C'kayah Polaali

C'kayah laughed, white teeth flashing against the grey of his face, "Perhaps you need to expand your horizons, then. She was quite lovely, for a thief, don't you think?" Passing through the door he moved deeper into the house, his footsteps fading. A sudden clatter sounded, then a called "Sorry!" which caused M'riss to roll her eyes. A moment later he called out, "Where is it?", and then "Ahhh, here it is". M'riss poured water from a chipped pitcher into a basin then added a trickle of brown liquid from a bottle, tinting it and filling the room with a sharp scent. She set the basin on the table as Tobias undressed, then set a handful of coarse white rag squares next to them. Next came a bronze candle lantern with an elaborate mirror-and-lens, which she lit with a match from a large ill-fitting drawer that the woman opened only with difficulty and a great deal of noise. Finally she turned her attention back on Tobias, her expression impatient. slapping her own side, she stated "Ribs. I need to see your ribs. Your vest needs to come off, too. And your pants, if you want me to look at that knee." C'kayah silently closed M'risses kitchen door behind him as he made his way out the back of the house on soundless feet, uttering a soft thanks for nearsided healers with very loud drawers. Passing down the alleyway, he disappeared into the sounds and bustle of Ul'dah, even now not quite asleep.

I think Karaan (the player) is talking about a Miqo'te alt. Karaan Nolan (the character) is a very lawful good type.

Well, considering that R'mah's working on a villain arc, I'd assume this Nunh isn't your typical Seeker. It might be an interesting addition to the arc: one or more of these girl's relatives find out what's going on and track the guy down...

He saw her in the market while he was waiting to buy a skewer of meat. She stood out in the press of people, slender and short compared to the Elezen and Hyur around her, long dark-furred ears and golden hair darkening to the color of the sky after sunset. "Pretty", he thought, and then "Familiar, too. Where have I seen her?" She slipped gracefully through the crowd. Not forcing her way like a wedge, but coursing like water. She paused to examine a silver locket hanging on a jeweler's pegboard, moved to turn the pages of a book, and then to run a finger over the tip of a pen. Idly. Passing time. The scent of roasted meat and the shopkeeper's voice drew C'kayah's attention back. He took the hot wooden skewer gingerly, grinning his thanks and paying the man with battered coins. He made his way to the front of the shop, settling on a stool to enjoy his food, when he remembered who she was. It was an amusing plan involving a beautiful Duskwight thief, a mysterious accomplice, a strange Lominsan martial cult, a unique sword and helmet, and the mysterious land to the east. His participation had earned him a favor, the only real currency in the world. They had lured the leader of this cult, along with two others, into the La Noscan highlands on a brisk day and then briefly held one of them hostage while the thief laid out the full scope of her actions to them. Their accomplice had held this woman, knife to her throat, throughout the entire speech. They'd threatened and blustered at the time, like angry wasps, and it seemed the metaphor was apt. He'd run into them in a tavern outside of Ul'dah, and again in the city. The leader with his strange helmet, and a handful of others in their distinctive red coats. For a Lominsan cult, they were widely travelled. Fearing a hunter, he'd left for Gridania but it seemed that even here they could reach. It was time, he thought, to leave the city and go to ground. He turned back to watch her again. Her back was to him, as she caressed the smooth curves of an ornately carved Elezen walking stick. As she moved on, a flat shape dropped from the worn satchel she carried across her back. He quickly made his way through the crowd to the stall she had paused at. Stooping, he retrieved a tattered book bound in blue leather. The pages were parchment, yellowed but supple, and written in a neat hand. Poems. Rhymes. Recipes for cooking plums. He chuckled at a schoolgirl's limerick before closing the book and tucking it into his own satchel. There was no time to read it now, he had preparations to make. "I like this walking stick", he told the merchant, "but what I'm really looking for are water skins. I'm going on a trip."

Updated with new information.

I like to play with Yloise... :blush: Seriously, though, she's a fantastic RPer!

I know, right? Sometimes I wonder if I'll discover that everyone I RP with in the game is actually Siha...

Why, the side that pays, of course! And Yloise, there will surely be ample opportunities for all sorts of activities around these. At the very least, we can dress up, drink, and murmur appreciatively to one another as the combatants blood spills.

Ditto with C'kayah, for future reference - I'll look you up in game. :angel:

This is an interesting couple of points that illustrate the problems associated with RPing your character as if all the in-game events actually happened to them. An extreme case of the "Oh, you're a high ranking Maelstrom officer? Me, too!" problem exists in Star Trek Online, where your rank is literally your level, so that everyone eventually progresses up to Admiral. Roleplayers in that game quickly realized that they had to divorce their character from their in-game rank to avoid the "bar full of Admirals" problem. The "fierce pirate" case is interesting, too, but that's mainly because it points out one of what I feel is a bad RPing habit: instant infamy. While it's fun to decide that your character is the Jack Sparrow or Catelyn Stark of Eorzea, it's hard to actually justify it without a history to back you up. My deciding C'kayah is a villain all of a sudden is fine, because I decided he's small potatoes. Deciding he's the biggest crime boss in Ul'dah, on the other hand, is problematic. Now if he'd been working with the Night Blades for months and participating in IC crimes that whole time, I'd have some justification for making a bigger claim about him. I don't think that this makes our characters blander or more PC, though. It makes them more believable. After all, if we all went with the "in-game events happened to me!" angle, we would all: Have defeated Ifrit Have defeated Titan Be the emissary from Gridania/whatever the other two cities have Possess the Echo Be the only Hyur/Miqo'te/whatever White Mage/whatever other class etc And how boring would that be?

I want to echo the excellent advice Sastra gave and add this point: if you want to get RP with a broody anti-social character, it's best to not be a broody anti-social player. What I mean is I've seen people create that sort of character and then just stand around looking gloomy while wondering why no one's RPing with them. There are dark, broody anti-social people in the world, and if you want to play one, then fine! But talk to people OOCly and try to set up RP that way. Be cheerful with them. Be constructive. Try to work out ways that your dark and broody anti-social character can add to other people's RP. Join one of the linkshells that are set up for OOCly organizing and discussing RP. And when you're talking about what your character would do, try not to focus on the "no's". Instead of saying "No, sorry, my character wouldn't be caught dead in that tavern, I can't be part of that RP", say "Well, my character doesn't hang out in taverns, but we can say he just arrived in town after a long journey and he's in there just to get a meal". Instead of just being that guy sitting in a corner, arrange to have pick-pocketed some other character in the RP (or they pick-pocketed you), with the victim recognizing the thief. In short, be out there as a player and help enable other people's RP. That's the best thing you can do, really.

I kinda think you do! (Seems to me this would be an exquisite opportunity to make a Lady MacBeth sort of alt...)

Yeah, in retrospect, I think Roegadyn names are more of a mix of old english (Bloefhisthota, Ahldskyf, Wyznwilf, Junghsmhid) and Welsh (Mytemyrgan, Merlwyb Bloefhiswyn, Swygynagat). It's funny, I think of different languages every time I see one.

I've always figured that Miqo'te languages were semitic (like Arabic), given the glottal (apostrophe) and the hard Q (both of which are pretty prevalent in semitic languages). Arabic's pretty distinctive and recognizable, but there are a whole basket full of ancient semitic languages that you can draw from. I like Jana's bit about seeing Egyptian influences in the words. It's pretty easy to find books with bits of the ancient Egyptian language and sprinkle some of those in. The big caveat, if you want to do that, is that ancient Egyptian didn't write hard vowels, so there's a convention of using the letter E where you'd think a vowel might go. A good way to keep the flavor would be to substitute a different vowel: "Ai wenemen" ("let's eat!") could become "Ai wenoman", for instance. By the way, where did the Roegadyn/German thing come from? Looking at the names and words, it looks far more gaelic to me.

And let me tell you, you really want this guy involved. Not only does he have fantastic hair, but he's an exquisite RPer!

C'kayah laughed good naturedly. "My Hyur friend here is feeling doubly stung, I think. Once from the blows he took in the fight, and once", at this the Miqo'te traced the outline of a tall and curvy woman in the air, "by the one who administered them." He grinned at Tobias, his teeth brilliantly white against the grey pigment on his face. "Though I have known people who would pay for such a privilege. Tell me, my friend, you didn't enjoy it just a little bit?" M'riss glared sharply at him again, "If you can't say anything constructive, just shut up." C'kayah held his hands up, still grinning. "Keepers..." he murmured to himself. "And I heard that!", M'riss snapped. C'kayah scratched at an itch on his cheek, a little of the grey grease makeup coming away on his finger. He examined it curiously. "I forgot about this. Could I borrow a mirror and a towel, and maybe some spirits of wine? It'll be nice to get this stuff off of my face." M'riss chuckled, and jerked her thumb at a door leading deeper into the house. "First constructive thing you've said all night, Seeker. Down the hall, there. Use the rags, not my good towels."

It's the ears, really. Everyone loves the ears...

I've never done one of these, but Thall's balls, would I love to!

Well, if you insist... :angel:

Entropia does, I believe. But I haven't played it in years, so I don't know if that's the case any longer. If there are any others, I am not certain. Very few do, mainly because most gamers tend to play about the same time of day IRL. It would get tedious if you're always/never playing during game night.

"Thall's balls!" has now become my expletive of choice! This is excellent! More, please.

Ditto! C'kayah Tia here, general scoundrel and RP enabler.

All you Tia's *are* related right? I know, right? How improbably is that?

But not me. I hate RP. Especially with new players. (j/k! )

"I'm not the one who tried to give the damn thing awa-" "If you're not here for healing, what the hell-" M'riss shut C'kayah up with a sharp look, then turned back to Tobias. "And when should I be open", she began, adopting the tone of an annoyed teacher, "during the day, when I sleep? Now, if you're here for healing, get on the table and take off your shirt. If you're not, the door is right there." C'kayah shook his head sadly, an apology in his voice, "I'm sorry, Healer. I thought my friend would behave in a civilized manner. We'll go." The Keeper woman ignored C'kayah, her fiery gaze still on the Hyur. "On...the...table...or...get...out."