Kismet

Exactly this. Viera is their name on the Source. They're called the Viis on the First. The paragraphs that are included on their character creation screens-- which I'm assuming you missed --actually more or less answer this question. There was a little bit of info given about them by an NPC during the Return to Ivalice raid as well. ALL of that information, in addition to their naming convention, has been neatly compiled into this single post, so please read everything here: https://mirkemenagerie.tumblr.com/post/181850817699/the-viera Based on this question, and actually the vast majority of your post, it sounds like you haven't played through Shadowbringers yet. There is a bit of a discourse in the community about who is and who isn't willing to accept headcanon of characters traveling between the Source and the First. Everyone has a different opinion and personal tolerance level, so it's a decision you have to make on your own. Personally, I'd suggest you speak with whoever your RP partner(s) is/are and determine what you and those in your personal circle would be most comfortable with. However, playing through Shadowbringers will give you a lot of the context for that discourse, so I do suggest you go through it when you're able to.

I think some folks may be focusing on the wrong parts of this topic's heart. Ryuji has hit closest to the mark, though. This isn't as much about what is or isn't canon, what is or isn't possible, or what is or isn't a rude surprise. Those things ARE important, don't get me wrong. And you should definitely take the time to communicate with whoever you're RPing with long-term in order to figure out how those factors will come into play amongst yourselves. But what this really ultimately boils down to is what Lamiaris is trying to do and why. Do they simply want their character to be ignorant to the world of Hydaelyn and its ways? You don't NEED a character to come from another world to accomplish that. Do they want a justification for their character to have a class not yet released? You don't NEED a character to come from another world to accomplish that. Do they merely desire for the character to be mysterious and/or cool? You don't NEED a character to come from another world to accomplish that. If they simply WANT to do it because they say so? That's just fine. If they're worried about lore-soundness, SE has luckily written things in such a way to support it, as evidenced by Sounsyy and Kieron both. But as long as Lamiaris also knows they don't HAVE to do these things in order to tell the story they want to tell, everyone should be satisfied. Equipping people with as much information and advice as possible should hopefully lead to the outcome that will give THEM the most enjoyment -- even if a percentage of others may not necessarily like or approve of it.

This question comes up every now and again in some shape or form on either here on RPC or on Tumblr. Sometimes it's just a few posts embedded in another topic, sometimes it has its own thread, sometimes it's presented as someone trying to choose a server. And every time, the answer is the same. No, it is not dying. Yes, it has changed -- as all things inevitably do. There are so many factors that play into the stuff you're seeing (or not seeing) in regards to Balmung's "state", that it's almost difficult to identify them all. Some people have had personal life changes, so they can't RP like they used to. Others play multiple MMOs and can't have the majority of their focus on 14. If you want to judge mostly by events and their attendance, you have some RPers like me who've been around for quite some time... but we almost never go to Grindstone or any other popular recurring event because we just don't like them (and/or can't deal with immense chat scroll). Then you have some "old guard" RPers like Kylin mentioned who're just not for sitting indoors all the time and want to RP in dungeons or actively roam across the world. You won't find an official listing or ad for those sorts of RPers/groups all the time... You just have to be lucky enough to encounter them. And then you have people who sort of show up when content is new/abundant, then dip when it's not. I guess the main point I wanted to make is that unstable things like event popularity or the number of instances of less desirable RP concepts ALONE do not dictate what the health of an RP community is like. That verdict has to be drawn from a long list of things that play in conjunction with the current state of game itself, building up and winding down over many, many months of said community's lifespan.

Unfortunately, yes. The last time Balmung unlocked, we were notified prior to the major update that was coming where it would happen via the Lodestone. If you want to know exactly what to expect, here is the post so you can see what it looks like. Basically, every time we're notified that a major patch is coming (as in 4.2, 4.25, etc.), you should keep an eye on Lodestone every day up until the patch hits and hope it gets unlocked. Major patches drop every 2.5~3.5 months, so you don't need to drive yourself crazy by checking every day or anything like that. It's understandably confusing due to wording on SE's part, but the world being congested is something separate from the world being permanently closed. You can transfer characters onto a congested world at ANY time and you can create a new character on a congested world at CERTAIN times (typically during the late night or early morning of that server's regional timezone/s), but they're reaching what SE deems to be their "limit". Being congested is like a prerequisite for the server to potentially be closed. But once SE announces that the world is closed, it stays locked. And once again, whenever that happens, said announcement is posted on Lodestone. Some folks honestly were beginning to think Balmung would be closed forever, but the fact that it reopened for 4.2 ensures us it will open again, eventually. Until that time comes, we just have to be patient. I hope that any of this helps you understand!

I'm not sure if you're seeking feedback for the concept or only trying to confirm if the character's backstory is lore sound, so feel free to disregard my post if it's the latter. My impression of all this is to ask you a question... Is there something specific that you hope to achieve in your RP/storytelling that you feel you cannot achieve without having the character come from another dimension? I ask because you seemed adamant about stating that she is not Mary Sue-ish in terms of power level, which conveys a desire to avoid such a designation. But the highly special and overly extraordinary nature of the character's origins conflicts with that desire, in my opinion. I know that it's not a view shared by everyone, but I feel that a lot of the circumstances surrounding the Warriors of Darkness in the first place come off as very "troperific" and one-dimensional. So, if I were in your shoes and I wanted to avoid those things... I wouldn't make an entire character and backstory inspired by them.

I definitely agree with this, if it's something that's even possible to adjust. It's hard to explain, but it's kind of a strain on the eyes while on the desktop site (IMO). Not a pressing issue or anything, though!

I personally think it makes plenty of sense for Miqo'te hair to fluff a bit when they're scared or upset. Maybe not to a dramatic degree, but in a way that's sill visible to whoever's paying attention. Why? Because humans actually do it, too! It's just not as pronounced on us as it is on animals, obviously. ;p As for the discussion at hand, I tend to lean largely towards the "more human" side of the scale. I feel like I haven't seen enough adequate in-game evidence to justify feral behavior being a "norm" for either tribal Miqo'te or Xaela Au Ra, and even if it was present, I've crafted my characters' backstories in such a way that it wouldn't make sense for them to act as such. However, I do use their features to put emphasis on their emotions or reveal hidden intent. Relevant tail/ear emotes, fur/scales bristling slightly, etc. (Even preferences for certain climates or foods, although I've attributed that a bit more to the regions they grew up in overall.)

As long as the content and pacing of the plot fits its duration, I don't have much of a preference one way or the other. I'll give a couple of examples, if it'll help. A friend of mine is planning an "arc" for their character that will consist of only two events -- one to travel to the destination and investigate, one to fight the bad guys and recover. To simply recover an artifact from a verified location, learn a bit of backstory, fight somebody, and leave? That's adequate. On the flip side, the last arc I planned consisted of tracking down a person who the group was sure was in certain danger, as well as the artifact they had presumably stolen. So a series of investigations and interrogations needed to be done, as well as covering travel (because our group does many camping scenes). Doing all of that, fighting the antagonist, and dealing with the fallout took about a month. I definitely know that there are people out there who prefer for every arc to take months, because there is sort of this implication that length is an indicator of quality/dynamism. However, I do not believe that the longer a story takes to tell, the more "epic" it necessarily is (or even has to be)! And trying to schedule things around people who are hard to grab, or an FC/LS that you don't want to detract too much time away from, certainly can be difficult or confusing. So one may feel compelled to keep things short and sweet out of courtesy. I totally get that. But as long as everyone involved is engaged, feels included, and you all are enjoying the plot? Then you typically won't have to concern yourself with the duration overly much. And if you're still unsure, you can always just ask your partners for feedback.

Unnamed Merc said most of what I could've offered on this subject. I have not RPed with a large majority of people on this forum, let alone this server. This is mainly due to a combination of selectiveness, scheduling clashes, my mood, and laziness. However, none of these factors are dependent on other people. They're all based on ME. If I was the sort of person who was hurting for more RP, I wouldn't be able to say that I've exhausted most of my potential options. And I believe that's a claim that most people cannot truly make. Can anyone who believes that a lack of "new blood" on Balmung is "the" issue really say they've RPed with a thousand people? Thousands? Everyone I've met doesn't even know 500 people on this server, let alone RPed with that amount. To clarify, I'm not saying there's no one like that out there... It's just extremely naive to think it describes the average RPer. If you're the sort of person who feels RP is scarce now, chances are you felt the same prior to the lockdown. That, or if you weren't going out of your way to meet new folks before (like I wasn't, because I've always been comfortable in my respective groups, like the OP)? Chances are you aren't doing that now, either. But even if none of that describes your particular situation... I feel that people should take a good, long look at themselves first before pointing fingers at other things.

I don't think... anyone has been misinterpreting, unless you've been misphrasing? I agree with Chachanji that sounds more like a preference than a red flag, but for you maybe that is a red flag and you're welcome to continue considering it as one, people are just pointing out the logic you've given for it doesn't make sense to us. I can agree it might be less frustrating to lose a duel than a random dice roll, but a PvP duel proves nothing more about your character's skill and how the fight would realistically play out than a random dice roll does. I understand your distaste for rolling, I just... don't get how you think dueling is so much better when your concerns are based on characters unrealistically/unfairly losing, which is just as much an issue in PvPing? Quoted and bolded for emphasis. This is exactly what I was trying to convey in the latter half of my previous post. Don't get me wrong. As I said in my original response to you, Fear, I'm with you on getting seriously turned off by random dice rolls. (I'm more open-minded about fleshed out systems that have specific types of rolls as a component... Not that I'm a huge fan of those, either.) But I don't see how one method is inherently better than the other. There's nothing wrong with having that perspective, per se. It's merely turned this into a curious examination of your logic. But to each their own, of course. Although, if I were to boil all of this down to its most simplistic components... I'd personally say that all dueling really does is change the form of the dice -- probably flip the odds to be in your favor, since the implication there is that you prefer PvP due to it being something you have direct control over and are actually good at. But the idea that OOC mechanical proficiency should be equivalent to IC skill/experience is not something I think you'll find that most people here agree with.

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Meanwhile, I'm the polar opposite on this. As much as I hate rolls and character sheet-based combat systems... I'd take those over someone who wants to resolve IC issues through PvP any day. Why? I've found that most people I've come across who prefer actual dueling to RPing out combat have made terrible impressions on me. To be frank, it simply seems to smack of a lack of writing proficiency. Those sorts of players are usually either way too serious about RP (see: letting OOC bleed into IC), not serious enough about RP (see: too casual for my tastes), or just have some have some other whackadoodle trait that makes them utterly insufferable. Note: I know this likely doesn't apply to everyone that likes PvP-RP. It's just been my experience. I also find the idea of the reasoning for preferring dueling over rolls (feeling like you have a lack of control over what's left to fate versus what your character is supposed to be capable of) to be somewhat ironic. If one person is exceptionally skilled at PvP (or is playing a class that has an obvious edge) and the other isn't... if you fall into the latter, how's that any different from having a shitty roll streak?

This might be more of a pet peeve than a red flag... but I honestly can't recall a single time when RP with anyone who put any variation of "has weird/disturbing/abnormal aether" in their search info ended well.

I don't really see why it matters whether there's a lot of FCs whose themes are of a certain nature or not. If you don't plan on leaving your current FC, then what's the issue? Just carry on normally. The machinations of others is their business.

Here's the video, if anyone wants to hear it for themselves. He speaks on Doman/Hingan at 47:50. [align=center]BODQKPa6WQA [/align] All in all? I personally took this to mean "do as you wish". (Edit: The no on the slide is probably to the first question, and yes to the second question. But he was still just "whatever" about it. Don't take it so seriously either way, essentially.)