Hydaelyn Role-Players

Hi All,

I'm new 'round these parts and I have been going over my RP characters' backstory and I have run into some questions concerning other RP'ers that I would like to see how you all might have handled.

For one, the Roegaedyn are competitive by nature, so are you RP'ing your Roe's as such? Especially with other Roe?

What about the polyamorous family units of the Seekers? Is anyone Rp'ing that? Or if you Rp some other race, what do your characters think of the traditional Miqote family groups? 

And for the Dusk Elezan Rp'ers out there. Do your characters hold anything against the Hyurs? Or even vice versa for the history between the two which the Dusk Elezen still seem to be suffering from culturally?

Would this stuff be filed under "Hard RP"? Just wondering how much prep I need to avoid breaking the fourth wall.

Thanks in advance for the help!!

(07-16-2013, 07:44 PM)Desmond Aryll Wrote: [ -> ]And for the Dusk Elezan Rp'ers out there. Do your characters hold anything against the Hyurs? Or even vice versa for the history between the two which the Dusk Elezen still seem to be suffering from culturally?

I think there is mentioned some bitterness between the duskwight elezen and the wildwood elezen. As a duskwight I have never RPed any such animosity, however some others might. It's not a mandatory thing but perhaps more closely tied to how a character was raised and what he or she was taught to believe. More traditional characters will adhere more to their culture's lore where more contemporary characters who have been a part of Eorzea's melting pot will be a bit more progressive in their views of the other races/clans - generally speaking.

I hope this helps a little.

(07-16-2013, 07:47 PM)Eva Wrote: [ -> ]

(07-16-2013, 07:44 PM)Desmond Aryll Wrote: [ -> ]And for the Dusk Elezan Rp'ers out there. Do your characters hold anything against the Hyurs? Or even vice versa for the history between the two which the Dusk Elezen still seem to be suffering from culturally?

I think there is mentioned some bitterness between the duskwight elezen and the wildwood elezen.  As a duskwight I have never RPed any such animosity, however some others might.  It's not a mandatory thing but perhaps more closely tied to how a character was raised and what he or she was taught to believe.  More traditional characters will adhere more to their culture's lore where more contemporary characters who have been a part of Eorzea's melting pot will be a bit more progressive in their views of the other races/clans - generally speaking.

I hope this helps a little.

It does!
I guess after Forgotten Realms and a ton of Elder Scrolls RP exposure I have a smidge of preconceived notions about the tension between the different peoples. So far this community and the game itself seem like much brighter places! It's gonna so fun!

(07-16-2013, 07:44 PM)Desmond Aryll Wrote: [ -> ]What about the polyamorous family units of the Seekers? Is anyone Rp'ing that? Or if you Rp some other race, what do your characters think of the traditional Miqote family groups? 

My character is a Seeker female who came from a fairly traditional miqo'te community. It's in her background now and factors in fairly heavily to why she left, and as a result, she has fairly strong feelings about traditional Seeker culture (she loves her immediate family -- mostly -- but hates their culture). That said, she's not especially a fan of the city-states' cultures either, though she identifies most with the underlying themes (freedom and self-sufficiency, but working together to common goals) of Limsa Lominsan culture.

IMO, all miqo'te should have some strong feelings about their traditional culture, because it's both still around and also very different from the norms of the other races and the city-states. A miqo'te can love it, hate it, or not know anything about it (for instance, if they were born and raised in a city-state), but I don't think any miqo'te could know of their traditional culture and be wholly indifferent towards it.

Quote:Would this stuff be filed under "Hard RP"?

You have to enlighten me, because I've not heard this term outside of the context of consent and IC consequences. What do you mean by "Hard RP" here?

(07-16-2013, 09:51 PM)FreelanceWizard Wrote: [ -> ]

(07-16-2013, 07:44 PM)Desmond Aryll Wrote: [ -> ]What about the polyamorous family units of the Seekers? Is anyone Rp'ing that? Or if you Rp some other race, what do your characters think of the traditional Miqote family groups? 

My character is a Seeker female who came from a fairly traditional miqo'te community. It's in her background now and factors in fairly heavily to why she left, and as a result, she has fairly strong feelings about traditional Seeker culture (she loves her immediate family -- mostly -- but hates their culture). That said, she's not especially a fan of the city-states' cultures either, though she identifies most with the underlying themes (freedom and self-sufficiency, but working together to common goals) of Limsa Lominsan culture.

IMO, all miqo'te should have some strong feelings about their traditional culture, because it's both still around and also very different from the norms of the other races and the city-states. A miqo'te can love it, hate it, or not know anything about it (for instance, if they were born and raised in a city-state), but I don't think any miqo'te could know of their traditional culture and be wholly indifferent towards it.

I'm going to agree with you here. My character is a Seeker male from a family of Miqo'te that broke off from the tribe in favor of living in a city-state. He's a few generations away from the break, but still knows of his cultural heritage through tales. Because of how he was raised and the such, he doesn't much care for the culture of his tribal "brethren". He respects their decision, but just admits that it's a culture he doesn't really like. He's a follower of a much more typical set of traditions.

I believe it would have to depend on your character. How they were raised, what experiences they've had, et cetera and so on. My character, for example, is a Duskwight Elezen, but was not raised by/with his kind. He grew up in an orphanage, and as such does not identify with the Duskwight, nor have any of their prejudices.

Aside: I've always heard Hard RP as referring to very strict, serious, lore-abiding roleplay. In this case the lore is the Duskwight are, in effect, racist - and so your character must be if you play one. Same with being either a Nunh or Tia for the male Seekers of the Sun, you're a breeder or you're trying to be. Some like to stick with established facts and play off of them, while others believe in tweaking things to fit their personal story or style of play.

I have actually been giving this a considerable amount of thought since I'll be playing a Miqo'te and would really like to pull in cultural references to the things she says and does. She is sort of half and half in the sense she started in a traditional Keeper family, but the second half of her life thus far has been spent in Limsa with a Hyur family. I think I'm presented with a very good opportunity to explore tradition versus cultural immersion. So, challenging? Yeah, I think it's a very welcomed challenge to try to blend both.

But, I was curious about Seekers and Keepers. I haven't read much about there being any hostility or distaste  between the two clans, but does anyone plan to throw that into their miqo'te's behavior? Or at least maybe play off some stigmas that may exist between the two clans?

(07-16-2013, 10:02 PM)AFriendOfAFriend Wrote: [ -> ]In this case the lore is the Duskwight are, in effect, racist - and so your character must be if you play one. 

Well, except that a lot of people have an incorrect interpretation of the Duskwight situation, I think.  These are some quotes from the Elezen lore:

Quote:"Many of the reclusive Duskwight resort to robbery and pillaging to survive, earning them the scorn of their woodland relatives."

Which I would take to obviously mean they suffer prejudice at the hands of their woodland relatives, and are the victims of the racial bias.  They are scrambling to survive a difficult existance, and are looked down upon by the Wildwood...I can't think of how that would or could be interpreted any differently.

Quote:"The Elezen perceived the immigration of the Hyur as tantamount to invasion, and as a result the two share a past plagued by warfare."

As you see above, its "Elezen", being the both of the clans (Wildwood and Duskwight)...not just the Duskwights that feel this way.

Quote:"At present, however, they can be seen coexisting peacefully, the exception being the reclusive Duskwight Elezen."

And this is because they suffer from prejudice, they are the brunt of racial bias, not the initiator of it, thus tend to withdraw from society as a whole instead of face the bigotry.  

A Duskwight who grew up in an orphanage would suffer from the same racial prejudices as any other Duskwight from those with the proclivity to do so (notice I said suffer, not hold within them ).

Am I a bit biased on this particular topic, perhaps?  Well, not if you ignore the sig 

(07-16-2013, 10:16 PM)BlackJaque Wrote: [ -> ]But, I was curious about Seekers and Keepers. I haven't read much about there being any hostility or distaste  between the two clans, but does anyone plan to throw that into their miqo'te's behavior? Or at least maybe play off some stigmas that may exist between the two clans?

To the best of my knowledge, there's nothing, really, between the two clans since traditionally they don't interact due to differing activity schedules. That said, there's bound to be some significant culture clash between them, as Keepers are strongly matriarchal and Seekers are strongly patriarchal (though there're some interesting alternative interpretations on the Seekers). However, I think this would mostly come out among those who are more traditional culturally.

My Seeker, for instance, is actually positively inclined towards Keepers because, well, they're miqo'te, and miqo'te all have a certain degree of common ground in a world that tends to hypersexualize the women of their race. That said, she's not really a fan of their culture, either.

EDIT: @AFriendOfAFriend: Thanks for that info! I'd never heard that usage of the term before. In my experiences, "hard RP" was used to refer to RP where there's a risk of character injury or death -- sometimes as a consequence of your actions, sometimes as a result of others' actions -- and you consent to that by participating. A "hard RP group" would be one where everyone always automatically consents to every action.

Aaand if that sounds familiar, now you know I played MUSHes for a while.

(07-16-2013, 10:18 PM)Teardrop Wrote: [ -> ]Am I a bit biased on this particular topic, perhaps?  Well, not if you ignore the sig 

Biased or no, you're right on. Take a walk around Gridania some time and try to find any Duskwight NPCs.

They don't really exist. I think the prejudice against them on the part of the Wildwood is still very much alive.

Xha'li is not exactly fond of extremely matriarchal nature of Keeper society in the ways that the elder women of the tribe have most to all of the authority as it led to his exile because he wanted to learn magic, something his tribes matriarch had discouraged before the calamity and succeeded in getting banned completely afterwards blaming mages for the fall of Dalamund.  His mother being a retired adventurer, and growing up on tales of her adventures as a kid definitely helped push him away from being the obedient little male as well.

(07-16-2013, 07:44 PM)Desmond Aryll Wrote: [ -> ]For one, the Roegaedyn are competitive by nature, so are you RP'ing your Roe's as such? Especially with other Roe?

For me and my character, she's playfully competitive as opposed to a hardcore competitive nature where everything is a competition. With other Roegadyn she sort of feels them out and if they appear competitive in a hostile manner she'll go for it full blast, and if others races do that she finds it insulting and refuses to instigate anything more. Otherwise she's a teddy bear with biceps the size of your head C: Hope that was somewhat helpful!

(07-16-2013, 10:18 PM)Teardrop Wrote: [ -> ]-snip-

I took it as a two-way street. The Duskwight are scorned, but moreso because they are scornful of others. The Wildwood look down on them for being bandits - not all of them are, obviously, but it's a reasonable fear/hatred. With respect to the Hyur, their conflict came from the Elezen being the once-rulers of Eorzea and taking umbrage at the 'invaders.' That has since been resolved, according to what I can find, and doesn't hold much bearing.

I suppose I should reword: The Duskwight are not racist so much as prejudiced. They themselves look down upon city-dwellers, which is what caused their split from the Wildwood in the first place. They started the whole cycle, and perpetuated it by deciding to take instead of build and grow. If they are suffering their own existence it is because they chose to be that way - no one forced them to live in caves, they wanted to. There are no Duskwight in Gridania because they, to put it crudely, gave the Gridanians the finger and called all Elezen who stayed there traitors to their own race.

Neither the Wildwood nor the Duskwight are correct in their assumptions or hatreds, but both have similarly dug their own holes. I don't think it's a case of everyone picking on the Duskwights for no reason. You're only the underdog if your intentions were good in the first place.

As far as the orphanage goes: Perhaps you're right, I hadn't thought of that.

(07-16-2013, 09:51 PM)FreelanceWizard Wrote: [ -> ]

Quote:Would this stuff be filed under "Hard RP"?

You have to enlighten me, because I've not heard this term outside of the context of consent and IC consequences. What do you mean by "Hard RP" here?

Well as far as what I understood Hard RP to be in my limited experience it is when the Rp'ers adhere to the established lore first and foremost, trying not too deviate too much. Since player characters are created by unique individuals, we tend to create unique individuals in-game. That's not a bad thing per se but in the hard RP I've done, everyone being unique can dilute the pool so to speak. Not saying that is my preference just trying to get a feel for the communities thoughts.


Wow thanks for all the points of view. It is apparent that the discussion here will lead into player characters with slightly differing perspectives on the same general ideas. Just like in real life when dealing with grey truths among many people.
 Exciting stuff!

I for one will have a Miqote alt that will acknowledge and respect the traditional Seeker family unit but will be apart from it because of the "dog eat dog" rules among the males and how that can lead to tragic circumstances.

(07-16-2013, 07:44 PM)Desmond Aryll Wrote: [ -> ]What about the polyamorous family units of the Seekers? Is anyone Rp'ing that? Or if you Rp some other race, what do your characters think of the traditional Miqote family groups? 

In how I personally handle this on C'io, she doesn't find the traditional tribal structure of her Seeker tribe to be odd. She thinks very little of her father, actually, and is much more attached to her mother. There's a short thing I wrote which is meant to be appended to a larger thing that I think highlights that feeling:

C io Wrote:I am Io of the Coeurl, not Io of the Bald Eagle, as my father would have it. C'io, not Be'io. I carry too much of him in my own name already and will bear no more. My father is--was--C'behkt. My mother was C'ahlya; I do not carry her name, but she is reflected in every other part of me [...]

To her, her father and perhaps every other nunh out there is little more than a necessity; it is something that is just done to bring the tribe forward, and the system of nunh/tia is a matter of separating the wheat from the chaff. All female miqo'te are worthy, but the men must prove themselves. This keeps the bloodlines strong, which keeps the tribes strong, and keeping track of which nunh a miqo'te is born from helps determine later criteria for selection in case the "stock turns out to be bad." Very eugenics and very methodical. Very unfair too, but nomadic life, particularly in an Umbral Era, demands it.

That all said, she does not approve of Nunh who try to assert dominance over females. They are overstepping their boundaries if they do. Basically, the amory part of polyamory is not part of the equation in her way of viewing tradition.