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Help with character development! - Printable Version

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Help with character development! - doctorgalactic - 07-17-2013

'Allo everyone!  I've been watching the forum for some time now, but only joined recently.  After loremongering for a while, Ifinally feel like I'm ready to branch out and start fleshing out my character's back story.  I want to RP with a few friends to start, abut really hope to get engrossed in the community as I find more and more people with similar interests and goals.  So with my introductions out of the way...

My understanding is that the 'current' year as of ARR is 1577, or year 5 of the 7th Umbral Era ushered in by the Calamity and Bahamut's release from within Dalamud.  That would put the invasion of Ala Mhigo at or around 1557.  I've decided to have my character born in 1554, 3 years prior to the invasion, during the short reign of Theoderic.  There are a few potential concepts here:

1) His father and father's best friend ("uncle") were involved in whatever resistance there was during the Garlean invasion (they were known for having a strong presence of lancers in Ala Mhigo), and his father perished while his father's friend returned with his broken lance and helmet.  They fled through Gridania and spent some short time there where he made some friends.

2)  His father survived the skirmish and the group of them fled along with a few others to Gridania where they stayed for some time.  In 1562 his father and 'uncle' were called to arms during the Battle of Silvertear Skies, where his father perished.  (not sure if this is probable as I'm not sure much of the world was involved in that battle; most records indicate it was a skirmish involving Garlean airships and dragons)

3) They survive (or are uninvolved) in the Battle of Silvertear, and continue to migrate southward with the other highlanders.  Then the Calamity strikes, father dies, etc etc

The concept here is that I don't want him to be old enough to remember anything much about Ala Mhigo so as to not RP and invent fan-lore that could be broken if/when Ala Mhigo becomes accessible.  But it -would- allow him to "remember" Ala Mhigo if and when we are able to visit.

The concept of his father dying at a young age is prominent and important to his character as well, as his 'uncle' returns with his father's spearhead and helmet.  As they flee their homeland, his 'uncle' and mother form a relationship and eventually marry, thus his father's best friend becomes his stepfather.  

He has dreams of becoming a lancer like his father, but the devastation pushes them further south into the Southern Twelveswood and into Thanalan/ Little Ala Mhigo.  Those dreams are dashes the further south he goes as he increases the distance between himself, the guild in Gridania, and the legends surrounding Ishgard.  His step-father may have been injured and never recovered, and his mother works where she can.  At this point he realizes that he needs to step up and become the man his father was.  He makes his way into Ul'Dah to look for work to provide for his mother and stepfather, swallowing his pride and dashing his dreams.  Before he sets out, his stepfather gives him a gift... he had refashioned his father's spearhead into a dagger, for protection and to honor his father's legacy.  Thus begin's his entrance on a carriage ride on his way to the gladiator's guild...

There's lot's more floating around in my head about this character, but frankly I'm not sure how much information is too much (tl;dr) and I'm a bit shy about sharing ideas as it's my first post.  

PLEASE, feel free to ask questions, comment, criticize, etc.  I'd love to talk more about it, but I want to make sure that the people I'm telling want to hear it first... Smile

RE: Help with character development! - Desmond Aryll - 07-17-2013

Very interesting. Sounds like someone Desmond Aryll might run into within the gladiator's guild.
I like the connection to the Lancers. It gives him some freedom (and you as well) in testing the playing waters in a manner of speaking. So is your plan to have him make a go of it as a Gladiator officially or is that just for some martial training?

RE: Help with character development! - doctorgalactic - 07-17-2013

Absolutely.  I want to make him a character that cherishes family and friendship over all else, and he becomes a gladiator out of necessity.  His dream is to become a Dragoon, following in his father's lancing footsteps, along with the stories of Dragoons his father would tell him when he was younger.  

IC, regardless of his desires, he learns the hard way that the strongest thing one can do is sacrifice for the better of others.  He feels obligated to care for his family, to DEFEND them.  His patron will be Azeyma, as he swears to Her when his father dies that he won't ever allow anyone he loves to be hurt again.  I want him to make this pledge when he's young, so it is a bit naive, but it becomes a part of who he his.

OOC, I've always played a DPS character and wanted to try something different.  My original intention was to just nab some of the early skills to cross-class stuff with Lancer, but I really ended up liking it, and the small crew I met while playing said they really liked how I was playing it (healer never took a hit!)  At that point I realized that from an RP perspective a character's strength doesn't necessarily have to rely on his chosen discipline, but rather how he implements himself into WHATEVER role he is in.

RE: Help with character development! - Desmond Aryll - 07-17-2013

Kayle sounds like a complex and heroic guy.

I look forward to bashing shields in the ring. At least initially. Smile

RE: Help with character development! - doctorgalactic - 07-17-2013

Thank you!  I read up on Desmond's information, and I definitely see them running into each other more than once (for better or worse).  I have long term goals for him both with game achievements and milestone directly and in character, including (and against what appears to be all odds) starting a Free Company with like minded individuals who want to explore, discover, and defend the realm.

RE: Help with character development! - Desmond Aryll - 07-17-2013

(07-17-2013, 11:23 PM)doctorgalactic Wrote: Thank you!  I read up on Desmond's information, and I definitely see them running into each other more than once (for better or worse).  I have long term goals for him both with game achievements and milestone directly and in character, including (and against what appears to be all odds) starting a Free Company with like minded individuals who want to explore, discover, and defend the realm.

Yes definitely! I'll look for you on the field. And I like the idea of an upstart FC as well. Thumbsup

Good things are coming indeed.

RE: Help with character development! - doctorgalactic - 07-18-2013

For anyone reading this, I'm working on answering the 100 questions survey as well, and I'll link to it when I've gotten that finished for a bit more insight.  Thanks again for reading, all comments and criticism are welcome.

RE: Help with character development! - doctorgalactic - 07-18-2013

(07-18-2013, 02:47 PM)doctorgalactic Wrote: For anyone reading this, I'm working on answering the 100 questions survey as well, and I'll link to it when I've gotten that finished for a bit more insight.  Thanks again for reading, all comments and criticism are welcome.
 Here's the link with what I've done so far:
http://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/showthread.php?tid=2688&pid=35709#pid35709

RE: Help with character development! - Kyatai - 07-18-2013

I like your concept, and I think it's feasible based on my own understanding of eorzean history. Course I'm not a 1.0 player, so still learning & loremongering myself....
But, I will say I look forward to meeting you IG!

RE: Help with character development! - doctorgalactic - 07-18-2013

(07-18-2013, 10:22 PM)Kyatai Wrote: I like your concept, and I think it's feasible based on my own understanding of eorzean history. Course I'm not a 1.0 player, so still learning & loremongering myself....
But, I will say I look forward to meeting you IG!
Thanks, I really can't wait  I didn't play 1.0 either, only open beta, and a completely different character.

RE: Help with character development! - Shuck - 07-18-2013

I don't mean to throw a wrench in the works here. Really, I don't. But you should check this out:

Dragoons (real, true Dragoons) are the exclusive property of Ishgard, an intensely isolationist and religious city-state in northern Coerthas. Like...the only way in was a single bridge, and they locked the rest of us right out.

Anyway, the Dragoon arose from this area when a guy named Haldrath had himself a throw-down with Nidhogg, one of the Dragon Kings, and quite literally wrenched the dragon's eye from it's head.

Since then, the eye of the dragon itself has been held inside Ishgard's walls. Dragoons are chosen by the eye (it glows or twinkles or whatever), for their ability to connect with, and channel the power of the Dragons themselves.

This, however, weighs exceptionally heavily on the individual in question, and they're at constant risk of falling under the sway of the Dragons they're sworn to fight.

Ok, so click these words to get the 1.0 story in it's entirety.

Short of it: No Dragoons in Ala Mhigo, and not a ton of story-swapping is likely to be had that far east of Isghard (and over some mountains. Check this out.)
Otherwise, the concept is...I'm gonna say "familiar". We're treading a lot of well-trodden ground here.

Let's get some questions cooking to make this (honestly, solid enough) idea better:

1. Why exactly does he want to be like his father again? Let's remember that this was a child who, for all accounts (being too young to remember Ala Mhigo), doesn't really know this man, save for the stories. He'd have like...a few fuzzy memories. If anything, from what you've told us, his "uncle" raised him.

2. Is this character's only aptitude in combat? I don't see a lot of what else he might do/try in order to make a living. I get that he wants to physically protect people, but you also mention that he's aiming to provide for his family.

3. Why is it he needs to provide for his family all on his own?

4. What if this whole plan in Ul'Dah doesn't pan out? Is this a first attempt, or a last resort?

5. How'd that trip through the Twelveswood go? The trees there eat people. Not joking, nobody goes into the Black Shroud for a reason. Gridanians know the routes, and Ala Mhigo had tried their hand at wrecking that nation in the past. How'd they get through a living, breathing, hostile forest that remembers their people and what they did?

I'm sure I'll think of some more later. Just stuff to consider.

RE: Help with character development! - Desmond Aryll - 07-18-2013

I imagine that since Dragoons are around in the game already, the job exists outside of Ishgard. Even if that is the original source.

RE: Help with character development! - Nox - 07-19-2013

Actually, you'd be surprised. I reworked my whole character's history so it'd make sense as Dragoon because Dragoons are pretty much exclusive to Ishgard. I'm finding this increasingly true.

RE: Help with character development! - Shuck - 07-19-2013

(07-18-2013, 11:55 PM)Desmond Aryll Wrote: I imagine that since Dragoons are around in the game already, the job exists outside of Ishgard. Even if that is the original source.

No, man. Seriously. Real, true Dragoons are products of Ishgard. They've spelled that out in bold.

There's a difference in what the players are allowed to access, and their place in the world. Consider for a moment that the storyline in 1.0 was centered around the Player Character being the chosen one.

Now, obviously, we weren't all the chosen one, and the NPC dialogue for the Dragoon Quest straight-up says that the eye doesn't just pick anybody. You don't just sign up on the roster, and become a Dragoon. And even then, Dragoons are rare commodities. They don't leave Ishgard. They fight the Dragons.

Here's another video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCDpMAdiIs8

RE: Help with character development! - doctorgalactic - 07-19-2013

(07-18-2013, 11:44 PM)Shuck Wrote: I don't mean to throw a wrench in the works here. Really, I don't. But you should check this out:

Dragoons (real, true Dragoons) are the exclusive property of Ishgard, an intensely isolationist and religious city-state in northern Coerthas. Like...the only way in was a single bridge, and they locked the rest of us right out.

Anyway, the Dragoon arose from this area when a guy named Haldrath had himself a throw-down with Nidhogg, one of the Dragon Kings, and quite literally wrenched the dragon's eye from it's head.

Since then, the eye of the dragon itself has been held inside Ishgard's walls. Dragoons are chosen by the eye (it glows or twinkles or whatever), for their ability to connect with, and channel the power of the Dragons themselves.

This, however, weighs exceptionally heavily on the individual in question, and they're at constant risk of falling under the sway of the Dragons they're sworn to fight.

Ok, so click these words to get the 1.0 story in it's entirety.

Short of it: No Dragoons in Ala Mhigo, and not a ton of story-swapping is likely to be had that far east of Isghard (and over some mountains. Check this out.)
Otherwise, the concept is...I'm gonna say "familiar". We're treading a lot of well-trodden ground here.

Let's get some questions cooking to make this (honestly, solid enough) idea better:

1. Why exactly does he want to be like his father again? Let's remember that this was a child who, for all accounts (being too young to remember Ala Mhigo), doesn't really know this man, save for the stories. He'd have like...a few fuzzy  memories. If anything, from what you've told us, his "uncle" raised him.

2. Is this character's only aptitude in combat? I don't see a lot of what else he might do/try in order to make a living. I get that he wants to physically protect people, but you also mention that he's aiming to provide for his family.

3. Why is it he needs to provide for his family all on his own?

4. What if this whole plan in Ul'Dah doesn't pan out? Is this a first attempt, or a last resort?

5. How'd that trip through the Twelveswood go? The trees there eat people. Not joking, nobody goes into the Black Shroud for a reason. Gridanians know the routes, and Ala Mhigo had tried their hand at wrecking that nation in the past. How'd they get through a living, breathing, hostile forest that remembers their people and what they did?

I'm sure I'll think of some more later. Just stuff to consider.
This is great feedback!  I' have to be honest, I didn't click all of the links, nor watch the video as having not played 1.0 I don't want to have any spoilers.  And monkey wrench's are fine, that's what I'm here for!  I asked for help with development, not a soapbox to be praised for my "awesome" ideas Big Grin  

1)  I agree that the concept of his Father being an actual Dragoon may be bit far fetched.  I've read though that Ala Mhigo was known to have a strong Lancer's presence, along with the Monk's.  The concept was that Kayle's father (and step-father) told him stories about the dragoons when he was little.  I know that him being 3 when his father died may be to young to have these memories with him specifically, WIP.  However, it could have been his father's dream to become one, or his dream that Kayle could one day become one, etc etc.  Kayle may feel that it's an obligation to his father's memory to at least seek out information regarding the legendary Dragoons.  

2)  He doesn't particularly have an aptitude with anything at the moment.  I really want this to be a true coming of age story for him.  This is the equivalent of him going off to college and having to afford to live on his own by whatever means he deems himself capable of.  I don't know if you've read any of his 100 Question Survey, but he states that he tried his hand at mining, and a bit of Goldsmithing as well.  (I treated the 100 Questions like it was the entrance interview for a GC, or a guild membership)I want to be able to continue gameplay while developing his character, so I'm not sure which profession he's going to fall into.  As far as the physicality of him protecting people, it's kind of toying with fate vs desire.  He wants  to be a Dragoon, and would potentially be more than capable of it, but that's not where necessity has dropped him.

OOC, the concept here is that I usually play a DPS in mmo's, and typically a lancer-type.  I've personally always been fascinated with Dragoon's in fantasy, but I wanted to challenge myself this go-round.  I wanted to play a character with aspiration beyond what he's currently involved in.  Who is circumstantially unable to achieve his goals, but for the benefit of others.  I started phase 3 as a GLA and enjoyed it more than I thought, but it way outside of my typically comfort zone.  I decided that I wanted someone who, for me, had gameplay aspirations beyond leveling his first class to 50 and being satisfied.  Most people play the game by starting as the class they want to play.  I'm doing it a little differently this go round.

3)  This one I haven't fully developed either.  Potentially his family cannot afford housing within the city (which can be assumed as Little Ala Mhigo is populated with several families of refugees from Ala Mhigo proper).  I also hinted that his step-dad was recently injured, and quite seriously, requiring full attention from his mother.

4)  Excellent question, and the latter is correct.  This is the first time that he's branched out completely of his own accord.  Again, this is probably due to his step-father's injury (potentially from battling prior and leading up to the Calamity).  This is his first go at the 'real world', but he's a total boyscout.  Loyal, honest, hard working, and probably more than a bit naive.

5)  We know the pilgrimage thought the Shroud wasn't a pleasant one, it's where he got the scar across his left cheek.  As far as the Gridanian's on a whole go, are we saying specifically that all Gridanians hate Ala Mhigans based on a failed invasion that happened a hundred years ago?  Kayle's mother is a midlander from Gridania, his father is a highlander from Gyr Abania.  And they certainly aren't the only ones who made the trip south from Ala Mhigo.  The other concept I'm toying with however is that rather than passing through the Shroud they sail from the Velodyna River along the coast and eventually landing in the Bay of Dha'Yuz.  A great departure from the previous concept, but it's kind of one or the other.  How did the rest of the higlander's get to Ul'Dah?  Keep in mind that as they are travelling, the Battle of Silvertear Skies and the war at the Carteneau Flats in Mor Dhona all happen.  Kayle's mother is under the 'never again' mentality, and urges her family to flee.  Assuming that the Garleans came from the 'recently' occupied Ala Mhigo when they made their way west to Mor Dhona, that would put Kayle's family directly in their path, pushing them further south and both physically and emotionally further from his dream of visiting Ishgard.  He basically resigns himself at 23 to being the proverbial man of the house.

tl;dr - I still have a few more weeks to fix my backstory to match lore without having to research all my decisions until I spoil all the things that I want to learn as I play the game.

Keep the input coming, I crave this stuff!
(07-19-2013, 12:21 AM)Shuck Wrote: ~snip
Now, obviously, we weren't all the chosen one, and the NPC dialogue for the Dragoon Quest straight-up says that the eye doesn't just pick anybody. You don't just sign up on the roster, and become a Dragoon. And even then, Dragoons are rare commodities. They don't leave Ishgard. They fight the Dragons.
However, we know that they DO leave Ishgard, as there are PC's running around with the job.  Like I said, I don't know all of the 1.0 storyline, but I have to assume that if/when I login to a Legacy server for the first time there's gonna be more than a couple lvl 50 Dragoon's running around Eorzea, and if not there eventually will be.  Which begs the question: are the PC's actually becoming true Dragoon's or some bastardized version of it?  Granted, we all can't be the chosen one, but you simply cannot pretend that there aren't guys running around in Artifact armor...  Please keep in mind, I'm not questioning your sources, nor your logic.  I'm simply asking open ended questions for the sake of understanding.
In regards to Kayle's father, I can see reworking his history into a Lancer rather than a Dragoon.  Per the SE page on Lancers:

In former times, the longspear saw the most widespread use, due in great part to the influence of the proud lancer legions of Ala Mhigo.Â