Good morning (or afternoon, or evening) to you all! I am Silaqui and I have just recently joined your ranks. 
Let me start off by saying that, like many others who have joined, I am new to RP in a video game. I have always created a small back-story for my characters in games, but it's more for me than anything else. I really enjoy creating characters. I do have a small amount of experience with pen & paper RP, but the idea of RP in video games has always been a bit mystifying. I have attempted to RP twice before (in other games) in the past, but both attempts didn't end well for me. So, I'm hoping to give it another try!
As with any interest of mine, I've done a bit of reading (both here and on other sites) about the basics. I do, however, still find myself with a few questions. Perhaps someone could help me?
1) Armor - How do adventurers, in general, react to the higher level armor obtained either from quests, storyline, or hunts? As I began to consider my character's personality, and after reading many debates over whether it was generally acceptable to play as a Warrior of Light, I got to wondering how those end-game armors are supposed to be viewed. Lots of players run around in the Soldiery and raid gear. Are they treated like any other armor appropriate to the level, or are they viewed as something special? What about dungeon gear in general? I've always been fond of the Sastasha gear's appearance, but would it be odd for my character to wear something like that?
2) Progression - I'm a bit confused as to how to explain my character's progression through levels. I do have another character, on another server, that I use for story and endgame content, but I would also want to play my Balmung character (from 1.0) as either a curious bard or an inquisitive healer. I'm unsure of how fast or slow it is generally considered "acceptable" to be gaining "levels" and learning new abilities. Is there any progression at all? I'm very interested in my adventurer having, well, adventures! ^_^ This is probably the part that mystifies me the most.
3) Details - I'm still a bit unsure of how detailed my character's history/story should be. I openly admit I'm not well-versed on the lore of the game, despite having worked through all of the main story content on my other character. I just don't seem to absorb the information well! I'm much better about character details than world details, unfortunately.Â
 (See character intro below and provide any thoughts/feedback you feel might be needed!)
4) Location, Location, Location - I've heard/read that Ul'dah is the place to be for open RP. I've started in Gridania, unfortunately, and haven't unlocked the airship just yet. Are there places, other than Ul'dah, where open RP might occur? I would very much like to observe for a bit before jumping into my own RP, especially since I might refine my character based upon how other characters are being played.
And last, but not least, here is the character that I hope to be playing!
Name:Â Elara Redbrook**
Age:Â 28
Home:Â The Black Shroud
Profession:Â Adventurer (not yet sure if she'll be "Bard" or "White Mage")
Family: Elara's mother is a moderately skilled Goldsmith and her father is a moderately skilled Blacksmith - they do well enough to earn a comfortable living, but do not have any reputation to speak of. Elara has one younger brother (name yet to be determined) who wishes to become a Goldsmith, like their mother.
Character History: Despite her parents' insistence that she study to become an artisan, Elara knew from a young age that her interests did not lie with artisanry. She was captivated by the adventurers who passed through town, spinning enchanting tales of bravery, danger, and treasures to any who would buy them a drink. Elara left her home at the age of 19, without the blessing of her parents, to pursue the life of an adventurer. The life was hard and much less glamorous than the adventurers had made it seem, but Elara managed to scrape by a meager living and enjoyed traveling the lands of Eorzea.
The Calamity changed all. Where Elara once saw excitement and adventure, she now saw need and purpose. Countless people had been slain or severely wounded, while still more were missing. Lands that were once well defended now suffered from outward attacks and inner turmoil. While the whispers of exciting adventures still call to Elara, she finds herself fuelled by a desire to hone her skills to better help her fellow Eorzeans. Â
** - "Elara" is actually the feminine form of the Breton (Celtic) name "Alar", the patron saint of goldsmiths and blacksmiths. As this doesn't tie in with Hydaelyn lore, it isn't mentioned in the character history, but I still thought it was quite an appropriate name for her and one her parents, given a real-world setting, might choose! Also, "Redbrook" is the family name that was adopted due to the family's home -- there is a brook that runs through the family's land and, every autumn, the red leaves of the nearby trees fall and cover the surface of the water, making it a red brook.
Now that I've spent entirely too long typing, editing, losing my train of thought, then editing some more, I shall leave this to you and hope for the best! It's a pleasure meeting you all and I hope to encounter some of your characters in the game!
Let me start off by saying that, like many others who have joined, I am new to RP in a video game. I have always created a small back-story for my characters in games, but it's more for me than anything else. I really enjoy creating characters.
 I do have a small amount of experience with pen & paper RP, but the idea of RP in video games has always been a bit mystifying. I have attempted to RP twice before (in other games) in the past, but both attempts didn't end well for me. So, I'm hoping to give it another try!As with any interest of mine, I've done a bit of reading (both here and on other sites) about the basics. I do, however, still find myself with a few questions. Perhaps someone could help me?
1) Armor - How do adventurers, in general, react to the higher level armor obtained either from quests, storyline, or hunts? As I began to consider my character's personality, and after reading many debates over whether it was generally acceptable to play as a Warrior of Light, I got to wondering how those end-game armors are supposed to be viewed. Lots of players run around in the Soldiery and raid gear. Are they treated like any other armor appropriate to the level, or are they viewed as something special? What about dungeon gear in general? I've always been fond of the Sastasha gear's appearance, but would it be odd for my character to wear something like that?
2) Progression - I'm a bit confused as to how to explain my character's progression through levels. I do have another character, on another server, that I use for story and endgame content, but I would also want to play my Balmung character (from 1.0) as either a curious bard or an inquisitive healer. I'm unsure of how fast or slow it is generally considered "acceptable" to be gaining "levels" and learning new abilities. Is there any progression at all? I'm very interested in my adventurer having, well, adventures! ^_^ This is probably the part that mystifies me the most.
3) Details - I'm still a bit unsure of how detailed my character's history/story should be. I openly admit I'm not well-versed on the lore of the game, despite having worked through all of the main story content on my other character. I just don't seem to absorb the information well! I'm much better about character details than world details, unfortunately.Â
 (See character intro below and provide any thoughts/feedback you feel might be needed!)4) Location, Location, Location - I've heard/read that Ul'dah is the place to be for open RP. I've started in Gridania, unfortunately, and haven't unlocked the airship just yet. Are there places, other than Ul'dah, where open RP might occur? I would very much like to observe for a bit before jumping into my own RP, especially since I might refine my character based upon how other characters are being played.
And last, but not least, here is the character that I hope to be playing!
Name:Â Elara Redbrook**
Age:Â 28
Home:Â The Black Shroud
Profession:Â Adventurer (not yet sure if she'll be "Bard" or "White Mage")
Family: Elara's mother is a moderately skilled Goldsmith and her father is a moderately skilled Blacksmith - they do well enough to earn a comfortable living, but do not have any reputation to speak of. Elara has one younger brother (name yet to be determined) who wishes to become a Goldsmith, like their mother.
Character History: Despite her parents' insistence that she study to become an artisan, Elara knew from a young age that her interests did not lie with artisanry. She was captivated by the adventurers who passed through town, spinning enchanting tales of bravery, danger, and treasures to any who would buy them a drink. Elara left her home at the age of 19, without the blessing of her parents, to pursue the life of an adventurer. The life was hard and much less glamorous than the adventurers had made it seem, but Elara managed to scrape by a meager living and enjoyed traveling the lands of Eorzea.
The Calamity changed all. Where Elara once saw excitement and adventure, she now saw need and purpose. Countless people had been slain or severely wounded, while still more were missing. Lands that were once well defended now suffered from outward attacks and inner turmoil. While the whispers of exciting adventures still call to Elara, she finds herself fuelled by a desire to hone her skills to better help her fellow Eorzeans. Â
** - "Elara" is actually the feminine form of the Breton (Celtic) name "Alar", the patron saint of goldsmiths and blacksmiths.Â
 As this doesn't tie in with Hydaelyn lore, it isn't mentioned in the character history, but I still thought it was quite an appropriate name for her and one her parents, given a real-world setting, might choose! Also, "Redbrook" is the family name that was adopted due to the family's home -- there is a brook that runs through the family's land and, every autumn, the red leaves of the nearby trees fall and cover the surface of the water, making it a red brook.Now that I've spent entirely too long typing, editing, losing my train of thought, then editing some more, I shall leave this to you and hope for the best! It's a pleasure meeting you all and I hope to encounter some of your characters in the game!
![[Image: yEROfKO.png]](http://i.imgur.com/yEROfKO.png)
~
I'm glad to chat or role-play anytime; feel free to say hello sometime in-game!
![[Image: NCtCate.png]](http://i.imgur.com/NCtCate.png)