Fire Emblem: Last of the Manakete

Barondoctor said:

That's a lot of trust you're putting in Belle's combat as a thief.

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Belle is also Level 5 and the Revenant I'm having her attack is Level 2 and should be injured by Lancel.

My thought process was that both groups need someone who can fight in melee, and Belle seemed like the best option for the smaller group due to being the highest level character we have at the moment.

Alcor said:

Third... how wide are these staircases? That is, could Kelton and Octavio each hold one down themselves or are they wide enough that we'd need multiple people to establish a defensive line? That would spread us thinner in terms of our arrow/magic brigade and makes us a lot more vulnerable to either of those flanking threats.

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They're decently wide, so you'd probably need two people to cover them fully. However, revenants are not exactly known for their brains, so one person might be able to do it.

TaliesinSkye said:

Say, @SoaringHawk218, could they close the door to the library without making a ton of noise?

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Unfortunately, no. These are big, stone doors, ones that normally move by runes, which have been degraded too uselessness by a quick appraisal.

I still think that this is a rare opportunity to cheese a fight with a turtle strat. Against an intelligent opponent they could just... not run into the meat grinder we set up on the stairs or call for reinforcements so this would never work against bandits or any human opponent. But undead zombies? We haven't had any indication they're intelligent, have we? I'd still take some basic precautions just in case, but boring really might be best? Heck, if we draw them out here we should be able to completely minimize any damage to the scrolls too. Obviously we'd try to aggro one group at a time but I'd expect they all end up coming if only for competitive balance reasons

Like, Octavio and Kelton each hold a staircase as a primary defender. Axton and Lancel act as a kind of off-tank that can step in if it looks like we need a second person or Octavio/Kelton needs to pull back for an emergency heal and fires arrows down otherwise. Ryza bombards them with magic. Belle... she could off-tank too I guess but I think she might be best as a reserve for a real emergency as well as a spotter for the flying units (every ranged unit should prioritize if at all possible) if they approach and to engage any that get past that and make it to the balcony.

I'd rather defeat in detail than turtle (especially since we've got unknown flying enemies and a potential attack from the rear to worry about), but I'd rather turtle than split up (especially since we've got unknown flying enemies and a potential attack from the rear to worry about).

I mean, my goal here is to prevent getting swarmed, hit the small groups early, and then bunch up so everybody's ready for whatever's coming.

I suppose another option is a fighting retreat where they deliberately draw hostiles back up the stairs, but I don't know if that's viable.

Well, I'll try to put what I'm thinking into plan form instead of just putting it in words. Just the strategy part, I concur with JAGwin's secondary objective slate.

[] Plan Turtle Time (Strategy)
-[]Basic Shell
--[]Team One (Octavio, Belle, Lancel)
---[]Octavio acts as the primary tank and holds a staircase
---[]Belle is more of a secondary/off-tank if needed, and is otherwise harassing Octavio's opponents.
---[]Lancel equips his bow and fires on enemies on the stairs
--[]Team Two (Kelton, Claire, Axton)
---[]Kelton and Claire are kind of co-tanks here. They can switch off the duty of primary tank if one needs a moment to recover.
---[]Axton equips his bow and fires on the enemies on the stairs
--[]Ryza
---[]Ryza tries her best to observe the state of the battlefield. Absent a more pressing threat, she aids whichever group seems more in need with magic (attack or healing)
-[]Tactics/Contingencies
--[]In an ideal world the groups are pulled one at a time and divided evenly between the groups. Reality is unlikely to be so convenient.
---[]In the event that Ryza notes the fliers are on the move towards them, Ryza calls it out to everyone. All ranged (Axton, Lancel, and Ryza) prioritize them barring an emergency demanding their attention.
----[]Any flier that manages to make it to the balcony is engaged in melee by Axton and/or Lancel while Ryza continues to attack it with magic to clear the area.
---[]Should reinforcements arrive from the door Ryza's group enters, they are met and engaged with all immediate speed by Axton and Lancel.

Ahhh, that came out so wordy there's got to be a better way to word that in a more compact fashion (and if anyone can, feel free, there's a reason I didn't check the boxes myself, I'm not happy with it!). The basic idea is to set up a tank/off tank/Arrow DPS group for each staircase and I grouped them in the way I thought most in tune with their support relationships. That is Kelton and Claire together and Belle seems to annoy Axton so I figured he'd be better with Kelton/Claire. Ryza is basically acting as a tactician and spotter and acting as she thinks best given battle conditions. I kind of envision Kelton/Claire being in an Awakening style Pair Up for their side since they appear at first glance to about even as far as tank candidates go but that's just me.

Ideally Group 1 could be aggroed (arrow or magic ambush) and somehow split up 2 to a side but that seems unlikely. If they really all go to only one stairs I suppose in theory you could have the ignored group send all but their tank to assist (leaving them to guard the flank and shout if enemies start coming for them later to call their team members back)

The emergency situations are Group 4/fliers approach which Ryza should be on the lookout for and temporarily call for the archers to assist her with, with them switching to their melee weapons if they happen to make it. And if we get reinforcements from the door... well honestly I'd hope we get a break in the action to reassess but I think it'd go similarly just Axton and Lancel would immediately break off to engage in melee. I'll admit such a worst-case scenario looks bad, and I mean, it would be, but I also don't know if it's less bad if we advance down into the library. We'd still be surrounded. We'd be better positioned to break through the initial groups and then just turn around and defend I guess but yeah really hoping no reinforcements from behind LOL.

I'll throw in my draft, too.

[?] Plan Defeat in Detail
-[?] Strategy
--[?] Everyone charges Group 2, hoping to overwhelm the revenants before they can react to our presence
--[?] Then, attack Group 3, more cautiously (since they will likely have noticed step 1)
--[?] If possible, attack group 1 before group 4 or reinforcements have time to intervene.
-[?] Secondary Objectives
--[?] Don't get anyone killed or permanently injured
--[?] Don't damage any scrolls, tablets, or other records
---[?] To this end, Ryza should attack the revenants with white magic
--[?] Don't draw (significant) attention from anything outside the library

GreatWyrmGold said:

I'll throw in my draft, too.

[?] Plan Defeat in Detail
-[?] Strategy
--[?] Everyone charges Group 2, hoping to overwhelm the revenants before they can react to our presence
--[?] Then, attack Group 3, more cautiously (since they will likely have noticed step 1)
--[?] If possible, attack group 1 before group 4 or reinforcements have time to intervene.
-[?] Secondary Objectives
--[?] Don't get anyone killed or permanently injured
--[?] Don't damage any scrolls, tablets, or other records
---[?] To this end, Ryza should attack the revenants will white magic
--[?] Don't draw (significant) attention from anything outside the library

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I don't think avoiding death or permanent injury is what I would call a 'secondary objective'.

General FE monster class conventions state that we're either dealing with Gargoyles or Mogalls, and going by how the flier allegedly doesn't look human, I think it's pretty safe to say that we're about to get attacked by floating eyeballs that shoot dark magic… with the possibility of a side of bodily ramming and perhaps rapid self-replication, if some of their Valentian aspects are kept. Which I really hope they aren't; that'd turn this into a clusterfuck in record time.
I'm also really hoping that none of the potential Mogalls lurking around here have access to Shadowshot. The very first map after the prologue's end is way too early for us to start facing siege magic.

Emanyzal said:

I don't think avoiding death or permanent injury is what I would call a 'secondary objective'.

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¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The other guy who mentioned secondary objectives felt it was important to single out, so I did too.

GreatWyrmGold said:

---[?] To this end, Ryza should attack the revenants will white magic

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"with"

I wonder how important those hidden scrolls are. Wonder if terrors will ever be a thing here. As long as we fight smart this fight should go decently well. Unless there is a Necro Dragon down there. Hope all of those invading Manakates got their punishment for the crimes they commit, or hope Ryza can be the one to for closure.

…oh shit yeah, that's right. Monster conventions would indicate that we'll be facing Necrodragons at some point.
Ryza's definitely not gonna be having a good time with that.

…we should probably grind White magic up to grab Seraphim sooner rather than later.

We don't have nearly enough units to split the party properly, at least not on a map like this. That said, I'm withholding my vote until I figure out which one I want to back. I'm leaning turtle or defeat in detail at the moment.

JAGwin said:

"with"

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You think Ryza should use white magic on revenants not formerly named Will? Suit yourself.

Might as well make this an Official Vote.

[X] Plan Defeat in Detail
-[X] Strategy
--[X] Everyone charges Group 2, hoping to overwhelm the revenants before they can react to our presence
--[X] Then, attack Group 3, more cautiously (since they will likely have noticed step 1)
--[X] If possible, attack group 1 before group 4 or reinforcements have time to intervene.
-[X] Secondary Objectives
--[X] Don't let anyone get killed or permanently injured
---[X] (Insofar as this is a secondary objective)
--[X] Don't damage any scrolls, tablets, or other records
---[X] To this end, Ryza should attack the revenants with white magic
--[X] Don't draw (significant) attention from anything outside the library
---[X] Unless doing so would risk one of the other objectives

Sorry I'm late to the party, looks like we've come across a Vile Force of Darkness!

Doesn't look like there's much in the way of plans being voted for yet, and I'm too tired right now to come up with a good plan.

[X] Plan Defeat in Detail

[X] Plan Defeat in Detail

Tangent:

I watched a wrongplay vod of Fire Emblem Engage last night, and...is it just me, or does Colgate-chan seem kinda like Ryza's self-insert OC? Similar backstory, except that her mom's alive and there's no evil empire and humans love manakete and the Fell Dragon definitely lost the big war. (Also, the Deviantart OC hair and heterochromia.)

[X] Plan Defeat in Detail

[X] Plan Defeat in Detail

I don't like how Defeat in Detail creates the possibility of getting pincered by hostiles coming it from out of the library. I would rather take a defensive stance with a secure line of retreat.

TaliesinSkye said:

I don't like how Defeat in Detail creates the possibility of getting pincered by hostiles coming it from out of the library. I would rather take a defensive stance with a secure line of retreat.

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If hostiles come from outside the library, IE where we just came from, we're gonna get pincered regardless. There isn't any line of retreat to secure in that scenario.

Random Sanity said:

If hostiles come from outside the library, IE where we just came from, we're gonna get pincered regardless. There isn't any line of retreat to secure in that scenario.

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We could put the party's backs to the stairs up, and draw the enemy to us. That would grant a secure line of retreat back to the wards if necessary, and prevent a pincer.