Building a better Alphinaud

[aveyond-dreams]

What existing characters with leadership qualities do you think they should have used instead? Who should Fourchenault have put on the throne?

Willingness to break bread with and make peace with other parties while still maintaining a firm stance as to what is most beneficial for one's people. The intriguing aspect of having to take risks and controversial actions in order to act in the nation's benefit. That sort of thing. A well developed Larsa, and Ashe, etc. In FFXIV's case I think the most competent surviving leader would be Gaius, and I could easily picture a scenario in which he takes the throne.

[Zanarkand-Ronso]

What existing characters with leadership qualities do you think they should have used instead? Who should Fourchenault have put on the throne?

Jullius, since they are making him "look" like he's in charge, just make him new Empror so he has a Happy-ish ending in all of this.
Maxima, just because hes handsome and looks cool, plus he was an advisor, so just make him Emperor....just cause
Make Lucia leave Ishgard all of a sudden because she misses home and hates to see it in the state its in. And cause RA-RA Feminism

I jest, but at the same time.....rofl

Willingness to break bread with and make peace with other parties while still maintaining a firm stance as to what is most beneficial for one's people. The intriguing aspect of having to take risks and controversial actions in order to act in the nation's benefit. That sort of thing. A well developed Larsa, and Ashe, etc. In FFXIV's case I think the most competent surviving leader would be Gaius, and I could easily picture a scenario in which he takes the throne.

I knew you'd still say Gauis even after its been established he kind of cant return. Not yet at least.
And...who is to say he won't suddenly make Garlamald into something you hate since he effectively defected and left?
Also...the Eorzea Alliance tried to do that already, nobody wanted to listen and justified their expansion and killing. And then just flipped it and said "Well you killed and expanded to"

[TaleraRistain]

I think the most competent surviving leader would be Gaius, and I could easily picture a scenario in which he takes the throne.

I can't. After the Werlyt questline, I think he's got a very good reason to want to be done with all that nonsense. He still cares about his homeland, but I can't remotely see him wanting to be in charge. Especially because he's come to see that he did some pretty wrong actions thinking they were the right things. Plus he knows Maxima is there and working on helping to rebuild. He can stay doing his own things with his new companions, and his daughter, and be his own person for once in his life now.

One more point I just recalled, he's also part of Werlyt's provisional government and he was protecting that area from Blasphemies in Endwalker. So his focus seems to be on his new home now, and since he has Allie to look after, it makes sense he wouldn't want to put a target on the back of his only remaining child by trying to be in control of somewhere like Garlemald. Even if the truth about Varis came out, he would still have enemies in that sort of position. He probably has some even where he is with Werlyt.

[MikkoAkure]

I can't. After the Werlyt questline, I think he's got a very good reason to want to be done with all that nonsense. He still cares about his homeland, but I can't remotely see him wanting to be in charge. Especially because he's come to see that he did some pretty wrong actions thinking they were the right things. Plus he knows Maxima is there and working on helping to rebuild. He can stay doing his own things with his new companions, and his daughter, and be his own person for once in his life now.

We're going way off tangent, but besides being accused of regicide, he's also a deserter. He can talk his way out of the accusations around murdering Varis since the lead witness and actual perpetrator is a traitor, but he 100% deserted his legion to pursue a personal vendetta against the Ascians and then started feeding information to the Eorzean Alliance. You'd need to rewrite elements of the story going back years to make Gaius a valid candidate for the throne.

While they could have introduced a Larsa-equivalent, it was a bit late in the game to do that and we'd just be repeating the same story as FFXII all over again. Just because it worked for one game doesn't mean it will work for another or needs to happen again. Regardless, Garlemald is neutered and can't really do anything large scale anymore. The writers left the fates of the remaining legions vague if they want to use them again for something, but we also might be stepping into territory the game has already been before if they have yet another rogue legion like the IVth or the VIIth. Legati and princes vying for the throne ended up destabilizing and destroying the country so it's probably best that they do away with the throne anyway.

[TaleraRistain]

We're going way off tangent, but besides being accused of regicide, he's also a deserter. He can talk his way out of the accusations around murdering Varis since the lead witness and actual perpetrator is a traitor, but he 100% deserted his legion to pursue a personal vendetta against the Ascians and then started feeding information to the Eorzean Alliance. You'd need to rewrite elements of the story going back years to make Gaius a valid candidate for the throne.

While they could have introduced a Larsa-equivalent, it was a bit late in the game to do that and we'd just be repeating the same story as FFXII all over again. Just because it worked for one game doesn't mean it will work for another or needs to happen again. Regardless, Garlemald is neutered and can't really do anything large scale anymore. The writers left the fates of the remaining legions vague if they want to use them again for something, but we also might be stepping into territory the game has already been before if they have yet another rogue legion like the IVth or the VIIth. Legati and princes vying for the throne ended up destabilizing and destroying the country so it's probably best that they do away with the throne anyway.

To be fair, though, Maxima's also a deserter and a traitor to some. I imagine he will have some issues as well, but he has a history of always working for the people so that will help him.

To the second point, I imagine a lot of Garleans are at least giving the side eye to a single leader idea the way the Ala Mhigans did to the idea of having another king. Been there, done that, let's try something else shall we.

[Raven2014]

I can't. After the Werlyt questline, I think he's got a very good reason to want to be done with all that nonsense.

And they pay very strong focus on that particular element. Isghard's xenophobia or Ala Mihgo suspicious toward turn-coat is NOTHING comparing to Empire's indoctrination. This was illustrated in the EW's MSQ when the woman risk taking her sick sister escaping to the wild rather than receiving help from the "barbarian". If the Eozea army was shown to have any connection or in a cahot with the supposed-regicide, that will not end well.


I don't know why people are acting as if EW is like the end all for the Empire story. If anything, FF14 is known for to pace out the story over a lonnnnggg time. We just finally put the final seal on Isghard's redevelopment. Doma is almost there but Ala Mihgo is still a WIP. I wouldn't be suprise if the conclusion to the Empire story will only be seen in 3 expansion packs away. There are still a lot of material regarding Garlmean, like Corvos where they were driven off, and Goug which was their ancestral home. The current identity of the Garlmean is an Ascian construct to serve as tool for the end of the world, my guess is the resolution to the Garlmean would be they try to trace back their original identity as a race of people.

[Zanarkand-Ronso]

And they pay very strong focus on that particular element. Isghard's xenophobia or Ala Mihgo suspicious toward turn-coat is NOTHING comparing to Empire's indoctrination. This was illustrated in the EW's MSQ when the woman risk taking her sick sister escaping to the wild rather than receiving help from the "barbarian". If the Eozea army was shown to have any connection or in a cahot with the supposed-regicide, that will not end well.


I don't know why people are acting as if EW is like the end all for the Empire story. If anything, FF14 is known for to pace out the story over a lonnnnggg time. We just finally put the final seal on Isghard's redevelopment. Doma is almost there but Ala Mihgo is still a WIP. I wouldn't be suprise if the conclusion to the Empire story will only be seen in 3 expansion packs away. There are still a lot of material regarding Garlmean, like Corvos where they were driven off, and Goug which was their ancestral home. The current identity of the Garlmean is an Ascian construct to serve as tool for the end of the world, my guess is the resolution to the Garlmean would be they try to trace back their original identity as a race of people.

I do wonder if our Pro-Garlamald friends considered that.
Not like the expansion is done anyway, and its not like we ever revisit areas later...
Bah, thats thinking to hard and rationally

[tokinokanatae]

So you're just totally going to ignore my post in favor of beating the dead political horse again, huh? Don't you get tired of C&Ping the same post ad nauseam?

[Sarkany]

For the discussion on who Fourchenault should have decided would be in charge of the remaining Garleans: I can see Gaius trying, under the right circumstances, but given the same canon that got us to that point (if you want to write your own AU, that's great, but I don't think it's terribly useful for this discussion) I think that'd only be delaying the inevitable. He doesn't have the people's backing, that's why he canonically refused to go back; I don't imagine that would get better if the Sharlayan Forum put him on the throne. The Garleans themselves chose the Senate members at some point; no one ever wanted Gaius to actually be running the country. Even the people who don't hate him for "killing Varis" would look at that and assume he was a puppet for the Alliance or Sharlayan. We don't know if he has the military's backing, which he needs to deal with the fact that a good chunk of his new subjects want him dead, but I wouldn't want to bet on it in his position. The people involved in this also need to persuade Vergilia that Gaius, who was the same rank as her until he lost the Eorzea campaign spectacularly, killed the previous emperor, and fled the country, is now the emperor and she has to follow his orders. She has the actual legion here. He doesn't. He's going to be dead in a month, and then they're back in the same position with more angry people.

(Barring, of course, the Alliance sending in their own armed forces and essentially turning it into an actual puppet government. I can see Gaius managing to hold the throne with a lot of outside support. But if the goal is to remove outside influence on the Garleans, I don't think that would be an improvement.)

[Rulakir]

There's this wonderful idea of having the writers not kill off the entire royal family

I'm not even particularly a fan of Garlemald and I'm ticked off they seemingly wiped out the entire line of Solus in EW.