Swift Nightclaw

I'm looking to build an IC Linkshell for Wardens of Light. General idea is a group inspired by the tales of the Warriors of Light who feel that adventurers have a responsibility to protect Eorzea from outside threats. That doesn't necessarily make them traditional good guys, however. My idea is they're fairly loosely organized, gather for meetings to discuss matters they've come across but need help addressing and they determine what to focus on. Criminal elements wouldn't be turned away necessarily. After all, sometimes criminal acts are for the greater good. Likewise, bandits may prove a useful resource for information for those who are looking to further their goals. Kind of going for a vibe like the Gray Wardens from Dragon Age being apart from normal restrictions, separate group that has their own goal and might go to questionable lengths to ensure it. Bit of a secret society in a sense and that might make it more suited to be a linkshell so adventurers can be members of their companies but secretly also working with this group. I'm still fleshing out the idea overall, though it may not quite be a true bandit theme you're looking for. Even if it's not, perhaps Morelle could look into it while seeking out the bandit Linkshell you're looking for. If nothing else, Swift would certainly be interested in learning the finer points of running cons and pickpocketing! Either way, best of luck in the bandit hunt!

Well....not really Brazilian... it's more likely a form of Ala Mhigo Jiu Jitsu. :lol:

Back in MY day, we had to form friendships and contacts in these here worlds to go out and adventure t'gether. Weren't none of this here, random stranger group slapped together an' never see none of 'em again! AND WE WERE GRATEFUL FER IT!!! 8-) Whenever I start to get discouraged by a queue, I just think back to "Warrior LFG" forever and ever in FF XI and spending 1.5 hours looking for group for every 30-60 minutes actually playing.

If you're actually short on models, I might find it amusing for Swift to get pulled into doing so (assuming I make it to the event and you're needing more models, but c'mon, short on miqo'te? Yeah right!)

A tip on generating RP if you're having trouble finding it....be a crazy person. No, I don't mean RP a crazy person, I mean essentially talk to yourself. RP by yourself in crowded areas. I've had conversations with NPCs in shops before or comment on what you're doing there. My miqo'te in Limsa was doing the fishing quest, went to the market, found the vendor and I typed things like "Let's see....pill bugs...pill bugs. Ah, here we go!" You can still come up short, but occasionally it's enough to start conversation with another RPer. On the topic of ignoring others....hell, if you HAVE to ignore them.....ignore them IC and RP it. Emote that you look at them dismissively and return to your conversation, look to them and politely state "this is a private conversation, friend." Don't just "sorry, private RP" and dismiss them.

This also holds true in the complete opposite of this thread: Rivals. The best RPs where two characters are intensely opposed, completely venomous and absolutely hate one another to the point they want nothing more than to kill each other, but have to work together for whatever reason can be extremely rewarding to play and entertaining for others to watch.....if the rival characters' players are communicating. I've had RPs where the characters are at each others' throats and the insults are really harsh...because they were fed in /tell. I might remember something that happened before and tell my rival's player (hey, remember a few weeks ago, ___ happened? You should totally use that against him) and they've replied (I totally forgot about that! Mwaha. Don't forget, though, _____). It takes out a little bit of the spur of the moment and free flow out of the RP, but it builds a very engaging experience to build the story and put on a show for others involved in the RP as well and can be very rewarding in the long run. Any relationship with intense emotion, love or hate (and a spectrum between) is better when there's OOC discussion and understanding of expectations. My human paladin in EverQuest was in love with a high elf paladin, but it was a slow build romance over a great length of time. When we weren't RPing the characters and just playing the game, we'd sometimes discuss our characters and the building relationship OOCly as if we were two authors discussing plot ideas for characters in the novel we were co-writing. Because that's essentially what we're doing, co-authoring a story/script with large gaps for improv and later taking on the role of the character to act out the story.

Life expectancy and cultural marks. At what age do they reach maturity, culturally when do they marry (or miqo'te start to mate/breed), etc. Friend of mine suggested his female Seeker be Swift's daughter (unbeknownst to him that he has one) but that raises questions in my mind for ages.

I AM a hero! Are you calling me a liar?! I tell you, that ground squirrel was 20 fulms tall if it was an iln, with RAZOR SHARP claws and venom dripping from its teeth! You say you faced a Primal? Pshaw! A PRIMAL would have cowered at this ground squirrel, I tell you! /takes another drink Barkeep, top me off, will ya?! =3

I don't generally think of a single song as a theme song, but Swift's working towards being a ninja (before it's in game, yep) in concept in my mind. So as a pugilist I kind of think of him with a quiet, philosopher's heart but also quick to take action in the blink of an eye when needed. So I'm selecting another great Squaresoft song for his "theme." PZ595N9NZVg However, this is a song I think I may take as one that he learned and sometimes will sing by the campfire. ikJQoPXYnLo And I'm sharing this one simply because lDbt04y7Iuw

Honestly I've not seen *too* many, but I love the male miqo'te (Seeker of the Sun) starting outfit so much I am seriously debating trying to save the money and get it professionally made to wear to Ren Faires.

I lurv you a bit right now. Well said. I had the same impression as others. They're miqo'te, they aren't human. Fan service or not, their culture can be quite different when it comes to views and feelings regarding sex. It doesn't make them lesser, it just makes their view different.

Hey now, one of the most memorable RP continuities I've ever been a part of was on Furcadia. I still miss that tavern... /spit on the ground. Forever curse the day those draconic bastards burned it to the ground. Welcome to Eorzea!

That's a good point in regards to choosing not to acknowledge others' RP in your own canon, whether you ignore their RP or even if you RP with them for a bit out and about. My post was coming from the idea of joining a RP community you expect to actively take part in. You want to develop your story to blend and fit with others. If within your Free Company you want to play that your group are the ones who band together and pursued the main story to save the world, that's great. If you're joining a RP community (I say that broadly; could be linkshell, Free Company, coalition like this one in any game or avenue) that is taking a more grounded approach, you may want to be cautious on some of these things and feel out some ideas with your peers. But generally speaking, I agree with Lament. You can always ignore someone else's RP for your own (or your own group's) view of canon if it's not someone whose story will be intertwining frequently, etc. Generally, it may be fun to think of your character as the awesome hero of all, but doing so also puts out some level of expectation, intentionally or not, that all others should RP treating you as such. Essentially requesting other RPers to acknowledge you as more special than them and that steps on toes sometimes. Some, of course, also really like playing the supporting role characters. I'm hoping to build the Wardens of Light on Gilgamesh to have a lot of players who want the play out a supporting role in that they're shop keepers, crafters, and merchants who are vital sources of information even if they aren't actively in the field regularly risking their lives.

Wow, that's a bit harsh. It's part of the game's story! Like I said before, what of new players who just work with the lore that is given them in game and don't see this post on the RPC? Are RPers here really that exclusive? It seems isolationist and elitist to me. Some of the comments here leave a bad taste in my mouth. I think rather than "judging you more harshly" I would say a proper way to think of it is this: If you want your character to be special and stand out as an important character like the main hero of the main story quests, that's fine, but be aware that doing so comes with some very big shoes to fill and high expectations of others. You're taking upon yourself the mantle of an inspirational and very notable hero. Others will expect you to impress upon them that you truly are one. If that makes you a bit unsure, good! It's a lofty role to play and not an easy one to pull off without others raising an eyebrow. But fear not, for it can be done! And I will say again...when in doubt, talk it out!

I haven't read every detail here, but one thing I will comment on for consideration in regards to taking the main story as canon for your character's story is this: Be cautious as you will eventually have everyone with your identical story, but don't write it off as entirely inappropriate. Creativity can get around most problems, especially depending on how you play the role. And when in doubt, talk it out. Get others' input, even if it's just "I would like to do ____ but don't want to do it in a way that comes off too over the top. Any ideas or suggestions?" Starting a dialogue can help. My night elf hunter on WoW had a background where he wasn't directly involved in any of the main story of the past, but did cross paths with lore characters. I tried to avoid impacting them, but a discussion led me to feel it was still a bit too "Mary Sue" and it all shifted when someone said "Interacting with lore characters feels Mary Sue and honestly I find his mother defying tradition and training him in secret far more intriguing." So I dropped a lot and shifted his backstory to this far more meager and humble story that grew from there. Likewise to experienced RPers, be cautious with your advice. We can come off snobbish and abrasive, even when we're trying to help sometimes. =3 "Keep your words sweet...because you may have to eat them." I'm only 17 on my pugilist, so I don't know all the details of the story, especially for the summoner, but I'll use WoW as an example, if I may. My guild raided, when it was current content, Lady Vashj, Kael'thas, Illidan, Kel'thuzad, Malygos, Lich King, and Deathwing. That's 25 RPers killing 4 of those followed by about 20 (2 raids) killing Lich King and Deathwing. For RP purposes, none of us took on the lore kill for Lady Vashj, Kael'thas, or Illidan. Some of us took on the lore kill for being involved in Kel'thuzad, though some said they were part of the assault on Naxxramas but not in the chamber for the battle with the lich himself while a handful of us were in the raid, but not involved with it for personal-canon since we were embroiled in the war against Malygos (hard to be actively fighting a war in one place and also actively involved in events of a different war somewhere else at the same time). And of the 20 or so of us, only one of our guild members was named (by the guild, not by the player) as being present for the actual defeat of the Lich King (and by lore, thus only that one player knew the truth of the events atop the citadel). Despite fighting Deathwing for a few months, it wasn't until a massive group put together a full IC raid on Deathwing in LFR (easy mode makes for easier RP fights!) that we had our canonical assault that stopped him. My point is to pick and choose your main story battles. If you're a summoner and you're going to incorporate Ifrit & Company (there's a band name for ya), I highly suggest trying to gather a group to do the full quest/encounter (other than the fight itself of course) in character. Immerse yourself in the details, the pain, and the struggle of those endeavors and think of the monumental effort it would take and the time you wouldn't be devoting ICly elsewhere in overcoming those tasks. As someone else said, you will come out with a most epic tale of victory in how you were one of the few who accomplished this task and you'll be able to intertwine the tale with the other RP party members who journeyed with you and stood beside you! I think if you take 5,000 adventurers (server capacity ballpark) and we assume about 4500 of them are the nameless adventurers who are out there helping and keeping problems under control while the RP Coalition are the 500 remaining who are doing great deeds...and then even only a portion of them are taking the main story as their own, you do whittle down more and more towards those who have, by coalition canon, defeated the primals to be quite small. That said, I would also encourage you to consider one other aspect. With fame and notoriety comes a great deal more problems. Do you really want to be known for these deeds and thus have every lord with coin expecting to have you do their bidding? To be asked constantly to save every little place from any little problem? Or would you wield this power more quietly and with discretion? I certainly wouldn't walk around town with a neon sign saying "I'm the Slayer of Primals" because that comes with the unspoken statement of A: What problem may I resolve for you with my great power? or B: Come at me, bro. Even if you do take Primal slaying as your canon, there are a lot of different ways you can play it afterwards as well. And if you choose discretion....what happens when your closest allies learn you've been keeping a secret or even lying to them about it? Things to think about for RP fun.

This sounds really cool. I'll be marking my calendar!

Using WoW as an example, go check out the various WoW focused forums and ask how much everyone loved Trial of the Crusader. Man, no trash WHATSOEVER! An entire raid of nothing but bosses! Must be the best raid ever conceived, right? Oddly, for some reason, people seem to hate it more than any other one and Ulduar, chock full of a LOT of trash, gets praised as a fantastic, glorious raid. Some will argue the boss encounters are the reason, but nobody complains about trash in Ulduar. Without "trash mobs" people would get bored with the bosses as well. Bottom line, Square can't develop a game for the few who want nothing to do with 90% of the game and want 10% of it to fill hours upon hours of their time. It just doesn't work. I'm glad to see how they're reacting. My goal is to run story dungeons with friends & RPers and at 50 hopefully I'll be mostly playing with real/in game friends for dungeons and raids rather than strangers.

Multiple Linkpearls I think of Linkpearls as possibly being in the ear like others mentioned, but I personally like the idea of it being an earring. Put your finger to it to activate and speak into it or perhaps even to activate it for hearing and speaking through it. There's a scene from the story quest that presents its use quite similarly to the Codec used by Snake in the Metal Gear Solid games, so either the in-the-ear or earring works. If an earring, you can easily wear multiple ones. I don't know that IC I'd have multiple ones, though. Maybe, but not sure yet. Indoor Plumbing Considering the addition of magic and some levels of technology (airships for example), I imagine indoor plumbing would exist in Eorzea to some extent a little below our current real-world level but not archaic. Ancient Rome had indoor plumbing with baths and latrines with water that flushed away waste as well as an elaborate sewer system. Traveling I prefer to think of travel to be primarily by foot, followed by chocobo, followed by aetherite in less frequent situations. I like travel and journeying to be a part of the world and the ability to hop all over through teleportation magic used by anyone isn't a favorable option to me. But then, Swift is also not a magic user. I'd imagine a character who primarily does use magic would be more attuned to using aetherite a little more regularly. Electricity I don't think there would be electricity in Eorzea. However, here on Earth, coffee dates back to the 15th century, so there's no reason that a lack of electricity can deny your character the possibility of coffee.

Thanks! This will come in handy as I think the eventual possibility of multiple linkshells + Free Company + Party + etc could get quite face paced in the text box at times.

I've been hunting around and probably have overlooked what's right in front of my face, but is there a way to deactivate a Linkshell? For example, I have my Linkshell with RL friends, I have an IC Linkshell, and I have the Coalition OOC Linkshell. If I were in a RP and I wanted to deactivate Coalition OOC from showing in the text window (flood of text when discussions are going strong, for example) for the duration of RPing, can I do that, and if so, how? Once I've got an IC guild/channel/etc, I frequently tend to turn off OOC channels since they can distract and break my ICness train of thought but I don't want to quit an OOC Linkshell that's enjoyable to chat in when not RPing if I can simply tell the game "Don't show me this one for a bit."

*Coeurl stands a moment, getting accustomed to feel of saddle and rider.....* *Coeurl rolls over on back and squirms around happily* The imagery just popped in my head and I found it too amusing not to share. I'm hoping they don't go too steam punk-ish for Eorzea. Every fantasy MMO lately seems to want to put a ton of steampunk or technology or what have you in there. I've grown a bit tired of Final Fantasy abandoning magic and swords for magic swords and FULLY AUTOMATIC MACHINE GUNS!!!! Cloud gets a pass since the entire party could stand behind the shield wall Buster Sword. I did get a laugh in Ul'dah when a lalafell duo conversation was: Lalafell 1: I have an idea for a new device. It's a cart on two wheels that you pedal. Lalafell 2: Why wouldn't you just ride a chocobo? WoW has made me favor having a smaller collection of mounts with the main one (Chocobo for ARR) being much more easy to get so it remains the most commonly seen mount of choice rather than 250 different beasts of varying size and type carrying people around everywhere. I have the coeurl mount from the 1.0 CE perks I got, but I don't really care for the animation of them from seeing others ride them. I'm waiting for my :chocobo: myself! Though I want to stay on foot mostly. It's just a bad idea to take your trusty mount out into the dangerous depths of the wilderness, tie him to a tree, and go wander into a cave and expect nothing to accept your offer of a free dinner. It was just sitting there with the keys in the ignition! What would you have me do? :lol: Also, I did not know this... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coeurl

I think it would be more fun to claim to have it and have stories of the battle where it was obtained....with some intentionally placed inconsistencies. Always leave a little bit of question whether or not it's real or a lie. There's fun to be had spinning tall tales, or having forgeries of items you've heard tale of and claiming they're the real deal. It's difficult to do right, but if you can play it so it feels believable but also doubtful at the same time, it can be fun. And act overly offended if someone questions the authenticity (but never let them do any close up inspection of the trophy in question!).

The issue I have with romance RP is that so often it becomes the focal point of all RP. I'm going to use WoW as an example for this one. I've been in a long running IC channel on my WoW server where once upon a time the conversation would run the gamut from IC arguing over wandering eyes (with others joining in the RP to the point of having side conversations as they lean back and watch the sparks fly) to planning an assault on enemy bases, to preparations for upcoming events, to discussions of the current world events. But that was a time long gone by and over time, it became essentially a channel of purely IC relationship drama (though thankfully no OOC problems confused into the mix). With the recent expansion focusing on the war between two factions, the discover/invasion of a new land, a new culture discovered, a new monstrous force, and the growing threat of the expansion's primary antagonist, the IC channel became focused on.........romance. Who was dating who, who missed who, who was sleeping with who, who was jealous of who, who was depressed because of broken relationships. No more friends lost in battle, no more mourning, no more revenge, no more plans and plots, no more action. Romance RP has its place, it's part of life and RP is playing out this character's life. But when the entire world is crumbling and falling down atop your head, do you really dedicate every waking moment to your relationship? And when someone tries to bring up conversation of current events, and it doesn't go anywhere for more than a few comments before it's back to relationship drama, then I feel like the romance has become too all encompassing. The majority of people's lives don't revolve around this drama, though it can spur motivations. A broken relationship can make an adventurer reckless, seeking more and more danger to keep their mind off the lost love. Some could focus on work to keep their mind off what's causing them stress. Some simply compartmentalize what they deal with and when. And some, of course, dedicate themselves so completely to their tasks they forsake relationships (which can also be fun to RP when they are simply driven and dedicated and don't realize they've put up walls...moreso if someone finds them interesting). My only advice and point of this rant is to treat romance RP realistically. Romance is a part of life, but it is not generally the sole source of it. There are a great many things going on in the world that player characters are likely to be exposed to. Don't completely ignore them. Unless you're in the puppy love phase of a romance RP. Then Bahamut might not distract you from your love interest.

Hope you're still around! I think the RP community is settling in and things are starting to grow with events and RP groups on Gilgamesh now. I've seen some new Linkshell/Free Company posts in the Linkshell directory for us.

Dry is bad for a manatee, right?