Those weren't two cents, Entity: it was more like a whole wallet. 
Kind of a long post, so I'll only answer to very particular thingg that interest me:
Of course that, when I say that to be an Ul'dahn noble you need to be rich, that 'you' means 'your character on a roleplaying level'. The actual ammount of gil you have mechanically speaking is irrelevant. But how much gil or properties or riches in general your character has in-character is relevant to him being or not an Ul'dahn noble. Once you have defined him as an Ul'dahn noble, you can go nuts with the concept. But your basis for the character has to be strong, and for it to be strong it needs to be consistent with the game universe. Which brings me to:
The limits imposed by lore create consistency. You can bend them and go farther than them as long as it is coherent and consistent with the game universe. The moment you go too far (and where 'too far' lies might vary depending who you ask) you risk losing your character's credibility. There's nothing stopping you from making a character who is a Shogun, but it doesn't fit in the world. People will wonder: "Why does this particular character who is beyond the defined limits of the game universe exist"? In this particular case, because there's no nobility system in any of the canon city states that uses that terminology or even that particular kind of feudal system. A Shogun wouldn't be coherent with the world.
Though if your particular RP group is okay with that kind of roleplaying then there's no problem. Just remember that most roleplayers like to work within a particular framework. Different groups will have different thresholds about how much bending (or breaking) they are willing to put up with.
What REALLY matters is having fun. If creating characters that are consistent with the game world is not fun to you then, well, it is not fun to you and all discussions about lore will be useless as far as you are concerned. The reason those discussions exist, however, is because some of us like to create characters and stories that can fit properly in the world. And for that we have to know where the limits are.
Pretty much, though I don't think there's any 'hard proof' that Gridania's nobility is based on merchnatilism and, considering Gridania's society, the only 'nobles' should be the Padjal. There's no indication in-game about how the Haukke lady became a Gridanian noble or even if she is considered part of Gridania's nobility. Maybe she's a foreigner who bought land? I don't know. I'll have to replay that part.
Kind of a long post, so I'll only answer to very particular thingg that interest me:
Entity Wrote:But really, to try and remain unbiased and assess both sides of the situation, in a world of something like RP, it doesn't matter how rich you are. It doesn't matter how powerful you are. It doesn't matter how skilled you are. Does not even matter how competent, stupid, prissy, sophisticated, or whatever adjective you want to use to describe yourself, you are. (...)
Of course that, when I say that to be an Ul'dahn noble you need to be rich, that 'you' means 'your character on a roleplaying level'. The actual ammount of gil you have mechanically speaking is irrelevant. But how much gil or properties or riches in general your character has in-character is relevant to him being or not an Ul'dahn noble. Once you have defined him as an Ul'dahn noble, you can go nuts with the concept. But your basis for the character has to be strong, and for it to be strong it needs to be consistent with the game universe. Which brings me to:
Quote:I think what people forget is that they can talk all day about how something works or how something "should be done," but that in itself is limiting, especially in a universe that's not real.
The limits imposed by lore create consistency. You can bend them and go farther than them as long as it is coherent and consistent with the game universe. The moment you go too far (and where 'too far' lies might vary depending who you ask) you risk losing your character's credibility. There's nothing stopping you from making a character who is a Shogun, but it doesn't fit in the world. People will wonder: "Why does this particular character who is beyond the defined limits of the game universe exist"? In this particular case, because there's no nobility system in any of the canon city states that uses that terminology or even that particular kind of feudal system. A Shogun wouldn't be coherent with the world.
Though if your particular RP group is okay with that kind of roleplaying then there's no problem. Just remember that most roleplayers like to work within a particular framework. Different groups will have different thresholds about how much bending (or breaking) they are willing to put up with.
Quote:But, keeping RL elements out of a discussion about a game, people argue so much about what should be and what shouldn't be they forget what REALLY matters, and that's having the capabilities required to create something that is accessible to all, or at the very LEAST, make sense enough for people to understand and realize what it is.
What REALLY matters is having fun. If creating characters that are consistent with the game world is not fun to you then, well, it is not fun to you and all discussions about lore will be useless as far as you are concerned. The reason those discussions exist, however, is because some of us like to create characters and stories that can fit properly in the world. And for that we have to know where the limits are.
Seriphyn Wrote:I guess there might be a distinction between bourgeois and aristocratic nobility then: wealth based and family based, with Gridania having the former, Ul'dah having both, and Ishgard having the latter.
Pretty much, though I don't think there's any 'hard proof' that Gridania's nobility is based on merchnatilism and, considering Gridania's society, the only 'nobles' should be the Padjal. There's no indication in-game about how the Haukke lady became a Gridanian noble or even if she is considered part of Gridania's nobility. Maybe she's a foreigner who bought land? I don't know. I'll have to replay that part.
![[Image: DWv3oGi.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/DWv3oGi.jpg)
