industrythirteen

Personally, I'd like to know how the art team tests their designs. How do they choose what gets modeled? Do they run their models by others, test to see what is or isn't going to be picked? Do they test for eastern and western sensibilities? Maybe that bottom right Au Ra male face is super popular in japan, but I see it used less on the RPC and tumblr. I've found myself thinking, and sometimes saying out loud to no one but myself "Oh. If only this weren't there, or if that was over..." with many of the options. To me, I see a lot of wasted potential, but again, it's only my opinion. It's not just FFXIV, or the Au Ra (which I love, not to give anyone any impression otherwise.) I see it across the entire genre. Without fail, I have never seen any MMO change any character creator after beta, or take player feedback seriously regarding the character creator, or the models, or what options people would like to see in addition. Of course, I haven't played all MMOs, but I've played some of the bigger-named titles from the past twelve years. I've seen barber shops added, maybe some hair styles, but for the most part, what we get is what we get. I don't like it anymore than anyone else. And I'd like to think developers can do better. I'd like to see developers do better. A quick quip. Please indulge me. Not sure what happened to, and I paraphrase, "You'll be able to make the females look beastial, too." Except, I don't see anything that looks beastial, at all, and I wonder now if that's just something lost in translation, or if I just have an idea that radically differs from what Yoshi P thinks is beastial. Probably.

http://40.media.tumblr.com/26bfb217afa312493c594de890807ad0/tumblr_nngm1mjg6i1rue9d8o1_1280.jpg[/img] http://41.media.tumblr.com/d4735c5a05362af7ae29e3be57b14218/tumblr_nngno9dxKC1rue9d8o1_540.jpg[/img] Not sure which one to pick yet. 'Ayushiridara.' She likes you, and she likes everyone and everything. Possibly with intent to do bodily harm.

I talk to the other person OOC, opening a dialogue. I ask them what they want out of the encounter, and what kind of story they want to tell. This is how I met a good friend of mine in TOR. Luckily, he was more interested in telling a story, and entertaining everyone watching, more than either of us were showing off. Whenever there is going to be a confrontation, I'm aware of what other people are viewing, and I'm much more interested in whether they are going to be entertained or disinterested. I keep it short, sweet, and to the point. If the other person is uncommunicative, or uninterested in a cooperative effort that works for us both, then I just dismiss the whole thing and go about my business. Posturing, chest-beating or unnecessarily throwing ones weight around is my number one turnoff in roleplay. If that's all someone is interested in, then I'm just gonna leave them to do their thing.

Scales of Othard is a linkshell for Au Ra players, both Raen and Xaela. The intent of the linkshell is to provide a space for general discussion for Au Ra roleplayers. Linkshells specific to the 51+ Xaela tribes, or Raen villages inevitable are going to crop up, and Scales of Othard completely supports and encourages this, and will remain as a general support linkshell for all. Completely out-of-character, Au Ra related discussion is the primary focus and encouraged, but not one-hundred percent mandatory. Chat with fellow Au Ra players, and make connections for your roleplay. This linkshell is for you if You are looking to discuss Au Ra lore ideas with other players. You are looking for other Au Ra players for RP. You want to generate RP for Au Ra players. You want to connect your Au Ra character to other players' Au Ra characters. Scales of Othard will also be more than happy to plug your Au Ra related RP event. Please get in touch with Ayushiridara Khatagin, and provide any relevant information and/or a forum thread link. She will make sure your event is advertised. [align=center]As of 08/30/2015 spoilers for the 3.0 MSQ content are permissible to foster discussion. [/align]

Im just gonna go ahead and create one. For all Au Ra players. Scales of Othard. Scales because, ha ha, scaley critters that are the Au Ra, but also, a scale. A balance of the two clans: Raen and Xaela.

I'm not really sure what I prefer anymore. I have some thinking to do. I used to really like plot-based RP. I felt it gave me more reason to be involved in something. I have done a lot of I guess, what I call tavern RP, which is just daily life, run-of-the-mill kinda RP. But, I find most tavern and random RP to be un-engaging because I struggle to find a reason to get involved all too often in the conversations going on around me. I don't like butting in, mostly. But, that's all on me. I'm not criticizing the type of RP or the player that loves it. I'm noting my own limitations and my own hang ups in getting involved or not involved. The reason I don't know what I even prefer, or enjoy, anymore is because I find it harder and harder to get into plot RP. I don't really want to have more than a cameo, and I don't want to take up too much time of my GM/DMs, and I want to give other people more an opportunity to shine, despite what I think I would have my character do in any given situation. I see an awful lot of posturing and chest-beating, too. While that's entirely plausible for a character, I just wish folks would get on with it sometimes! A lot of people get involved, and something is gonna give. Someone is not going to get the time they deserve. I'd rather just bow out, and let someone far more invested get the time because they clearly want it. So, some observations. Please keep in mind this is only what I have seen (and done, and learned from) in my experience across several MMOs, and it may definitely will differ from anyone else's experience. 1. I don't see too many folks treating plotline RP, or heavily managed RP, as one might treat a tabletop, pen and paper game. GMs can reasonably handle five to six players and give each of those individuals the attention they deserve due to the small scale of it in a PnP game. Few of these tabletop games are about any one player character. What I mostly see in MMOs (again, my observations) is trying to stuff as many characters or players as possible into a story that I don't think can support it. Especially not without a lot of help. I know that no one wants to be left out, and no one wants to leave anyone out, but I don't know of a better solution than to split things up into multiple parts with multiple GM/DMs doing different aspects at different times. Or just asking a friend to wait patiently. 2. Trying too hard to manage everything, or control every detail. Some behavior is predictable, but some isn't. Players always find a way to deviate from a path, and surprise GM/DMs. 3. I find a lot of plot RP to be character-centric. It revolves around either a single player character, or a few closely related characters. Often, my character is only marginally aware in the on-goings of the other characters' lives, and I have little reason to participate. My solution to this is to create a story to doesn't involve furthering a personal or private plotline or story of a character. 3a. With my Au Ra, I'm debating on just having a basic framework and never having a personal storyline or on-going plot for her like I have in the past. Not shockingly, I've never completed those plots or stories for other MMO characters. Mostly I don't want to be what I perceive to be a me-monster, and get too hung up about my personal RP and story, or have any expectation that anyone has any reason to care or become personally invested. I have done all three things in my RP history. I've tried to DM an on-going plot or plots where it was entirely centric to my character. It was hard to both play my character, and manage the 40+ people I invited. The plot eventually got whittled down to about 10 people, tops. I also got kind of annoyed with the player deviation because how dare anyone deviate from my carefully plotted ...plot. I like to think I've grown up a little, and learned a lot from my mistakes. So, I'm not really sure plotting, or not plotting is the way to go anymore. I guess ultimately it depends on what folks want to do. And wow is that a really non-answer from me.

Has anyone started any linkshells for the Au Ra, now that we know about the two clans?

Not sure if ACTUALLY demons, or just the visual frame of reference. That's still not 100 percent clear to me. If it were me designing, I would design with intent. Also not sure if indeed finalized. But back at PAX? Live letter? Can't remember? they said that it wouldn't have anything. Of course, things change. So, we'll see!

They did say that the benchmark wouldn't have all the options. Also consider those screenshots are taken by a camera pointed at a surface pro 3. Detail is going to be lost. So a demon motif. I'm okay with this. Mildly surprised, but okay.

Probably what would happen with my in-active Roe. Also, any excuse for Running Man gifs. Or Kwangsoo.

When I started in MMOs, I gravitated towards pale tones. I'm painfully white, but not entirely sure of my ethnic heritage in its entirety. Polish and English for sure, but, yeah, I'm an American. And probably within the last year I've been digging dark tones when I'm not playing some dragon-demon-alien-bahmi-roe-something. If it's purple, blue or indigo, I'm sold. Apparently, people can be blue! I was made aware of the kentucky blue people during a conversation last night in fact. [More Reading]

Yeah, I will always dig a Heathers reference. I always fall asleep though when I mean to finally finish watching it. I'M SORRY! x.x However, great guide. I like that the highlight is on entertaining others, because, really, that's been my experience as well. In TOR, I made it a point to be entertaining to others. While in-character, other characters often disliked my character or were extremely leery of her (with good reason) without fail I was told out-of-character people had a great time, and I made them laugh. Thank you for the emphasis on a more selfless approach to generating RP opportunities for oneself and others.

I'm mostly an outsider. I haven't RPd in several months due to my own choice due to my apathy towards my current character. I don't really know a lot of the long-time posters, moderators, or anyone really outside of my friends from other communities or my FC. Most people I've met I've met through doing illustrations for them and talking to them one-on-one. This is not a complaint about my lack of RP. I know it is an on-going issue for some, and not for others, and there are a dozen reasons why it is that way, and none of them the same for everyone. I merely want to make an observation from my own time spent reading various threads. There is a rule in place to not call people out. For good reason. And I agree with the rule. What I see, however, is that I think folks are still afraid that they are being named, or labeled, when people talk about certain behaviors or activities, or demographics in threads. I have seen a few posts start with "I think you may be referring to me." The thing is, no one really knows if that is the case of not. I think folks are very much afraid of being labeled or judged, or invalidated by others. It took me a very long time to understand that while someone may be referring negatively to something I like, or activities I participate in, or something, anything, that I in some way relate to, that they were not really referring to me. They are expressing and opinion, not a fact. So, I stopped jumping to the defensive about it. It wasn't about me, and I didn't need to draw unnecessary attention to myself, and how I was not that thing that was so disliked. It wasn't about me, and I was not that person. I stopped being so distressed by the possibility that my character was in question. I think that some of the tension folks are sensing may be from ongoing or long-term misunderstandings that may have turned to grievance and further resentment. The only way I know how to solve that issue is to identify what is first distressing me, and then talk to the person involved to make sure the misunderstanding is cleared up. Sometimes it's painful, and scary, but I've always felt a sense of relief when I've cleared up the misunderstanding, or, come to find out that it wasn't really about me all along. I think folks may be reading into comments, falsely believing that the comment or opinion expressed is about them. Very rarely have I seen any intentional labeling, shaming, or invalidation on these forums. But, I have seen a lot of folks not wanting to be seen as that thing they are afraid of being seen as, and taking a defensive position, being more afraid of the possibility, than the reality.

Nope nope nope. It's passion, is what it is. I can tell how much you're into this sort of thing by your posts. Don't let anyone take that away from you! <3

Phew. Lots of responses this afternoon to look through. Thank you everyone for your responses so far. I personally won't be joining a tribe FC. A friend and I are working on an FC concept atm for 3.0, but it's not Auri-centric by ANY means. Nope nope nope. Tribe linkshells I am totes down for. Shit, I'm down for an Auri linkshell, too. I personally think that it would be better to name an npc as a patriarch or matriarch, or an npc head family for my/your/anyone's tribe. I'm not sure which nomadic people the devs are basing the Xaela around. There are quite a few options, and I or anyone else might want to have a look at those social structures. I've been partial to the Mongols since forever. I've chosen a Mongolian/Yuan given name in the mean-time with nothing else to go on just yet. But it's just a placeholder at this point. On a side note, no one on any server is using it. Once we do have more information, I'll make a list of characteristics I'd like for my own Xaela tribe, or ideas that I have. This may be the best way (read: only way I've thought of so far x.x) to get an idea of what people are thinking or looking for. I'll also list my inspiration/references for it. If folks want to list their own, everyone can have a look and see where ideas converge and diverge to start communicating with one another to start generating ideas and cross-pollinating their backstories.

If this has already been brought up, I apologize, and I will defer to that thread. And this may belong under character connections later down the line, but I would like to get an idea of what Xaela Auri RPers plan to do with their backstories. So far, we know that the Xaela are often engaged in conflicts with different tribes. Or, they were. I am under the impression (if my impression is incorrect, feel free to correct me) that the Garleans basically adopted a scorched earth policy in regards to Othard due to difficulties presented by the native inhabitants. So, what is to say the same underlying mistrust or warring attitudes wouldn't follow the Xaela as they come over to Eorzea? Would tribes be completely scattered, or would some members still hang together for mutual protection? Even if they have to adapt from their old ways to new ways, resentments sometime remain. Would folks be interested in tying some of their backstories together, forming tribes that either dislike one another, or forming alliances between tribes? Coming up with tribe-specific lore as more information is released?

If there is anything I've learned, it's that everything I feel, even the scary feelings, the ones people label as negative, are all telling me something about myself, or about a situation I'm in. I don't always know what it is immediately, but if its nagging me enough, I sit down, and I go over all of it to get to the root of it. I also have a person for that. I'll say "Hey, there's this thing. Can you help me root it out?" While this is a gaming community, it's really no different than real life. This is an online game, with other people. They are not sitting in front of me, but they are there. And inevitably, my feelings are going to be hurt by a behavior, or an action, and I may inevitably upset someone else with my behavior, or my actions. But it's just that, usually a one off. Or it might be a repetitive behavior. No one is a bad guy, or a terrible person, typically. Sometimes it's just thoughtlessness. And if it's ever a deliberate behavior that is meant to harm others (not hurt, harm, ie cause damage on a physical, emotional or mental level) then I need to cut that person from my life. If I am hurt, I like to figure out why. And I like to own that feeling. Owning my own feelings gives me a sense of empowerment. If I ever say or am thinking "this person MAKES me feel so angry," or "this person MADE me feel this way," I am giving them way too much power over me. I need to communicate with that person. I don't jump down their throat, I just assess whether it's worth bringing up. If I care about the relationship with the person, I calmly collect my thoughts (this can take a few days sometimes) and say "Hey, this is the behavior, and I didn't like it for this reason. Please don't do it anymore," and state my boundaries without attacking the person's character. I want an open dialogue. It's not usually about the person, it's about the behavior. And if it continues despite efforts to communicate, then I cut the person from my life. It's okay for any of us to make a mistake. It's how I learn and grow. That mistake may really sting me or others, and I or someone else might lose out on something or someone whenever I or someone else makes a mistake, but its a mistake worth making if I've learn from it, or anyone at all has learned from it. A lot of shit isn't intentional, and people still have hurt feelings. But it's worth communicating with people to make sure that a misunderstanding never turns into a grievance. If I don't think it's worth bringing up, and I just want to let it go, I go and write about it. I write it all down and never share it with anyone. Ever. I always feel better, too, after I've made the effort and spent the energy to do it.

Entertaining others. If I haven't entertained someone else, I don't feel like I've done it right.

Going to some points earlier in the thread. We have all but four or five sentences on the basis of Auri lore. That's. Nothing. It's more than we had, but it's still very little. It's swiss cheese, and frankly it pisses me off when lore leads at any level give me swiss cheese. But that is a different discussion for a different time. Beyond what we do know now, I think we have little nothing to go on past that. So it's up to our own imaginations to plug up the holes in the swiss cheese. And I'm okay with that. I don't feel shackled by those itty bitty pieces of lore. I feel overwhelmed by possibilities, actually. If I find out more during gameplay, or more is released, I'm okay with editing my own concept. It's not precious. Things change. I am in no way bothered if everyone has the same reason for leaving Othard, or Coming To Eorzea! There are always reasons for mass exodus, and what anyone does after that is up to them. It could be a moment of bonding for refugee-types. Exploration of a new world. Stranger in a strange land. Maybe the family has been in Eorzea for two, or six generations. Some nefarious guy escapes the Garleans in the chaos of coming over. A tribal Xaela gets captured by the Garleans as a child, or during a hunt, or during a fight for your rights, and then escapes later during another raid, or maybe they're raised up as a Garlean. A Raen decides she doesn't like her village, the world is too big for that, etc. If people need ideas, my suggestion is to go watch or read or look at sources you may or may not usually look at. I get a lot of my ideas and tropes from watching historical kdramas. Queen Seondeok, Chuno, Empress Ki, Warrior Baek Dong Soo, Shine or Go Crazy, Tree with Deep Roots, Jumong, Kingdom of the Wind, The War of Arrows, The Pirates, The King's Face, The Secret Door, Dong Yi, Yi San, Dae Jang Geum, The Emperor of the Sea, The Horse Doctor, Ryomaden (Japanese drama, and possibly hugely relevant.) Shit, go watch The Last of the Mohicans, Marco Polo, even.

I'm building a new character for 3.0, which will become my Au Ra. I'm running into a bit of a wall without much Auri or Othard lore to help flesh out the character. Until then, I'm keeping things pretty general, starting with what I can know about her, which is personality, and how I want her to behave. I like to play my characters as consistently as possible, allowing for the inevitability of change. Then I'll frame her formative life events to fit that personality, or events that I think suit her. I think in a way that I work best backwards when it comes to creating characters or telling stories. I like to have an idea of my near-end product first. When I'm painting, I also have a mental vision of what I want the final to look like. I just work towards it one step at a time, self-correcting as needed. I think that we, as people, are essentially characters ourselves. I'm not filling a role, I'm not in a book, but I am none the less, a construct. I've been shaped by life events, my genetic dispositions, culture, etc. I do not exist in a vacuum. So, I know that my roleplay characters can't either. This is why I find lore to be important, but its part of a larger gestalt. It will give me part of the how my character came to be who she is, and I'll start playing her at the point in her life that I can have the most fun with her. Also, once I know the rules, I can also break them. I can play against type if I want to. That's the beauty of it. As Tim Gunn says, and I paraphrase, "Make it work," and "Own it." Authenticity is a word that's been thrown around a lot. I personally think sincerity is far more powerful. I'm sincere in my reasoning, and my choices, and so long as others are sincere with their characters and their efforts, then I'm happy, and I'll be happy to role play with anyone.

https://40.media.tumblr.com/9c29d6c62079e25563c9f8a327646857/tumblr_nms56gRC4L1rue9d8o1_1280.jpg for Domri Blackblade!

I could murder for a cocktail or evening dress. Some fashion porn to tide me over. u_RC9Cxjqig

https://41.media.tumblr.com/b59d4efffe1549e4ee0437d89776ba81/tumblr_nmbacfsO9e1rue9d8o1_1280.jpg[/img] Done for Atticus Buffalobane. Atticus x Lena wedding portrait.

Talk about story of my life. I made the personal mistake of creating a very grumpy, introverted character, as a text-book introvert, and its just never really taken off for me. I realized that RPing became a way for me to safely extrovert, and not feel weird about it, bu of course, I didn't realize this until after I started in FFXIV. Granted, that's a very simplified version of my RP experience in FFXIV, and may not really be what's up with you, but I can certainly appreciate and understand what you're going through. Part of my failings in RPing my character, however, is my own fault for not really getting a feel for the character, or really owning it inside and out. I'm glad that 3.0 will give me a chance to re-create my character and allow me to do something that I am really excited about, instead of feeling 'meh whatever,' about my current character. I realize that your character may be fully realized by this point, and I am in no way advocating changing your character in any way, shape or form. You do you, but do things that play to your strengths, and make playing your character easier for you. The best advice I can give, I guess, is to just go and make some friends on an OOC level first. Get to know people, and then see if that helps launch you into RP once you feel comfortable around them. For me, its all about comfort level. I worry that I am bothering people, making a scene, and I loathe feeling like I'm intruding. So, I make myself ask, as much as I throw an internal fit about it. I found it helpful to send folks tells first, ask if I can approach them or their group for RP. As I've played some very controversial personalities in the past, I make a double-effort to keep other players informed OOCly about my intentions with my character, and that I am happy to be RPing with them, and mean them the utmost respect, even if my character is coming off as less-than-friendly, or too friendly to the point of absurdity. This also allows me to tell a better story with other players, and figure out how I can make their RP experience more enjoyable. I firmly believe that my duty as an RPer is to entertain not just myself, but first and foremost, those around me. The general response I had in TOR was "Damnit, my character _hates_ your character! But OOCly, she/you entertains the hell of me!" It comes down to communication, and that I have to make myself put myself out there if I want to get RP. It can be hard for a super introverted individual like me, but well worth the effort once I've found my groove. Conversely, there may just be some people that won't give me the time of day. It happens. It doesn't mean anything about me. Just keep trying!

I will be killing off my current character, fantasia-ing and renaming her to an Au Ra. That's been the plan since Au Ra were announced. Haven't been RPing much at all because I'm just completely done with my current character.