Hello everyone! A pleasure to meet all of you, I've been a long time XIVRPer, just haven't really made my way into the forums until now.
Anyway, the purpose of this post is to inquire/group together the lore and information we have available in regard to how the class and social structure is in Ishgard. There are going to be a lot of people interested in RPing a character either a current or ex-citizen of Ishgard and this kind of information is critical for backstories/social interaction. I've used the search function here, and in Google and haven't turned up with much, so here's my first post!
1) We know there 4 high houses that make up the core nobility of Ishgard, and the surnames of these houses carry massive weight in every facet of Ishgard. How extended are these homes? Aside from main family members, what other lower tier occupations/positions are available within these houses for players to write their characters into? (Servants, chefs, etc)
2) Furthermore, how big are these noble houses? Is there just a handful of blood lineage, or has the family grown to the point where is it possible to say your character is in some way a way-down-the-line relative of "X" house without coming off as too pretentious? (ex. A great great grandson/cousin of so-and-so)
3) Upon initially arriving in Ishgard, it immediately noticed there is a very impoverished social class referred to as "baseborn". What details do we know about this, and is it possible to escape this social class through hard work/achievement?
4) In between the baseborn and the four noble houses, what middle class, if any, exists in Ishgard. Is it possible to, for the purpose of backstory, create your own middle/upper class Ishgardian family (below the four core houses, of course) and still fall believably within the lore?
5) Finally, what does social interaction between social classes look like? It is obvious from some of the first quests in Ishgard that the typical intolerance towards the impoverished exists, but how severe is this? Where do non-noble, but financially successful/working class fit into the equation.Â
Thanks for taking the time to read/discuss these questions. I'm sure I'm not the only one trying to write their character (and family tree) into the Ishgard lore while staying within the lore, so let's get the information rolling in!
Anyway, the purpose of this post is to inquire/group together the lore and information we have available in regard to how the class and social structure is in Ishgard. There are going to be a lot of people interested in RPing a character either a current or ex-citizen of Ishgard and this kind of information is critical for backstories/social interaction. I've used the search function here, and in Google and haven't turned up with much, so here's my first post!
1) We know there 4 high houses that make up the core nobility of Ishgard, and the surnames of these houses carry massive weight in every facet of Ishgard. How extended are these homes? Aside from main family members, what other lower tier occupations/positions are available within these houses for players to write their characters into? (Servants, chefs, etc)
2) Furthermore, how big are these noble houses? Is there just a handful of blood lineage, or has the family grown to the point where is it possible to say your character is in some way a way-down-the-line relative of "X" house without coming off as too pretentious? (ex. A great great grandson/cousin of so-and-so)
3) Upon initially arriving in Ishgard, it immediately noticed there is a very impoverished social class referred to as "baseborn". What details do we know about this, and is it possible to escape this social class through hard work/achievement?
4) In between the baseborn and the four noble houses, what middle class, if any, exists in Ishgard. Is it possible to, for the purpose of backstory, create your own middle/upper class Ishgardian family (below the four core houses, of course) and still fall believably within the lore?
5) Finally, what does social interaction between social classes look like? It is obvious from some of the first quests in Ishgard that the typical intolerance towards the impoverished exists, but how severe is this? Where do non-noble, but financially successful/working class fit into the equation.Â
Thanks for taking the time to read/discuss these questions. I'm sure I'm not the only one trying to write their character (and family tree) into the Ishgard lore while staying within the lore, so let's get the information rolling in!
- Lilith Larkspur, proprietor to the Blackmarrow Brewery.
