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

Merri · **12-28-2010, 05:29 AM**

I'm just going to throw this all in a spoiler because it's probably all going to fit into that category in some way, shape, or form. Obviously, don't read on if you want to avoid spoilers of the storyline.

And of course, any responses to this should be tossed in spoiler tags as well. Then again, this whole thread has potential for them, so people coming here will hopefully respect that.

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SpoilerIt's a difficult subject to tackle. The Echo is an extremely powerful gift, and while I've only experienced up to the R42 mission, I still don't know entirely what the Echo is all about. I'm sure that's not something that we will fully grasp until they release more of the game's starting storyline, and finish the arc off before moving onto whatever the first expansion brings.

I'm sure there's a lot of people who don't fully understand exactly what the echo is, so I figure I might get into detail here with all I know.

As it stands, the Echo is given to mortals by the gods themselves. However, this isn't just a gift randomly received by mortals. The gods give this unique talent for a very specific reason. At some point in that persons life, the gift of the Echo will have a significant impact upon the realm, whether it's noticeable or unnoticeable. Something will come of it, and it is the duty of the gifted to find out what that is with the aid of the Echo.

Now, before I get into the individual power the Echo grants to a person, I'll explain the organization that those gifted with the Echo are drawn into. Those gifted with the echo join hands to walk what is known as the Path of the Twelve. It's an underground group, and they are not (currently) known to the public. It consists entirely of those gifted with the Echo, and those who seek to assist those with the Echo in finding their way. Members are often given what is known as a path companion to accompany them on their journeys as they unravel the mystery that is their specific calling, seeing as they can quite often be dangerous. The group is situated in Ul'dah, but they have branches in the peasant wards of Gridania. Those who are in the group basically "Walk the path of the twelve", in that they move forward with this gift from the gods to discover what it is the gods have in store for them. They're walking the path laid out for them. Thus, those gifted with the Echo are referred to as "Walkers" within the group.

The power of the Echo is quite an interesting one, and also very dangerous when it comes to roleplay. Essentially, those gifted with the Echo have the ability to literally relive the memories of people around them. Witness those events first hand. At first, to some one who isn't aware of their gift, triggering this can be as simple as touching some one. The walker is able to move about these environments, and even go so far as to interact with people during these memories. Whether or not that has any impact on the future has yet to be seen. I currently believe that one is able to relive these memories themselves, however it isn't time travel. Therefor, any interaction has no effect on what might be occurring. There could be no way to "prevent" it from happening in reality.

Now, it seems that the reliving of these memories happens almost instantaneously. While a walker might be reliving a memory that is several minutes long, it's length in Eorzea is but the blink of an eye. Sort of like a Tron effect (If any of you have seen the sequel that just came out, you might get that reference.). Now, it also seems that inexperienced users of this ability have a tendency to pass out from exhaustion after reliving this memory. However, as their understanding and skill with this progresses, that becomes less and less of an issue until it seems to vanish completely.

Also as the walker's ability grows, they can go so far as to invoke and relive memories on a whim without even having to make contact with any individual person. Merely being in their presence allows them to relive that memory in the blink of an eye and learn whatever it is they need to from that person. This is extremely dangerous from a roleplay perspective, as some one gifted with the echo could technically have access to your memories. While this opens the door for metagaming, I don't believe people should shy away entirely from it. If a solid and firm approach is taken, and the roleplayer is careful, it could be doable. Of course, it would be very beneficial to get consenting roleplayers to interact with when using these specifics abilities to prevent any major headaches.

Now, there's still more to the Echo. Walkers have the ability to understand and speak every language. Whether it's Mooglespeak, the tongues of the Beastmen Tribes, or speaking to the elemental Primals themselves. Their gift gives them fluency in everything.

...Big chunk of information, but, so far that's what I've learned. In fact, I have a feeling I've even left a bit out. It's been awhile since I've done the lower ranking missions.

So, yes. I believe roleplayers shouldn't be afraid to tackle this. You can do it, you just have to be careful, as you do with any roleplay. If some one can make it work, I'm sure it would make for absolutely amazing roleplay. Square set it up for it make sense for many people to have it. As you stated ,it is mentioned that hundreds, of not thousands of Adventurer's are beginning to wake up to the Echo. It's by no means something that is rare, and would be "Cliche" to have. Roleplayers shouldn't look down upon people who choose to use it, but there will always be stiffs who can't afford to give anyone any form of creativity. You just need to be able to look past those people. Just take a dive. Like I did in giving Endemerrin an artificial limb powered my Magitek. Was it a bit out there? Sure. But you can make it fit into the world with a little elbow grease. This subject already has the groundwork laid out for you.

If it's something you want to do, don't let anyone stop you if there's no harm being done to others. Go wild and have fun, because that's what it's all about.

RP Consequences of Main Storyline (minor spoilers)

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