(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:This is great feedback! Â 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. Â And monkey wrench's are fine, that's what I'm here for! Â I asked for help with development, not a soapbox to be praised for my "awesome" ideasÂ
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.
  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. Â
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. Â I've personally always been fascinated with Dragoon's in fantasy, but I wanted to challenge myself this go-round. Â I wanted to play a character with aspiration beyond what he's currently involved in. Â Who is circumstantially unable to achieve his goals, but for the benefit of others. Â I started phase 3 as a GLA and enjoyed it more than I thought, but it way outside of my typically comfort zone. Â I decided that I wanted someone who, for me, had gameplay aspirations beyond leveling his first class to 50 and being satisfied. Â Most people play the game by starting as the class they want to play. Â I'm doing it a little differently this go round.
3) Â This one I haven't fully developed either. Â 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). Â I also hinted that his step-dad was recently injured, and quite seriously, requiring full attention from his mother.
4) Â Excellent question, and the latter is correct. Â This is the first time that he's branched out completely of his own accord. Â Again, this is probably due to his step-father's injury (potentially from battling prior and leading up to the Calamity). Â This is his first go at the 'real world', but he's a total boyscout. Â Loyal, honest, hard working, and probably more than a bit naive.
5) Â We know the pilgrimage thought the Shroud wasn't a pleasant one, it's where he got the scar across his left cheek. Â 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? Â Kayle's mother is a midlander from Gridania, his father is a highlander from Gyr Abania. Â And they certainly aren't the only ones who made the trip south from Ala Mhigo. Â 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. Â A great departure from the previous concept, but it's kind of one or the other. Â How did the rest of the higlander's get to Ul'Dah? Â 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. Â Kayle's mother is under the 'never again' mentality, and urges her family to flee. Â 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. Â 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: ~snipHowever, 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.
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.
In regards to Kayle's father, I can see reworking his history into a Lancer rather than a Dragoon. Â Per the SEÂ 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
![[Image: Driftwood.png]](https://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/wiki/images/6/63/Driftwood.png)
