Pros and Cons of Rodrik and Asher (SPOILERS FOR EPISODE 5!)

[I2epresent]

Asher

...is younger and stronger, and has the command and respect of the pit fighters and Beshka. He's proven adaptable, he's resourceful, and his new friendship with Daenerys Targaryen could be a huge benefit to House Forrester in the long run.

Rodrick

... is the rightful lord, a veteran of Robb Stark's army, a survivor of the Red Wedding, and the glue that holds the alliance with the Glenmores together. He's a survivor, and he's kept his house standing while walking on a razor's edge with the World's Number One Lunatic™ breathing down his neck and occasionally dropping by to torture people.

* Cons for Rodrik: The Glenmore soldiers were "sent home." Do they even matter anymore? Is he physically capable of fighting in a war with the Whitehills? Can he ever get Ramsay off his back?

* Cons for Asher: He's the prodigal son with no father to welcome him back. Will everyone else follow him, and will the Glenmores remain allies of the Forresters if Rodrik is dead? Will the Daenerys connection pay off in one remaining episode, or is it something that may pay off in some distant sequel or never at all?

I also wonder if Asher becoming Lord Forrester would have any impact on Whitehill aggression. Wasn't he exiled because him and Gwen Whitehill were getting down? And wouldn't Gwen still love him? If so, that could be the powerful motivator she would need to betray her father and bring about peace, if that's possible.

We still don't know exactly what the North Grove is, and we won't know until late September or October, which is annoying. Without knowing what it is, we have no way of knowing how that will factor into the situation. I'm still not convinced the North Grove is going to be anything beneficial to the Forresters. I don't think Lord Gregor was talking about retrieving something that would help his family, or some refuge with abundant ironwood. I think he meant it as a duty -- that perhaps House Forrester was protecting an artifact or had something else hidden there, and that item/location has wider importance than simply something to tip the scales in a conflict between two northern houses.

[disco]

This is great, but unfortunately you wasted your time. It's going to turn out the same way, whoever you spared isn't part of the equation. It is Telltale, after all.

[I2epresent]

I've been a Telltale critic for certain things, like how long they're taking between episodes, but credit where it's due -- the choice of Sentinel, for example, has an effect on who the traitor is and the traitor's motivations, even if both potential traitors lead the narrative down the same path.

Hopefully, the agonizing choice between Rodrik and Asher has consequences as well. Both will have two options -- win or lose -- but hopefully there are stylistic and narrative differences that at least make it fun to play out both storylines and see how they go.

[Jordan Lobsterson]

Originally posted by Atum Hadu:

I've been a Telltale critic for certain things, like how long they're taking between episodes, but credit where it's due -- the choice of Sentinel, for example, has an effect on who the traitor is and the traitor's motivations, even if both potential traitors lead the narrative down the same path.

Hopefully, the agonizing choice between Rodrik and Asher has consequences as well. Both will have two options -- win or lose -- but hopefully there are stylistic and narrative differences that at least make it fun to play out both storylines and see how they go.

it has an effect on WHO the traitor is, but you end up in the SAME PLACE

[Interrobangin]

Originally posted by Atum Hadu:

I've been a Telltale critic for certain things, like how long they're taking between episodes, but credit where it's due -- the choice of Sentinel, for example, has an effect on who the traitor is and the traitor's motivations, even if both potential traitors lead the narrative down the same path.

Not really... it just looks that way, but it really doesn't matter—you even said yourself that the path is the same. I think (but will be thoroughly disappointed if I'm wrong) that the singular major choice is choosing Rodrik or Asher, in that they will have actual different outcomes. It makes sense given that the next episode is the finale but... I could be wrong.

[I2epresent]

The path is the same, yes, and I think that speaks to the game's budget or just practical decisions against story sprawl. At least the motivations seemed consistent on my playthrough with Royland as Sentinel and Duncan as traitor...I have a second playthrough with the opposite situation and I'm interested to see how that plays out once I play this chapter on that save file.

Again, I would have been happy with a static traitor, but then people would be complaining that the person turned his cloak regardless of what the player's choices were. Speaking of, where the hell is the maester these days?