[Henry Bohun]

I think that the war will strengthen John Natalis' position not only in Temeria but in the North as a whole. As it stands John is possibly the only hardened battle commander remaining (With Foltest, Demavend and Henselt, all proven commanders, gone). I think that this will lead to much of the Temerian Nobility and peasantry flocking to him for protection and/or guidance. And with Aedrin and Kaedwen being leaderless (The former if you take Roche's path with Stennis dying in the mist and the Virgin of Aedrin being killed by Geralt) I could see at least a few of their remaining soldiery/nobility looking to Natalis for leadership in the place of Radovid, who they might either see as inexperienced or too expansionist.

[Yellow®]

Henry Bohun said:

I think that the war will strengthen John Natalis' position not only in Temeria but in the North as a whole. As it stands John is possibly the only hardened battle commander remaining (With Foltest, Demavend and Henselt, all proven commanders, gone). I think that this will lead to much of the Temerian Nobility and peasantry flocking to him for protection and/or guidance. And with Aedrin and Kaedwen being leaderless (The former if you take Roche's path with Stennis dying in the mist and the Virgin of Aedrin being killed by Geralt) I could see at least a few of their remaining soldiery/nobility looking to Natalis for leadership in the place of Radovid, who they might either see as inexperienced or too expansionist. ›››

so u killed Saskia and killed Hensel? -.-

[Costin Moroianu]

The North won't have a chance in hell without Henselt. I don't mean that Henselt is that good of a tactician, but that by killing him you will cause a civil war in Kaedwen.

[KnightofPhoenix]

Henry Bohun said:

I could see at least a few of their remaining soldiery/nobility looking to Natalis for leadership in the place of Radovid, who they might either see as inexperienced or too expansionist. ›››

Natalis is a military commander. Being a leader of a kingdom however is another creature all together. If Natalis said that he couldn't guarantee his position in one week in peace time, then I dread to think what he would do (or not do) when Temeria is in chaos.

With the absence of leadership, the nobility is more likely to flock to the Nilfgaardian side. Apparently that's what happens with the Cintran nobles, who in exchange for their compliance kept their privileges.

Out of the two, Radovid is far far more likely to bring the nobles in line.
But it's not mutually exclusive. Natalis and Radovid can work together.

UPDATE:
After replaying TW2, EE, I've decided I will go back to writing articles. Initially, I planned for the 3rd article to be about the nonhuman question. But since it takes some time to research, I will keep it as the 4rth one. The 3rd one will be an analysis of the war for the Pontar Valley, using the methodology I acquired in my Political Science and history studies (I will make it entertaining to read I promise!).

[Seboist]

Knight have you considered adding the Wild Hunt as a faction in this blog post?

[KnightofPhoenix]

Seboist said:

Knight have you considered adding the Wild Hunt as a faction in this blog post? ›››

No, as it's not involved in the plot of TW2.

It might be in TW3, but it doesn't appear in TW2 barring flashbacks and cool research Geralt can do.

[Henry Bohun]

Knight, I think Natalis' weakness is his lack of backing, as supposed to a lack of ability to play the game. As shown when he deals with Kimbolt and Maravel he at least has a grasp of it. However when the war comes many of the weaker lords and peasants will look for some capable who they can believe in and if there is one area where Natalis excells it is war. Just think of how the Cintrans flocked to Vissegerd. Plus I reckon Natalis will result in the least amount of Temerians siding with the Black Ones. As Natalis points out many of the nobles will not be happy with Radivid taking control and if he doesn't have Anais Radovid's men are shown to be executing Temerian Nobles in the streets of Loc Muinne. This is only going to lead to More Nobles defecting to Nilfgaard when push comes to shove.

[KnightofPhoenix]

Hence why the wise choice is to give Radovid Anais
He will have the most legitimacy and more importantly, the force to impose his will, as ultimately that's what power is.

Natalis' ability to play the game is suspect. If he was genuine when he said that he would destroy all evidence of Kimbolt's crime after he helped him deal with Maravel, then he's a poor player. That evidence should be kept to keep Kimbolt in line.

Furthermore, if Henselt is dead and Anais lost, Temeria breaks down into provinces, showing that Natalis was completely incapable of preserving the state.

War is not just commanding armies. It's playing politics constantly, root out traitors and keep the rest in line, manage an economy of war...etc. Things that Natalis would not be able to do, contrary to Radovid.

[Henry Bohun]

Agreed that Radovid with Anais is the best option for preserving the freedom of the North but If preferable he would make Natalis some form of Marhsal or commander. Because without a doubt, even with Henselt alive, Natalis is the greatest military commander left in the North that we can be sure of. It takes skill to beat an army twice your side, when your own army is a coalition and a large amount of your personal host being the PFI.
But unfortunately due to Radovid's own skill at the game I don't see him placing a man like Natalis in such a place of power unless things get really desperate.

[Guy N'wah]

Natalis needs support to keep his army together. They fight for coin, not for promises, and Natalis is known to be deeply in debt already. The Temerian nobles' support will be flimsy at best, and likely to be fleeting as they pursue their quarrels against each other.

Radovid may be a skilled politician, but he still needs commanders. Any deal that would put Radovid's support behind Natalis's army would be to the advantage of both parties. Natalis should be more careful in negotiating with Radovid than he has shown, or the lion's share of that advantage will accrue to Radovid.

[Henry Bohun]

I can still see John becoming a Temerian version of Vissegerd if given Anais. The similarities are there. Both are renowned military leaders in Nominal command after the death of their monarch. And like Cintra was in the last war Temeria will be one of the first hit by The Black Ones. However in this case John has his Lion Cub, which not having was a massive blow to the morale the peasant army.

And on a side note: Will a large portion of Natalis debt be gone with the death of Phillipa in Radovid's witch hunt (she did die din't she?).

[KnightofPhoenix]

Henry Bohun said:

And on a side note: Will a large portion of Natalis debt be gone with the death of Phillipa in Radovid's witch hunt (she did die din't she?). ›››

No she didn't die.
Though her possessions might get confiscated, probably by Radovid. So Natalis would just be in debt to him.

[Henry Bohun]

But she's in his dungeons isn't she? I can hardly see her living long when all these others are dying, especially given her previous treasons towards Redania

[KnightofPhoenix]

She escapes, thanks to Iorveth.

[Henry Bohun]

Thanks, I've still not managed to get all the way through Iorveth's path yet for some reason. I've done Roche's 3 times yet can't bring myself to finish the 3rd act with the elf

[bbk4114]

KnightofPhoenix said:

She escapes, thanks to Iorveth. ›››

Yes, she does thanks to Geralt & Iorveth both. She will have Radovid's guts for garters! I know you have a man-crush on him, but to me he's just a childish, jealous, & shortsighted fool wishing everyone thought more of him than they do.

Isn't this game great!

[gorthuar]

bbk4114 said:

She will have Radovid's guts for garters!

Will she? In the novels t is established that all members of the Lodge of Sorceressess will die martyr's deaths. And the high priest chiefly responsible for Philippa's death even appears in the novels, meaning the event will come rather sooner than later. Now what monarch could empower said priest to torture Philippa to death, I wonder...

[KnightofPhoenix]

bbk4114 said:

Yes, she does thanks to Geralt & Iorveth both. She will have Radovid's guts for garters! I know you have a man-crush on him, but to me he's just a childish, jealous, & shortsighted fool wishing everyone thought more of him than they do. ›››

Meh, you're basing this on what?

[bbk4114]

gorthuar said:

Will she? In the novels t is established that all members of the Lodge of Sorceressess will die martyr's deaths. And the high priest chiefly responsible for Philippa's death even appears in the novels, meaning the event will come rather sooner than later. Now what monarch could empower said priest to torture Philippa to death, I wonder... ›››

Haven't read the books yet, I'm not big on waiting once I start a series and only 2-I think-have been translated to English. Besides I thought CDPR stated they are only taking the world, some of the characters, and some ideas from the plot lines to create the games. So different things happen in the game, no? She's such a good manipulator why would they want to kill her off in game? They'd have to build another character from scratch and they've already got a good villain-ness to work with.

Spoiler:
On Iorveth's path you can already kill off Sile, but Philippa gets away no matter what choices you've made previously, so I see her coming back. I kinda don't see them making Triss die a martyr, but of course this is just speculation...

[bbk4114]

KnightofPhoenix said:

Meh, you're basing this on what? ›››

The man-crush? or my opinion of Radovid?

For Radovid: why, the exact same things you see as "bold" and "putting his signature" on Philippa by his form of torture, I see as a spoiled, entitled brat who couldn't stand it that people respected her opinion/needed her approval when he gave an order, and that she wouldn't kiss his ass. The words were calmly delivered but you could tell the feelings of inadequacy next to her has been festering for some time. I also hate the whole "divine right of blood" business re: royalty, so I'm sure that colors my opinions.

On a side note: were you one of the staunch Loghain supporters on the BSN? Seems like I remember the name from there.