Hydaelyn Role-Players

Well after scrapping my first idea I was playing around with the idea of making a Garlean after seeing a thread complaining that there really aren't as many willing to try roleplaying as a Garlean. I've always fancied the idea of creating a potential villain and recently got all the glamour pieces from Odin-san so I thought about putting it to good use with a story to tell. 


Character Name: Wolph het Glacius

Given Name: Sion Lohel
Age: 28
Race: Hyur/Au Ra
General Class: Gladiator


Description/Comments: 

Early Life 
Unlike some who were born of normal heritage, she was a byproduct of a unison between a Garlean soldier and a spoil of war from Doma. She hasn't the foggiest of memories of her own parents, father could potentially be dead somewhere from an unknown campaign and as for her own mother she always believed she died either through child birth or through a torrent of emotional stress and break down. 


Unlike most who had a peaceful upbringing, everyday was a challenge against the odds as the young orphan grew up in the slums knowing nothing but sharpening the means of surviving as well as an object that could be used to inflict pain. She spent much of her childhood surviving in the lawless slums of Gol where you either lived another day or became staple diet of local flocks of crows. Stealing, stabbing, lying, all of these became second nature to her just as one would find the act of breathing air a second nature to them and as she grew, she couldn't wait to leave behind the slums even if the alternative was to put her life at risk, for generous sums of coin of course.

As one among many who sought to make fortune by serving the Imperial Army, Sion served in many campaigns and lived to tell tales unlike her peers who fertilized the battlefields with their corpses now probably long forgotten. As with many young Garleans who truly believed in the philosophy of Justice lies with the Mighty, she served as a vanguard in many campaigns until her name was well known throughout the Imperial Army as the Butcher of the IIth Legion. Known for her cruel and brutally effective leadership accompanied by seasoned combat ability, she was the ideal killing machine that awed the hearts of frontline Centurions while striking dreadful fear against those that were unfortunate to encounter her.


With all the makings of an accomplished warrior, thrice she had objected against promotion in her military career, serving at the frontlines by choice to sate her insatiable hunger for bloodshed and martial prowess. Among many ridiculous rumors circulating her identity it's said that she may have received an official summons from the late Emperor of Garlemald, his Majesty Solus zos Galvus, to serve the legion as an Imperial Legatus only to turn down the offer as it would get in her way of pursuing a martial path. 

At the pinnacle of her military career, Sion was a renown prodigy at warfare despite never having to formally study strategy, yet the vanguards she led had never lost a battle because of her unique unorthodox savage tactics. An aggressive commander and tactician who likes to use guerilla warfare and psychological warfare. Her most unique and seemingly lethal trait was her uncanny ability to infiltrate an enemy's headquarters and kill their general as well as any commanding officers. Her boldness and bravado in combination with her unique tactics were a devastating combination, adding to her great aptitude in every regard. 

As Garlemald came to be established and no worthy campaigns remained giving her the exhilaration of a hard fought battle, Sion resigned from the military only to be drawn back into battle against the very Empire she once served. During her time of unemployment she was approached by the noble house of Argus who sought to usurp the throne with the aid of other prominent leaders who grew dissatisfied with the Emperor's rule. Promised with a civil war that will surpass any previous campaigns she had partook in, Sion readily agreed to take lead in the civil war only to be crushed at the siege of Galgaster Trade City. While the rebel fleets battled against the XIVth Legion in the skies, Sion herself infiltrated deep into the enemy flagship Agrius in an unorthodox attempt to cut down the commanding officer, Gaius van Baelsar. 

Gaius who anticipated Sion's plans instead, met his would be assailant by predicting the most probably point of infiltration and planned an ambush at the airdocks of Agrius. Despite the overwhelming defeat, Sion drew her blade against Gaius and exchanged blows only to learn her enemy was not only an accomplished strategist but a very capable warrior who surpassed her in every expectations. The battle ended as Gaius dealt a mortal blow severing Sion's sword arm while puncturing through her breastplate with his arm cannon which flew her off the docks into the ensuing airship dogfights below the flagship. Since then she was presumed dead as no man could have survived the fall from such height. 


Present Life
Though the circumstances revolving around her narrow escape from death remains unclear, with the devil's own luck Sion survived that battle and her body was retrieved by those who also survived the onslaught of the XIVth Legion. One of her greatest benefactors was a key member of the Imperial Senate of Garlemald. Tenjin Iyl Stormrage, a former ninjutsu instructor and retired Minister of Military Affairs in Doma and now a member of the Senate who tried his best to change Garlemald from the inside than to openly resist it's armies. He was a calm and collected individual who saw great potential in taking her in as a disciple even if the person in question was openly defiant about it at first. Since then she has went through numerous cybernetic implants that replaced much of her ruptured organs as well as replacing her right arm built with Magitek technology. Sion has since then served Tenjin with new found loyalty by joining the Senate as it's consul and sword.


To her Tenjin was a teacher, her master, and a father she never had. Through much of the time she spent with him, she grew out of her savage personality of a warmongering warrior, quietly dissolving away the bloodthirsty persona of her young military career and with age she became an accomplished Imperial Judge of the Garlean Senate, adopting the name Wolph het Glacius. Fearing she might still be pursued by those that recognized her as a traitor of the Empire, when she adopted the new name she made it a habit to always conceal her identity behind thick sheets of plate armor and posing as a man. Thus became the man shrouded in layers of mystery, an Imperial Judge who went by the name Wolph het Glacius.

It was the overall decision of the Senate that disapproved the current Emperor's interests in world domination yet they were powerless against the overwhelming support of the new Emperor and his interest in pushing the war efforts against the respective rulers of Eorzea. Even those that once supported the war efforts during the rule of his grace Emperor Solus Zos Galvus refused to support the war efforts after the 2 previous campaigns that costing them greatly. The Senate surmised that another great war will only result in a senseless bloodshed defeating the very purpose of their late Emperor's will which was to create a world without the Primal threat. Though some still cling onto the old ideas of subjugation as the best answer for all, the majority of the Senate began to see that in order to survive they must learn to co-operate with the other nations.

At present she had been dispatched to Ishgard on a discreet diplomatic exchange between the Garlean Imperial Senate and the Sacred Tribunal of Halonic Inquisitory in an attempt to prevent an all out war, a task seemingly impossible if naught but a fool's errand due to the political powers involved in both kingdoms. She can be easily be spotted within the halls of the Vault or the Saint Reymanaud Cathedral donning her intimidating armor befitting of an Imperial Judge of the Garlemald Senate despite the gaze of immense hatred she generates from those that come across her.

I hope you can handle all the JoJo jokes that name is going to inspire.

(10-27-2015, 04:48 AM)Garalona Wrote: [ -> ]I hope you can handle all the JoJo jokes that name is going to inspire.

Haha I never watched JoJo. Actually got the inspiration from another old anime series called Last Exile.

If you're RPing an active, out and about Garlean you're gonna have a bad time. Considering there's about 100,000 Highlander players who would kill you at first sight just for being Garlean.

Also, it was my understanding that the Garleans were pushing for all out war. I don't think they'd send an envoy to try and broker peace.

Regardless, the first statement is my personal opinion, and the second I could just be flat out wrong.

And also once more, feel free to take this post and throw it right out the window. It's you're money that's paying for the game so to hell with my advice if you should so choose!

They're pushing more for Subjugation or GTFO; not quite all-out war, but probably not anything you'd send a Diplomat for either.

Not to mention that since Ishgard rejoined the Eorzean Alliance, it seems questionable they would negotiate with Garleans in the first place.

It's also not that few are willing to play a Garlean, it's that few OPENLY play a Garlean. I've ran into more than a few Garlean spies in the past, each with varying degrees of competency at hiding it, and number of Garlean defectors as well.

Ala Mhigans tend to react poorly even to defectors, so you can imagine how things might go. Domans might have a bit more restraint, but are likewise not big fans.

There's probably better ways to play a villain, particularly when the Holy See is still keen on rounding up heretics of all stripes.

You can swing Aelia Flameheart a friend request in-game if you're looking for other Garleans to RP with.

There's also a whole LS for Garleans and Garlean sympathizers, which you can find on the Linkshell Hall. Might take a bit of digging, but you'll find people to RP with - either as a loyalist, or otherwise.

I've been wandering around Balmung proving that you can have a Garlean soldier RP normally. All it takes is not screaming 'die savages' everywhere you go.

The hard part is more or less WHERE to RP. You can't walk around dressed like a Garlean or have your third eye out for everyone to see. The secret garleans in the MSQ hide their third eyes for a reason: that they might be killed on sight.

It's also not as likely he would be able to hide if he has a famed reputation for being overpowered. Eorzeans have made it a habit to know who their greatest enemies are.

I also want to point out that I haven't yet seen any instances where a single person has mastered six martial classes, much less a Garlean who is incapable of channeling Aether. In the actual game world, it takes years and years to master these classes, even with a knowledge boost from a soul crystal. The ability to harness all of these unique aspects of combat is a bit of a stretch.

But as Six said, you can still do you. No one can stop you from playing what you really want to play. If it makes you happy, then go for it.

Thank you for all the feedback so far. 

Yes I'm quite aware that Garleans have a special spot in every Highlanders and I'm most certain the hatred won't simply stop there considering what happened so far in the official storyline. I'm bound to have a very difficult time but that's what makes roleplaying as a Garlean feel like a bit challenging. I'd imagine it would be the equivalent of a Scarlet Crusader walking around in Stormwind while wearing the tabard. 

As for the conflicting interest between the Emperor Varis zos Galvus and the Imperial Senate, I was inspired by the conflicting interests shown throughout Greek history between the two powers of the Emperor's Loyalists and the Senate. For a more visual representation, think back to the movie Gladiator and you'll see that the two factions might not necessarily see eye to eye and send out Russell Crowe as their champion. As for the reasoning as to why the Senate might disagree with the conquest at this point in time well that's up to everyone's imagination I think. Economic stability? State of Military Affairs? I'm sure I can find a sound reasoning as to why the Senate might disagree secretively against the Emperor's recent decisions. Or some of them might just be an outright traitor that wants to usurp the throne. With Gaius the Heirsbane dead I'm sure that will give rise to potential surviving would be usurpers to be biding their time, some might hold influential positions within the seat of the Senate who knows. 

Ishgard was to my understanding a Neutral party not so long ago. Yes they've joined the alliance but that doesn't necessarily mean they'll turn away a potential ally especially if they're offering an alternative to an all out war. I know that it might be difficult to imagine considering we know so little about Garlemald and it's political power structure which is something I've created while writing this story lol. I'm playing with a lot of what if's here but if the Senate that holds considerable influence to be a thorn on the Emperor's side (though obviously not as openly, you'd think they'd play smart here =P ) were to say join the Alliance, would Aymeric be against the idea? Sure enough there will be hostility and doubt going through everyone's minds and it would be a daunting task to discuss the possibility of co-operation with the other alliance Leaders but I think overall whether the negotiations fail or succeed it would give some very interesting roleplay element not just for myself but for other Garleans and Ex-Garleans who might be willing to join the cause.

I'll admit to only have kinda sped-read through the backstory.

Legion things look fine, but I'd be a little careful about the battle mastery and Allagan tech. But that comes from a person playing a Garlean in hiding because of a failed project to make artificial aether reserves based on research of the Ultima Weapon. (The lore is stretched almost as far as Franz's faked smiles when acts nice to Eorzeans he hasn't come to care for).

One thing some of the other pureblooded Garlean characters I've seen have done to tackle the third-eye thing is to use a glamour and/or accessory/hair to hide it. Nothing says "weird and creepy" as much as something noticeably foreign. While it stands to show that Ishgard seems to accept Lucia despite her Garlean heritage, I think that also has to do with Aymeric's open mind towards her. (She is a defected spy, after all). Walking around in a full suit of Garlean battle armor may draw unwanted attention. I'd maybe go for something a little more casual unless the need for a fight arises.

But on that note, you might like the Ad Victorium linkshell, which was made to better coordinate Garlean RP. And should my grumpy Garlean find his arse in Ishgard again, or if he seems interesting to you, feel free to poke with a /tell or something. I'm weird and while usually IC, get iffy about walk-up RP outta the blue. Inconsistent play time and all.

(10-27-2015, 01:54 PM)Unnamed Mercenary Wrote: [ -> ]I'll admit to only have kinda sped-read through the backstory.

Legion things look fine, but I'd be a little careful about the battle mastery and Allagan tech. But that comes from a person playing a Garlean in hiding because of a failed project to make artificial aether reserves based on research of the Ultima Weapon. (The lore is stretched almost as far as Franz's faked smiles when acts nice to Eorzeans he hasn't come to care for).

One thing some of the other pureblooded Garlean characters I've seen have done to tackle the third-eye thing is to use a glamour and/or accessory/hair to hide it. Nothing says "weird and creepy" as much as something noticeably foreign. While it stands to show that Ishgard seems  to accept Lucia despite her Garlean heritage, I think that also has to do with Aymeric's open mind towards her. (She is a defected spy, after all). Walking around in a full suit of Garlean battle armor may draw unwanted attention. I'd maybe go for something a little more casual unless the need for a fight arises.

But on that note, you might like the Ad Victorium linkshell, which was made to better coordinate Garlean RP. And should my grumpy Garlean find his arse in Ishgard again, or if he seems interesting to you, feel free to poke with a /tell or something. I'm weird and while usually IC, get iffy about walk-up RP outta the blue. Inconsistent play time and all.

I don't think Lucia's status as a Garlean is exactly public knowledge. Aymeric is no doubt aware, but given how everyone was shocked when she revealed it, I doubt anyone else is aware.

Lucia states that she confided specifically to Aymeric, so no, no one else knows.

Since that confession is a big deal to her, it's likely it wouldn't have been taken well.

Also, Ishgard is "neutral" in the sense that they'd rather not be bothered, but subjugation by a foreign power would certainly count as "being bothered." Also, their original reason for not joining the Alliance was less because they didn't want to tussle with Garlemald for political reasons, and more because they were too busy Killing All Dragons.

I also highly doubt that Garlemald would negotiate for a cease-fire, seeing as part of their goal isn't just subjugation, but also Killing All Primals, because Primals are Killing The Planet. If you put people under your Strict Supervision (subjugation), that becomes easier. The entire reason why the Eorzean Alliance exists is to repel invaders, so it seems counterintuitive to join an alliance dedicated to something, only to Not Do That Thing.

I doubt the other city-states would have asked them to come back, if that were their position.

Thank you so much for all the feedbacks. I've had so much fun reading through them all and I'm pleased to say that everyone has contributed so much constructive criticism to further improve this character. I must say I'm already having a lot of fun discussing about this since there wasn't many people who wanted to discuss about lore or politics featured in the game. Some people I came across didn't even know who Gaius was in Behemoth realm.... 

I took some of the ideas and began to change the background history bit by bit. 

I added in some more content to explain how she evolved from a battle maniac to a proper diplomat she is today. Though I still feel I should probably expand a little more about her time with a former ninja. 

I also changed the name from Dio, courtesy of Garalona who gave me the hint that I will most likely be plagued with Jojojokes! 

As for the third eye thing, that completely escaped me! Thank you for reminding me Unnamed, since then I thought about it and decided to change Dio from a male Hyur to a female Au Ra. Her third eye would be hidden behind the scales covering her forehead, on top of that she will be wearing a plate armor to hide her identity behind a male persona of Wolph. I do realize that wearing a armor that characteristically mark her as Garlean might be a bad idea considering the animosity it would bring, that's something I'll have to rp with I think. Yes roleplaying a Garlean openly will get me into many problems in the future and many people have already advised me to play a secretive agent but I felt like trying something completely different to others for the sake of it. 

In regards to mastery of different discipline, for now I'll reduce it right down to Gladiator. I do worry though since I play a various melee dps (even though right now my MCH remains highest ilvl lol... ) as well as tank from time to time so wasn't sure how I would go about portraying all this into the roleplay character. For now I'll keep it as Gladiator. 

Oli! I completely agree that Garlemald in general as far as canon Lore goes would never propose a ceasefire. Under normal circumstances that would make no sense until someone tries to develop an original idea and build on the skeleton to make a sound reason as to why there might be internal conflict within the political powers and the military powers. There is much to explore in the ladder of Garlean politics, something I thought we knew next to nothing about which therefore gave me the idea to use my creativity to make something out of that realm of unknown. I could be wrong of course but I was under the impression that roleplaying promoted the idea of using creativity to build something that hasn't necessarily been explored yet. If that was the incorrect approach I would like some more constructive feedback and maybe some more ideas as to how I can go about making this work. Ideally I think I would like to make it so that more Garleans can find ways to roleplay openly about their heritage in Ishgard than to sneak around like abandoned rats across the world. This could be the breaking point I don't know but I know it will be one interesting roller coaster ride haha xD

I actually really like the name Sion Lohel, and the first part of the new backstory is really good: a bold but failed assassination attempt, a grievous wound and presumed death, but you lost me after that.

She's a traitor to the Empire but still serves the Empire? Her near death experience is the chance for her story to go absolutely anywhere, it's kind of disappointing it goes right back to a slightly different imperial path. It seems like it would be absolutely nerve wracking to still be in the Empire after what she did.

But anyway, that's not the biggest issue.

I'm just gonna come out and say it: the Garlean Ambassador to Ishgard angle doesn't work, but not necessarily for the reasons previously stated. The problem is other players. For one thing, other players generally don't respect positions of high authority like this. I know, I tried playing something as simple as a police type authority figure in another game once.

All it does it make people want to /spit in your face, because there's absolutely nothing you can do to exercise the authority you pretend to have. Those who ignore or scoff at your role will greatly outnumber those who acknowledge or respect it, and it gets very frustrating very fast.

You might tell yourself you can handle it, but when people start tracking you down JUST to give you shit and "knock you down a peg"? It's not fun.

It's easier to play something simple like a noble or knight, than something like an Ambassador with Diplomatic Immunity and all that jazz. When your title involves privileges and powers you can invoke over others (or you could if they would play along), people tend to react poorly.

However! Ishgardian RP is pretty richly detailed and there's a lot of people who respect and go along with the hierarchy of lords, ladies, Knights, and la de da... It's really not my bag, but it's there. If you want to stick with the posing as a man angle, there's a lot of ways you could twist things to have a character that's still hiding something, still a bit villainous, and still a badass.

Elezen are very androgynous, it wouldn't be hard for an Elezen lady to, say, kill a lord and assume his identity. Maybe there was dabbling with heretics in the past? Hunting heretics? BOTH?

But I'm just spitballing here. I still think the first part of the background is really cool.

I wouldn't use an au ra for a pureblood Garlean, seeming it is shown only pureblood Garlean hyur possess the third eye, even halfbloods don't get them passed on. However if you go for a full body glamour if you really, really, really want to look like an au ra, that is an option as well, although it's a bit overdone. I personally would just stick to a highlander hyur to portray them (if you are set onto being a pureblood. An au ra pureblood just doesn't make sense at all).

But as people pointed out, being a diplomat is probably not something most people will roll with, and even Ishgardians aren't too friendly with the Garleans. Surely they do not have an outright war pre-3.0, but post 3.0 they vague quote "stand united against the Garlean empire once more being a part of the Eorzean Alliance". Having an OOC shield with titles really does not work, it is show not tell in roleplay.

Let the major diplomacy ect to the NPCs. Be a spy of sorts, a defector, perhaps even going as far as having your Garlean spew propaganda secretly.

Anyhow, in the end it's your $$$ you're paying, and you're entitled to roleplay as you want, however it goes both ways! People don't have to roleplay with you either. Nothing elitist and snobby about it, just conflicting interests on lore and types of roleplay. (And that comes from someone who roleplays with a pureblood Garlean quite often!)