A lot of these are interesting. Which is why, I guess, I'd hate to see them played as a collection of stereotypes and tropes, rather than well thought-out characters.
I suppose I've mulled over character types I'd like to see show up in the RP community as well.
Characters playing against type, for example. Stoic warriors or devoted cultists a la Mullenkamp- but Lalafells. Elezen in service to the Sultana or sailing on ships. Gentle Roegadyn botanists. Prudish Ishgardians who aren't Hyur or Elezen- how about a Miqo'te from the region! Ala Mhigans who aren't Highlanders, and who aren't tragic and proud- instead, try for dishonorable and ambitious!
Putting new flavor spins on classes for the sake of RP could be interesting, if you don't want your character to simply fit into the established story for each job and its guild. In-universe, it's not hard to explain some- you see archers in the ranks of the U tribe out in Thanalan, so having your archer character have learned somewhere other than Gridania isn't out of the question. Honestly, most of the melee classes are pretty flexible like that- a swordsman doesn't need to have learned to fight as a gladiator IC, you hardly need to be a marauder to know your way around a greataxe, spears aren't the sole providence of Gridania any more than bows are, and I like to think that there's room for a pugilist having learned martial arts styles from every corner of Eorzea. The Disciples of Magic are a bit trickier- Stillglade Fane has a monopoly on conjury, and few places seem to have the resources for learning arcanima other than Mealvann's Gate, and while thaumaturgy seems like the sort of magic that one could learn without the guild, it also seems like a monumentally poor idea to do so. Of course, that's part of the fun. A mage who's self-taught or learned their art from a non-standard source would occupy a very interesting place in their world indeed.
In general, I'd also love to see more Ishgardians. There are no end to those from Gridania, Ul'dah, and Limsa Lominsa, as is to be expected, and a good handful of Ala Mhigans and even Garleans running around in the game, but I've noticed far fewer characters hailing for Ishgard/Coerthas. Sharlayan PCs would be interesting, too, but we seem to have a dearth of information about it- odd, considering how many major story NPCs are evidently from Sharlayan. I'm equally interested in Ishgardians who embody the culture and social mores of the region as seen in the game as I am in those who rebel against that!
Something that I'm also deeply invested in seeing more are characters who were adopted across cultures- who weren't Miqo'te taken in by Hyur. That has been done to death, and I'm pretty sure the ones who exist cover enough bases that we don't exactly need additions at this point. What about someone adopted by Roegadyn or Lalafell? Or a Hyur adopted by Miqo'te? I admit, this might be my fondness for the non-Hyur naming schemes (especially Sea Wolf names), but I'm also really interested to see how someone would play a character growing up in a family that isn't their species- and isn't even the same size as them. It'd be pretty odd for, say, Tadesu Gedesu the Elezen to be three times the height of his mom and dad- but pretty powerful on an emotional level if he loves them all the same. Or go even further, and follow the example we see with Loonh Gah- I'd be really interested in seeing a character who was raised by or spent a portion of their life with beastmen. How would it impact a character to have been brought up by Qiqirn or Sylphs- or something more sinister? They'd likely have a very different perspective on the world than someone from the city-states.
...this got way longer than I wanted it to. I guess there's just a whole lot of things I'd be really interested in seeing in terms of character types!
I suppose I've mulled over character types I'd like to see show up in the RP community as well.
Characters playing against type, for example. Stoic warriors or devoted cultists a la Mullenkamp- but Lalafells. Elezen in service to the Sultana or sailing on ships. Gentle Roegadyn botanists. Prudish Ishgardians who aren't Hyur or Elezen- how about a Miqo'te from the region! Ala Mhigans who aren't Highlanders, and who aren't tragic and proud- instead, try for dishonorable and ambitious!
Putting new flavor spins on classes for the sake of RP could be interesting, if you don't want your character to simply fit into the established story for each job and its guild. In-universe, it's not hard to explain some- you see archers in the ranks of the U tribe out in Thanalan, so having your archer character have learned somewhere other than Gridania isn't out of the question. Honestly, most of the melee classes are pretty flexible like that- a swordsman doesn't need to have learned to fight as a gladiator IC, you hardly need to be a marauder to know your way around a greataxe, spears aren't the sole providence of Gridania any more than bows are, and I like to think that there's room for a pugilist having learned martial arts styles from every corner of Eorzea. The Disciples of Magic are a bit trickier- Stillglade Fane has a monopoly on conjury, and few places seem to have the resources for learning arcanima other than Mealvann's Gate, and while thaumaturgy seems like the sort of magic that one could learn without the guild, it also seems like a monumentally poor idea to do so. Of course, that's part of the fun. A mage who's self-taught or learned their art from a non-standard source would occupy a very interesting place in their world indeed.
In general, I'd also love to see more Ishgardians. There are no end to those from Gridania, Ul'dah, and Limsa Lominsa, as is to be expected, and a good handful of Ala Mhigans and even Garleans running around in the game, but I've noticed far fewer characters hailing for Ishgard/Coerthas. Sharlayan PCs would be interesting, too, but we seem to have a dearth of information about it- odd, considering how many major story NPCs are evidently from Sharlayan. I'm equally interested in Ishgardians who embody the culture and social mores of the region as seen in the game as I am in those who rebel against that!
Something that I'm also deeply invested in seeing more are characters who were adopted across cultures- who weren't Miqo'te taken in by Hyur. That has been done to death, and I'm pretty sure the ones who exist cover enough bases that we don't exactly need additions at this point. What about someone adopted by Roegadyn or Lalafell? Or a Hyur adopted by Miqo'te? I admit, this might be my fondness for the non-Hyur naming schemes (especially Sea Wolf names), but I'm also really interested to see how someone would play a character growing up in a family that isn't their species- and isn't even the same size as them. It'd be pretty odd for, say, Tadesu Gedesu the Elezen to be three times the height of his mom and dad- but pretty powerful on an emotional level if he loves them all the same. Or go even further, and follow the example we see with Loonh Gah- I'd be really interested in seeing a character who was raised by or spent a portion of their life with beastmen. How would it impact a character to have been brought up by Qiqirn or Sylphs- or something more sinister? They'd likely have a very different perspective on the world than someone from the city-states.
...this got way longer than I wanted it to. I guess there's just a whole lot of things I'd be really interested in seeing in terms of character types!
