(07-19-2013, 05:55 AM)Uther Wrote: I'm sure this has been said before, but I only lightly skimmed this thread. It's clear to me that you know the difference between Ala Mhigo's lancers and Ishgard's dragoons. Some clarification might be needed on top of what Shuck already said, though.
You mentioned something earlier about your character's father always wanting to be a dragoon or wanting his son to be a dragoon or some such idea. While dragoons are seen as pretty badass in Eorzea, I'm not sure if it's something outsiders would really aspire to be. I see this a lot, and it's not just you who has this idea of outsiders yearning to be dragoons.Â
Aside from what Shuck already pointed out regarding the difficulty of becoming a dragoon, I personally don't see why most people would want to. Being a dragoon means you serve Halone the Fury in a holy war against dragons for the defense of Ishgard. Unless you were already worshiping Halone in your spare time and had some weird connection to a place you weren't even allowed to enter, why would you want to do that? A dragoon isn't just a really good lancer who jumps around and goes on adventures, as game mechanics seem to imply. Being a dragoon goes hand-in-hand with Halone, Ishgard, and fighting dragons. Of course, you see some dragoons wandering around out in the world, but those are usually exiles who have actually fought in the holy war.Â
The idea that anyone who holds a spear or some type of polearm would live their life trying to be a dragoon is confusing to me, and I see it a lot. It's like saying "I'm a swordsman from Mongolia, but I really want to be a Templar Knight." While Templars were very well-trained and word got around about them killing people, it's unlikely that someone from a different culture would commit their lives to their holy war, country of origin, and religion just to get some sweet tricks. I hope that makes sense.
Not trying to ruin your day or anything. I just thought I'd throw in my two cents as someone who is also roleplaying a dragoon.
Pretty much this. This is why I remade my character. Trust me, my original character was, you guessed it, an outsider who wanted to be a Dragoon for the sole reason of "Dragoon is Lancer evolved". Then I got some critiques on that and wasn't happy with my character as a whole, so... I talked to a few people (Uther included) and made my character a lore friendly Dragoon. I wound up liking my character much more after the change too.
I'm not encouraging you to throw everything you have out the window. I don't think any of us are. I did it because I realized that my former character was the product of laziness and I hated it. Anyway.
