I wanted to post a couple of helpful materials I came across while performing research for a Doman character concept and writing their RPC Library entry.
First, a really awesome list of Japanese bird names and their corresponding kanji expressions. There is a nice variety here if you are hoping to imitate the naming convention we see with the NPC characters Karasu [Crow] Redbeak and Tsubame [Swallow] Sunrise.
http://www.sibagu.com/notes/kanji.html
http://www.sibagu.com/notes/kanjia.html
Second, a quotation from the Ninja quest NPC, Oboro Moonrise, about the worship (or rather, non-worship) of The Twelve in Doma:
“My people do not worship your deities twelve. Our gods are all around us─in the trees, in the soil, in the crashing waters before you. Close your eyes and open your heart to the sound of the rushing falls, that you might purge your mind of all worldly thoughts and distractions.â€
It was very sad to see the nay-saying and assumptions in this thread! Playing a character from Doma, Sharlayan, Garlemald or elsewhere aligns very well with the in-game character lore. Many NPCs describe the player character as a non-Eorzean. There is no need for every character to be a comprehensive expert on their homeland, and I can imagine many character types who would be nomadic or unaffiliated with a particular country, despite their origin.
Good luck to everyone with their future character writing. Hopefully further expansions and patches will give us deeper knowledge of the Near and Far East! Aht Urghan was, by far, my favorite expansion in FFXI and I miss the Near Eastern aesthetic and gear design (*swoon* Blue Mage) very, very much.
First, a really awesome list of Japanese bird names and their corresponding kanji expressions. There is a nice variety here if you are hoping to imitate the naming convention we see with the NPC characters Karasu [Crow] Redbeak and Tsubame [Swallow] Sunrise.
http://www.sibagu.com/notes/kanji.html
http://www.sibagu.com/notes/kanjia.html
Second, a quotation from the Ninja quest NPC, Oboro Moonrise, about the worship (or rather, non-worship) of The Twelve in Doma:
“My people do not worship your deities twelve. Our gods are all around us─in the trees, in the soil, in the crashing waters before you. Close your eyes and open your heart to the sound of the rushing falls, that you might purge your mind of all worldly thoughts and distractions.â€
It was very sad to see the nay-saying and assumptions in this thread! Playing a character from Doma, Sharlayan, Garlemald or elsewhere aligns very well with the in-game character lore. Many NPCs describe the player character as a non-Eorzean. There is no need for every character to be a comprehensive expert on their homeland, and I can imagine many character types who would be nomadic or unaffiliated with a particular country, despite their origin.
Good luck to everyone with their future character writing. Hopefully further expansions and patches will give us deeper knowledge of the Near and Far East! Aht Urghan was, by far, my favorite expansion in FFXI and I miss the Near Eastern aesthetic and gear design (*swoon* Blue Mage) very, very much.
