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Rambling thoughts could use focus! - Printable Version

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Rambling thoughts could use focus! - Intellati - 08-06-2017

So I have an idea for a Keeper of the Moon character. It's relatively small-scale (I tend to enjoy a more grounded, regular person that is thrown into greater adventures). I just need some help ironing out ideas, perhaps discussing things back and forth a bit to really flesh him out, I think. 

I bounced back and forth on whether he should have been a Seeker or Keeper but think I ultimately landed on Keeper because: I want him to have started small. A baby born of the Shroud who poached for food and was captured. He would essentially be jailed for a portion of his life - do we know anything about Gridania jail? Is it unbelievable that he would be jailed - would he be killed instead? 

The end goal, ultimately, is have him become a Twin Adder. He would be a small part of the Grand Company and actually begin to rise through the ranks as he proved himself skilled with a sword (also-- do we know anything regarding Adders abilities outside of bows? I may be interested in him learning how to wield a gun as well but that seems a bit farfetched). 

As a Twin Adder, he suddenly has more reason to be involved with the overarching story of the game and I can handle him as more than just a mercenary type. It would be really cool to start up Grand Company linkshells or even Free Companies if the interest was there. 

I digress. 

As a somewhat young and skilled Adder, I am uncertain as to what he might have seen. Maybe he fought in the skirmish against Ishgard? Perhaps he lent aid when the dragons came to close to Coerthas. I would imagine, without a doubt, he would be sent east to assist in the Ala Mhigan campaign.


RE: Rambling thoughts could use focus! - Sounsyy - 08-06-2017

(08-06-2017, 02:53 AM)Intellati Wrote: I ultimately landed on Keeper because: I want him to have started small. A baby born of the Shroud who poached for food and was captured.

For starters, I've dropped what Keeper of the Moon lore we know in the spoiler below. It's not a ton, but it should help clarify a bit about the culture your character comes from. But seeing as how he's captured as a poacher and later becomes a Gridanian citizen, I think it's important to also know why poaching is such a grave crime in the Shroud and why Gridanians and Keepers were at odds for so long.

This post on elementals and the laws of the Wood should help with that.

Also as a Keeper (and as a Gridanian) you're going to hear a lot of talk about Menphina and Nophica, so I've included lore on those as well in case you're wanting to include religious inclinations to your character?

Show Content


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(08-06-2017, 02:53 AM)Intellati Wrote: He would essentially be jailed for a portion of his life - do we know anything about Gridania jail? Is it unbelievable that he would be jailed - would he be killed instead?

If captured by the Wood Wailers, your character would've been gaoled. Gridania is actually really big on jails while they await the elementals to pass judgement on lawbreakers. Now, depending on what year your character was captured would determine where he would've been dragged off to. The majority of Gridania's jails tend to be subterranean, and as such, these areas eventually become saturated with aether and woodsin, and are either abandoned or sealed off. Such was the case with Toto-Rak.

The Thousand Maws of Toto-Rak Wrote:Named after a man-eating creature from Padjali folklore, the Thousand Maws of Toto-Rak was built on the site of a natural cave system beneath Silent Arbor. Until recently, it held all of Gridania's foulest criminals, from arsonists to poachers, but the completion of a new gaol closer to the city heralded its abandonment.
Oliver Goodfellow Wrote:A tragedy has occurred at the Thousand Maws of Toto-Rak. A notorious dungeon that once held poachers and arsonists—the vilest kinds of criminals ever to defile the Twelveswood—the mere mention of its name is enough to set the hairs of any forestborn standing on end. Up until three decades ago when the Elder Seedseer closed and sealed Toto-Rak, declaring it barbaric and unworthy of Gridanians, the dungeon was dreaded far and wide as the seventh hell made manifest.
Encyclopedia Eorzea Wrote:1542 - The Seedseers issue a deree to close the Thousand Maws of Toto-Rak, citing inhumane treatment of the prisoners confined therein.

After the Year 1542 of the Sixth Astral Era, the new gaol that is referenced in the quotes above is Warren's Hold, better known after the Calamity as Spirithold. This Gelmorran structure was used as a prison for nearly thirty years until it was abandoned following the Calamity. If your character was imprisoned during this time period, he would've in all likelihood gone here.

Encyclopedia Eorzea Wrote:A structure initially built in the days of Gelmorra, Spirithold has found new use as a prison to hold enemies of the forest while they await judgement - though whether the same can be said after the Calamity is unclear. Some also refer to the crumbling ruin as Warren's Hold, after the cells' first gaoler.
Galfrid Wrote:To the southeast of here lies a dungeon known as Spirithold. It was all but destroyed during the Calamity. Desiring to offer the ruins back to the forest, a Hearer ventured inside to carry out the Rite of Returning.

So where did Gridania keep its prisoners after the Calamity? Well, into the most protected area of Gridania...

Ceinguled Wrote:You are come to the Wailing Barracks, home of the Wood Wailers - the keepers of the peace within Gridania.
Encyclopedia Eorzea Wrote:Headquarters of the Wood Wailers, the Wailing Barracks hold a guard-house, facilities where townsfolk might seek the Wailers' counsel, and a small gaol for those criminals who disturb the peace of the Twelveswood.

Criminals are usually dealt with at the discretion of the Commander of whichever Spear (unit) of the Wood Wailers captured them. Though in almost all cases, the Stillglade Fane has a Hearer assigned to each guild to better facilitate communication between elemental and man in all matters of law. That said, when dealing with the specific matter of poaching, the case is likely turned over to the Ninth Spears, who handle poacher eradication.

Criminals can eventually be forgiven their crimes, but death sentences do also exist.
Laurentius Wrote:It is I, Laurentius, the man whose crimes you exposed. I was a Wailer, and a regular patron at Buscarron's... I was beginning to wonder if gaol had changed me more than I realized. ...Not that I have any particular wish to be recognized after my shameful conduct. As matters stand, the Wood Wailers will have naught more to do with me. This...this may be just the second chance I was looking for...
Open Season Wrote:Though poaching is one of the most severe crimes in the Twelveswood, often punishable by death, there is no end to the constant flow of those who come to the sacred forest in search of exotic pelts and horns to sell to dubious traders from the Far East. The sheer number of the criminals is forcing the Gods' Quiver to allocate far more men and women than they can spare, and so to lighten their load, they seek able-bodied adventurers to assist in patrolling at least six areas near Treespeak and dealing "swift justice" to any of these forsaken hunters that can be found.
Wind-up Succubus Wrote:One of countless clockwork servitors discovered in the home of a Gridanian goldsmith recently hanged for the crime of ritual summoning. It is believed while crafting the automatons, he became increasingly obsessed with the void, until the darkness bid him do the unthinkable.
Judgeray Wrote:In the distant past, the Gridanians used to try individuals suspected of heinous crimes by forcing them to share a pond with this extremely venomous stingray.


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(08-06-2017, 02:53 AM)Intellati Wrote: The end goal, ultimately, is have him become a Twin Adder. (also-- do we know anything regarding Adders abilities outside of bows? I may be interested in him learning how to wield a gun as well but that seems a bit farfetched).

Guns aren't traditionally a part of the Twin Adders' (or a Gridanian Keepers' for that matter) arsenal. They're bulky, heavy, and loud - likely to disturb the tranquility of the forest and alert everyone to your presence, while Gridanians and Shroud poachers generally elect to use guerrilla tactics and stealth/concealment. But that's not to say that a former poacher couldn't have somehow gotten their hands on a firearm and trained themselves.

A musket from Limsa would be very unlikely, as Limsa tries to very strictly regulate its gun control and export. Ishgardian firearms are a little more likely, though the arms Machinists use at the Skysteel Manufactory are a much more recent invention - combining very outdated (and unpopular) Ishgardian marksman rifles with Garlond Ironworks magitek technology and the recently invented aetheroconverter to charge bullets with lightning aspected aether. The most likely source for a free gun would be stolen off a dead Garlean in the Wood. Gunblades and other Imperial firearms are usually only used by Centurions or higher ranked soldiers, but theoretically that shouldn't make one too difficult to find on the eastern boarders of the Shroud. For close to twenty years the eastern Shroud has been the frontlines for the conflict between Eorzea and Garlemald. Garleans have pecked at the Wood on and off for years, making several pushes into the Sylphlands in numerous attempts to eradicate the beastmen there. Even after Baelsar's Wall was built 15 years ago and later Castrum Oriens 5 years ago after the Calamity, Garleans could still be found patrolling the Wood before being repelled by the Gods' Quivermen, who protect the Hedge (the borders of the Twelveswood).

I've yet to really do a deep lore post into the Wood Wailers, Gods' Quivermen, and Trappers' League of Gridania, but I'll drop a few pertinents in the spoiler below that could be helpful:

Show Content

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(08-06-2017, 02:53 AM)Intellati Wrote: As a somewhat young and skilled Adder, I am uncertain as to what he might have seen. Maybe he fought in the skirmish against Ishgard? Perhaps he lent aid when the dragons came to close to Coerthas. I would imagine, without a doubt, he would be sent east to assist in the Ala Mhigan campaign.

I think a lot of this would really depend upon how old he is, and when he sought to join the Twin Adders? Did he join 5 years ago when the Order was first formed? Did he join after the devastation the Calamity inflicted upon the Twelveswood? Did he join but recently, being too young to serve beforehand?

As far as the Order of the Twin Adder is concerned, they've largely spent most of their time in service dealing with the Garlean threat to the eastern Wood, though also fighting the Ixal on the northern and western fronts. While Gridania has been close allies with the Ishgardians for some time, they weren't directly involved in matters of the Dragonsong War. It was the adventurers and free companies of Eorzea who provided the biggest militia aid there.

About the only large-scale military conflicts the Adders have truly seen are the Battle of Carteneau five years ago, Operation Archon one year ago, and the most recent events of Stormblood.


Hope this helps! ^^ Lemme know if you have more questions!


RE: Rambling thoughts could use focus! - Intellati - 08-07-2017

Thanks so much! I've been giving this all a read so I can help solidify a few ideas in my head and really make him a believable character. 

Thanks again!!