Dasair

I feel the same as what many people have already said here. IC finding out and telling is fine, though I would actually be rather interested OOCly if it were happening, as my character and those he's associated with deal in information trade. It may shift around some 'background events' in an interesting way that might lead to some neat (though certainly conflicty) rp, so I'd like to keep track of where it ends up going. But by all means, if my character lets something slip, and it's in-character to betray that, go for it~ --- Though if it were found out OOCly only and spread ICly (without my permission), I wouldn't be very happy about it. Again, somewhat for the above reasons; information, especially secrets and less-known knowledge are really important and pivotal to my character and his clan. Depending on what's known they will react accordingly which could have a major impact on my character in a way I might not be willing to go through with, if ICly there was no way said secret could have gotten out. (as in he never actually spoke it to anyone, etc.) If this happened, I'd attempt to contact the person OOCly who was spreading it, ask them how their character knew about the 'secret' ICly, and who they told. If it isn't viable (or isn't actually based on something that happened, and was taken, say, from my character's journal on an ooc level) I'd ask them to retcon, add in a measure of doubt (such as 'wouldn't it be funny if [secret]?') or at least give me the people who they told, so I could explain it to them. Mostly because I'd probably try to ignore it, and let them know the source was OOC info only. At least if I wasn't willing to have the mess unfold ICly that would otherwise unfold. Otherwise, I would grudgingly try to make it work, but probably be pretty wary of playing with someone unwilling to bend on their mistake / separate IC and OOC in the future. I've actually had this happen before in both minor (where it was resolved quickly) and much more major ways, and in the latter, it had.. really unfortunate consequences. As in 'Corrupt DMs using the information to give to other characters on an 'opposing side', and force certain characters off the server that they had OOC grudges on, yet broke no rules, thus couldn't be confronted about it OOCly. So they took OOC problems into IC instead.' kind of nasty. Basically bending a plot around the metagamed info in my character's journal in order to get some other people kicked out of a game in what would appear to anyone else as a 'purely IC consequence'. It wasn't at all purely IC. So in major part to this, I tend to get a bit severe when it comes to that kind of meta-gaming, because boy, do I not want to deal with that sort of drama again. 8|

Hello, and welcome! I've heard a lot of people are slowly trickling over from GW2, actually, myself being one of them. But I had many of the same feelings as you described coming over, and I hope you continue to enjoy the game and story as it goes. There's so much potential for neat rp. I'm also still figuring things out, but if you'd like someone to rp with or otherwise, feel free to send me a whisper in game (my character's name is Xavarian Mystrife; he's a young duskwight nerd who's way too interested in all sorts of magic), a PM here, or whatever. :>

Deserts are strange, wide, unruly things that are far too bright by their suns for anything other than torture. And they don't seem to know how to stop. Or just don't want to, really. Perhaps they enjoy it. I bet they do. [ink blot] Despite my frustration with this odd terrain, though, I cannot help but be amused~ There are those of the surface who would find this 'plight' the most ridiculous thing, I can only imagine. And compared to many plights, it really is the company of ridicule. I have said it written it before, and so shall again, that at first, (well, at always) deserts seem to offer such promise and intrigue; questions of what may be buried beneath all the sands blown through time, questions of what was once here to wear new-sand from once-stone. How much may be found by an eye knowing how to look! Quite a bit, I would think. Or so should think. In fact, have found! In some respects, anyway. [ink blot] Not that I know much of deserts, but I know some of seeking knowledge~ But they are too open, the deserts; too full of storms of sand and dust, not that I expect anything hospitable, but the worst of it, the absolute worst, is the lack of places to hide from the infernal sun, by the gods and the hells. How terribly bright must a place be? [ink spot] Very bright, as is apparent. They warn of heat in the books, but that beaming light will scald the eyes before the skin, in the sun's hour. I do not believe the deserts wish any so comforted by darkness to see naught but the sand (which is just as bright as the sky in places, I’ll add!) and the toes of their own boots (or feet... if one has feet) during the light hours on the surface side. The place conspires to blind me. How troublesome~ But it all still is so exciting, and my amusement, really, cannot be curbed, not yet. I have heard murmurs of interesting topics by the occasional traveling scholar stopping in the small, dust-ward settlements, so perhaps I will be able to find what they seek. [There is a slight shift in the script, it is now somewhat more hurried, at though the following were written at a different time than the above paragraphs.] And it may be here! Here I have found something, and it is most exciting. I have no care to delay my investigation further by off-rambling of formality in script, so the notes shall begin~ [align=center]Ruins by Ul’dah[/align] · North of Ul’dah, marked as an Excavation Site on the local map. - Though there do not seem to be many, if any, excavationists present. - Which is excellent. In some ways. - Perhaps they are on a long break? · Located in a large crevasse. - Stream runs though, fairly shallow. - A decent number of relatively small, dark creatures are present. - Winding path down the cliffside enables access. - Note:Mostly flat on the way down, Vathen could certainly make the trip there and back without problem, even carrying much more beyond myself. · Ruins - Expansive. - Appear to lead below the surface. - Toppled in quite a number of places, various directions. - Though much more has fallen beyond stairs instead of before them. - Arches, grand stonework, steps leading up to an underground entrance. - Rubble blocking the way (not that it cannot be climbed over~) · Creatures - Spriggans - Aggressive if approached too closely, but seem to wish avoiding conflict. - Always seen carrying white, crystalline stones, or gems. - Rather protective of them. - Dark in appearance, like small balls of soot, with two bound.. appendages? In addition to tiny arms, legs, and a face. Tiny yellow eyes, large mouth. (Mostly typical.) - The stones may have some Aetherical quality to them. · Considerations - As much as I would care to continue this search within the ruins themselves, considering the sheer amount of these creatures, and that the stones they hold do not appear to match the surrounding rubble, I may delay for caution. For now. [ink blot] Not due to the Spriggans, but what may potentially be here for their presence. And that I may not be prepared. - If their stones/gems have Aetherical potency, and are obtained from within the ruins themselves, there may be some Aetherical inbalance that took place here, and something I should be equipped for prior to proceeding. - Which would be quite exciting~ - I will attempt to obtain a few of these stones from the Spriggans' grasp to study and bring with me. If Aetherically potent, they may be of use or interest, and I can return with them. - Their study may also give insight as to the state of what’s within the ruins, the area itself, or what may have taken place. Or not. But perhaps. Regardless, then I will explore~ · Plan - I will remain here for a time and study the Spriggans’ behavior, see if they reveal anything more by their movements or mannerisms. (Sometimes they seem to find rather interesting little hideaways or caverns…) - Obtain some of the creatures’ stones for further analysis. - Vague check of potential Aether abnormality. (Stones and area) - Investigate the surface ruins, search for more entrances, something missed beyond cursory glance, symbols or writing in the stone, and so forth. - Note: It’s quite possible that there will be nothing, but never will it be known unless sought for~ - Mark maps for investigation. - …Most importantly, prepare to delve deeper soon. Get more food. <- Don’t forget this, you keep forgetting this.

[align=center]The Books of Xavarian[/align] This elaborate, thick, yet easily transportable tome seems to have only a bit of wear, yet the feel of a book with purpose. The pages are crisp, as though the book were bound not too long ago, with a hard cover of black leather and protective golden metal that is littered with more gold accents; golden symbols on the cover and spine, gold leaf on the page edges. The bindings themselves are with a bright red string, though outwardly protected and atop the spine, a small, ovular, deep blue gemstone inset in silver, with two ‘blade-like’ silver adornments on either side surrounding the stone. This emblem, however, seems only to be a symbol without any real sharpness. There is no title to the tome, just the strange symbols to signify whatever purpose it has to whomever might make sense of them. In addition, there are rings that appear securely snapped into the tome specifically for travel by belt-side, and a particular loop along the book's spine meant for a particular size of pen to be fitted into. But upon opening the book’s cover, one will see in neatly scribed letters on the first page: [align=center]The Book of Beginnings: Unsorted[/align] [align=center] Xavarian Mystrife[/align] The page just afterwards is blank, with only a few pages filled thereafter. And what’s found on those pages span a number of things; recollections, notes, diagrams, even riddles. Flipping through, eventually one would reach something more recent… [align=center]---[/align]

So I'm a turd and might edit this post in pieces when I get more of these done, but I am totally necromancing this thread. Mainly because I like these things, and they're fun to take as in-character questions. I'm only finished with the first part so far (I've barely played this guy yet, I have to leave some surprises), and was initially only going to keep it to myself, but I figured I may as well toss it up somewhere. (And maybe get more people to do the whole thing, these are fun to read too~) Here is an introduction to a nerd, presented in a verbose fashion.

This is an interesting thread to me, as I personally never took Thaumaturgey (as a whole and potential path) to be so intrinsically and necessarily connected to Ul'dah so much as Ul'dah is connected to Thaumaturgey. Especially by the nature of the magic originating from one's own Aether. I'll quote a bit of text that the receptionist of the Thaumaturge guild gives as some history on the subject. "The nation of Ul'dah inherited its traditions from ancient Balah'dia, a city founded by the descendants of the first mages. The secrets of these illustrious sorcerers were ultimately entrusted to the priests of the Order of Nald'thal, who have passed them down from generation to generation ever since. Focused and refined over the centuries of use in the Order's funeral rites, the arcane magicks of our ancestors eventually emerged as the art we now know as thaumaturgy." So: * Ul'dah inherited traditions based on Balah'dia. * Balah'dia was where these sorcerers were located for a time, and was the city they founded (not Ul'dah). * The sorcerers themselves were the ones first able to conduct the aetherical practices, they simply chose to reveal them to the Order of Nald'thal. * Those of the Order preserved them, and used them during funeral rites. * The practices have been revised (and likely witnessed) since. Thus: - Ul'dah may not be the only place that has taken on these traditions, the city simply holds them in high regard. - These sorcerers may have also imparted this knowledge to others beyond the Order of Nald'thal. (but maybe not.) - However, the practice of the magic itself was likely possible without the Order of Nald'thal's influence, since the Order is not its origin. - The Order modified the practices for their own uses, using them during funerals which others likely bore witness to. Thus, anyone who bore witness could possibly look into the practices themselves, and may have some luck in figuring it out, if they have the resources and sufficient aetherical reserves themselves. - The practices have changed and evolved over the centuries, meaning there is not necessarily a strict singular method to them. It's true, that the Thaumaturge Guild in Ul'dah holds a high place on the social ladder. It's made very clear that there are a number of important Thaumaturges that do contribute to lawmaking, and have high roles in political dealings in Ul'dah, though the way the current (not the 1.0) Thaumaturge is presented, it appeared that, while they have a clear connection with Nald'thal (as their magic comes from a study of death and through the preservation of teachings), the Thaumaturges gathering in the Ossuary for their guild was likely a logical jump, but not a necessary one. I got the impression that the devout followers of Nald'thal and Thaumaturges often overlap and coexist, but someone can be one without necessarily being so strictly the other. I could be entirely wrong about this, especially considering the 1.0 story-line, which has religion and aetherical practice much more closely connected, but in 2.0 it seems a bit more lax. The leader of the guild and his brothers seem more of the sort to focus on the aetherical practice, and less on any strict, religious doctrine involved in its history. Since the practice no longer seems to be purely for funerary preparation, I see Thaumaturges now being more like how one might pay homage to their patron god and then go about their business, almost like a sailor of old might have a reverence and great respect for a god of the sea, as opposed to Thaumaturge being a 'strictly religious class'. There is a difference between one who is a respecting believer, and someone who is a devout priest. And it seems to me that general Thaumaturges of this time were more the former than the latter, unless they chose to delve deeper into the religious aspects itself. Especially since the readings from all the texts that the guild master and his brothers give you mention nothing of the religious aspects, focusing much more on the spellery and its application alone. The black mage storylines were brought up, accusing those in the Ossuary to be heretics, and while this is a clear split in thought between the two sides, it definitely shows that Thaumaturgy is possible without the 'strict morality' so to speak. Furthermore, as you said, there definitely ARE Thaumaturges outside of Ul'dah, and of different races who don't necessarily hold the same views, so I don't think Thaumaturgy itself is solely tied to the city, it is simply that they've found themselves a stronghold there; and as it turns out, Ul'dah based their traditions on these mages who had given a number of their teachings to the Order of Nald'thal. It follows that they'd have a strong presence there. Of course, I don't know the exact history of Ul'dah either; it could be that some Thaumaturges themselves helped found it, which might also explain their place of power, but I've never seen it as Thaumaturges being exclusively tied to the city, so much as the city ties itself to them. Since Thaumaturgey relies heavily on one's own power and aether, I think it certainly is possible to learn the art without the ties to Ul'dah specifically, from an RP perspective. And honestly, if you wanted your character to join the guild in Ul'dah, then I think she could go through it as it was presented in 2.0. Clearly there may be debates and conflict among the 'more devout' and the 'less devout' sides, as is shown in the Black Mage storyline's outset, but if that isn't a problem and is something you want for your character, I think it'd be completely reasonable. No one's to say that the less devout (or even more devout side, for that matter) is necessarily 'right', but I think it's viable to do. I'll add I might be completely wrong in my interpretation and if I am, someone shoot me down and correct me (please, because my character might be studying this too and currently, is definitely not on a priestly level, just a greatly respecting one, with his views of Nald'thal), but this is how I took it given all the information presented, and based on the dialogue screenshots I've taken of all the Thaumaturge quests. It honestly makes me wonder if people consider that there are ways of teaching an aetherical art outside of their respective guilds. Is it possible to have outside mentors in the subject, or is the only way that you will learn through joining one of the guilds? On Conjury, it seemed more limited and less likely (given the nature of how it came about and the source of its power), though still possible. Though, someone doing this might get themselves in trouble. But with Thaumaturgy, I thought it was certainly logically possible, since the power comes from one's own Aether. And in that sense, the amount of reverence and religious devotion to Nald'thal would be dependent on whoever is teaching. Loyalty to Ul'dah, in my mind, is completely unrelated. (( Tiny edits for clarity. I'm sorry, I have a thing for a billion commas. *lays down* ))

Insofar as interest goes, if you were just wanting some people or characters you know are friendly to pull aside, my duskwight character Xavarian Mystrife is open for RP most of the time if about. :> I'm pretty new to RPing here, (being sick lately hasn't helped) and I'm still getting used to the game mechanics as some forewarning. I'm honestly not very interested in bar rp either (I've got some terrible internet, and people don't even load / everything freezes in there. nevermind it's somewhat ooc in the first place), but ever catch me outside the big cities (or want to drag me outside the cities to rp) and I'm game. Just poke me with a whisper, and there we are. Here's a tiny summary about Xavarian in the case that he'd be any sort you'd want X'vatt dealing with.

I. Basic Info Characters: Xavarian Mystrife Yorumei Uranakei Primary character: Xavarian Mystrife (Since heavensward, this is debatable; wiki in progress, yet may change, Here )

Thanks for all the welcomes (and RP invitations!) I'll definitely need to poke the lot of you sometime for RP. :> And to Jancis, I know what you mean. Being able to have events turn any which way and have real resulting consequences in the world beyond affecting other character's stories directly was really awesome. (things such as being able to heal a corrupted land area that would actually recover and stay recovered for all subsequent characters, unearthing ruins into a new explorable area for everyone, have npcs and antagonists spawn exclusively for the event, and react to characters asking them questions, etc.) But alas, I don't doubt fun can still be had without those DM abilities, that was always just some (amazing) extra flare, and I'm eager to see what people come up with here.

So I will start off saying I absolutely love morally ambiguous characters, not because they're necessarily good people, or even anyone I'd ever want to meet, but merely because I am a fan of grey-scale over black-and-white dichotomy. I've played a number of villains and morally grey characters, and had a fair amount of fun with it, mostly because seeing them grow, and seeing how they cause others to grow, is really fascinating. That said, here are my opinions on more questionable characters, that you can take or ignore if you'd like. :> First of all, if you want to play a villain, make sure he's got reasons for his more questionable acts. You mentioned spite in there, but spite (as well as most things that gets people into moral quandaries) typically comes out of someone believing that what they're doing is somehow justified, or with a purpose. In that sense, I agree with the "don't just go with 'evil for evil's sake' " idea, as was previously mentioned. Instead, work out what led him to where he is further (like what you said with the accusations), and have an idea of what he's thinking when he does the things he does. What is his actual faith like? What is he trying to prove, and how is he going to do it? Does he see everyone as judging him now? Are there exceptions? Does he see himself as someone acting out and truly wanting to be treated like a person (knowing what he's doing is bad, but thinks what others are doing is worse), or someone detaching themselves so far from reality to instead embody an idea they think everyone (or even a select few) need to bear witness to in order to 'learn something'? I think answering those last few questions for him will help with how you might think of approaching other characters with him. Antagonistic characters are my favorites; they're the ones that 'set the spark' more often than not, I don't doubt you'll be able to pull off something fun and interesting both. :>

Yee~ I kind of like it too. It could be an interesting thing to utilize in RP sometimes, if it were the case. :> And yeah! That's the quest~ I'm glad my vague description was deciphered, thanks for clarifying that.

In terms of literacy, there are a few quests which deal with letters and notes being delivered to other people, and in one case, it appears to be between commoners (The one somewhere in the Shroud where a woman who carries herself as 'nothing special' has received a letter from a thief seeking her affections, and is worried about it. I don't remember the exact location, but I have screenshots of it buried somewhere in the pile I've taken for lore reasons.) However, many more of them are between officials, merchants, or people of a higher standing. And interestingly, I've noticed, often times when there is a 'letter exchange', the letter will be read aloud to you upon it being received. I always thought this was a little weird, at least compared to our culture; people don't usually read letters aloud to others unless the letter is actually addressed to them too. Thus, at first, I thought this was merely done as a story mechanism, so the player would know what the letter said, but in knowing that most Eorzians are likely illiterate.. I actually wonder if this is common practice; if the literate and learned are accustomed to reading aloud as a courtesy to others who may not be able to decipher the words. Honestly, I think that would be an interesting little culture quirk, if it were the case.

Wow, this is great, thanks for all the replies. It's nice to see all the different playstyles, and how you all consider levels in relation to characters, if at all. I do appreciate the little 'typically speaking' kind of chart that Jancis provided for NPCS, I find that somewhat useful to consider as a gauge. The general consensus seems to be levels largely don't matter, but the point Freelance Wizard made about not giving a character credit for something that the in-game mechanics haven't granted them yet is interesting. So was the point Val made about completely disregarding all character mechanics! Thinking back, though I've RP'd in a number of mediums, I don't think I've ever crossed rp in a game where the mechanics themselves were completely disregarded. But that makes a lot of sense, insofar as what Val was saying about a character not fitting into any class, and merely settling on one for aesthetics. I know when I played more in GW2, usually the character HAD a class or specialty, however, people would occasionally make alt / copy characters which were, for all RP intents, the same character, just play them as a different class to have access to either different armors, weapons, or skills for aesthetic 'flavor'. But then again, GW2 doesn't have cross-classing like FFXIV does, so the whole 'multi-class' thing was never an option. It's really neat to see how much freedom is considered the norm here (while sticking to the lore, of course) and makes me feel a bit easier about just playing the game through without it interfering with RP possibilities. :> All of this definitely helps~

(Reply to Sastra) Thanks! That helps a lot, actually. I've been in both places, where, on the one hand, I really love the creative freedom that you can get by not having to be bound by leveling mechanics, and so forth. For instance, I have a blast coming up with ways that the spells we are given and know exist can be utilized in different ways beyond just messing up aggressors. And how they can be construed in new ways. Furthermore, my character is likely to know some book-binding, which isn't actually a real class in the game, where the closest is weaving? But not really that at all, somewhat like you mentioned about Sastra being a hunter, with 'archer' as the closest equivalent. On the other hand, I find something fun and interesting, maybe even fulfilling for a character learning to actually pick up skills as they are presented. But the roleplay struggles they get in learning such a skill would still be something that either side would play out the same (either constantly IC or not), and if one were to divorce themselves from the main story (as I figure almost everyone does), or the class quest stories at all, they'd need to break character in order to get through the quests to have the class skills. I'm pretty open as far as most rp styles go, and with mechanical limitations, I figure there is a lot to be imagined. The main thing I enjoyed about 'being constantly IC' was moreso the 'walk-up' factor, where if your character saw another one, then they ICly saw that person and could engage them, which would make for a number of twists and turns in RP never otherwise expected. But you also brought up the point of not knowing whether someone else is IC or not, so that's a little out the window. Honestly, I think it'd be rather difficult to always be IC in a game like this for that reason, which was part of why I was curious how others even manage. I have seen people make use of their search info in order to differentiate, but again, not everyone uses the same things. And thanks again for the reply! I appreciate it, this gives me a better idea of what to expect. :>

Greetings~ I'm completely new to RP in FFXIV, only been playing the game itself for a few weeks, and I have several questions and curiosities as to how the roleplay community here works when distinguishing things such as what is IC, what is a game mechanic, and how these things are viewed. I just finished reading the RPer's guide, by the way, so I won't be asking about anything about the main story, the Echo, or Aetherites, but I am curious about things such as leveling and have questions for Heavy RPers who seem to always be IC. (Incoming long-winded questions.) First of all, is level of a character considered at all when you RP? I assume by asking that it's not something that 'exists' in Hydaelyn (no one is going to say things like "I'm level 34, are you still level 22?" or whatever). Leveling itself is mostly just a game mechanic (though if I'm wrong, please correct me, this is all assumption). However, I suppose I'm more interested in if someone plays their character advancing their skills simultaneous to the character's actual In-Game level, or if the character is OOCly level 50 in 8 classes, with all the skills of whatever they're working on, and the player simply chooses to play them as 'unlearned' for the character's sake. Actually, are levels a factor at all, either ICly or OOCly? I suppose an important reason I'm asking is because I started MMO rp where in-game level and character skill and ability did coincide (yet the level number itself was purely mechanic), but migrating to another game, I found this wasn't something that RPers did at all. In fact, in another community, I found RPers actually were leery of low level characters, because they thought of them as 'throwaway' characters, and sometimes would just ignore them. But that was a completely OOC community thing, and something I found interesting that I never would've known without asking. So I've been interested in the differences between RP communities since. Honestly, I've been playing through the game with the character I want to RP with, but in part to experience the game and learn the lore to get a better feel of the world. At the same time, I want to RP as a character still learning, definitely not at 'level 50 Black Mage' tier, so I'd be interested to hear if anyone was in a similar place, and how they handled it. (currently, I'm holding off on most other classes but his main one though, getting his skills to coincide OOCly in level with the IC appropriate skills he has. Such as, low level if he knows only a little, 0 if he knows nothing, etc. His main class is an exception, mostly so I can play the game itself.) I also know that a lot of RPers apparently disregard class altogether, it seems? May I ask what your reasons are for this, and why, if you do? I can only guess that some classes are 'approximates' perhaps, maybe they have certain abilities that lend themselves to interesting emotes for a situation, or even it could be more of an 'appearance' reason, where one class can wear the clothing your character would wear, however, that class isn't the same as what your character ICly would be. I'm interested in how you guys handle these things, and what you feel is most important. :> Ideally, I would love to be IC all the time, but as a newb to the game, I feel like I can't do that yet without gathering all the lore I can manage to find together, in order to learn about the world my character is in (and things he might know!). And for that, I need to OOCly play through the game first. What are your views on various In-game character distinctions, and what you actually roleplay your character as? (and kudos for reading all that, gods.)

Thank you for the welcome! And ahh, neat! I was wondering if anyone else had played there. Unfortunately, I've not played on any of the PWs you mentioned. For a long while, I played on a group of servers known as CoPaP (Confederation of Planes and Planets) that included the worlds of Arkaz (Nuvar, Iron, ..some elven server I forgot), Avlis (Wilderness, Elysia, Visimontium, Underdark, Mikona, Delgos, Ferrell, Le'Or), Hala (Hala, Ysgard), and Taris'nadur (which I never played in, but it was there.) Other than Taris, I played on all the servers mentioned for either a little or a while, but mostly because characters could travel between worlds. Each plane had its own lore, and sometimes, even changes in spells and capabilities of the character walking between them, but they also shared a number of common principles which allowed them to be linked together. In addition, I also played on Sigil, which was a server unrelated to the CoPaP worlds, for a short time. Despite the graphics of NWN, it was really awesome to have a medium like that entirely devoted to roleplay, that will literally grow and change with character actions for everyone. And also regardless of why I left, the fun times had RPing there were wonderful. I only wish more games mediums could allow for such a thing, because it has so much amazing potential.

Oh my. I can see him and L'yhta caught in a "can-you-top-this" series of "field experiments"... Give me a poke if you like in game and we'll see if we can arrange a meeting. Thanks for the welcome! And oh gods, that sounds like it would be amazing and hilarious. I can only imagine that Xavarian may be a bit less skilled than L'yhta appears to be (who seems quite the interesting character, by her profile), but I don't doubt that such mayhem 'inquiries into the study of Aether' by those two would result in some fun. :> I'll certainly do that, if I see you around~

Hello to all. :> I'm rather new to these forums (and this game) but not to RP, and I'm excited to meet those I might have the chance to play with in the future. First and foremost, I often type a lot and kinda ramble on forever, so for that, I either apologize or hope you like reading. For a bit about myself, I am double majoring in Illustration/Animation and Philosophy, though nearly done~ (The latter of those two interests likely contributes to the 'excessively verbose' thing, alas.) I enjoy debates about weird stuff like metaphysical quandaries, but also character psychology, and.. just about anything with characters, really, as I aim to be either a character designer or freelance illustrator by trade. In so far as the 'list of potential interests' goes previously stickied on this forum, I've played a number of MMORPGs, but the few I stuck with (when I played them) were various iterations of Ragnarok Online (awkward laughter), WoW, Neverwinter Nights (if you can even count that one, that was entirely roleplay), and Guild Wars 2. And now FFXIV~ I've been RPing for a long while, but the mediums I started in were a bit different than most. When I was younger, the RP I did was a lot more LARP-like in origin, with friends getting together to occasionally dress up, and act out different characters for a story that went on for longer than a year. Then I briefly dabbled in forum rp, but not very much, before picking RP up again in the form of something like 'online collaborative comics' on a site called Tegaki-E. Basically, you draw everything, so that was much more of an 'art based' RP. Finally, after a bit more forum dabbling, some friends from Tegaki got me into Neverwinter Nights, which was my first time seriously roleplaying in a MMO. On those servers, everything was in-character, from your character's level, to the gear they had, where they wandered, and so on. But the world itself was DM-player created, so it changed with the characters' actions, and you could get gear created for your character, (literally one of a kind) specifically through story and events. It was really great, but for reasons outside of its potential, I stepped back from it after a few years, and went to GW2 instead. I'll still occasionally RP there, but FFXIV seems much more rp friendly, and I am really enjoying the game as well. There is so much neat lore, and options and potential for great RP here, it's really exciting! Though I'm still bumbling a bit through game mechanics, and as I have spotty internet, sometimes I end up being a bit slow on the uptake of replies. (I missed my first chance to RP with someone in the game because I couldn't get the channel switch thing to work fast enough, it was so sad. But a friend showed me the hotkeys for channel switching soon after and it's wonderful. Next time I'll be ready. >8| ) Currently, I'm still sorting out just how I'd like to play my character, but as a quick, tentative summary for who I'm going to play on Balmung: Xavarian Mystrife is a young duskwight claiming to be an adventurer-scholar and mage, often getting himself into business and dealings surrounding lost knowledge, old ruins, mysterious artifacts, and aetherical disturbances. Magic in general seems to greatly excite and bring the 'best' out of him (if you can count spouting out continuous theories, experiments, and attempting rash 'Let's see what will happen!' tests 'the best'...), but on other subjects, his awkward 'people skills' leave something to be desired, as others tend to generally make him nervous. His love for puzzles and cryptic words when verbally cornered don't do him much favors either, but regardless, he is a very curious man, always eager to learn, and even more eager, it seems, to stick his (rather large) nose into secrets some might claim are 'better off forgotten'. . . Leaving his background, family, and why he's up running around out of it (since he's likely not about to tell you that yet~), that's a little idea about who I'm thinking of playing. I hope to meet some of you soon, and by all means, if my character sounds like he might be interesting for yours to run into, please let me know!