(10-22-2014, 04:00 PM)thedemonator Wrote: I have one question for this seemed like the appropriate thread to post this question but how would you all explain to another that they were able to experience the echo?
Likely you wouldn't. At least not by name.
So one of the (personal) qualms I have with RPing the Echo, is that it's very easy for any number of characters to have... but very difficult to RP as "knowing" what exactly the Echo is.
Here's why. So in 1.0, the Player Character bears witness to a great star shower in the sky and the voice of Hydaelyn calling out to them. This is when the Player Character is gifted/cursed/chosen to bear the burden of the Echo. At level 20, you got sent to the secret base of The Path of the Twelve, an underground organization run by Minfilia. Since discovering her own powers with the Echo, Minfilia (under the guidance of Louisoux) created the organization to find others like her who had seen the Starshower and had developed strange gifts as a result. By gathering all users and acquiring their knowledge, they hoped to unravel the mysteries of the Echo. But even with the backing of Sharlayan and the Circle of Knowing, they had gleaned very little information about their gift. What they did figure out, they shared among their members. But the Echo was kept secret from all outsiders because Minfilia was afraid people would fear the Path of the Twelve's powers.
So... your character has a prophetic vision, you see a starshower, you see the mother crystal, you start jumping into other people's memories, whatever - your character wakes up with the Echo. How do you figure out what it's called? The Echo is a mysterious power not chronicled in any tome. Even the Sharlayans don't really know what it is, only that the Echo has awoken in times past. The only organization who has researched it was the Path of the Twelve, who later became the Scions, who later became almost all dead when the Garleans invaded their hideout. So unless you were a member of the Path of the Twelve pre-Calamity, or have recently joined the Scions of the Seventh Dawn post-Calamity, your character is likely not even aware of what their power is called, what it is, how to control it, how they got it, what it can even do.
Imagine how jarring that would be to someone. The 1.0 Player Character was really thrown off by the power. Being aether sick all the time, being thrust into strangers' memories at nearly every encounter. Not being able to tell what is past and what is present.
Would your character tell a stranger that was happening to them? Would they tell a friend that they might unwittingly slip into their memories? Would that friend believe them? Even post Calamity, the Echo is still not a known variable to those outside the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. (Well the Seedseers know about the Echo, but that's besides the point.)
I think it's a really really interesting concept to play with, but I also think it's very easy to fall into the trap of your character having knowledge they shouldn't if they aren't roleplaying the MSQ.
