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Keru / E'ir · **08-30-2013, 08:49 PM**

(08-30-2013, 08:41 PM)C'io Behkt Wrote: I've been wondering about this in relation to those who want to play Summoners IC. To summon a Primal Egi, one must need to have faced that Primal before. While Primals can and do return, it does tend to be over an extended period of time and with great attrition. With all that in mind, how does one justify being a Summoner?

Well I kind of like the idea of that since the primals are viewed as gods to the beastmen, why can't they manifest themselves to humans in non-physical ways(e.g. Dreams) or maybe the summoner makes an offering to the primal? Not sure how it exactly works but those seem logical to me.

Remis Locke · **08-30-2013, 09:00 PM**

The very thought of the heavens gifting my character, of all people, a godly gift such as the Echo would be a very cruel joke indeed. I for one would never consider the main story as part of my characters journey. By all means Iâ€™d consider events caused by it, for lore-sake. But I doubt I'd play a major hand.
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To those who do choose to use the main story as part of their background I by no means judge you, each to their own. It would be awkward in conversation if five people did the same thing at the same time but I suppose you could work around that, or shrug it off, or just get confused in character.
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That being said, what Clover said about the primal would be a very interesting venture, given that they are a worldly issue which would effect everyone. Like the War of the Ring in LOTRO for example.

Yeldir Melfusor · **08-30-2013, 09:12 PM**

I simply play Yeldir as if he wasn't even a part of those events. Consequently, I tend to be OOC when I'm playing through them.

Shae'ra · **08-30-2013, 09:21 PM**

(08-30-2013, 06:28 PM)DimmerMeerkat Wrote: Anyway, enough about my opinion. What do you guys think? How should RPers regard the Main Storyline? How should RPers regard other RPers who are clearly considering every point in the Main Storyline actual events that have happened to their character? (Personally, in other games, I have always simply taken to silently dismissing them as crazy, but respectfully humoring them to their face.)

I think it truly should be something that is accessed per situation and since the way it is played out by one person may not be the way another plays it out.

Let's take the Echo: This is a primary factor in your storyline starting early on in which every player experiences in their questline. If a character walked up to me and OOCly demanded information on me because of the echo's ability to resonate with others and view a past experience: I wouldn't give in. I am not required to play along with someone else who feels it is acceptable to demand I do things. However, if someone kindly asks me if I would be willing to play along with giving some information in order to get the two characters to bond or give reason for a plot/etc: I am a very open-minded person and would be willing to go along with such so long as I am allowed to expose only what I care to share.

I think most of what people do is based on how they execute it versus exactly what it is. I personally do not use the game-story 99% of the time for my character unless there is something very minor I need to use, I prefer to learn the lore from it and go my own way and develop from there.

However, in contrast to the above, there are things that draw the line for me. Such as claiming relations to NPCs. If a character approaches mine and claims to be friends with the Admiral: I will have my character invite them to join him -- see what kind of excuses are made as to why someone so close to another would be so unwilling to join. I am not usually the kind to completely ignore someone who I disagree with, but I will question things and see what kind of responses I get.

All in all: how should people do things? That is not for me to say as everyone will do things the way in which they want to. "To each their own" and if I do not agree, that is my right. Nobody is forcing me to roleplay with someone who I do not feel comfortable roleplaying with.

Seamus O'Toole · **08-30-2013, 09:36 PM**

Myself, I just use the main story as background information. Nobody has to be the hero, but these events are still happening as things you can talk about....wars with beastmen....your rank in the Grand Company...places you've visted (for maybe a different reason). It all makes for a good backdrop.

FreelanceWizard · **08-30-2013, 10:51 PM**

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.

Cato · **08-30-2013, 11:26 PM**

I'm actually toying with the idea of leaving it up in the air as to whether or not Theodric is actually blessed with the power of the Echo. Perhaps he truly does bear the burden of such a gift, or maybe he's just incredibly luckily not to have been captured and subjected to the Tempering process? He's not exactly a pure and righteous hero, but he seeks to atone for his past and it would make a lot of sense for him to offer his aid in keeping the Primals and their minions away from civilisation. I just don't want him to walk away unscathed or as a celebrated hero but at the same time I don't want him to be Tempered either. It's tricky!

FreelanceWizard · **08-30-2013, 11:36 PM**

(08-30-2013, 11:26 PM)Theodric Brandt Wrote: I'm actually toying with the idea of leaving it up in the air as to whether or not Theodric is actually blessed with the power of the Echo. Perhaps he truly does bear the burden of such a gift, or maybe he's just incredibly luckily not to have been captured and subjected to the Tempering process? He's not exactly a pure and righteous hero, but he seeks to atone for his past and it would make a lot of sense for him to offer his aid in keeping the Primals and their minions away from civilisation. I just don't want him to walk away unscathed or as a celebrated hero but at the same time I don't want him to be Tempered either. It's tricky!

IMO, you could definitely make it an open question IC. For some reason, he just can't be Tempered, but he doesn't know why. He doesn't have any of the other characteristics of the Echo -- just the inability to be Tempered. Sure, some will assume it's due to the Echo, but it's a permanently open question ICly (and one you needn't answer OOCly, either Smile

). This is especially workable in lore because the Echo seems to manifest outside the control of those who have it; this characteristic makes it a perfect "Schroedinger," so to speak, where you can avoid making any definitive statement about having it or not while simultaneously being compatible with the storyline and giving others an opportunity to ponder and discuss ICly.

Cato · **08-30-2013, 11:44 PM**

(08-30-2013, 11:36 PM)FreelanceWizard Wrote:
(08-30-2013, 11:26 PM)Theodric Brandt Wrote: I'm actually toying with the idea of leaving it up in the air as to whether or not Theodric is actually blessed with the power of the Echo. Perhaps he truly does bear the burden of such a gift, or maybe he's just incredibly luckily not to have been captured and subjected to the Tempering process? He's not exactly a pure and righteous hero, but he seeks to atone for his past and it would make a lot of sense for him to offer his aid in keeping the Primals and their minions away from civilisation. I just don't want him to walk away unscathed or as a celebrated hero but at the same time I don't want him to be Tempered either. It's tricky!

IMO, you could definitely make it an open question IC. For some reason, he just can't be Tempered, but he doesn't know why. He doesn't have any of the other characteristics of the Echo -- just the inability to be Tempered. Sure, some will assume it's due to the Echo, but it's a permanently open question ICly (and one you needn't answer OOCly, either ). This is especially workable in lore because the Echo seems to manifest outside the control of those who have it; this characteristic makes it a perfect "Schroedinger," so to speak, where you can avoid making any definitive statement about having it or not while simultaneously being compatible with the storyline and giving others an opportunity to ponder and discuss ICly.

Thanks for the advice! I'll likely go down that route, then. It's definitely the best compromise as it leaves thing open without the need to go into specifics or to have my character drop everything to rush off to Vesper Bay and lead a life of secrecy aiding the Scions.

C'io Behkt · **08-31-2013, 03:35 AM**

(08-30-2013, 11:36 PM)FreelanceWizard Wrote:
(08-30-2013, 11:26 PM)Theodric Brandt Wrote: I'm actually toying with the idea of leaving it up in the air as to whether or not Theodric is actually blessed with the power of the Echo. Perhaps he truly does bear the burden of such a gift, or maybe he's just incredibly luckily not to have been captured and subjected to the Tempering process? He's not exactly a pure and righteous hero, but he seeks to atone for his past and it would make a lot of sense for him to offer his aid in keeping the Primals and their minions away from civilisation. I just don't want him to walk away unscathed or as a celebrated hero but at the same time I don't want him to be Tempered either. It's tricky!

IMO, you could definitely make it an open question IC. For some reason, he just can't be Tempered, but he doesn't know why. He doesn't have any of the other characteristics of the Echo -- just the inability to be Tempered. Sure, some will assume it's due to the Echo, but it's a permanently open question ICly (and one you needn't answer OOCly, either ). This is especially workable in lore because the Echo seems to manifest outside the control of those who have it; this characteristic makes it a perfect "Schroedinger," so to speak, where you can avoid making any definitive statement about having it or not while simultaneously being compatible with the storyline and giving others an opportunity to ponder and discuss ICly.

This is precisely how I am dealing with C'io's Echo, actually. In her, it manifests as a sensitivity to nature and the balance of the world that's just part of who she is. If someone told her about the Echo, I doubt she'd make the connection that it was the same thing she had.

The line earlier about how Ifrit gets summoned often makes sense to me as a Summoner working with the Immortal Flames. The trickier Primals to have an excuse to conjure are Titan and Garuda, who I know are much rarer and tougher. Having Ifrit Egi, however, is enough for me for now. However, it does bring up the problem of how her immunity to Tempering would give her some modicum of renown within the Flames given how devastating Tempering is to their ranks. Still, nothing even close to the fame of the ubiquitous "hero."

Taeh Niumoenwyn · **08-31-2013, 04:38 AM**

I think my approach is a bit different to most other people, that doesn't mean I think my approach is better or that anyone else's is worse. I'm just different.

I choose to actively roleplay through the main story because I like to stay in-character as much as possible and basically I enjoy thinking that my character is the 'hero' of the game. However, as has rightly been pointed out, this could put my character at odds with other characters at different points in the main story.

Therefore I consider this my personal roleplay journey. I don't assume that anything my character knows or has accomplished as part of the main story would also be part of another character's roleplay world. Yes this does make it a bit tricky at times but I let myself be guided by the characters I'm interacting with at the time.

Clover · **08-31-2013, 04:43 AM**

So the situation is: epic things are happening in the game, but it'd be silly for a single person to have done it all (at least it'd be if that person is planning to RP with other people). In that case, does that mean that no one can ever get involved in epic stories, or that every player has to come up with their own personal adventures if they want any? As I'm seeing the RP so far, everyone seems to be RPing their own thing, without any common story or anything that's actually happening in the world (RP-wise).
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My approach would be for someone to organize and master events related to the main storyline, where many people could participate. It'd be cool if this community could write its own version of the events; that'd make our story more alive, dynamic, and even meaningfulÂ in the world we're playing in. For example, the day Ifrit came back to life. It could be a real event hat could affect many people, either directly or indirectlyÂ (unless the players choose to completely ignore it, but why would anyone refuse a chance to RP, even if it's just RPing how your character feels regarding certain rumours aboutÂ a possibleÂ danger?)
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Perhaps this worked better on the Aion server I used to play in because the Spanish community was smaller, and the server was a private one focused solely on RPing. I just remember thatÂ we had epic conflicts and wars that involved every character who wanted or could be a part of it. We had a living, common story going on and it was really wonderful. Even if your character wasn't a soldierÂ and didn't directly participate in the wars, they still knew that a war was going on, thus that would still affect them in any way.
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I'd personally like FFXIV RP to be the same, to have some common stories that will affect a majority, or at least a large group of players.

Just my two cents!

Edit: As for the Echo, if anyone has it and ever wants to look into my characters' memories, just let me know! I'm not opposed to it; on the contrary, I find it interesting.

LiadansWhisper · **08-31-2013, 06:30 AM**

(08-30-2013, 11:44 PM)Theodric Brandt Wrote:
(08-30-2013, 11:36 PM)FreelanceWizard Wrote:
(08-30-2013, 11:26 PM)Theodric Brandt Wrote: I'm actually toying with the idea of leaving it up in the air as to whether or not Theodric is actually blessed with the power of the Echo. Perhaps he truly does bear the burden of such a gift, or maybe he's just incredibly luckily not to have been captured and subjected to the Tempering process? He's not exactly a pure and righteous hero, but he seeks to atone for his past and it would make a lot of sense for him to offer his aid in keeping the Primals and their minions away from civilisation. I just don't want him to walk away unscathed or as a celebrated hero but at the same time I don't want him to be Tempered either. It's tricky!

IMO, you could definitely make it an open question IC. For some reason, he just can't be Tempered, but he doesn't know why. He doesn't have any of the other characteristics of the Echo -- just the inability to be Tempered. Sure, some will assume it's due to the Echo, but it's a permanently open question ICly (and one you needn't answer OOCly, either ). This is especially workable in lore because the Echo seems to manifest outside the control of those who have it; this characteristic makes it a perfect "Schroedinger," so to speak, where you can avoid making any definitive statement about having it or not while simultaneously being compatible with the storyline and giving others an opportunity to ponder and discuss ICly.

Thanks for the advice! I'll likely go down that route, then. It's definitely the best compromise as it leaves thing open without the need to go into specifics or to have my character drop everything to rush off to Vesper Bay and lead a life of secrecy aiding the Scions.

If I'm not mistaken, Ifrit himself believes that the person who can't be tempered belongs to another god and that is why they are immune.

There are a lot of gods out there.

Magellan · **08-31-2013, 10:26 AM**

@ Clover: while your idea would be awesome, FC's and LS's can barely agree on storylines to run, let alone entire communities. People simply desire far too much different things from their RP for something so large scale to work. However, 2-3 guilds can, with organization, create a pretty meaningful storyline for them. But to try and force a server-wide RP isn't fair for those who don't want that particular RP in their storyline.

@OP: I maintain the single player storyline was written for gamers, not RPers. To try and force it into your RP usually flat out won't work, for reasons everyone have already illustrated.

cuideag · **08-31-2013, 11:27 AM**

I tend to consider the main storyline OOC for Jajara, as she is not at all magically gifted with the crystal etc etc. Just a regular ol' lalafell with a thing for digging up rocks and beating up wildlife. (sort of.)
Sidequests I do consider somewhat IC, though, because Jajara would be the type of person to help the smallfolk. They're her kind of people! So if someone asks her to go fetch some bat wings or frog poison or whatever, she'll probably be obliged to do it just because it would seem rude not to.

"Well, so long as I'm going out thataways... Why not?"

I don't have much of a problem if anyone does actually want to RP as a The Big Hero(es) because, well, they're paying to have fun and if that's fun for them then who am I to tell them to stop? BUT if encountered IC with such claims, Jajara would probably be veeeeery skeptical. No one has to accept anyone's RP if they don't agree with it but as long as everyone can observe some basic RP etiquette (like you can't force another character to think/feel/behave certain ways) then I see no reason why it would make problems for the greater community.

Just might end up with a lot of people with some really tall tales. And hey, they have to start somewhere, right?

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Main Storyline: A Matter of Taste, or RP Etiquette?

RPC has moved! These pages have been kept for historical purposes