Vexander

Welcome all of you to Mateus! Whatever you heard about the free cookies is a lie. I ate them all.

To be fair, Worship can also differ based on which culture is doing the worship. During my time on Balmung I spent almost a full year with a Moonkeeper Clan FC, and each month they had an, 'Esbat,' which was a formal ceremony of sorts worshiping one of the Twelve in different ways. At the time I was RP'ing a Sharlayan, so part of the Esbat for Thaliak came across as proper and respectful to him (giving thanks to teachers and sharing what was learned), and the other part shocked him to his core as a tremendous act of sacrilege against Thaliak (Sacrificing a live Owl). I mean, Moonkeeper Clans are largely hunters, so for them, it would seem logical to make an offering to Thaliak of a creature known as a symbol for Wisdom. For a Sharlayan it was barbaric and anathema to the very essence of what Thaliak stands for, as Death marks the end of learning as our aether returns to the lifestream and our conscious existence ends. Trying for a compromise he suggested for the next year they prepare early, acquire an Owl Egg, hatch it, raise it, teach it, and at the next Esbat, release it into the wild as a gesture of giving knowledge to the world through what they taught the Owl. Anyways, my point is, I think different cultures will worship in different ways.

Mateus was bound to become a Preferred World for free Transfer, so I don't consider it to be a very big surprise. If anything, this would be the final bit I need before I transfer my last alt off of Balmung. Mateus has been an incredibly pleasant experience thus far with a very friendly and open community. In some ways, the community feels larger than Balmung's ever did, something I think you can only really get with a smaller community. Anyways, given all the prior polls and the new evidence, it seems to me inevitable that Mateus will become our new Unofficial RP Server. Everyone is welcome! Hoping to see a lot more diversity added to the server to enrich the atmosphere and sense of immersion.

To be fair, my character (Miqo'te Sunseeker) left his Tribe and adopted a new name, not just as a mark of his departure and his disdain for the culture of the Tribes, but also to try and fit in better with other people. Miqo'te names aren't necessarily easy to pronounce after all. It also has the added benefit of protecting anyone from his tribe he might have wanted to protect should he make any enemies.

In a number of threads made by individuals just joining the RPC, I've felt the best choice has been to explain the situation with Balmung and Gilgamesh, and then leave links to this thread and the Server Directory Thread, and then to let them make their own decision based on the information available then. Obviously I wouldn't mind saying, 'Come on over to Mateus,' as I've become one of a number of RP'ers seeking to foster a healthy and growing RP community on that server, but it would've felt deceitful not to let people know all the alternatives and arrive at their own conclusion.

Welcome to Hydaelyn RP'ers and to Mateus! Glad to have you aboard. You may want to take some time to get used to the community a bit, and when you're ready, feel free to look into the directory to see the various FCs and Linkshells Mateus has to offer to help you in your RP endeavors. Looking forward to seeing you in-game sometime! Alternate RP Server Directory

Interesting. Sadly I'm not on Balmung anymore otherwise I'd have offered a collaboration of some sort. My character will be a Red Mage (once we have the lore, I can finalize his background), and my intent was to go around teaching people the art of Red Magic and the associated swordsmanship. Either way, best of luck to you!

Nothing is final until Square Enix makes it final, unfortunately. That said, new characters will receive the gil and exp bonuses once they go into effect. My assumption is that this means existing characters will NOT receive the benefit. I'd wait for more details either way. That said if you wanted to roll an alt just to see how everything is, talk to people in-game, see various RP FCs and locations, I'd so go ahead, and just don't worry too much about leveling so that you can start a fresh character to benefit from the perks when the time comes.

Welcome back to FFXIV! Always good to see new and returning players. As you mentioned you're looking for a new server to play on, and as the poster above had mentioned that Balmung and Gilgamesh are on lockdown for the foreseeable future, please feel free to peruse the linked threads below. They contain a poll and a list of FCs and LSs each server other than Gilgamesh and Balmung have to offer. Alternate RP Server Directory - A list of what FCs/LSs/Websites each server has. Alternate RP Server - A Poll taken to determine which server(s) would be most popular as a new unofficial RP server while Balmung and Gilgamesh remain locked.

Welcome back to FFXIV and welcome to the RP community! If you're looking for a reason your character may have changed their name, it could run the gambit anywhere from leaving their clan and thus leaving behind their old identity (Miqo'te) to wanting a name Eorzeans can pronounce more easily and sounds less foreign, to present a more friendly air (Au Ra). As far as what server to roll on, right now Balmung is locked to Character Transfers and Character Creation, as is Gilgamesh. A number of polls have been taken on alternative RP servers. Given my suggestion would be biased (coughs and points at the server under the avatar), I'll leave these links for you to peruse. Alternate RP Server Directory - A list of what FCs/LSs/Websites each server has. Alternate RP Server - A Poll taken to determine which server(s) would be most popular as a new unofficial RP server while Balmung and Gilgamesh remain locked.

Welcome to the RCP and to Mateus! You may want to get in contact with the people who run the RPC Linkshell for Mateus for an invite if you like. There's also a Discord Server or two with a lot of information on free companies, linkshells, and events that'll be happening on the server. If you have any questions, feel free to shoot folks a PM!

It'd make a bit more sense at least. However, I have to agree, I just can't see it being the case. Then again, I -can- see Red Mage being a Gyr Abanian Job that has absolutely nothing to do with Ala Mhigo, and I kind of expect that to be honest, since Red Mages had no know role in any of the events affecting Ala Mhigo. It was always the Monks that were center stage. It's not as though Heavensward introduced exclusively Ishgardian jobs. Astrologian as we play it is strictly Sharlayan, and Machinist is a blend of Ishgardian ingenuity and Magitech ala Cid's Ironworks. Really interested in learning more lore, particularly Alisae's Red Mage lore. WTB a Short Story on that.

I do not believe so, but nothing is stopping you from rolling an alt on Mateus, Faerie, or Siren. I'd recommend looking at the Server Directory and recent polls and such to determine which server you'd want to try, if you decide to roll an alt. Poll: Here. Directory: Here.

Ilberd's techniques always struck me more as a Blue Mage thing, given they were all named after beasts and such. Same with Raubahn and his moves. Given in FFXI Raubahn was the leader of the Immortal Lions, an order of Blue Mages, I wouldn't be surprised if Blue Magic was an Ala Mhigan thing. As for Red Mage and Alisae, the books she and Alphinaud received from Louisoix were more than Arcanist tomes, as he told them that when used together, they would unlocked hidden powers and knowledge. It could be Alisae becoming a Red Mage is a result of that. The question then is, what knowledge is contained in Alphinaud's book, and why hasn't he used it yet? Its also possible Sharlayan has knowledge on Red Mages and Red Magic, or developed a form of it for themselves. Perhaps Sharlayan and Thamasa were in contact prior to the Garlean Occupation of Ala Mhigo.

Ala Mhigan lore isn't my forte unfortunately, but that being said it is within reason for him to have supported one of the three Grand Companies. However, any expectations of reciprocated support would probably be entirely one-sided, as the Grand Company strive for the preservation and advancement of their own nations and the Eorzean Alliance at large. Given how 3.55 is launching us into Ala Mhigo as well, I would say the Ala Mhigan cause is not the most cherished at the moment. That said, The Immortal Flames would likely be the Grand Company to provide the most support to the cause of reclaiming Ala Mhigo due to Raubahn. You stated that you've recently started playing FFXIV? If you haven't completed the MSQ I'd recommend experiencing it and then beginning to work towards this RP goal. Though it couldn't hurt to try and make threads for interest checks around here to see who'd be interested in joining you. I'm not sure where you'd make a thread like that, but probably in the RP Discussion section. Make sure to note what RP server you'd like this to take place on. At the moment Balmung is closed, so the more popular options are Faerie, Siren, and Mateus, as per This Poll. It might also be worth seeking out the leaders of other FCs on which server you choose to see about collaborative efforts towards liberating Ala Mhigo, as well as how far your character's authority there could feasibly extend with the community of the server.

Ul'dah certainly has more of a hand in dealing with the Ala Mhigan refugees for certain, but for the most part, they are a downtrodden and abused people, taken advantage of by wealthy merchants not just as a source of cheap labor, but also as scapegoats, muscle, and expendable resources in their various plots to acquire power in the Sultanate. I'd also suggest trying to learn the lore of Ala Mhigo in depth as you go, because you'll certainly find other Eorzeans questioning any effort to reclaim Ala Mhigo. It was the aggressor nation for the Autumn Wars in which Ala Mhigo had attempted to conquer Gridania. The Eorzean Alliance formed because of that conflict, actually. Likewise, given the previous King of Ala Mhigo needed to be ousted in rebellion, you might want to consider your character's role as a Noble and what that could mean towards your cause.

Part of me blames the Calamity. When the World all but ends, and then you have a series of wars/conflicts with a multi-continent spanning Empire built upon nigh-invincible technology, not to mention the constant cropping up of Primals in every corner of your land... People cope in different ways, but hedonistic cultures are one of the most popular forms of coping.

Hrmn... Well, first thing's first, Ul'dah is ruled by the Sultana, on paper at least. The Monetarist faction holds enough power to keep her in check. Secondly, I do not believe the Sultana has the authority to make any promises regarding foreign territory such as Ala Mhigo. That said, there is no reason you could start a Free Company revolving around your character as an Ala Mhigan Noble, actively aiming to help liberate Ala Mhigo, with intent to establish himself as a powerful figure within its system of government as a result of your actions/contributions during the liberation. The aid provided could be from any number of sources from manpower (you could hire adventurers/retainers to your Free Company), to economic support (have a trading consortium within your character's, 'Court,' to accrue wealth).

Makes me think of Game of Thrones. A lot of the sex scenes come off as superfluous at times, but as the plot goes on, it's rather amazing how, 'Who's sleeping with who,' really plays a role in the narrative. If Au Ra weren't added it'd just be Miqo'te. Clearly SE needs to add more races which fit that aesthetic. Let us welcome our Viera Overlords, hopefully in 5.0.

This is pretty much spot-on. I figured I'd add my two cents, especially seeing as I've, uh, flat out stated my character's a prostitute. Personally, I didn't want to restrict myself to just doing "vanilla" roleplay scenarios, because I enjoy watching a relationship form between two characters over some period of time. I didn't want to box myself in and remove sex/ERP from my character's story entirely. Also I think watching him struggle with it makes him more interesting, since there's plenty of Miqo'te out there. And yeah, I'm open to quick, one-shot scenarios. But does that mean that I'm trekking down to the Quicksand every night and getting lewd in public chat? Of course not. If it isn't private, if my partner doesn't fit, or if the scenario isn't written well, then I'm going to be less inclined to RP, no matter what kind of content's involved. But I like doing short little scenes occasionally, so I created a character where that was possible. I can't say if it's become more prevalent, but I think in the past good writers might have been dissuaded from it because it was sort of looked down upon. I wanted to be upfront about it because I think there's a lot of writers/roleplayers who might want to try it but haven't, and I want people to know what they're potentially getting into. ERP's always been here. It's just more accepted now. Alas, pity you're on Balmung. I remember a few Courtesan/Prostitute RP'ers back in WoW, and they were the best ICly. I had a lot of bookworm type characters, so the prostitutes/courtesans were so fun to just gossip with and all. Also rewarding to lend a shoulder to when things got a bit too intense in their lifestyle. Never crossed the friend-barrier, mind you, but that was part of the appeal of that RP too, since crossing it would've felt like a betrayal of said friendship to my characters. Forced a lot of soul-searching.

I guess it depends. In general I've always found there tends to be a -location- in game where those looking for ERP over character-building/developing/growing-RP congregate. In WoW, that became Goldshire (for the server of Moon Guard). In FFXIV that became the Quicksands in Ul'dah (for the server of Balmung: I moved to Mateus and was thrilled to see the Quicksands virtually deserted). I suppose the difference I see between Balmung and Mateus as far ERP goes is, I haven't see a lot of RP'ers on Mateus with ERP-related info in their search notes. In Balmung you'd see a lot of [M/E/RP] (Straight/Gay/Bi) and the likes. So for the most part on Mateus I see a lot more Search Notes that read, "Ishgardian Machinist, scar over the left eye," or, "RP'er, Walk Ups Welcome." Not that you didn't see those with search notes on Balmung, but it always seemed like the more ERP related part was included. My personal opinion is to stay true to your character above all else, and that it is healthy both ICly and OOCly to have a diverse range of characters in a RP setting. A place like the Quicksands is OOCly healthy as it consolidates characters looking for that, 'two ships passing in the night,' kind of encounter, much as we have Clubs and the likes for that in the Real World. ICly its also healthy as it brings a kind of diversity to the RP community and setting that deepens immersion, because we have that same thing in the Real World. You can have your Ishgardian prude who doesn't believe in Sex before marriage who would have a heart attack walking into Balmung's Quicksand, and that's pretty realistic in my opinion. As much as as an Ishgardian Youth who's felt sexually repressed all their life by their house's views on sex and the likes, who decides to throw inhibition to the wind and indulge. So, to each their own, and I'd say, stick to the RP you like. As far as seeing girls with strings covering their breasts or guys naked except for a speedo, take it as a cultural thing or that the person is mad. Or possibly lost a bet. That's how my characters tend to roll. In most cultures beauty is a sign of power, so why not flaunt it?

As far as the Autumn War goes, I'm not sure, but there MAY be some people who were around for that. The older Padjals. I think brother E-Sumi Yan is the oldest living one, no? The head of the Conjurer's Guild? I'm not sure how old he is exactly, but he might've been alive for the Autumn War. Though I suppose the Elementals certainly would remember and I don't know if they have a lifespan at all.

Welcome to H-RP, and congrats on getting into Balmung before the Lock.

I read the article and its pretty good, though I think you might've rated Astrologian a bit high. If its getting a hold of a Soul Crystal then, yes, that's probably where it belongs. If its learning how to be an Astrologian, then the ending of the 50-60 AST quests shows us that the teaching will be spread, so really, it wouldn't be difficult to learn it from scratch.

Part of it will also depend on what skills you want your character to possess and how those translate into the Lore of the world. For example, it is not difficult to make a character who is a Paladin, because by lore the Sultan-Sworn broke from tradition and began offering adventurers the opportunity to learn their ways and serve the realm as, 'Free Paladins.' By contrast, White Mages and Black Mages are the extinct jobs of ancient nations which began a war so devastating to the world that their arts drained the land of so much aether that it caused a Calamity to plunge the planet into the 6th Umbral Era. There are White Mages today, but they are few, carefully controlled, and entirely of a non-playable race, the Padjal. The only exception is the Warrior of Light. There are also several wielders of Black Magic in the world, but they're primarily outcast Beastmen and a few people dismissed as lunatics. If they were known as Black Mages and actively wielded the art they'd be arrested, tried for criminals, and executed. So I'd advocate thoroughly researching the lore of any class you think you'd like your character to be. Most you can, within reason, create a workable story around, but Black Mage and White Mage are the big two offenders in the various RP communities. At least, they are until such time Square decides to write their lore as moving in a direction where they are a bit more tolerated and more are being trained. Which might happen in Stormblood if we're lucky, since Red Mages used both White and Black magic.