mongi291

I think Soul Crystals can be basically divided into three categories: 1) No actual powers aside from the teachings carved into it by previous wielders (like Monk). 2) It's needed to unlock that job's powers or at least to learn them, but it's not actually required to use those powers (like DRK). 3) It's needed to even use that job's powers, otherwise you can't/you die (like BLM).

Get that Faux PLD sword that glows red and go Dark Paladin if you wanna be a fallen Paladin lol. I'm joking. But seriously i wish the DRK weapon looked like the PLD one. Not some retardedly bent club. I wish we'd get more DRK weapons like the Ul'dahn/Gridanian/Lominsan Claymore, the Balisarde, ecc... but more ornated. There's the Adamantite Zweihander, but it's a flamberge. I hate those.

And then you're left to wonder how a BLM soul crystal can even hold any kind of black magic knowledge. I mean, in order for the empty crystal to be filled with knowledge, you need to perform the art. In order to perform the art, you need a soul crystal filled with knowledge. That doesn't quite work out. Well, it is in part to do with changing of times. At one point there may have been very powerful wizards who could wield the magic unopposed. And then the Elementals were like, fuck that shit. Die. What do the Elementals even have to do with Black Magic? That's White Magic.

And Black Magic which uses your own body's aether reserves will kill you. And Scholars need one to even comprehend Nymeian magic. And Summoners need one to comprehend Allagan magic. And Bards need one to figure out how to sing aether into battle. You get the singing part down, and the arrow part down, but what you don't know how to do is magically make all the panties drop with a single note. That is what the soul crystal teaches you. It doesn't seem like something someone else could just teach you- you gotta prove you're worthy and then the crystal helps you feel the groove. It basically teaches you how to DRR on extreme mode. Out of those only BLM requires a soulstone since it's said, explicitly, not using a BLM soulstone while using BLM sets -you on fire and kills you-. (I have no idea about BRD) Scholar/Summoners need them because there's no one left alive to teach those particular schools of magic use. Scholars were rare, even in Nymian ages, and Allag summoners...well. We all know what happened to Allag civilization if you've run the Crystal Tower. So you CAN say you need them For SMN/SCH magic since they're the only source of getting the knowledge but, originally, these schools probably didn't need (But probably used) crystals. They don't unlock anything. They Scholar quest you "find" a fairy, and the SMN job quests are you fucking around with primals to get access to the power. Nothing soulstone unlocked there, other than the methodology to do the things. The claim still stands that you would still be reliant on carbuncles without the soul crystals. I don't know about SCH, but for SMN, it's Y'mithra who tells you how to do the Austerities of Fire/Earth/Wind. So something about SMN can be done without the Soul Stone, I guess. I only played SMN to 35 tho, so I'm not sure.

Isaulde is a Dark Knight. So yeah.

Uh... No, they thought that's what they were doing. But, as I recall, they were deceived by the Ascians. There is no confirmation one way or another that what they thought they were summoning would actually have been Rhalgr as a primal. From Final Fantasy Wikia: Yes, I know that. But, they didn't succeed. Actually, they didn't even get far enough to start. We still haven't seen a single one of the Twelve actually summoned, as a primal or as anything else, and for all we know, the ritual the Ascians gave Wilred and his little friends wasn't even reaching for Rhalgr at all. These were not people well-versed in spell craft or summoning magic. I'm merely pointing out that we have yet to see an actual member of the Twelve summoned at all. We've seen Beast Tribes' ancient "gods," and we've seen Shiva summoned (who was a real person). But no Twelve. Even if someone did try, it would be a twisted, wrong version that sprang from the mind of the summoner, without any real connection to the Twelve as they are known. Edited to Add: It shouldn't have to be said, but apparently it must be said, so, THIS IS ALL JUST MY OPINION OK? Ok. Oh, I know primals are always a "wrong" version. Of course what would be summoned wouldn't be actually Halone, but just how they imagine her. I doubt the actual goddess would want to fight the Warrior of Light. But the thing is, only the WoL, Estinien, Iceheart, Alphinaud, Tiamat and the Ascians (maybe the Allagan, too?) know that primals aren't the actual gods/people/whatever. EDIT: As far as we know.

Dark Knight: So, I want you to walk up to that beastman, drop your sword, and kill it only with those dark powers you still don't know jack about. I'll be watching from the rock over there, planning your burial. ...maybe with a different wording, but yeah, Isaulde can be an asshole when she is teaching someone.

Devout job confirmed as 4th healer? Lol

I don't know what to expect. But I'm hyped, either way. Even though I suspect we'll see Halone summoned as a primal, sooner or later, during 3.x. I mean, we know from the Little Ala Mhigo story arc in 2.0 that even the Twelve can be summoned as primals (Wilred and the others planned to summon Rhalgr).

What ticks me off is that it's only Highwinds and Strifes. If I saw Branfords or Beoulves around I'd let it slide (and that's totally not me being biased because I like FF6 and FFT).

Yeah, I think I remember properly that it was part of 2.3, the Defenders of Eorzea patch. Previous post updated now. Actually I'm pretty sure that happens during 2.4...

No, they wouldn't, because they still would need to be trained. The only reason why the soulstone is "required" for Black Mages is that they literally burn from the inside out if they channel black magic without one. That's it. You could easily make a case for not using a soulstone in pretty much every other situation. What makes a Paladin a Paladin isn't the soulstone - it's the training. What makes a White Mage a White Mage isn't the soulstone - it's the training and access to Succor. Etc. Yes, but from what we've seen, you still need a Soulstone to use the powers of a Dark Knight. It's not the same as Black Mage, but with the WoL awakening its dark side upon touching the Soulstone, and Sidurgu telling you "to surrender your weapon and Soul Crystal" if you don't want to deal with the consequences of being a Dark Knight, it seems that without a Soulstone you can't be a Dark Knight. That's just my opinion anyway. I wouldn't argue with someone if they were a Dark Knight without Soulstone, but I decided to have Isaulde have one to avoid problems with the lore in the future (we didn't know black magic required a Soulstone until 3.0, after all).

They're not, that's just it. Think of them like the cliff notes of learning a trade. It can help accelerate learning, but it's not the only way to acquire knowledge. ^^ The only instance in which they appear to be absolutely required is with Black Mages. Even then, you might be able to find a way around that with a good enough reason. It seems to be required for Dark Knights too. I mean, the main character starts hearing the "voice in the abyss" and "Fray" is reanimated only after he touched the soulstone. I mean, if you didn't need a soulstone, everyone would be a Dark Knight.

In the end, I've decided to drop the idea entirely, and work on another character. Thanks for all the feedback, anyway.

I think I'll change her from an android to a clone. At least I don't have to retcon her completely.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Give it a go, you'll like RP more as a result. I'd have to Fantasia + Name Change, but that'd cost me too much. And I'm too busy for a third character. Keep the character and name. Just change their concept. She's called Enigmatic Girl ingame. She doesn't even have an actual name, how can I have her be a "normal" character?

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Give it a go, you'll like RP more as a result. I'd have to Fantasia + Name Change, but that'd cost me too much. And I'm too busy for a third character.

I bet you're more capable than you believe! The best thing I can say about how to achieve that is not to try. That's part of the problem of the what I am approach - it comes across as too deliberate. The "trying" on the part of the player becomes obvious, and that obviousness can cause some people to become wary. They might worry that the player is "up to something", if that makes sense. So instead of going out of your way to try to intentionally be special... just roleplay. Be a relatively ordinary sort of character from an ordinary sort of background, and let who she is become defined by what she does, the adventures she finds herself involved in, and the amusing situations she encounters with her friends. I bet you've done that a lot on Isaulde, haven't you? Well, Isaulde is a Dark Knight, with a semi-tragic past (toned down from the original idea, though). She is an outlaw, having killed lots of Temple Knights to the point that she's been (ICly) confronted about it and almost arrested by Ser Paulecrain of the Heavens' Ward. She doesn't really open herself to others because she doesn't want to hurt them, as her life is a struggle against not only her enemies but her darkside (and she almost ICly killed someone due to that). I wouldn't call that a "normal character".

She's already on Balmung. I already started RPing with her. I would honestly just suggest retconning the character. It's not as bad as it sounds, and there are honestly more interesting, more open, and more lore-friendly approaches to the sort of themes you want to get at. I agree with Oli. Don't waste the $18 by deleting and remaking. She's such a new character that it will undoubtedly have little to no impact on anyone else's RP for you to retcon her (it's unlikely that anyone even knows she isn't an ordinary organic anyway, so in a sense, it's a your-mind-only retcon). That said, I'd also like to suggest an entirely different thought: Consider abandoning the idea altogether and coming up with an entirely new concept for the character. The reason I suggest that is because it feels to me like this whole thing falls into the category of "special because of what she is", which is very challenging to execute without coming across as superficial or snowflakey. I mean no offense to you personally with that statement - that's been a general observation of mine over years of roleplaying. The more "deep" approach is instead to consider making a character that's "special because of who she is". That's defined by behavior and actions and personality, all of which largely have nothing to do with what someone happens to be. In fact, often if the what is itself overly emphasized and special, the who ends up feeling less significant and memorable. Case in point: A man sees a robber steal the purse of an old woman. He chases the robber and tackles him, wrestling him into a locked hold until the police arrive, and saving the old woman's purse - a purse which contained not only her money, but medicine that she needs to take every few hours or she could become hospitalized. The man is lauded for his courage and bravery, his selfless risk and potential sacrifice for the sake of another is the stuff of gossip and local reputation, and for months afterwards he's hailed in his favorite bar as a hero. Or, if he was an invincible alien from the planet Krypton, people on the street said "Oh, hey Superman," and continued on with their day without any further thought about what he'd done, because his what is so special that the who becomes less memorable. I am not a good enough RPer to let my character be defined by who she is instead than what she is. I just... can't do that. I never seem to pull that off, no matter where I'm RPing. I already struggle to give my characters a distinct personality.

She's already on Balmung. I already started RPing with her.

There are plenty of interesting things that you can do with clones, including but not limited to: -- Pondering whether or not artificial life is really life. -- Pondering whether or not you have a "soul." -- Reflecting on your legacy as one of the last remaining living remnants of a power-hungry and honestly rather terrible society. -- Reflecting on the fact that you have ties to a society that not only no one else has, but also happens to be dead. -- Reflecting on memories embedded into your brain that may or may not be yours. -- Are you really the person you're a clone of, or someone different? -- People sure are gonna want to come after you in order to get some of that Allagan Knowledge Goodness. See? Tons of stuff, and all good. I see. But that means I have to do some major retconning (what little she recovered of her memory was two unknown men discussing about an unknown manikin, so... yeah), and everytime she interacted with someone, I had her act to reflect her lack of emotions as a robot.

It's more than just a face and a mind, really. For a machine to be a machine while still not knowing it, they would have to: -- Not only eat and drink, but starve and stop functioning if they don't. -- Crap and piss after they eat and drink. -- Sweat. -- Not only breathe, but require breath. -- Take visible, human-like damage, regardless of whether or not they can feel it (bruise, bleed, break, etcetera.) -- Weigh within the normal confines of a humanoid (the metal, stone, etc, that Allagans make their tech out of is heavy stuff). -- Not interact in fishy ways when encountered with energy or metals (magnetism, etc). -- Not interact in fishy ways when encountered with liquid (short-out, lose articulation in their joints, etc). -- Have facial expressions that are built-in and perfectly articulated, something that we, with all our current real-world technology, are not yet capable of properly doing. -- Probably some other stuff I didn't think about. Now, other things aside, as soon as you've gotten to the point where you've built a robot that can take a shit and bleeds when you cut their robo-arm off, not only have you gotten to the point of Questionably Robotic, but also the point of Questionably Useful. Why would you go through all the time and thought needed to build a working digestive system for a robot, especially when your civilization has done a bang-up job of growing their cloning and biological industries? It just seems unnecessary. I think you could get more mileage out of an Allagan clone. But Allagan clones are identical to normal humans. I wanted to play a robot because, even if she doesn't know she's not human, she has to put up with the fact that she's different, as she doesn't know what emotions, love, etc... are. Still, if playing a manikin is that much of an issue, I might as well delete the character, because I honestly don't know what else to do with her. And I'm not really a fan of retconning.

Considering that from what we know a soulstone is the only way to harness the Darkside, I had Isaulde give one each to her apprentices, with the excuse that they belonged "to Dark Knights who perished in battle".

They don't even have faces, and they're likely mindless as well. Also, if the character is already made, Retcons are still possible. The OP asked for advice and thoughts, and we're giving them. I know they are faceless and mindless. I thought that it could be possible if a lone Allagan scientist kept one of those manikins for himself and gave it a face and a mind.