considebalt

So I started writing my character's background and it sorta kinda turned into a story. I thought you might all enjoy it, tell me what you think, if it makes sense within canon, etc. I think I might have gotten some of the names of things wrong, but anyway, hope you enjoy (Also, apologies if this is in the wrong thread) : "If I have learned anything from my travels, from my self imposed isolation to my journey into the Twelveswoods, it is that we are selfish creatures. No matter the race, no matter the clan or family, and no matter the rationalized intentions, it always comes down to one basic principle that unites us all: We are Disciples of the Self." -Astidien Paerdeux Astidien Paerdaux would say he has no family, a statement that is not far from the truth. From a young age Astidien was told he was special, that he was marked by the Twelve, and from a young age he believed this, always having felt a strong connection with the Aetheric energy that surrounded him. Ofcourse, he was not the only one to be born with this gift. He was one of five children to be born with what the elders of the clan came to call The Eye of Thaliak, a mutation apparent in either the left or right eye that allowed those possessing it to see the flow of Aether more clearly. Astidien and his Duskwight clan made their homes in the Aether rich caverns on the coasts of Maslava Island, south of the Rothlyt Sound. Astidien's clan had long sought isolation from the other races, including their own, when they found the island. Full of deep labyrinthine caverns and bountiful with both fish and other wild life the Paerdaux clan decided to make their home here. It was not long before they discovered the cavernous depths rich with Aether Crystals, causing them to switch their focus to the study of magics. Many of the clan became quick studys in the field of Thaumaturgy, showing great control of elemental forces, and thus Astidien and his siblings were born into this clan of would be mages. His childhood was predictable, being taught to manipulate the Aether around him to great effect. It was unclear whether these "prodigies" were naturally talented or it was simply their ability to see the aetheric fields that made them such quick studies, but quick studies they were and time passed as time tends to do. News of the Garlean invasion and Dalamuhd's descent reached them and it was called to question whether they would break their isolationist ways for the greater good. This question was put to debate for weeks and ultimately began to divide the clan before a compromise was reached. The Paerdaux clan would not head off into battle, but would instead use their collective knowledge of magics and aether, channeling the high concentrations of Aether in their caverns to experiment in creating more powerful magics to help counter the might of the empire. Weeks of preparation went into the collective effort with the clan elders leading the initiative. Astidien and his brethren, with their heightened attunement to Aetheric energies, making great strides in their research before he began to notice fluctuations in the flow of Aether. Bringing this concern to the elders merely revealed their growing arrogance, and thus concluded that he need conduct his own research to try to balance the inherently unstable spell they would try to cast. As the days passed the energies around him were becoming more concentrated, the fluctuations more erratic and he was no closer to finding an answer. All around him his clan, a clan accustomed to living in such aether rich environments, began to grow ill. Frustrated by his seemingly futile attempts and the pressure to find answers he sought the aid of research the elders had collected. What he found left him in disbelief. Notes of the potential this research had for their clan, how much untapped power lay within the prodigal sons and daughters of Clan Paerdaux. Long gone were the notions of aiding the races of Eorzea against the Empire. All he found were plans to use all of their research to grow in power themselves. Page after page of research merely led to more unstable experiments, and there before Astidian, in his hands there was no longer a book, but diverging paths. It was clear to him that his elders would not listen to reason, nor could he afford to reveal just what he had found, so instead he went to his siblings, the other "prodigals" who had surely seen what he had. He went to them to ask them for help, to convince the clan that these plans will only lead to ruin. In the end only one listened to him. In the end it was not enough. Having little choice, Astidien took those he could convince, a paltry handful of his clan and led them away from the Mages of Maslava Island, somehow finding passage to Ul'dah, where they could blend in and disappear. It was a day into their journey when the Calamity came, when the seventh Umbral Era descended upon them on the wings of a dragon. It has been five years since that day. Five years of traveling, helping any who could not help themselves. Those he took away from the island had since followed their own paths, disappearing into the lands of Eorzea. There have been no traces of them or his clan. Only once had he traveled back to the island to find it desolate, with little trace of the wild aetheric energies that he had known as a child. This made it unclear whether they had destroyed themselves or the Calamity had spared them the fruition of their arrogance. In the end it didn't matter, the result was the same. In the end he would still lay awake at night, wondering if he could have saved them. Astidien Paerdaux will tell you he has no family, and like many who survived the calamity, this statement is not far from the truth.

6 topics in your post 6/2=3 Half-Life 3 confirmed! Welcome to the forums! I RPed in WoW and GW2 as well (GW2 having one of the best RP communities...aside from you guys of course;)). I wouldn't worry too much about your english though as I am a master at typos and misspelled words (that's what spell check is for). I'm sure you will find many adventures in Eorzea and look forward to hearing of some.

As Yeldir said: It looks like we will all be getting along as more of reddit seems to be supportive of us or doesn't really care either way. As long as we are kind and inviting it will mostly be reciprocated. As long as we continue building our community it will remain strong. Cooperation and co-habitation is key on any server you go to. Let's also keep in mind that a diverse server community makes for a strong server, a strong economy and welcomes a host of different play styles. Having a large and varied server population is a good thing.

I. Basic Info Characters: Astidien Paerdaux Primary character: Astidien Paerdaux Linkshells: None yet Primary RP linkshell: None yet [*] II. RP Style Amount of RP (light, medium, heavy): I consider myself an experienced heavy RPer. I am usually in character (excluding such things like dungeon runs that are clearly OOC, sometimes questing) but will respond to OOC ((<-using these bad boys->)). When those aren't around I am most likely in Character and definitely invite random RP. Views on RP combat and injuries: Combat is subjective, the actions taking within combat and the results are up to the parties involved to inevitably decide. I am no stranger of taking hits to progress a plot and, while I do not expect that from everyone, I do frown upon God Modding, Mary Sue-ing and controlling someone else's character (without their consent). I also approve of discussing a battle OOCly or with a GM to iron out wrinkles, but purely organic fights can be fantastic as well as long as there is some understanding. Views on IC romance: Something that is also up to the individuals involved. Personally I don't mind romance in all its forms, and when it comes to taking it to that next level (Epic Role Playing) I have no problem with it as long as it fits within the context of the story, both fading to black or displaying my skills as an amateur erotic novelist. As long as it makes sense I have no qualms about it. Views on non-romantic RP (family ties, etc): Friends, Family, Peers, Countrymen (sounds like the beginnings of a speech) will be a part of anyone's character. Whether absent or many, a character will have had or will have these in their lives. Family is also a broad term as it can mean anything from mothers, fathers, and siblings to very close friends or mentors. I welcome these in my RP and expect to develop them organically through interaction and character development. As for close family? If you want your character and mine to have a predetermined history let me know and I would be happy to work something out with you. Views on lore: Official game lore is extremely important. It is the reason we are able to carve out our own stories in this virtual world. As such it is very important to follow the lore. Now, certain aspects can be bent and lines that are not clearly drawn can be smudged. We all have vivid imaginations and we fill in the holes with our own details, but one should stick to the lore where it is clearly defined. Views on chat functions (/say, /linkshell, etc): As far as Role Play goes: /say is usually IC with bracketed OOC (which I think is rare). /party can be both or exclusive depending solely on the group. /whispers are OOC unless you are actually whispering to someone IC, and Linkshells...well, it depends on the Linkshell. Those are the most commoc chat channels where IC and OOC will mix. Usually /Shout or area channels are strictly OOC. [*] III. Other Info Country: 'Merica Timezone: EST Contact info: Skype: Considebalt E-mail: [email protected] Yahoo Messenger: [email protected] [*] [align=center][glow=blue]~Special announcements can be found in the posts below~[/glow][/align]

Welcome and, well, I don't know Japanese, but hi and glad you found the site! Hope you enjoy your stay

Think I'll save that, thanks. Can't wait to see all that red turn green :bouncy:

WILKOMMEN! First of all I love Parasite Eve so *high fives* and second of all your art is excellent (went to your DA out of curiosity). The Unicorn mounts are given as part of the Conjurer quest chain later on and anyone who has seen a certain horror movie (spoilers and all) knows that they are majestic and deadly beasts. Anyway, as one newb to another, enjoy your stay, these are some great peeps.

Thank you thank you thank you

I believe that there will be enough people who balance RP and game play that if someone in our server needs help that we will be able to freely give it without problem. I am ofcourse not saying that we need to be self contained (Maybe self sufficient?), but I do not believe that fellow RPers will find it a problem to learn the game and vise versa, fellow non-RPers will not have any problem with grouping a long with any RPers.

Thank you for the welcome and the informative video

Ah CoX was truly one of a kind. Met most of my current friends there and had some epic (by definition) stories there. As I plan to be as active a part of this community as possible I would love to join the GEOC. I will PM you with my skype name and put the vent info from the link into my client as well. Well, not only can you get a Leet pet in TSW, but it has one of the best atmospheres and storytelling of any MMO I've played, and the voice acting matches the quality of the story. That and it is quite unique in its modern scifi horror setting. A great game without a doubt (in my humble opinion). Ah yes yes, hope to see you there XP

No, though I'd heard a lot of great things about AO the only Funcom MMO I've played is TSW. Thank you kindly!

Desmond, RPing before it was cool *hands complimentary hipster glasses* XP. Hoping to be around for both Open Beta and Headstart, but moving being what it is we will see, but I have the game pre-ordered, and subbing 90 days of play time, so I will definitely be around!

After a day of lurking and making a few posts (including hellos and what not) I though I might say hello in the proper introductory thread with a proper introduction. Seeing as I am on this forum it is to be assumed that I am a roleplayer. That assumption would be correct! I've been writing and stepping into the shoes of my characters since I was 15 back on Gaia Online (high five to anyone that knows what I'm talking about ), typing away stories and plots from one of the computers in the school library after the final bell to kill time. I have also RPed in almost every medium I could do sp in (MMOs, Skype, forums, e-mail, etc). I'm also a pretty experienced MMO player, having played games like Ragnarok Online, City of Heroes, World of Warcraft, Guild Wars (1 & 2), The Secret World and most recently the FF14 ARR beta (there are a lot more, but this is an introduction, not a list! I never got to play FF11, but I did play FF14 1.0 during the beta and found it fairly terrible, and while I do not regret moving on to other games (I'm an avid gamer and have the steam list to prove it...ok it's not THAT big), the style of FF14 1.0-2.0's story progression is wholly impressive. I love how the mechanics and main story evolved leading up to ARR and it does make me wish I had suffered through the first few months of the original release from a story-telling perspective. Amusingly enough FF14 wasn't even on my radar until I was given a code by a friend to Beta Phase 3 and it just clicked. I hadn't felt so immersed in a fantasy setting since I spawned on Azeroth for the first time (I'm more of a Super Hero/Sci-fi lover usually) and am now brimming with excitement waiting for the game's Head Start (Of course I pre-ordered!) and Roleplaying with everyone on Gilgamesh. As such I am brimming with ideas, brainstorming questions about who my character is, and where they've been, as well as awaiting all of the adventures I will inevitably be chronicling as he progresses through Eorzea! It should be known that, while I am a heavy RPer I try to balance that and progression. Being a great writer and gamer and all that. Alright I think that's it. I look forward to meeting and experiencing this world with you all (both on the forums and on Gilgamesh)! Thanks for reading my rantings and see you around!

"The back-end" is the inter-dimensional door that leads to one of the 7 layers of hell (depending on the region the gamestop is located). Law offices also a similar "Back-end" door.

How I feel is that this is a horrible misconception and the real main issue is that many non roleplayers believe it's true. Of course it's true for some people, but I believe it's actually a minority or RPers. Most people I've RPed with over the years have been endgame connoisseurs or at least fast learners who ended up raiding or or pvping or at least running dungeons and teacher non-RPers a thing or too. I've been in a couple RP guilds who ere among the top progression guilds of their servers, too. YMMV, I guess. I have to agree with this. Most RPers I have met in many games balance gameplay with RP and those that RP more than they play are always knowledgeable enough about the game to play said game well. A lot of great RPers I've met strive to be as good as they can be at the actual game simply BECAUSE of that stereotype and for the express purpose of proving that RPers can play the game or PvP.

I definitely agree that there is merit to figuring things out as you go along. I've always liked developing my character organically and found that it leads to more dynamic RP. Not to say that having things planned out to the letter leads to less compelling interaction, that's just my personal observation and preference. As to your suggestion on where I want to be, the trick is finding out where that is and at least knowing enough about the lore prior to the calamity so my character feels like he's lived in this world (and not have to give him amnesia as an out XP)

From what I have gathered GS has had this problem with every single customer (barring a few lucky ones). I have a friend who works at GS and she didn't even get her code with the pre-order. She had to go later in the week and get it herself (scribbled on a scrap piece of paper). It sucks that they go as far as lie to (I'm guessing) keep from having to look the information up, but if you are afraid of not getting the pre-order code on time just order from Amazon. They send you an -mail right away with your code, otherwise you have until the 20th. THE CLOCK IS TICKING! Good luck to anyone who is having problems and see you all soon

*high fives!* Thank you very much and likewise . The hardest part of being new is, unless my character is a child, where the hell has he been since 1.0 to traveling on a caravan/ship (depending on your starting city).

It is indeed and plays into his character (other than "stereotypical bad ass/battle worn adventurer trope" that most scars and disfigurement fall into)

Eh, they only do about, what, 10 damage each? You have a point though, I do need to set up my profile now that I have my main all figured out (Mostly figured out...I think) *EDIT* There, my deliciously dashing Duskwight!

I was new to 14 as well. I started at some point durring beta phase two, mostly just messed around and got a feel for the game. It wasn't untill phase three that I really started thinking about RPing and it was some time during that when I found the RPC in a link in a signature of someone on the beta forums. now that the long winded part is over, I have really come along way with Rogier's story in a relatively short time, and I have to give alot of thanks for that growth to the helpful people I found here at the RPC. So, while it may look like you have a long way to go, I am sure that if you open up and share your ideas here that you will find enough sparks to light those ideas into a real blaze of inspiration for a fun RPing character(both for you to play and for all of us to interact with.) Oh this thread has helped me HEAPS when it came to ideas, and right now I have a giant list of ideas about my character, his clan, where he has been and how it connects to ARR starting story (don't want to make him "the most uber powerful ever" when I'm starting at lvl 1 ). It's slowly coming together. Just have to make it cohesive and make sense with the story.

Will definitely be there Beta 4. Headstart is a little more up in the air, but on that day! I will find you and poke you for a linkshell

Just wanted to say as a brand new member of this forum, an avid RPer, and someone rolling an Elezen Duskwight that I am beyond impressed with the thought put into all of these backgrounds and personal lore (and that family tree was intimidatingly awesome). You've all made me realize that I have my work cut out for me (As I am new to Eorzea). I'll eventually, maybe finish my character's history and post it on the wiki...possibly, but for now I just wanted to say: wow.

Just joined the HRC site and been lurking around, reading up, getting overwhelmed and realizing that I should start shooting ideas at the figurative dart-board as to character background and such, but I have been reading through this thread and wanted to say as an avid RPer that this unity is so welcoming to see! Great work all around, just wish I had been around here sooner to brainstorm with you all, but I will be around Phase 4 and head-start, so I can't wait to run into the lot of you .