Sylentmana

For my two gil, I would say either make the the lancer skills another part of her backstory (distinct in some way from her role as a shrine maiden) or incorporate them into her current narrative trajectory. It is true that the naginata was used by certain women in Japan in defensive and even military capacities, but the women who used them were somewhat different from the character you're describing: 1) Most of the female naginata-wielders were not warriors, but they would have been members of the warrior class/caste. Naginata may not have the same cultural significance as the set of samurai swords, but not just anyone would have them. They required a higher level of craftsmanship than other polearms (the construction process of the blade is no different from a katana), making them objects of value - part of a bride's dowry, even. 2) An onna bugeisha, the iconic naginata-wielding woman appearing in art or literature, was kinda on a different level from those who were simply trained in its use. This description of one Tomoe Gozen may have exaggerated some of her exploits (as so many legends do), but the perception of her as an emblematic "warrior woman" is not innaccurate: ...She was also a remarkably strong archer, and as a swords-woman she was a warrior worth a thousand, ready to confront a demon or a god, mounted or on foot. She handled unbroken horses with superb skill; she rode unscathed down perilous descents. Whenever a battle was imminent, Yoshinaka sent her out as his first captain, equipped with strong armor, an oversized sword, and a mighty bow; and she performed more deeds of valor than any of his other warriors. TLDR I think that with her current history/origin story, Ryoko would not be quite that martially inclined, but the bow, and even some hand-to-hand combat, would be very appropriate. However, that certainly doesn't preclude her from learning its use now, and spearing Garleans with it like meat on a miq'abob. Also, apologies if that was more about the naginata than you ever wished to know. It has so many interesting distinctions from other polearms; I always feel that if you're gonna use it, swing for the fences That was very useful information, actually. I know the story of Tomoe Gozen from my Japanese Literature classes when I was in college and I was considering having Ryoko grow from a simple shrine maiden into a kind of divine onna bugeisha, so to speak. That largely depends on whether or not SE releases a Samurai class, though. I do think I'll just have learn polearm skills later.

For Ryoko, I've started listening to music from Muramasa: The Demon Blade for inspiration. For her battle theme, I would use this: [video=youtube]

I thought so as well. It helps prevent me from writing myself into a corner and seems a little less mundane. I'm glad you like it.

Ok, so on the drive home, I had an idea that I really like that will play more on the supernatural aspects of her character. The idea is that her shrine was built to house a powerful oni (voidsent) that local legends say ravaged the area 1000 or so years ago. The creature had been sealed away in a box (or maybe an urn) by Ryoko's ancient ancestors then placed in a closed off area of the shrine which is dedicated to the local Kami. It was the job of the priests and priestess who came after to look after the seal and renew the wards. When the Doman rebels attempted to drive out the Empire, a stray blast from a magitek armor or perhaps a rebel mage found its way into the shrine, breaking the seal on the voidsent thereby releasing it. In revenge for its imprisonment, it intended to wipe out all the descendants of those who sealed it away. It managed to devour Ryoko's parents before they could respond. Ryoko's and her sister, Shizuka, fought the beast, but were no match. Using the last of her power, Shizuka managed to drive off the voidsent, who had not yet recovered from its imprisonment. Unfortunately, she was mortally wounded in the process and died in her sister's arms. Ryoko then swore to avenge her family and fulfill her duty by finding and either destroying or resealing the beast. Shortly after, the Empire began its razing of Doma so Ryoko left with the other refugees for Eorzea. Since the voidsent was still in a weakened state, she believed it would posses a mortal host and travel there as well since Eorzea was said to be overflowing with spiritual power (aka aether). I feel like this backstory would play to the strength of Ryoko's "mystical archer Miko" archetype and relieve some of the overdone Garlean hate. Of course, she still holds a great dislike for them, but not to the same level as before. So, what do you guys think?

Thank you guys so much! These comments have been very helpful and have given me a lot to think about. I realize that I didn't give a lot in the way of details this time around, but as this was a rough concept of sorts, I didn't really have a whole lot to give. I'm going to write out a much more detailed background later that will hopefully fill in some of the blanks I left out. I'll post that one for review when its finished. I do want to address some other comments though. First is the question of her weapons proficiency. The OOC reason is that she was originally a non-RP character that I never finished leveling and I leveled several classes with her and I didn't just want to ignore them. Those classes are Archer, Lancer, Pugilist, and Botanist. Since she is based on the Shinto priestess, archery seemed to make sense as it is used in Shinto for performing rituals as are song, dance, and poetry. There are also several Miko in anime well known for their archery skills. As for the Lancer skills, that one is still a little iffy. I thought I could do something with the naginata as it was considered to be a feminine weapon in medieval Japan. I might just have to drop it from her background though and have her learn the skills later in Gridania. This is what I'm going to have her do for the Pugilist class, so in regards to her background, she actually hasn't learned any hand-to-hand combat techniques yet and I shouldn't have put that in there. Lastly, in regards to her feelings toward Garleans I didn't clarify it, but she's not a "must kill all Garleans and their sympathizers" type person. She prefers peaceful solutions to conflict and if faced with a Garlean, so long as they aren't a threat to her or others, she wouldn't attack them. She would be very icy toward them, though. She's not out for destroying the Empire, but she does want to see them cease their aggression and withdraw their occupation of her homeland. There is one in particular she does want revenge on and that's the commander (I need to research Garlean rank structure) who ordered the destruction of her shrine and the murder of her family.

Those fluffy ears! I just wanna...touch em!

So I'm looking to re-purpose an older character I didn't do much with into a new character concept and I'd like to get some opinions from others. I want to make sure she's not breaking any lore and get a feel for what people think. The idea is still pretty rough and I haven't developed some of the finer details. So the idea is she's a Hyur Midlander and a Doman refugee named Akiyama no Ryoko. In Doma, she was this world's equivalent of a miko (shrine maiden) alongside her sister and she comes from a long line of priests and priestesses. During the razing of Doma, the Garleans destroyed her shrine and murdered her family. Ryoko only survived because her sister, who was essentially a powerful conjurer, cast a protective spell over her at the last minute. Class/job wise she is an archer/bard, though she also has some skill with polearms and unarmed combat. She has the natural ability to infuse her weapons and arrows with, what she believes is sacred spiritual power (its aetheric in nature). This is used to explain the flashiness of many of the class's abilities. For the more basic abilities, she does this naturally through force of will, but for the more advanced and flashier abilities, she uses a combination of her family's sacred incantations and poetry (haiku's mostly since those are shorter, easier to write, and more suited to combat) to infuse the weapon/arrows with power. Since her arrival in Eorzea, a new friend gifted her with a minstrel's harp which she has been learning to play and has been adding music to the mix of her incantations and poetry. Personality wise, she rather even keeled and quiet, preferring to listen more than speak in group settings. She naturally has a deep and profound hatred of Garleans and any who willing serve them. This is what I've got so far. I welcome any constructive comments and criticism as well as questions (they help me to further flesh out my character by forcing me to think about details I had not considered). Thank you for your time.

Oh god, as if tanks need even bigger egos than they already have.

I know time travel in you character's story certainly wouldn't bother me, but if you told any of my characters that you time traveled, they would likely recommend you stop eating random mushrooms you find in the woods.

I don't know what a poopsocker is, but I do know that it's now one of my favorite words.

MUST HAVE! I NEEDSES IT!

I was absolutely thrilled the other day when I hoped into my Magitek armor to hear Terra's theme start playing. I had turned the mount music on because it was night in game and I don't like running about in silence. So glad I did.

Thanks guys. These have been helpful. I'm rather fond of the idea of weaving spells via music and into my bow and arrows. It kind of reminds me of the bard class in the D&D 5th edition.

So I'm planning on making Bard character soon and I have a couple questions about the job. First of all, how do their songs work? Is it just music that inspires or are they like spells cast through music? Second, I've seen some upper-level bards use abilities that look like straight up magic. For example, I saw one ability that involved the bard jumping up into the air and firing off what looked like a cluster of magic missiles. How do these abilities work? Is it magic or some kind of aetherial manipulation? I'm hoping its some kind of magic and not just some visually impressive game mechanic as I'm toying with the idea of her occasionally infusing her bow with aether or a spell in order to explain some of the abilities. Thanks guys.

Never really been a fan of tragic characters and drama. That being said, there is a time and place for such things which I feel the MSQ does fairly well. For the most part though, I prefer a healthy mix of comedy and adventure with maybe one sad/heroic death in there where appropriate.

Whoa, that's crazy! I didn't even know that was possible.

This event was just the greatest surprise I've had in a while. Then there was that moment when Yoshida walked up all in slow motion and I realized that he looks exactly like the minstrel! I was like, "You! It was you all along!" Also, did anyone else notice that when they surround you toward the end there is twelve of them? The Twelve are real and not just aetheric beings, you guys!:lol:

I like to borrow Isaac's battle theme from Golden Sun. [video=youtube] And here is a more modern version: [video=youtube]

I have one. What is the difference between ninja and shinobi? When I was in Sasebo, some Japanese friends I made always referred to them as shinobi, but the language barrier made it hard for them to explain the difference.

I never considered thinking of it in terms of archetypes. You just blew my mind.

Everything you just said is so much yes. It was the NES that first introduced me to games, but SNES was my first system and was pretty much my childhood with the N64 and Gameboy systems as my early teens. As for that last thing, I'd have to say its largely due in part to corporate greed trying to milk a series and not letting the developers do what they do.

Wait! Come back! There's something you brought up that could be an excellent and potentially dangerous topic of discussion: What is it about having the title of White Mage that makes it more appealing than say, a Conjuror, Arcanist, Astrologian or Scholar? Naturally, we know that White Mage is a big-name job within the Final Fantasy series. But that's a concept that widens the scope of discussion beyond just FFXIV. -mutters softly- Conjurers don't get the cool classic robes. They get shapeless potato sacks. I guess being a long time fan of FF9, I always wanted to make a WHM/SMN combo. It's no secret that Amelia is heavily based off of Dagger. So naturally the role of a WHM and SMN was very appealing to me. But you're right. It is really the title I'm being a baby about. I get bristly sometimes when I'm told "No, you can't do that because of lore" when mechanically, I WORKED for that damn title. I healed that damn tree with my own blood and sweat... leaving it a really messed up looking and smelling tree in the Black Shroud, but DAMN that quest was hard at the time! Would being a conjurer instead of White Mage change Amelia's story? No. Mainly because I don't really have her walking around calling herself that. Again, it's just something I associate her with. I guess the most she'd ever say is call some of her abilities 'White Magic.' I don't really want to make people mad by bending or breaking lore, but telling someone that they can't ICly be something that they can actually be in the game just seems... I dunno. There's a word for it that escapes me. Unfair-ish? Again, it's not something I want because I want my character to be a special snowflake... but because it's something that just feels like it really fits. I know that thinking and feeling this way is wrong as a Role-player... and I know a lot of people disagree. For that I apologize. I totally get what you mean and feel the same way. Like you, my character is based on a Final Fantasy character (Refia, also a little bit on Mia from Golden Sun), and it ruffle my feathers when I was told by others that I am breaking lore. Honestly, though, I think it should only serve to encourage players like us to get more creative in our characters' presentations.

So my parents were cleaning out some of their closets and they found a box containing a bunch of my old stuff. They called me up and I went over to pick it up and took it back home. As I was digging through it, I found my old Gameboy, Gameboy Color, and Gameboy Advance, as well as all my games that went with them! To say I was excited is a vast understatement. I've been playing them a little, but I've come to realize that I've since been spoiled modern conveniences like back lights and higher definition, so its been kinda hard. Among the many games I found what was and still is one of my favorite games of all time: Golden Sun. This was a game that pretty much was the defining JRPG experience for me during my early teens. It came out one day before my 13th birthday, in fact. I still love playing the game after all this time and was quite happy to discover that Nintendo re-released the game on the Wii-U. So any of you who haven't played the game, I highly recommend it. Anyway, now that I've waxed nostalgic for a bit, I wanted to ask you guys what were those games that you absolutely loved when you were growing up? If you are still growing up, then well, just name some of the games that have had/are having a big impact on you recently. Something that you will remember for a long time. Then we old folks can sit back, shake our heads in dismay, and mutter something about "kids these days.":P

I hear stories like this fairly often and it always makes me sad. We healers need to support our tanks. Healers and tanks work off each others synergy more than any other roles so I've always seen them as partners. Besides, as long as the tank is holding aggro, the healer shouldn't have anything to complain about. She was probably just looking for an excuse to leave.

I must have it! Can I ride it like this?