I agree completely with your analysis. Now that you mention it, he does take a lot after Robert Baratheon. Rob was at his peak during the rebellion, but once he settled down into the role as king he really let himself go… in more ways than one.
Your description of King Andus is spot on as well, and he reminds me a bit of Stannis Baratheon in that aspect. Stannis demanded respect because he was the rightful king, but at the same time no-one wanted him to be king because he was so unlikable. While being competent is a must for any position of power, catching flies is easier with honey than vinegar.
As for Victoria, I can see those Cersei-like traits in her, yet at the same time I see similarities between her and Catelyn Stark as well. A major one being her distaste for Marxus in the same way Catelyn dislikes Jon Snow.
Then again, I just got done re-watching season 6 and could be reading way too much into this…
Hey, I didn’t say it, Renly did. To his face. Before he died.
“The whole realm denies it from Dorne to the Wall. Old men deny it with their death rattle and unborn children deny it in their mothers’ wombs. No one wants you for their king. You never wanted any friends, brother, but a man without friends is a man without power.”
I agree. It’s a shame he never got a chance to actually be king, though.
Rob was impulsive and more inclined when it came to war than politics… much like our brother, actually. He made a promise and then subsequently broke that promise without giving much thought to the consequences. Consequences that led to the deaths of innocent people all because he couldn’t control himself
Stannis was decent, I respected his no-nonsense behavior though I knew that it wouldn’t get him far in the world of diplomacy. As Tywin said: “Any man who must say, “I am the king” is no true king.” Granted, that quote could go for most of the five kings.
As for Balek (Nice pun! I’m Canadian and I can’t believe I’ve never heard that before… now I know what I’m going to tell my friends when we watch season 7) He was a downright trou d’cul through and through. His stubborn and prideful attitude was his ruin.
I can relate with you my friend. I too started my character as someone who is inherently good and moral. But it was the dammed wedding scene that transformed the character of my MC. And our brother stealing Melissa wasn’t the main problem for me, it was the whole felling of powerlessness that I felt during the scene. For crying out loud I didn’t even have the option to skip the wedding and drown myself in booze to cope with it.
So that is why I too want to see the whole world burn.
Okay… Since others shared their playthroughs, I will also share mine.
My character is Reinard von Hyius. I can’t define him as a hateful or ambitious. He sees his father as a king who doesn’t care for him. Despite Queen Victoria’s encouragement for Reinard to have ambition, he stays the aura of ‘I don’t care attitude.’
He used to love Melissa, but it faded after she got married. Reinard doesn’t particularly hate Marxus for that, since he couldn’t do anything too.
Reinard has high blades, moderate intelligence, and little charisma. Despite having magic, my mc didn’t find time to practice his gift. Since he doesn’t care.
OK, now I am imaging a teenage emo boy whose response to every situation is shrugging and saying I don’t care.
Your father hates you.
I don’t care.
Your mother is using you as a pawn.
I don’t care.
Your brother is marrying your first love.
I don’t care.
Your country is in war with Lucraex.
I don’t care.
And so on.
Makes things easier then. Just promise the Dukes more sovereignty in governing their own Duchies and their own taxation system and for Duke Jaden promise to legalise homosexuality. Afterwards assassinate King Scumbag and your brother and you get the throne.
Sure it makes it easier in principle but that does not mean there won’t be a push back. I think there is a reason why homosexuality has not been legalised yet in Darvis. Whether it is the social culture or religious pressure or even both, this could be the resistance any monarch could expect from simply passing an edict legalising homosexuality. The fact that Duke Jaden seems to be not open about his sexuality tells us much about the society he lives in Unless he wants to a socially ostracised, he will follow status quo.
Secondly, why would you want to give the dukes the power of self governing and the ability to enact their own taxes. Unless you are deliberately trying to weaken the monarchy to such an extent that the king would become a figurehead, how could you then pass laws. The dukes will become so powerful that they might as well call themselves kings.
I agree that the MC needs to bribe the nobles, not only the dukes. I think that if the MC wants to get the throne then he must kill Prince Marxus. If for some reason the MC is too “moral” for this route and wishes to launch a rebellion, then civil war is unavoidable.
But let us not forget about Melissa, if she is pregnant with Prince Marxus’ child then she can destroy your plan on ascending the throne. Her father will probably not watch a “usurper” take the throne from his family.
I am promising Duke Jaden not necessarily establishing the law. I need his support for the time being but at the end of the day the power will be transferred to his brother. He is the one I need to focus on.
You need to give the Dukes some power over governing that is the only thing the MC can offer them. Otherwise they do not have any reason to support you.
Besides I mean to give them legislative powers but the law enforcement itself will be under the monarch’s control. The military will be under the monarch’s control as well. And they can tax their own people as they like as long as they meet the amount tax they have to pay to the royal coffer.
I also plan to get the backing of Church. Let them declare the MC the divine ruler and for that give an Archbishop a seat at the council. Declare it the official religion and let them indoctrinate the people as they like. They still have to pay taxes and they will still need the monarch’s approval to declare a holy war.
And about Melissa just have a good relationship with her. Send her a few love letter every once in a while and you got that part covered. His father is also sympathetic to you if you keep having a pleasant relationship with her. And besides when the transfer of the power will take palace there will be an awful amount of confusion. You can plan a sudden disappearance of the crown prince’s wife and people might not notice that much amidst that chaos.
@Sophia
I found this typo when replay it again:
• “He is your nephew, Duke Jerome!” The Queen’s rage imerged. “Shouldn’t you support him for the throne?”
emerged?
I might as well ask this, are princess sophia have someone she care?
Hahaha really? Does it sound like that?'haha!
I guess I can say that attitude is healthy in mc life, for now maybe
But that part would be a major spoiler, so I shouldn’t tell.