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Vincent Sarkoza · **08-03-2015, 05:38 AM**

As far as I know, Ninjas use Aether ( I forgot what Domans call it) to channel their Mudras and use certain skills but what about Rogues? Is stealth activated by channeling aether through the body? How do these two classes use Aether in combat for their respective skills both lore wise and in game? Like how in the Rogue story quest, Jacke disappears after someone walks in front of the player.

Sin · **08-03-2015, 07:15 AM**

I think this is one of those places were if you take the ability at face value it makes for a dull experience.

I understand how Ninjas can use Aether to facilitate their disappearing act, and have seen some cool examples of that written.

Ultimately though I think stealth is pretty cool when you roleplay it as actual stealth, hiding behind shadows, distractions, dressing in black and not just a magical I'm hiding now button.

In the rogue storyline, I saw Jackes disappearance behind the walking person as just a showcase of his skill to be able to use that momentary distraction to vanish -- not literally, but dextrously moving with the person, or jumping off a ledge or something so as to appear to vanish.

Sounsyy · **08-03-2015, 08:20 AM**

(08-03-2015, 05:38 AM)Vincent Sarkoza Wrote: As far as I know, Ninjas use Aether ( I forgot what Domans call it) to channel their Mudras and use certain skills but what about Rogues? Is stealth activated by channeling aether through the body? How do these two classes use Aether in combat for their respective skills both lore wise and in game?

This post kind of goes over the similarities (mechanically) between Far Eastern Ninjutsu and Eorzean Conjury. In one of the early ninja quests, Oboro explains that Ninjas draw their power from the world around them and shape the aether using hand symbols, similar to how Arcanists utilize glyphs to dictate their magic.

Oboro Wrote:We draw power from the world around us - the heaven, the earth, the hearts of man - and channel this power into physical form. I am told that this is similar to your concept of ay-ther, was it?

As for Rogues, /shrug? I remember a few months back there was some heated debate on the topic of whether or not the base melee classes used aether or not. Some of the justification for them doing so were the animations of various weaponskills, such as Rage of Halone, or the fact that some attacks were elementally charged, like Windbite or Gust Slash. It was theorized that this was why Monks could punch through walls or Pugilists could take down monsters with their bare hands. Or why a group of eight people with spears, shortswords, and daggers were able to slay Leviathan when the cannon bombardment of the entire Lominsan 3rd Squadron didn't even damage the Primal's hide.

The flipside to the argument, of course, were that these were just animations to keep gameplay interesting and that they may or may not have any bearing on in world lore. But then you have characters like Ilberd who En-fire their blade with aether in cutscene. So, yep.

Basically, if you want to play things like Hide as aether-driven, you can! Conversely, you can also play it off as having a natural explanation, Houdini trickery, prism powder, or whatever. There isn't any lore (that I can think of off hand without going back to the Rogue quest where you sneak past people on the dock) detailing how exactly Hide works in the XIV universe, so your options for how you want to have it work are open.

Hope this helps! ^^

Vincent Sarkoza · **08-03-2015, 09:03 AM**

Thanks for the help guys Smile

Â I'm actually working on Vincent's character profile right now and i just wanted to make sure that everything is lore friendly. You touched on a lot of points I was confused about Sounsyy, when you mentioned people were wondering whether or not the baseÂ
melee classes used aether or not and when Ilberd did that thing with his sword. Also, thanks for the Oboro quote xD I was actually looking for that heheh. Â As for hide, i think most people are using a natural explanation? Though I might try a hybrid of using both aether and nature. Maybe using Aether to make one self a tad less visible and then simply using the shadows or foliage nearby to blend in? That's what it looks like in game at least and i think it might work? Tongue

A'kos Saiyal · **08-04-2015, 01:05 AM**

You could make it a process too. Say in the early stages of being a rogue, hiding is mostly about using cover, stepping carefully, blending and all that. Then as your character develops they start incorporating more tricks into it, and as they become a ninja that uses aether, it would be logical to incorporate some of that into your characters skill set.

For example, my character is primarily a ninja in terms of skills and training. Ninjutsu as we have it in game revolves around using the natural elements of air, earth, fire,water, ice and lightning. I played things like I described above, and now as he's mastering more and more of the skills he's used throughout life, he may for example use Air to mask any sounds he might make or Earth to soften the ground and/or hide his footsteps. He still needs to be careful and use his natural skill at moving, but he adds more and more to his repertoire as he develops and learns.

Aether utilization for Rogues and Ninjas

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