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+--- Thread: Sage/Red Mage - possible? (/showthread.php?tid=6976)
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RE: Sage/Red Mage - possible? - Spiritual Machine - 04-21-2014
First of many or not aside, right now many of the Jobs in-game are only available to the most distinguished and exceptional of adventurers, if only due to the limited number of people in the world who even know how to access that power, let alone teach it, and how highly they regard your amazingly heroic character before they consider teaching you.
It's not outside the realm of possibility to be one of these Jobs (though at the very least there are lore reasons why characters who possess these abilities still wouldn't call themselves by their Job titles), given the right sort of character and background, and maybe a bit of how it would be written. Being more than one such Job would be pushing the limit even further...
There are two reasons why such considerations should give you pause.
First, to claim a Job is to claim tremendous and noteworthy power for a character. These are definitely feats beyond what normal characters are capable of. That in itself is not a bad thing, but consider realistically how long it would take to master such a rare and important talent, and what the sacrifices would be. Your hero character can do it because they are very special, and do nothing but adventure and solve the world's problems.
If you commit strongly enough to a Class to attain and master its Job, you would have little time for alternative study and activity. That's ultimately the trade-off that maintains the balance of what a roleplay character is capable of, by giving characters inherent disadvantages, weaknesses or gaps in knowledge. And if your character spread their study around so as to delve into multiple Jobs, then can your character really have had the time to become skilled enough in any to claim their powers or titles?
But there is a second reason to consider, one that clarifies the difference between a powerful character and a "Mary Sue."
I posed the following question to myself when I began to give consideration to roleplaying a Summoner: How would this enhance the roleplay experience of myself and others. Power for the sake of itself is rarely ever a good justification for roleplay decisions, and the proof of that is in how many awesome characters all of us can name who had few if any notable powers and skills.
In roleplay, the value of power is in how it is written. I could make my character a Summoner and justify his ability and opportunity to defeat a Primal and ensnare its power, acquire the necessary artifacts, uncover the right tome or the right people to gain the knowledge and insight to perform the rituals, and all that jazz. But then what do I do with all of that, realistically? Sit in a tavern and tell everyone about how many Chakras I've unlocked?
Don't plan for power if your character can get by fine without it. Your standard disciplines already bestow incredible martial might and skill, and in the face of overwhelming power, it's been shown that preparation, guile and a little luck will always outlast and overcome.
And we like stories like that, don't we? Eorzeans are the underdogs, and it makes for a good story. Your player character only gains more power in order to best even more powerful foes. A roleplay character doesn't require great power or great titles to be amazing, and so it all comes down to the purposes of such powers, both for the character, their roles, and the people they connect with.
If you can't really think of a reason to give your character notable and renown powers, abilities and connections, where less would serve just as well, then my suggestion would be to go with the more "mundane" alternative. A good writer can make a simple Gladiator seem amazingly skilled and clever. When people look for Mary Sues, on the other hand, what they look for most often is undeserved and gratuitous power and status.
That's the way I look at it, anyway.
RE: Sage/Red Mage - possible? - JFrombaugh - 04-22-2014
To answer your question about whether or not Job-level mastery would be necessary for my character...
I would say that if I go the route of Conjury and Thaumaturgy, then I don't think it would be necessary to make her a combination WHM/BLM. As it's been confirmed, the arts are outlawed and require a very high level of trust to be allowed to wield even without a Soul Crystal. Plus, all you're really missing out on is Holy, Flare, and a number of support skills.
SMN and SCH, however, I would say would both be pretty important to Miranda's background and personality. For one thing, Arcanists are strongly tied to Limsa Lomina as cargo inspectors, and second, the Jobs both have unique storylines that would tie in very well to joining the Scions - especially Summoner as you decide to help out the researcher so that you can learn some ancient secrets about dealing with the primals.