On the topic of "teleporting" in RP

[Lilia Lia]

Lately I've been tempted to completely drop "Aetheryte Travel" from my canon.  I've been RPing with a group that takes physical location pretty seriously and I've been enjoying how it makes the world feel bigger and make faraway locations actually feel far away.  I realize teleporting is referred to in the MSQ but I don't like the idea so I just want to remove it from my own headcanon.

 

Anyone else feel the same way?  What is the general consensus?  Anyone tried this and found it made life difficult for them?

 

[Edit]

 

For the benefit of new replies who aren't reading the entire thread, Sin's post has already convinced me to take more of a middle ground here, but I'm still interested in comments on the practical problems created by teleportation and how player characters cope with those.

 

I changed the subject line of this post to reflect that also.  Not quite going to completely disregard teleportation in RP but I'm also going to accept other reasons not to use it frivolously and not to take it lightly.

 

I also didn't mean to imply that I would refuse to acknowledge other people teleporting, I was just wanting to try to remove it from my own RP and that still seems feasible given that most characters I've RPed with simply don't really talk about it all that much and seem happy to just resort to alternative means.

[Blue]

I would say that removing it from canon is a stretch, you can't decide to take something that is legitimately existing in the settings from others and say they can't do it anymore or that your character will not acknowledge them doing it. But you are very free to not use IC.

 

Travel, no matter the speed, should always be taken seriously. Clothes need to be changed, you need to inform yourself on the weather of where you are about to go, consider the time to get there (especially in teleportation, sudden thermal drops or jumps could make you ill), and how long you will be staying, and where to stay as well. It needs a lot of thought, whether you teleport or not.

 

So a group in Ishgard that suddenly decides to go to the beach? Eh, okay, I wouldn't but you can, but take some time to prepare for travel, and also prepare for inconveniences that could not allow you to come back home as soon as you wanted.

 

In 1.0 aether teleport was a lot stricter (I think only IC Grand Company members could use it, or something of the sort). Now it's not, and everyone can do it.. to remove it from canon sounds like really too much.

[Sylentmana]

Here is my thoughts on the matter. To me, teleportation has always been the domain of mages and other heavy magic users. While IC with a mage, teleportation is a perfectly acceptable method of travel. However, when playing a non-mage type, I prefer more conventional methods of travel as it just doesn't make sense that a swordsman or lancer would have the ability.

 

Even in the MSQ, the only characters we see actively teleporting are magic users. Because of this, I feel my preference is justified.

[Oli!]

Various methods I have seen people use to avoid teleporting ICly, while still acknowledging its existence:

 

-- Not enough internal aether.

 

-- It gives you travel sickness.

 

-- Too expensive.

 

-- Fear of accidents / Questioning reliability

 

-- "I haven't been there yet."

 

-- Religious concerns (Oschon might think Aetheryte is cheating.)

 

-- Wanting to see the world.

 

-- Carrying goods / pets / objects that don't respond well to teleportation.

 

-- The fear that literally being broken down into magic and transported to another physical location will cause serious health concerns / turn you into the Fly.

[Sin]

What is an aetheryte?

Aetherytes are colossal structures comprised of crystallized aether. So that they may serve as waypoints for aetherial travel, these crystals have been amplified through the use of advanced Sharlayan technology.

 

Why doesn't everyone use aetherytes?

To traverse the Lifestream safely with Teleport and Return requires a great deal of spiritual energy, known as anima. While many individuals, such as adventurers, possess the fortitude to endure such travel, some individuals do not. What’s more, even if one has the ability to use aetherytes, the frequency with which one can do so varies. In essence, for some, the recast time for these spells can be far longer than for an adventurer.

 

As a result, only a fraction of the populace can utilize aetherial travel habitually, which is why chocobos, airships, and other forms of transportation still play a major role in Eorzea.

 

Why does it cost gil to use aetherytes?

Many aetheryte camps were destroyed during the Calamity, which necessitated their reconstruction. However, this came at great expense, and so teleportation fees must be collected to repay the as yet unpaid debt.

 

However, the gil doesn’t just magically disappear from your purse! Though it's not shown in the game, it's collected by the guards keeping watch of the aetherytes.

 

On a side note, guards posted by each city-state's aetheryte can tell you about aetherytes and teleportation magic. If you're interested, see what they have to say!

 

 

With that information in hand, I don't roleplay it as all or nothing, I roleplay it as varying degrees.

 

My mage character teleports like riding a bike, without even breaking a sweat. A perk of being a mage and manipulating aether for years. My more martial character can do it, only once in a while... maybe once a week, but it takes a huge toll, and leaves him barfing all over the place. He hates it. And worse still, my tribal Miqo'te has no idea what that fancy technology is, and simply can't do it.

 

I'm like you in that I think easy use of Aetherytes cheapens the world, but outright cutting it out of your headcanon is a bit extreme. Try making it much harder in your headcanon first, and see how that works... Like a skill, that must be practiced and most people just don't know how, and can't do it effectively. Make it take a huge toll on your body to the point where its preferable to just take a ferry or ride that chocobo across the beautiful world.

 

You have options before straight up slicing it right out. I think there's something interesting to Aetherytes, and they really remind me of Mass Relays from Mass Effect.

[Edda]

I do not think teleportation is something that should be ignored in roleplay at all. Unlike fantasia potions, the ability to teleport is referenced in the MSQ and is based in the lore of the game. Otherwise, what purpose would aetherytes serve, or would those have to be ignored as well? Hand-waving the ability to teleport is one thing, but the purpose and existence of massive structures seems like it would be more of a stretch in lore than quietly acknowledging that teleportation is a thing that exists.

 

However, I do not think that teleportation is something that should be freely used on a whim. Edda is quite skilled at teleportation, but I have used it in RP a grand total of two times in the course of over a year. Teleporting endlessly, using it to "blink" small distances during combat, using it to traverse impossibly long distances (i.e. from Garlemald to Vylbrand) - all of these are liberal uses of the skill that I would not likely appreciate. It should also be noted that not everyone and their grandmothers are able to teleport, otherwise airships, boats, and chocobos would not really be a thing. It is an ability that must be honed, and there are side-effects that come with it.

 

All in all, while I do think conventional travel is far more preferable, teleportation is not something that should be ignored. You don't have to roleplay it, you don't even have to like it - but it is a part of the world. Much like miqo'te, and gunblades.

[Lilia Lia]

I would say that removing it from canon is a stretch, you can't decide to take something that is legitimately existing in the settings from others and say they can't do it anymore or that your character will not acknowledge them doing it. But you are very free to not use IC.

 

I guess my main issue is that so much of the world doesn't make sense if teleportation happens and is simply twice the cost of an airship ticket.  Why would passenger travel by airship even exist and not be completely obsolete?  Why would chocobos exist for individual use outside of transporting goods?  How would prisons work?  Would it even be possible to detain people at all?  When I think of hypothetical RP situations relevant to my character or even her backstory, the reality of teleportation would make it much different.  For instance, part of her backstory involves being stranded somewhere, and being stranded is theoretically impossible in a world where teleportation exists.

 

To me it seems like one of those game mechanics that's not meant to actually have a real effect on the world.  A world where people can instantaneously teleport across the globe would be very different from the world we know, and from the Eorzea we see.  It's almost like saying that I can carry 25 suits of armour around with me at all times IC.  Yes it's a game mechanic but, story thing?  Really?  And while I realize it's specifically acknowledged in the MSQ, it also seems kind of like the world mostly carries on as though teleportation either doesn't exist or is somehow inconvenient or difficult.

 

(EDIT - Scrolling up to Sin's post, I see the Lore team has addressed all of this, so, I guess that satisfies me of the reality of teleportation and that a fraction of people can use it... but that also makes me feel even more justified in being able to say that my character cannot do it.)

 

Anyways, even though it's commonplace in gameplay, I actually rarely see people actually using it in the course of their RP, so I should be able to safely disregard it as an option in situations where I'd like for travel to actually be difficult.  And no, "I better put on a sweater b/c it's cold in Dragonhead" is not what I mean.

[-no longer matters-]

I almost always say Teleports are OOC, and long distance travel I claim to go by Airship.

[Berrod Armstrong]

I would say that removing it from canon is a stretch, you can't decide to take something that is legitimately existing in the settings from others and say they can't do it anymore or that your character will not acknowledge them doing it. But you are very free to not use IC.

 

I guess my main issue is that so much of the world doesn't make sense if teleportation happens and is simply twice the cost of an airship ticket.  Why would passenger travel by airship even exist and not be completely obsolete?  Why would chocobos exist for individual use outside of transporting goods?  How would prisons work?  Would it even be possible to detain people at all?  When I think of hypothetical RP situations relevant to my character or even her backstory, the reality of teleportation would make it much different.  For instance, part of her backstory involves being stranded somewhere, and being stranded is theoretically impossible in a world where teleportation exists.

 

To me it seems like one of those game mechanics that's not meant to actually have a real effect on the world.  A world where people can instantaneously teleport across the globe would be very different from the world we know, and from the Eorzea we see.  It's almost like saying that I can carry 25 suits of armour around with me at all times IC.  Yes it's a game mechanic but, story thing?  Really?  And while I realize it's specifically acknowledged in the MSQ, it also seems kind of like the world mostly carries on as though teleportation either doesn't exist or is somehow inconvenient or difficult.

 

Also, even though it's commonplace in gameplay, I actually rarely see people actually using it in the course of their RP, so I should be able to safely disregard it as an option in situations where I'd like for travel to actually be difficult.  And no, "I better put on a sweater b/c it's cold in Dragonhead" is not what I mean.

Sin covered it in his post.

[Oli!]

I guess my main issue is that so much of the world doesn't make sense if teleportation happens and is simply twice the cost of an airship ticket.  Why would passenger travel by airship even exist and not be completely obsolete?  Why would chocobos exist for individual use outside of transporting goods?  How would prisons work?  Would it even be possible to detain people at all?

 

 

Sin's post has the information you need as far as these points go, I believe. Most people just can't cast teleportation skills all the time.

 

If you tried to teleport out of jail, I'm pretty sure the guards that take your money would slap you and send you back.

 

Or they could just jump into your cell and tackle you during the ten seconds or whatever it takes for you to cast it in the first place.

[Unnamed Mercenary]

In 1.0 aether teleport was a lot stricter (I think only IC Grand Company members could use it, or something of the sort). Now it's not, and everyone can do it.. to remove it from canon sounds like really too much.

 

Annoying 1.0 player here. Aetherytes were in each of the cities and I never made it far enough to join a Grand Company. That said, aethernet didn't exist when I started in 1.0 (around the 1.20 patches), which made trying to navigate Limsa Lominsa certain cities absolutely horrible. When the aethernet was released, you needed to get some special token to unlock it, which I never did.

 

But travel by Aether was also quite different back then. First, one didn't pay gil to travel. (That would have been WAY too easy). We got this special currency called Anima, which regenerated very slowly over time. Think....slower than waiting for new levequest allowances. Anima was described as almost a sort of hardiness to travel by aether. More anima = more travel = longer distances. Adventurers, in their super-awesome "we do this all the time and we're pretty aetherically well-practised" naturally had more anima than your average city person. (And Garleans had no anima because.....well, it's basically manipulating aether).

 

But post-Calamity, the old aetherytes kinda broke and new ones had to be brought in and set up (which is why we never got one in Vesper Bay). Expensive Sharlayan technology is used these days, as opposed to the more "natural" ones previously. Hopefully Sounsyy can elaborate in much better words than I.

 

--

 

Oli brings up some excellent reasons for why someone may not want to use it in the post-2.0 world!

 

I would consider it too much a stretch to say that Teleportation doesn't exist when we see it in cutscenes, literally USE IT to fight Shiva (yes, that's the WoL, yes, the circumstances were weird, no, it worked the same way aside from the attunement issue), and the guards in ever city explain how teleportation works and why it costs gil now.

 

If your character (or group of characters) doesn't like aetherial travel, there are plenty of other ways to get around!

[Lilia Lia]

So to shift gears a little bit, how inconvenient is it for most people?  "A fraction of people can use it habitually" because the recast time "varies" is pretty vague.  I still don't see why airships would exist if everyone could only teleport once a week, for example, except for people who need to travel between city states several times in a week.  In order for that level of infrastructure and for travel by chocobo to still be relevant, I'd say most people would find teleporting to either be very uncomfortable, very risky, or very rarely available to them. 

 

The reason I'm asking this question is mostly to gauge how other people view teleportation.  Can your character teleport every day?  Multiple times a day?  Do you actually RP it having an adverse physical impact on your body?

 

Also curious whether anyone plays a character who simply cannot teleport.

[Oli!]

So to shift gears a little bit, how inconvenient is it for most people?  "A fraction of people can use it habitually" because the recast time "varies" is pretty vague.  I still don't see why airships would exist if everyone could only teleport once a week, for example, except for people who teleport several times in a week.  In order for that level of infrastructure and for travel by chocobo to still be relevant, I'd say most people would find teleporting to either be very uncomfortable, very risky, or very rarely available to them. 

 

 

Adventurers (otherwise known as Us) are like, 2% to 5% of Eorzea's population or whatever. We get to be special.

 

Every Tom Dick and Harry putzing about in cities and around the world could probably teleport like, once a month, accompanied by extensive puking or whatever else happens when people try to teleport and get sick.

 

It's also noted that anima, the life-force, is needed to teleport. This means all physical goods must be transported through physical space, because objects are not alive. That alone gives substantial reason for boats, airships, and chocobo carts to exist.

 

To make it more personal, Oliwat can teleport all the time because he's a wizard, but usually doesn't because he's also an explorer, and teleporting would defeat the point. Adalhaid does not because she's broke and a slave to debt.

 

 

 

 

As an afterthought, a good analog for thinking about how something that would seemingly see such little use would still be a service is Airplane travel. Some people might travel by airplane once a year. Some might travel once a month. A small amount of people might travel every day, or every few days. In this case, it isn't the frequency of use of any one group of people, but the sheer number of people using the service collectively that make it profitable. Less expensive or less uncomfortable methods (chocobos, airships, etc.) would therefore still see use. Chocobo and Airship Travel are to Aetheryte Teleportation as Bus and Rail transportation are to Flight. Additionally, Aetheryte, like Flight, can only take you to very specific, already-established places where extensive infrastructure already exists. Chocobos and Buses can just drop you off at whatever backstreet you need to get to. That's another advantage for them.

 

We, the Adventurers, are the Frequent Flyers with like a million bonus miles or whatever. Normal townsfolk are the Average Joes that might travel twice a year to visit their family or whatever.

[Sylentmana]

So to shift gears a little bit, how inconvenient is it for most people?  "A fraction of people can use it habitually" because the recast time "varies" is pretty vague.  I still don't see why airships would exist if everyone could only teleport once a week, for example, except for people who need to travel between city states several times in a week.  In order for that level of infrastructure and for travel by chocobo to still be relevant, I'd say most people would find teleporting to either be very uncomfortable, very risky, or very rarely available to them. 

 

The reason I'm asking this question is mostly to gauge how other people view teleportation.  Can your character teleport every day?  Multiple times a day?  Do you actually RP it having an adverse physical impact on your body?

 

Also curious whether anyone plays a character who simply cannot teleport.

 

My character Cecilia is a mage and teleports as often and easily as breathing since she has practice manipulating aether and has very extensive personal aether reserves. My character Ryoko is a lancer from Doma and has no experience with aether manipulation. She can teleport occasionally but it leaves her feeling woozy and sick to her stomach for about 30 min. As a result she hates it.

[Caspar]

Virara cannot consciously manipulate aether herself and as such requires aid from other, normal people to use the aetheryte. Even then it makes her feel ill and sometimes she pops up at the wrong place or a short distance into the air. It's not strictly impossible for her to teleport per se, it would just be prohibitively risky.

[Lilia Lia]

As an afterthought, a good analog for thinking about how something that would seemingly see such little use would still be a service is Airplane travel. Some people might travel by airplane once a year. Some might travel once a month. A small amount of people might travel every day, or every few days. In this case, it isn't the frequency of use of any one group of people, but the sheer number of people using the service collectively that make it profitable. Less expensive or less uncomfortable methods (chocobos, airships, etc.) would therefore still see use. Chocobo and Airship Travel are to Aetheryte Teleportation as Bus and Rail transportation are to Flight. Additionally, Aetheryte, like Flight, can only take you to very specific, already-established places. Chocobos and Buses can just drop you off at whatever backstreet you need to go. That's another advantage for them.

 

That does make a lot of sense to me. 

 

I guess my main concern is just the dramatic and story consequences of teleportation being so real and so convenient.  It seems to me like it makes life far too convenient for people and I'd prefer if it weren't real for that reason.  It kind of trivializes the world geography.

 

As an aside I don't think all RPers are "adventurers" though I'm sure many (or most?) are.

[mongi291]

I used to ICly travel with Aetherytes.

Then I travelled on foot from Ul'dah to Gridania.

It was... beautiful.

And then Aetherytes disappeared from my RP.

[Unnamed Mercenary]

As an aside I don't think all RPers are "adventurers" though I'm sure many (or most?) are.

 

It's a gradient. People range from [non-adventurer][adventurer].

 

But as the thread's shown, I'd probably acknowledges it's something that's there, but it's definitely not something so commonplace and accessible that people avoid all other forms of travel for it. As brought up in a linkshell about this very topic the other night, Franz certainly wouldn't be able to bring say, a chocobo or a cart with him. His axe? Sure, yeah. It's close-range and on his person.

[Caspar]

I think the gamey side of 14 has led you to believe there are usable aetherytes in walking distance of every settlement. Eorzea is much bigger I think than what we see in game. Even using aetherytes, you'd still need to ride or walk to a lot of rural or remote places. It's reasonable to believe communities closer to aetherytes aren't lived in by everyone. And again, there's clearly a limit to what you can take with you. I'd also argue aetheric conditions in the area could delay or disrupt travel. Really though, I think it's inappropriate to head canon things out of the setting as opposed to in. It causes too many conflicts with the basic lore, as opposed to thinking of excuses to not teleport, which all sound plausible enough

[Dravus]

I mostly avoid the use of aether travel altogether. I'm lucky enough to have a good excuse for it since those with Garlean blood in their veins either can't use an aetheryte at all or in the case of half-breeds they can only do so on rare occasions and are usually left sick in the aftermath.

 

It does feel like a cop out when it's used heavily though. I can understand it being used for emergencies but it's always a shame when people seem to want to skip through any and all travel in favour of instantly arriving at their chosen destination.

 

I'd like to see more people getting creative and using the boat in Limsa or Costa del Sol to reflect a period of IC travel. It can be a lot of fun! You never know who you'll meet when travelling the roads either - I've had people come up and join in with role-play whilst venturing through the wilds with a friend's character.

[Caspar]

I mostly avoid the use of aether travel altogether. I'm lucky enough to have a good excuse for it since those with Garlean blood in their veins either can't use an aetheryte at all or in the case of half-breeds they can only do so on rare occasions and are usually left sick in the aftermath.

 

It does feel like a cop out when it's used heavily though. I can understand it being used for emergencies but it's always a shame when people seem to want to skip through any and all travel in favour of instantly arriving at their chosen destination.

I would rather handwave the passage of time. Not all of us have gratuitous amounts of time to invest in rp. If it means I can play the scene I want to rather than unplanned, uneventful travel rp, I'll take it. I really, really don't want to disrespect others' time. Spontaneity is indeed cool, but what makes it spontaneous is that it's unplanned and unexpected. The rest of the time, you're walking or riding somewhere.

[Dravus]

I mostly avoid the use of aether travel altogether. I'm lucky enough to have a good excuse for it since those with Garlean blood in their veins either can't use an aetheryte at all or in the case of half-breeds they can only do so on rare occasions and are usually left sick in the aftermath.

 

It does feel like a cop out when it's used heavily though. I can understand it being used for emergencies but it's always a shame when people seem to want to skip through any and all travel in favour of instantly arriving at their chosen destination.

I would rather handwave the passage of time. Not all of us have gratuitous amounts of time to invest in rp. If it means I can play the scene I want to rather than unplanned, uneventful travel rp, I'll take it. I really, really don't want to disrespect others' time. Spontaneity is indeed cool, but what makes it spontaneous is that it's unplanned and unexpected. The rest of the time, you're walking or riding somewhere.

 

Yeah, claiming that a few days passed between heading from one location to another works well. It's a route I tend to favour as well. It's convenient without the baggage that comes with 'lol went 2 costa then caem bakk to go 2 uldah shopz then tele 2 ishgard' all within the space of an hour.

[Lilia Lia]

On the topic of RPing travel, I'd really like to be able to have an RP that takes place on an airship while traveling from one place to another.  Prolonged travel is always a great premise for a story, and periods where there's nothing to do but wait for your arrival are great instances for interaction.

 

But like you Virara, I'd rather just say "TWO HOURS LATER" or something.

 

How long does an airship trip take, anyways?

[Caspar]

For an event I ran, I said it took the better part of a day's ride to get to a remote hamlet from the summerford aetheryte, and it was evening when the party arrived.

[Spethah]

Septha can teleport and is seen using it quite frequently due to the fact she's not a fit person, she has motion sickness on chocobos and other land related transportation, she hates the water and generally just teleporting is just better than dealing with those problems. It makes sense.

 

Now Ira on the other hand, he's completely uneducated. He learned to speak through others, he cannot read or write and he has trouble with math and other things usually taught from people that much more fortunate than him. As a result he has no idea about magic (He doesn't even know what a carbuncle is okay) and as a result he's clueless to what aetherytes are. He just thinks they look pretty. He cannot teleport and everything he does is by foot. Yeah, by foot, he can't afford a chocobo ride and he's never been on an airship before so he does everything on foot.

 

And that's why I've only RP'd him in Ul'dah so far.