Succession of leadership.

[sunstar25]

Since the Tenkai's all have the habit of running around trying to gather people and that they have to lead their armies in battle.

Somehow if Tir, Riou, Lazlo, and Freyjadour somehow bit the dust in combat or whatever, who would be good enough to take their places?

As for the Flame Champion, the other two candidates would probably pick up the slack. Maybe Lino could fill in for Lazlo. Odessa did choose Tir to carry on her legacy.

It probably wouldn't be easy for anybody to fill in for Tir, Riou, and Frey. Since without them, their armies would lose faith and die. We only know about the consequences of what would happen if Riou chose to run away. Roy would have led the royalist forces to ruin.

[Esnow]

perhaps flik n viktor would fill in for them haha. or the strategist would get a puppet leader. it's actually more of the strategy behind the scene. the tenkai star sorta just recruits people with his ultimate charisma haha.

[WaterMoon]

If that happened, I think their respective armies would have been crushed. Yes, they were the leaders mainly because they did have that powerful charisma that inspired loyalty in others, but you have to remember, they also did a lot to keep morale up, and to inspire people, even when they themselves were suffering most. Add to that the fact that their runes played major parts in the wars they fought, and you come to realize that they were the major factors for the outcomes of the wars. Yes, Lazlo's rune had the most obvious visible war usage, but even the others had major effects.

Honestly, no one could fill in for them. This is shown time and again in the games. When Odessa picks Tir, Flik fights against that decision, but gradually he grows to understand that Odessa chose wisely. Riou is singled out by Shu out of everyone as the only one who can lead them. Lino has Elenor pit Lino and Lazlo against each other so Lino can hand over leadership to Lazlo in front of everyone. Freyjadour, as the royal prince, is as much a symbol to the people not fighting the war as for the people in his army, the tip of a spear aimed at the corruption of the Godwins who have wrongly seized the throne. If Frey were to die and another try to step up, their army would lose the validity for fighting that it has with him there. Same can be said for Tir (he was willing to fight his own father to end the corruption), Riou (he fought to protect people), Thomas (he fought to end all the fighting), and Lazlo (he fought against the corruption of Cray).

Oh, and Hugo, Chris, and Geddoe weren't the Tenkai of SIII, that was Thomas, so if he died, people would feel sad, but there wouldn't be a huge effect on the war effort there. He wasn't the leader, but he did bring everyone together.

[jonathan_priest]

Actually, the leadership status isn't really too bad for many of the armies.

Suikoden I had Lepant and Warren at the forefront who were both very capible leaders, hence Lepant becoming president. If Tir died, I'd see Lepant taking that role, but overall, I think they'd be just fine. By this time, they had united the various factions anyway. I don't think the war's outcome would have been different, unless Leknaat stopped supporting them.

Suikoden II would have a tougher time however. Other than Riou who was a puppet, you had Teresa who was very weak willed, Ridley who was borderline racist, and that's kind of it. I think they'd be in trouble also, because Shu couldn't manipulate them...well, maybe Teresa, as well.

Suikoden IV wouldn't be in too bad of shape. You did have Lino who many viewed as the unofficial second commander anyway. And if it happened after the retaking of Obel, hell, Flare could do it too if she needed to.

Suikoden V, I really think they'd be screwed if Frey died. Most of their generals, Boz, Dinn, Raja were good military commanders, but overall, followed the commands of their leader. There really wasn't anyone of Lepant's or Lino's level who could lead should Frey die.

[patapi]

I have always considered the respective Tengou star to be the first and most viable replacement in the event that the head Tenkai were to fall in battle. Of course, in most cases, this would have to be done in conjunction with the continued support from the Tenki, as this trio together form the core leadership of the respective armies.

Lepant was an obvious choice, strengthened by how he managed Toran in McDohl's place long after the war. Given his original position as Odessa's most trusted officer, Flik might have been a decent candidate too, if not for his hot-headed personality back then.

Similarly, Lino en Kuldes was for all intents and purposes, as the King of Obel he was the one who originally gave the mandate to Lazlo to form and lead the Island Liberation Army. Suikoden IV might be infamous for many aspects, but I'd say the Tenkai-Tengou-Tenki trio was at its most refined in this installment.

Raja seems to be a decent enough lead general too, given her original neutral status with regards to the Godwin-Barows conflict. Lucretia was thankfully a much more refined version of Shu, without the sheer arrogance, so these Generals did get some screentime of their own.

In Suikoden II, Shu turned Riou into his puppet and Ridley into his personal plaything. As long as he is around, I doubt the army would need anyone else. He could put Krin in charge and the war would still work out just fine. At the expense of me, of course.

Breaking the convention set by its predecessors, I doubt the Tenkai-Tengou-Tenki framework applies to Suikoden III. True to the structure of the game, either of Hugo, Chris or Geddoe could easily assume leadership if the eventual Flame Champion was to fall with little difficulties. Sasarai wasn't particularly fit as Tengou anyway, notwithstanding the fact of his very late joining the Fire Bringer army...

[KFCrispy]

Suikoden III - if Thomas had died and never made Budehuc such a big issue, some or many of the characters wouldn't have met or been inspired to make a difference. Hugo is inspired greatly by Thomas when he meets him.. Apple and Caesar may not have been able to meet up with the rest of the cast (maybe???).

[jonathan_priest]

Suikoden III - if Thomas had died and never made Budehuc such a big issue, some or many of the characters wouldn't have met or been inspired to make a difference. Hugo is inspired greatly by Thomas when he meets him.. Apple and Caesar may not have been able to meet up with the rest of the cast (maybe???).

True, Thomas is pretty much the gel that holds the army together, the main problem is, the army itself feels so disconnected that if Thomas died, say, during the assault against the Zexen forces, no one would have picked that up and they'd never repel not only Harmonia but Luc. Problem I had with SIII leadership is that, Hugo was a hothead, Geddoe was seemingly unconcerned about anything and Chris was a puppet of the Zexen council.