XIV is nice in that a lot of canonical events can, in fact, be repeated by all PCs. Primals, for instance, can be repeatedly summoned, and in fact the story of XIV is that summons and attempts to summon them are indeed becoming increasingly common. You also have to consider the fact that PCs are in fact a subset of adventurers, who are a subset of all characters in the setting; player characters are a rare breed relative to all the other beings in the world (and even all the other adventurers in the world). So, yes, the Echo is rare, because PCs are rare. Despite being the among the (if not the) most popular races for PCs, miqo'te are still rare in lore because PCs are rare.
Based on those story elements, I think it's perfectly fine to have the Echo, to face off against Primals, to be associated with the Scions of the Seventh Dawn to some degree, and to be a member of a Grand Company if you want to be. None of these are story elements that must be exclusive to a single individual (and in fact, the Echo seems to have been explicitly written not to be; the cutscene with the mothercrystal shows lots of other people). Of course, it's also fine to not do any of these things if they don't fit your character concept, either.
The trick, I think, is to strike a balance between incorporating the lore and "genericizing" elements that'd step on other players' toes. Taking the example of the Limsa Lominsa story line, for instance, you end up at a state dinner with the Admiral for having done a great service to the city. Obviously, not all characters can do that as written. However, you can take the lore presented in that sequence and incorporate it into your character by writing a story yourself that explains how your character knows it. Likewise, you can take the theme (you got recognized by the city in some way for service as an adventurer) and write any number of stories that fit it and that don't involve you having a state dinner with the Admiral. It's a tricky balancing act, but what works for me is to think, "Is this a story element that, given the parameters of the setting, would be impossible or exceedingly improbable for more than one PC to do?" If the answer is yes, then it needs to be made more generic or skipped completely. A few examples of events that I feel need to be genericized or excluded are meetings and connections to canonical characters, quests that talk about you being "the only one in <insert time period here>" to perform a task or get an ability, and the destruction or defeat of canonical characters unless the game provides a clear, well-known canonical way for them to come back from that. So, if a quest involves killing a certain Garlean Wolf, that would need to be genericized (to "some Garlean officer") or skipped entirely. Defeating Primals, however, is increasingly becoming a common occurrence, and so that can be easily brought IC ("those bloody Amal'jaa, they just keep summoning Ifrit... when will it end?").
Obviously, there's a problem with playing the main scenario quest fully as written; if you did that, you'd be among the most important characters in the world, rubbing elbows with the leaders of city-states and supping with Louisoix's acolytes. However, going completely down the other path -- ignoring the story entirely -- can be problematic as well, especially if you expect others to do the same thing. This is especially true when considering fights with Primals due to Tempering.
Based on those story elements, I think it's perfectly fine to have the Echo, to face off against Primals, to be associated with the Scions of the Seventh Dawn to some degree, and to be a member of a Grand Company if you want to be. None of these are story elements that must be exclusive to a single individual (and in fact, the Echo seems to have been explicitly written not to be; the cutscene with the mothercrystal shows lots of other people). Of course, it's also fine to not do any of these things if they don't fit your character concept, either.
The trick, I think, is to strike a balance between incorporating the lore and "genericizing" elements that'd step on other players' toes. Taking the example of the Limsa Lominsa story line, for instance, you end up at a state dinner with the Admiral for having done a great service to the city. Obviously, not all characters can do that as written. However, you can take the lore presented in that sequence and incorporate it into your character by writing a story yourself that explains how your character knows it. Likewise, you can take the theme (you got recognized by the city in some way for service as an adventurer) and write any number of stories that fit it and that don't involve you having a state dinner with the Admiral. It's a tricky balancing act, but what works for me is to think, "Is this a story element that, given the parameters of the setting, would be impossible or exceedingly improbable for more than one PC to do?" If the answer is yes, then it needs to be made more generic or skipped completely. A few examples of events that I feel need to be genericized or excluded are meetings and connections to canonical characters, quests that talk about you being "the only one in <insert time period here>" to perform a task or get an ability, and the destruction or defeat of canonical characters unless the game provides a clear, well-known canonical way for them to come back from that. So, if a quest involves killing a certain Garlean Wolf, that would need to be genericized (to "some Garlean officer") or skipped entirely. Defeating Primals, however, is increasingly becoming a common occurrence, and so that can be easily brought IC ("those bloody Amal'jaa, they just keep summoning Ifrit... when will it end?").
Obviously, there's a problem with playing the main scenario quest fully as written; if you did that, you'd be among the most important characters in the world, rubbing elbows with the leaders of city-states and supping with Louisoix's acolytes. However, going completely down the other path -- ignoring the story entirely -- can be problematic as well, especially if you expect others to do the same thing. This is especially true when considering fights with Primals due to Tempering.
The Freelance Wizard
Quality RP at low, low prices!
((about me | about L'yhta Mahre | L'yhta's desk | about Mysterium, the Ivory Tower: a heavy RP society of mages))
Quality RP at low, low prices!
((about me | about L'yhta Mahre | L'yhta's desk | about Mysterium, the Ivory Tower: a heavy RP society of mages))
