I think that this would probably work better as a Mystery Dungeon-styled RP than a mashed up fantasy x conquest kind of a thing. It'd make it easier to work out mechanics etc I think and would make for a more unique experience since a more medieval PMD-style RP isn't something I think I've ever seen.
I'm probably thinking more Rennaisance than Medieval, but to most the difference isn't really major enough to care about. xP
I think examples from those few times would be greatly appreciated here. Any comparisons and personal insight would be of great help to figure out what exactly makes these competitive elements ineffective.
Mostly because of the below. I understand the risk.
People don't like to lose.
Main reason tbh.
Basically, if we did go through with the pseudopolitic route, it would require a certain amount of maturity from the players involved for sure. This isn't to say you can't write a good story being on the losing side of things as it is... Still, it's not even that everyone has to lose. Hell, it's not out of the realm of possibility that players can craft an ending where nobody loses, although I'm going to stay tight-lipped about the ideas I've had that way...
Anyways, I think the dynamic of a more competitive setting using political analogies would actually make for an fascinating set-up that isn't common here. That said, I think you should really bear in mind about the scale and functionality of your world before deciding on any route. I feel many GMs fall into the trap of emphasizing way too much on splendor by making everything too grand. I always believed RP is a completely different medium compared to traditional literature so there are some disadvantages. And anytime I hear something as high-fantasy as Fire Emblem, I get worried that the entire cast will just split apart just so they can explore the "massive" landscapes and giant story arcs, and pairs will just expend most of their efforts elongating JPs to accommodate this.
Someone once said that simplicity is important to keep in mind when making and running a RP. I completely concur with this sentiment. I feel the most valuable aspect of a RP is how we as players influence the world a GM establishes.
If I can expand on what I intend to do? I intend to keep things in the "local scale" so far as RPs go, by for the most part centering the action around the locale the players are at for assignment (and yes, they'll be in the same place, because otherwise there'd be no interaction, and no RP) and the effects and repurcussions of their actions on assignment would be felt once they returned to their hometown; however, with all that said...
This suggestion might be based on my own preference, but I think this RP would be more appealing and efficient if major factions were reduced to tribal clans fighting over the same territory. Alternatively, the only two factions you should focus on is Elathir and Aldathir, while everything else can be made up by the players for their own lore. As such, you should give both Elathir and Aldathir equal significance in the story; as of now, it feels like your attention and efforts seem to be fixated on Elathir though I suppose this is only because you have yet to flesh out everything else.
I'm surely not averse to the idea of reducing the scale, if the players feel it might fit them. As for any percieved bias, I wouldn't worry about my bias too much - like you've postulated, I'm early enough in the planning for this to be asking questions that have such a wide-scale effect on the RP, so ultimately, not a lot is developed. That's why this thread exists really: So I can work out what way I should move about developing the world, the conflict between Elathir and Aldathir and how the RP should be run as an RP!
As for the Pokemon: I think it's quite jarring for this RP to have Pokemon at all. If you do plan to throw in those technicolor critters, all I ask is you don't just shoehorn them in just because we happen to be a Pokemon RP forum. Unless you have something specific you wish exploit from the lore behind the actual Pokemon species themselves, I think it's better just to make this RP an original piece since you already have a solid foundation.
Bluntly this is mostly a Pokémon work due to stories such as
Crimson Dawn and
Odyssey that brought me into the site in the first place and that used similar setups of Pokémon in a war setting. I, for one certainly enjoyed taking Pokémon so far from its original concept. Beyond that I have to admit, Pokémon makes for a set of expectations we already know about and I'm not entirely sure in my abilities to create an original setting yet.