?! What are you talking about? CORNDOG: That's not possible... Well, this was completely unexpected!  MIKOTO: Oh, my poor Corndog. It's a sad story. MIKOTO: When you were very young, you were abducted by forces from Nohr. I am your mother, Mikoto. MIKOTO: All this time, I didn't know if I'd ever see you again! Instead of getting executed, we gained a mom? I'd say that's a win. (i also don't know what's with the spiked buckler on her sleeve)  CORNDOG: But King Garon is my father! None of what you're saying makes sense.  RYOMA: It must be quite a shock, but I assure you that she speaks the truth. RYOMA: I am your older brother, Ryoma. CORNDOG: No, no, no... Xander is my older brother! Leo, Elise, and Camilla are my siblings... Our siblings, the ones we can barely remember our past with due to our amnesia might not be our real family?! I'm sorry, I'm gonna need evidence first, buster.   RYOMA: Are those the Nohrian royals? They're not your real family. RYOMA: I still remember the day you were taken. In those days, there was tension between Hoshido and Nohr, but no full-blown war.  RYOMA: Not until Garon lured King Sumeragi—our father—to Cheve under false pretenses. He said it was for a peace conference. Ha! Hm, why would he do that?   RYOMA: His real plan was to murder our father in cold blood. RYOMA: And to make matters even worse...he kidnapped you. CORNDOG: No. That's just not possible... RYOMA: You really don't remember any of this? Not even a single memory? CORNDOG: No. Honestly, I have only the vaguest memories from my early childhood... Alright, to be fair, this does sound like something Bad Dad would do. Still, they haven't given us any solid evidence yet... and they have a spy network, they could easily know about our amnesia to take advantage of it.' But then...  *We see a memory of a shadow of a person, arms outstretched...*  *Them collapsed upon the floor...*  *And another figure with what may be a strange beard reaching out to us...* okay, it's not looking great for Nohr Maybe it's possible the reverse was true? Maybe bad dad saved us? Or maybe our non-existent Nohrian mom?  CORNDOG: There are times when I can sense something beneath the surface... CORNDOG: A blurry image. Like a stone at the bottom of a lake, shimmering and ethereal. CORNDOG: But that's it. Nothing of substance. RYOMA: Well, I can't imagine the Nohrian royals would share much of your past with you. I know this is a lot to take in. Yeah, we're gonna need some time to absorb all of this. Please understand that we've just lost track of our emotional support maid, our sort of butler, been betrayed by our villainous father, and have witnessed parallel dimensions and our stablegirl turning into a dragon, and been crit across the back of the head. It's been a rough week for Corndog. I'm not sure we can stand any more revelations at the moment.   *Suddenly, a samurai comes dashing in!*  SAMURAI: Lord Ryoma! I have an urgent message. We're under attack from the north!  RYOMA: No! Hinoka and Sakura are in that area right now! SAMURAI: Yes, milord. I've been told that they're working to help evacuate the villagers.  RYOMA: Very well. We'll need to provide support. I'll leave immediately. RYOMA: Corndog, will you come with me? I want you to see the truth with your own eyes. Ah, fighting! It's about time we had our regularly scheduled combat section. This should be good to clear our head.  *We change to a view of two green units in a mountainous snowfield.*   SAKURA: Sorry I'm slowing us down. Of all the times to sprain an ankle...  HINOKA: Don't worry about it, Sis. We'll be OK.  HINOKA: These stupid beasts don't stand a chance against me. Heyyy, another two familiar faces!  On the other edge of the map, our squad rolls in.  Victory- Rout the enemy For as much as our protagonist desires pacifism, most maps are probably gonna be rout maps. In practice, not usually the most interesting means of designing an encounter when it comes to FE. The word rout has it's origins in French and Latin by the way. You don't need to know this or anything, I just got curious and looked it up.  RYOMA: Take a look around, Corndog. This is a treacherous region for battle. RYOMA: It's important to scout ahead and look for any troublesome areas. Ryoma takes this chance to inform us about the danger region toggle, honestly one of my favorite quality of life improvements to the series. It saves you so much time and pain of manually checking and remembering current enemy attack ranges. After he's done that, we can look at our team. Given we lost our old one, we've basically been recruited into a new one!   First up is Kaze! We know this guy, Felicia put a knife through his face a few days back. Now it's time to talk about him a little more I guess. Ninjas are basically Hoshidan equivalents of Thieves from other games, he even gets Locktouch although there won't be a chest for him to open for quite some time. Kaze, like most Ninjas, is very fast with not much DEF or HP (such is the cost of a pec window), but sports a pretty decent RES. He uses throwing daggers as their only weapon, and he's specifically using an iron shuriken right now. Shuriken are mostly the same as Felicia's throwing knives, but they provide some stat changes while equipped like most Hoshidan weapons will. It's usually some form of ATK/SPD up, DEF/RES down. Regardless, Kaze's here to do the same debuffing thing that our maid was doing, just without the healing. Oh, and instead of just a victory pose, ninjas just ninja vanish.   Next up, we've got Rinkah! Oni Savage is just the Hoshidan version of Fighter, albeit with a slight lean on DEF. Rinkah's stats are a bit unusual as she has decent enough SKL and SPD too. Her starting skill from Savage also causes her to heavily debuff the RES of all adjacent enemies after a combat, which while we don't have a magic user on our team, will be quite useful later I'm sure. Her unique skill also gives her +4 damage when wounded in the slightest, which mean she pretty much has 12 STR. Being a fan of axe users, I like what I see, although they had to start her with the weakest club for some reason.  The trick to this map lies in Big Brother Killsteal over here as a green unit. Even with his stats being nerfed from what his later appearances will have, he will annihilate every enemy on this map if we give him a chance. What a way to endear yourself to your new younger sister. Armed with his big lightning katana with a fancy name, Raijinto, he even gets one extra tile of attack range to snipe all the exp from this map from us. It also gives him boosts to STR and SPD, like he somehow needs it. When it comes to green units there's two concerns- them dying and causing you to miss some reward, or them eating all your experience. Ryoma fully embodies the latter. ...That's all for this time! I know it's pretty short, but there's a not insignificant chunk lot of story to cover after the actual battle next time. I also just kinda wanted to get this update out after slacking on other stuff so much. We'll start getting to some battles with more real stakes soon, and the actual meat of game we're all waiting on isn't that far off. How many kills can a Ryoma killsteal if a Ryoma could steal kills? We find out then. ---------------------------------- Kaze, Green Ninja of Hoshido "A serious and disciplined ninja from Hoshido. Has a twin brother, Saizo." Reclass Options: Samurai Personal Skill: Miraculous Save - When user is the support unit, the lead unit has a Luck% chance of surviving a fatal attack with 1 HP Base Growths + Class Growths HP___ STR__ MAG__ SKL__ SPD___ LCK__ DEF___ RES 40 ____45 _____0 _____45 _____65 ____20 ____20 ____25 05 ____05 _____0 _____20 _____20 ____00 ____05 ____15 Kaze's sort of our green cav, with his brother filling in the role of red cav. He will remain in the game's storyline perpetually, but only vaguely. (We've also briefly met his brother once.) Stat-wise, he's not bad, but having only a coin flip chance to gain STR on a level and 1/5 to get DEF means he's got a real chance to get completely screwed. It's not like he's got MAG as a potential backup. Still, his bases serve his role as debuffer pretty well. His personal skill is basically Miracle, but applied to the person he's pasted to. This means even if his stats completely fail, he's probably still a useful stat backpack. Reclassing him into samurai isn't horrible either, as one of Ninja's promotions gets swords anyways. All in all, he's not bad, but he's not exceptional. I haven't seen much of him to be honest. ---------------------------------- Rinkah, Flame Tribe Princess "Rough-hewn princess of the Flame Tribe. Strong, brave, and a little hotheaded." Reclass Options: Ninja Personal Skill: Fiery Blood- When user’s HP is not full, damage +4 Base Growths + Class Growths HP___ STR__ MAG__ SKL__ SPD___ LCK__ DEF___ RES 20 ____25 ____25 ____50 ____45 ____35 ___45 _____20 20 ____20 ____10 ____00 ____10 ____00 ___20 _____00 Despite those pretty good bases, our second princess's growths aren't that hot. I mean, they're workable, but definitely a bit coin-flippy. Still, her mild tankiness is appreciated given that Hoshido doesn't have an Armor Knight class. If you're wondering what that MAG growth is for, it's because Oni Savage can actually promote into using tomes. They put two axe-wielding tome users in this game for some reason. Still, Rinkah could be a fun, if odd ninja to have around. Her personal skill will help to overcome low strength rolls for a while, as long as you can keep her minorly damaged. Even gaining HP on a level will set it active, so it's pretty good. I think she's got a decent chance of becoming a real good unit if her growths hold. Her role right now is mostly just more brawn to help punch things (Corn's pretty tanky), which I'm cool with. I like axe users, I like tanky and fast units, and I like her look. Oh, and also the fact she's also a princess is probably why she didn't kneel to Ryoma earlier. It's a small touch, but it's a nice detail. ------------------------------------------------ CORNDOG: When you think your life can't get any weirder... CORNDOG: Too many fateful revelations in my life in such a short time, you know? CORNDOG: ...What do you mean it's titled just "Revelation"?! Why isn't it plural?!  CORNDOG: ...I'm just gonna go back to sleep now. Left 4 Bread fucked around with this message at 04:14 on Jun 2, 2022 |
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Jun 1, 2022 20:02
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Cythereal posted:It also fits how Corrin's name isn't a coincidence - she's a kirin/qilin, a creature from East Asian mythologies often strongly associated with water and in artwork frequently depicted as vaguely draconic. Huh, I never made the connection to kirin somehow. The more you know.
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Jun 1, 2022 20:03
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You've got some of the dialogue images in the flame tribe village section mixed around and duplicated.
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Jun 1, 2022 20:16
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I will never not think that Rinkah's a catgirl at first glance between her facial tattoos and her mask giving her head profile points like cat ears.
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Jun 1, 2022 20:28
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Hunter Noventa posted:You've got some of the dialogue images in the flame tribe village section mixed around and duplicated. blargh Fixed it, somehow I missed those. My mouse died and temporarily changing to a new one without a side keypad is messing with my workflow on a lot of stuff right now. Cythereal posted:I will never not think that Rinkah's a catgirl at first glance between her facial tattoos and her mask giving her head profile points like cat ears. I get that a lot too. It had to be an intentional part of her design process. Certain other characters we get to later maybe usurped that look though.
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Jun 1, 2022 20:37
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"Are those the Nohrian royals?" -Ryoma, crown prince of Hoshido, heir to the throne, and leader of its armies in defense of Nohr
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Jun 1, 2022 21:34
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Rinkah. Oh, Rinkah. Her full portrait has abs you could grind cheese off of, and yet look at that pitiful base STR growth.
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Jun 1, 2022 22:01
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I love Rinkah. Get her a Seraph Robe and buy her an HP potion every/most maps and she wrecks face. I use her nearly every run.
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Jun 1, 2022 22:13
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She does fall off hard by about Chapter 20 though.
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Jun 1, 2022 22:14
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FoolyCharged posted:"Are those the Nohrian royals?" If I've learned anything from the various Fates LPs it's that Ryoma... is perhaps not the brightest.
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Jun 1, 2022 23:07
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This one is entitled Implore the Dawn.
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Jun 1, 2022 23:51
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Cythereal posted:It also fits how Corrin's name isn't a coincidence - she's a kirin/qilin, a creature from East Asian mythologies often strongly associated with water and in artwork frequently depicted as vaguely draconic. So she's qilin like a villain? say it out loud Walla posted:I love Rinkah. Get her a Seraph Robe and buy her an HP potion every/most maps and she wrecks face. I use her nearly every run. When I did a birthright run with Gay Fates I recall my Corrin gay-married her, as she is delightfully tsun.
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Jun 2, 2022 02:31
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The prologue is honestly a very good representation of Fates in a nutshell. The setups showcases the mechanical changes pretty well, it lets you get used to them at a reasonable pace, and the story also shows it’s hand at being nonsensical garbage as well. Kaze is actually really good. He’s a straight up mage tank that can tank literal human waves of them due to the dual guard mechanics, 1-2 range WTA weapon and his res. Rinkah as a stat backpack gives him exactly what he wants stat wise, and also allows him to tank physical units surprisingly competently, so a couple of them mixed in the mages doesn’t screw him either. Given how your units as a whole generally suck on enemy phase, Kaze being competent at it is really welcome.
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Jun 4, 2022 18:26
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Update 6: Big Brother Killsteal (Ch.4 - Hoshido, Part 2)Music: Far DawnMusic: Far Dawn (Storm) (Our first taste of Hoshidan map and battle themes!)  We resume our frembleming, a battle in which we have to stop our new older brother from taking all our EXP. Oh and there's some other princesses/potential family in trouble, but whatever we're here for level ups.  KAZE: I hope it doesn't come to this, but I've brought some Vulnerary for you. KAZE: Please use it as necessary, Lady Corndog. As Kaze is standing in for our maid, he has opted to bring two bottles of staple vulnerary to do the same thing. We won't really need them on this map though, Corndog's barely going to take damage here.   OLD MAN: Oh, thank you, kind warrior! Everyone in our village is so grateful. Please, take this. OLD MAN: Good luck! We remind the local townsfolk to close their doors as not to let a draft in and we are graciously rewarded with...  A Goddess Icon! This is worth 2 LCK, and is pretty much just useful to get someone out of 1 or 2% enemy crit range. You could also just give it to anyone, really. I'll save the stat boosters for now, we might vote on those later if I don't direly need them for something.   I go ahead and pass one vulnerary over to Rinkah, no need for our ninja to have all of them. I also go ahead and stick her to Corndog to make movement easier.  Our enemy simply bears down on Sakura and Hinoka, but on this difficulty, they're in little danger. The map is also plastered in mountains, making movement a slog, but the Dragon Veins spread about the map should give you an idea of what we're gonna do.   No matter which path we open, Ryoma will not wait patiently and will instead cut everything to pieces, so we might as well pick one for him to go down. Being a Swordmaster and therefore a promoted unit, he gets 1 extra MOV on top of his ranged sword, so he can kill a lot even if he can't backflip over people in rapid succession like in the prologue. The north side of the map has less enemies, mostly as they're near the top and will have long since died to Hinoka before we reach them, so it's the path we lose the least on if we unleash Ryoma on it.  Go north he shall! Begone natural rock formation! We'll opt to just clean up the left side of the map instead.  RINKAH: Did you see that? The entire hill just disintegrated! RINKAH: Is that the power of a Dragon Vein? I had no idea... KAZE: To harness the ancient dragon powers is truly a magnificent gift. Yet I wonder if even the royals who wield that power can fully control it... KAZE: Still, strategically using Dragon Veins could be the key to this rescue. I suppose leveling a mountain is a bit more fantastic than just blowing open a pile of debris like we did when these two were prisoners. Still, you'd think this line might not play or be a bit different if you'd already demonstrated your powers in Chapter 2.  I stick Kaze out alone in the open in what seems like a terrible move, and kind of is but it just gets him forward more. He's lagging a bit behind from the village, and he's in no danger. Up north...  HINOKA: Do your worst, monsters. I promise I can be meaner than you! Hinoka will also be casually deleting enemies from this map.  Like so.  These, as we'll learn later, are Faceless. They're big, green ogre guys in restraints and iron masks- the reason for their name. Think of 'em as the zombies in some of the other games- they're high in STR and sometimes DEF but that's about it. Oh and they always open combat with this slow animation of breaking their chains that drags out the battle a bit. Can't show it right now, the camera just wants to focus on their back.   Kaze casually dodges a 2/3 chance of being hit and puts this creature in perfect range for our units to finish him off.  RYOMA: Hold strong, Sisters! I'm coming for you!  Ryoma's going to overkill it first though. Hopefully he just runs north to fight the others and my plan works.  Also, up in the Princess Corner, Sakura can heal the papercuts Hinoka gets from these enemies. On this difficulty, Hinoka will hold the line indefinitely. Sakura, not so much.  On our turn, while Kaze could get in range of the enemy, we don't so that Ryoma will keep charging north. Otherwise he'd just steal the kill over our heads.  The hordes of faceless all slowly converge on our possible sisters, except for a small few. Particularly the boss and his small posse on the top of that mountain.  Alright, it's not great, but we can at least finally get one enemy to ourselves. The others will probably run too far ahead and dying to all of our allies.  We engage in combat at last. This Faceless loses almost all of his HP for the trouble.  On our following turn, Rinkah finishes that one off too. Her personal skill and Corndog's support means she almost one shots these wimps. Every enemy except the boss is puny here, probably as a source of easy EXP and catch up for either your new units or an underleveled Corndog.  Following this, I do some partner-swap shenanigans, and get Kaze pasted to Corndog. This is nice as he provides +1 MOV when teamed up.  Enemy turn, Hinoka assists this one in making snow angels. The rest slowly move up.  On our turn, I can just barely get into an enemy's range with Kaze's help and dropping our princess forward. I haven't caught as many faceless as I wanted, but at least the strategy to get Ryoma distracted worked.  Enemy turn this man is die  Our baiting strategy works!  wait Corndog, why are you still using the gangly sword it tried to kill you   Rinkah deletes this guy.  Following that, Kaze follows our bedhead leader up the mountain. It'd take too long to get to the Vein from here, so we're just gonna walk up it and take the fight to them.  They came to us, it seems!   The green team continues their killstreak up north.  Kaze takes the kill on our turn, so that Rinkah can stick to Corndog again.  I spread out to get in combat with both the boss and last enemy, so we can finish this fight faster.  Music: Wild Outlaw FACELESS: RWAAAAAAGH! The boss gets a line! It's not much of a line, but it's a line!  Unlike the others, he deal notable damage!  Unfortunately, Rinkah misses, which means this will take a bit more work than I wanted.  A brief reminder that enemies can pair up too.  CORNDOG: I can help too! We dole out requisite damages to each other.  And Corndog hits sword level D! That'll be useful later. It's her only weapon type so she was going to hit it anyways, but still!    SAKURA: I'm not scared of these things...as long as Hinoka is close by! A Faceless finally makes it over the mountain to earn the distinction of being the only one to actually attack Sakura.  Being an armorless Shrine Maiden, even the level 1 Faceless take out nearly half her HP on a hit, provided it does hit. She can't heal herself, so this is the only real danger of failing this map. Still I think you might be able to do absolutely nothing on this difficulty and still win.  Ryoma is extremely angry about this.  Now it's back to our turn.   Rinkah ends up just 4 EXP short. To try and get Rinkah some battle EXP to top that off, I just pass my turn.   Amazingly, everyone misses. This was incredibly unlikely to happen.  On our turn, we don't miss and Rinkah gets that bit of EXP.   RINKAH: Can't complain about this! HP, STR, SKL, SPD, and RES Now that's a good start    And Kaze wins it for us off a 69%. Nice.  FACELESS: Urgh... Boss down.  And Kaze gets a level! HP, STR, SKL, SPD, LCK, and RES! Trying to show up Rinkah with that LCK proc I guess! Good levels all around.  Map over! 10 turns? I'll take it. There's some dialogue we missed, so here it is: ---------------------------------------------------- CORNDOG DIES: CORNDOG: I wasn't prepared for this! I'm sorry, I can't go on... RYOMA: Corndog, no! RYOMA: How could I let this happen... ---------------------------------------------------- HINOKA DIES:  HINOKA: Ugh! I lost to that...THING.  SAKURA: Hinoka! You've taken too much damage. Please, you must retreat!  HINOKA: Never!  HINOKA: Urk... Well, maybe just this once... ---------------------------------------------------- SAKURA DIES: SAKURA: No! *sob* HINOKA: Sakura, get out of here! You can't possibly go on! There's also some other lines had we managed to reach our supposed sisters. ---------------------------------------------------- APPROACHING THEM: CORNDOG: I think I see someone over there. It might be the princesses. We should get close and try to speak to one of them. ---------------------------------------------------- TALK TO SAKURA: CORNDOG: Hey! Are you OK? We're here to help.  SAKURA: Oh! Th-thank you so much. SAKURA: Yes, we're OK...for n-now. CORNDOG: Excellent. I think we have things under control at the moment. CORNDOG: But please stay back for the time being. We'll take care of the rest of the monsters. SAKURA: Yes, of c-course. SAKURA: Oh. I didn't even get a chance to ask her name... This one's pretty short. The one that isn't short is... ---------------------------------------------------- TALK TO HINOKA: CORNDOG: Hey, are you all right? We're here to help. HINOKA: Yeah, we're fine. Who are you? I thought I knew most of my brother's troops. HINOKA: Anyway, I appreciate the help, but it's really not necessary. It takes more than a few dozen 800-pound monsters to bring me down! CORNDOG: Well, I'm glad you're feeling confident. Just know that we've got your back.  HINOKA: Hey, wait a second! CORNDOG: Hmm? HINOKA: I didn't mean to be dismissive. Thank you for coming all the way out here. I owe you one...so take this. You can use it in a pinch to heal your wounds. HINOKA: Now really, don't worry about me. I'm at my best in situations like this! CORNDOG: Thank you. I'll use this wisely. HINOKA: Hey, you never did tell me your name. CORNDOG: Oh, sorry. I'm Corndog. Nice to meet you. HINOKA: Corndog? HINOKA: Corndog?! HINOKA: This can't be a coincidence! Faceless weigh 800 pounds? Wow. Although, who bothered to weigh them in the first place? This last conversation leads us right into the chapter resolution!  Music: Pale Star*Sakura gives a respectful bow.* SAKURA: Thank you so much for coming to our aid. SAKURA: Those monsters would have caused a lot more damage if you hadn't come.  SAKURA: I have to ask, though... Who are you? CORNDOG: Oh, my name is—  *Hinoka approaches.*  HINOKA: Her name is Corndog. CORNDOG: Er, yes. Nice to meet you properly.  SAKURA: Hinoka? Are you OK?  *She cries on Corndog, the latter not reacting at all.* HINOKA: Finally...after all these years... I...I've missed you so much. CORNDOG: Oh! Um... RYOMA: Hinoka was so attached to you when you were little, Corndog. RYOMA: When you were taken from us, she cried for months.  RYOMA: One day she stopped crying and picked up the naginata. RYOMA: And I will say...if you ever find yourself facing the business end of her weapon... RYOMA: ...you will soon be filled with major regrets about your life decisions. RYOMA: She vowed to bring you back to us someday... And now here you are. Evidently, our other older sister is also armed and protective. She didn't really bring us back either, Rinkah did that.   HINOKA: I'm sorry, Corndog. I'm not usually this emotional. HINOKA: But I'm just so happy to have you back. HINOKA: Take that, Nohrian scumbags! We win, you lose!  SAKURA: Wait...is this really Corndog? Sakura, being younger than us, doesn't really know what we look like. Still, I guess Corndog's pointed ears and maybe hereditary pink hair are enough of a stand out quality that Hinoka knows us on sight.  RYOMA: Yes. I know it's big news. I'll fill you in on the whole story later. RYOMA: For now we should return to the castle before Nohr deploys more monsters. RYOMA: Everyone, let's head home! But I want more EXP  CORNDOG: What were those things, anyway? RYOMA: They're known as the Faceless. Creatures with no will of their own. Created by Nohrian mages. HINOKA: I call 'em dead meat. But they're the only thing Nohr can throw at us right now.  HINOKA: Our mother, Queen Mikoto, put up a magical barrier around our kingdom. HINOKA: Regular enemy soldiers find themselves without the will to fight upon crossing it. So long as Mother is able to keep the barrier up, Nohr can't invade Hoshido. A massive mind-control field is kinda suspect, y'know? As-is, they're only supposedly using to stop conflict, but there's a lot of not so good ways such a thing can be used. The game will now opt to not explore these potentials, as this is about the most morally grey thing Hoshido has to offer I've seen so far.  RYOMA: That's why Nohr sends those...things. RYOMA: They have no souls—no will of their own. That's why they are able to penetrate the barrier and terrorize our borders. CORNDOG: But...the Nohrians wouldn't send monsters to terrorize innocent people... HINOKA: Of course they would. They're pure evil. "hoshido good, nohr bad"  HINOKA: Sometimes the Faceless even turn on the mages who created them. HINOKA: But the Nohrians don't care. They're willing to sacrifice their own just to hurt others. I'll never forgive them for that, or for stealing you away. HINOKA: They'll pay for all the suffering they've caused! CORNDOG: I can't believe it... Corndog hasn't really caught up to the idea that Bad Dad does bad things, despite that whole thing with Hans earlier. Either parallel dimensions and fish dragons are still on her mind, or she's still hasn't fully woken up yet. Music: Homesick (Light)*We now cut to Corndog exploring a large and dimly lit Hoshidan interior. She stops at an ornate crib.* That thing on the crib is a Komainu, I think. They're the big stone lion dogs and a symbol of protection, which makes sense for a crib.  *Our new mom, apparently capable of thought altering gamma rays walks in behind us.*   MIKOTO: Welcome back, Corndog! This is your old room.  *Corndog walks to the other side of the room, where scrolls lie on the ground.* CORNDOG: And what's this? MIKOTO: Oh! That's a picture you drew when you were a little girl. This is your father, this is me, and that's you. It's so cute! CORNDOG: *sigh*  Here is a high quality artists rendition, for reference. Corndog is sighing here because her artistic skills haven't improved at all. If anything, they've gotten worse! Look at those trees!  MIKOTO: We couldn't bear to touch a thing in this room after you were taken. MIKOTO: If we put your things away, it would have felt like giving up. MIKOTO: You've grown so much. I can't believe how beautiful you are!   CORNDOG: I'm afraid I still don't remember anything.  MIKOTO: Oh? CORNDOG: I...I just don't know how to respond to your stories. I do believe I could be your child... But everyone here simply feels like a stranger to me.  MIKOTO: I understand, Corndog. Please don't worry about it. CORNDOG: I'm so sorry. Here you are, maybe my real mother, and I don't feel anything...  MIKOTO: Please. It makes sense. MIKOTO: You spent your whole childhood in Nohr. I'm sure you were quite sheltered. You will need time to think all of this through and search your soul. MIKOTO: But I hope that someday we can be a family again. CORNDOG: ... MIKOTO: For now, please make yourself comfortable. Explore the castle, or stroll the grounds outside. You'll be safe here. Mom, I know you're trying to be nice, but I don't think it's helping the guilt and existential confusion. At least she's not putting us in a distant tower until we can best our new older brother by slowly gaining combat EXP and getting owned for years. That'd take forever against Ryoma! *We fade to black as Bedhead Princess goes to explore her new freedoms.*  MUSIC: Silence CORNDOG: I can't stop thinking about Xander. CORNDOG: Or about Camilla, Leo, and Elise... But not Gunter or Felicia? Come on, Corndog, those people weren't even playable characters!  But this matter will have to be discussed later, as... UNKNOWN: You are the ocean's grey waves... CORNDOG: Hm? What a beautiful song... UNKNOWN: ... destined to seek life beyond the shore, just out of reach... ...And you better believe it's time for the grey waves.  *Cutscene! We see a familiar blue haired, white robed figure crossing a small dock in the distance.*    UNKNOWN: Yet the waters ever change, flowing like time ♪ The path is yours to climb...  *The water ripples out from where she sings, seemingly rendering the water still.*  *And a familiar amulet glints...*   *She then turns around in shock to face the screen.*  She really needs a minute to process what she's looking at. We will hear more of the song later, I think. I'm pretty sure there's more lyrics than just this at least.  Music: The Water Maiden(This is Azura's main theme, we'll hear it somewhat often. It's a very fast and slow piece mostly featuring a piano.)  AZURA: Yes? CORNDOG: Er, hello. I'm sorry to bother you. I just got lost in your singing. There's something about that song that captivated me...  AZURA: You must be Princess Corndog. CORNDOG: Yes. And you are? Our reputation precedes us it seems.  AZURA: I am Azura. A former princess of Nohr. Whaaaaat?  Add one more princess to the pile already present. Does this mean you were supposed to be named Corndog? CORNDOG: Former? I don't understand. If that were true, surely I would have heard of you. I grew up with the Nohrian royal family... AZURA: I'm afraid I've been here a long time. After you were taken by the Nohrians, the Hoshidan forces retaliated. They tried desperately to get you back, but they failed again and again. AZURA: However, I wasn't as heavily guarded. Hoshidan ninja easily kidnapped me. I suppose we've both been hostages for most of our lives... CORNDOG: Gods...I'm so sorry. Given what we've seen of Garon's parenting, he'd probably call you a disappointent for getting captured. Might explain why our Nohrian famly never told us about you.   AZURA: No, it's OK. AZURA: I may technically be a hostage, but I've lived a happy life. The people of Hoshido have accepted me as one of their own. Even Queen Mikoto herself treats me as if I were her daughter. CORNDOG: Does she? Hmm... AZURA: Did something happen between you and Queen Mikoto? CORNDOG: No. I just...I just don't know what to do. She seems perfectly lovely, but I don't feel any connection to her. But she loves me. And so do all my blood siblings—who I've just met. AZURA: I understand. If I were to return to Nohr, I suspect I'd feel the same way. CORNDOG: Do you think you could start over there? Live a new life among strangers? Whoa, slow down there Corndog, we just met this girl. Okay, you might've seen her clearly in a dream once, but still. Doesn't mean you have to include her in your escape plans or whatever you're working on.  AZURA: No. Given a choice, I would prefer to stay here in Hoshido. Queen Mikoto is a peace-loving ruler. AZURA: King Garon is not. CORNDOG: ... you're not wrong  AZURA: So, Corndog...what are you going to do? CORNDOG: I don't know. For now, I'm just going to spend some time thinking. I guess we're not bringing up the whole dream thing to her, either that or Corndog's already forgotten about it. Anyways, that's all for this chapter! So many new characters! Get used to Azura, she's not going anywhere. If her presence on the cover art and intro movie, personal theme song, fancy design, and blue hair aren't enough of a tip-off, she's very important. She's also the little icon I use for music links. She's honestly the Chrom to our Robin. I also thought her voice was deeper- at least she sings a bit deeper than she speaks. As for the other content of the update, the game's really going to start trying to pit us against Nohr. Although I imagine the two sides were meant to be somewhat equal, you might already be able to notice how heavily in favor of Hoshido it is leaned. Join us next time, where we follow up on two plot points that have kinda flew under the radar of the plot morningstar the game has chucked at us thus far. ------------------------------------------------ CORNDOG: Hey, now that we've met, can you do that singing underwater thing? AZURA: the what CORNDOG: Yeah, long before we met I had a dream where you jumped in a lake while singing. Can you show me how to do that?  AZURA: ...As I have literally no idea what you're talking about, the answer is no. Left 4 Bread fucked around with this message at 14:12 on Jun 11, 2022 |
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Jun 10, 2022 22:54
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Odd Wilson posted:#artistsrendition Were you planning to put something here?
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Jun 10, 2022 23:42
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LJN92 posted:Were you planning to put something here? Indeed I was, but somehow forgot about that despite writing that part only a few hours ago this is the kind of week I've been having (maybe it's funnier to just not put anything there) edit: is fixed, turned out better than expected Left 4 Bread fucked around with this message at 00:02 on Jun 11, 2022 |
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Jun 10, 2022 23:53
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Just passing by to let you know about the doubling of the screenshot of Ryoma complaining about those... things.
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Jun 11, 2022 13:07
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NyoroEevee posted:Just passing by to let you know about the doubling of the screenshot of Ryoma complaining about those... things. Fixed, thank you for pointing it out This week, I swear 
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Jun 11, 2022 14:12
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Corndog probably should have ditched that sword the moment it tried to throw her off of a cliff, but considering it is cursed and moves of its own accord I imagine it would object to being left behind, possibly lethally.
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Jun 11, 2022 14:58
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midnight lasagna posted:Corndog probably should have ditched that sword the moment it tried to throw her off of a cliff, but considering it is cursed and moves of its own accord I imagine it would object to being left behind, possibly lethally. I didn't consider this, but it is a good point. It seems that I too would have been defeated by the gangly sword
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Jun 11, 2022 18:23
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midnight lasagna posted:Corndog probably should have ditched that sword the moment it tried to throw her off of a cliff, but considering it is cursed and moves of its own accord I imagine it would object to being left behind, possibly lethally. Feels like they should have at least have Corndog say something about the sword after the cliff scene.
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Jun 11, 2022 19:46
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Update 07 - High Stakes Fantasy Magical Chairs (Ch.5 - Mother) Huh, I wonder what this chapter's gonna be about.  Music: Homesick (Light)MIKOTO: You look as if you're feeling better after a few days to yourself, Corndog. CORNDOG: I am, yes. CORNDOG: I still have many questions, but at least now I have a few answers. "A few answers" is right. Not really all that much is solved yet. We know who Azura is, and we've met most of the people from our dream, but a lot remains unknown.  CORNDOG: Thank you for giving me the space I needed to think. MIKOTO: Of course. I'm glad to hear you're feeling better.  MIKOTO: If you wouldn't mind, I have a small favor to ask. Would you try sitting on the throne for a moment? CORNDOG: Why would I do that? Said throne is massive, golden, and multicolored. You would not believe how much "sitting on a chair" is a plot point is in Fates. It's not that often, but it's far more frequent than other media.   MIKOTO: Well...this throne is infused with the power of the First Dragons. MIKOTO: It is said that those who sit on it regain their true form and mind. I thought if you sat on the throne, then perhaps— CORNDOG: Wait... Do you not trust me? Do you think I'm under some kind of Nohrian spell? MIKOTO: No! It has nothing to do with trust. MIKOTO: I just wonder if the Nohrians have been sealing away your early memories... If so, maybe this special throne could help bring those lost pieces back. Those sweet memories of me and your siblings... Corndog is rightfully being a bit leery at this for once, as the above statement is more than a little contradictory. "No, I trust you, but yes I do think you might be brainwashed." All you had to say is this that might get your memories back, and it'd probably work on her.  *Corndog hangs her head.* CORNDOG: I see. MIKOTO: I'm sorry, Corndog. I don't mean to push you toward something you don't want. You were *this* close, Hoshido. But you'll not convince us Bad Dad is a bad dad who is trying to kill us!   YUKIMURA: Excuse me, Lady Mikoto. The ceremony is about to begin. MIKOTO: Thank you, Yukimura. MIKOTO: Corndog, you probably don't remember him, but this is Yukimura. He's one of our strategists and brightest leaders. We would be lost without him! *He bows to Corndog.*  YUKIMURA: You are too kind, milady. Though in truth, I still have much to learn. That said, I am here to help in any way I can, Lady Corndog. You may remember him from the prologue- he had a line! He sports the most scruffy of beards, and reminds me of how infrequent facial hair is in these games.  Following this, our real? siblings now approach from behind. There's even one we haven't seen in a while!  Even Azura's here!  MIKOTO: I'd like to make a public announcement about your presence here, Corndog. MIKOTO: There have been rumors circulating about spies from Nohr infiltrating the castle. MIKOTO: I would like to quash those rumors once and for all. Yukimura, is everything ready? YUKIMURA: Yes, milady. People are beginning to gather at the plaza. MIKOTO: Excellent. Thank you. I guess the peace field barrier just prevents people from wanting to fight, nothing about information gathering and infiltration. I'd suppose the populace knows about it, otherwise I don't know how they'd feasibly explain how Nohr only sends Faceless.  MIKOTO: Corndog, I've arranged for Takumi, Hinoka, and Sakura to give you a tour. MIKOTO: I thought you might want to get to know the area a little bit before this event. I need to speak with Yukimura first, but I'll meet you at the plaza soon. HINOKA: We'd be happy to show her around. Thank you, Mother. MIKOTO: Azura, do you mind going with them as well? AZURA: Not at all. It would be my pleasure. CORNDOG: Thank you, Azura. AZURA: Of course, Corndog.   TAKUMI: Hmph. SAKURA: I can't wait to show you around! I think you'll l-love it here. CORNDOG: Thank you, Sakura. A guided tour sounds like a great idea. You might notice Takumi is not the friendly type. This will be explained shortly.  And so the crew leaves as New Mom, Ryoma, and Yukimura hang back.  MIKOTO: I hope Corndog is truly OK with all of this...  YUKIMURA: Yes, I can't imagine the position she's in. It's a lot to process. That said, I think her return is a message from the gods. RYOMA: A good message, I hope.  YUKIMURA: Why do you say that? RYOMA: I don't know. After that invasion up north, I just feel uneasy. We should remain on high alert, if you ask me. Psh, what could go wrong at a public announcement made at relatively short notice?  Music: Shine in the Light -Kingdom of Hoshido: Shirasagi Castle Town- We're given a panning downwards view of paper lamp lit streets, blue-green Irimoya roofs, and bustling streets. Perhaps the most stand out feature are these massive dragon statues wih spiraling designs.   OLD WOMAN: Hey, young man! Would you like to try my world-famous roasted potatoes? OLD WOMAN: They're delicious and nutritious! I guarantee you'll love 'em. Potatoes were originally indigenous to the Americas, but they were spread fast- I don't know if they're native to Nohr or Hoshido in this world. CORNDOG: Well...sure! Why not? Mmm...I've never tasted spices like these before. This is amazing! OLD WOMAN: Ha ha! Told ya! Here, take an extra one on the house. Share it with your lady friend! CORNDOG: Well, thank you very much! Here you go, Azura. AZURA: Thank you, Corndog. Mmm, you're right. This is delicious. Potato Granny ships it. ...Then again, she probably does that for any pair that comes by for potatoes. They're the most romantic food somewhere, probably.  CORNDOG: Everyone really is friendly here. And it's so...bright...and open. CORNDOG: It's quite a contrast from the fortress I grew up in. AZURA: I'm glad you like it. Like I said, I've always been happy here. Corndog has accurately identified two of the thematic differences between Nohr and Hoshido. The light and dark is pretty obvious, but Nohr is regularly more concerned with walls and confined spaces than Hoshido is.  TAKUMI: Just don't get too comfortable...SISTER. CORNDOG: Pardon me?  TAKUMI: I don't trust you. Shouldn't you be heading back to Nohr soon?  AZURA: Takumi... I made an odd comment in the prologue about how useful Takumi was being, and this is why. That Takumi is a far less frustrating person.   TAKUMI: Hey, who said you could call me by name? You haven't earned that privilege either. CORNDOG: That doesn't even make sense. TAKUMI: Excuse me? CORNDOG: Azura has been in Hoshido for as long as I've been gone. Shouldn't that be enough to consider her part of the family?  TAKUMI: I don't care. I don't trust either of you. I just wanted to tell you that to your face. On one hand, the suspicion towards our pink haired heroine is fair. Sudden missing blood relative returns from rival nation fond of underhanded tactics- it's all too convenient. On the other hand he's a jackass.   SAKURA: I apologize for Takumi's rudeness. He's a bit of a hothead. SAKURA: Anyway, how'd you like to try a sweet rice dumpling? It's a Hoshidan specialty! CORNDOG: I'd love to. Thanks, Sakura! SAKURA: You're welcome! CORNDOG: You know, I'm very close with a girl in Nohr who's around your age. SAKURA: Oh? What's she like? CORNDOG: Well, she's generous and kind. Always putting the needs of others first... This is Elise, of course. Both sides of our complicated family tree have very direct counterparts. Xander matches to Ryoma, Camilla matches to Hinoka, Leo matches to Takumi, and Elise matches to Sakura. I understand the design concept, but I think I would have preferred having a more individualized design for each sibling instead. To me it makes both sides feel a little more like a characters than people. HINOKA: All right, everyone. The ceremony is starting. Let's head to the plaza! But enough I guess it's time to be publicly recognized as a princess in another country! If Garon hasn't disowned us yet, that means we're in the line for two thrones at once. We could technically become Empress Corndog.  *We see Mikoto at the foot of the largest dragon statue, talking to the crowds of people that surround the plaza. Corndog is next to her, face conspicuosly blocked from the camera by a straw hat.*   *She turns to look at the reclaimed Hoshidan princess.*  Music: *Ambient Dark Piano* *In the distance, a robed shoulder cuts into view.*  *It shuffles out of the crowd, head down, as we see the Ganglari upon Corndog's hip open an eye hidden in the guard.* You'd think this person would be suspicious enough to be stopped by guards, but this is what you get when you make a royal announcement on short notice.   *The figure raises a ghastly, spectral hand emanating dark red magic!*   *The Ganglari is covered in a red mist!*   *It flies from the sheathe and into this mysterious adversary's hand!!* Gotta say, Cutscene Ganglari is cooler than in-game Ganglari.   *In a practiced motion, it plunges the sword into the ground with red lightning!*    *It then explodes into a massive dark sphere, sending civilians flying!*     *The way cleared, it breaks into shards which the assassin sends flying at us!* Well, I guess the sword finally got us in the end. It was a really bad idea to keep that-  *A figure jumps in front of us!*   New Mom, no!   Music: Despair**Our princess falls to her knees, a mortally wounded Mikoto in her arms.*  MIKOTO: You were not hurt? Tell me you're OK. CORNDOG: I'm fine...   MIKOTO: I'm so glad... RIP, Good Mom. (we knew ye for one and a half chapters)  CORNDOG: Motheeeer!!!    SAKURA: Mother...? Mother!   *Ryoma stops her, looking to the side and drawing Raijinto.* RYOMA: You there!   *He charges the figure and slices it!*  *...but it falls away only into rags.*  RYOMA: Show yourself!  *We shift view to Corndog, who's now shaking with rage and breathing rather heavily.*   *Also beginning to glow a violet color!*  *She then lets out a terrifying, distorted scream as she explodes into violet light.*   She might be a little angry. Just saiyan.   *Her arms warp into claws!*    *She's taken on a massive, hulking form!*   ...and emerges as this horrifying dragon thing! Truly, this is Corndog on a bad hair day.   TAKUMI: Gods! What is that? RYOMA: It's an ancient dragon. I never thought I'd see the day... This might explain why Lilith rather likes Corndog, and why she has such an affinity for dragons to begin with- she is one! Surely the red eyes and pointed ears didn't give this away. It's also a partial explanation to the attack she used on Hans when she got angry there. They never bring that back up again by the way, but you should be able to assume as much when she actually learns the skill.  Victory- Rout the enemy Also, yes, we're hopping right into the battle!   Music: Vanity Judge Music: Vanity Judge (Roar) (Good themes, but not my favorite. This is one of those cases I really like the battle variation a lot more than the map theme.) AZURA: Corndog! A word of warning, if you can hear me. AZURA: Watch out for enemies carrying Wyrmslayers! They're a type of blade designed to pierce dragon scales—and they work! The game points out two enemy Mercenaries as she says this. Because not even tragic story moments can hold back the tutorials.   Corndog is very angry right now, and as the very angry stickman deer dragon, her stats are insane for this point in the game. 27 STR, 22 DEF, 19 SPD, she's a powerhouse. Her resistance is still not great though, and her max HP isn't any better. She will delete anything she touches on this map, basically, as she deals 36 damage even if her weapon won't let her double. If you're wondering what's up with this design, I had it pointed out to me that this is because it's somewhat inspired by the Qilin/Kirin- somewhat draconic horses of mythical power. It also explains how they got "Corrin" as a default name. Also, the map sprite is very gray and it makes telling if you've used her action yet or not difficult sometimes. There's a lot of silvery white on the dragon, so I don't know why some of that isn't a bit brighter on the sprite for visual clarity.   Added quietly to our party this map is Sakura, the Hoshidan little sister. She bears the Shrine Maiden class, which is effectively Cleric/Curate from other games. Frail, horseless healers with maybe more MAG than their mounted counterparts. Sakura's stats are as frail as you expect, but her personal skill, Quiet Strength, reduces damage taken by 2 for all allies in two spaces. This pairs well with the fact that the Hoshidan counterpart to staves are festals, which all can heal at up to 2 range. These make up for the lesser mobility, I think. If you're wondering where Takumi and Hinoka went, I have no idea.   Also added quietly to our party is Azura, of the class Songstress. She's the series staple dancer class, able to give other units an extra turn in exchange for her own. She wants to do this because her combat ability is roughly on par with Sakura's, but at least she can use spears. She also passively heals allies in a 2 tile radius around her for 10% HP each turn. While I like the very fancy combat animations she's got, her model has far too many cloth physics attached that result in her being a clipping nightmare.  We still have Rinkah and Kaze, and with them being our other decent combat units, I send one each down the two sides of this map. This whole map's to here teach you that effective weapons and magic can still hurt but also to let you feed EXP to Corndog like it's nothing. So I'll just be trying to feed everyone else instead.  AZURA: Corndog, listen! My song can help you win this battle. AZURA: Using it can give you another chance to attack or take cover in a pinch.  AZURA: Please don't hesitate to ask me for help! I'm probably the odd one out here, but I don't really like FE dancers as a class all that much. I'll use them if a crazy strategy requires them, but I'd usually prefer to just have another combat capable unit on hand instead. Azura, like her clothing, is made of tissue paper. But as I noted last update, she's super duper important so I kinda have to make use of her. It's probably a farce, but I'll see if I can level her up to the point of not being tissue paper. Her growths are surprisingly good in certain aspects.   Getting to the point, I use her to get Kaze into enemy aggro range, as Corndog's the only person who starts close enough to do so normally.  On the enemy turn, this happens!  Music: Puppet's FeastRYOMA: Vengeance will be mine... Prepare to die!  UNKNOWN: Heh. Heh. Heh... Ryoma's just down to the south dueling the mysterious assassin, somehow managing to find them again in the time it took for our heroine to get really mad. As the assassin is the boss, it also means I get to link the boss theme early.   He's supposed to be very outmatched here, but this fight isn't scripted. It's entirely random how long he lasts against the boss, but as long as he keeps dodging 72% chances, he's good. It's even possible for him to win here, at which he'll resume killsteal mode from last map.   The Wyrmslayer got a visual upgrade from Awakening. I almost miss that one though and it's vaguely ugly reflectiveness. Either way, Kaze and this one merc trade a bit.  RYOMA: Be careful, everyone! These enemies are no mere Faceless. RYOMA: One wrong move and they're perfectly capable of ending you. RYOMA: I hope we can count on Corndog even in this new form...  Ryoma lectures us on the danger of our assailants, then proceeds to trade misses with his foe. He's got a lot better chance to dodge when he initiates attack himself thanks to skills. He's not kidding though, these enemies actually hurt for once. The practice gloves are mostly off for now.  SAKURA: Watch out for magical attacks, Corndog! SAKURA: Your defense against physical attacks is strong... but you'll need higher resistance to protect yourself against mages. This applies even when we're not an angry stick dragon   After this advice, I decide to commit to something really foolish, and try to get Azura this kill. I probably could have got it this turn if I moved Kaze over one and transferred Rinkah to him to get a tag team attack setup. Then again, I'd be cautious to go against the weapon triangle on that- she's got a rough hit chance here. ah well, bad strategy executed appropriately badly  AZURA: My apologies. No need to apologize for having less STR than Sakura has MAG... as long as you get some good levels.  I do some heals and protect the backside of this misfit assault team with Corndog.  Enemy turn, Ryoma continues to dunk on this assassin guy unharmed.    The enemies here initially start out visible, but go into the spooky red cloaking mode when they go to attack.  Also Corndog commits delete  And my terrible strategy to feed Azura a kill results in Kaze getting it anyways when the enemy opts to attack him instead. I'm not exactly sure as to why. It's 3 hits to kill Kaze, 2 hits to kill Azura.  Ryoma's defiance of RNG continues. He has not been hit once. Him dodging all of this is roughly down to a 2% possibility so far.   My awful attempt to level Azura against all better judgement continues to be a mess. My strategy was not sharp starting out on this. I'll do better later... kinda.  The odds finally betray Ryoma and he takes 21 damage to the head. This boss hurts.  On the enemy turn, the enemy finally plays into my terrible plan.  Ally turn, Ryoma continues to risk his life on the roll of a die, but scrapes by this time.  plan status: success  Azura almost gets a level from that kill. Worth like 4 turns of dancing, and nobody else here really needs it that much. Okay, well, they could use it, but it's also minorly important that I get Azura some EXP here anyways for something coming up soon. I'm not trying to get her to end some dudes only to be funny, after all.  Following this, Kaze takes up his mage-tank duties, as we have some enemy casters coming up.  Enemy turn, Ryoma defies the odds even more.  Gotta say, this generic dark mage looks prety cool.  They also lose all but 1 HP from this encounter.  Ally turn, Ryoma's luck finally fails him. It's hard to capture, but some of his armor and his facemask fly off when he dies. Similarly, when Corndog goes down her cape thing tears away in pieces. Such fashionable deaths.  RYOMA: You can kill me, but you cannot kill the spirit of Hoshido! SAKURA: Brother, no! You have to step back! We can't afford to lose you... RYOMA: Ugh...you're right. I'll retreat for now... He's story important, so course he doesn't die for good here. He succeeded in bringing the boss down to about 1/3rd of its starting health, so that's pretty impressive.   *bop* Our turn, Azura continues our plan to force valuable combat experience onto her.  AZURA: Even my voice feels a little stronger... but you didn't get STR I am rewarded with the epitome of a lord level. SKL and SPD, her two highest growths. Truly, you are a blue haired Lord. I was hoping for some HP or DEF, but those are really unlikely for her, but even a STR hit would've been nice. I guess dodge stats is all she really needs, but that's not as fun.  Time for some good-ish strategy, I guess. Rinkah can't survive a round down here as the enemies would get at least 1 pair-up attack off, but Kaze shoving himself into the chokepoint guarantees that they can only get 1 off, the mage does little damage to him, and he'll debuff both enemies. More likely than not, the mage will just try to shoot Rinkah, which will give her the damage boost for next round and keeps Kaze alive.   I'm even free to attack one of them as Sakura's in range to heal.  SAKURA: Oh dear! I-I'll do better from now on! Sakura then proceeds to impress by getting the worst level so far- a single HP hit. I mean, you can almost only go up from here.  Enemy turn, that last merc with the Wyrmslayer gets himself killed. Kaze's more than safe from the mage with his RES and Sakura's passive buff- he'd only take 2 damage.  Kaze: Good. I need all the strength I can get. but you didnt get STR! Kaze gets this almost terrible level, saved by the fact it's HP and SPD, two meaningful stats, even if they're the only stats he got. The man needs bulk, and I can only complain so much about a level with HP in it.  As predicted, the mage goes for Rinkah.  Kaze finishes it next turn.  One dance later, and Corndog's in front of the boss. Their stats are just as crazy inflated as hers right now, which is why it's a miracle Ryoma survived that long.  UNKNOWN: Show me...what you've got. Heh. Heh. Heh... okay  it's called horns Perhaps sometime, I'll remember to get the less cinematic camera turned on so you can see these animations in motions. They really are a step up from Awakening.  UNKNOWN: Urgh... Not bad. Heh. Heh. Heh... Was this guy related to the merchant from RE4? We shall never know.  CORNDOG: ... Corndog, in her angry silence redeems this entire update and it's terrible levels. STR, MAG, SPD, LCK, and DEF. I'll take it.  That's the map! Had we died, we would've got this: AZURA: No! You can't die like this, Corndog! What are we going to do without you... Plenty of things, probably. You've known her for a few days at the most, you'll move past it. With that done, we go on next time to clean up the resolution to Corndog's sudden scaly skin issue and move one step closer to being done with this game's introduction. That'll also be one step closer to Gay Fates starting for real. ----------------------------------------------------------- Azura, Songstress "An enchanting singer raised among Hoshidan royalty." Reclass Options: Sky Knight Personal Skill: Healing Descant - Allies within a 2 tile radius recover 10% HP at the start of the user’s Turn Base Growths + Class Growths HP___ STR__ MAG__ SKL__ SPD___ LCK__ DEF___ RES 25 ____50 ____25 ____60 ____60 ____40 ___15 _____35 00 ____10 ____00 ____20 ____20 ____20 ___00 _____00 She's a dancer, and she's a dancer with some extremely glass cannon growths.60% STR, and 80% SKL and SPD are wild, but her bulk stats are atrocious. Sky Knight won't provide her any better HP or DEF growth, so she really relies on borrowing someone else's class to get anywhere. I think Armor Knight may actually be a good pick for her, strangely enough. But she's also a dancer, so she doesn't really need to be combat viable. Her personal skill could potentially eke someone out of death range, but I imagine it's usefulness is limited. As I said last time, she's the Chrom to our Robin, and she's going nowhere. ---------------------------------- Sakura, Youngest Hoshidan Princess "A shy Hoshidan princess with a gentle spirit." Reclass Options: Sky Knight Personal Skill: Quiet Strength - Allies within a 2 tile radius receive 2 less damage Base Growths + Class Growths HP___ STR__ MAG__ SKL__ SPD___ LCK__ DEF___ RES 45 ____30 ____50 ____40 ____40 ____55 ___30 _____20 20 ____05 ____10 ____10 ____15 ____15 ___00 _____20 Hello, Miss Background! Sakura's been mostly uninvolved in cutscenes so far, and we've only had a minor amount of introduction to her. Mechanically, she's a basic Cleric from other FE games with the advantage of coming from the land that invented 2-range Heal and Mend staves. There's... not much I can say about her, really, aside from the fact that she could weirdly be a pretty decent combat unit in a better class. Why does she have more base HP and STR growth than Rinkah  That wacky royal blood at it again, I guess. She, no joke, could grow into a better Oni Savage than Rinkah. We might have to do that, it's funny. ------------------------------------------------
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Jun 15, 2022 20:00
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Odd Wilson posted:That wacky royal blood at it again, I guess. She, no joke, could grow into a better Oni Savage than Rinkah. How would she even get access to Oni Savage without marrying a male Corrin who has that as his talent? Or does the gay mod include adding partner classes so she could get it by marrying Rinkah? I don't recall Rinkah and Sakura ever saying a word to each other in Fates, but then I've never played this mod.
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Jun 15, 2022 20:21
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The mod does include A+ supports, in fact. Partially to mitigate that the existing ones were often charged to S supports, partially to expand class availability, and partially to add potential conversations between gen 1 and 2 units that weren't related. Of course, scope creep means that despite intent, in the available vetsion there's very few, if any, conversations to those. So yes, Sakura's A+ options include Rinkah, as well as pretty much every Hoshido woman (except Hana, with whom she can S support) in this hack. As for the LP, I'm glad we're almost out of the doldrums of the introduction. These maps feel so boring on replays...
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Jun 15, 2022 21:04
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Ventadour posted:As for the LP, I'm glad we're almost out of the doldrums of the introduction. These maps feel so boring on replays... Yeah, I was personally reflecting on this to myself while I was working on this yesterday when I discovered some of my footage had somehow corrupted and I had to contemplate the idea of speeding all the way through to this chapter again. Luckily, I had a backup from a ways back. These early maps aren't very mechanically strong on their own, mostly from them being tutorial stuff. Most maps have very few enemies, you have a very small team, and involve rather large spaces in spite of that. If I didn't bother to try and get Azura in there on this map, you just walk down the right side with Kaze and Rinkah, and send Corndog down the left. It doesn't help that there's no supports or convoy or anything until after the route split. Kinda like how Lyn's story in FE7 is usually kind of a slog after you've done it before. Awakening takes some time to get started, but by Ch.5 in Awakening, you're on one of the more dangerous maps of the early game and you've already got one Paralogue open, full game functionality, and a few more characters than you can actually field. Meanwhile, Fates is shotgunning plot, reveals, and twists at us in short succession while the combat's barely taken off. I got the finale bit for this chapter written up yesterday when I did this update, I just didn't want to drop a 200 screenshot update. Thanks cutscenes! It'll be out shortly this week, and the next not too long after, I'm thinking. I already can't play ahead any further, as I've got stuff waiting to be voted on. Left 4 Bread fucked around with this message at 21:39 on Jun 15, 2022 |
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Jun 15, 2022 21:25
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