What Am I Doing To Myself? Let's Try and Play Fire Emblem: Thracia 776!

[Deme]

Chapter 16b: Nothing Like a Hike in the Woods

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I admit: I struggled with working out exactly how stamina drinks actually work for way, way, waay too long. Allow me to explain it now, so that anyone who wants to play along at home can profit from my bumbling. When a character is fatigued...

Stick a stamina drink in their inventory from the prep screen, like so. This is the standard instruction, but I was a bit lost, since it was hard for me to tell if it worked, what it meant, whatever. Esepecially since my group was full. Think that's why I couldn't send Homer out to war?
(The answer to that one's "Yes," by the way.)


The character on the pick screen will then look like this, and provided you're not forgetting something like an open party slot, can be selected. Good work, past me.

This is an interesting bunch, and I sure wish I had enough magic to support all these magic users.
I was going to despair over our having of so many mages and so few people with big meaty arms, but upon review, the skinny-magic-user:big meaty arms ratio isn't so bad. Somehow, looking at the list and realizing Othin is on it made me feel better.
Seriously, though, our magic situation is actually pretty dire. Unless we find a solution like, yesterday, we simply can't afford to send out more than one mage to attack after this.


For starters, we've got Karin and Dean carrying Othin and Homer. We need to move the boss out quickly, and that makes it a tough choice.
(A note: These first few screenshots were taken before a crash, so any inconsistancies with later unit positioning is accidental - Future Deme)



See how that guy moved suddenly? That wasn't a rewarp staff.
I mean, they have rewarp staves, but his is still 5/5. Remember how they said you can get lost here?
That's because this forest is full of warp tiles. Warp tiles warp you to a predertmined spot on the map when you stop there; they're completely indistinguishable from any other tile, so sometimes, it's just going to be a fun surprise where you or you enemies end up!

...Most of the fun surprises in this game are not very fun. They are sudden and painful, like being a child awoken by one's older sibling.
Or
This game is a sewer in a town populated entirely by intelligent bulls.
Your pick. Call it audience participation, if you like.


Giving Karin wrath was a very good call. Also, please note that this is her dodge chance when she's weighted down. Goodness gracious.


Dean does the drop-off, and even gets a movement star to start weakening our boss.


Uh-huh. Well, nothing lost there.


Looking a little scattered here, but I think we'll be OK.




Now I find myself pitying this man.

He can't stop the boss's granddaughter from wandering out literally into a battlefield. No matter what happens here, he is so dead.


A wild Sara appears! Her bases don't scream at me, but her skills are...Wrath, Elite, and Prayer. Scary lady.


You know, we'd have no trouble sending Seram out to battle, supply-wise. Why only Seram? I should have held onto more books... But for a while, we just had too many...


Homer damages the boss some...

And right now, it's my earnest hope to take him out before the Beserk staff even enters the picture.


Karin winds up for the attempt, with a strong start!

And a weak finish.

Well, Tina, maybe you can at least get a good level.

+1 Mgc, +1 Skl, +1 Spd, +1 Luk
Not bad.


How about Othin carries on the lucky streak?

Attaboy!

+1 HP, +1 Skl, +1 Def

And a point of move! Not bad, son!
And, of course, we got beserk at full. Good work, kid.


Right back at you, I guess! Enjoy being dropped from the back of a moving dragon!



I hope you've all been missing Robert! I know I have.

...Maybe I could stand to miss him just a little more.



Sara's going to be using warp tiles to go all over the map, but it's always in a predictable way, and probably won't cause you suffering.


Marty starts meeting his new friends! And by "friends" I mean eventual victims of his big, meaty arms.


+1 HP, +1 Mgc, +1 Skl, +1 Spd, +1 Luk
Well, those last two are maxed, and I can't remember if they were already or not.



Othin takes out this guy so Homer can advance out of there.


Um.
Way out.

Much more out than I'd intended.

I'd totally forgotten that was a spot. Luckily, as far as I know, Sara's actually out for a walk, and won't turn around and start a fight.
Right, Sara?
Right, Sara?



Marty, frustratingly, just barely manages to not take this guy out...


So we have to supplement with Dean to help with Shopping List A.


Sara warps in closer to Leaf.


Oh dear. Bad times. Bad times. Freaking jerk with a freaking crit what the heck on a cracker.

Baaad times.


He can't even.

Resets: +1
Total: 37

I'll meet you in a second.

My last savestate was about when Homer was warped, so that's not so bad, and capturing the guy again wasn't too hard.



WHAT THE HECK, DEAN?
Resets: +2
Total: 38

OK, take 3.


This time, Marty helps Dean out.


Sadly, I'm not getting a Devil Axe...But it's not like I use Devil stuff anyway.

+1 HP, +1 Str, +1 Skl, +1 Luk
Not bad at all!


Still big damage, but it's a Pugi axe wielded by a beserker; what do you expect?

Linoan was going to do fabulous work and save the day by getting a double-heal...But the second one missed. Whatcha gonna do?







+1 Def
Bleg.
Well, that's one corner down, with 2 of 3 good loots gotten!


Well, let's see about Sara before we call the corner done, first.

Right, because this is an unusual sight. Not, like, we have a bunch of teenage girls with brightly-colored-hair running around.



Leaf: needs military advisors to talk to women.
Creepiness of this young lady(you know, actually, Jugdrall is just swimming in purple-haired young women of various degrees of mystery, popping in and out of forsests, isn't it?) level: rising.

"You're the Prince of Lenster. Your father is named Cuan. Your mother was a pretty woman named Ethlin, but she died."

If some random girl started talking to me about my personal history, I'd punctuate at her, too.

"Papa...was killed by Grandpa because he loved Mama. It was before I was born."
Welp. Not that I'm surprised, though that makes it interesting that Sara's acknowledged as his granddaughter, then.


"But if you're just going to call me a nuisance, then fine!"




Given the general state of things...This is a weird scene. But, really, would you let someone this odd just wander off?

With that, Sara joins our army! She's the same class as Linoan, but without the free plot-promotion, so if we want, that's both more staves (Actually, she's a B rank staff-user; get her up to level 10, promote her, do a happy dance because you've got an A-rank staff user with all those fat Sage promotion gains), and more magic, so it's a real shame she doesn't come with a spellbook of her own. We need one so, so much. But hey. More staves is never bad.
More about her later, though.
...Oh, she also has 5 movement stars. Not bad.



While advancing everyone, Othin gets to just straight-up murder these guys. I forget sometimes how satisfying that is.


Also, I realize now that we can't actually advance through this area, and will have to creep up the sides. In my defense, it'd be clearer if there was meaningful terrain descriptions.


Linoan gets a level healing Dean for +1 Mag, +1 Spd, +1 Def
HALLELUJAH! Defense! Beautiful!

Speaking of healing levels...

+1 Mag, +1 Luk
Bleg. Want skill on her like nuts. But, eh. Every magic point is something to steal.


Not the predictable outcome...

+1 Str, +1 Skl
Not a predictable falcoknight.


Karin goes in on a super special mission...The question is, will she survive it?

Ooh yeah, Sleep Sword get!

While advancing, Linoan steps on a warp tile right next to where I've moved Leaf and Sara to, near the new positions of Marty and Dean.

...Well. Linoan's out of the action for a bit. Good thing I just gave a healing staff to Sara.


Ouch. Poor fool. Well, it'll be worse for him than for me, at least.


Oh, dear. An enemy reinforcement.


In a surprising bit of strategy, he teleports up to the dancer who...

Well, dances. Allowing him to frighten me.

And also, for a brief moment, become a shape-shifter.



And so he gets to scare me twice.



Goodbye, Twinkletoes.
I should have sent Robert to be bait, but I only realized this after...


Robert takes out this guy before he can ruin everything.


Dean picks up Linoan, and for a moment I feel like -- besides the Shanam thing I still gotta deal with -- the rest of the chapter can be managed.

I wonder how long it will be until I feel like I was totally wrong?


...Yeah, about 3 seconds.



Shanam, you jerk!

Reset Counter: +3
Total: 39

Ok, I've had a bit of a break while we think about how terrible recruitable dudes attacking the people who recruit them while the recruitable dude begs for his life are.

In order to make space to get everyone where they need to be, Asvel ends up getting a healing level.

+1 Str, +1 Skl, +1 Bld
Pretty sad.


Step 1 of "where everyone needs to be, properly":

Homer needs to be taking out this shmuck.


+1 HP, +1 Mag, +1 Skl
Man, dude, you have the good scrolls.
Well, more magic is always nice. He's 1 point away from, assuming a promotion, never needing to think about it again.
Sages, dude. Those guys are nuts.


Step 2: this time, Robert takes out the dancer. He can't kill Shanam, and I'm more than confident that Shanam can't kill him.
Right, Robert? The thread's decided it likes you, Robert. Earn their love.
Of course, I have at least a turn to think about this, since all this shuffling means no one's in range.


Final positions for this crew; I still have the other side to deal with, which is mostly Dean on ferrying duty and suchnot.

This group's not advancing, since in a perfect world, I'd want all of the goods from that collective. Therefore, careful baiting is required, and I may want to use a pincer movement with the other team. In restrospect, this team should have been bigger, but eh.



I have chosen wisely. Good work, me.


Oh, this poor rewarping fool.


Now, let's deal with this guy. If you missed their earlier conversation, because you recruited Homer quickly, you've got no idea what to do... But what are the odds of that, for someone who does not have an indicator?


Given the lack of animation on these sprites, I choose to believe Homer's being really casual about his sometimes-drinking buddy joining up with absolute evil. Not approving, but just sort of, well...

"Come back here and recruit me, darnit!"


I guess he's hoping we have a payroll. We probably do not. There is no money not gotten via battles to the death or selling of vital supplies in this game.

He really doesn't.



Bye-bye!


Also, let's try having Leaf bait out buddy with the... Halberd.

Goshdarnit, Leaf. The one time I want you to be useless, you crit.

+1 HP, +1 Str, +1 Def
Well, the level's not...terrible.


Bait ver.2.0.

Speaking of levels...

+1 Skl, +1 Luk
Well...It...
Skill is good for Tina?
I don't know, I am trying to be positive.


Baiting: successful.

These guys: cheap.


Ok, Leaf. Try to fix for me.

...Surprisingly, this is not a bad attempt at fixing. At first he was going to not succeed, but then I realized the second attack he'd gotten was through continue. Hooray skills I should not count on to replace actually stopping to math!



This lets Dean capture that guy...



And Marty gets creamed. Well, 2 out of 3 aint bad.


Next round, I let Leaf handle the straggler.

In a post-badguy world, Leaf gets his final level until his promotion. Please be respectable please be respectable...

+1 HP, +1 Spd
...
I hope you think this is enough to tide you over until the game sees fit to stop denying you advancement.
I hope you think so.


By the way, if you're curious... Statistically-speaking, our Leaf is better than your average Leaf (as predicted by growths) in literally all respects. This is an above-average, maybe even a pretty good Leaf at the end of his first tier, where he's inclined to languish for the next several chapters.
That feeling, crawling into your heart? Probably despair.
And somehow, it really hasn't even begun yet.



Man, thanks for trying to cheer me up, Marty...


Hey, guess what Asvel found?

A warp tile. Now he's got to treck across the entire map.
What a fun mechanic.


+1 Mag
...I think Sara might need some help. Or to learn to stop undercutting things about her quality.


Bait v. 3. This is what Leaf, at this point, is good for. Also, carrying the King Sword.
(I didn't actually have Karin attack; I just thought about it.)


+1 HP, +1 Spd
A sad day for healing levels.



Why does this happen every time a plan comes together?


Take one at an easy capture...


Take two. Master Sword, get!

Time to save Hyrule!



How very sad, I could not save the day with Karin's rad flying skills.


But Fergus got use of his movement star, and that means it's time to beastmode this.

Aww yeah, Lunar Manual is mine.


Marty misses one of the last two guys...

And Dean does not.

+1 HP, +1 Str, +1 Def
He don't even miss the level.


Karin finally has a task not related to ferrying people or capturing or visiting houses.

+1 HP, +1 Skl
Meh.

Oh, speaking of houses...

Guess who's been forgetting Asvel? Maybe he should visit a house.

"Eh, you're not? You mean you came here specifically? Even though you can't see much in this forest, you all don't look like amateurs. All right, I'll tell you something useful. Scattered all over this forest are hidden switches. I don't know if that is a bad thing or a good thing for you, though."
Yeah, I...uh, noticed.

(It's me, I forgot.)




While Asvel comes to the end, I'll let some of the healers gain some EXP while everyone else leaves.

+1 HP, +1 Mag, +1 Spd, +1 Luk
Well, that's luck maxed now.


+1 HP, +1 Magic, +1 Skl, +1 Spd, +1 Luk, +1 Def
Awwright, girl, that is more like it!
That is every number she has a use for!


+1 HP, +1 Str, +1 Skl, +1 Def
Defense! Precious, precious defense!



Getting close to the end here...

+1 HP, +1 Mag, +1 Skl, +1 Spd
Nubbad, nubbad...
Linoan? Your rebuttal?

+1 HP, +1 Skl, +1 Spd, +1 Luk
Eh, I'll have to give it to Sara.


+1 HP, +1 Mag, +1 Skl, +2 Spd
Not bad, not bad. Every point of magic is precious thievery (Sorry for the screenshot; it just worked out this way.)


At this point, I resolve to send out everyone but Leaf, Marty, and Tina, just healing poison damage until she runs out of staff. She's fatigued anyway, why not make the most of it?


+1 Mag, +1 Skl, +1 Spd, +1 Def
Rarest of all treasures, defense on a non-Nana healer.


Also, a staff rank! Tina needs more of these then she will get, I suspect.


+1 HP, +1 Mag, +1 Skl, +1 Spd
Not a bad level... Hopefully I have a before and after. Still, Tina's getting a good chance of stealing things.


+1 HP, +1 Skl, +1 Spd
*sigh* I was hoping for more magic... Always sad to be let down.
+1 Def
Wooo-hoo! OK, things are forgiven!


That was all; let's get out of this place.



Nothing too long-winded; we've got to get going.

Growths!

Spoiler

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Shanam
HP: 50%
Str: 50%
Mgc: 5%
Skill: 5%
Spd: 50%
Luk: 50%
Def: 5%
Bld: 5%
Mov: 2%
PCC: 0

Shanam, Shanam, Shanam... He's a lousy fighter, with growths that are super-lopsided; I can't find anyone to recommend him for combat beyond "Well, maybe you can fix him up, I guess." I mean, what is even the use of a swordmaster with that sort of PCC? But he is useful for something; he has a unique skill, Bargain, granting him 50% off at all shops. In a chapter with a secret shop or something, where you want to buy in as much bulk as possible, he might be useful to have around for once.

Shanam is exclusive to B-path. So when the time comes to vote for a canonical path, remember that.

Sara

HP: 40%
Str: 0%
Mgc: 80%
Skill: 80%
Spd: 80%
Luk: 40%
Def: 10%
Bld: 5%
Mov: 3%
PCC: 0

Let's get Sara's flaws out of the way, first. First, her PCC is non-existent (which, given that she's pretty great elsewhere, may make her an acceptable wielder of controlled damage). Second, she is about as sturdy as a snowball in Death Valley in the middle of July. Ok, that's out of the way. Let's talk about her strengths, to the tune of B-rank staves (boosted to an A upon the usually fantastic and monstrous sage promotion, so I wouldn't fault someone wanting to promote her quickly), her fabulous growths and elite to make sure she'll grow quickly, wrath for destructive flavor, her 5 movement stars. She also gets a staff only she can use, which we'll be absolutely required to use for our play-through's purposes, but it also comes in handy at the end of the game. Even Prayer may help the survivability thing, in a pinch. Sara is a fine form of staff-and-magic devastation...If only we had more magic for her to use.

Sara happens on both paths, so please do not worry about that.

And, for ease of navigation...
Chapter 16B Addendum: We Forgot Something!

Spoiler

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So, guess who was a putz and forgot a whole character?
If your answer isn't "Deme," then you haven't been paying attention. I already told the thread this.

Luckily, I have a save state that's late enough that I don't have to redo much of anything (except some Tina levels), but where I can still fix it. Good work, past me. You were stupid, but prepared.

So, from the end of the map, I will need to walk Leaf all the way back to the castle.

The one thing that will be different is Tina's levels.

+1 HP, +1 Str, +1 Mag, +1 Skl, +1 Spd
Not bad, not bad. I wanted to show this one before just cutting to a before and after.

After:

+1 Level, +1 Skl, +1 Spd, +1 Def +1 Staff Rank, +1 Point of Move
What rarities.

What did I forget to do, you ask?

I forgot to have Leaf stand right here.




Man, all the ladies know who Leaf is, even if he's not super-competant yet.


Oops. Good work, Leaf...
Though you have to admit, how many non-dark cult princesses do you find in dark cult dungeons?

Also because we, the player, haven't really heard of her. Yet.


...Why do you think, Mr "every town you've ever lived in has been harrassed and raided and taken over by the Empire that's sought your head from the time you were a small child?"
Not my catchiest nickname.




Ouch. And yet, Leaf escaped. You owe her, man. (Uh, sorry for leaving you here, last time.)

Leaf, this is where you thank her. Or say sorry. Or both. Of course...

Given that he had no reason to, but went against the Empire by protecting Leaf anyway, but then thought he could get away with it... I suppose that her father wouldn't have lasted long in the world of post-imperial takeover power politics. He sounds much too nice.
"They just used the prince as an excuse to attack. This may be rude, but your father was much too weak to be a king. He had a fine army, but refused to fight even when his home land was invaded. Neither did he render any aid to Lenster whilst we were in danger."
Actually, how often (outside of the Tellius games) does Fire Emblems ever go into consequences of sheltering The Young Hero Whose Home Is Suddenly Invaded, or really, any political action at all? It's just something I like about Thracia 776's sort of darker and more "grounded" worldbuilding.

"Alster's collapse was your father's responsibility, and that of no one else."
The buck did stop there... But I think Dorias might just be a little salty over not getting any assistance. He seems like the type to hold a grudge.


"I'm sorry, Princess Miranda... Forgive me."

Ah, a more normal political hostage.


...Oops. Sorry.



Honestly, I came back just for you, so I can't refuse you now.


You know what we needed, though?

More mages with no gear!
That said, as you can see, she's got a rough start -- low-leveled, unpromoted (she'd go mage knight, like Olwen)... Her bases aren't good. But she does have wrath.
But really, raising her's not worth it without Elite. Ah, more on that in a seperate box. Let's just get out of here. Again.


On you go!
There's no new dialogue in the ending, so that's all! Problems fixed!

Addendum Growths

Spoiler

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Hp: 60%
Str: 5%
Mag: 70%
Skl: 55%
Spd: 70%
Lck: 35%
Def: 15%
Bld: 5%
Mov: 2%
Pcc: 1

Does she look familiar to you? That's because she was Elite Book Candidate #2! And since she didn't get it, she's not going to be useful to us -- her growths are good, but she has a rough start. Without elite to overcome it, it'll be like getting blood from a stone -- and for little profit: She'll never be strong or built enough to even think about using swords, and she won't get staves on promotion like a sage, so... That sort of puts her in a bad spot. She's just not worth the effort.

[Javan]

Spoiler: RobertWatch: Episode 6: Bold Bowman Saves the Day!

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Chapter 16b: Nothing Like a Hike in the Woods


I hope you've all been missing Robert! I know I have.

...Maybe I could stand to miss him just a little more.

I should have sent Robert to be bait, but I only realized this after...


Robert takes out this guy before he can ruin everything.

Sages, dude. Those guys are nuts.


Step 2: this time, Robert takes out the dancer. He can't kill Shanam, and I'm more than confident that Shanam can't kill him.
Right, Robert? The thread's decided it likes you, Robert. Earn their love.
Of course, I have at least a turn to think about this, since all this shuffling means no one's in range.



I have chosen wisely. Good work, me.

Hyrule needs saving... though Leaf isn't the Hero it needs or deserves.
Nice update though, I can feel that this mission was annoying to some extent, it seems to be seeping through, makes it funnier at parts.

[Illven]

Wow Leaf blows. I thought his class was lord, not Anchor.

[Sallera]

That's one shiny Sister, even if she's a bit... off. Our magic shortage is worrisome, though; can we safely rely on Seram for a chapter or two, or are there no restocking opportunities in sight? Either way, that's some nice loot. Who are our best candidates for the Lunar manual?

[Deme]

Leaf's class is really "Huge Dissapointment," and he does not promote out of it in this game. In FE4, though, his promotion is absolutely fabulous and he turns out to be great.

Hyrule needs saving... though Leaf isn't the Hero it needs or deserves.

It helps to remember that Leaf is, in fact, no one's hero (except maybe Lenster.) He's the hero's little cousin. This isn't the story of a stalwart band of heroes rising under a dazzling young man, destined for greatness, to reclaim his birthright and destroy the evils that have gripped their lands to its core. That's the second half of Genealogy of the Holy War, in which Leaf is fairly significant, but nowhere near the main character. This is a lot less mythic, and I like it better for it.
Is he the Hero's Little Cousin we deserve? Probably not. I hope not. I try to be a good person.

That's one shiny Sister, even if she's a bit... off. Our magic shortage is worrisome, though; can we safely rely on Seram for a chapter or two, or are there no restocking opportunities in sight? Either way, that's some nice loot. Who are our best candidates for the Lunar manual?

It looks like we can at the very least buy fire and elfire tomes in the next chapter...On this route.
On the other route, there's a couple of dudes that might be stolen or captured from with non-dark tomes, though not "Mages! Mages everywhere! (Darn you, mage knights...) and maybe if that path becomes canon, it can hold us over until the 20s, where there's a series of shops with tomes, among other things.

As for the Lunar Manual... I can't seem to find any particular recommendations, except and that it may form a decent combination with Ambush (So, if we wanted to do something nuts like using Olwen physically)... I've also seen it recommended, though without much explanation for why, for Fergus -- possibly because he has access to Ambush via weaponry later, possibly to help with capturing, maybe both. As a whole, the Lunar Manual seems good for units who occasionally wants a little extra power to break open a tough nut, like a boss or something.

...Also, um. I forgot something super-important. I'm not sure how, but maybe because of the way she's recruited, and that the game does not tell you she's there, an entire character just totally fell off my radar in that last one. I read it, and it fell in one ear and out the other. I believe I can go back and fix this without too much bother, but... I am terribly sorry for the troubles.

Edit: On the topic of our magic stocks, I thought I should say that it's not impossible for us to send out non-Seram magic users on the other route, for fighting purposes. Just... Maybe not 3 in a chapter, even if one's going to be splitting turns between attacking and healing, like Sara or Linoan. We still have decent uses of our special tomes like Resire, Whatever Olwen's is, or Grafcalibur (though that is running low-ish)... But no single person on that map had more than 10 uses of a non-special tome, if I recall rightly, and I'm pretty sure they had literally all my general-use tomes, so consolidating would be needed to send them out. I mentioned Seram because dark tomes are super-common, and I have a bunch of them.

[Javan]

Leaf's class is really "Huge Dissapointment," and he does not promote out of it in this game. In FE4, though, his promotion is absolutely fabulous and he turns out to be great.

It helps to remember that Leaf is, in fact, no one's hero (except maybe Lenster.) He's the hero's little cousin. This isn't the story of a stalwart band of heroes rising under a dazzling young man, destined for greatness, to reclaim his birthright and destroy the evils that have gripped their lands to its core. That's the second half of Genealogy of the Holy War, in which Leaf is fairly significant, but nowhere near the main character. This is a lot less mythic, and I like it better for it.
Is he the Hero's Little Cousin we deserve? Probably not. I hope not. I try to be a good person.




It looks like we can at the very least buy fire and elfire tomes in the next chapter...On this route.
On the other route, there's a couple of dudes that might be stolen or captured from with non-dark tomes, though not "Mages! Mages everywhere! (Darn you, mage knights...) and maybe if that path becomes canon, it can hold us over until the 20s, where there's a series of shops with tomes, among other things.

As for the Lunar Manual... I can't seem to find any particular recommendations, except and that it may form a decent combination with Ambush (So, if we wanted to do something nuts like using Olwen physically)... I've also seen it recommended, though without much explanation for why, for Fergus -- possibly because he has access to Ambush via weaponry later, possibly to help with capturing, maybe both. As a whole, the Lunar Manual seems good for units who occasionally wants a little extra power to break open a tough nut, like a boss or something.

...Also, um. I forgot something super-important. I'm not sure how, but maybe because of the way she's recruited, and that the game does not tell you she's there, an entire character just totally fell off my radar in that last one. I read it, and it fell in one ear and out the other. I believe I can go back and fix this without too much bother, but... I am terribly sorry for the troubles.

Edit: On the topic of our magic stocks, I thought I should say that it's not impossible for us to send out non-Seram magic users on the other route, for fighting purposes. Just... Maybe not 3 in a chapter, even if one's going to be splitting turns between attacking and healing, like Sara or Linoan. We still have decent uses of our special tomes like Resire, Whatever Olwen's is, or Grafcalibur (though that is running low-ish)... But no single person on that map had more than 10 uses of a non-special tome, if I recall rightly, and I'm pretty sure they had literally all my general-use tomes, so consolidating would be needed to send them out. I mentioned Seram because dark tomes are super-common, and I have a bunch of them.

Hahaha, poor Leaf, he gets so much flack.

This LP has voted in magic users on a very regular basis haven't we, poor resource control on our part?

Dark tomes are super-common... that just goes against my every Fire Emblem sense.

[tyckspoon]

Hahaha, poor Leaf, he gets so much flack.

This LP has voted in magic users on a very regular basis haven't we, poor resource control on our part?

Dark tomes are super-common... that just goes against my every Fire Emblem sense.

Makes sense for this game, tho, where you get most of your weapons by taking them off your enemies and your major enemy is the Church of Dark Magic..

[CoffeeIncluded]

Also mages are awesome.

[thatonesungod]

thats true, but not being able to use them sucks

[Deme]

To be fair, I also sold a number of tomes during a period where we had only Asvel, and a lot of tomes. That one's my bad, so there's poor resource management to share.

Despite how terrible he is in this game -- and I do want to stress that in 4 he's better -- he actually is one of my favorite protagonists. No one pretends he's perfectly splendid, like, say, Marth, and that goes a long way to making him fairly likable. He's a kid thrust into a war and made into a local hero due to his birth.

Now for the thing I realized earlier...
Chapter 16B Addendum: We Forgot Something!

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So, guess who was a putz and forgot a whole character?
If your answer isn't "Deme," then you haven't been paying attention. I already told the thread this.

Luckily, I have a save state that's late enough that I don't have to redo much of anything (except some Tina levels), but where I can still fix it. Good work, past me. You were stupid, but prepared.

So, from the end of the map, I will need to walk Leaf all the way back to the castle.

The one thing that will be different is Tina's levels.

+1 HP, +1 Str, +1 Mag, +1 Skl, +1 Spd
Not bad, not bad. I wanted to show this one before just cutting to a before and after.

After:

+1 Level, +1 Skl, +1 Spd, +1 Def +1 Staff Rank, +1 Point of Move
What rarities.

What did I forget to do, you ask?

I forgot to have Leaf stand right here.




Man, all the ladies know who Leaf is, even if he's not super-competant yet.


Oops. Good work, Leaf...
Though you have to admit, how many non-dark cult princesses do you find in dark cult dungeons?

Also because we, the player, haven't really heard of her. Yet.


...Why do you think, Mr "every town you've ever lived in has been harrassed and raided and taken over by the Empire that's sought your head from the time you were a small child?"
Not my catchiest nickname.




Ouch. And yet, Leaf escaped. You owe her, man. (Uh, sorry for leaving you here, last time.)

Leaf, this is where you thank her. Or say sorry. Or both. Of course...

Given that he had no reason to, but went against the Empire by protecting Leaf anyway, but then thought he could get away with it... I suppose that her father wouldn't have lasted long in the world of post-imperial takeover power politics. He sounds much too nice.
"They just used the prince as an excuse to attack. This may be rude, but your father was much too weak to be a king. He had a fine army, but refused to fight even when his home land was invaded. Neither did he render any aid to Lenster whilst we were in danger."
Actually, how often (outside of the Tellius games) does Fire Emblems ever go into consequences of sheltering The Young Hero Whose Home Is Suddenly Invaded, or really, any political action at all? It's just something I like about Thracia 776's sort of darker and more "grounded" worldbuilding.

"Alster's collapse was your father's responsibility, and that of no one else."
The buck did stop there... But I think Dorias might just be a little salty over not getting any assistance. He seems like the type to hold a grudge.


"I'm sorry, Princess Miranda... Forgive me."

Ah, a more normal political hostage.


...Oops. Sorry.



Honestly, I came back just for you, so I can't refuse you now.


You know what we needed, though?

More mages with no gear!
That said, as you can see, she's got a rough start -- low-leveled, unpromoted (she'd go mage knight, like Olwen)... Her bases aren't good. But she does have wrath.
But really, raising her's not worth it without Elite. Ah, more on that in a seperate box. Let's just get out of here. Again.


On you go!
There's no new dialogue in the ending, so that's all! Problems fixed!

Addendum Growths

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Hp: 60%
Str: 5%
Mag: 70%
Skl: 55%
Spd: 70%
Lck: 35%
Def: 15%
Bld: 5%
Mov: 2%
Pcc: 1

Does she look familiar to you? That's because she was Elite Book Candidate #2! And since she didn't get it, she's not going to be useful to us -- her growths are good, but she has a rough start. Without elite to overcome it, it'll be like getting blood from a stone -- and for little profit: She'll never be strong or built enough to even think about using swords, and she won't get staves on promotion like a sage, so... That sort of puts her in a bad spot. She's just not worth the effort.

This'll be added to the end of the last chapter, too.

[Javan]

*sigh* didn't even get to loot anything off of her. Is it correct to assume Miranda is locked to this path? Though given her limited utility its somewhat a null point.
Unless a weapon is ridiculously common I can never bring myself to sell it, kind of like the Elixir Effect, always ending the game with all of the best items intact because they're to rare/valuable to use.

[Deme]

My storage was literally full a few chapters ago, but...That's usually my instinct. I think at the time, I wanted sword money, or possibly seed money for arena fights. Everything in this game comes from selling stuff you risked your life for, or risking your life. Trufacts.
I still have all my really good tomes -- it's just no one's good enough with tomes to use them, or they're siege weapons.

Also, Miranda is exclusive to this path, yes.

[Javan]

I still have all my really good tomes -- it's just no one's good enough with tomes to use them, or they're siege weapons.

This has happened to me enough times to make me wary of selling anything without checking and double checking.

[tyckspoon]

*sigh* didn't even get to loot anything off of her. Is it correct to assume Miranda is locked to this path? Though given her limited utility its somewhat a null point.
Unless a weapon is ridiculously common I can never bring myself to sell it, kind of like the Elixir Effect, always ending the game with all of the best items intact because they're to rare/valuable to use.

hah, yeah.. in the less-painful Fire Emblems (so the GBA set) I pretty much just give everybody Iron weapons plus sparingly use weapons with super effective against (armor/horses/dragons/zombies) as needed. The whole game. Because I'll be danged if the guy whose job it is to stand in one place and let waves of enemies dash themselves against him is going to do that with the mere 20 uses of my Silver/Brave/Killer weapons! And also those games are easy enough that a unit that turned out well with the RNG and has supports behind it can kill almost anything you need with an Iron weapon anyway.. main exception is usually Swordmasters and Pegasus Knights that end up screwed on Strength, because they need the heavier weapons to do any meaningful damage even when they're double attacking and critting everything.

[CoffeeIncluded]

Yeah, that's basically what I did too. Thank goodness for the GBA Swordmaster's innate crit rate; it meant they were good even with the weaker weapons and I could save the Killing Edges for when I absolutely needed something dead.

[Deme]

I've been mostly trying to do that sort of hoarding here, with varying effects: I reached a point where I had more rare swords than I did common swords for a fairly long time, because of how hard it is to get things.
Anyway, look! Voting!

Chapter 17B Preamble

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Alright, some delays, but let's check out this chapter!


The Liberation Army had finally reached their destination -- Lenster. Though the southern gate was lightly guarded, numerous ballistae laid waiting atop the high cliffs...
Oh, no. Not ballista.

Within their grasp, breaching Lenster's gates would prove to be no easy feat.




"What should we do?"
Suffer.

"Yes... I wasn't expecting there to be so many ballista. But if we wait too long, reinforcements will arrive."
"What do you think, Dorias?"


"We can attack them with magic, or ambush them from the sky... Either way, we will suffer some casualties."
Dorias.
You are the worst advisor.
The worst.
"All right... I'll try to come up with something."
It's all up to us, Leaf. All up to us.

Meanwhile, in Lenster...


I'm glad to see that there are both people who know about it, even if they don't immediately defect, and people who are brown-nosers to the highest power/evil. The empire is occaisonally feasable as an organization that way.
"Do you think that's forgivable?"




And then we have this guy, sir "don't rock the boat."
"I became a general to be able to serve him. What has happened to him...?"
We won't see an answer to that in this game. Then again, that's a question that misunderstands the imperial power structure: The Lopto cult and Julias are the ones in the driver's seats now. At least for our purposes.



As you can see, we've got a couple of shops, including a shop where I can finally buy some new tomes. There are also a lot of villages, but we don't want to visit those right away.
There's also an inaccessible village in the corner, but we really don't care about that. Just ignore it.

So, what do we care about?
Well, we care about ballista, and lots of them; if we want to do something other than just try and shrug it off...Well, actually, there's not much to be done, unless we want to try sending fliers darting in and out of DEATH ZONE (for this, Karin is better than Dean). None of our mages can handle our siege tomes at the moment.


We care about the boss, but as scary things go, he's not absolutely terrifying.


And we care about Amalda. Her troops aren't hard-hitters; they've got rapiers, with low might (even against what they're effective against), if higher than average crit... Though we can reliably steal rapiers, even with Lara, which is great fun.
Amalda herself isn't recruitable on this route. Sorry. However, we want that scroll. Our best and easiest option is the sleep staff, so we need a C-rank staffer.

So, who shall we bring?

We have a massive 15 slots, counting the one for Leaf, don't worry about trying to fill them all; we don't need to.
We need a C-Rank Staff user for sleep, so please vote in one of the following: Seram, Linoan, Safy, Sara.
Reccomendations: This is as good a place for Shanam as any, since there'll be shopping, and we don't need every last slot to win the day. While a flier might be risky, it might not be a bad idea, and options that have swords (to try and capture Amalda via sleep sword), or a thief of some sort, or bulk (to try and capture the main boss, because, hey, why not?) Wouldn't go amiss.

Fatigue Counter:
Tina is Fatigued
Robert: 19/36
Fergus: 23/41
Karin: 19/36
Dean: 28/39
Homer: 3/35
Asvel: 2/32
Othin: 14/44
Martin: 7/48
Linoan: 13/25
Sara: 12/16

Sadly, I won't be updating character stats in the link until we've picked a canonical route... But we do have something to talk about now.

We have 1 unreserved Knight's Proof, and we'll be getting another at the end of this chapter. We also have a character newly in "promotion range," so we can talk about that.


Homer
Homer promotes from a bard to a sage, which means his promotion is absurd.
+6 Mag, +6 Skl, +4 Spd, +4 Def, +1 Bld, +1 Mov, D Rank Staves, +1 Fire, Thunder, and Wind ranks, +2 Light Magic Ranks
... I mean, look at this. That is the most ridiculous promotion in the entire game. I don't know what Homer bribed the devs with to get it, but hey honey... That's enough to all but max him in magic and skill, he's already maxed in speed and luck, and it's a pleasant bonus to his poor defense score. Not to mention, all those shiny new weapon ranks.

I'm not sure whether or not to mention it for Sara -- she's not over 17 yet, but she can promote, and doing so would net her A-rank staves, so it'd be at least worth mentioning, whether or not we promote her early (or at all, but...She promotes to Sage. Sage promotions are just silly). Tell me what you think.

[Sallera]

I think Homer's pretty much a given for promotion - I mean, even if it weren't amazing, we've already established that the thread likes mages. Personally, I'd say do Sara as well, but not early.

Oh, no. Not ballista.

Quick, Leaf, absorb ballista bolts with your face!

And, uh, as support for our intrepid siege weapon magnet...
Othin
Sara
Fergus
Karin
Homer
Lara
Shiva Marita
Pahn
Carion
And sure, bring Shanam to buy stuff.

[Javan]

*] Leaf
1] Robert (Always Robert! Everyone for Robert! Sallera just forgot to include him...)
2] Fergus
3] Othin [Marty]
4] Dean
5] Shanam
6] Shiva [Marita]
7] Carion
8] Seram
9] Pahn
10] Homer
11] Asvel (Yes we are short on magic, but I like him)
12] Demes' Favorite not already listed

[Deme]

So, I have a question, and don't take it the wrong way -- I'm just trying to figure out what you're really thinking when you tell me to do something that doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Why Shiva and Othin and not their similarly-roled counterparts, Marita and Marty (Well, Marty is statistically distinct enough from Othin that this isn't as strange)? To be more thorough about what's puzzling me with that, Othin and Shiva are both level 20, and were not voted promotion items from our stock, so at the moment, they can't really gain exp. But it's not like Safy, where I totally get that we sometimes bring her for her staff rank and high magic. So I'm trying to work out what's on everyone's minds, in case it's something I can act on accordingly.

[Javan]

Shiva/Othin I like better, and having been tired, I didn't remember they were level 20 and didn't check.
So that's that, but you make good sense. I give you the right to convert my votes therein to their counterparts in order to not waste exp.

[Deme]

Well, if the reason is generally because people like them better... Marty hasn't used his promised Knight's Proof yet, we could have a re-vote on it, if people'd like; it'd make it easier to use what people want.

[Javan]

But isn't Marty supposed to turn into some overpowered murder machine post-promotion? I think that's what the forum has been going for, right?

[Deme]

Marty is, due to our blatant scroll-grinding and the fact that he has some good attributes buried beneath his bad start, a pretty buff dude, and his promotion gives him everything he wants in spades, for what that's worth... But I can pull up the promotion numbers and look at Marty and see what we've got to work with.

(These aren't his real stats at the moment, but close enough)

+3 Str, +1 Mag, +5 Skl, +6 Spd, +3 Def, +1 Bld, +1 Axe Rank, E-rank bows

So, we have small boosts to his strongest stats, and large boosts to his weakest and most needed stats, rounding him out and making some really formidable stats. It's a very good promotion, hand-tailored for Marty and his difficult start. If your Marty somehow did not have virtually infinite lifting-dudes capacity, he would now. Total death machine? Maybe, maybe. Big beefy dude who can capture a significant number of dudes, tank, and wreak some acceptable havok? Yes.
(I wouldn't call him over-powered either way; I reserve that for characters who have more goodies than Marty; stats don't make totally broken dudes. Additional benefits on top of great stats make overpowered dudes, and there are people like that -- Marita, for one)

But, even if we did get an overpowered death machine... What good is that, if people don't want to use it? I'd much rather have a weaker guy people vote to use than a strong guy sitting on the bench (Do I most of all want strong guys we use? Well, yes. It's why I'm generally pleased by Fergus or Carrion votes, since those dudes are unabashedly tough customers.)

[Sallera]

I totally forgot about Marita somehow. My bad, I'll fix that. As for Othin, though, I just like him much better than Marty (due to the latter being, well, just a pile of stats). I admit I didn't check the levels, but that reason stands. I wouldn't object to promoting Othin, and would certainly favour him over Marty, if that becomes a decision we need to take.

[Deme]

Well, let's take a look at Othin, then, and I'll let everyone mull it over and voice their opinions.

(Again, not his real stats in this timeline, but good enough.)

+2 Str, +1 Mag, +3 Skill, +3 Speed, +3 Def, D-rank Swords
A well-rounded, but not remarkable, promotion, and Othin's not ramming into any stat caps with these (except speed). Othin's numbers aren't great, and these promotion gains won't make them great (but pretty good), but he's still got wrath and a good PCC, and a good weapon can make a big difference (see below); the additional growing room certainly won't hurt him.

It should be noted that Othin's much better off on this timeline, Route B, than he will be on Route A; we did, after all, get a new pugi axe. On route A, he'll probably run out soon, and that's a dang good weapon that adds a lot to his utility.

[Javan]

But, even if we did get an overpowered death machine... What good is that, if people don't want to use it? I'd much rather have a weaker guy people vote to use than a strong guy sitting on the bench (Do I most of all want strong guys we use? Well, yes. It's why I'm generally pleased by Fergus or Carrion votes, since those dudes are unabashedly tough customers.)

Good point

I totally forgot about Marita somehow. My bad, I'll fix that. As for Othin, though, I just like him much better than Marty (due to the latter being, well, just a pile of stats). I admit I didn't check the levels, but that reason stands. I wouldn't object to promoting Othin, and would certainly favour him over Marty, if that becomes a decision we need to take.

You mean to say you totally forgot about Robert, right?

[thatonesungod]

{scrubbed}

[CoffeeIncluded]

Hey, as long as Homer gets promoted. That promotion is obscenely good.

[Deme]

Chapter 17b: Relax-O-Vision

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Well, the voting was a little scattered -- which is impressive for our usual 2 voting crew, so I mostly went with whatever struck my fancy, and will be fielding a team of 13: Leaf, Robert, Fergus, Karin, Homer, Marty (since I wasn't entirely sure on whether to promote Marty of Othin, I figure I'd feed Marty a few levels while I wait), Lara, Marita, Seram, Carion, Pahn, Sara, and Discounts -- I mean, Shanam.
...I mean discounts. This is a map where we can buy some fire tomes for our poor, suffering mages.


Well, let's start advancing towards our first set of enemies, the archers.


Cooincidentally, look who's first in range? I pity that poor fool.

He never saw it coming -- the arrow flew faster than he could reckon, and that was that.


...See, now, this is why I figured Karin would be safer for this job than Dean: Karin dodges well.


*sigh* Homer, seriously, don't disappoint the hand that feeds you.


And you, neither, Pahn.



At least Sara got the job done.


+1 Mag, +1 Skl, +1 Spd, +1 Luk
Not bad, not bad.


Ow. That's not good.
Luckily, no death rains from the sky, and Sara's able to fix him up.



Just in time for everyone to keep disappointing me.


*deep sigh*

Believe it or not, since these guys are probably promoted, just dodging was enough to get Sara a level.

+1 Mag, +1 Skl, +1 Spd
Eh, I've seen better. I mean, literally, it's only been a few paragraphs.



...Well. That's...not good.

Ok, it's probably time to start crisis planning. Let's see what we've got to save Seram's skin.

Three people with movement left. But they're Fergus, Karin, and Robert.
...I think I can work with that.



Oh, Fergus. When everyone's letting me down, at least I still have you.

+1 HP, +1 Mag
He also got stuff he's maxxed, but that's an odd level.


Oh, look at that attack speed.

Like a knife through butter.

+1 HP, +1 Str, +1 Def
Keep it coming, boy, keep it coming.


Fergus with a killing edge is a frightening thing. Honestly, none of the 3 armor knights blocking the pass survive.


Owch. Still, some shots were wasted.


Let's hope nothing happens from this I regret.


Lara's final level-up:
+1 Spd, +1 Bld
Well, the build's useful, anyway!

And move! That's great, girl!


Karin, now, you be sure to leave some cavaliers for the rest of the class.


Pahn gets a level dodging ballista!
+1 HP, +1 Str
...That's...a little sad. Not gonna lie. Well, Strength is good.


...I forgot to heal Seram.
Oh, wait, that's right, no one was free to. Right? Maybe?
*nervous laughter*
He gets a level-up.
+1 HP, +1 Skl, +1 Bld[/b]
...Dude. Dude. *shakes head*

To my fear and delight, nothing deadly happened this enemy phase.
Forgive me for dropping a save state.


+1 HP, +1 Mag, +1 Skl, +1 Spd
Sara really, really, likes this basic level structure.



We divide into two teams: A north and a west team. North is people I want on Cavalier and boss duty, West is Marty, Marita, Shanam, Seram, and probably Robert for protection.


Karin takes out a ballista.
Now, we'll run with this, and let the chips fall where they...


DANGIT!
Reset Counter: +1
Total: 40
... Now, I haven't slept well for the past couple of days...And that looks like, to me, a fine time to take a break.

I'm going to be honest: Between this section and the last one, I played about, oh, 5 attempts, and died, and then my computer crashed. I'd go on as normal, but my save state's in a later spot...So.
The good news is, it's not a much later spot. I just survived the term, let Seram heal Shanam, had Lara dance, and realized Seram doesn't have the magic he needs to use sleep on my preffered foe. Not good, so I handed it off to Lara. This was not a smart move, but whatever.

For the counter's sake:
Rest Counter: +6
Total: 45


So, here's where we are. Karin took out a ballista, and needs to fly to a space inside the range shadow of the other.


Sara gets a movement star, which helps considerably; Shanam, even after healing, can't survive another bolt from the blue, but Sara packs some long-range healing.

Typical. Not bad, just typical.



Marita finishes a guy in a flashy crit...



And Marty gets a level-up!

+1 HP, +1 Str, +1 Mgc, +1 Skl, +1 Spd, +1 Def
If we had some luck, we'd have a perfect level!
...That might just be funny.



I wish I had that luck, right about now.
Reset Counter: +7
Total: 46

No movement star, and thus, no level, for Sara this attempt.

+1 Skl, +1 Luk,
Well, that's...Bad. I mean, skill's good on Marty, but...Bleg.


Without knowing it, Robert's managed to hopefully save one of his comrades, just by bringing the vulnery I used to save his hide. Good Guy, Robert.

Sara does get a level dodging ballista, though:

+1 HP, +1 Mag, +1 Skl, +1 Spd
Maybe she'll even keep it.


Hot dang, we lived! We lived!
For, like, 5 minutes.





I use Lara to let Karin get rid of 2 Ballista, making my life so much better.


Elite on a staff-user is just too much.

Our forest crew starts work on that end.




+1 HP, +1 Skl
I'd be more disappointed if he didn't just one-shot that sniper.



She slices and dices and makes Julienne fries, folks!


...A crit.

SHANAM, YOU -- *Instead of what comes next, why not try nice, soothing Relax-o-vision?*

reset counter: +8
Total: 47

Sadly, I lost those levels I liked.


+1 HP, +1 Str, +1 Mgc
But Robert knows just what to say to a girl who's having a hard time.


New plan: Hide Shanam from the world. It's full of things which are stronger than him.
Like small children.

Sara's distance healing level:

Holy heck yes, a level with defense!
How does it feel? Because it feels to me like this is where the savestate goes.


Other than this hit, the enemy phase was uneventful. I was so happy.

Sara got a movement star use, bringing her back into combat proper.


Boom goes the dynamite.

+1 HP, +1 Mag
Pretty sad, but that's that maxed, now. But she's in bad shape...


Seram can fix that.




And so on...



...You little traitor. Silenced. Greeaaat.


Better news: These guys don't move. This may have saved Pahn's life, since he got non-lethally shot last round.
Homer almost levels here.



And Karin clears out the last Ballista. Happy place.

+1 Mag
Less happy place.


Now, before I decide what to do about Pahn, Sara, and the rest of the turn, I have to do something.



Fergus goes shopping for a new javelin.


Marty takes out this fellow...


And Carion crosses the line. End Turn.



The gate opens, and the cavs come marching in.


Now, on the other path, we'll need this sleep staff for something...

Good thing this isn't the other path.
Nii-iiight!


+1 HP, +1 Skl
Blerg.


Pahn picks us up another physic stave, and a shiny new silence staff.


As does Karin.

Carion's on relief.
I feel a strange sense of peace well up inside me.
I should probably be on the look out for surprise reinforcements.


None come, so let's take out some cavs.

+1 HP, +1 Mag +1 Def
Hoooray! Hoorah! Oh joy, calloo callay!




Ok, let's organize the rest...There's a dance for Homer.

So he can do some more damage.


For surviving an arrow, Seram gets...

+1 HP
...OUT.
OUT UNTIL WE NEED RESTORE STAFF USAGE LIKE WE NEED AIR.


+1 HP, +1 Skl, +1 Spd, +1 Def
*sniff* Beautiful.


Hopefully, his lightning tome will last this round. Sad to see it go, but...We'll live.

Or... I could make an elaborate trading chain to pass that thunder book around.

No contest, really.


His penultimate pre-promition level is...
+1 HP, +1 Str, +1 Skl
Odd.



Really? That's the day we're having?
Well, OK, then.
Time to send in the heavy artillery.



I pity anyone who has to meet the heavy artillery.


And that's the south side of the map cleared.



ALL THE FIRE TOMES. (Actually, I buy a bit more. TOMES.)


Cav squad's done...

I'll get some weapons for Marty/Othin and Robert...

And now let's wrap things up. #1, Capture Amalda.

Done.

Step #2, Deal with boss:



Good, good, according to plan...

I'd like to wear him down a bit more before I go in for the end: I'm not, you know, super-confident here; it takes Fergus a crit just to damage him on the capture. Should have brought an armor slayer.

Oh, wait.
I did.


This misses, sadly.
But it misses for a level.

+1 Bld
He got other stats, just...maxxed ones. Still, build is pretty handy right now.


Sadly, no one manages to finish him. What a pain. Next turn, I'll end it, regardless...
But first:


Blaggi scroll get!
Blaggi, I've talked about before, so let's talk scroll: -10 Str, +10 Mag and +30 Luck growths.
Not really one of the better scrolls, but there are worse. Good for magey types.


Sorry, Amalda. We'll pick you up somewhere down route A...


Well, let's end this.

...Huh. That's a shocker.



Woo-hoo! We got him!

+1 HP, +1 Luk, +1 Bld
Wooh! Nicey-Nice, Fergus!


Let's take his stuff and let him go.

That's the plan.

Next, we need to get Leaf to one of the villages.


And get Sara a level from healing. Elite on a staff user is just, just, just too much.
+1 HP, +1 Spd, +1 Luk, +1 Def
Oh, sweetie. You know what makes me happy.


Anyway, the last thing to do in this chapter is have leaf Visit a house. Also, I guess, one other thing.

"The people of Lenster have waited so long for this day..."

"Starting today, the knights of Lenster will devote their full energy to the castle's recapture."


"However, we have gathered strength in secret for the day Lenster would be liberated."
Oh boy, NPCs!
Everyone's favorite thing.


"However, we will be the Prince's shield to the best of our abilities. We will attract the ballistae, and in that time, the Prince can capture the castle..."
This is, of course, one way of avoiding horrible death by ballista. Letting someone else get horrible death by ballista.

But, come on.

I'm with Leaf here -- we can't send people uselessly to their deaths (not when there's a reward for their survival).
"All of the children were taken by the Empire, and all of the already suffering women were taken into custody by Gustav. Because we opposed that brutal treatment, our families were killed as well. However, Prince...The one thing we cannot live with is our country being lost. If you regain the land, even if it means our lives, we will always be behind you. Whatever might happen, we have no regrets."


August, this is my commentary gig. You stay out of this.
"They talk exactly like knights -- with a quiet but absolute fidelity to the death. Even their feelings for their children could not break that trust."


In the end, for the people of Lenster, this kid, still in the midst of his first real test, is literally all the hope they've got.
I can see wanting to ensure it.
Either way...

We'll accept the offer. I mean, everything on the map is dead.


As you can see, we have a good share of NPCs that pop up on their phase.


They're...well... They're made for dying.


But wait! There's more!

Anyway, there's one other thing to show off: a different alternative approach, that needs a flier to show:





I think we have the money, but I don't want to pay it. But if we did...

It'd take out this. Which would make it easier to handle the ballista, but...Really, it's fine.
I'm fine.
Especially now that it's done.


Let's finish this.

And we've already established he's scummy.
"He has been a problematic man, in more ways than one."
ur fav is problematic: Thracia 776 edition.

"Count Gustav..."

"But he uses his wealth to outfit his troops with the best gear. He may be tougher than we think."


Ha.

Ha...

"He was a loyal man respected by many, but once Lenster fell, he betrayed us and switched sides like the back of his hand! I can't forgive him! I will kill that shameless man myself!"
I am not looking forward to Xavier.


[b]"After Lenster fell, we commoners were left abandoned in the hands of the enemy. General Xavier, with a heart full of passion, sacrificed his honor as a knight of Lenster to protect us."[/color]

That's great for you, sugar, but is it really worth it, for beginning one of the downright nastiest moves, like, ever?
Is it?
"If he led a rebellion with his army, he should be able to take the castle with ease..."




Easier said than done, Leaf. But I'll do my best.

Yeah, I'll do the hard bits, Leaf, you do that.

Now, for our reward for those dudes' survival:

WOOOH! Shiny new Knight's Proof! That's one more for the pile. For the record, we've recruited all the non-prepromotes we'll see if we go with this route, so there's no one to save this for we haven't already met.
"Yes."

We'll put it to good use.


Aka: Leaf will promote then.

Everyone get your party hats.


But all that Xavier stuff, and all that promotion stuff, is talking up something we're not going to see for a while (thank goodness.)

Good thing I have to do the other route, first!

[Sallera]

New plan: Hide Shanam from the world. It's full of things which are stronger than him.
Like small children.

Just need some way to shrink him down, so you can keep him in your pocket and use him as a Silver Card...

Still, yay for fire tomes! And Karin dealing with those ballistae. Sara's looking pretty promising, too.