Your party of 6

[mackevin06]

Yeah that's better. I never used Richard myself. Then again, I don't remember if I got him or not. I only played through S5 once and that was about 6 years ago. I started another file to play through it again, but the beginning of the game is just so slow and I kept getting distracted by other games. Although I've heard he's a real badass.

[gildedtalon]

Yeah, he's the best character after Zerase before you get those overpowered characters and their unites

[darkknightkv]

Okay, I know this has not been updated in months but I really like this concept so I put a lot of thought into it...I have 3 post-it notes filled with things. I will be using ages and such from when they are actually in the game (Else I could not really use anyone from suikoden 4)Here goes.

I am setting up my group more like a merc company, so who better to lead (While still falling into the limitations) than....

-Duke. I wanted a leader who was not overly old, he is around 32-ish when he is in the game so I think he would still be young enough to go from one place to another. In Suikoden 3, his group keeps up pretty well with Geddoe dispite Geddoe's group being older, smarter, and there being more of them. Plus, he seems to have endless motivation.

Speaking of motivation...

-Fred. He is going to help keep the group going towards a goal, he is a great tank if the need arises. In addition, he is only around 22-24 and has nothing holding him back from missions. He all around fits into the group.

So far my group seems to be lacking magic, lets change that.

-Maxine. To put it simply, most of the suikoden magic users are just too old. Maxine is around 25 during the game so still has a good number of years left. Viki, Jeane, and Eresh to me seem to violate the limitation of (no 'true rune' class characters who *technically* don't have a true rune), plus they dont seem to fit. I would have used Andarc here but I wanted to stick with (All characters should be Stars of Destiny from the core 5 games). To put it simply she is just a piece that fits, actual magic training and works well in a group as long as she has someone to keep her motivated.

Now for my attackers, one does not need much motivation

-Wakaba. She is my far the youngest being in the mid-teens. She works very hard and by the time she is in her 20's may be one of the best fighters. This was kinda my flex spot, a lot of people can go here but I choose her based on age and determination.

Speaking of age

-Kage. Kage is actually pretty young in the first suikoden game, early 20's. I figured my group needed a spy with a lot of contacts. He is a decent fighter and is used to working as a group. Many missions may require stealth that the other members do not have. Many ninja's are in the suikoden game but none as motivated by money as he is, this is a good quality in a merc.

Since I am on the topic of Good qualities, my last member is!!!! Yellow Mercenary! Oh, cant use him, well then.

-Nifsara. She is highly trained in spears, which no other team member has, she is only 25, and she is used to working as a team. She would also be the one to keep track of finances and contracts for the group.

As you can tell age is a major factor in the group as well as having people who will be part of a team. My formation would mostly rely on Duke and Fred being out front with Wakaba and Nifsara as back up. Maxine thowing magic around with Kage watching her back.

[Jocky]

You've really put a lot of thought into that the makings of that group darkknightkv!! Personally I have enough problems choosing people from 1 game to make a decent group without having to try and incorporate them all! Although, with the thoughts of a Merc type unit, I was disappointed in SV that Wilhelm & Mueller were non-playable characters. Both of them were fairly cool customers and I had no problems envisioning them in battle. But perhaps this was just me wanting too much!! I reckon they would have been a good basis to start a Merc unit on. Perhaps they are a bit too old for your purpose though.

[ItsDaveyJ]

This was really hard! I'm trying to resist obvious choices like Flik/Viktor/Georg/OP mages and true rune bearers but there is one obvious choice I can't ignore... And it seems like we are choosing combat-able characters so no Shu, Klaus, Apple, Huan etc.

Order:
Beecham | Nanami | Thomas
Lucia | Aila | Jacques

Aila - Long distance damage/healer/support. She seems like a fun girl and the way she acts with soda is funny.
Lucia - Fighter/mage hybrid. What can I say? I like capable and strong females. I like her "venomous tongue" as Chris puts it.
Jacques - Long distance damage. Quirky and fun. And I want his coat.
Beecham - Melee fighter. This party needs a strong guy. Plus, he'll round out my Karaya tribe trifecta here. I can't help it. I just love those Karayan patterns.
Thomas - Fighter but I'd throw a Cyclone rune on him for additional offense/support to help Aila. He seems like he's be the mediator of sorts for the group. The friendly one!
Nanami - Melee fighter. My obvious choice... I just can't help it. She's such a true and loyal friend.

The way I chose these characters was more of... "If I was in this world... who would be the characters I would like and want to be in my group?" So that eliminated some characters I actually do enjoy, like Humphrey or Wakaba. Odd that most of these characters are from S3 :/ S2 is by far my favorite!

[mackevin06]

That sounds like a good party. Lucia, Beechum, and Nanami are some of my favorite characters from their games.

[BrucePrintscreen]

At the risk of being unoriginal, I keep a fondness for the Viktor/Flik duet. I'd add Rina & Eilie for sure, they are my favourite characters in the serie. I would add Lotte because I share her fondness for cats, and to top it, I'd add Chiepoo.
This is very "character" based but I think that's what the OP wanted. Honestly, Lotte & Chiepoo would make an awesome duet.

[mackevin06]

They could even have a Unite attack!!! I could see it happening!

[Jocky]

They could even have a Unite attack!!! I could see it happening!

I can totally see it as well!! Something along the lines of the Norma & Ernst one from 5 where Lotte jumps on Chiepoo's back and starts whipping him as she gets carried away, while chiepoo, grudgingly gets on all fours and chargers forward with a disheartened look on his face!!

[BrucePrintscreen]

They could even have a Unite attack!!! I could see it happening!

I can totally see it as well!! Something along the lines of the Norma & Ernst one from 5 where Lotte jumps on Chiepoo's back and starts whipping him as she gets carried away, while chiepoo, grudgingly gets on all fours and chargers forward with a disheartened look on his face!!

This is awesome guys, I totally can figure it out I always found Lotte cute, I regret they didn't develop her further, but I guess everyone has their little favourites so too bad for me. If I had to write my own Suikoden storyline I would make her come back.

Reflecting on my first post, I think on a certain level I consider Flik & Viktor to be the real main characters of Suikoden I & II.

[Jocky]

Reflecting on my first post, I think on a certain level I consider Flik & Viktor to be the real main characters of Suikoden I & II.

Yeah they have a pretty special place in my heart also. They were like chalk and cheese but they made such a fun and interesting duo that you couldn't help but like them!

[Pyriel]

"Chalk and cheese"?

[BrucePrintscreen]

Reflecting on my first post, I think on a certain level I consider Flik & Viktor to be the real main characters of Suikoden I & II.

Yeah they have a pretty special place in my heart also. They were like chalk and cheese but they made such a fun and interesting duo that you couldn't help but like them!

I know right? And it helps that both Riou and Tir are pretty much everymen with a more or less blank personality. Thus Viktor & Flik appears as more important than them in the end.

The last stand at the very end of SI is poignant.

[Jocky]

"Chalk and cheese"?

Old saying for complete opposites. Might be a British thing....

The last stand at the very end of SI is poignant.

I loved that bit. It was a bit the like the last scene of 300 or something, when the last remaining fighters stand off against a whole army! Totally memorable!

[EternalOnslaught]

Here are my six ...

Jeane
Eresh
Clive
Snowe
Killey
Koroku(C'mon, he's the greatest)

I honestly wanted to go with Koroku, Koichi, Connie, Kosanji, Kogoro and finally Jeane but 4 of those aren't SoD's.