Heavy Military FC With Garlean Influence /Magitech Feasibility and Plausibility

[Amondrask]

Hello there, fellow roleplayers! I've been mulling over a vague idea for a while now and I could use some input, if you would all be so kind as to oblige me. 

 

Essentially, I would like to form (eventually, I am in no rush) a Free Company that would be classed as a Heavy Military Roleplay FC. Now, that in and of itself isn't much of an issue, as I imagine there are some people out there that would be into such, judging from the number of them I've come across in the past on previous MMOs. The sticking point is the fact that it would be influenced by the Garlean Empire. What I mean by this is a focus on magitech and Allagan technology, and I would be drawing influence from what I've seen of their culture from the story. If given the choice, I would leap on the chance to just up and play a Garlean splinter faction, but I know that that would be essentially unplayable. 

 

So. Any ideas on how to make it work and be lore friendly? Any input, advice or anything at all, really, would be most welcome. Is a group that is focused on magitech plausible? Would they even have access to it? What level of magitechnology would be considered to be acceptable? Also curious, but is it established at all if the armour worn by the Garlean elite warriors powered armour, of sorts, or is it just fancy normal armour? I ask because in one of the scenes I could swear I hear some whirring noises when one of the top dogs moves his arm.

[Ciel]

Hello!

 

There is actually a Garlean-themed FC, Regnum Garlemald. I keep a character with them, myself. It's been a little bit quiet for a bit but we're trying to get things going, so if you don't mind being patient, you're more than welcome to join us.  If you'd rather do your own thing for an FC, that's awesome too and I hope all goes well with that.

 

As far as level of tech and so forth, there's really not a whole not in hard terms about what is and is not plausible.  For what you're trying to do, if it's a splinter faction, it may all boil down to what sort of ties they keep with Garlemald, or whether or not they made off with a cache of Magitek before they split off.

 

Given what we've seen in the lore, there are a lot of gray areas.  I'd say it's not far fetched to assume some armor may have some advanced updates and mechanisms.  Nero has 1-2 attacks called "augmented" (i.e. Augmented Uprising) which could just as well have something to do with the gear he's using.

 

Likewise it's not also too far out of left field to say some physical augmentations might be possible, as is the case with my alt, and others I've seen who do still/used to work for the Empire in some capacity.

[Unnamed Mercenary]

Hello!

 

Since national (read: pure-blooded) Garleans cannot use aether, they do pretty much rely on magiteck and weapons to fight their enemies. Most of the armors are enhanced in some way, and I think some are powered by ceruleum.

 

There are actually a handful of players who RP as Garleans, whether aligned with the Garlean Empire or not! If you're looking for a Free Company, Regnum Garlemald is the only one I know of that is Empire-aligned. There's also the Ad Victorium linkshell, for Garlean RPers in general.

 

As far as magitech in Eorzea goes, we've got two, maybe three sources of it.

 

1) Ironworks - run by Cid

2) Mechanists' Guild (Ishgard-run, coming in 3.0)

3) Leftover stuff from previous Garlean invasions

 

Only the high-ranking members gets the super-armor, but if your character is either within that, or has raided from a castrum or two, I'm sure it'd be plausible enough to have made your own. In one of the scenes, we see Livia fire a gun from her armor. Gaius has some ceruleum weapons too. And Nael van Darnus (in 1.0) had all sorts of things until he started going crazy talking with dragons.

[Amondrask]

Fascinating! I didn't know about Regnum at all, but I will most certainly be checking it out tonight. How do you manage with interacting with the general player base? From what I've read most characters would have a kill on sight attitude with Garleans, and I imagine you wouldn't be able to just openly be a Garlean organisation, even if you have no ill intent towards the natives. 

 

Another query is whether or not a foreign race, in this instance, an Au Ra, would have been able to be a part of Garlean society, and if so, how? I know there are non pureblood in the Garlean forces, but I'm not sure how they're treated and suchlike. 

 

Super armour would be lovely. I just don't want to cause too many waves, you know? I know how touchy roleplayers can be with lore and such, hah.

 

I should also ask about the feasibility of such a guild, but without them actually being Garlean. Would that be easier /upset less folk?

[Warren Castille]

The challenges with playing Garleans are the obvious ones: You're playing a villain-type, in a world with hundreds and hundreds of hero-types. If you operate in the open against people, you effectively cut yourself off from world-RP because you are firmly in The Enemy category. If you don't, and work in the shadows, you are stuck with... Not really roleplaying your character.

 

The biggest issue villain roleplayers will run into is that the hubs and general gathering spots are full of good-aligned heroes. Once your cunning plan goes into effect, you can generally expect to become an Acceptable Target for folks looking to stomp out the Garlemald Problem.

 

We've got a few long-running Garlean roleplayers, but I'm 99% sure the secret to their success has been never openly pointing out the fact that they're Garlean. Trust a few folks if you're truly sympathetic to Eorzea, or accept your place as a publicly-identified Monster of the Week.

[Unnamed Mercenary]

Fascinating! I didn't know about Regnum at all, but I will most certainly be checking it out tonight. How do you manage with interacting with the general player base? From what I've read most characters would have a kill on sight attitude with Garleans, and I imagine you wouldn't be able to just openly be a Garlean organisation, even if you have no ill intent towards the natives. 

 

Another query is whether or not a foreign race, in this instance, an Au Ra, would have been able to be a part of Garlean society, and if so, how? I know there are non pureblood in the Garlean forces, but I'm not sure how they're treated and suchlike. 

 

Super armour would be lovely. I just don't want to cause too many waves, you know? I know how touchy roleplayers can be with lore and such, hah.

 

I should also ask about the feasibility of such a guild, but without them actually being Garlean. Would that be easier /upset less folk?

 

Franz has found many people who are willing to look past the fact that he's Garlean because he's "nice". But Franz is also kill-on-sight to Garlean Empire.... (Survivors of failed experiments aren't allowed to run around.) In his defense, Franz does use a glamour for the third eye (like a lot of the Garlean players who have them) and pretends he's a Highlander from "The East".

 

The Garleans seem to be rather accepting of people who want to join them. Those people may not become high-ranking, but we've yet to see them declined. The Cape Westwind boss was a Roegadyn.

 

And if it's only used for combat RP, I don't see the Garlean armor being too out there. There're a handful of Echo-enabled people too.

[Ciel]

Regnum is pretty much under cover at the moment.  They have a mansion in the Goblet and run a B&B out of there as part of their cover. Any work they do in Eorzea is covert for the most part, so RP amongst other Garleans is on the down low.  The alt I keep with them works from the shadows and keeps a civilian cover when he's not on a mission.

[Amondrask]

Intriguing stuff, folks. Thank you every so much for your input so far, you're a very valuable resource! So glad I know about this place. 

 

So, would it be feasible to have a group that possesses magitech and the like, but isn't comprised of Garleans? While I do love the Garlean style and culture, roleplaying one seems like it would be somewhat less than ideal. Basically, can I jack their swagger without being an actual Garlean? How would most people even tell that a character was a Garlean, if they're not a native? Say someone that was from a village they conquered and then they were drafted into their military, then came over here, sorta dealio? Or would most people assume that anyone using magitech is a Garlean?

[Chris Ganale]

There's lots of groups out there that have/use magiteck while not being affiliated to Garlemald. Offhand, I can think of the Reclaimers, Unsung Heroes, and the Order of the Raven's Eye, all who have fairly extensive magiteck on their hands. For the Reclaimers and the Ravens, it's because they pillage Garlean shipping and castrums willy-nilly. Unsung Heroes happen to have two quite-intelligent (if I do say so myself) magitek researchers under their roof, at least one of whom was once conscripted by Garlemald and thus knows most of their technology inside and out. Incidentally, living in a place that was conquered by Garlemald, being conscripted, and then fleeing to Eorzea is exactly Chao's backstory.

 

Honestly, in some circles it's a mark of accomplishment to have pillaged something from Garlemald. Garon knicked an entire suit of (I forget what rank I used but enough for it to be powered) armor off a guy who died at Carteneau, then upgraded it. Yuuna's main firearms are a pair of Garlean pistols she killed a guy for. Or scavenged. I haven't written her backstory yet to have determined which.

[Amondrask]

Ah, I see! That does help matters rather immensely. Now I just need to decide on the particulars and get to hammering my ideas into an actual FC. And trying to find interested parties that I'm actually online at the same time with.

 

Incidentally, what armour set could pass for powered armour? (Also your characters sound awesome)

[Chris Ganale]

I haven't fully hammered out the look of Garon's powered armor yet, so for right now I'm using the wootz (crafted) tank chest and feet with a steel barbut (will eventually use poetics tank helmet for glow effects) and either cobalt or mythril hands dyed to match the rest (pants are irrelevant because most feet will cover them anyway).

 

Chao's is much more subtle. Her power armor is being developed in phases. Right now she's in the Mk.I prototype, which I use the aetherial cotton tabard, Flame Elite vambraces (hunt DoW hands), infantry thighboots, and the Gold Saucer Sharlayan goggles for. But the Mk.I doesn't look very power armor-y because it's not supposed to. The stuff is officially designated "Powered Infiltrator Armor" for a reason. Her eventual Mk.II combat version looks much more power armor-y, and is literally the entire Ironworks MNK set but with the Allagan visor of striking instead of the silly Ironworks hat.

 

Mind, that works out for Chao because she's a character from a manga, in which she wore powered armor, and the Ironworks MNK set looks practically spot-on for what she wore in her home setting.

[Faye]

Another query is whether or not a foreign race, in this instance, an Au Ra, would have been able to be a part of Garlean society, and if so, how? I know there are non pureblood in the Garlean forces, but I'm not sure how they're treated and suchlike. 

 

Foreign races, yes, certainly! Au Ra, however... I'm not so sure about. In the storyline, Doma was only recently conquered by the Imperials, and we don't know at this point if the Au Ra live anywhere but in Doma. That means that any adult Au Ra was born a Doman, raised a Doman, and probably ingrained with a strong hate and fear of the Garlean Empire who they so recently saw take their lands by force and spill the blood of their people. While the Garleans do sort of "brainwash" the people they conquer and assimilate them into their armies, I'm not sure enough time has passed to believably say that a character has already been successfully, fully brainwashed and run through the ranks of the Garlean military already. (There are exceptions, of course--maybe your character never had any loyalties to Doma and his peers, and always had some strange desire to serve the Empire.)

[Amondrask]

 

Foreign races, yes, certainly! Au Ra, however... I'm not so sure about. In the storyline, Doma was only recently conquered by the Imperials, and we don't know at this point if the Au Ra live anywhere but in Doma. That means that any adult Au Ra was born a Doman, raised a Doman, and probably ingrained with a strong hate and fear of the Garlean Empire who they so recently saw take their lands by force and spill the blood of their people. While the Garleans do sort of "brainwash" the people they conquer and assimilate them into their armies, I'm not sure enough time has passed to believably say that a character has already been successfully, fully brainwashed and run through the ranks of the Garlean military already. (There are exceptions, of course--maybe your character never had any loyalties to Doma and his peers, and always had some strange desire to serve the Empire.)

 

Hmm, you make an very good point. I was considering having my Au Ra leaving at an early age in order to join the Empire- An innate attraction to their power and fascinaton with the magitech, and suchlike, causing them to leave of their own volition and join the ranks, drinking in as much of their culture as he possibly can, and then eventually moving to Eorzea, possibly with the invasion force and being left behind, or just recently in order to further his own designs of forming an organisation using what he's learned from Garlemald. It's difficult to try to work this sort of thing out without knowing more about the Au Ra, unfortunately. Heck, I'm not even sure where Doman is in relation to the Empire. 

 

Also that sounds really cool, Chris! Definitely going to stalk your RPC profile and see if we can't roleplay someday together!

[Chris Ganale]

Please do. Bear in mind though that I spend the majority of my time on Chao (not really doing anything) so if you want to interact with one of the others, just ask. /ok I crave RP like a man dying of thirst in the desert wants water.

[Imo]

I don't think adding a powerful, hi-tech military force (that doesn't exist in lore) to the game is a good idea. Most free companies get away with having magitek weaponry because they're just a handful of adventurers that don't mean much in the grand scheme of things. But playing your FC as a big, heavily armed military force is a different matter entirely - this is something that would change the global balance of power in Eorzea. You're pretty much forcing others to either agree that yes, your military force is (or is going to be) a major global player, or to ignore you. And most people will probably go with the latter.

 

As for playing Garleans:

Garlean refugee who's loyal to Eorzea - a very viable concept. Hell, I'm playing such a character. You probably shouldn't ba a pureblood Garlean, though, just someone from a land they conquered.

Garlean character who secretly supports the empire - same as other villain characters. Which is to say, thread carefully, because most people don't know how to play villains well.

Garlean character who openly supports the empire - no. Just don't. How are you even still alive?

[Chris Ganale]

The Red Wings are a high-tech military force and they seem to be doing alright. A lot of people like to do stuff with them, but typically they downplay a lot of their über-tech with people outside their group (except Chao, who Erik gleefully showed off all their stuff to, but that was OOC). I would actually love to find a high-tech, well-organized military force to get involved with on Ganale.

 

(Aww, Imo, I just realized it was you, lulz)

[LiadansWhisper]

Liadan isn't allowed to touch any of the magitek stuff in the Red Wings house.

[Amondrask]

I don't think adding a powerful, hi-tech military force (that doesn't exist in lore) to the game is a good idea. Most free companies get away with having magitek weaponry because they're just a handful of adventurers that don't mean much in the grand scheme of things. But playing your FC as a big, heavily armed military force is a different matter entirely - this is something that would change the global balance of power in Eorzea. You're pretty much forcing others to either agree that yes, your military force is (or is going to be) a major global player, or to ignore you. And most people will probably go with the latter.

 

As for playing Garleans:

Garlean refugee who's loyal to Eorzea - a very viable concept. Hell, I'm playing such a character. You probably shouldn't ba a pureblood Garlean, though, just someone from a land they conquered.

Garlean character who secretly supports the empire - same as other villain characters. Which is to say, thread carefully, because most people don't know how to play villains well.

Garlean character who openly supports the empire - no. Just don't. How are you even still alive?

 

I never said that it would be big, actually, or even powerful. I'm more than aware that pretending that the FC is large and formidable is folly. That isn't my intent, nor did I say it was. I merely desire a small to moderately sized military group that has Magitech in their possession, not some large force loaded to the gills with army destroying artifacts, or even any hostile intent. They would be no more a threat to the global power balance than any other FC. There are several FCs out there that would be comparable to or even surpass my hypothetical group in terms of both numbers and raw power, so I don't see an issue. 

 

The Red Wings sound like a group that would be interesting to interact with! 

 

Chris, what sort of things would you like to see in regards to a hi-tech military group that you may get involved with? The same to anyone else that's reading. I'm very open to suggestions and such!

[Chris Ganale]

Oh, I wouldn't be able to join any FCs. Already got all my characters in one, and a couple even have a line of others they could go into. If not, I'd have already pitched my one big military character into either Zero Division or the Red Wings. Probably Red Wings, they're nicer.

[Amondrask]

Oh, I wouldn't be able to join any FCs. Already got all my characters in one, and a couple even have a line of others they could go into. If not, I'd have already pitched my one big military character into either Zero Division or the Red Wings. Probably Red Wings, they're nicer.

I figured! This is more of a hypothetical question, really. I don't expect you to join! Just some insight into what would appeal to you or turn you away from such a group would be useful to me, is all.

[Chris Ganale]

Uh, well. Being from a military background and eating up military shooters (Call of Duty, Halo, Battlefield) like candy, any of those special forces badass types are my bread and butter. Zero Division advertises themselves as that kind of thing, but as I didn't get to play with them, I don't know what exactly they do. Red Wings, on the other hand, I know gets up to the exact sort of stuff that I love, because Chao got to play an NPC HVI in one of their missions a week ago.

 

Honestly, I miss the structure of being in the military, so that's most of the appeal to me in the first place.

[Imo]

I never said that it would be big, actually, or even powerful. I'm more than aware that pretending that the FC is large and formidable is folly. That isn't my intent, nor did I say it was. I merely desire a small to moderately sized military group that has Magitech in their possession, not some large force loaded to the gills with army destroying artifacts, or even any hostile intent. They would be no more a threat to the global power balance than any other FC. There are several FCs out there that would be comparable to or even surpass my hypothetical group in terms of both numbers and raw power, so I don't see an issue. 

 

That's good then. Remember an important rule about playing characters with special/rare powers: if the character concept requires other people to agree that their character is automatically weaker than yours, then it's not good RP, but going on a power trip. And same applies to FCs.

 

You're worried about stepping on other people's toes and keeping things plausible and within role, so your idea might work. Because intent is very important.

[Ciel]

I'm late getting back to this thread since I was out late last evening with family, but it looks like Chris and others have all the important stuff pretty well covered.  As mentioned, there are several FCs who actively obtain and study, and some adapt magitek.  It wouldn't be out of bounds to find one to join, or create one.  Good luck with it, but more importantly, have fun!

[Amondrask]

That's good then. Remember an important rule about playing characters with special/rare powers: if the character concept requires other people to agree that their character is automatically weaker than yours, then it's not good RP, but going on a power trip. And same applies to FCs.

 

You're worried about stepping on other people's toes and keeping things plausible and within role, so your idea might work. Because intent is very important.

 

I'm very familiar with the basic tenets of roleplay, hah. I've been RPing for about 15 years now, but I appreciate the thought! 

 

And thanks, Ciel! You've all been very helpful.

[Cliodhna Eoghan]

Liadan isn't allowed to touch any of the magitek stuff in the Red Wings house.

 

no, you're not >.>

 

 

to the op; if you're interested in hearing more about us, feel free to shoot me a pm or find me in game via tell. i'm usually on a lot more than erik and help answer any questions you have and try to set up a time for you to chitchat with him :3