"All nations want peace.
They only want peace on their terms."
They only want peace on their terms."
- Daimyo Akihiko Kimura, 1495 AC
For centuries, the realms of Nohr and Hoshido have waged war unto one another. Victories were exchanged, honors gained and lost, and their fields watered by the blood of sons and daughters, martyrs and heroes, but final victory lay forever out of grasp. Untold grievances compile to the tone of drums and poems, and these products of long-ruptured Valla, like quarreling young brothers, clash evermore between East and West. There exists little in terms of reconciliation, and even lesser a will to do so - only will nothing short of utter and total submission shall do, and this mutual feeling has long been cemented in aeons-old rivalry. And, perhaps, it lie time yet again that the fields of Iusera dance to the tune of war.
Kingdoms, fiefdoms, regular peoples and fledgling tribes find themselves caught within the maelstrom, for few inside Iusera escape the vision of either great power. Fewer yet still operate freely, without the good graces of one power or another, and within this mosaic of moxie do others still align with one or the other. One by one, the sovereigns of Iusera step in line, pledging their allegiance to Nohr or Hoshido, in such tumultuous web that they no doubt have their eyes upon leveraging the great powers to resolve grievances of their own. Day by day, the lines in the sand are drawn, sides chosen, and flames flared, and when the fuse on the powder keg does finally reach its munition, once again shall the thrones of Himeji and Windmire throw themselves unto the fray.
In this tempestuous middle, there are no doubt those who shall find themselves involved, whether they like it or not. Mercenaries, spellhires, and other arms-for-sale have never fared shortage of work throughout Iusera. Your company - The Silver Hawks - have been in the most gracious employment of Nohr's aristocracy for the past two months, but their contact is soon to come to an end, where the Hawks shall move to greater opportunity. There is but one final matter to resolve before the company's contract with Nohr's throne is up - one ultimate job to take. One, unwittingly to the members of its takers, shall be the catalyst that may forever change the face of Iusera...
Let's just get this out of the way: Yes, every Fire Emblem fan ever has come up with their own theories and ideas to how they'd make Fates better, because Fates is a mess and ugly and weird and tone-deaf and all other sorts of bad things. So, of course we can do better because Intelligent Systems just isn't "big-brained" enough to make a "real" setting with a "real" story.
Now that i've gotten the part where I sound pretentious out of the way...*clears throat*
Welcome, one and all! This in particular is a brainchild i've been storming up for a little bit, after i've taken a bit of a deep dive into the history surrounding Fates' (very) troubled development. I thought with all that knowledge regarding the various changes and iterations from Fates original drafts into its final rendition, it would be a bit of fun to take those concepts and apply another spin on them. It's far from an uncommon opinion that Fates' worldbuilding and storytelling is...less than stellar. But likewise, its enamoring aesthetics and unique, thematic bridgehead between East and West has always been something interesting to be as well. All that being said, I suppose it's been long enough since its been out that there should be another take on it with the hindsight on it in the years of discussion on it, and i'd like to bring something to that table that isn't another person going, "Fates bad".
In this RP, you would play as a member of the titular mercenary band, the Silver Hawks, as they go about on missions that will - advertantly or no - change the face of the continent with their actions. Situated right in the middle of this powder keg of nations, the Silver Hawks will eventually need to make some difficult decisions as who to pledge their allegiance to, whether that be Nohr, Hoshido, or just themselves. The setup should be familiar enough, but there should be enough leeway to let everyone say their peace and alter how they would like for the course of the RP to go as well.
Now that i've gotten the part where I sound pretentious out of the way...*clears throat*
Welcome, one and all! This in particular is a brainchild i've been storming up for a little bit, after i've taken a bit of a deep dive into the history surrounding Fates' (very) troubled development. I thought with all that knowledge regarding the various changes and iterations from Fates original drafts into its final rendition, it would be a bit of fun to take those concepts and apply another spin on them. It's far from an uncommon opinion that Fates' worldbuilding and storytelling is...less than stellar. But likewise, its enamoring aesthetics and unique, thematic bridgehead between East and West has always been something interesting to be as well. All that being said, I suppose it's been long enough since its been out that there should be another take on it with the hindsight on it in the years of discussion on it, and i'd like to bring something to that table that isn't another person going, "Fates bad".
In this RP, you would play as a member of the titular mercenary band, the Silver Hawks, as they go about on missions that will - advertantly or no - change the face of the continent with their actions. Situated right in the middle of this powder keg of nations, the Silver Hawks will eventually need to make some difficult decisions as who to pledge their allegiance to, whether that be Nohr, Hoshido, or just themselves. The setup should be familiar enough, but there should be enough leeway to let everyone say their peace and alter how they would like for the course of the RP to go as well.
Guidelines:
- This is a re-imagined version of Fates, so a lot of key details have been changed between the source material and this rendition. If anything needs further explanation, or if you have questions, do the (hopefully intuitive) thing and ask.
- You don't really need much knowledge about Fire Emblem Fates to enjoy this. As I said earlier, much has been changed from the source, right down to many of the plot hooks, the setting details, and the story beats. If you know your basic low fantasy politicking tropes and you have some decent reading comprehension, you'll be fine.
- My style as a GM isn't really to make a "main character" that everyone is intended to follow around. I tend to give pointers, answer questions, and guide along the general tone, throwing in NPCs that assist the story as it progresses and then largely let the players do their own thing. I expect most players to have their own ideas as for what they want to do and what would make their characters "tick", and i'm willing to let most things go along as long as there's a clear player consensus on how everyone wants to proceed.
- All that being said, I expect most players to have their own subplots and ideas for what they want to do with other characters, and the setting as a whole. Don't be afraid to pitch ideas and try and set up events.
Q&A:- What's the current year? - 1495 AC.
- Are countries that aren't Nohr and Hoshido available as character origins? - Yup, they sure are.
- What about Valla? Where's it? - Going with the original notes and taken from interviews from Intelligent Systems, I made it such that Valla was a long-bygone Empire that was in control of the entire continent of Iusera, which is more what was originally envisioned for it instead of what was shown in Revelations. By the time of 1495, Valla is long gone: Trying to resurrect Valla is like trying to recreate the Roman Empire in today's political climate.
- What about the kitsune and wolfskin and manaketes? - They exist: They're just sprinkled around the place in various smaller communities. They either tend to be so well integrated with their host that they're not particularly differential to the greater nation as a whole, or they're quite insular.
- What if the role I want is taken by another applicant? - Some of the roles, like Quartermasters and Signalers, can easily have multiple in the same company. Others would require some coordination, like a situation with two co-captains: In these cases, i'd just talk it out beforehand with their relationship before we settle on anything.
- What will you do? - Me? I tend to fill out whatever roles are left out in the party, then adjust with NPC characters. I got plenty of notes and ideas, so don't worry about me.
- When are applications due? - Mmh...by Saturday sound good?
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