Quote Originally Posted by Twailaith View Post
It should have been an epic battle to take down (but fail to kill) the traitor Ilbred alongside Raubahn and fight our way to find Alphinaud... Then, a fighting retreat where the player and the scions join the Flame General against an endless horde of guards, not pre-rendered cutscenes where everything is done for you. Merlwyb and Senna would have stood between us and the oncoming army and invoked diplomatic immunity to stall them while we run, because they're savvy leaders of their respective nations, not useless figurepieces who can do nothing but stand and frown.
The nation leaders should indeed have evoked some kind of immunity for us, but the rest of what you say goes against what the Warrior of Light stands for. Like the other Scions, we are not interested in melodrama or glory, we just want to defeat our enemies and protect the realm.

There'd be no cliche secret passages, but a goddamn run from the palace and into the streets of Ul'dah, guards at our heels, some people believing the slander and attacking us while others are willing to take up arms to defend the Warrior of Light. Make it into utter chaos, a full on battlefield, a goddamn civil war in the making that the monetarist'll have to burn a ridiculous sum of money and favours to quench.
Actually, it did end up in a battle anyway, and I'm sure we and the Scions knew precisely that it would turn out that way and that a civil war, and the casualties it would have brought, was exactly what we were trying to avoid. Clearing our names involved not having them sullied by unnecessary massacre, and it isn't just our pursuers that would have died, but also innocents in the streets. That, more than actual inability to fight our way out normally, was probably the main reason that Thancred suggested a secret passageway. We were not trying to draw any attention onto ourselves.

Afterwards, the player who returns will find brass blades and assorted hired mercenaries in every corner of Uldah. NPCs will speak of the ever-growing tension and the civil unrest that bubbles under the surface. The Ala Mhigan immigrants flock en-masse under the now independent Crystal Braves and their stolen and Monetarist-sponsored resources, preparing for a glorious re-taking of their leader's beloved home city.
This was already how it was if you returned to Ul'dah and spoke to several NPCs. There was an increased military presence in the streets. As for the Ala Mhigans, if they wanted to be taken seriously, they would not associate themselves with such a mess. The proof is there too: Yda and Papalymo were both aided by the Ala Mhigans who otherwise ignored the whole thing and instead focused on a real enemy: the Garleans.

Basically, make people act rather than watch, make it seem realistic and let it have consequences.
It was an all-around bad situation, and anything you could have done might reasonably have made you look bad. Also, you're not only protecting your own image with your actions, but also the other Scions', since you are essentially their representative. The consequences as it were were already bad enough, we really did not need to add innocent deaths to the mix, least of all in association with the Scions.