(07-24-2014, 05:03 PM)Warren Castille Wrote:(07-24-2014, 04:52 PM)Natalie Mcbeef Wrote: Well, there are two ways of looking at it.
The fact remains that Lalafells and Roe's are shown to be roughly equal physically speaking. Otherwise no one would ever make a lalafell a brass blade, and papashan wouldn't be the hero of the sultansworn. So clearly a person can be roughly on par with someone 4 to 5 times their height and bodymass.
So either A: Roe's have the worst muscle density ever, and lalafells have the best.
Or B: Physical musculature is only a part of strength, and everyone, even fighters use aether to reinforce their actions.
I think option B is more plausible. Not everyone may be aware they're doing it, but they probably are.
The only flaw in this plan is that Garleans can't channel aether at all, so theoretically they'd be weaker in combat than most eorzeans. Maybe that's why the pureblooded garleans you see are all buff dudes. GOTTA COMPENSATE.
There's a third option. Maybe Papashan's just developed enough technique to overcompensate for his size? Relying on agility and being entire magnitudes smaller than your foe is a valid tactic, as is letting them think you're going to go down easily. If it was so simple to just be aetherially reinforced, there'd never be any reason for people to have sculpted bodies or actually try; Magic is just making us better. Having everyone on the planet be functionally equal because reasons feels like a cop-out to me. Having those who are able to hang with the bigger/smaller/faster/stronger/magical folk through experience and effort is what makes them heroes (or villains!) in the first place. Handwaving it away with magic makes for poor storytelling.
"I overcame Ultima weapon thanks to crystal-steroids! Thanks, Mothercrystal!"
The problem is that there is no way someone with that body size could do the things they're supposed to do. Also People seem to think smaller = faster, but in reality it's the opposite. More strength means more speed.
Also it's not really a cop out, the physical training people do probably helps their bodies use it. I keep going back to dragon ball analogies. Goku does all the training as a kid, but never gets stronger in any physically determinable sense. No one does, they always look the same. But the training makes them better able to use their ki.
FFXIV is a dragonball type world, where your physical strength is just the baseboard, and you can train above and beyond what your body should physically be able to do. In dragonball the reason is energy and crap, in FFXIV it's aether.
So no lalafells aren't born as strong as Roes, but they can work hard and eventually be as strong as one. Think of ather powers like muscles that can be built upon once your body already has all the muscles it's going to get.
