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Aelius · **03-04-2014, 04:31 AM**

Hello there! As the title implies, I'm searching for role-players of Garlean characters! My character is a pure-blooded Garlean and loyal to his homeland. I'd like to get him involved in some RP plots that would give him some reason to be undercover in Eorzea so I can, of course, role-play with people! My character is third-in-command of the IVth Legion and as such I'm looking for people willing to play his underlings (or higher-ups!). The characters need be loyal Imperial soldiers and either native Garleans or foreigners who have forsaken their homeland to serve Garlemald.

On another character I've done some RP with Garlean characters in the past, so I want to make note that the characters I'm looking for should be well-disciplined soldiers, as the Imperial soldiers would have to be. I'm not a fan of people running around with unruly characters causing all sorts of senseless chaos and calling the characters "Garleans." So basically... I'm looking for characters with some sense, loyalty, and composure!

Please contact me if you're interested! If we can get enough people involved, I would like to make a LS, as there used to be a LS for Garlean players, but I believe it's inactive now. =/

ArmachiA · **03-04-2014, 06:04 PM**

It's still kind of active.

The NB also has a lot of Garlean alts, but most of us are rank and file under another character already.. and most of us play those unruly characters you hate so much Tongue

(Playing well disciplined soldiers without any quirks or habits of our own sounds rather boring, to be honest).

Aelius · **03-04-2014, 06:18 PM**

(03-04-2014, 06:04 PM)ArmachiA Wrote: It's still kind of active.

The NB also has a lot of Garlean alts, but most of us are rank and file under another character already.. and most of us play those unruly characters you hate so much (Playing well disciplined soldiers without any quirks or habits of our own sounds rather boring, to be honest).

It goes against lore, to be honest. Everyone wants to be a "special snowflake" to avoid being boring... but ironically, that creates a world of special snowflakes where the people who actually follow convention are the unique and rare ones. Quirks, sure, but people doing reckless things or being insubordinate would get them straight up executed in Garlean society. The Empire doesn't mess around. The Garleans are supposed to be a very disciplined, strict, psuedo-brainwashed army, not a bunch of typical bandits running around causing trouble whose players decided to slap the word "Garlean" onto their characters to make them more edgy and evil by default.

That being said, most of the Garlean characters I've come across in game are your typical directionless, erratic, evil-for-the-sake-of-evil villains and not... Garleans. I'm looking for Garleans. Well-disciplined and intelligent does not that mean they do not still have unique characteristics and personalities. Whether someone follows orders and whether someone does senseless things are not the only defining characteristics of a character's personality by any means. I don't care how other people choose to play their characters, but portraying Garleans as they're meant to be is far from boring.Â Â Smile

Hunfrid · **03-04-2014, 06:54 PM**

I commend your desire for more... 'lore-appropriate' Garleans.
I wish I had the time for a third character, but I fear the third would end up sorely neglected.

Kudos to you!
And good luck finding your RP group!

Aelius · **03-04-2014, 06:59 PM**

(03-04-2014, 06:54 PM)Hunfrid Wrote: I commend your desire for more... 'lore-appropriate' Garleans.
I wish I had the time for a third character, but I fear the third would end up sorely neglected.

Kudos to you!
And good luck finding your RP group!

Thank you! Big Grin

Sophia_Grave · **03-04-2014, 07:07 PM**

I sent you a PM :V

TheWizard · **03-04-2014, 10:54 PM**

I don't really consider Garleans easy enough to fit within a definition of "good" or "evil." In their own minds what they are doing is for the betterment of all and is thus good. However their methods are often found to be disagreeable to outsiders and are thus evil.

So really applying either term to them isn't doing their dynamic justice.

Aelius · **03-04-2014, 11:00 PM**

(03-04-2014, 10:54 PM)TheWizard Wrote: I don't really consider Garleans easy enough to fit within a definition of "good" or "evil." In their own minds what they are doing is for the betterment of all and is thus good. However their methods are often found to be disagreeable to outsiders and are thus evil.

So really applying either term to them isn't doing their dynamic justice.

I definitely agree! But since the Garlean empire is one of the antagonists in the game, it seems that anytime someone wants to make a villainous character they slap the term "Garlean" on them because they think it's an explanation for their character being evil, despite the fact that all Imperials aren't necessary "evil" and their character doesn't logically mesh into Garlean society. x.x

TheWizard · **03-04-2014, 11:26 PM**

See, I could get into a Garlean char who could be considered an anti-villain.

"The Anti-Villain is a villain with heroic goals, personality traits, and/or virtues. Their desired ends are mostly good, but their means of getting there are evil. Alternatively, their desired ends are evil, but they are far more ethical or moral than most villains and they thus use fairly benign means to achieve it, and can be rather heroic on occasion.

They often reach a kind of critical mass that makes them more good than normal villains but not quite heroes, blurring the line between hero and villain the same way an Anti-Hero does, but by coming from the opposite direction."

Since I think it is safe to assume that the citizens of Garlemald don't consider themselves evil and don't do such heinous acts such as slaying people in the streets or offering up blood sacrifices, that is reserved for true evil groups such as the Lambs of Dalamud.

Garlean methods may seem harsh or evil but their goals blur that line of good and evil. Now does conquering nations and killing people in order to bring about regional prosperity and security make them good? No, but it doesn't exactly make them evil either. Its comes down to the question of "Do the ends justify the means?"

Aelius · **03-04-2014, 11:38 PM**

(03-04-2014, 11:26 PM)TheWizard Wrote: See, I could get into a Garlean char who could be considered an anti-villain.

"The Anti-Villain is a villain with heroic goals, personality traits, and/or virtues. Their desired ends are mostly good, but their means of getting there are evil. Alternatively, their desired ends are evil, but they are far more ethical or moral than most villains and they thus use fairly benign means to achieve it, and can be rather heroic on occasion.

They often reach a kind of critical mass that makes them more good than normal villains but not quite heroes, blurring the line between hero and villain the same way an Anti-Hero does, but by coming from the opposite direction."

Since I think it is safe to assume that the citizens of Garlemald don't consider themselves evil and don't do such heinous acts such as slaying people in the streets or offering up blood sacrifices, that is reserved for true evil groups such as the Lambs of Dalamud.

Garlean methods may seem harsh or evil but their goals blur that line of good and evil. Now does conquering nations and killing people in order to bring about regional prosperity and security make them good? No, but it doesn't exactly make them evil either. Its comes down to the question of "Do the ends justify the means?"

Those are my thoughts as well! Big Grin

Â My main (not Aelius... though my main has some ties to Garlemald herself!) I usually play as an anti-villain, and it's super fun and a very interesting balance to keep. I figure Ael will probably be lawful-neutral. Certainly not good, but he's not doing many "bad" things and he has noble goals, at least in his mind.

TheWizard · **03-05-2014, 12:26 AM**

And to be honest I feel the anti-hero trope is overplayed.

A real pity that the salute, armor, and mount are all part of the end of the main story line. That is a LOT of effort to make a Garlean on a whim.

ArmachiA · **03-05-2014, 03:53 AM**

(03-04-2014, 10:54 PM)TheWizard Wrote: I don't really consider Garleans easy enough to fit within a definition of "good" or "evil." In their own minds what they are doing is for the betterment of all and is thus good. However their methods are often found to be disagreeable to outsiders and are thus evil.

So really applying either term to them isn't doing their dynamic justice.

Correct. I don't think a lot of people are playing evil for the sake of being evil if they are a bit quirky. Me, my fiance, and my friend all play a Garlean family. Very rich and somewhat powerful. They are smart, ruthless, and believe they are doing the best for Eorzea by A. either pruging it because the Primals are dangerous or B. having them all fall under the Garlean Empire. They are extremely loyal to Garlemalde but not just rank and file soldiers.

Yu can play with the trope and not be special snowflakey. I think playing an ordinary "Take all orders" soldier would be a bit boring. There's no real personality there. That doesn't mean I'm playing a super special snowflake.

Aelius · **03-05-2014, 04:13 AM**

(03-05-2014, 03:53 AM)ArmachiA Wrote:
(03-04-2014, 10:54 PM)TheWizard Wrote: I don't really consider Garleans easy enough to fit within a definition of "good" or "evil." In their own minds what they are doing is for the betterment of all and is thus good. However their methods are often found to be disagreeable to outsiders and are thus evil.

So really applying either term to them isn't doing their dynamic justice.

Correct. I don't think a lot of people are playing evil for the sake of being evil if they are a bit quirky. Me, my fiance, and my friend all play a Garlean family. Very rich and somewhat powerful. They are smart, ruthless, and believe they are doing the best for Eorzea by A. either pruging it because the Primals are dangerous or B. having them all fall under the Garlean Empire. They are extremely loyal to Garlemalde but not just rank and file soldiers.

Yu can play with the trope and not be special snowflakey. I think playing an ordinary "Take all orders" soldier would be a bit boring. There's no real personality there. That doesn't mean I'm playing a super special snowflake.

I'm pretty sure "loyal" and "obedient" are signifiers of a personality! Tongue

Â I don't think a soldier acting like... well, like a soldier, means that he is bland or lacking in a personality. And in the RP-universe where almost everyone has really dynamic, larger-than-life, in-your-face personality, I think it's actually kind of refreshing. Regardless, Garlemald brainwashes its soldiers. By default, Garlean soldiers will be a little depersonalized; that's just how it is. If someone finds that boring, my best advice is, honestly, don't play a Garlean soldier. You don't roll a Hyur but then stick elf ears and a cat tail on him because you think Hyur look boring. If you dislike a defining, core part of what makes a race what it is, it would make more sense to play a different race than to change that defining characteristic, especially in a society that would not tolerate that sort of nonconformism among its members.Â

But Garleans can still have independent thoughts, quirks, hobbies, goals, personalities, skills, etc. Heck, they can even have doubts about their orders and their Empire--they'll probably just be disciplined, killed, or imprisoned if they act on those doubts.

LandStander · **03-05-2014, 06:12 AM**

I think you are taking the "brainwash" quote a bit too serious. From my understanding, they are simply fed tons of propaganda (as do all countries do to their soldiers) to make sure that they believe that what they are doing is right. You can get someone to murder innocents and even children if you can get them to believe it is for the greater good. Just look at the stuff we train our soldiers to do in the Middle East.

Being a Garlean soldier doesn't mean you have to act like a brainwashed robot waiting for someone to input your commands. Every soldier will have their own personality (as we even seen in the main story line) and have lives that exist outside of the military. There is nothing wrong with playing a quirky soldier or perhaps one that takes things too far.Â Being an oddball or jokester does not mean that you are not part of a well trained division of soldiers, as long as you know when you are in uniform you have to cut the crap.

I do agree that just slapping the term "Garlean" on a character to just do horrible things to seem like a villain is extremely lame though. They have culture, personality, and to them they are doing the right thing by trying to rid the world of beastmen in order to save the planet. Garlamald is an empire, and just like any empire it will constantly invade other countries until it conquers all. Eorzea is probably seen as a place filled with people who worship primals (the beastmen primals and the Twelve seem to share some traits) and ally themselves with beastmen (the slyphs) allowing them to continue to drain the world of aether to summon the power of their false gods whose mere existence threatens everything.

I am happy to see that someone else is interested in doing the Garlean thing though Big Grin

. There are so few Garlean characters out there and it will be great to see more full-timers.

Aelius · **03-05-2014, 02:37 PM**

(03-05-2014, 06:12 AM)LandStander Wrote: I think you are taking the "brainwash" quote a bit too serious. From my understanding, they are simply fed tons of propaganda (as do all countries do to their soldiers) to make sure that they believe that what they are doing is right. You can get someone to murder innocents and even children if you can get them to believe it is for the greater good. Just look at the stuff we train our soldiers to do in the Middle East.

Being a Garlean soldier doesn't mean you have to act like a brainwashed robot waiting for someone to input your commands. Every soldier will have their own personality (as we even seen in the main story line) and have lives that exist outside of the military. There is nothing wrong with playing a quirky soldier or perhaps one that takes things too far.Â Being an oddball or jokester does not mean that you are not part of a well trained division of soldiers, as long as you know when you are in uniform you have to cut the crap.

I do agree that just slapping the term "Garlean" on a character to just do horrible things to seem like a villain is extremely lame though. They have culture, personality, and to them they are doing the right thing by trying to rid the world of beastmen in order to save the planet. Garlamald is an empire, and just like any empire it will constantly invade other countries until it conquers all. Eorzea is probably seen as a place filled with people who worship primals (the beastmen primals and the Twelve seem to share some traits) and ally themselves with beastmen (the slyphs) allowing them to continue to drain the world of aether to summon the power of their false gods whose mere existence threatens everything.

I am happy to see that someone else is interested in doing the Garlean thing though . There are so few Garlean characters out there and it will be great to see more full-timers.

I don't know if that was directed toward me or Amarchia, but if it's meant for me, that's not what I'm saying at all. In fact, that's what I'm arguing against. x_x Someone can believe in a cause and follow orders yet still have a personality, and even doubts from time to time. "Senselessly rebellious" isn't the only personality-type in the world; that's just silly. However, rebelling against orders or being reckless would get a Garlean soldier executed or otherwise harshly punished. In real life, most of us follow laws and usually behave in general, and believe in the values our society teaches us--I don't think that makes any of us boring or personality-less.

Searching for Garleans (Balmung)

RPC has moved! These pages have been kept for historical purposes