Spiritual Machine

Ah, the way you phrased it, it sounded like she was working around her introversion when she interacted with groups. I understand now. Conjures borrow power from elemental spirits, which is different from the way a thaumaturge uses the strength of their will and their aetherial power to pull power from the void. There is little saying that you can't simply take of this latent elemental energy--present throughout the world--but it is taught that the energy is strength lent freely to the conjured by the elements themselves. That said, there are many unconventional conjurers that don't follow any norms and mores of Gridanian culture, such as your Sharlayan allies in the Scions (Louisoix and Y'shtoa). Whoever said that Arcanists are most ideal for your character for that reason is disregarding that only Urianger is an Arcanist, and Papylamo is a Thaumaturge. As for the stranger beings that cast Stone and Cure, just as Thaumaturges also command elemental aether power, Conjurers aren't the only mages that can heal. It's really only their methods that are unique to them, not the results. As said before, the sort of corruption Thaumaturges encounter is not magic-related. It doesn't even have to be malevolent--one can lust after great power or simply thirst for knowledge at all costs, or wish to push their limits in a way that they threaten to destroy themselves with their own hubris. Any user of magic can fall into this trap. Fortunately, since many people are able to use magic, and not all of them are good, the people of Eorzea have ways of dealing with rogue mages that pose a threat to the land. For instance, they usually throw four or more adventurers at them. Finally, Arcanists existed before Merlwyb had the Arcanist Guild established. The practice and study of Arcanima is not unique to Vylbrand and if I recall correctly actually came from a land far to the south. Arcanists came to Limsa by sea, and spread their practice in a traditional master-apprentice style until Merlwyb decided that that was too inefficient. Prior to Merlwyb's ascension to the position of Admiral, Arcanists still served as the port authority in Limsa at Meyvaan's Gate (might have spelled that wrong). Arcanists are no more or less restricted to a practice or occupation than any other DoM class. Since all three classes are taught by guilds that are open to the public, adventurers are able to learn from all three. Sorry to be less than helpful, but no class is less ideal for your character's chosen role than another, and on the whole no class is less trusted or less respected than another. It just really comes down to what she would like to study.

I don't believe personality is all that big of a factor in discipline choice--you'll find all kinds of people studying all kinds of magic. But if you want to be in line with the stereotypes: Conjury seems to attract folks with an affinity to nature, the natural order of things and a reverence and communion with spirits. Or, barring that, people who just want to heal other people. Conjurers borrow from the strength of the elements, and they do so graciously, because if they choose to rely solely on their own strengths, they limit their potential to do good (though they still can, technically). Thaumaturgy seems to attract folks who are just a bit weird, whose talents and aspirations lead them to try and plunge the depths of the arcane in order to push their own personal limits. Sometimes it attracts power-hungry megalomaniacs, but that's less common. Thaumaturges are often taught that the only thing more important than expanding your power is knowing your limitations. No one is all powerful, and there is a way to overcome anything. Also, setting things on fire is kicking rad. Arcanima is a new study, but less so than you think. The source of their power is the invocation of ritual and the evocation of familiars to do their bidding. But the call of the Arcanist is to study and investigate, to unravel the subtle mysteries of the arts. Arcanists are big on problem-solving. Magic is a puzzle, and the world is a thought problem. They derive the greatest satisfaction from exercising control over the environment, rather than raw power over their enemies. Arcanists benefit from eccentricity, but are nothing if not patient. If your character doesn't like the city-states, there are ways of getting training for these disciplines outside of cities, but it does limit your options. There are also guilds that are more focused on supporting their home city-states than others. The Thaumaturge's Guild probably has the loosest association with Ul'dah, lending itself to interesting projects in other guilds mostly. The Arcanist's Guild serves as the Limsa's cargo inspectors and investigators of market activity, keeping the shadier folk in line. The Conjurers obviously have a very important role in maintaining Gridania, and right from the start you're training for that role, but fortunately you're not sworn into it or anything. Finally, I think you might have gotten the terms "introverted" and "extroverted" wrong. As an introvert myself, I have no trouble responding to social situations and working with others, but I am naturally more reserved and my thoughts more internal than an extrovert. I'm comfortable working alone but not because groups make me uncomfortable. Similarly, I know bashful extroverts. When folks use those terms do describe levels of comfort in social situations, it makes me think a lot of folks think introvert means "shy". There are other technical terms used to describe levels of social anxiety, though.

What's so important about taking the route of being a White Mage specifically? It seems to me that (in the most commonly used sense) "White Mage" is ultimately a title that denotes a unique station, and unique abilities obtained and wrought in a very particular fashion. So therefore the way that one becomes a White Mage is simply by following the very procedural process outlined in the lore. Now, if someone wanted to be a White Mage in all but name, there are countless ways to do this. I've paid a good bit of attention to the lore of magic in FFXIV, and a lot of it seems like it can be boiled down to building upon constructive or destructive processes. White Magic is described as power over life itself, whereas Black Magic is described as unprecedented destructive potential. But we hear about powerful and notable Conjurers and Thaumaturges all the time in the game. And they're so powerful that it's often hard to imagine how that can be topped in a meaningful way. I believe that a sufficiently powerful Conjurer could be nearly indistinguishable from a White Mage. So many elements of knowledge, wisdom, insight and ability could simply closely resemble those of a White Mage but be attained through unique, even conventional means. The fact that the defining feature of being a White Mage seems to be having unprecedented power and authority naturally makes it a less than friendly position in a roleplay setting. By simply being a powerful Conjurer, you could be a "White Mage" in all but name. Then you could invent whatever story you wish to elaborate on why your character has become good at what they do, and you wouldn't have to conform to the rare and limiting factors that make one able to become a legendary (and controversial) White Mage. I agree with Eva that the best solution is to simply take the middle way, be exceptional, and stop short of the title itself. What more does anyone really need? Is a provocative title really that important to a character's development? Can't one simply be personally exceptional without the intervention of impossible circumstances?

Folks have been talking about who gets to use an airship without talking about the more important question: Why? Every bit of literature seems to imply that regardless of who gets an airship pass, travel is limited to "those whose need is great" as "only a few airships are permitted to take flight at any given time". Even with commercial (that is, open to everyone who can pay) flight being available, airship travel isn't a luxury people choose for the sake of leisure travel. No, that would be sea travel, or travel by caravan, or even via aetheryte. It wouldn't just be the pilots who would be hesitant to fly without good reason. Every flight is a potential risk, and even a group who somehow has a personal airship would be reasonably hesitant to take a joyride in their incredibly-expensive-to-build-and-maintain airship knowing that that is just asking for trouble. Prudent, frugal people are avoiding flight, and people taking pleasure trips probably find ferries cheaper and more romantic. So it seems like common sense to me: most people aren't flying even if they can. Now, the thing that's got me scratching my head is how aetheryte travel is limited in lore. Its usage is a lore fixture, but what is the limit on it? In FFXIV 1.0, wasn't it limited by personal stores of aether, so that you could literally be too exhausted to teleport multiple times? Now it somehow only costs gil. I wonder if THAT part is based in lore, as well.

Cool beans, thanks for pointing me in the right direction. I suppose as for an IC linkshell... what I've seen is that on new servers they get a lot of use starting out, when new players are feeling out the environment and nobody's got much of an idea of where they want to go in terms of RP hotspots and guilds... Once the server has well-established guilds and hotspots, it doesn't take long for people to point newcomers in the right direction, and then use of an IC chat channel wanes and then falls off entirely. My question I guess is, does Balmung count as a "new server" (and FFXIV a "new game") in that context? Are we mostly new people there, or are there enough pre-established roleplay foundations that newcomers have a place to congregate and learn about the roleplaying environment? Might not really have a need for an IC linkshell in the latter case, though in the former case it couldn't hurt. EDIT: To you Kylin, I'd reckon that what you're saying is pretty accurate. I know the old guard of the server likely has some exceptionally diverse populations and niches. However, do you think those foundations are numerous and solid enough that newcomers will easily find a place to go when they land on Balmung? I'm not vehemently pushing the idea of an IC linkshell, but I am saying that such establishments have always been pretty much for the benefit of newbies alone.

Awesome, I knew there must have been one of these somewhere. I'll request a pearl when I'm able.

Hey, so is there a version of that whole "Limitless Sky/Coalition" IC and OOC chat channel thing for Balmung? If not, why is that? Are there logistical issues involved? Would anyone be interested in formulating something like that? Does anyone even WANT something like that? If there's a desire for something like these, then let's talk about what it might take to put them together. If it wouldn't be unreasonable or pointless to do so, we ought to set these linkshells up and/or get the word out for whoever does, and we can divide control over the shells out to other active and interested folks in the Balmung community. If there isn't one yet, I was thinking that the IC chat could be staged in an open indoor marketplace. We could call it "Infinite Ceiling" or something. The OOC chat linkshell would obviously be the Axis of Evil. Thoughts? (Note: The linkshell names are not actual suggestions.)

Well then, since so many roleplayers these days actually bother to play the game they're staging their roleplay in (personally if I don't like the game enough to learn to play it, I'd rather just roleplay on a forum somewhere), perhaps we could try something different. I think it might serve the community better for those people to volunteer to teach those few who roleplay a bit too much and don't learn the game. Then those folks can pay it forward by doing PvE/PvP stuff with non-roleplayers, thus mitigating the stereotype. Meanwhile, if we weren't already generally welcoming of folks who have a budding interest in roleplay, then we should be. That's actually how I got my start--I was a PvPer and progression raider in WoW about seven years ago when someone coaxed me onto an RP server and showed me the ropes. I knew several other people who were interested in progression with just a touch of roleplay on the side. If that's the aim, then a post about it on an official server forum may draw some interest from that crowd.

Are we allowed to just post curiosities instead of actual characters? Because I have another one.

Or it's a joke. It's easier to tell what a post is if it's main idea is stated clearly, is the point.

How can person A be held responsible for person B's ignorant, repulsive response to person A's thoughtful and polite argument? Because, and I'm not trying to be inflammatory here, common sense dictates that this is a volatile-enough subject to incite very wild reactions. Or to put it more simply, ever heard of trolling? Like, the original variety of trolling, where a thoughtful and polite argument is made regarding something guaranteed to stir up heated contention? You can understand English and still screw up your context. By your logic, the March on Washington was trolling. The worst revolutions begin on forums.

How can person A be held responsible for person B's ignorant, repulsive response to person A's thoughtful and polite argument? Because, and I'm not trying to be inflammatory here, common sense dictates that this is a volatile-enough subject to incite very wild reactions. Or to put it more simply, ever heard of trolling? Like, the original variety of trolling, where a thoughtful and polite argument is made regarding something guaranteed to stir up heated contention? You can understand English and still screw up your context.

Oh, you are just a treat. Keep on fighting presumptions with presumptions. I'll just take my sensible candor elsewhere.

Pretty sure Synaesthetic's words were largely a reaction to the idea that the intent or lack of intent can somehow make something not discrimination. Which, I think it's pretty clear that intent doesn't matter when it comes to identifying what is discrimination and what isn't. Pretty sure I never even used the word "discrimination" in my post. So I don't know what they're reacting to, really. Whatever it is though, they're apparently getting sick of reacting to it!

Yeah, it does. It matters in how you approach them. Because it's possible that they don't understand the thing that you are concerned about in the same way that you do. Again, Japan isn't America, and in general you just can't expect someone to care about your opinions just because you get loud and obnoxious about them. Understanding your target audience creates the foundation of a bridge by which you may lead them to understand your own perspective. That's how you change things. No one is simply entitled to the consideration of another.

Mostly made this to prove that I could. Yeah.

A friend indicated to me that the relevant lore on this topic hadn't been brought up. It's a pretty big thread, so if this has already been posted, feel free to smack me on the nose or whatever you people* do. *That is, roleplayers. http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/threads/32685-Questions-related-to-Lore?p=490835&viewfull=1#post490835 So this seems like a green light or at least a "who cares" when it comes to homosexuality in Eorzea. But I'd like to illuminate the subject further, since at least one person here named Western religion as the primary detractor for gay rights in the real world. Now, not only is that ironically biased, but it's ironically ignorant. Final Fantasy XIV was produced in Japan. As in, 1% reported Christianity as of a 2008 survey. So why are they stiffing gay folks? Because you don't have to be religious at all to not care about gay rights. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexuality_in_Japan#Homosexuality_in_modern_Japan There's actually a cultural, ah, "shyness" about alternative sexuality in Japan. It's not really frowned on by the government or any particular group. It's just something that hasn't been spoken out about much until recently. And you thought the United States was behind the times on progressive issues. Oh, but it gets better. A gander over here, and... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same-sex_marriage_in_Japan Same-sex marriage is not legal in Japan. Again, mostly because not many people seem to be campaigning for it--not so much because people are directly opposed to it. I mean, maybe they are. I'm not well-studied on the subject, but... Might be that Square Enix didn't add the option because most of their local customers didn't really want or care about the option, and not because they're homophobes. So, I think it's best to at least check Wikipedia before you presume to understand the perspective and mindset behind a decision that offends you. After all, not every country is America.

I suppose the reply I was expecting was clarification on the actual purpose of the thread, from your perspective, if any. Or no reply--I wasn't looking to... hook you on something or whatever that means... Ah. Even though the original intent was to ask people if they'd rather go to Behemoth, you didn't actually care that much about the result, and you knew it was moot to even have a vote and expect some kind of action from it. So the point was for you to see if at least a good percentage of Gilgamesh players might be interested in staying on Gilgamesh, so you knew whether to move your guild or not. Still don't know what that means. Or... wait. Did I get reverse-baited by asking about it? Shoot. 27:26 does not a unanimous vote make. A lot of them probably aren't even going to Gilgamesh. Well if a lot of them aren't Gilgamesh then that makes the thread even more puzzling in what it hoped to accomplish. That community might still split, after all. It's not a matter of what people say and do here. Gilgamesh didn't come to be through a unanimous vote either--I fail to see what some people are trying to prove either way. It seems like folks from Gilgamesh may be trying to convince others not to leave Gilgamesh by... telling them not to. Unless a lot of people want to. Then totally do leave. I guess MY point in all this has always been pointing out what an odd thread this is in the first place, as all I can see it doing is inspiring more division, among Gilgamesh people and among the community at large. It's been filled with nothing but negative sentiment, all over a poll that ultimately doesn't mean or prove anything. It's like this thread was just made to spark a fracas. Only one thing's missing... 27:26 does not a unanimous vote make. A lot of them probably aren't even going to Gilgamesh. Its just not worth it to further respond to this thread Sel just keep an eye on your pm box. Xerek you also and everyone else headed to Gilgamesh as well. No need to keep the pot stirring on an already derailed thread. Everyone will get to talk unbothered soon, promise. Let's let this one die already. Keep an eye on your pm boxes. Yeah, that. Now that everything's been stirred up, let's just do what should have been done in the first place, and talk about the issue... but privately? I just think it's a weird way to behave, is all. Unrelated: This is a bit misleading, and also a bit of a misconception. Plants grown in hostile conditions have a much lower rate of survival, however if there are plants that do have the strength to survive in those conditions, they may manage to breed and pass their heartier genes to their offspring. Over a number of generations, the less robust plants die off genetically, and the genes of the heartier plants become more prevalent in the population still growing in those hostile conditions. These are not necessarily the "best crops," but they are the most well-adapted to that particular environment. A related observation is reported here: http://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/research/2011/110131SaltSodium.html I don't know how this relates to roleplayers, but it's funny to think about.

If you want to take this as word-of-god lore, then I think you should at least respect the rarity of the concoction. That is, the flavor text says that its powers are a thing of legend, not empirical fact. That implies to me that the stuff is so rare that none of us would be able to obtain a phial of the stuff for the purposes of convenience. If you MUST use it to make some permanent change to your character--who must be the same character as before, but of a different race or gender--then at least accept the whole lore. You probably will never get another chance to use a Phial of Fantasia. You probably didn't even know it was a Phial of Fantasia when you drank it--or you didn't know what it did. You probably didn't turn into something you wanted to turn into. And while I won't ignore people who use the Phial in their roleplay, or ignore the claimed effects of it, if you're not using it to compelling effect (and more or less just used it to be a non-tribal catman with the brain of a Hyur or a man with ladyparts who is now a lesbian), don't expect me to find your character all that interesting for it. You're better off in general just retconning minor appearances, or making the re-customized character a new character entirely. It's the same with character recustomization services in other games. No one appreciates people abusing those for roleplay either (and then saying a wizard did it). The lore only makes it marginally more legit for IC use. Marginally.

You can have (if you want to) members of all different GC affiliations. However, when you sign up to create a Free Company, you align it with one of the three Grand Companies. What this does is allow FC members to participate in that GC's questline. ONLY. You do not get gear/seal/rank benefits. You only get those from your own personal GC. So if I'm a Twin Adder and my FC aligns with the Maelstrom. I only get Twin Adder perks, but I can now participate in both the Twin Adder and Maelstrom storylines. It's basically a way for Free Companies to participate in a storyline together. Instead of just using your FC for your GC fights and calling everyone in for a fight and then them all leaving. This way you can run all of the GC quests as a FC. Really could create some great unity among your members. Not quite. http://ffxiv.zam.com/story.html?story=28045 To sum up the answers to questions 11 and 12: > You can be part of whatever Grand Company you want and still join a Free Company without any restriction. > Your Free Company can sign up to join a Grand Company. This still doesn't affect people in the Free Company who are members of other Grand Companies. > Individual players have solo Grand Company content that they can do, and Free Companies that join Grand Companies get access to additional content--Grand Company content that is unique to Free Companies. So if you are a member of the Maelstrom and your Free Company is also part of the Maelstrom, you get to do your solo Maelstrom stuff, AND THEN you do completely different Maelstrom content with the rest of your company. You're not just running the GC quests with your FC. The FC has its own GC quests. It's been implied that your Free Company does not have to join a Grand Company at all, but I don't know whether this is the case. You'd probably still want to though, in order to experience the content. It's also been implied in the most recent Q&A that the choice of Grand Company will come down to a choice in playstyle, and that not only can you switch your Grand Company later, but it's sort of expected that you will. It's not known (or at least I don't know) if a Free Company is able to change its Grand Company affiliation.

Well... If you say so. But it still sounds like you're speaking for the whole community instead of yourself or your own guild. Frankly, I wasn't aware that the Gilgamesh community had a leader. If it doesn't, then I think that the people who are bothered by the situation on Gilgamesh should do what will make them happy, and ignore this poll and the people speaking for them. Just go join the Behemoth community if you want.

It will be interesting to approach PvP with FFXIV's combat style after doing more action-based PvP in GW2.

This is not a thing that was happening. Your other two points were points others here have been trying to make. For the most part I think this thread is headed in a less heated direction than it was yesterday, as folks calm down and focus on the heart of the issues. I am basing this reply on all the comments in this thread and not just a handful of posts.

@Kaln, Not to speak for everyone, but I'd welcome any person or group that came to my server, and let them prove through their actions after that what manner they want to approach me and mine with. Preconceptions and misconceptions are what started this, Kaln. Saying Balmung doesn't live up to the negative reputation and then speculating that they would be unwelcoming to the Reddit community implies that there are preconceptions coloring the perspective Balmung players have of non-RPing Redditors as a whole. And that's probably unfair to the individuals. Also, that's like saying you're against cliquishness and then promising to ban cliquish people from your community resources. It's a bit contradictory.

I have to agree with Annaveil. This is exactly how I feel. I haven't played with folks from Balmung yet, but RPC stands as proof to me that Balmung isn't comprised entirely of exclusionary, elitist jerks. In fact, I've yet to see evidence to the contrary. Is this entire website just a pretty face? I once did leave the Thorium Brotherhood RP server in WoW for a while because of some nasty rumors that were spread about me (I was a young and stupid roleplayer at the time). Though I only left Horde-side, and this was back when the community was about 20 people. I came back a few months later to a much larger community, with the people who scorned me being all but insignificant to the flow and progress of that community as a whole. No server in any game I've ever been on has ever had enough bad people on it to discourage me from interacting with others on the entire server. You have a few bad eggs anywhere you go, and you just deal with that. You make a new guild when you want to make things fresh and give like-minded people a place to thrive. Splitting the community over three or more servers doesn't help anyone. It cuts each server off from valuable members, and pretty much encourages competition to "recruit" newcomers to this site. RPC's staff, sorry to say, has encouraged that behavior by endorsing two servers. I know, I know--it's fair and good of them to be endorsing both popular server options. The "competition" was just bound to happen though, in this environment. Again, I'm not knocking people who go to Gilgamesh for any reason, but if your reasons for going to Gilgamesh have to do with preconceptions of or bad experiences with Balmung players, then your choice seems pretty extreme to me. Honestly, I find the idea of going to Gilgamesh to RP and progress with large Internet community populations more appealing than going there because Balmung roleplayers were mean to me.