Overthinking the apocalypse

Based on my unreasonably obsessive dives into the themes of Asellus from 1997 SaGa Frontier, background lore, prototype concepts, multiverse ideas from gatcha games etc. etc. (1, 2), this is how I'd make a more fleshed out Asellus chapter as a SaGa Frontier mod, if I was able to make mods. Of course this is tailored to my personal interpretation of the texts, but I do not mean it as purely creative fanfic; everything is motivated by my understanding of abandoned concepts and underlying themes.

1. Change the translation to “Fae”

As the remaster suggested with “Faeblade”, the fae are a very decent comparison to the yōma and this is a much better translation than “Mystic”. The “yō-” in “yōma” is used to translate European fae into Japanese, too. For a full argument see foonote #1 on the Asellus analysis.

2. Give the Fae inherent regeneration

The Fae are supposed to be scarily powerful, but in gameplay terms they ended up significantly weaker than human characters. Moreover, Asellus is shown regenerating from a stabbing in the opening story, and Orlouge is supposed to be uniquely scary to the other Fae and maintain power over them because he has the special power to obliterate a Fae, who are otherwise immortal. Asellus' mangled corpse coming back to life with Orlouge's blood is itself indicative of the yōma's unique regenerative power, and it's the entire premise of the scenario, and yet none of this takes any part in gameplay.

You can therefore both improve the game balance and fix a plot hole by giving them a builtin regen.

3. Give Noble Fae the ability to suck blood

The fact that only nobles (=high class Mystics) can absorb the powers of other Fae by vampirism is part of the final story (Rei did it to Orlouge, Ciato to Rastaban, and Ciato tries with Asellus), but it's not at all clear in the plot. Give Noble Fae an inherent vampire skill, but not commoners like Time Lord etc. This resurrects Shōda Miwa's concept of “the bloodsucking clan”, but a bit wider; being able to suck blood is now the definition of high-class Fae.

I propose that instead of regenerating HP (which happens automatically as per above), biting an enemy regenerates LP. This will fit in ludonarratively with the plot point of a partly-obliterated Ciato desperately trying to bite Asellus to come back to life (he's down to 1LP). It will also quietly make the class distinction especially poignant for Mesarthim—probably the most useful Fae in gameplay due to her ability to heal the rest of the party, but it costs her LP; if only she could regenerate it… It will also balance out a bit the fact that the most useful Fae are all low-class (Mesarthim, Nusakan, Time Lord), but not completely override this fact (even without LP regen, they'd still be the most useful); which fits in with the theme that low-class Fae can surpass the nobles through training and personal abilities, but also the nobles have a unique and immediately visible ability that distinguishes them.

Using this tech as Asellus locks her out of the human ending, like the other Fae abilities.

4. Asellus sealing away her Fae Absorption techs reduces max LP

You don't have to even comment on it; the screen flashes for a moment, a damage noise plays, and LP reduces by 1. The player can draw their conclusions. Putting the abilities back in restores the max LP back, but not currently filled up.

This is a nod to the concept where she would have sealed the Faeblade with a holy talisman that burns the fae, only to be forced to draw it anyway to save her girls every so often, with the result that her sword arm would be all marked by burn scars, which she'd hide with long gloves. This is too far from the finished game to reimplement (the Faeblade isn't an actual object anymore, nor is it particularly powerful), but the themes of self-harm through suppression of her Fae side come through. Seal away all the Fae abilities and you're safely on the Human path, but you can tell you're hurting her. Morever the fact that if you're indecisive and seal the ability and then bring it back, the maximum LP is restored but not filled, and you can fill it with the vampire bite (above), is beautifully complementary.

5. Fascination by a Fae works on both genders, and also monsters

This isn't just for me being gay. The original concept for the yōma says that their idea of personal attraction is based purely on beauty (=CHA) and wholly unrestrainted by gender. Moreover, for a character class defined primarily by their supernatural seductive powers, the Fascination magic is kinda useless in the game, overshadowed by just doing direct damage. Make it also work for monsters (who are genderless shapeshifters anyway) would make it much less useless, since monsters are by far the majority of enemies. But we can exclude monster forms that don't seem sentient enough to understand the concept of beauty (e.g. slimes and living weapons), as well as the undead, and of course mechs, whose programming wouldn't be affected by magic.

This is not the case for humans casting Fascination, who still can charm only the “opposite gender” as in the original game. Maybe make a few characters secretly vulnerable to the same gender instead, or to both genders or to none, which both adds representation and a fun little easter egg.

Orlouge as the Charm Lord is irresistible to women, and this power passes to Asellus; both of those things are key plot points. Therefore Orlouge should do 100% success Fascination on all female characters except Asellus and Rei (bringing women to the Orlouge battle should be dangerous); and, conversely, Asellus should have 100% Fascination rate on all female enemies. This shouldn't affect things significantly since there's so few female human/Fae enemies, it's just a little detail just to make the plot point present in game mechanics. For extra lore points, quietly make T260G count as a woman for purposes of Fascination.

6. Rei starts without Fae tech

This is a nod to the fact that, in-lore, her Fae nature comes back only slowly as she ages in each reincarnation, until she hits 25; and we find her at age 12, so her powers shouldn't be fully back yet. She should begin with no absorption tech, and with only one spell each of Mirage and Fae schools—but with the gift for both. Regaining the spells and the absorption tech fairly quickly as you grind her would solve the plot contradiction by implying that fighting alongside Asellus accelerated the process of her Faeness catching up with her.

7. Bring back White Rose's roses

I like the original concept where Princess White Rose literally grows roses out of her hair; it is kinda awful in a body horror way but also beautiful, which fits in with the theme. And the idea that she managed to independently break free of Orlouge's Blood Rose-induced sleep by assimilating the roses adds a layer of depth to her character, which generally comes off as too passive. The fact that Orlouge tolerated this is not a plot hole, since he's secretly fond of servants who stand up for themselves, and admires both Rei and Zozma on this count. In fact, it further motivates the next point…

8. Be more explicit about Orlouge's jealousy

The fact that the Dark Labyrinth is meant to separate lovers who make Orlouge jealous, and that he's jealous of White Rose falling for Asellus, is too subtle in the final game. A single line on White Rose's escape would suffice to make this point clear; for example, “the Dark Labyrinth was created to punish those who incur the Charm Lord's jealousy. [continuing with the standard text] Once inside, you can only exit by leaving behind the one you love the most…”

9. Be more explicit about Golden Lion's background and sympathies

The fact that Princess Golden Lion was not chosen by Orlouge but gifted as a bribe by her father, and Orlouge made her a Knight because he's a fuckboy who doesn't see beauty in muscular women and “this way at least she's good for something”, adds a motivation beyond pure brainwashing for her loyalty—she's trying to prove herself worthy. This would be perfect as content found out in out-of-way places (e.g. alluded to in a history book on Shrike's library).

The fact that Golden Lion secretly sympathises with Asellus' rebellion because she hopes conditions for women would be better under an Asellus regency isn't made clear either. This shouldn't be spelled out but just alluded, as well as the tragedy that without the benefit of Orlouge's blood, she's simply unable to break the Fascination regardless.

10. Clarify the lesson of the Furdo Visit

What Asellus learns from the Fae Visit quests is generally clear:

• Mesarthim: The attraction that beautiful Fae women exert on men can turn them possessive and oppressive, even though this makes the men themselves sad (Mesarthim's captor is a miniature Orlouge).
• Dr. Nusakan: Even if Asellus purifies her blood, she can't change her past; once things are mixed, they are mixed forever. Her charm over women is part of her story now, and it's a mistake to reject it.
• Nasira: Evilness does not come from inhumanity, or from gender itself. A human woman is every bit as capable of objectifying cruelty as Orlouge himself. Powerful people from different societies will unite to oppress the lower classes, as in Orlouge selling out low-class Fae to Nasira.

The lesson of the Furdo event, by comparison, is pretty unclear. Initially it seems to be about how low-class Fae can surpass even the nobles with effort and by developing their unique abilities; except of course Furdo doesn't actually do that, his petrification technique means nothing to Asellus and would mean nothing to Orlouge, either. (Arguably Time Lord is the actual proof of this points.) Even in the restored remaster, I found this side quest confusing and pointless.

I propose that this is a good point for Zozma to point out how Fae society is stagnated, oppressive, and failing at its own values. Great artists like Genmu/Asura's swordsmith are ostracised despite contributing the most precious thing, Beauty; incredibly powerful yōma like Time Lord have no respect by virtue of birth, in violation of the society's core value of Terror; and the value of Pride, of refusing submission, conflicts with Orlouge's absolute rule. Wonderful beauties like Golden Lion and Kurenai are set aside, and a hundred others locked away forever, due to the ruler's paranoia over any change to the status quo; Orlouge has made the Chateau sad and empty, rather than prettier. Furdo should have been a genius magical crafter, treasured by a society dedicated to beauty and art; instead he ends up as this sad petty villain, turned reactionary by his oppression. Zozma is already commenting on Furdo during this quest and he's also the biggest critic of Facinaturu society, so it's an opportunity for him to weave some acid remarks.

11. Make some other lore points more explicit

• Orlouge is bored of perfect obedience, and has a secret respect for those who disobey him, like Rei and Zozma (after all, “pride in refusing to submit” is a core Fae value). He himself doesn't understand that all his relationships are unfulfilling because he relies on Fascination so none can be genuine; he himself isn't aware that he's trying to groom Asellus into a successor because that would be a true relationship for once.
• Asellus was ran over after getting distracted by the beauty of an adult Rei.
• Nasira is bitter over Asellus rejecting the gift of immortality, which she worked so hard to achieve and ultimately failed.
• Rei's ability to reincarnate while keeping her memories is a unique process she developed through spirit magic.
• Rastaban sent Ciato after Asellus to get rid of an obstacle to his coup, while simultaneously waking up Asellus' royal “obliteration” ability so she has a chance of defeating Orlouge as he planned. (I think that's why he schemed to bait Ciato in her direction; it's not at all clear.)

In all cases a very brief allusion would be more than enough to suggest these themes, usually no more than a single sentence. For example, if you defeat Orlouge in the full-Fae “bad ending”, he could say some final words like “Through endless centuries, I have never known such bliss... Rule, O Charm Lady of Facinatoru! Rule, my...”, dies, cue in Evil Queen Asellus starting her regency with a genocide in an attempt to surpass Orlouge in every aspect.

12. Restore the missing endings

This is the big one and would be the hardest to actually mod into the game. It restores what the Visit subquests were meant to do, which is to affect the ending as Asellus learns more about herself.

A 5-ending system would be nice:

• Denial Ending: As in the game's Human ending, but add a brief epilogue with Gina narrating that Princess White Rose never heard from Lady Asellus again, and Gina wonders how she's doing after she left forever. This implies she has wholesale rejected every bond she made in her period with purple blood. She wants to forget ever having been a Fae and is pretending it never happened.
• Human Good Ending: Do all the Fae Visit subquests, do the Save Gina subquest, and refrain from using any Fae powers. Asellus rejects a Fae body and becomes human again, but stays friends with her Fae allies, who continue young forever. Both her and Gina marry men and age into grandma bffs. The tone is happier than the Denial ending, with only a shade of melancholy from White Rose regretting Asellus' mortality.
• Half-Fae ending: As in the game.
• Golden Ending: The equivalent of the Case Files / Crazy Journal endings, but without Fuse. The ending implied by the gatcha games. Asellus stays half-Fae, but accepts the role of rulership. She does not genocide Orlouge's “leftovers”, but rather frees all the Princesses (they of course want to stay in the court anyway, grateful to their saviour; with some comedic relief of White Rose being jealous over it—this is a nod to the Crazy Journal ending). Rastaban still fights her due to his prejudice about her decision to stay a half-Fae, but once subjugated survives in penance. Golden Lion falls bravely fighting Asellus, but Asellus does not obliterate her, so she will regenerate eventually; the process may take years, and she is last seen in her glass coffin. (This is to make her loyalty still tragic, but also respect that in Asellus half-yōma endings she's contradictorily seen with Golden Lion; the knight survived, but will miss a golden era). Queen Asellus, with White Rose by her side, begins the long process of reforming the class divisions in Fae society. Ending unlocked by doing all the Fae Visit subquests and also saving Gina, while using Fae powers.
• Tyrant Ending: As in the game.