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So, I am a recent returner and have been obsessed with the Sage class. I've been curiously scanning the net for lore about them, but there seems to be very little available, from either fans or official resources. As such, I have been doing some theorycrafting based on the resources available in-game in the form of the class story and abilities, some analysis of elements of the available lore, and a little linguistic analysis. So, here we go! I've tried to stay free of spoilers where possible. What do Sages do: The field of Somanoutics. In all official lore the field of study that makes a Sage is called Somanoutics. What is it? What does it mean? How does it relate to the Nouliths? My theory answering this question stems from the word itself. It seems to be a compound word, as is to be expected, consisting of two main elements: Soma - which is a greek term referring to the physical body as distinct from the mind - and Nous - a similarly greek word referring to the mind. As such, Somanoutics would roughly translate to 'matters involving the body and mind'. This makes me believe that the studies are a combination of traditional, physical medical techniques and Aetheric healing techniques used in unison - a view I believe is corroborated by the job quests. The fact that the Sage's 'weapons' are called 'Nouliths' further enforces this - the 'lith' refers to rocks, with the Nou- once more referring to the mind. These 'mind-stones' are used to affect the aether of the subject to compliment the traditional, somatic healing performed by the Sage. How they do it: Abilities and Skills. Now, as we are all aware FFXIV operates by a 'gameplay is lore' principle. As such, looking at the functions of the abilities and functions of the Job can give us a hint as to the way Sages go about their work. Abilities can be roughly split into three: Spells, abilities and Addersgall abilities. The former abilities consist of the global cooldown-bound abilities: The cast-time heals, Eukrasia barriers, resurrect and all of the offensive abilities. These abilities all show a dispersal of Aetheric energy. From that we can take that these abilities are done through channeling the Sage's own aether through the Nouliths in order to perform direct healing, applying a barrier to the target(s) and to deal damage. The Addersgall abilities, on the other hand, cost no MP and consume Addersgall. This consists of all the Chole abilities (Fun fact; Chole is the greek word for Gall) meaning mostly quick heals and damage reductions. This may represent the use of natural healing solutions focussed on the body. These abilities are shown with particle effects - likely representing the dispersion of a fluid or powder - and no Aetheric aspects, as those are broadly very recognisable for the Sage from the geometric stained-glass-like patterns. Finally, we have the non-Addersgall abilities - these by and large appear to be a combination of the two effect-wise, though they have no mana-cost. Potentially this triggers the Nouliths to draw ambient aether and combine it in some way with a medicinal application. Mind-stones: The use of Nouliths. Now, most of this has been touched on in the previous sections, but to reiterate: The Nouliths are primarily foci and delivery vehicles. It would appear from the Job quests that they are mostly used in battle, and that regular healing does not require them. Invariably being partly made of Aetheryte, they are capable of storing and releasing Aetheric energy - to either heal or harm. They mostly orbit the user when using abilities, spreading Addersgall, suffusing an area with healing Aether or a combination of the two. The only situations in which they appear to directly interact with a target is when applying a barrier. During attacks, they are aimed towards a target and made to release a burst of Aether. All attacks made this way are Unaspected, and the damage done is therefore most likely blunt/impact-type damage, rather than being a laser as such, though they may disturb the target's aetheric state as well. That is all I have for now! I am very open to discussion and correction, and this post is by no means exhaustive (yet). There are still a few things that I haven't touched on or couldn't properly explain. Here are a few of those topics, that I would be glad to hear some theories over: - The source of Addersgall - it auto-generates, but how? Where? - Addersting - A secondary resource gathered when a barrier is broken. What is it, where is it stored, and how does it affect... - Toxikon - An attack move that sends the Nouliths flying around the target(s) and blasting aetheric shots all around. I believe this is seen in the Endwalker cinematic when Alphinaud enters and we see Nouliths flying around their target and letting off sequential volleys. How is it affected by Addersting, what are its limits, and are the Nouliths autonomous while it is active? And there might be more I've missed. Please, do engage in the discussion, offer your ideas and feedback!

Hi! This is my first post so I hope this is the right place - I've been working on my WoL X'enik for just over 4 years now but have somehow only now decided to tackle his potential aether defficiancy(?). For context: He grew up with his family in the X Tribe (situated in the Ala Gannha area in my canon), but his tribe was razed to the ground by imperials. Any survivors were taken where they were experimented on for aether modification purposes (not sure if early resonant development could be feasible here?). The result of experiments corrupted a lot of the aether in his body and he's also been left blind in his right eye. I've tried looking around as much as I can but if possible I'd like some help and input on the following: - if there's any Canon aether issues in characters (aside from thancred and yshtola) and how it affects their health and abilities - how X'eniks aether could affect him - whether it would make sense if X'enik receiving the echo/hydaelyns blessing would give him some kind of "aethervision" like yshtola - potential types of echo that he could have to combat this - how the imperials, aether modification and the resonant could come into play? (my resonant knowledge is practically non existent) On the aether front, one of my ideas was that any aether in his body that's more astral aligned could be corrupt, allowing him only to manipulate or use umbral aether/magic and limiting his magical abilities. Also that he has teleportation limitations. I'm willing to bend the rules a bit when it comes to lore and canon but I'd like to stick to the fine print for the most part!

I'm trying to adapt an existing OC into FFXIV lore, and I'm struggling a bit with where to source her homeland. In her original story, she was the heir to a noble family in a desert region, who then later ran away from the place to avoid the responsibility of becoming the next ruler. I can't exactly choose Thanalan / Ul'dah as her homeland, as it would conflict with the current rule in Ul'dah. The only other desert-like/hot region I'm familiar with in FFXIV is thus Thavnair. The problem is, we can't even go to Thavnair yet, and so it's hard to know if it would work for the backstory I have in mind. How much do we know about Thavnair so far? Should I settle for having her be the daughter of a common noble in Ul'dah instead of the daughter of a royal ruler? Is there a large possibility that future discoveries of Thavnair lore would render her backstory null if I did choose to have her be a runaway royal heir from Thavnair? On the other hand, do we know what sorts of names characters from Thavnair tend to have? I'm not keen on changing my character's existing name, but if it turns out it's vastly different from Thavnairian naming customs, that would be another reason to forego using Thavnair as her homeland. I'm not sure if this is necessary, but I'm at the end of ARR at the moment, so I would appreciate if answers didn't have any spoilers from Heavensward or later.

It's been quite some time since I have played FFXIV so I am not really familiar with anything after the base game and have some lore questions I can't seem the answers to in the wiki's. Question 1: Are Viera welcomed in RP? The lore mentioned that they are banished from their homeland if they ever leave, so are they to rare to be considered seriously in Eorzea? Question 2: If Viera are fine for RP, is there anyway that she could be practicing astrology? Or would that be pushing it due to the Sharlayan's frowing upon teaching outsiders? Question 3: If there is no way a Viera could be an astrologian if following the lore, what races could be considered Sharlayan I could play? Or is astrology frowned upon like white and black mages are? Thanks in advance for the help! ^-^ Hopefully those questions make enough sense....lol

So I love the DRK quests, I consider myself pretty decent at DRK lore but I often hear people talking about how there can be dark knights that use positive emotions to fuel their power, rather than the negative edgeyness we've come to know and love. I know a lot of the lore we have isn't exactly reliable, considering the source, but from my understanding the whole topic of love, or finding a cause to fight for is specifically to balance out the fact that you're using negative emotions. It's not the love itself that fuels them, but it's knowing that they can die knowing their are giving in to the badness inside knowing that they can go home at the end of the day and it was all worth it, balancing them out. If they don't have something to fight for then it's easier to just continue to fall into the darkness with no light to guide you. What do you think? Am I totally off with this reasoning, or can a DRK literally be so happy that their powers manifest?

As soon as I figure out how best to edit wikis (never done it before), I'll be doing so :). I'd posted this on the FFXIV forums but it was recommended I do so here as well. This is a creation by people all over the world who never knew that they each held a little piece of this astonishing secret: one of the best stories ever never told by FF. Let me start from the top. I started playing FFXIV back in May of this year when a co-worker finally convinced me to pick it up. I immediately locked onto the Roes. Who can resist that Hellsguard flavor text? Sign me up for Badass Town! It was a few weeks in that I realized... my race really doesn't matter. In fact, there's not a lot of "me" around. Why? Enter Google. I typed the phrase a large chunk of us probably have: "Hellsguard lore". Oof. Not a lot. Tried some more, still meh. Then I started seeing the comments from the community, "There's so little", "It's so mysterious", "It's just a content-save from 1.0 like Duskwights" (probably). But I'm into the RP scene. Not only that, I'm lore crazy for FF games, and FF always has something hidden. Always. So I went digging. I found a few threads. A Reddit conversation sparked my intrigue with things I never knew existed. A dozen people getting together and sharing these hidden sources with one another from someone simply asking "does anyone else know anything"? Then THIS came out. It lit a fire in my gut. So many people came together out of the love of this game to dig through this one last secret. It took them a decade, determined to solve something they loved. How amazing! Mine was a smaller endeavor and I knew it'd take time, but I it'd be worth it. Plus, I wasn't by myself. Enter YOU. See, there were already all the answers out there found by other people. Snippets, clues, rare finds. They just hadn't known that someone across the world playing the same game held the other half to their puzzle. I just had to find them, spread them out, and start mapping matches to make one solid, seamless solution. Sounds easy? Well, we've all seen how hard it is to find the basic lore on Hellsguard... I wasn't satisfied. I dug, I read, I researched. I listened to interviews, read discussions. Not enough. I dug more, read more, listened to interviews, read translated transcripts. One source led me to another, and another-- After 3 months, I couldn't find any more. Some had even been updated with 5.0 and I needed to edit what I'd had. All that was left was to put it all together. I chose a format and began to separate each article, piecing them apart by note cards and individual Docs, crossing out which ones I'd already placed. I rewrote things with as best of a flow as I could. Finally, I sat back in awe at what you all had made. I'm so excited to share it with the FFXIV world. This was all of you. Thank you for this beautiful journey. (Click)

I am wondering, I know Centaurs existed in Meracydia - is there any lore outside of that simple fact that is known or available? Like what they looked like? Their race information, etc?

VILLAGES OF THE FARREACH // Hellsguard Headcanon Click above for the Doc ! I love how the Xaela got so much of these little lore-sprinkles with the info snippets on different clans. In continuation with my Ultimate Hellsguard Lore Guide, I present a few (4-5) canon-inspired fan villages in slightly-more-detailed Xaela description fashion! I might even do some art for them in the future . Edited haphazardly by yours truly . Are there any that you enjoy? Any that you're curious about? Any that spark some cool ideas for your characters?

I wanted to start casually roleplaying but I'll be honest I know nothing about the lore. I'm going to read up about it but I wanted to know if there are some taboos I should avoid so that I can start now whilst I read up the general lore. Like what should I NEVER do as a roleplayer backstory wise or other?

Hey folks! I’m finally having a moment to catch some time to better delve deeper into the game since my more initial debut back in early March. Since then and now, I’ve been peeking at the many lore posts by Sounsyy and what other posts could be salvaged for use by Unnamed Mercenary (Much appreciation to both of them for the time they put forth). While I get the gist of most of the aspects of the lore that I can digest, there’s simply still so much more to pour through and some that remain to be.. Uncertain at best. I’ll be posting a list down below about some areas that I’m confused about or simply haven’t found too much on them as of the moment. 1. Dates: What’s the seemingly agreed upon date used across for Eorzea as of now? As of currently, the farthest I’ve ever gotten within the story lines and MSQ is the after-patch batches of the MSQ that lead up the Heavensward expansion, taking up the reins from the main story in ARR. I’ve realized that so far, we’ve entered the Seventh Astra era, as declared by the Grand Company leaders after the Warrior Of Light defeats the Ultima weapon. And to possibly expand on this, what was the date before the Seventh Umbral calamity impacted, and how long has the Seventh Umbral era lasted for? I know before then it was called the Sixth Astral era, but as far as I can gleam from a wide variety of sources, it seems to be around the year 1572. As for how long the Seventh Umbral era has lasted, would it be correct to assume for five years, give or take? 2. Unconsciousness and Death: I’m coming to a sense that both of these aspects are a rather interesting part of the lives of Eorzeans and outwards. As for being in-character, is it true that people, to a certain degree, once reaching a state of being ‘unconscious’, just simply ‘dissolve’ into Aether and get transported back to an Aetheryte Crystal (such as those in the various city-states, etc) or is this something reserved to the ‘Warrior of Light’ due to their possession of an Echo? Or if so, is it something that forcibly happens? With all this in mind and if that is indeed how unconsciousness works, what really defines death for a character? As seen in (something I’ve learned from various videos, among other things. I also don’t mind spoilers too much, so be free to use them if need be), what stems from a character experiencing unconsciousness to an actual death where they’ll be transported back into the ‘lifestream’? 3. Teleportation through the Aetheryte: I’ve seen a number of posts about this, though not entirely certain if I grasp it entirely. Is this a mechanic that’s widely available for anyone’s use, in terms of being in-character? Or is this something where only a certain kind of folk that possess the ability to truly make use of the feature of its teleportation? This is of course also taking in account about having attuned to other crystals throughout the world, as shown multiple times through game time. 4. The Lifespan of the Elezen: While I’ve discovered that races such as the Miqo’te and the Lalafell share a kinship in the sense of their lifespan with the Hyur, I’ve yet at all been able to find the lifespan for the Elezen. All I’ve been able to figure out about this race is that they live longer than the other races, but also seem to age slower? I have a character concept that I’d like to explore later with them being an elezen, but I don’t have the faintest clue with how to handle their age as I don’t want to make them too old, or also too young. 5. Food and Drink: Possibly not really a lore question, but it’s something that I also can’t seem to find in bulk. The most basic and commonly used is something that I’m searching for! While also including Teas, I’ve only been able to discover what I’ve been physically given in-game or found throughout the shops I’ve stopped at in the game. Is there a definite list for items such as these?

I have a friend who wants to change citizenships from tribal (a miqo'te Keeper who lived on the fringes of Gridanian society) to be a full Ishgardian citizen. While nationality changes were common in FFXI, there's almost no lore I'm aware of pertaining to citizenship changes, much less Ishgardian citizenship changes. A second friend indicated he didn't believe it would be possible given Ishgard's insular nature. It made me realize how truly little I know about citizenship/nationality changes in general within Eorzea. I'm just curious, is it at all viable for a miqo'te to properly become an Ishgardian citizen, and if so, is there any in-lore process that would need to be followed to do so? Furthermore, Ishgard aside, are there any good quotes about the process? I want to know more about the process in general to have as much information as possible on the topic for future use in RP should such a topic ever rise up again.

Pretty straightforward honestly, I was curious if anyone had any lore dumps on Alchemy and how its handled in the game/what most people use it for/its practical uses, in general,/how it is performed. Because I know what ALchemy was originally used for in reality, but considering the crafts in the game, it seems to lean more towards our Chemistry?(Or maybe its 2 am and I'm overthinking this). Either way, I just want a giant lore dump on Alchemist and Alchemy but I can't seem to find something, I could just not be looking in the right places though. Any help is greatly appreciated while I level this bad boy up and read what I can find from there. Thank you to anyone with knowledge in advance < 3

So I've always wondered if my character gets knocked down or away, and drops his weapon could he theoretically still casts magic as a SCH, BLM, WHM, SUM, etc? Like I get with soul crystals that they act as a focus so you don't implode but surely my character wouldn't be helpless without his stick..

Hi, looking into making a Ascian character that is of course not an overlord but if possible something in-between and if i can work with these.I have done extensive research into them both in lore and in-game demonstrations of what they are capable of doing and the possibility of what they could do(lore-bending) that I could use for my character. So i'm looking for more lore about them to make my character around but at the same time that is also bendable to the lore.Also how does one RP as an Ascian and is Deathflare a pure-aetherical attack ability? Here are some observations that I seen while researching some of these from the MSQ and certain side-quests that involve them. May contain spoilers below.Any information is welcomed and information listed below are just what i think Ascian might be capable of doing based on observation.Also if there is any misinformation any corrections would be welcomed too.

Hello, this will be an odd one. I recalled a really awesome guide someone in the community made that detailed the plausibility of certain jobs and their actual availability to roleplayers who were lore abiding. I've lost it and I was hoping someone might have it.

I've now played through the AAR storyline 3 times (why do I have this need for alts?), and one thing that confuses me is how much of a secret the Scions of the Seventh Dawn were. They have a 'secret base' and talk about working clandestinely to keep from Garlean eyes, etc. And yet.. just about everybody seems to know who they are. The Grand Companies send representatives to their "secret" base. They do nothing to hide their identities - just how many times has an NPC gone "Oh, you're with the Scions? Here, let me help you", not just to The Hero but also any other Scions with The Hero? Heck, half the time people recognize The Hero even before introductions are made. During my first run I kept wondering how long till the Garleans found their base, because they sure didn't do much to hide it. Really, even a half competent spy network could have easily followed the Scions around (not to mention the Ascians following the Hero). It really wasn't a question of if, but when. After Ultima Weapon was defeated, it's clear that the Scions are more well known (though by how much I don't know yet, only just started those quests). But before then, just how much of a secret were they? How much would the average citizen have known? Or is this just one of those bits of lore that has more contradictions than answera, and it's best to just shrug and say "whatever"?

Anyone who's finished ARR's first campaign knows the general idea of Operation Archon - the leaders of Eorzea reject surrender, and unite to fight. The Grand Companies, supported by Free Companies, conducts a three pronged attack to weaken the Garlean forces, and open the way for the Warrior of Light to destroy Ultima Weapon. We all know how things played out from the Warrior of Light's perspective (and the very cut-scene heavy Duties). The real question I have is... what ELSE do we know of Operation Archon? We know that Gridanian forces attacked the rail lines, Limsa forces attacked coastal forts, and Ul'dah pushed through to Gaius' stronghold. While we know a little of the Limsa and Ul'dah attacks, there's a lot about them we do not know (troop compositions, causalities, etc.) As far as I can tell we know basically nothing of the Gridanian battle, other than it was successful. I ask because I'm working on how to integrate Operation Archon into my characters histories. After all, in-game time it happened a couple years ago, and it was a pretty big deal. I'm sure others might like to know more also. I'm particularly curious about the Gridanian side, since so little was revealed (and so far internet searches haven't helped).

I know aether is like...life force. But I assume that it's also used to power the spells of the magic users (THM, WHM, CONJ). I have written my character to not be adept in using aether, so having teleport makes her sort of sick. That being said, walking everywhere is getting boring. Would it be feasible to use ethers to supplement her aether enough to teleport around?

I assumed this would be helpful for anyone who is roleplaying Au Ra; specifically the Xaela. This is the transcript, word for word from the scene provided to your character by the Elder of the Oronir tribe. If this is a large part of the "CREATION OF ALL AU RA" lore, so have at! Please let me know if this is not the place for it as well. I will gladly relocate. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy! [ Hien ] How this world born of the gods was to be their battlefield, their creations to fight in their stead. How Azim, Father of the Dawn, he who birthed the sun, and Nhaama, Mother of the Dusk, she who birthed the moon, made the Au Ra... Yet though these children warred for a time, eventually they laid down their arms and came to love one another. And so the gods bequeathed this world to their children, and ascended to the heavens whence they came. Those born of the Dawn Father were called the Raen, and those born of the Dusk Mother were called the Xaela. So it was and ever after. [ Udutai ] But what it does not mention is this: Azim and Nhaama were lovers. Oh, they fought in the beginning, as did their creations. That much is true. But when they saw how the Xaela and the Raen rose above their hatreds and joined hands in harmony, their hearts stirred, and the love their children shared became theirs as well. Alas, he was of the sun and she of the moon. Apart they must remain, lest day and night cease to be, and with them all creation. With sadness in their hearts they returned to heavens-- he to the day, she to the night, destined to walk before and after, never to meet. As time passed, Azim's yearning for his beloved grew deeper still. Was there truly naught that could be done, he wondered. At last, he knew. "If the Father cannot be with the Mother, then he shall go amongst her children. Now and ever after." So it was, that Azim took a fragment of his being and with it fashioned an avatar. Clad in scale of midnight, he descended, and sought out the Xaela. Yea, he was the first Oronir. We are of his flesh and his blood. We are the children of Azim, and it is our duty to watch over and keep the Xaela safe. [ Hien ] ... I confess, I did not expect the tale of your people's beginnings to be quite so romantic. Yet I must ask: if it is your duty to defend the Xaela, how can you go to war with them in the Naadam? Is that not a contradiction? [ Udutai ] If a father disciplines his son, does that mean there is no love in his heart? Xaela are not wont to kneel. They must be made to -- only then will they heed reason. [ Hien ] I see... Such is the way of the Steppe. Thank you, elder, for sharing with us your wisdom. [ Udutai ] Eager to depart? Ere you go, you would do well to hear the end of my tale. When Nhaama looked down and saw the avatar of Azim, she knew him at once, and shed tears of love and longing. When they struck the earth, they rose anew, as a counterpart to the Oronir. Their fates entwined. So you see, for every son of Azim is a daughter of Nhaama for whom he must search. Even now.

Here's a collection of good sources for all your lore needs! Adding more as I find them! Feel free to post your own as replies to this topic. mirkemenagerie update Lore index: A great source for everything! I pretty much use this site for most things. The person has done a lot of work gathering lore from a manner of different sources. Lore Finder A true gem, this web application allows you to search for words and references in in-game quest dialogue for any theme or word you set. Great for finding some of the more obscure lore you might not encounter unless you played every quest and read every description. The Raimdelle Codex Alces [Public] A book on naturalism, Eorzean style. Basically natural research, coded and arranged in lists of data and notes made from an IC perspective. Which means, much of the information is here is not necessarily lore-accurate. Take it all with a grain of salt, and not as 100% fact. It's more meant to be read as something you might find In Character in a library. Not all studies and theories in science are entirely accurate in real life either. Miqo'te Related Articles: Miqo'te Naming Conventions Pretty self-explanatory. Miqo'te names explained. Miqo'te Mating Strategies Before you judge a book by its' cover, the poster of this thread actually went into deep detail and debate over miqo'te culture in general, mirroring it to biological mechanisms in animals as well as humans. Half of it is about breeding, but the other half is about things everyone making a miqo'te should be thinking about: in what kind of tribe/clan or ancestry did their character come from and how does it affect them?