We've discussed WHAT powers, let's discuss WHY powers!

[Warren Castille]

I am ripping off Yunas15's thread located right here and giving it a loving sister.

 

WHY have you given your character the suite of powers they have to work with? In a world where we have standing armies, invasions, supernatural creatures and legends steeped in BIGGER LEGENDS what reason made you pick, specifically, to be the Deputy Policeman?

 

I'm looking for something a little more than "because I like it." Let's have some real meat to chew on!

 

I ripped off thematic elements from comics I like and borrowed liberally from the Flawed Human Hero concept.

 

ICly, Warren's just a big guy with a practiced hand.

 

My threads here have been a lot of (hopefully) cerebral looks at the decisions someone makes when under duress. I wanted to explore the Good Person Do Bad Things dynamic so I gave Warren the toolkit to do good, then put him in circumstances to let him take the morally questionable out and see if he does. I wanted someone who couldn't rely on outside assistance - no spells, no tools, no gifts. Just a man, his conscience, and the consequences of his actions.

 

Edit: This isn't to discuss your IC history or anything, so I've removed the irrelevant part from my post. This is why you, the person at the keyboard, selected things for your character. Not how the RP shaped them!

[Melkire]

...what reason made you pick, specifically, to be the Deputy Policeman?

 

Because no one else was visibly playing such in a competent manner at the time.

 

On a more serious note, I was putzing about Limsa during my MSQ grind on Osric, long before I'd conceived a backstory for him, when I saw someone wearing the Flame Private's Jerkin. That was the first time I'd ever seen that piece of gear. I wanted to wear it. I read up on it. Learned it was a Grand Company exclusive, as in I had to make my character an Immortal Flame in order to wear it. So I did just that and then threw together an outfit/costume to go with the jerkin.

 

Once I had my aesthetic, I went, "Oh shit, I need to justify why he's wearing this. Uh. He'd have to be an Immortal Flame. Why's he an Immortal Flame? Where'd he come from?" So I started answering all the various questions that popped into my head.

 

He became a career soldier to get away from his OG thuglyfe past. Okay, that's no big stretch, happens to folks IRL all the time. So where'd he come from, where was he running from? City made the most sense, you wouldn't need to run so far as the military if you were out in the boonies. Three cities, Ul'dah was the destination... maritime city of pirates has so much more potential and opportunity for scum and villainy and shady pasts than Do-Gooder Forest Village Full of Racists. So he was from Limsa. What'd he do in Limsa that was so bad? Contract assassin. Okay so if he was an assassin, his skills would then include....

 

From that train of thought came the knife-loving nut who got into bar brawls and street fights that gradually transitioned into a soldier trained to use his own body as the ultimate weapon. It all flowed downstream from, "hey this piece of gear looks cool, I wanna wear it".

 

 

EDIT: Damn you, Warren, my post is relevant!

[Harmonixer]

I'll be using a former character of mine, who will remain nameless because of reasons and it won't matter much anyway because he's not on this game anyhow.

 

I was ICly hired by a guild to defend the family. The original idea I had was a 'bandit' type character that was chased out of his home by a force stronger than anyone he had overtaken and anyone else could answer to. Since he had to change lifestyle very suddenly, he grew open to the idea that something had to change. He was approached and offered a new home, a new job and an endless supply of things to partake in.

 

His sense of justice was skewed and found little value in coin, since he had accumulated so much of it from his lifestyle that it wouldn't grant him the pleasure he sought. Continuously putting himself in situations he hadn't encountered before forced him to adapt. It was not uncommon for him to find a new mark that would challenge him, and over the years he had picked up new talents and at least heard of new concepts. Now, with a power family to support his actions and provide work for him, he was able to indulge.

 

No longer did his weapons need to be second hand, he gained protective wards to add to his newer armor, he gained various trinkets of questionable morality and functionality and most importantly he learned from many experienced combatants how to improve himself. Being taught how to read, helped considerably as well.

 

Without these things, I wouldn't have been able to effectively play him in the universe that I was in. There were too many powerful forces at work that a simple bandit without a home could deal with. It was mostly out of necessity and general RP that he came to be. He ended up far beyond a point where simple 'protective' duties ended up being too menial (Sounds stupid, I know) but I had to place him in far more dangerous positions and tasks because of it. Eventually, I shelved the character and let him 'stay where he is' and a reminder to myself that limitations are very important and can get a little boring if they aren't present.

 

Edit: Goddammit, Warren.

 

tl;dr

 

I really wanted to RP with some new people, so I made a simple concept and ran with it. Little by little it built up to where it eventually ended.

[ProvaDiServo]

I brought my main over from a non-RP server. Kept my head canon for the character's history as I have played her in other games. And decided this would be a New 52 esque plot for her, and related chars.

 

And just made proper nerfs as to not be OP for the realm's standards.

 

TL;DR

 

Aint nobody have time or money for name changes.

[Nero]

The way I have all of my characters--past, present, and future--is thus: competent and experienced enough to defeat most NPCs and mooks, not well-trained or specialized enough to defeat combat-oriented player characters. This way my character can still fight in RP if he needs to but he will also typically have an IC reason to avoid the aggrandizing cafeteria foodfight that is freeform PC vs. PC combat.

 

Other than that, the "powers" I assign to them are more or less completely arbitrary, usually for backstory reasons. 

 

Example: I needed a reason for Nero to stay in Ul'dah for an extended period of time before returning to Limsa without being in significant danger in his backstory. Solution: have him study the basics of thaumaturgy. The thaumaturgy skill itself pretty much has zero impact on his character.

[Mikh'a]

Is "because it's fun" an acceptable answer?

 

Because if so...

 

Because it's fun.

[cuideag]

I'll stick with Jajara here because she's really the character that deviates from what might be my "norm", since Delial is a continuation from WoW.

 

I'm fascinated by background characters in the big fantasy epics. The merchants and the little people who might not actually get to, y'know, save princesses or deal with dragons or whatnot but might have had a hand in there somewhere logistically. Someone had to make that hero their weapon and armor, or house and feed them while they were getting psyched up to go confront the Big Bad.

 

Having the potential to beat somebody up is fine and well and Jajara certainly has that (and of the two? times she's actually fought somebody, she's won both times), but choosing not to and instead supporting all those weird friends of hers who do get up to horrible and terrifying antics is really fascinating to me. Jajara is absolutely an NPC in that sense and I find it to be very satisfying because it's a choice she makes as a character. She's proud of her abilities but she's even more proud of the fact that she can chose to not contribute to what she thinks of as the glorifying of reckless, wasteful behavior. Heck, her popoto boyfriend dabbles in all kinds of weird wizardly things and it terrifies her but she still stays out of the way unless she genuinely thinks he or someone else is going to get hurt. Instead, she can just support her friends and (hopefully) the realm in non-violent ways: baking terrible foods or making tools or punching rocks to supply the Guilds and Companies.

 

... also I was just really in love with the thought of a tiny popoto woman beating the snot out of things so many times bigger than her, and shoulder tackle only solidified my love of MONK. OOC MONK PRIDE!!!!

[Sophia_Grave]

I wanted to try the Spy theme, as that is one I've never RP'd, and I personally always gravitate toward technology in fantasy settings. Considering the Empire is very technologically advanced, I was able to kill two birds with one stone by having an Empire loyal spy. 

 

Thanks to that starting point, I was able to explore some tropes/avenues that I've never attempted in RP before. For example, I've never fussed much with politics before, but Sophia is very much a patriot who believes the Empire's way is the right way. Considering that the City-States aren't much better than the Empire morally, its interesting to play at that dynamic. Additionally, I've never tried making a nay-theist, but Sophia is against gods or Primals of any kind, believing humanity (or rather, the sentient races) to be above any deity.

 

Essentially, my choices with the character revolve around novelty and new experiences. I've been roleplaying a while, but its nice to challenge myself to write themes I'm not familiar or immediately drawn to. Luckily, she turned out to be a blast and is definitely one of my favorite characters I've ever created.

[ZoktaiKhor]

for my two alt ocs i played with RNGoddess. But for any character i base on me.

 

First  I think about my life up til now then think about choices. Hobbies, crafts i partake in, places i been , i explored and my best achievements in fields. Then ii investigate lore see what would be possible for one person to do. Finnaly i settle it all down with a simple Skill sheet.

 

List of powers:

Magic

Might

Brain

Flexibility

Social

etc.

etc.

 

then give my self a limited number of points to work with that way either to be great at one thing and weak in another or just perfectly average. It allows allot of various stories to be made too based on said skills.

 

 

 I like playing the commander or big boss like character. I help out alot and show up to give guidance or egg people on ,but i love pulling people up and throwing them into the spot light what happens when they would be place here? This is a perfect time to reviel your key to victory! etc. etc.

[Aaron]

Aaron basically revolves around yin and yang. His color scheme even portrays this.

 

Every action has a reaction. 

 

I don't delve too much into what I designed Aaron for after that as I leave that up to peoples speculation of why he acts like he does.

[Maril]

When I came from Rift, I'd been playing a character that was rather over-powered, because of the ascension lore and what it did to people. So I was looking for something different to keep RP refreshed and interesting.

I chose to almost go anti-sue on Nailah, giving her a regular if but slightly tragic past, and beyond making her physically strong enough to deal a good punch in a barfight, I didn't give her anything else in terms of combat-oriented power. Instead I decided to ramp up her influence, explore how she could have contacts and favors owed in various places around Eorzea. So she became the type that likely knows someone, or at least knows someone that knows someone. I also gave her some skill with surviving in the wild and the likes.

In recent time (past 3 months) Nailah has been studying thraumaturgy (focused on fire), which is a direct reaction to the RP that has been going on. She's been attempted killed and gotten real close to dying about 3 times so far and, I think that was enough to convince her to try and pick up some manner of self-defense. However, she's not set to become really super powerful anytime soon, I expect her to be able to fight in real fights with a decent chance of getting away from it alive in about 3 or so months time. I like to do slow progression when it comes to skills, I feel it gives some more "weight" to them in a sense than just attributing it to the past (though I do not disagree with those who do, it's just another way of doing it.)

 

But overall it's very different and at that very interesting for me as a roleplayer to (finally) get to experience a point of view that isn't super awesome fight-oriented like stuff. I have not been able to properly achieve this in any other game so far, and it's been something I wanted to try out for a long time.

[Desu Nee]

Quki is slighty generic, I'll admit, I'm not one that makes the backstory of a character build them, but actually it's actions, and events in their life shaping who they are. Regarding's Quki's magical talent, it was admiteddly a pragmatic decision, because she can't even raise an axe by herself, and a strong punch can break her bones, and sands easily flay her skin, and the concept of adventurer echoed more strong on her, specially since she lived a sheltered life and it's far too young to be a merchant, or something.

 

Nowadays, she's more of a scholar-by-hobby individual, and I don't think someone as frail as Quki would have survived the life of a meaningless Ul'dah refugee after the Calamity if she didn't have at least an ace on her sleeve.

[Askier]

Askier became Askier because I needed a character smart enough to blow shite up, have a back story that made him a tragic hero, and be powerful enough to be terrifying as a villain since he ended up as the antagonist for my very first world event where Askier tried to blow up Ul'dah for his Garlean superior.

 

Honestly, when I first made him he was just an illiterate woodcutter.  Though that became his cover story as he gathered his bomb parts after he went full Garlean Bomb maker.

 

Honestly, wasn't planning on him survive the first event *shrug*

 

It was all Melkire and Zac Evan's fault Askier continued to exist. Rofl.

 

Jin'li became an evil half dead thing because, well, he's to much fun to play and i can't stop. I try to kill him off like a good boy. But Jin'li...is...so...KIND.

 

As for Ki, yeah he's just an asshole cause I needed a character that wasn't dead or evil. lol.  I wanted someone who could basically fit with any group for rp events so I made a mercenary obsessed with coin whose morality existed simply when he was paid to have one.  Has worked out pretty well. lol

[Hammersmith]

So why is he old? Why is he strong?  They're  defining things.  

 

Why is he old and hard to kill? Hammer's tough because of the stuff he's been through.  He's old because he survived the things that scarred him and shaped his world..  It's shaped how he views things, he presses that need to survive into everyone he comes across.  Challenges stagnant things because he either wants to see people break the mold or break themselves against it.    He wears his own scars proudly.  They're proof he survived things that were terrible, even if he brought them on himself.

 

Why's he strong physically? Why no magic? Why be a massive bulk of meat?  Because it's the tool he chose to make weapons with.  Sure, he's long since finished his own usefulness as a weapon, but he's still sharp, still dangerous, and it's always obvious that lifetime of being dangerous is still there, just under the ugly words and uglier face.

 

 

 

Why does he enjoy fucking with people?

 

He leverages his (relatively speaking) long life against other people.  He's an old monster who's become a craftsman who makes weapons.  He still makes them, it's his life.

 

Sometimes those weapons are steel.

 

Sometimes those weapons are people.

 

Sometimes they break.

 

Sometimes they're sharp and sleek.

 

Sometimes their loud and explosive, sometimes their blunt.

 

He's always happy when they go marching off.

 

He rarely worries about what comes next, much like any weapons manufacturer.

[Brynhilde]

Brynhilde's themes are redemption, and the limits of forgiveness. When I thought about what kind of character I could make from those themes, I decided that the concept I wanted to go with was that of a very flawed, yet well-meaning woman who is tormented by wrongs she committed in her past.

 

To that end, I didn't give her any special powers. I wanted her to be character who is in a constant state of struggle; her wars are not only external, but inside herself also. She's a woman grappling with the burden of guilt and the immense task of atonement, and I wanted her to conduct that fight purely through her own hard graft. Otherwise, her victories would be meaningless.

 

Secondly, I wanted Bryn to be a survivor. She fought a guerilla war for many years in the Resistance, and so is very cunning and resourceful in combat.

 

With these things in mind, I decided that Bryn would be an exceptionally talented swordswoman (you would be, after 34 years of training), with some limited conjury learned in a field medic capacity. She can take magitek smallarms apart and reassemble them in a flash. She knows battle strategy and has some skill in crafting explosives. That's it.

[111]

Evangeline's concept was both an exiled noble, and a revolutionary. And I chose her abilities based on her movement between those concepts.

 

She knows the sword, lance, and fist to a competent level (As all women of Ishgard should, in order to defend their city). However since she is flighty and unfocused, she never has had the long training that would make her a master.

 

Instead her power is science and deduction, lore and politics. She has been disillusioned by magick, and trusts in technology to get her goals. It's been fun steadily ramping up the devices and items she's able to build. From smoke bombs and flashbangs, to grenades and mines.

 

Recently she collaborated with many in her FC + Otto Vann to build a cannon for an event. Firing iron harpoons linked by rattling chains to impale a wrym into the ground. Who knows what the future might bring!?

 

Evangeline doesn't trust Magitech, thinking it just another form of magic, so her inventions do run more realistic. We'll see if the machinist lore in heavensward changes that!

[Darien Cadell]

Stealth is a go-to favorite for me, usually in a more natural form, but still a go-to.

 

As is jerkass - not really a power.

 

Add in a huge dose of curiosity for a touch of magic.

 

And voila, stealth jerkass scholar. 'cause I enjoy it.

[Gegenji]

Chachan's friendship powers mostly evolved from wanting Chachan to be a friendly, cheerful, helpful sort as my first delve into MMO RP. I wanted to make him able to be able to fit into as many opportunities as he could! And help acclimate me to this sort of format.

 

So, he ended up a little guy, out on his own, wanting to help people and become a hero! He had the endurance from being a smith, along with the ability to create his own weapons, but... I really wanted him to have a little spark all his own beyond that. Something that he could do when the chips were down, when he was really needed to step up.

 

That's where I realized I could play with the idea of his aetheric ineptitude being somewhat due to all that energy being refocused into... well, the ability to take a stand and shield ally and friend. He wants to help and protect people - so his aetheric nature reflects that.

 

Gogon's strange chain of events came from me (perhaps foolishly) wanting to take a stab at how someone could truly come to "learn" all the Jobs in an IC fashion (partially due to having put all that work into getting them all to 50!). But I wanted to put a twist on it, make him a kind of... dark reflection of the WoL, almost? What happens when you gather all this power for the wrong reasons, and lose yourself along the way in your unyielding desire for revenge.

 

Judge's WHY for being powerful is due to wanting to try my hand at a sort of... DnD Elder Dragon concept. Old, powerful, with a mindset and view that seems foreign to the "shorter lived races" (aka "the young folk"). Plus, I've always kinda liked the idea of the FFTA Judges and wanted to see how well I could play one of them. Judge lets me do both and it's great fun. I just need to get him into more interactions now that I have him caught up to the MSQ for the expansion.

[Spethah]

Septha's theme is along the lines of "Always think outside the box". I had to do that myself to try and mix combat with something different, something that isn't usually seen in a world where everything wants you dead. I decided to look at the view of "A tool has more than one use" and came up with the idea of a street performing magician that uses thaumatergy and perhaps even arcanima to some degree to create little spectacles for everyone to watch and enjoy. Does it mean she's a not combat mage? Nope, she's still capable of setting people on fire but not to the degree of someone who's focused solely on being a combat mage. As a result Septh is more squishy and easier to beat up. 

 

But that wicked story telling with smoke clouds though.

[Zelmanov]

I fell in love with the concept of Ishgard and the people there so my character bore the traits of those who live there, my reasoning being that the meek and cowardly either cower behind the walls of Ishgard (which means they are not leaving the place any time soon) Or are dead (also not compelling for RP)

 

So Orrin is tough and mastered to reach the age he has while being in a combatant role in a world where death via gangrene may be an issue still (Not entirely sure). 

 

Why a Dragoon and not just a knight? Because -really- I like dragoons, ever since FF4, and I've found spears to be my favorite weapon, 2 handed greatswords being my secondary. 

 

IC'ly why he has them is because he viewed acceptance as being only found through greatness that would override the initial disgust they have for him. As such he strove for Dragoon, which is arguably the best/most honorable role possible aside from temple knight.

[Hyrist]

I'm going to bring up some common themes among the characters I have, with or without 'powers' (referring to such as abilities beyond that which is accessible by the normal gameplay.)

You take an average decent person - the Military or the world calls for help, usually you're going to get a mixed answer. After all, you're only normal, right? You don't even know how to swing a sword that well. Sure, you can train, but that farm life is all you've known. The trope that typically gets put here is that this 'humble hero' leaves behind a world of peace to face the darkness and strive it back. The heroic tale is that they've strove from nothing to achieve something great.

 

Now you talk to the skilled. The Soldier, the Mage, the Adventurer. Here, the choice was already made and the talents are there. This is for glory, for honor, and the good name of your home and path, regaining lost honor, or just the thrill of adventuring itself. In hard times you rely on your skillset (and perhaps some good luck or good friends, or both.) to push through the difficulties ahead of you.

 

Now we got onto the Blessed, or Gifted. These individuals have 'powers'. They may have started out as the Farmer or the Adventurer/Soldier, or they may have been born with it, but the common theme among what they face is the question of purpose and Origin. Why do they have the powers, and for what purpose? Exploration of the self and acceptance or rejection of what these abilities bring to that person begins to questions they must answer. If they run from it, do the lingering questions and doubts haunt them?

 

The last I want to touch on for me is the Cursed. Their powers are not something they see as a positive, the result of some forced method such a experimentation or invasion of the self. Perhaps they were attempted to become some sort of purpose they did not care for. Be it by branding or by origin these people look upon their powers as a source of anxiety. Now, in order to help people, they must face the temptation of using something that they view as harmful, dangerous, or traumatic to them and possibly others.

 

 

No matter what the 'Power Level' of the character, each of them end up having to react to their "Calling" or the conflicts presented to them. Sometimes the Power serves as part of the calling. Sometimes the power conflicts with the calling. Powers for me is one of the many items that serve as the patchwork components from which a story is created. For me, to have them, or to be without them, are all dependent on the kind of character I am crafting.

 

For and Example: 

 

I can have a character fleeing from an unknown past that scares them, with feelings of hesitance when it comes to mysterious powers they don't quite understand. Power that may have been the source of trauma in their youth and the answer to which may be ultimately unsatisfactory or even appalling.  This character then has to wrestle with their very identity, bringing up the very question of nature vs nurture with strong arguments to support either case if the character is talked about objectively by others. It becomes a story of conflicted self-identity and what it means for them to make the choice.

 

Then the story branches on the side of that to other plots - how these things effect others and who they fall in love with, and what conditions they feel as if they can use their 'powers' and how they hide or hold them back.

 

Over all, it's one string in the tapestry for me, one that allows me to bring conflicts to the forefront, and they can force conflicts and character details to come to light in the most interesting moments, especially if the individual is attempting to hide such powers (or the drawbacks of them) for whatever reason.

[Kellach Woods]

HOO BOY I GET TO DISAPPOINT SOMEONE!

 

Essentially, I knew I wanted to play a Warrior because I always play the class with the two hander. The problem was tying it to the lore in a way that made sense and satisfied me. I knew I wanted to play SCH/SMN and WAR from the onset (that obviously changed), so I figured having a story that tied me to both guilds without tying me much to the lore would be best. In addition, it'd help hide the fact that back then I knew between jack and shit of the lore of the game. (I know barely much more these days)

 

The idea of tying a mystical origin to the inhabitants of his homeland and other such stuffs only came when I started wanting max level on EVERYTHING and when I was like "I'd play the shit out of a Mime job if we ever got one." So I started pushing in that direction in his background, but it's relatively hidden to such a point that if someone didn't want to RP with me because of this I can easily disregard it as it's not core to the character. The character's core is essentially the good-natured adventurer willing to help out, and taking side jobs to make money, wielding an axe and an unforgettable look.

[C'kayah Polaali]

I was reading Casanova's autobiography around the time that I made C'kayah. I'd never played a particularly charming character before (I've played charismatic characters, but their charisma didn't come from charm), so I thought it would be fun to try and do something like that. Casanova's autobio is long, and filled with dialogue, so I started out just using his speech mannerisms and seeing where that led. With that much material to study, it came pretty easily, and it set the stage for C'kayah to be this charming rogue with a silver tongue. The first FC I was in needed someone to smuggle explosives for them, so that led to C'kayah being a smuggler.

 

Setoh was originally a single-purpose alt for a story that required a bad guy in the vein of Leon the Professional. I ended up liking him enough that I kept him around. I gradually fleshed him out some more and made him more three dimensional, but both his willingness to do anything for money and his skills (which are not superhuman) came from that.

[Martiallais]

Honestly with Zarek, I wanted someone who (much like some of the comic book/fantasy characters I enjoy) was equipped with the abilities that let him move between 'tiers' (as I've labeled them in my mind). Someone who might be able to throw down in a street fight but also could fight against the crazy fantastical creatures that live in the game world. It's something I usually end up doing in every setting honestly.

 

Given my love for martial arts when the classes and their lore came out, something about pugilist (which was originally given to us as a bruiser for the Platinum Mirage) becoming monk just grabbed me and gave my concept (Red Bull) wings. Add in a hefty dose of inspiration from watching the various benders in action (go go Avatar) and voila. When he does use those sorts of abilities Zarek always has some kind of wind flavoring to go with them though it's been rare as (up till recently) he hasn't had anyone to actually show him how to unlock all that awesome chakra and do that on a regular basis...which means I get to play with the ole hidden power trope now and then. 

 

Stir it all together in a blender and out popped Zarek the guy from Ul'dah who likes to fight and can but still is the underdog now and then.

[Altitis Acquired]

So, what are our OOC reasons to pick the powers for out characters?

 

Uhm, well, for my Summoner, it's because I've always liked the summons of the Final Fantasy franchise. Having the power to summon forth a magical beast with great power to fight by your side... the concept just seems so awesome to me!

 

So imagine my disappointment when realizing all we got was those Egi forms! I understand the lore reasons for it, but I am still disappointed that all we got was small crystalline shapes rather than the ferocious beasts themselves, like we did in FFXI.

 

That said, I still enjoy the class. My first MMO was World of Warcraft and I immediately fell in love with the Warlock, and the Arcanist/Summoner is kinda FFXIV's equivelant to that. And I also like the idea of having someone tank the mobs for me while I am throwing hurt from a safe distance.

 

... Which I guess kinda conflicts with my alt's choice of class/job, which is the Ninja. I have just always had a fascination with ninjas and assassins, being able to hide in the shadows and attacking unseen, dual-wielding cool weapons and their acrobatic fighting style. So when the Rogue/Ninja became available, I wanted to give it a go, and I ended up really enjoying it.