Guy Tower

I am planning on playing Hyur Highlander. I enjoy role playing burly guys that can use their strenght and toughness to help others AND be cool - as in, spine-ripping, rock-crushing kind of cool. Role playing such characters is both most natural and easiest for me, since I'm not the smartest person alive, and this kind of character doesn't use his/her smarts as much as, say, rogues, casters or businessmen should. I enjoy the straightforward approach, at least on my main. I could choose the volcano tribe Roegadyn, but I prefer my tough guy to not be overly barbaric. Think in terms of a semi-bright but civilized knight errant, or viking (not the mushroom-eating kind). PLUS! I always take a race which has similiar haircut to mine. Them long hairs .

Thank you! I see ARR's RP community is at least as friendly as those of other MMO's. Even thought it will be long before I get to play the game, I will allow myself some more, rather small, questions, if you don't mind. I. What is the in-game's depiction of a Paladin? Coatleque already said that they are basically sword'n'board fighters, but perhaps there is more to it. Are Free Paladins really simply fighters who chose this style of combat? Perhaps they are seen as noble, chevalier protectors of the people? Or knight errants? Of course, the way my character is depends mostly on me, but the way people (NPCs) of Eorza see Paladins would be helpful. II. Still on Paladins - what sort of IC skills do they possess? This one is probably both a wide and debatable question, so general and "Imho" questions are fine. When role playing an adventurer, RP combat, whether with mobs or other players, is a neccessity (whether one likes it or not is up to debate). How do Paladins fare in such struggles? Tanks are usually some of the least, hm, flashy, bang bang KAPOW! of the characters, and this is fine, but perhaps even in RP their strenght lies in their defenses? To give examples to the question; Paladin probably can't throw a fire/holy/whateverball that will pwnverize everything in its past, but can she/he block such strike? He is hardly as nimble as a Ninja, but is it generally agreeable that his armour can protect him against a mere dagger? I have a personal opinion on RP combat abilities of tanking classes, but your answers may show me what ARR RP community thinks about that subject. III. Something lighter (pun almost intended!) - does Eorza know smoking? Cigars and cigarettes -may- be considered not fantasy enough, but perhaps there are people smoking tobacco or other weed in pipes? I can imagine, say, tradesmen in Ul'dah sharing a hookah. IV. Speaking of useful tools such as lighters, how advanced is Eorza's technology? I am vaguely aware of Garlean Empire being powerful because of its "magitech", supplementing technology in place of their weaker magical powers. How's Eorzan technology? Do they possess gunpowder, or have they crafted steam engines? Or perhaps it is WoW-like crazy, with lasers, portals and gnome ('xcuse me - Lalafell) shaped mecha serving ancient half-gods, half-machines?

Haha! Yeah, semi-barbarian mountainmen for the win *does the manly bro chest bump*. Thanks for telling me about the timeline, silly of me to miss that detail. Rather than make my character older, I'll probably make him hail from some more reclusive place in Gyr Abania, as you suggest. Great to hear about Paladins not neccessarily being Sultansword, too. Knowing that, I'll easily figure something out. Since you're such a Highlander enthusiast, Berrod, perhaps you can help me out further with the kinks of being a Highlander. Do they have any particular customs or speech patterns, history with the rest of the world? I know Ala Mhigo was a warlike civil state, giving Gridania much trouble hundred years ago (thank gods for those even numbers).

Hey, ladies and gentlemen. My name's Mike, and I am planning to play FF XIV in the near future. It will be a few months before I get my hands on A Realm Reborn, but I imagine I can already start gathering info on the game's role playing. I've got a bunch of questions, and it'd be splendid if you would help me out with them. I. Perhaps the most important, which server to play on? What I need from a server is a large RP community, with a large number of European players. It doesn't matter whether the server itself is US or EU. From what I gathered so far, Balmung is the place to go. Am I right? II. Where can I find as much info on game's lore as possible? Official website seems to only have the basics covered; http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/forums/646-Lore have more info, but it's basically either copy-past from the wiki or players' deductions based on the game, ergo, no solid facts that aren't already on the wiki. Is there more to be found, or is that it (not that I would mind. I've played WoW - I had enough of lore the size of Harry Potter saga)? III. Now a bit more specific questions about my idea for my main character. We could do a bit of a brainstorming over this one if you feel like it . Anyway, beta version of the idea is this - a Hyur Highlander named Guy Tower (duh). A young lad in his mid twenties, Guy has spent his life in a cold city of Ala Mhigo. After Garlean Empire's invasion seized the land, Guy joined the resistance. Years passed and resistance's valiant struggle changed little. Eventually Uncle, Guy's only relative he knows, sends the lad to Eorza after making him swear that, one day, when he grows in strenght, he will return to his homeland and help reclaim it for the nation of Ala Mhigo. Coming from a family of warrior defenders, always there on the front line, he felt an inclination to travel to Ul'dah and see if the school of Gladiators can teach him something new. Story as any other. There's room for a bit of drama, but who needs it. Most importantly, it creates the character I want to play. Rash, fight loving, tough around the edges but basically good-hearted. Most importantly young and new to his surroundings, open for changes and influence. But, character's story will go as it will go, that's not what I'd like you to help me with. - As mentioned, I'll roll a Gladiator, taking a Paladin job in the future. Question is, how can I explain Guy having Paladin skills (items are easy) without making him another member of the Sultansword (I heard that is a cheesy thing to do)? Are there other organizations that train their members in blade and shield? Will the "self-learned" excuse pass? - Are there any particular kinks towards playing a Highlander Hyur? So far, I understand that they are basically a more warlike, less rafined Midlanders, but there is surely more to it (the joke about Roegadyn mother was nice, hehe). Highlanders seem to be on the stronger, tougher side in this game, but Roegadyn at least seem stronger, especially the volcano tribe. If you were given a nerdy task of setting every playable race of Eorza's physical strenght on a scale from 1 to 10, how high would Highlanders score? That's it for now, though I'm sure I'll come up with more stuff to waste time talking over in the future. Thank you for your help ^^.