(06-18-2015, 11:30 AM)Nero Wrote: One thing I think is important to note is the flexibility to player-made tribes.

Because really, think about it. In the terms of the game universe and FFXIV's setting....who, exactly, is documenting all 51 of these tribes? The "51 tribes" idea is a completely arbitrary number. That is to say, Square Enix is giving us examples with these 51 tribes, not a hard line of "There can only be 51 tribes with super rare exceptions". It's not as rigid as the guidelines to Seeker Miqo'te who are dependent on the availability of the alphabet to enforce the presence of "canon" tribes.

Maybe I'm way off base and delusional because I was excited to make my own tribe concept or something, but still. I know Square Enix said that new tribes are usually undiscovered or secretive or split off from the already existing 51, but something about it just rubs me the wrong way with this number of "51". What if I want a tribe who's not secretive or undiscovered but also isn't on the list of 51? Who is maintaining this list of 51 and the documentation of these tribes in the context of Eorzea? What determines if a tribe is "undiscovered" as opposed to merely being isolationist?

(06-18-2015, 11:35 AM)Nero Wrote: I felt that Square Enix's justification for player-made clans was weak and that documenting a specific number of "51" was supefluous.

http://www.magic-point.org/number-symbolism/ Wrote:51 degrees is the most common angle in the Sri Yantra and certain structures that are based on it: the pyramids. 51 degrees is therefore associated with sound and infrasound. This angle can also be derived in a triangle by geometrically using the circle and square to reveal the dimensions of the Earth and Moon. Stonehenge is located at 51 degrees. Not a prime, 51 is made up of 3 multiples of 17.

http://www.ridingthebeast.com/numbers/nu51.php Wrote:Symbolism

• Represent the Universal Time, according to Abellio.
  

Gematria

• The word ladder in Hebrew, samekh, lamed, mem final, gives as numerical value 51 = 15+12+24, by using the gematria in "n".
  
• The numerical value of the Hebrew word ETBLE, baptism, gives 51.
  

Occurrence

• The two books of Samuel of the Old Testament have on the whole 51 different numbers, of which the higher is 800000 (2 S 24,9).
  

(06-18-2015, 11:38 AM)Naunet Wrote:

(06-18-2015, 11:30 AM)Nero Wrote: One thing I think is important to note is the flexibility to player-made tribes.

Because really, think about it. In the terms of the game universe and FFXIV's setting....who, exactly, is documenting all 51 of these tribes? The "51 tribes" idea is a completely arbitrary number. That is to say, Square Enix is giving us examples with these 51 tribes, not a hard line of "There can only be 51 tribes with super rare exceptions". It's not as rigid as the guidelines to Seeker Miqo'te who are dependent on the availability of the alphabet to enforce the presence of "canon" tribes.

Maybe I'm way off base and delusional because I was excited to make my own tribe concept or something, but still. I know Square Enix said that new tribes are usually undiscovered or secretive or split off from the already existing 51, but something about it just rubs me the wrong way with this number of "51". What if I want a tribe who's not secretive or undiscovered but also isn't on the list of 51? Who is maintaining this list of 51 and the documentation of these tribes in the context of Eorzea? What determines if a tribe is "undiscovered" as opposed to merely being isolationist?

I disagree. There are 51 "existing clans". That is pretty concrete lore, IMO.

Wanna chime in that I'm impressed by the detail of the Xaela lore but also extremely disappointed that most of it is pretty much just backstory fodder. :/

Quote:The Othardian steppe is a vast region, therefore, every so often, one may come across a Xaela with a surname that is not found on the list of 51. This may mean that they are from a clan that was recently destroyed or absorbed. It may mean that they are of a new tribe that was formed by members leaving another. It may mean they are of a tribe that remained hidden in the northern mountains.

(06-18-2015, 11:46 AM)K'nahli Wrote: I don't understand what's "oddly specific" about there being fifty-one clans?

(06-18-2015, 11:52 AM)Gegenji Wrote:

(06-18-2015, 11:46 AM)K'nahli Wrote: I don't understand what's "oddly specific" about there being fifty-one clans?

It's just... an odd number, I suppose? It's not a rounded number or anything, or obviously linked to something like the Seekers and the alphabet. So, maybe there's some hidden meaning to it?

I mean, there have been plenty of numbers that correlate to legends or have other powerful symbolism attached to them. 108, 666, 13, 7, to name a few. So, while it could really not mean anything other than that being the number they ended up with... the talk about the number just got me curious if there was any mythological significance to it. And what I quoted was what I managed to find in a cursory search - discounting some blog about angel numbers and the significance of both five and one that, while fitting, seemed a bit... sketchy? I dunno.

Then again, I could totally say the 51 corresponds to Area 51 and we're totally going to find out that the Dawn Father and/or Dusk Mother are aliens.

(06-18-2015, 12:03 PM)Gegenji Wrote: I guess the very idea of SE assigning a specific number to how many tribes there are (minus the bit at the end about Auri players being able to make their own tribes in addition to the 51) could lead to this sort of questioning. I probably would've been just as curious if they had said there were 37 tribes. Or 14. Or 6.

Assigning a number just makes me curious about the number, I suppose.

(06-18-2015, 11:45 AM)Flickering Ember Wrote: There are more than 51 clans.

Quote:The Othardian steppe is a vast region, therefore, every so often, one may come across a Xaela with a surname that is not found on the list of 51. This may mean that they are from a clan that was recently destroyed or absorbed. It may mean that they are of a new tribe that was formed by members leaving another. It may mean they are of a tribe that remained hidden in the northern mountains.

Taken straight from the Au Ra name convention page.