+- Hydaelyn Role-Players (https://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/mybb18)
+-- Forum: Community (https://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/mybb18/forumdisplay.php?fid=8)
+--- Forum: RP Discussion (https://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/mybb18/forumdisplay.php?fid=13)
+--- Thread: Eorzean Seniors (/showthread.php?tid=4711)
Eorzean Seniors - LandStander - 09-23-2013
I actually had two questions for this thread.
The first one: I was wondering if anyone had any late middle aged or seniors they were RPing as. I see that most people are in their 20's and younger. Where are all the wise old people, the cranky old people, the cougars, and the old creepy perverts at :3?
The second one: I am actually planning on making an alt. I have her character design already picked out, but she is going to be in her late 40's or early 50's and a Midlander. Going for the nasty rich old lady covered in jewels approach on this one. If there are any other...more aged and refined RP characters out there I would love to make some sort of connection with them. And if anyone is looking for a "mother" character, I would not mind filling that role if we are able to work something out ^^.
RE: Eorzean Seniors - Olofantur - 09-23-2013
Heya,
My character is currently 34 (Not including the time skip.) and while I agree that the majority of people I have met are in the late teens-20's range I have encountered a few in the 32-38 range, but no one higher so far. (Though age doesn't come up often.) Until some contrary lore is released i'm treating him as 'middle aged'. I enjoy the "experienced, but still exploring" mentality, like the older Elezen male with his healer companion found outside the first three dungeons.
While Quarimar isn't strictly "Upper Crust" he does a fair bit of Goldsmithing work for people in Ul'dah and it isn't inconceivable that he might have fulfilled a commission or had a piece noticed related to the lady. Just ideas, I find the idea of "High society" interesting.
Cheers,
Edit: And yes, I consider it as the start of middle aged, he's not crotchety, just feels the chill more keenly and his vision problems have worsen.
RE: Eorzean Seniors - Naunet - 09-23-2013
My character Antimony is a 46 year old mother of three and has all of the lines and grey hair and stubborn weight to prove it! Of course, her in-game model only shows the grey hair... *grumbles*
I do always chuckle a bit at the number of "20-somethings" in roleplay, but then it kind of makes sense, as the majority of folk roleplay at least somewhat true to their chosen class and 20s to early 30s would be the "prime" of someone's life. Still! I definitely appreciate it when I run into older characters.
Actually, my little blob of friends has rather a number of older characters in it. Twinflame's character Megiddo is extremely old - in his 80s, I believe - and two other folks' characters, Ildur and Alcor, are in their 60s and 50s respectively.
I guess we're the senior(ish) club? XD
RE: Eorzean Seniors - Gideon Aryeh - 09-23-2013
Amaare is 33 years old, he's supposed to be a bit wiser and more mature overall and more seasoned and experienced. He's been around, know's what he is talking about and is very much an old soul.
RE: Eorzean Seniors - Salty Lake - 09-23-2013
I wish there were more options for making a character look older. I've seen a few older-looking faces on male hyur and miqo'te, but not many on female characters. I'd have liked to have made Salty look older without looking harsh--I like her dopey expression, but it makes her look young!
Salty is in her mid-to-late 30s and considers herself old to be her profession (sellsword) and not having been killed yet. Now in our world I consider 30s young, but in a more feudalistic society, I imagine 30s is middle-aged for a commoner. Salty also has a teen or young adult child (hoping to get someone to play her daughter so I have left the age vague).
(Not sure if it is fair to call FFXIV feudalistic since we don't seem to have lords living off peasant labor, but not sure what else to call it to signify a pre-industrial fantasy society.)
I suspect that a lot of people who have time to play MMOs are in their early twenties, and I think some people want to play a character near their age. I know I did when I was younger, and when I was 13, rolled 13 year olds, and when I was 19, rolled 19 year olds. They also looked like me. Hmmm. I'm more comfortable playing characters different than myself now, which is why I never play the "human" race in games anymore.
PS: Salty may be older than many in her profession, but she is neither wiser nor more mature--makes for fun RP!
RE: Eorzean Seniors - Raccoon - 09-23-2013
Older people also want to be young again, and the 20-30s are considered the prime of one's life, so it's not necessarily just the younger people playing in that age gap. It's more likely to be a younger person playing the creepy old pervert. Old men get enough grief for that in real life, so it's better to just play the younger, sexier version.
RE: Eorzean Seniors - Naunet - 09-23-2013
All these people thinking 30s is middle aged is making me really sad. XD
On a somewhat related note, I disagree that Eorzea mirrors a "feudal" society. Its cities suggest significantly greater advancement than that. More industrialized than anything.
RE: Eorzean Seniors - Magellan - 09-23-2013
I think a lot of people like to explore the coming of age theme. The youth finding their calling, making a name for themselves. Its a pretty easy ploy to open up a lot of great rp and character development. An already developed character is not as much fun to play for a lot of people.
RE: Eorzean Seniors - Cato - 09-23-2013
My Hyur is thirty one years old, mostly because I was starting to get pretty tired of all the characters that are role-played as teenagers and twenty-somethings yet are somehow highly experienced at the same time. I'd have made him a bit older if not for the lack of appealing customisation options for older looking characters.
RE: Eorzean Seniors - Magellan - 09-23-2013
Also, the lack of age slider makes a lot of characters look naturally young.
I play a 19 yr old and a 27 yr old. Both are fun for different reasons. The 19 yr old is inexperienced, and trying to find herself. The 27 yr old grew up an outsider. She has knowledge, but is having to integrqte into society for the first time, and finding it very difficult.
RE: Eorzean Seniors - Cato - 09-23-2013
(09-23-2013, 01:08 PM)Magellan Wrote: Also, the lack of age slider makes a lot of characters look naturally young.
Heh, it's not as bad as GW2 at least. I suppose the only upcoming MMO that will allow for a greater variety of character customisation features is going to be TESO, though that's still a way off and belongs to a series that is typically a lot grittier in design to begin with.
I was able to create a Basch/Gabranth/Vossler type Hyur in FFXIV so I can't complain too much.
RE: Eorzean Seniors - Twinflame - 09-23-2013
Considering how common elderly NPCs are and how often it is that, in the story, you run into people who were active in the Ala Mhigan defense forces during its fall (which was 20 years ago, making them at least mid-thirties or forties on the low end), I don't think that in Eorzean society there's a remarkable difference between characters who are, say, 25 and those who are 32. Some low-30s folk are going to be wise, old souls, but then so will some in their 20s. Keep in mind that this is a fully industrialized society that doesn't have the unsafe labor and feudal ownership that drew down life expectancy during similar eras in the real world, and has healing magic and medicine to bloat those same numbers. So if the life span for Lalafel is 100 years (it is), I would expect their life expectancy to be only a couple decades removed from that. Elezen wouldn't be far behind, and Hyur would be behind them a bit. My guess would put Hyur life expectancy around 70.
This is all to say that I think that low to mid 30s would count as young, as much in-game as it does irl. You could make a case for 40s.
In response to the OP, as Nau said, I do have a character in his 80s, but he's not likely to hobnob with the rich folk since he's more the wandering-hermit-in-the-woods type. I have another character who is wealthy and influential in Ul'dah, but is not elderly. I'd put him in his 30s somewhere.
RE: Eorzean Seniors - Rinh Hallani - 09-23-2013
One of my friends once said, "You know you're getting old when you're RPing characters younger than yourself."
My characters in this game are decidedly young, Rinh being the oldest in her mid 20s, but I've played older characters in other MMOs. If I can summon the strength for a second alt, I'd definitely like to have a greying mother-of-three Highlander or something like that, who scares her children with a severed bear's head when they're playing up. "I killed this with me bare hands. Jus' think what'll happen t'ya if ya don't get yer arses into bed right now!"
RE: Eorzean Seniors - Salty Lake - 09-23-2013
(09-23-2013, 12:50 PM)Naunet Wrote: All these people thinking 30s is middle aged is making me really sad. XD
On a somewhat related note, I disagree that Eorzea mirrors a "feudal" society. Its cities suggest significantly greater advancement than that. More industrialized than anything.
A quick glance at Wikipedia tells me that life expectancy for those who survived childhood was 54 in classic Rome and 64 in medieval Britain. Perhaps there is some lore suggesting folks live longer in FFXIV, but if their societies are similar to Britain and Rome in quality of life, and folks live to 50-60, I'd say 30 is middle-aged.
What would you say is a better historic analogy? There were cities in feudal societies, but I'm no student of history, so enlighten me.
RE: Eorzean Seniors - cuideag - 09-23-2013
(09-23-2013, 12:30 PM)Salty Lake Wrote: I wish there were more options for making a character look older. Â
^ ^ ^ As much as I LOVE pretty young people, it would be so nice to have some variety. Of course you can always RP as an older person but having an avatar that goes with it is helpful.