I recommend you put a highly visible signature or a watermark somewhere in a space where it can't be obviously removed while not being obtrusive, such as overlapping with the very top of the hair, on the lower edge of the image along the character's lower body or leg, or embedded in the background.
Emphasis mine.
I say this very frequently, but I'll reiterate: do not think of your character as a villain. Think of your character as a person, and if they grow into the villain role, then let them. Let it be organic. Your character isn't just a device. Don't be planning their thoughts, actions, or emotions based on the idea of "Well, he's a villain", not unless you're planning on using him as the big bad guy of a DND campaign whose only function is to be massacred by a party of loot-crazed adventurers.
And I am not saying your character has to be a hero or morally gray or ambiguous, either. I'm saying that his reasons for acting or thinking certain ways should be justified outside of metaplanning and morality. He doesn't, say, execute POWs because "he's a villain, they do that", he does it because of the lack of personnel and the impracticality of keeping prisoners that have no value. If he's being needlessly cruel, it's not because he's "supposed to be a villain", but because as a character he loves indulging in violence as an intrinsic part of his personality in addition to an upbringing.
Write for the character, not for the role.
I'm a little hazy on the details. Was this Garlean patrol in the exact immediate area and stumbled on the battlefield literally minutes after his tribe had left? Wouldn't he have bled out by then if he were missing a limb? You might make half an hour tops with rudimentary first aid, but, well...still difficult. Also, if they're just a patrol, were they equipped to carry a crippled Au Ra around for...days? Maybe a week or more? That's still some solid weight of lizard-demon man they're hauling around.
Expand a bit. What kind of skills does Sarnai know that would be useful? Is he a tracker? A good sense of direction? What kind of advice would he have given? The Dotharl don't seem particularly keen on maintaining such things outside of the necessity of finding food and things to fight. Expanding on his knowledge allows the reader to gain a glimpse as to what kind of person he is.
If you're referring to Abalathia's Spine, you're misinformed; Abalathia's Spine refers strictly to the mountain range on the continent of Aldenard, where Eorzea is. So, wrong continent.
As for the geography, it's not implausible for Dotharl to be prowling around on the continent; the Xaela aren't strictly limited to the western steppes of Othard. Doma is explicitly stated to be on the eastern end of the continent, behind a mountain range if the Raen summary is to be believed. A few other Xaela tribes resides along the eastern coast of the continent or the northeastern mountains. Dotharl being Dotharl, it's reasonable for them to be more or less wandering aimlessly towards the east looking for things to fight, and thus be in the path of Garleans heading east to Doma.
While I personally haven't done the magitek augmentation thing for any of my characters, it's reasonable to assume that A). The Garleans have a sufficient mastery of synthetic fabrication to create a rubber, fiber, or celluloid that could replicate at least the appearance of skin on a superficial level (otherwise how the heck do they get those top-heavy airships to fly, sheesh) and that B). synthetic skin wouldn't be modular unless the magitek arm is also capable of transforming or shedding itself in some way.
(08-06-2015, 12:27 PM)aure Wrote: It's my first time roleplaying someone with Garlean affiliation, much less an out-and-out villain, so please let me know what you think.
Emphasis mine.
I say this very frequently, but I'll reiterate: do not think of your character as a villain. Think of your character as a person, and if they grow into the villain role, then let them. Let it be organic. Your character isn't just a device. Don't be planning their thoughts, actions, or emotions based on the idea of "Well, he's a villain", not unless you're planning on using him as the big bad guy of a DND campaign whose only function is to be massacred by a party of loot-crazed adventurers.
And I am not saying your character has to be a hero or morally gray or ambiguous, either. I'm saying that his reasons for acting or thinking certain ways should be justified outside of metaplanning and morality. He doesn't, say, execute POWs because "he's a villain, they do that", he does it because of the lack of personnel and the impracticality of keeping prisoners that have no value. If he's being needlessly cruel, it's not because he's "supposed to be a villain", but because as a character he loves indulging in violence as an intrinsic part of his personality in addition to an upbringing.
Write for the character, not for the role.
(08-06-2015, 12:27 PM)aure Wrote: Backstory -
Dotharl fight. Dotharl war. Dotharl… are not a nice tribe. At all. In the midst of curbstomping a rival tribe, Sarnai, a young warrior of twenty years, was injured. Horribly. Bruised, bloody, beaten, missing an arm and with a broken back, Sarnai prepared to die within the battlefield - his tribe having moved on their merry way, to kill and pillage so many more tribes with no thought to their own dead or dying.
A passing Garlean patrol stumbled upon the battlefield, en route to Doma, hopelessly lost within the mountainous region. An opportunistic primus pilus decided to do the best with what opportunity had presented, and decided to take the injured au ra with them - after having a field medic cauterize his wounds.
I'm a little hazy on the details. Was this Garlean patrol in the exact immediate area and stumbled on the battlefield literally minutes after his tribe had left? Wouldn't he have bled out by then if he were missing a limb? You might make half an hour tops with rudimentary first aid, but, well...still difficult. Also, if they're just a patrol, were they equipped to carry a crippled Au Ra around for...days? Maybe a week or more? That's still some solid weight of lizard-demon man they're hauling around.
(08-06-2015, 12:27 PM)aure Wrote: As time went on, Sarnai’s information, directions, and advice served the patrol well. When they reached the rest of their legion and prepared to take Doma, Sarnai once again prepared for death. He’d outlived his use, after all. He, above most people, was under no illusions of the fact life was short. He’d survived twenty years. In Dotharl terms, that wasn’t a bad stretch.
Expand a bit. What kind of skills does Sarnai know that would be useful? Is he a tracker? A good sense of direction? What kind of advice would he have given? The Dotharl don't seem particularly keen on maintaining such things outside of the necessity of finding food and things to fight. Expanding on his knowledge allows the reader to gain a glimpse as to what kind of person he is.
(08-06-2015, 12:27 PM)aure Wrote: Insecurities -
Doman historyI'm looking for verification on the fact Doma is in Othard, and close to Alabatha's Spine. While I'm sure that I've read information somewhere before that states Doma and the mountains of the Raen are close- plus within Othard, I can't refind it and I'm looking for a little confirmation.
If you're referring to Abalathia's Spine, you're misinformed; Abalathia's Spine refers strictly to the mountain range on the continent of Aldenard, where Eorzea is. So, wrong continent.
As for the geography, it's not implausible for Dotharl to be prowling around on the continent; the Xaela aren't strictly limited to the western steppes of Othard. Doma is explicitly stated to be on the eastern end of the continent, behind a mountain range if the Raen summary is to be believed. A few other Xaela tribes resides along the eastern coast of the continent or the northeastern mountains. Dotharl being Dotharl, it's reasonable for them to be more or less wandering aimlessly towards the east looking for things to fight, and thus be in the path of Garleans heading east to Doma.
(08-06-2015, 12:27 PM)aure Wrote: Magitek augmentation - While I'm aware that handing that sort of tech out to non-Garleans is pretty unheard of, I'm going with a "one good plius" angle on this, plus the fact that Sarnai had a job to do with reuniting a small Garlean force with their legion, plus has a job to do with rounding up survivors as reasoning for why he wasn't just shot on sight. I have specified that he does have skin grafts (or at the very least, a synthetic skin and darksteel scales) to not make his enhancements apparent, so I can rp within XIV without anyone knowing about his arm. Some thoughts on this would be appreciated -- especially from folk that've done the augmentation thing before.
While I personally haven't done the magitek augmentation thing for any of my characters, it's reasonable to assume that A). The Garleans have a sufficient mastery of synthetic fabrication to create a rubber, fiber, or celluloid that could replicate at least the appearance of skin on a superficial level (otherwise how the heck do they get those top-heavy airships to fly, sheesh) and that B). synthetic skin wouldn't be modular unless the magitek arm is also capable of transforming or shedding itself in some way.
