Curse

Minus Sign · May 12, 2006, 08:20 PM // 20:20

A couple of things.

1. No connections between the fortune teller and the in-game present events can be made. Since Shiro takes Togo for his sacrifice, he renders any "Shiro or the emperor" choice null in the games present time plot. best to assume from that there is no relation between present Shiro's actions and the fortune-tellers predictions.

2. Supposedly, he is presently motivated by revenge. he didn't like dying and he's going to make people pay.

3. he is reffered to by the Spirits as an "envoy"; one of them. This statement is brief and at the end of the game, after he is newly dead, he is no longer an envoy and "confused". One could surmise that his "present" abilities came from 300 years as a envoy.

4. Unless its done in the elite missions, there is no explaination of where or how Shiro got his power in the past. This is, definatly, a huge plothole since the games environment, characters, and politics revolve around this act. Lazy.

5. There is a mention of the Afflicted appearing once before, but there is no relation between them and rogue envoys or Shiro mentioned then. Since we spend most of our time fighting them, it would have been nice to have a little background. Appearantly, Shiro is corrupting his powers as an envoy to create Afflicted (in one case we see him "kill" a man and a woman and reply that he is and envoy but that he will not lead them to paradise, but force them to serve him. Throughout the game, it is these "infected" creatures--Afflicted, the temple spirits, the dragon, etc--that do his bidding). So while there is no plot connection made as to how Shiro has taken over the Flood (Just look at them for crying out loud and tell me they aren't) he is in control now.

We know why the undead are fighting us in Tyria, as well as the Mantle, the Charr, the Titans and the snake men (can't remember thier species off-hand) of the desert. We know who controls them, how and wht we have to do (plot-wise) to bring things to a head.

5.5 Shiro is responsible for the Jade Wind. We see his death scream in the Factions movie. We see it start from him and eminate outward.

6. The Kurzick/Luxon conflict stems from competition over resources (via the PvPvE missions), past disputes and neo-religious beliefs stemming from their fallen heroes. Its all three, supposedly brought to a head when the Jade Wind destroyed the country they live in.

7. Dragons in asian cultures are always synonymous with knowledge and wisdom. I see no great mystery in how they know so much.

I think in the interests of "suspense" someone at Anet went to town on the script of GWF ("F" no longer stands for "Factions" over here) and chopped out scenes that would explain why things are the way they are. this seems like an attempt to keep us "rivited" to our keyboards while we try to figure out whats going on.

What we get instead is a mess.

narud · May 18, 2006, 04:53 AM // 04:53

i think that shiros power came from the fact he became the envoy( the other envoys brough you back to life, maybe because shiro was evil the power was different) and maybe it traveled with him when he became human again (idiot now u can die)

i think the kur/luxon war started after there champions were killed and possibly blamed it on eachother, seeing as each side is always saying "our champion killed Shiro =p!!!!!"

narud · May 18, 2006, 04:58 AM // 04:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Minus Sign

A couple of things.

7. Dragons in asian cultures are always synonymous with knowledge and wisdom. I see no great mystery in how they know so much.

seeing as dragons are rumored to live for hundreds of years, and have great magical abilities to see whatever they choose, i would guess they are pretty smart. (i know a lot more about mythilogical dragons, too much. dang D&D.)

and i think the reason the seas didnt turn back to water and forest turn to life again is because he died the first time and this happened, he was dead and it stayed the same, he died again nothing different he just didnt eneter the sprit world. i think the jadewind and stuff was caused by his death not his passing to the spirit world. only bad thing is, wouldnt that mean he could haunt us since hes in between.

Xellos · May 18, 2006, 09:55 AM // 09:55

The easiest way out of this is to create some more campaigns which make no sense, but all have the same consistent thing in them : Stupid dragon that tells you what to do. In the end, dragons all meet up and try to go bahaha we fooled you like in chapter 1 that hobo did. Then you slaughter them. The end.

Course, that'd be so cliche and easy to see, even A.net wouldn't try to attempt something that crazy

samifly · May 18, 2006, 10:16 AM // 10:16

It's not a very well thought out story line to be sure... Prophecies wasn't the best story line either, but at least it made some sense.

Maedai Amarth · May 18, 2006, 04:51 PM // 16:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ellis 404

This is before he infects hundreds upon hundreds of people (i.e. the Afflicted) so he can come back to life and be a jackass.

Even though I haven't finished the game yet, as I really dislike sloushing through fifty bajillion side quests so the next mission will open up, I kinda feel the same way about Shiro. When I watched the Faction movie all I could think was "Man, this is flippin' sweet! This story is gonna rock the original so hard!". Alas, while the story is mildly interesting at the moment, I still like GWP better in terms of...omg PLOT TWISTS. Even if they were cheesy plot twists like, the White Mantle are your friends - oh wait! They're the bad guys! dun dun DUN!!

Aside from the fact that Shiro appears to be insanely tall in cut-scenes, (or the emperor is insanely short?), I can't even guess why the Emperor would want the guy to be his personal bodyguard. However, I'll give the story the benefit of the doubt, maybe we're just missing something important in all the traveling we do in Factions (thank you side quests...).

The end of Vizunah really did bother me. Shiro frickin' killed us. In one hit. And then, he just leaves!? WTF, man. I mean, Shiro seems to delight in trying to control other dead heros as well as nameless NPCs, but not us?

Oh, and one more thing. Nika. She looks exactly like the assassin from the Factions movie and yet in-game, the ghost of that assassin looks nothing like the movie. >.>

Helll is for Heroes · May 18, 2006, 06:06 PM // 18:06

so no mention on gwen?

:/

that really sucks, i wanted to see what happened to her.

Big_Iron · May 18, 2006, 06:50 PM // 18:50

It's got enough of a plot for Uwe Boll to make it into a a really bad movie.

bushe · May 18, 2006, 06:59 PM // 18:59

personally I found the plot to be unmotivated as well as utterly, unforgivably uninteresting. Honestly the people who develop the guild wars combat and play systems as well as the artwork people and community people (shameless gaile plug) have all been really let down by the writers. I find the plot of donkey kong to be on par with guild wars. Honestly the plot is so bad that I don't even really care to fill in the specifics, its not like catching kaiser soze or something.

Yanman.be · May 18, 2006, 07:39 PM // 19:39

It's easy:

Shiro= Gwen,
Togo= Glynt
Emporor = Brechnar Ironhammer

Cyril Aspect · May 18, 2006, 07:57 PM // 19:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xarath

Have anyone of you guys taken a closer look at Headmaster Kuju in Shing Jea Monastery? I think she is the necro headmaster.. Anyway, she looks exactly like the fortune teller from the cutscenes. You don't get much info from her, but the way she talks indicates that she likes minions.. Maybe Shiro was also a minion of sorts for her? Ok, the fortune teller dies in the cutscenes and it's 200 years ago, but what if she is a little more than just a lady with a crystal ball?

Dunno if this has anything to do with the plot, or indeed anything. Maybe Anet just got bored of making character models and used that one two times? Could be, or it could be something else..

I f you want to see the fortuneteller model it is also one of the collectors neaar i Believe the marketplace.

I did a double take when i was joggin past her.

I'd say reports of her death are greatly exaggerated

leoknight · May 19, 2006, 08:41 AM // 08:41

I think Factions storyline is quite interesting except that it didn't explain anything even at the end of the last mission. There's some many questions left about this plot that no one know. Common questions like how did Shiro got such power that turned to the sea into jade in the past and was Shiro really the evil one from the started? I'll say the fortuneteller was evil one, she was the one that mess with Shiro's mind from the start to kill the emperor but why? I doubt we'll ever know any of these answers since each chapter will be starting a whole new plot anyway.

TheWatcher · May 19, 2006, 01:35 PM // 13:35

The overall Prophecies plot made first sense when we had the n'th update of the game.
Even some of the stand-alone quest content made sense when you tackled it with your 2nd character (due to continuous game updates). IMHO at the time we had the SF add-on out the main plot of GWP was more or less stable.

IMO Fractions will also have its evolution -unless ANet picks up a strategical decision to earn money with half-plots and by releasing new skins, new character slots, new bday presents and new classes and skills-.

But personally GWF is nothing revolutionary/exciting/new from gaming point of view and from the plot point of view... looking forward to see the plot leaks to be closed as I enjoyed the GWP plots much more than what I have seen from GWF.

Markaedw · May 19, 2006, 03:05 PM // 15:05

Ok, here's my take. The Fortune teller did see everyting she told him, she just mis-interperated everything. The Emeperer does try to kill him, his swords are much sought after, and he should beware the harvest ceremony. All of those things came to pass because first he killed the emperer, he had the darkness in him to begin with and he let it take over and started it all.

Let me give you another example, this one is from a much better written TV show. A women goes to a fortune teller and is told that if she marry the really fat and ugly man she knows, he will inherit a lot of money and die a violent death. Well she marrys the guy, he's kind of a dork, but she wins the lottery and throws the whole thing in his face. He becomes mad, kills her, gets her lottery winings and the electric chair.

So my point, the future is to fluid to be acurately fortold, and all to often trying to escape the future fullfills it.

Guildmaster Cain · May 30, 2006, 11:49 AM // 11:49

Gwen = Glint = Fortune Teller with a name starting with G (chapter x) = Gaile Gray

Gwen makes sure the nubs survive pre-searing, so that they get to meet Glint later in the game.

Glint knows all about the flameseeker prophesies and she also knows who the flameseeker is, but doesnt warn you about it. Because she secretly controls the Lich.

Fortune Teller knows Shiro will kill her for what she said, she doesnt act surprised at all, just keeps repeating the message at a desperate attempt. She knows that Shiro will get an Envoy as punishment for evil acts. (Envoys cant enter the the afterlife themselves, they can only guide other spirits to it. The other envoys also look as they died some horrible deaths. Plus my minions keep attacking them every cutscene i meet them, so they must be evil, because my minions have a evil-radar.) The fortuneteller knows also that Shiro will try to get back into the real world, hoping to create a rift between the spirit world and the real world. This rift will alow the Spirit of Gaile Grey to hitchhike with Shiro and enter the real world.
Gaile Grey has been secretly controlling Glint, Gwen and the Fortune Teller, and thus their pawns the Lich and Shiro. She could only astrally project herself for some times in the real world. That is the reason Gwen could never travel with you into towns and the same reason why Glint couldnt help fighting the mursaat/titans. Now that she has escaped the spirit world for real, she can releash her fury upon the farming bots. Beware!

Unkemptwolf · May 30, 2006, 03:12 PM // 15:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guildmaster Cain

Now that she has escaped the spirit world for real, she can releash her fury upon the farming bots. Beware!

Quickly! You must go into hiding. They know about you know, you know too much! Soon they will come for you. Take the knowladge with you. Keep it secret, keep it safe.

Pi_Numurian · May 30, 2006, 10:30 PM // 22:30

Shiro didn't cause the Jade Wind foo twas Gwen

LifeInfusion · May 31, 2006, 03:49 AM // 03:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maedai Amarth

Oh, and one more thing. Nika. She looks exactly like the assassin from the Factions movie and yet in-game, the ghost of that assassin looks nothing like the movie. >.>

Nika is the girl on the Factions box. Vizu is her ancestor who helped kill Shiro (in the movie and also according to manuscripts booklet).
http://www.guildwars.com/support/gam...rthamerica.php
EDIT: also here http://www.guildwars.com/gallery/wallpaper/gw-wp062.php

Draconis · Jun 05, 2006, 09:15 PM // 21:15

I have a theory that i thought on today when i finished Factions for the first time. Kuunavanga (or whatever that big dragon's name is) is Glint! Their voices are very similar, hoarse women voices! Glint knows alot of stuff and Kuunavanga knows alot, there's a connection! Also, all this talk about Shiro being über powerful and all before he got killed, just look at yourselves! Warriors with the powers of holy men? Spellcasters that not only can control things from outer space (Meteors) but can also twist the universe around it's own set rules to duplicate an act already made? (Echo). Even worse, people being brought back from the dead by a guy's wave of a wand? Shiro was probably just a guy that had found a nice tank build. He's level 31 or something like that, right? Which means he has more attribute points and such. Plus he probably had access to some superfly skilltrader available only to skilltraders.
But despite all of this, i have to admit i was a little saddened by the lack of info about Gwen. I want to know what happened to her! After acting like a bloody parent for her i demand some answers! Or there's a little girl that won't be eating dessert tonight...