Flickering Ember

This for me. Ember really doesn't like cold environments to the point of fearing them. Not all points of Heavensward areas are locked into eternal winter but if they are rather cold as well, just minus the snow or if she has to go through Coerthas to get to them, then I can't see her going. Unless I end up losing a lot of RP by not allowing her to go then I suppose I will try to find an excuse.

Headcanon: Au Ra, especially male Au Ra, sharpening their horns against tree trunks. I know that's a deer thing but still potentially a little quirk for RP.

Things to Bitch About Regarding the Au Ra Checklist ☑ Dimorphism ☑ Character Creator ☑ Tails ☑ Horns ☑ Lack of Ass ☑ Kawaii Desu ☑ Scales Hmmm...What other stupidly petty things can we add to the list? ...Oh, OH! THEY HAVE SKIN! SKIN. HOW FUCKING DARE YOU, YOSHIDA? Alright, in all seriousness, this is just the Miqo'te arguments with a new coat of paint and scales. Don't tell me you're not drawing comparisons. Honestly, this thread has been moving along fine without any added cursing and negativity. Zyrsticue may not like Au Ra very much but he/she still managed to create a thread that was fun and speculative. No one's been negative. I haven't been a fan of their designs either but I have still been looking forward to having my character meet them in game and to see what kind of dynamic they bring to RP. Some of my friends are very excited for them and I am happy they get something new to attach to. On that list, it's probably the Dimorphism and Kawaii Desu that get to me. I just think it's an unfair and sexist representation for SE to make the men big and intimidating and the women small and kawaii. (and still, that is even okay because you can still enjoy something, even if you don't like the way it is portrayed!) You don't have to agree. You might really like the dimorphism and really like the contrast of fierce men with cute ladies who can probably still stab you anyway. I can expect that people will adamantly disagree with my opinions and that's fine. But I don't think you should call out my opinion as being 'petty' or 'lesser' than your own. It's just after all, an opinion and we've been having fun speculating in this thread. No one's knocking them.

"You can help by just being you." or something to that effect. Usually said whenever Ember asks if she can help someone, often during dangerous situations. Ember is often regarded as affectionate, cheerful, naive, and innocent. A lot of characters don't want her to get involved in dangerous situations for that reason. They probably also legitimately believe that Ember helps by being happy and loving. However, it also frustrates her because she wants to do more for her friends. She doesn't think of herself as actually helping unless she is actually involved.

Flickering Ember and Jericho Lapointe. Super tall, Gau-like Hellsguard girl with her arena-fighting, overly hard-working, Garlean boyfriend.

So basically more or less what I did... good to know. I definitely feel like I'm playing diplomat at times, hearing one side complain about the other. And yet, here I am playing with both and I like to think that I'm enjoying myself with all of them? I also wanted to respond to this since I am also a "Just roll with it" kind of roleplayer. I find it helpful to know and understand the role-play styles and opinions of your friends. This way, I can understand which of my friends would get along with each other and which of them wouldn't. I've had to serve as the "diplomat" role several times and honestly it just does not work. Right off the bat, if you know that some of your friends would not mesh well with your other friends, then just don't get them involved with each other. I know for me at least, there just isn't enough time in the day to get all my friends to be friends with each other anyway. Don't sweat it if they can't all meet. If the most IC response is to get a friend involved, then I make up an IC excuse for why they can't meet. Usually this is something along the lines of "my character just doesn't know where they are. Or they might not be answering their link pearl." Most of the time this is true anyway.

I'm attempting to point out that presuming IC-feedback as OOC-saltiness is a fallacy, and I'm doing a poor job of it! OP posits that somehow he knew a detractor was OOC-bristling and "lied" to say it was IC-only. Not knowing the circumstances or conversation that's entirely possible, but assuming it's true every time is incorrect. This is so important to me as a RP subject that several times I've contemplated making its own thread. I know exactly what you are talking about, Warren, and I've witnessed it soooo many times throughout the years. Most of my experiences have come through friends, who RP with X person then make presumptions about the player based on RP in OOC channels. People always state not crossing IC and OOC as being the number one rule, and yet people are doing it constantly. They don't realize they are doing it. This is a really good example of how you can unwittingly cross that border. Just don't make assumptions ever about a player based on what or how they RP. That is not only IC/OOC crossing, but it's an example of poor communication.

Ember's background operates almost entirely outside of the boundaries of lore. She has a fairly simple back story: she's basically Gau from FFVI. There are other magical elements to her but I feel those elements are general enough that if SE brings down a lore bomb, I could just tweak her story a little bit without it completely ruining her character. The only thing that I could think of that could completely wreck her character would be two things: 1.) They bombed the Hellsguard lore. Abalathia's Spine is magically warded from the rest of Eorzea. Or other types of lore that would make Abalathia's Spine inaccessible. Although, even if that happened, I suppose I could just select a new birthplace for Ember. 2.) They changed how aether and magic work to the point that Ember's second sight/6th sense isn't lore friendly. I really like how I have designed Ember's sixth sense, even if it is kind of hard to explain at times. I would be really sad if I had to change it. (For those who don't know, Ember is a blind character)

I don't. At least in regards to lore-iffy concepts. Mostly because not much actually bothers me. I consider myself open to most concepts. I am even more open in a universe like Final Fantasy, where ridiculous and over the top concepts and happenings are a series staple. FFXIV lore is so vague that pretty much any concept could be argued as being doable. Text from NPC can be interpreted as being told via 'unreliable narrators.' That's not to say that I disregard in game text or Sounssy's very wonderful and helpful lore posts, I certainly do my best to adhere to what NPCs give us for lore, but I don't take everything as word of god unless it is flat out stated by SE themselves. (and even word of god posts can be interpreted differently!) This can be TL;DRed as: I personally try to stay within the lore lines because that's generally what OTHER people prefer, but I don't care what people RP as, as long as I am having fun. To me, worrying over whether or not someone is following the lore disrupts my ability to have fun. It stresses me out. So I just don't think about it. That, and I can't even remember anyone who has broken lore anyway. RP style is much more important to me. Naturally, I pursue RP with those who have characters I like or just have a great roleplay style. While I roleplay more superficially with RP styles that don't mesh well with mine. But even if I RP with someone superficially, I try to leave the door open in case we end up eventually clicking. Unless, we just really don't get along. Can't please everyone!

Does this mean Ember can't hug Au Ra? :cry: She is going to go through an existential crisis...

Names with lore conventions are fun but I don't see them as a must. You aren't instantly breaking the lore by having one. Maybe their parents wanted to go against the grain, maybe they were adopted, maybe they didn't like their name and changed it. It's not like there aren't several odd names. If I had a child and named them a Japanese name, it might be considered odd but it's not like there's an other-worldly force that would keep me from doing it.

Yeah, sadly it won't detect Ember's either. I think this website is racist against roegadyns and lalafells.

Au Ra face scale patterns (not adjustable in features) are also tied to faces so I figure they would be the parallel to miqo'te markings.

Just finished this tonight. Saw the Crystal Braves being traitorous coming. Ever since the starting quests of 2.5, I suspected that Ilberd and Yuyuhase were evil. I do hope we get to see Riol again. Though they were setting up the Crystal Braves to be corrupted from the vary start of their formation. The fact that the Crystal Braves were being funded by Syndicate money and Alphinaud just ignores it is great foreshadowing. I appreciate how much of the story they seem to have planned out ahead of time. It really feels like happenings in previous patches really influenced and foreshadowed future ones.

People play what they want to play. Whether your choice is to play something popular or not is just making the choice an individual wants. You can infer trends and correlations through this type of data if properly gathered. The data itself can lead to interesting insights. Race breakdown before and after Au Ra as well as race breakdown among new subs particularly interest me. The census definitely played a huge part in making Au Ra. You can't tell much on an individual level but you can see how effective a new race is through the different types of data. Edit: Oh derp, I really should have scrolled up. After reading some of the previous posts I missed out on, I'm going to add this: I think what is being meant by 'cannibalizing' is not shaming people for playing what they want to play but seeing the flow of racial breakdowns with the inclusion of Au Ra. It's the difference of: How much Au Ra are completely new subscribers vs. how much of Au Ra are existing subscribers. Perhaps also considering what races reroll moreso over others. (According to this poll, the hardest hit are miqo'te and hyur) But we won't really see accurate data until Census 2015.

Here are some of my tips for ideas: -Watch more movies, read more books/comics, play more games. Get inspiration from stories and characters. It's not that you should be looking for characters to mimic but rather even small details can lead to the creation of a character. -Go on a walk, bike ride, car drive into the country. Go someplace calm and peaceful. There is something about going on a journey that lets your mind wander in ways just sitting in a chair in front of an empty notebook or empty word doc doesn't. -Read tvtropes.org Beware it's addictiveness though. Anyway, tvtropes breaks down story and character themes into articles. It is the sister site of wiki and can be a good source of inspiration as well.

I'm done with alts I think. At least for now. I've had a hard time leveling them. There's too much stuff that needs to be unlocked just to be able to do certain things. I was hoping they would soften some of the requirements for particular features. (Such as not needing to complete the main quest to do Heavensward stuff) If I ever pick up my alts again maybe I might consider making my highlander an Au Ra. Highlanders are just a touch too human for me to really enjoy them. Understandable because that's what they are.

I'm definitely interested in seeing the new census come September, if they still do it this year. I am definitely looking forward to it. I do expect some people will fantasia for a little bit just because it's the new race. And then switch back to their original. But it does sound like even a lot of RPers are making Au Ra their main. But by September, I think we'll be able to see a more accurate picture of how Au Ra will switch up the break downs than now or shortly after launch. Still though, I don't think it would be unjustified to say that Au Ra will be at least as numerous as hyur and miqo'te in the long run.

I use rp communities forums more for discussion than connections. I think everyone looks for something different in their forums, just as they do in game, or with their preferred fantasy races, or with their preferred styles of RP. I haven't found any really insulting posts in this thread yet even though I suppose it probably won't go anywhere. I trust talking with fellow roleplayers than I am with the more antagonistic general fanbase. But you are right, I should probably take my thoughts to the main forum.

I have never personally seen a MMO that does not at least include a large race. There are a lot of MMOs though so perhaps we simply have played and seen different MMOs. I would certainly call MALE highlanders and roegadyn husky. I would not say the same for female highlanders. Female highlanders have an athletic build. They definitely don't have girth, width, big bones, or huge muscles. Female roegadyn I feel are debatable but for the purposes of this thread, let's just go ahead and say they are. I'd like to break down the aesthetic that the races and genders add. Keep in mind though, it is subjective: Midlanders: Japanese models Highlander males: Bara Highlander females: Athletes Elezens: Graceful and elegant Lalafells: Short and adorable Miqo'te males: Hot anime dudes Miqo'te females: Cute catgirl archetype that is too beloved to not have Roegadyn: The large race Roegadyn males: Jolly giants Roedgadyn females: Oneechan I could argue Au Ra being able to add something and I could argue them not, as Hyrist pointed out too, it is subjective. I would definitely say that none of the male races look as intimidating as Au Ra, but on the other hand, they're another muscular dude race (roegadyns, highlanders) who stand just as tall, if not slightly shorter than roegadyn. The female Au Ra I would describe as 100% by the book cute monster girls. I dunno how they add much from "cute catgirls" but I suppose according to SE's preferred fanbase, it does count as 'variance.' They're not bad. There are a lot of things to be excited for regarding Au Ra. I don't dislike them and I definitely share a sense of excitement towards them. Though, more in a spectator sort of way--I can't wait to see what my friends end up playing. I say this because it is easier to revel in excitement with my friends and with the benchmark than it is in these discussions. On a critical level, I just find the representation of the race to be, well... Not everyone will agree with me and I don't expect them to. They are my personal thoughts but I am certain that from all the "complaining" that I am not the only one. At no point do I want to kill others' joy, excitement, or happiness for the race. I've simply been discussing my opinions because the forums are for discussion and its how I feel. I don't really think we'll ever get extended character creation options which is why I think having diverse races is even more important. There are lots of things they could have done that could still be done with the Japanese style. Just take a look at all the different creatures from Legend of Mana, and old Square game, for some samples, who boast more creativity than all of FFXIV's playable races combined.

Here's the thing and it was mentioned in the previous thread. A race like Au Ra isn't bringing in a significant player base that wasn't there already. It is more of the same and I see it as a race that is essentially generating hype amongst the existing player base rather than pulling in new folks who don't feel represented in this game's character creation. I would have passed on this game without female roegadyns being added. At this point it is the only races I would consider playing.

Themes I like and definitely make liberal use of -Big-boned, muscular women - Amnesia with a twist. I never use amnesia for blank slate characters nor do I use it when I don't know the lore. Straight up classic amnesia is boring. - Violence - Tribal or close to nature in some way - Neutral and chaotic alignments. Can't play a Lawful character to save my life. - Former villains, reformed villains, or anti-villains - Character used to be a completely different person in the past. - They like food a lot. Each character has a different reason. Likely to practice cannibalism - They are never antisocial. That is too hard to RP. From my most stoic characters to my most affectionate, all of them enjoy being around others Probably a lot more than that.

Ember is blind. She won't notice them until she gets to touch them. She'd probably just think the Au Ra males are skinny roegadyns and the female Au Ra are very short midlanders. I imagine she will like the texture of their scales a whole lot so she might be physically harassing many of them. Although I imagine she could accidentally hurt herself trying to hug or nuzzle one by getting stabbed with a horn. That could potentially sour her opinion.