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

Orlog · **07-30-2013, 11:47 PM**

...and by that I don't mean those other islands. I mean taking culture from completely outside of the game. Do you do it? What're your thoughts on it? Why do/don't you like the idea? I ask this simply because I've been seeing a lot of people going pretty heavy into the small amount of lore given so far for their characters and RP experiences, and that's all fine and dandy, but is there ever a point where you start to draw from outside sources for insurances?

Obviously there are a bunch of other circumstances where this could come up besides tribalism (weapon designs, clothing ideas, general philosophies, etc.) coming from a vast majority of different places (real life, your own ideas, etc.). So, feel free to share your thoughts!

For my own experiences with Beatric, despite her not using traditional tribalism in the slightest, she very much draws from a lot of cultures and practices we've seen in the real world. I still tend to keep the ideas within a reasonable area of the lore of Eorzea, as well as working with a few ideas given in game, but the vast majority is from either my own ideas or real world cultures and practices. She also happens to be a huge collector of stories and as in OOC thing I tend to take some of my favorite myths and sort of blend them into the Eorzean world.

Ps. I'd like to apologize for making my... 3rd? 4th? thread on culture and general influences. Color me curious. Wink

Edit: I wanted to expand on this so it didn't sound like I was just repeating some of my previous thread questions. I'm less talking about lore influencing your character specifically, but more... adding in lore of your choosing to the game world, regardless of character, if that makes sense? Doho, I am terrible at conveying my thoughts!

sanguineFenrir · **07-31-2013, 12:13 AM**

Kevaraan has a rack of eyebrow rings and a lip ring, which were "done" by an acquaintance of his, and which he was initially wary of. As I've mentioned in a different thread, his name is vaguely European/Nordic.

In past games, or just within custom fictional lore, the race from which Kevaraan is from borrows its flavor from both animal behavior and indigenous cultures, although there is nothing too specific. I have another character whose upbringing was very Spartan (and some might argue that it was even more severe.) In A Realm Reborn, Kevaraan is merely himself--which is part of the reason why he and his family were written to have been influenced by numerous different cultures.

My other half once was working on a novel that shared some similarities with Orson Scott Card's work, particularly Ender's Game. Much of her driving creative force in general came from the Final Fantasy series itself, or at least the older ones. We enjoy thinking about various scenarios from television shows and such, but I don't think either of us would ever go so far as to write something that borrowed too heavily from that.

sanguineFenrir · **07-31-2013, 12:13 AM**

My mouse seems to be acting up and posted a duplicate of this response. Please disregard.

FreelanceWizard · **07-31-2013, 01:03 AM**

Well, one thing that's lacking in the game is information on the metaphysics of magic. So, I've adapted some metaphysics from various RPGs (Mage: the Ascension and Ars Magica, mostly) along with some parts of RL forms of practice (Thelema, Wicca, and Transcendental Meditation) to come up with a metaphysic that L'yhta can use to explain how her magic actually works -- or, at least, how she thinks it works -- beyond the basic "Conjury is invocation, Thaumaturgy is evocation, Arcana is some of both." My goal is to have a functional theory of magic that she can use that can explain both the extant lore as well as OOC narrative conceits. The concept of "patterns" on the Medicine in Eorzea thread comes out of this and is, in fact, how she'd ICly explain why she can't just Esuna away a plague or Cure II someone's missing limb back. I don't assert that she, or it, are correct OOC, but it gives her something to say when she wants to "talk shop."

The Wizards' Choir that factors into her backstory is inspired by an RPG setting I wrote where music is the underlying system of magic. I doubt it'll get much more exposition in game, but that's where it comes from. Smile

AFriendOfAFriend · **07-31-2013, 01:17 AM**

The Garleans tend to be a mix of the Romans, Nazis, Amestris from FMA and the Galactic Empire from Star Wars in my head (this is mostly from the childhood indoctrination/rampant racism/their military dividing nicely into Marian era units, with Latin-appropriate names/Magitek being somewhat reminiscent of automail/the fact that Gaius reminds me rather strongly of Darth Vader). I make certain assumptions based on that; that they have a Senate, maybe a noble caste, enough political intrigue and backstabbing to gag a poli-sci major, et cetera and so on.

The Elezen fall rather heavily under Tolkien mythology, with the Wildwood being the Rivendell elves and the Duskwight the Wood elves (there's some form of dramatic irony somewhere in that statement, but it's 1am and I can't be arsed to find it). Having read the Silmarillion eight-hundred-bajillion times I have a hard time not filling the gaps in Elezen lore with the tales Fingolfin and company. Also find myself reciting A Elbereth Gilthoniel in my head when thinking of this particular race.

What else, what else... The whole Beastmen summoning the Primals thing makes me think of the Call of C'thulhu (Ifrit fhtagn!). That's all I got at the moment.

Eva · **07-31-2013, 01:39 AM**

While most of the liberties I've taken with backstory for Eva's ancestral duskwight culture have stemmed less from any specific RL culture and have been more from a sort of logical assumption of what a subterranean culture might be like, there have been a few places where I've borrowed a bit from RL cultures/mythos and such.

'Ianeira' as a surname stems from Greek mythology - the name of a water nymph. Though that's technically not her actual surname...

Certain stories from Eva's past have borrowed loosely from Celtic, Norse, and Greek mythology.

We've imagined her to have a slight Irish accent in her voice as well, though there's not really any basis in game for this and I can't really describe it using in-game comparisons. So there's that too. That's about all I got though, speaking only for myself.

Orlog · **08-01-2013, 10:07 PM**

(07-31-2013, 01:39 AM)Eva Wrote: We've imagined her to have a slight Irish accent in her voice as well, though there's not really any basis in game for this and I can't really describe it using in-game comparisons. So there's that too. That's about all I got though, speaking only for myself.

Ah, that's something I totally forgot to add! Accents! I had a very specific way that I wanted Bea to sound, even if her word usage can be pretty normal. Anyway, I wanted her to sound Indian-ish, sort of like Fran from Final Fantasy 12.

here

Martiallais · **08-01-2013, 10:45 PM**

I'm definitely drawing on some Yakuza/Mafia/mobster movies/stories to influence Zarek's history and his general outlook. That's the world he's lived in (well, a big part of it anyway) for over 15 years. I also draw from a few places when I think about how he would fight and move. While he might've had some traditional training (essentially schooling) martially growing up, most of his actual experience would be well...brawling and entertaining a crowd.

So clearly, I'm all for it. I hadn't thought of his accent but that's a good point, I'll have to check around for anything about the way Ul'dahns speak. For what it's worth, I definitely consider some outside influences for how (in my head at least) he would dress.

Orlog · **08-02-2013, 03:12 AM**

(08-01-2013, 10:45 PM)Zarek Wrote: I definitely consider some outside influences for how (in my head at least) he would dress.

It's honestly really great to pull all over the place as far as dress, in my opinion, because you have so many options and so much makes sense, but can still fit within the bounds of the world.

Like, for example with Bea, I recently came across some Saudi Arabian garbs that are just perfect for her desert wear in Ul'dah. It being simple fabrics that are brightly colored that cover the wearer from head to toe is not something that would be really out there for Ul'dah society, and they just look fucking amazing.

Here's one of my favorites, and here is where I found them.

[Image: 06.jpg]

Martiallais · **08-02-2013, 10:06 AM**

(08-02-2013, 03:12 AM)Bea Wrote:
(08-01-2013, 10:45 PM)Zarek Wrote: I definitely consider some outside influences for how (in my head at least) he would dress.

It's honestly really great to pull all over the place as far as dress, in my opinion, because you have so many options and so much makes sense, but can still fit within the bounds of the world.

Here's one of my favorites, and here is where I found them.

Exactamundo!

Also, that is a really great look, Bea Big Grin

For Zarek I'm thinking a mix of things that are covering and definitely some generally 'loose' attire (sleeveless, open chest, etc) things that he'd wear around depending on weather.

Cultural influences outside of Eorzea?

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