(09-25-2013, 05:49 PM)Ildur Wrote: I'm going to paraphrase something someone else in the forums said once: Remember that Player Characters are a subset of remarkable characters, who are a subset of all perceivable characters in the world, who are in turn a subset of all people living in Eorzea.
So while it might be true that most of the old people in Eorzea aren't combat capable, it doesn't need to hold true to most of the Player Characters. Unless a player decides to purposedly play an unremarkable character (it happens), there's no lore reason to not have an old badass. In fact, there are plenty of lore reasons to do so: namely, aether. Except for those who have low aether naturally, everyone is able to use magic to some extent. That's why every class and job has a special and flashy effects, and that's the only way you can justify someone being able to punch Titan in the knees and cause damage. If everyone can use aether to enhance their capabilites beyond the norm, then it is very likely that the aged people of Eorzea would be able of many feats as long as they had the training during their youth or as long as they keep fit.
For example, the leader of the Ala Mhigan refugees in Little Ala Mhigo is an old grizzled man. He wears an axe and he accompanies you in one particular quest to fight some enemies. He is not tired, winded nor wounded afterwards.
What is true is that they probably will not be as effective as someone with the same ammount of experience who is also younger. But that's getting into technical disadvantages: the oldies can fight too, and the game supports that idea.
That's pretty much my reason to have JJ still kicking ass: Aether (and being too damn stubborn and not returning death's calls because death is a needy jerkface) Some characters have naturally high capabilities with such as you said (magic, kicking Ifrit in the junk, and magic again).
I do know of some PCs that are older and not as spry as their younger self, but would be capable of getting the slip on someone. Then there's others I know that have long since retired. Having aged "badasses" is just another category of old!
(And I just really, really, really enjoy JJ >.>)You also see the same gambit in younglings, those that suck at everything, those that do nothing, those that don't suck at one thing and those that don't suck at something else.
