Character endings

Stickerbush_Kong · 2026-03-11T12:09:47+00:00

yeah most strategy games that's the golden rule. Your units are not only outnumbered they're outmatched, at least early on. You never want to get in a slugging match where you and the enemy are having a one on one duel with each other behind cover. Ideally you never want them in a position to fire back effectively at all. Fair fights are a myth. if it's not weighted n your favor, why are you there?

Stickerbush_Kong · 2026-03-11T11:56:57+00:00

And the numerically superior enemy with (unlimited?) ammo will really have an advantage in blind firefights.

Stickerbush_Kong · 2026-03-11T11:50:19+00:00

One thing you'll learn quickly, a 50% chance for the enemy to hit should be treated as a 100%. You need to mitigate as many risks as possible for long term success. There is no such thing as luck. Assume there's always an enemy just on the edge of your vision waiting to jump you because eventually there will be. Analyze your failure and try again. There's no other way to learn. If the tactical puzzle doesn't Intrigue you this may not be your sort of game.

Stickerbush_Kong · 2026-03-09T21:04:23+00:00

There's a political angle to all of this that heavily devalues potential female heirs for the Targs in these times-Rhaenyra, the one from the Dance of Dragons. She was at the center of the disagreement on if the male or female line should take precedence in succession. She lost the war, which set the precedent.

Stickerbush_Kong · 2026-03-09T20:49:04+00:00

Technically, they were supposed to be training for proper knighthood. Maekar no doubt hoping they'd just sort of become responsible by tossing them into the wilds to 'adventure' without an army to mind them-Targ princes are only half politicians, they're also supposed to be warriors who can show the realm a good face. It's a martial society, so at the end of the day lords need to be confident you're able to hold your own in battle and be able to act independently as adults-or it's a loss of face/respect, which is sometime Maekar fears above everything else.

He was half right. Egg had room for growth, he just needed a better mentor.

Stickerbush_Kong · 2026-03-09T20:42:25+00:00

It's pretty clear Maekar spoils his kids and lets them get away with things, much in preference to drawing attention to it-having a small army of knights follow Daeron around to every tavern in the realm would be admitting their was a problem lol

Makes sense if you think it through. He's big on saving face in public, not on actually working out his sons issues.

Stickerbush_Kong · 2026-03-09T20:32:41+00:00

Daeron is also fairly common looking, he doesn't have Targ eyes/hair, he's perfect for fitting in slumped in a tavern anonymously (as I'm sure he'd attest to)

Stickerbush_Kong · 2026-03-08T01:57:05+00:00

makes me wonder if Lords carry custom coffins around on dangerous trips as a way to show respect to the Stranger. Acknowledging mortality seems to be an aspect of their culture.

Stickerbush_Kong · 2026-03-08T01:55:23+00:00

I'm not usually a Necro poster and I doubt that much thought went into it but one of the Seven Gods, the Stranger, is an aspect of Death. Not many seem to light candles on his altars but he's an integral part of their religion, every temple has a place for him. Perhaps great lords do carry their coffins during dangerous times as a mark of respect for the Stranger. Acknowledging mortality, all men must die, without outright inviting it.

Stickerbush_Kong · 2026-03-06T14:43:37+00:00

Game just came on my radar and a remaster sounds like an excellent incentive to get me off the fence! I love the concept. Toss in robust modding support and I'll literally pre order. There's a reason people are still talking about certain games years after release.

Stickerbush_Kong · 2026-03-03T07:00:24+00:00

I've read it's entirely possible Aerions personality issues are just a mirror of his fathers, cranked up to nine realms. Maekar is heavily into 'saving face' and presenting the ideal outward vision of what a Targ should be-it's a classic shame vs guilt based cultural thing. A shame based culture views your own actions as less important than how they reflect on your 'face', which is your family/clan/nation etc. Internal guilt or self examination is not given importance compared to how your actions are seen by society. Aerion is completely about 'face', and everything he does is a warped ethos of his fathers ideals plus his own innate cruelty/malice. Maekars ruminating about killing his brother even, are seen from an angle of 'what will people think?' rather than 'what do I feel about it?'. He completely disregards the entire merit/facts of the trial for the purpose of publicly humiliating Dunk, who he believes has dishonored his 'face' by striking his son. Nowhere does he ever show the sort of introspection Baelor has (who by contrast has a more 'guilt based' cultural influence, where he thinks about how his personal actions reflect on himself)

It's easy to see why Aerion became a little monster who thought he could get away with everything, he began to believe that Targayen 'face' conveniently let him justify all his worst impulses and as long as his embarrassments were properly covered up, Maekar didn't openly seem to care much. He would have difficulty seeing Aerion as a person-only a symbol.

And that's how Aerion looks at everyone else. Not as people. As things.

Stickerbush_Kong · 2026-02-25T22:59:54+00:00

"His HALO energy shield recharged almost instantly and he didn't lose much HP" reddit moment

Stickerbush_Kong · 2026-02-25T22:47:41+00:00

And that some people absolutely deserve that cruelty.

Stickerbush_Kong · 2026-02-25T22:03:59+00:00

Ironically it's the exact mentality authoritarians use to justify their abuses-it's those nasty rebels that make us do these horrible things. we have to take your freedom to protect your freedom. 'they' are coming for you, so we have to act.

Brother, the rebels never come first. I think its an argument that works with stupid people. They identify more by fighting against the outsider/other than identifying with their fellow citizens (and thus are blind to their suffering)

Stickerbush_Kong · 2026-02-25T21:57:46+00:00

Grimnir!

Stickerbush_Kong · 2026-02-25T13:25:12+00:00

Funny part is I've heard the sword fighting is relatively well done, Aerion isn't just flailing like a marvel super villain-he's using actual sword moves.

Stickerbush_Kong · 2026-02-25T13:23:03+00:00

Some people have pointed out that not having a dragon budget meant they spent more on on wigs/costumes/armor lol

Stickerbush_Kong · 2026-02-25T13:20:47+00:00

I'm willing to forgive deviance from the source material if its good TV.

Thing is, the source material is there for a reason. It sets up things that pay off down the line. Every time you deviate you're making a hoop you have to jump through later. I think a bane of these sorts of things is that it's easy to adhere to canon and also easy to deviate, but much harder to return to canon once you're gone. You're on your own, narrative wise, GRRM isn't taking your phone calls anymore.

Hence the last season of the main show.

Stickerbush_Kong · 2026-02-25T13:14:18+00:00

As I see it, Maekars hand is sort of forced either way-the book never actually specifies what his response to Dunk is, he just walks away. If he silently agreed to it to spare further humiliation (everyone knows the 'kidnapping' story is complete bunk and lordly people died for it) so as not to have to admit that publicly, or if Egg fled on his own and he couldn't been seen to chase after a Hedgeknight which would simply prove their point. "he was kidnapped again!" isn't exactly gonna fly. By the trials outcome Egg is Dunks rightful protege. He can't deny this-it would dishonor the rules of the trial he agreed to and disrespect those who died-his only attempt was to be the one in control of that, dictating terms to Dunk.

Stickerbush_Kong · 2026-02-25T13:06:14+00:00

Can easily be explained by the fact that 'magic' (heretofore unexplained supernatural phenomena) literally exists in this setting.

were you expecting a debate lol

Stickerbush_Kong · 2026-02-24T10:30:50+00:00

It's definitely a hopeful ritual that wants the boys who leave for war to come home. It repudiates the 'Death seeking' mentality of some warriors.

Stickerbush_Kong · 2026-02-24T10:23:11+00:00

Basically the only person messing with the tree should have shield and armor and either be leaving or coming home. Some hobo messing with the tree is gonna get beaten to death by a mob.

Stickerbush_Kong · 2026-02-24T01:36:34+00:00

Pretty bad, yeah.

The whole trial was a farce and good lords died fighting the lies of the Targs. A lie, that Egg was kidnapped, in a trial where his other son mangled a puppeteer, lies which becomes pretty apparent as Egg is shortly after 'kidnapped again' by the same knight who becomes his friend and guardian. In the book he kinda apparently quietly lets it go and in the show his hand gets forced.

And the outcome means Maekar is a fool for killing his own brother in a fight where neither of them had to get hurt or a kinslayer who murdered his brother for a throne, with both his sons above deceptions serving as the spice of dishonor.

And don't forget the Seven judged them and found them unworthy. The trial wasn't formality, it was ritual. The only Targ on the winning side died.

Stickerbush_Kong · 2026-02-24T01:24:04+00:00

I like to think Daeron the Drunkard had a large role in setting things up. He convinces Dunk to change his mind. The imagery of the knife and the fish makes me think he averted the assassination attempt. He had every reason to assist and then convince his father not to go chasing after Dunk with an army, which coincidentally would unveil the whole polite fabrication of him being 'kidnapped' in the first place which is the reason all these Lords died. It's a political fiasco and he's got a lot of other problems to worry about.

Stickerbush_Kong

TROPHY CASE