Swift

Why does it look like she bought one of those cheap-o hair extensions from a mall kiosk and pinned it to the side of her head in an attempt to be randomly fashionable? Because weird lighting + artsy/glossy hair design + the fact that her hair gets curly toward the bottom compared to her bangs + that particular angle = what you said xP --------------------------------------------------------------------- Also! C is for Coerthas!

S is for Serah :3 ((Also, I just noticed the unique way that Serah laces her shoes apparently xP))

14ZkxaV7fQQ I love adding music to my characters--I've been doing it since I first started roleplaying on forum boards ^^ A few of my characters have actually spawned directly from the mood of a particular piece rather than the other way around. One thing I prefer doing with it though is limiting myself to using thematic pieces without lyrics (and if it does have lyrics, they're usually cryptic or metaphorical) so that listeners can better identify with the character I'm associating the music with rather than the lyrics/message of the song itself. In my opinion, anyway. -Cough- So anyways, this is the music I picked out for Merkaris since his original development as a D&D character. He carries with him a blissful outlook on many things in addition to a powerful sense of adventure and a limitless amount of curiosity. To me, this particular piece brings to mind images of green, windswept fields and pathway, urging such a traveler forward towards unexplored lands. All the while, however, there is a sense of depth along with the idea that it is not just the world being explored, but the character himself. :3

I hope it's not entirely accurate. D: I expected that Miqo'te would be popular, but those numbers are kind of ridiculous. Leviathan looks really lonely as far as roleplayers go, too. So hopefully these survey results are more along the lines of "This is the worst it could potentially be" than "this is how it actually is."

Because then it would make sense! Can't have that, clearly.

Blah! I can't believe I did that, lol. Without having access to the character creator/character information on the Lodestone, I actually took the time out to start counting on my fingers back to which moon July was in. After all that work to remember it was the fourth astral moon, I still wrote it down as the seventh by accident (since July is the 7th month and all). Thank you for pointing it out! -Goes to fix-

I never heard of that story before--sounds interesting. How did it end, exactly? Also, I think the idea of having "grace periods" between which the Nunh can't be challenged (at least in a tribe where such challenges are announced) is a fairly realistic idea. Though I would lean towards the length being along the lines of a year to a handful of years rather than just a month--at least from my point of view with a less-violent tribe. The idea of calling off both mating and challenges during times of war makes sense, too. The governing body of the tribe could assist in defining when the tribe is "at war" or "at peace" in order to prevent the Nunhs from 'exploiting the system'... however, I suppose that means the elders (or whatever the head-honchos are for a specific tribe) could it exploit it for their own reasons, then, too Thank you for the inspiration ;D -Starts throwing harps and prose books at Growly- >:Q

I'm really interested to see how some of the Nuhns I'll see running around turn out. There's just so many angles that this one part of their culture can take that it's almost a struggle to make just one character and decide on a single method.

Hard at work as ever I see, Calli Thank you! There are all really interesting ideas, and I especially like the latest one about protecting a fragile object--perhaps it could be more akin to a Capture the Flag type of game, too, in the cultures that like a bit of strategy and guile with their Nuhns. It actually kind of reminds me of a Thanksgiving themed family game called "Turkey!" (or something like that) that I played in kindergarten. Two players would have a single "feather" (usually cut out of construction paper) of a randomized color taped to their back, and were made aware of only their color. The object of the game was to keep the color of your feather a secret while attempting to spot the color of your opponent's feather, and shout out its identity. The catch was, however, that if you say the wrong color, you lose. I could see this being used in the "protect the ward" scenario, where both Miqo'te have small pots or some other fragile target strapped to their backs, and are tasked with breaking their opponent's. I would suspect that the duelists would often have to throw their own bodies in harm's way in order to protect the pot from spear or staff attacks whilst carrying the burden of having such an awkward weight on their backs--perhaps simulating the weight of their responsibilities of defending the tribe. Additionally, the "Machiavellian" scenario you provided immediately made me think of the Drow's culture in the Underdark. Unfortunately the political-espionage campaign set there that I had the opportunity to play in didn't get very far, but it immediately became apparent just how difficult it was for anyone to live in a place like that (especially when you were insistent on not playing a Drow like I was, lol. My poor tiefling only scraped by using her gut-decisions and some handy Beguiler spells most of the time). One last thing I'd like to point out, is that I feel some mode of sympathy for the Nuhns that belong to cultures that decide their titles through some of the more extreme/lethal options. The typical notion of a duel, for me at least, is that it's usually instigated by rivals and the end of the duel usually marks the resolution of the conflict itself. But for the Nuhns, they have to settle with an indefinite amount of challenges, and having to submit to such trials as "being 'locked away' in a predetermined area in the desert until either you or your opponent dies of exhaustion" at least three or four times during your life-time (assuming the champion keeps winning) must be hell on one's mental well-being.

I know, I know D: I wasn't aware that Balmung and Gilgamesh were going to be the "unofficial" RP servers when I picked Leviathan during the beta (doing so because it was my server on FFXI). As much as I'd enjoy a switch, I'm reluctant to abandon the awesome people I met on Levi, especially after we all made a big deal about find each other again when Phase 4 starts. If I'm able to get a server-transfer though, I should be able to transfer my 1.0 character over to Balmung. But even then, I'm not sure how active I would be on that character. So... we'll see ;x I'm certainly hoping that one comes around ^^; I was really reluctant to specifically mention where some places in the story were located out of fear of stepping on the lore's toes a bit--though I suppose leaving them vague allows for some flexibility once the character gets thrown into the chaotic mesh of other roleplayers. I tried my best to keep up with the lore and do some research where necessary, but it'd be reassuring to have someone double-check that for me, especially considering that Dalamud and the Echo played a pivotal role in M'kharis's plot. Also, thank you both for checking things out for me. I appreciate it ^^

Hello again, everyone ^^ After plenty of daydreams and a few hours of typing, I finally managed to put together the first draft of my character's profile and backstory! I'm really excited to share it (so much so that I'm still in the process of revising it, so please excuse the mistakes that are bound to show up D:) and get some feedback so that I can start finalizing some details. So please feel free to give me your honest opinion and any constructive comments you may have about what you do and don't like--I handle criticism very well :3 (Note: For your convenience, I summarized the "important" elements of the story by numbered points, so you can easily reference specific paragraphs if you need to.) Anyway, moving on to the character himself, allow me to explain the central premise behind him. Rather than go with the approach that gives the character some sort of pressing matter of importance that would frequently drive him to the spotlight, I started withe vision of one who would play more of the "supporting actor" role. To this end, I sought to ensure that he carried enough depth and personality to be likable, while making sure that he didn't have so much baggage that it weighed him down, so hopefully that sort of lean gets further emphasized by the details associated with his story and personality. So without further delay, here's the big wall of text straight from my Word Pad document~

Right, that's the direction I was likely going with if it turned out that there was no concrete answer ;P The explanation I'm writing toward is that to become a Bard, one must both be capable of harnessing the powers associated with White Magic and wield sufficient skill with an instrument in which to carry and project that magic. Just as a faulty gesture would ruin a mage's spell, nothing less than perfect playing will allow a Bard to "cast" their surges of inspiration. Therefore those without magical talent or the proper skill with their instrument of choice cannot become Bards--and so that's what makes them special: they're able to combine both magic and talent seamlessly. As for the archery part of it...? Maybe it's a tradition? ;P RP-wise, I don't see why someone couldn't play as a Bard and have nothing to do with archery.

I play D&D (mostly 3.5 and Pathfinder) with my buddies at college all the time, so I know exactly what you mean ^^ The idea of "supernatural songs" was what I was learning towards because of D&D, but I just wanted to make sure that FFXIV didn't explain it in detail somewhere. And, as for cutscenes, I don't know. I always had half a mind to defy them, but I was worried about the fight starting without me and people getting killed/wiping because I was afk watching the scene. Thankfully 2.0 keeps the party inside a blue barrier until everyone it done watching the scene, so I can watch them to my heart's content ;D And, thanks again for replying, by the way~

So, as I'm finally finishing up my first round of concepts for my character, all those little questions that I've been putting off until later are catching up with me. I settled on the notion that I would like the character, himself, to go through the "natural" progression of Archer into Bard--that is to say, starting with an interest in both the strings of a bow and an instrument, but lacking in the ability to invoke the actual effects that the battle-singers of yore possessed. This will allow for an additional sense of progression in character development. But... one thing I'm not quite sure on is what, exactly, separates the minstrels from the Bards. It's been quite a while since 1.0, and so my memory of the story involved with the quest to unlock Bard is hazy at best (the fact that my party always demanded that everyone skipped the cutscene so we'd all be ready to fight didn't help, either), and I wasn't able to dig up any particularly helpful information about it on the interwebs. Which is why I came to you guys for help ^^; Mostly what I'm looking for is: Is it some sort of arcane ability that allows Bards to inspire/enhance their allies, or is it simply because they're so good at playing that it's tantamount to blasting from their harps? Is it supernatural prowess, extraordinary skill, or some weird combination of both? Any sort of information you could provide regarding this matter would be appreciated ;D In the event that this turns out to be like many other Game Mechanics vrs. RP Logic debates where it's simply open to interpretation, tell me what you think would be the best reasoning for the effects that bards have. Even the smallest amounts of inspiration will help me out a lot!

I have a similar question, adding on this. I can't remember for 100% certainty, but I think I may have received the "Extension" on the leve by turning in only one HQ item out of the three. Additionally, if the level asks for only one item to be turned in (as opposed to three), and you turn in an HQ item, will you get an extension? Aside from that, thank you very much for your hard work ^^d

That's exactly what I'm trying to do, actually ^^ It's just that I feel as though I'm playing with weights and scales. I want to add some darker, more questionable influences into the mix so that I have a place to spawn some character flaws from, and a way to add some complexity and depth whenever my character interacts with other PCs--but at the same time, I don't want to overdo it to the point in which I end up with a character that could only be realistically represented as a depressed recluse or a savage. This is probably because I've recently been playing two very dark characters in my D&D campaign, so I kinda want to step back out into the light for some fresh air, lol. I also know there's a lot of depth that can come from the lighter-side of these details as well, and I've been planning on several of those already. But I like inter-cultural contrasts, conflicts, and interaction a lot, so, again, I'm trying to find my middle-ground xP Edit!- Also, thanks, Growly. I'm planning on using the 'M' (Marmot) tribe and setting them in more temperate climates, but I believe I can use the information you provided as a sort of reference point for my own. ^^

Sheesh, it seems that the longer this topic goes on, the more difficult it's becoming to make up my mind as to what to do with my character's particular tribe. There's quite a few questions that I'm trying to answer as I go along: 1. How, exactly, are challenges for the title of Nunh handled? 2. How much influence to women have over who becomes a challenger? 3. Are the challenges a straight-up fight? Or are they most like contests, such as "who can hunt the most game in a single week?" 4. Is the loser killed? If not, is there a punishment associated with failure? (Shunning? Exile? Castration? Etc.?) 5. If there is a particularly fatal or gruesome punishment, how does this affect the morale of the rest of the tribe? If there isn't, what factor prevents the challenges from occurring very commonly? 6. How do tribal Miqo'te, in general, view other races and cultures? Do they prefer to be traditional or open to outside influences/technology? 7. How are the relationships within the tribe defined? Do they consider the entire tribe to be their "family?" Is it extended only to those who were sired under the same Nunh? Is it only their immediate family? 8. Does romance play a role anywhere? If so, how common is it? How many partners are culturally acceptable? Does romance include a sexual element with the relationship? Is this okay with the Nunhs, or does it have to be in secret? I'll probably bump into many other questions as I go, as well. It's no wonder why most people would opt to just be a "city-cat"--these are hard to answer! If the culture leans more towards the more primal and "barbaric" side of things, it puts a strain on the definition of "community" among the tribe (i.e. if someone eats all of your children, even if this is the accepted norm, your morale and sense of community would surely plummet). But at the same time, if their culture is too gentle (Tias and Nunhs fight over a game of checkers), it might seem too sun-shiny, happy, and generic. I'm trying to strike an "exotic middle-ground" among them all, to give them a unique, cultural silhouette while ensuring that it doesn't go too overboard simply for the sake of that. Different--but not to the point that the other races would see them as vile (which doesn't seem to be the case as far as NPCs are concerned).

First of all, thank you so much, Calli. I hope you had as much fun writing as we did reading. It's all very interesting. Second, I must apologize: the mentioning of the "I'll kill all of our enemies and eat their babies!" line was my fault. Its only context was meant to be used as a joke that was obviously incorrect in its implications at the time. I'm sorry that it didn't have enough clarification to suggest that it wasn't a Miqo'te-only dialog option. With that out of the way, I have to say I'm kind of disappointed that I can't really bring any new points that haven't already been said to the table, here. I don't have any big, fancy science background to speak of (though I -am- a Graphic Design major going for his Bachelor's Degree... so I could definitely tell you if the colors you pick during character creation match up well, and what those colors may represent! I also do T-shirts, posters, and logos~ ;3), so I'm a little reluctant to do so, anyway, lol. It seems that this whole thread is becoming a valuable resource, with many different perspectives. Personally, I feel that while all things must be considered, it's much easier to do so by starting with the basics (such as biology, physiology, instinct, and basic needs) and then gradually adding the complexities of the social, cultural, and environmental influences on top of those to--as some have already said--reach a middle-ground. Though this is all fiction and fantasy, I feel much more immersed when the impossible is believable through more explanation than just "because... magic!" And so long as we have at least some semblance that there's some truth and reality that our imaginations are based off of, I'm content, and willing to suspend my belief.

Done, for the lulz ;D (Will have to change it back soon though, before anyone without the context of this thread thinks I'm a weirdo ) On topic: I'm really enjoying all the insight that's being slung around in here. I have a feeling that by the end of things, we'll have a plausibly-solid idea of how to work out the details associated with our Miqo'te families.

Uh oh o__o; I'll go round-up the safety-glasses and lab coats; will see if I can't get a smart-board or at least a projector working, too. Just don't make us play around with any Sulfuric Acid. I already survived (barely) that portion of my education despite the fact that we had not one, but two obnoxious class-clowns who completely disregarded safety and had no idea what they were doing .__.;

I lol'd Strangely, this reminds me of one of the main story quests in the beta. At the part where you officially join one of the grand companies and they ask you to swear-in by declaring a statement, I had the following options to choose from when joining the Adders (phrased in the best way I can remember, anyway): 1. "[insert typical heroic statement that I forgot here]!" 2. "Wood's Will be done!" 3. "I'll kill all of our enemies and eat their babies!" 4. "..." I was afraid to choose option 3 when I played, but given our comparison of Miqo'te to Lions, maybe it's actually accurate and appropriate I'm pretty dead-set on picking it in Phase 4 when I get around to that part, and see how the NPCs react.

Whateverrr do you mean? ;3

Just to clarify, I understood it wasn't quite an immunity after your explanation. ^^ Prior to it, I wasn't sure if there was a realistic way to play around with genes to get a similar effect, so I wondered if perhaps Square Enix planned on giving it a "Because magic reasons!" explanation. But it seems that's not the case, thankfully. I like some mode of realism in my fiction to make it believable (just like, say, we might be able to use some sort of wide-spread occurrence of testosterone-intolerance to explain why most Miqo'te are female). As for disease and infection, I was getting a bit worried that we might have another problem on our hands until you mentioned Esuna! People on the beta forums kept saying it was a bad spell, not knowing it's likely the sole thing keeping our precious catgirls/boys a legitimate, functional society. I only hope that some illness that causes Weakness doesn't turn out to be a contagious effect down the line. Esuna doesn't seem to work on that :\ Also: I'll definitely save that and give it at read at some point. Biology seems to come up a lot as far as different fictional races are concerned, so it's always good to have some information to work with. Thank you ;3

Oh god, what have we done?!

This is what I've always done, especially at the table (either literally or virtually) for the Dungeons and Dragons campaigns I've been in--since, if anyone happens to be unfamiliar, each one of the 97234928392 different races has its own language, and each player character typically knows how to speak three, four, or more depending on their Intelligence score ; If anything, one thing that the OP has pointed out is that the names and mannerisms of the difference races seem to have roots in/are influenced by the languages that were pointed out. It wouldn't be difficult to imagine that Elezen, for example, sounds a bit like French. It can help with trying to imagine the scene in your mind, and what it might sound like ^^d