Is anyone else having difficulty RPing their Au Ra?

[Korin]

...though back on topic: I've had some difficulty finding role-play on my Au Ra but I could say that about Graeham as well. Unless I specifically approach someone in advance and arrange something it seems like role-play doesn't lead anywhere. I might get some brief random role-play, yes, but after that? Nothing consistent. People have a habit of adding each other to their friend's list after initial contact and...then never getting around to interacting with each other ever again.

 

In some cases there's a good reason for this - such as being busy, in a different time zone or just no longer interested. In other cases it feels like many role-players are just inconsistent and unreliable.

 

It's why I mostly just stick to interacting with members of my FC these days. Though I do try and expand my network of contacts when and where I can. It's exhausting though at times.

 

Add low self-esteem to the list of reasons why people rarely get back into contact and it's almost perfect. I have a fair few people on my friendslist who I'd love to RP with again, but...I usually convince myself "eh, they probably have much more interesting plots and better things to do than RP with me" - Hence why I never, ever end up asking people for RP again... And, like you said, just stick to interacting with FC members, because it's just that much easier.

 

I definitely agree it's exhausting to expand that network of contacts - However, I do feel like that networking is what makes Xaela RP fun. I initially thought "Eh, my Au Ra is probably just going to be another RP alt that'll get pulled out once in a blue moon..." But I actually find myself asking people (in my FC, again, because I'm an anxious panicky brick wall who struggles to speak to people specifically) for RP which I didn't really do all that much before.

 

I really like the tribal aspect of Au Ra - which is why I created a Xaela and a Dotharl at that. Yet far, far too many role-players are either only interested in getting ERP or they expect an Au Ra to basically just be portrayed as a Hyur with scales and horns.

 

Sadly that's why I'm a little shy of RPing with people, again - Constant worry that I'll have my Au Ra judged for not fitting in to a particular stereotype. Sometimes going "Hyur with scales and horns" is the safest thing to do, because apparently swaying from the norm is a bad idea. But where's the fun in that?

 

Back on topic, though:

 

 

Instead of thinking about how much of an Au Ra your Au Ra is, think about what sort of person you want them to be, and what sorts of stories you want them to fit into. Once you have a steady basis for this, then the rest of their identity (being an Au Ra, being a Female, whatever) should be slotted in in ways that don't interfere with your core concept. Those two facets of their identity may change their outlook and the way that they behave, for example, but their core concept should still be intact regardless.

 

^ This, so much. In my old WoW guild, there was a LOT of bitching about people straying from the lore, be it accidental or not. It led to me fussing so much over my character's background to the point where I just gave up and didn't RP them at all, whether there were lore mistakes or not. There usually weren't mistakes...Because I was too afraid to think outside the box. It's not a nice feeling.

 

At the OP, though:

 

I've rpd with her multiple times but there is this wall with the limited amount of lore that can't be interpreted.

 

What kind of wall do you mean? When you said later in that post "I guess it's easy if you ignore the lore" - What do you mean, specifically? What lore are Xaela players ignoring? I realise I asked a similar thing earlier, but I was reading the thread again and realised I missed that post >.>

 

I worry I might've gone a little off-topic at first there, so sorry if I started rambling ;;

[Mae]

Also, lining up stuff with other Au Ra players sounds easy but with Xaela they are warring tribes. Does that, lore wise, even make sense? Some of the tribes were especially violent--Jhungid is a tribe that held an annual battle against the Kharlu and while they weren't doing that they were enslaving other tribes. That doesn't seem all too friendly to me...

Xaela lore makes sense in the right situations. Unfortunately, those situations didn't happen.

 

According to the census SE has done since Heavensward was released, only 4% of the character population on NA servers is Au Ra. If we're going to be generous, only 2% of the population is Xaela. And then, to be fair, divide that 2% by the fifty-one recognized tribes (while ignoring the lore-allowed PC unique/original tribes and non-lore-compliant names), and you start to see that we're facing very small populations of any one tribe. If we only had, say, ten recognized tribes instead of the fifty-one, numbers would be a bit better.

 

There is little environment in the game that would foster Xaela-styled tribal lifestyles to continue. The Core-game zones are all claimed by existing NPC-populations, and the HW ones are 1) gated and 2) also claimed by NPC populations (some of which, there is evidence that a significant part of the NPC population would/could be hostile). Instead, there is a sort of undercurrent of "We are Eorzeans. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile".

 

... And let's not get into the (depending on how one interprets parts of the lore and if you consider MSQ events to be canon to your character) paradox that occurs if you level up a brand-new Au Ra through MSQ and you hit 2.2...

 

Anyways.

 

Everything SE gave us to base Xaela lore around would have worked out just fine if the player population had actually boomed in that direction (much like how when WoW released Burning Crusade, Blood Elves very quickly became one of the most popular races) and/or if we had gone to a war-razed Othard instead of Ishgard. Neither happened, so a lot of the lore becomes... kind of irrelevant, leading towards the trend of "Hyur with scales and horns" that some people notice. I'd like to think that if SE gives us an expansion that sends us to Othard/Doma, that we'll see Xaela populations rise, but... *shrugs*

 

I'd suggest trying to cultivate a group of Xaela players that can be semi-closed so you could... maybe use a pre-existing settlement and just RP that the NPCs there are also Xaela, and that there's a bit of a rule in the settlement that previous tribal loyalties aren't to be made an issue of since everyone there is trying to preserve the core of Xaela culture? I know the semi-closed part might be a turn-off, but with all the balls SE dropped (at least in my opinion) with the new race, it's going to take some work to get what you're looking for.

[Flickering Ember]

I learned a lot about the mongols before I switched my major in college.

I am wondering if it's just the fact I'm RPing a female character (I am a girl who sucks at rping girls >> but she's just so boring. I am comparing her to all of the stuff I do on my Elezen and it's like...she's so lame >.< I can't think of ways to change her.

 

Thinking that you have to RP the genders in a certain way is one of the most limiting things you can do for your character. I recommend reading and following Oli!'s advice on page 2. It is quite invaluable.

 

I recommend creating your character concept first and instead of, as others have said, trying to make something that feels "Au Ra-like" or "a good female character." Our characters are not defined by their race or gender. They are definitely attributes that might influence our characters' lives but they are not the totality of someone's entire person.

 

Additionally the only thing that qualifies a female character as a 'good female character' is that she is written in a way that makes her a person. People aren't walking stereotypes. Thinking that either gender has to be written with certain qualities is both unfortunate and may lead you to dislike that character.

 

For example, if you have this impression that your female character has to have this nurturing, mama bear like side to her that you would never give any of your male characters, not because you dislike it but because it's just 'meh' then DON'T.

 

Which it sounds like you are suffering a serious case of 'meh' as opposed to outright dislike. 

You may want to completely re-write the character. I would. To me, a lack of interest in a character from 'blahness' is even more dangerous than simply hating your character. I'd scrub that character clean and start fresh, but that's just me.

 

I recommend the concept I mentioned earlier not being based around race, appearance, or backstory. Make it about actions, accomplishments, and personality instead. Examples include:

 

• Rich, vain noble who constantly wants to help out the poor but comes off as accidentally insensitive instead.
  
• Traditional tribesperson who is resistant to change and believes everything has to be a 'certain way.'
  
• A complete loner with no people skills who comes off as a bit too blunt but is earnestly trying to fit in despite it all.
  
• A dependent and conformist who wants to please people and needs to be directed by others but is desperately trying to break out of this forumla to follow their own path.
  

 

So, as you can see, these examples are about how a character acts. They don't tell us anything about gender and race and very little about their background. But with these concepts, we know the type of character we are playing and how they will interact with other characters.

 

If our concept was something like "A roegadyn raised by lalafells" then that is a background concept only and doesn't tell us anything about the actual character. If this is a RPer's first and only concept of their character then perhaps they are doomed to a path of 'blah' RP because it focuses on backstory rather than who the character actually is.

 

She has a backstory and everything. Like...I am pretty good with lore. I've interpreted things with the lore given that ended up being affirmed in Heavensward (which made me really happy with Ashe 'cause it's legitimized a lot of what I was rping on him). Anyways, I don't understand the foreign accent thing with the domans and othard people at all. In the Japanese version of the game, they just speak a more archaic yet understandable version of the language...I never once thought about the language as a part of their characters.

 

I have a backstory on her. I've rpd with her multiple times but there is this wall with the limited amount of lore that can't be interpreted. I see people RPing their Xaela as like...regular Eorzeans who are all about that city life and it's like...that isn't really possible because they aren't about living in cities or really liking anyone outside of their own tribes (which is what I've interpreted). To get my character out of her tribe, I had her kicked out...

 

Also, lining up stuff with other Au Ra players sounds easy but with Xaela they are warring tribes. Does that, lore wise, even make sense? Some of the tribes were especially violent--Jhungid is a tribe that held an annual battle against the Kharlu and while they weren't doing that they were enslaving other tribes. That doesn't seem all too friendly to me...

 

I am surprised no one here has hit that wall with the lore...that or people are ignoring the lore completely >>

There is actually a TON of lore available to those who are Raen from Doma available in the game. RPing a Raen actually seems easy...

But Xaela....I guess it's easy if you ignore the lore >>

 

Well, I mean, again, to emphasize what I said above...back story is not that important. They are incredibly fun to write and a backstory definitely does shape a character's opinions and identity. But you are not RPing out your character's backstory. You are RPing your character who they are in the present and what is to come. Over focusing on backstory is a common mistake and something that even the experienced roleplayer might be too tempted into doing. 

 

I like to come up with a basic backstory at character creation and expand later. I find it can be more important to establish a character's goals, hobbies, talents, fears, strengths, weaknesses, quirks. etc. 

 

Anyway, I have to disagree with the focus on lore as well. I don't really think Au Ra have much less than other races. Though I do recognize some races have more than others. I play a Hellsguard for example, and just like Au Ra, we really can't visit our race's homeland. Our characters migrated down from Abalathia's Spine and we know very little about actual Hellsguard culture.

 

In my opinion, FFXIV all around has very limited racial lore and it's just one of those things we as roleplayers have to make do with. We tend to guess and I think that's okay if we do. Races don't have a hive mind. A race's culture can be broken down into several, much smaller ones.

[Ashe]

I kinda find it funny that people are treating this like my first RP experience ever...

I've built complex characters before and my main has quite a few contacts who I've dragged on really crazy RP adventures in the middle of nowhere for IC dungeon runs progressing through a pretty strict plot leading to some serious growth.  I've always RPd incredibly close to the lore. OOCly I kind of pride myself in how well I know the lore for Ishgard and Allag that's been presented to us like the back of my hand at this point. Weird thing to pride yourself on, I know...but my main is from Ishgard and researchers Allag...so kinda got to know that stuff...

Anywho...

 

Maybe it is the lack of connections too. Funny thing is, I've posted on this forum asking for connections and not one person responded haha. I do not do tavern RP. I will never do tavern RP. I am 98% against ever sitting in the QS and RPing. I find it numbing and bland and don't like talking about adventures that never happened. I rather go out and do that stuff than just make it up and talk about it with random people. That has always been my way of doing things which is why you'll rarely see any of my characters (ICly) in the QS. So yeah...anyone who has rp'd with me knows I'll ask you to meet me in some random place that you'll probably need a to get to.

 

I've come up with less involved characters before that are easier to work with. 

-----

 

Sorry, I fell asleep so let me address what was being said here:

 

1. I've seen Au Ra rpers ignoring a lot of things that make their characters Au Ra. I've seen Xaela RP'd as Raen. I've seen them all...who made the little mermaid reference in this thread.....like "What is this fork? How do I use it" /brushes hair. I've seen them RPd as placid and cultured like they've been in Eorzea their entire lives--like one would RP a midlander. It's like Rping a midlander with the exterior of an Au Ra.  I've seen one person make it work but his tribe is the one that makes males into housewives essentially so he ran away from home at a super young age. That I get.  The ones who just came here a few months ago and act like they own the place is kind of baffling.

 

2.  I rp within the lore but don't act like the events of the game happened to my character. So I will disregard anything with the MSQ that isn't just timeline. For example, my character never fought Ravana...but I RP as though

Azys Lla has been found, fractal can be entered, Aymeric now has most of the power in Ishgard, Estinien is now a fucking dragon...so sad about this...and Ishgard is back in the alliance...essentially, 3.0 is over.

 

 

3.  I came up with the backstory as I went with this alt...so much so that I leveled her to 60 while trying to expand more. I actually have A LOT for her. I didn't write up two parts of her wiki because I needed a new laptop and then work > finishing the RP wiki became a thing. She's actually incredibly fleshed out. 

 

4.  There's a chance that I am just RPing with the wrong people...considering I've RP'd with her with one Xaela who's player ended up giving up on his Xaela and race changed him. Other than that, I've only rp'd within my FC on her. so maybe that's it? If someone wants to RP with me on her and help me that way, I'd be glad to do something that way >.< It's not like I'm just starting out to RP on an Xaela. This alt is level 60. I have finished Heavensward twice and have invested a lot of time into her (more than I had initially planned to). 

 

5.  The wall in the lore I'm running into is really being unsure how to act in certain situations. Would she know this? Would she find this behavior acceptable? We can read literature and historical text on the mongols but never really know what their personalities were like. I can't exactly imagine a warring tribe (Jhungid is a warring tribe >>) being super friendly when their description literally states during their free time they would enslave smaller tribes...I would love to see these people who are actually rping with tribes in mind because everyone I've seen is like "Oh, hey let's be friends!" and it's like...how does someone who belonged to a tribe that tried to most likely enslave that person's tribe at some point react to something like that...

 

Not sure if any of that makes sense. Sorry for rambling. I am typing without my glasses so I hope some of this is in english.

[Korin]

4.  There's a chance that I am just RPing with the wrong people...considering I've RP'd with her with one Xaela who's player ended up giving up on his Xaela and race changed him. Other than that, I've only rp'd within my FC on her. so maybe that's it? If someone wants to RP with me on her and help me that way, I'd be glad to do something that way >.< It's not like I'm just starting out to RP on an Xaela. This alt is level 60. I have finished Heavensward twice and have invested a lot of time into her (more than I had initially planned to). 

 

5.  The wall in the lore I'm running into is really being unsure how to act in certain situations. Would she know this? Would she find this behavior acceptable? We can read literature and historical text on the mongols but never really know what their personalities were like. I can't exactly imagine a warring tribe (Jhungid is a warring tribe >> being super friendly when their description literally states during their free time they would enslave smaller tribes...I would love to see these people who are actually rping with tribes in mind because everyone I've seen is like "Oh, hey let's be friends!" and it's like...how does someone who belonged to a tribe that tried to most likely enslave that person's tribe at some point react to something like that...

 

Not sure if any of that makes sense. Sorry for rambling. I am typing without my glasses so I hope some of this is in english.

 

It's always unfortunate when people give up on a character. I don't know how much RP you'd had with the Xaela player, but I'm not sure how to describe it...It's kinda like there's a void in your RP? Especially if the character just vanishes without any real explanation - Not that I'm saying that happened, but that's just my opinion on it.

 

As a side note, if timezones don't conflict too badly, you're welcome to give me a poke for RP. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?

 

As for the lore wall...It sounds like it should relate more to how your character is, rather than...How she, as a Xaela, would react? I'm sorry, I don't really get what you mean - She was kicked out of her tribe, wasn't she? (correct me if i'm wrong, thread review won't let me check back far enough!) So that could be more than enough of a reason for her to shift away from the "Warring tribe, let's enslave everyone!" expectation. I suppose I'm not much help there, though. Sorry I can't be much more assistance in breaking down that lore wall...It's an issue I never really encountered.

 

I can't comment on the "Hey, let's be friends!" sort - I haven't encountered any yet - but personally I've always RPed Raeth as being wary of everyone and anyone, be they fellow Xaela or not. Unfortunately I haven't had the pleasure of RPing directly with other Xaela clans, yet.

[Ashe]

 

It's always unfortunate when people give up on a character. I don't know how much RP you'd had with the Xaela player, but I'm not sure how to describe it...It's kinda like there's a void in your RP? Especially if the character just vanishes without any real explanation - Not that I'm saying that happened, but that's just my opinion on it.

 

As a side note, if timezones don't conflict too badly, you're welcome to give me a poke for RP. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?

 

As for the lore wall...It sounds like it should relate more to how your character is, rather than...How she, as a Xaela, would react? I'm sorry, I don't really get what you mean - She was kicked out of her tribe, wasn't she? (correct me if i'm wrong, thread review won't let me check back far enough!) So that could be more than enough of a reason for her to shift away from the "Warring tribe, let's enslave everyone!" expectation. I suppose I'm not much help there, though. Sorry I can't be much more assistance in breaking down that lore wall...It's an issue I never really encountered.

 

I can't comment on the "Hey, let's be friends!" sort - I haven't encountered any yet - but personally I've always RPed Raeth as being wary of everyone and anyone, be they fellow Xaela or not. Unfortunately I haven't had the pleasure of RPing directly with other Xaela clans, yet.

I'll try to get in contact with you in game.

 

But yeah...It's more like the man who was training her to fight and learn the art of espionage betrayed the tribe to not only the Kharlu but also was found selling information about the tribes in the region to the Garleans and he intentionally framed her as part of that endeavor. It was also no secret to anyone who knew her that she was in love with him so no one really believed her when she said she had no part in it. He escaped to Eorzea to head North to Ala Mhigo where he was supposed to seek refuge with the Empire and she figured if she brought back his head she would be accepted back into the tribe. Of course, Garleans being Garleans, he was killed at the Castrum in Eastern La Noscea where he was to head North from and she found out and kinda lost it. Her company mates (which she is only apart of because she tried to steal from them and owed them a debt) told her to try to make a new life in Eorzea...

And that is kinda what's going on.

 

And even after all that happened (RP wise...like if anyone was near Eastern La Noscea and saw RP and killing Garleans >>) The RP I have on her and her personality and everything about her is just so...I don't like it. It's really difficult to explain but since she's from the warring tribe I always made her more...indifferent and always calm to force herself to not act like how she would otherwise because she did that when she first got there and ended up getting robbed. 

 

I donno. I feel like I dug a hole for her that I can never get out of. This is worse than the hole Ashe was in...that he got out of.

[Korin]

I'll try to get in contact with you in game.

 

But yeah...It's more like the man who was training her to fight and learn the art of espionage betrayed the tribe to not only the Kharlu but also was found selling information about the tribes in the region to the Garleans and he intentionally framed her as part of that endeavor. It was also no secret to anyone who knew her that she was in love with him so no one really believed her when she said she had no part in it. He escaped to Eorzea to head North to Ala Mhigo where he was supposed to seek refuge with the Empire and she figured if she brought back his head she would be accepted back into the tribe. Of course, Garleans being Garleans, he was killed at the Castrum in Eastern La Noscea where he was to head North from and she found out and kinda lost it. Her company mates (which she is only apart of because she tried to steal from them and owed them a debt) told her to try to make a new life in Eorzea...

And that is kinda what's going on.

 

And even after all that happened (RP wise...like if anyone was near Eastern La Noscea and saw RP and killing Garleans >> The RP I have on her and her personality and everything about her is just so...I don't like it. It's really difficult to explain but since she's from the warring tribe I always made her more...indifferent and always calm to force herself to not act like how she would otherwise because she did that when she first got there and ended up getting robbed. 

 

I donno. I feel like I dug a hole for her that I can never get out of. This is worse than the hole Ashe was in...that he got out of.

Sounds good!

 

It does sound like a hard situation to pull yourself out of - I struggled with a similar issue on Korin, but I managed to haul him out of that hole, as well. It took a lot of effort, and on occasion I did feel like I was wasting everyone's time when I DID RP him, since the time I had to RP was quite limited.

 

If you can't think of a way to pull her out of that hole, perhaps it's worth considering adjusting the character somewhat? Maybe even retcon something that made you dislike the character, if you're not opposed to it? If you can pinpoint just where you feel like her RP started to get to that "I'm not really enjoying this character" point, maybe that's a good place to start fixing things.

 

If not, maybe reworking the entire character concept into one you think you'll enjoy is a good idea - I don't really like to suggest that, though, since you've clearly put a fair bit of time into the character already.

[Ashe]

Yeah, I feel like I was unclear about just how much work I had put into her already. She's level 60...got through 2.x and HW on her in about 2.5 weeks and it would've been faster if I didn't end up in the hospital in the middle of it. I've RPd on her a bit. I have ideas with how to fix her personality a bit after talking about it...but I would like to RP with her outside of my FC...which is asking a lot since 1) I am shy about that and 2) I've tried to make those connection making posts here and they have been ignored.

Sooooo yeah haha.

[V'aleera]

One part of this discussion I'd like to touch on is how to make a warlike/strength-focused character still be sociable enough to be fun to RP. If you look back into certain warrior cultures (and others) in history, particular romanticized depictions, one recurring notion that you'll find is the idea that courtesy and generosity can be used just as well as violence to demonstrate and prove strength. This concept is at play a lot with my own Xaela from a warring tribe. In her view, helping someone else is simply another way to demonstrate her own power and superior might/wisdom. It also leaves the aided person in her debt, which further solidifies her position of strength. Just food for thought!

 

And while she's still got a ways to go with levels and glamours I'm always happy to bring her out for RP. I believe we see eachother a bit in the Ishgard LS, so don't be a stranger!

[Korin]

Yeah, I feel like I was unclear about just how much work I had put into her already. She's level 60...got through 2.x and HW on her in about 2.5 weeks and it would've been faster if I didn't end up in the hospital in the middle of it. I've RPd on her a bit. I have ideas with how to fix her personality a bit after talking about it...but I would like to RP with her outside of my FC...which is asking a lot since 1) I am shy about that and 2) I've tried to make those connection making posts here and they have been ignored.

Sooooo yeah haha.

 

I really do see where you're coming from with this - I put a lot of preparation into Raeth pre-heavensward, and he overtook Korin as my main a little while before HW was actually released. I'd hate for him to get stuck in the same rut Korin did - And I really hope that won't happen again.

It's never a nice thing to put in so much time and effort to a character you end up disliking, and in some cases...It's hard to settle once you get into the habit of fantasia/namechange to try something new.

 

Finding RP outside of FCs is a lot of effort in itself, it seems - I suppose people are settled in their groups, and those looking for random RP only really RP in the larger cities? I usually end up wandering with people after we've established RP, but we've never been approached by people out in the field!

 

I've only really started actively posting here just recently, so I might've missed the connection posts Timezones are usually an issue in my case since I'm in the UK, and not much of a night owl. It's quite the dilemma!

 

I'm curious to see what this personality fix might be, though. Hopefully it'll work out for the best?

[Mahorela]

Honestly Raen seemed harder to rp or make interesting. Every Xaela gets a free "cool character quirk" in their tribe. Making one that keeps that in mind and uses that flavor throughout their rp is very interesting.. The problem comes if you pick tribes that are boring or "normal" which leaves them just being some dark scaled dragonperson with potentially limited knowledge of normal civilisation. I had a blast rping my culture shocked songbird and a lot of people liked her. She was different and interesting cause I picked a challenging tribe. If you want to make your xaela interesting build them from the tribe up imo. There's a lot of really cool and outlandish things to pick from!

[Flashhelix]

I alted for the first time in making a Buduga. He's mostly a ridiculous character that I only pull out for Grindstones since his personality makes him unsuited for most other kinds of RP. I considered going with another au ra for my next alt, but eventually went with a midlander. The novelty had worn off.

 

That being said, a pair of friends both rerolled their mains as raen and are both loving it, along with being great characters in general, so I know it can be done.

[Caspar]

I'm not having difficulty rping as an Au ra. 'Cause I don't got one and ain't makin' one.

 

But more seriously, maybe the problem is you do not have a narrative theme you're trying to approach?

 

I know a lot of people tend to take a more reflexive view of rp. They see it as acting whereas I see it as writing. Generally, if I don't have a basic framework in place as to what kind of story I want my character to tell or help tell, I cannot get interested in playing them. Perhaps if you thought carefully about the narrative concepts your favorite characters explored, and think about what you wish you could have done with them, you'll get a renewed concept of where you wish for your Au ra character to go. Do you want her to have a specific challenge she's working to overcome? Or maybe you want to explore the culture shock angle, or challenging her belief system? My character is pretty violent, so I felt that doing these things would help fuel the character concept; I don't know if it would work for yours, but it's worth a shot.

[Miko Shiroi]

I have a female Xaela character whom I RP as a Dravanian sympathizer. So, I suppose my approach is a bit different in regards to that fact alone. However, as others have said, I typically refer to my Xaela's tribe (which is the Malaguld tribe) as a very tightly-knit and nomadic deal. Whenever my Au Ra introduces herself to someone, it's always "Ghoa, of the Malaguld Tribe" or "Blood-Member (since the Malaguld tribe also accepts Raens) of the Malaguld Tribe." Tribal traditions are very important to her, but are also mixed in with the morals and traditions she obtained while living amongst dragon-kind.

 

So, that's just my approach to it all. As others have said, because of the lack of lore, a lot of it is up to personal interpretation. In some ways, I feel like it's a bit sad that we don't have more lore for the Au Ra; in other ways, I appreciate the fact that there is so much that can be improvised and fabricated.

[Khunbish Avagnar]

The main issues I've had with RPing my Xaela have been mostly personal Awkwardness, but I came up with a theme and a backstory, how and why he went from Othard to Eorzea, what his goals are and then came up with various other problems.

[Ashe]

Yeah!  The backstory and inner workings aren't the problem. But how to have them interact with people is like...what do I do... 

I always RP'd based on NPC examples. Like...NPCs act differently depending on the region they're from. You kind get an idea for how your character would probably act if they were from there. But for Othard we got like....no examples of that. Domans we have Yugiri and the ninjas (who are kinda derpy in their own right)...but Othard and Xaela....you got 1 from Alexander and it's like....okay >>

 

YoshiP, wherever you are, please add Othard as a traversable region in 4.0 thank you /cries

[Oli!]

Yeah!  The backstory and inner workings aren't the problem. But how to have them interact with people is like...what do I do... 

I always RP'd based on NPC examples. Like...NPCs act differently depending on the region they're from. You kind get an idea for how your character would probably act if they were from there. But for Othard we got like....no examples of that. Domans we have Yugiri and the ninjas (who are kinda derpy in their own right)...but Othard and Xaela....you got 1 from Alexander and it's like....okay >>

 

YoshiP, wherever you are, please add Othard as a traversable region in 4.0 thank you /cries

 

Personalities are malleable based on experience. People from certain places act in certain ways because that's the most common experience that that place provides.

 

However, anything that can happen within a range of possibility also has the ability to affect a character accordingly.

 

Think about what sort of character you want, first and foremost. Then think, "okay, now that I have them, and I know that they're from place, how can reasonable happenings in place mold them into the person that I have created?"

 

Common experiences may create threads that tie people together, but they don't carbon-copy them.

[Ashe]

Yes, but tribe like people aren't going to wake up one morning, go to Eorzea and be super thrifty and materialistic. That's impossible.

[Oli!]

Yes, but tribe like people aren't going to wake up one morning, go to Eorzea and be super thrifty and materialistic. That's impossible.

 

This sounds like a beginning; tell me more about this angle for your character.

 

We're gonna workshop the hell outta this.

[Ashe]

Dude, I've been RPing her since maybe a week after the official release day HW (as opposed to EA when I was focused on my main). I've already posted in this thread a lot about her actually and she has a wiki that I need to finish--didn't finish it because my computer broke. 

 

Read above. Go back a page. 

 

My character is not like what I said in that quote. I don't RP in the cities because of my own preferences for how I RP but I lurk sometimes for fun and I see people RPing their Xaela and Raen like that. That is what I am commenting on. My main point was asking others how they are coping because I know from talking in the LSs I am in that others were having trouble with the Au Ra. Even one of my FC mates was commenting on her difficulties for RPing her Au Ra--she's a great RPer. Her Elezen is one of the most fun characters I've encountered.

 

So yeah. While I am having difficulties, the main point of this thread was to ask how others are coping with with the difficulties they have faced.

[industrythirteen]

Food for thought about putting a lot of emphasis on backstory: Have you done so much work on the backstory, given your character so much history that their story has already been told? Has so much happened to the character already that you may not know where to take it because the character has already, in your head, lived such a rich life? 

 

If the answer is yes, I'd go in and take out the weakest aspects of the story, and then see what happens if you take out the strongest, as a mental exercise. I like to refer to my character's background as just noise. That is what it becomes for me, personally, because while I need to know where she came from, my interest is where she is at now, in the present. So, I need to know what makes the most mental noise for her to move her forward into the present. 

 

Is there simply too much information to choose from, and you're feeling overwhelmed? Take one aspect you like the most from Mongolian culture, or the SENIX tribal canon lore, and build around that one thing. After that is comfortable, branch out to something related to that. 

 

Do you know who the character is, do you know how the character would react to several different situations, or does this feel forced, and you are unsure? If that is the case, consider this, figure out a core consistency to the character. That isn't to say there won't be variation, or a situation may crop up where you do not know just yet how the character will react, but at the core, I would say, in my opinion, there should be a set of parameters. 

 

These are all mostly rhetorical questions that I ask my friends when they are having trouble coming up with a character concept, or running into trouble playing the character. I just ask questions, and they answer those questions for themselves. There is nothing that says you have to have the character pat down, figured out when you start RPing. My final suggestion is that you may just need to put the character into practice, and hone the character based on your interactions, what feels right, what doesn't feel right, and cut the things that aren't working, or just feel unnecessary. Like Coco Chanel said: "Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off." 

 

 

On an Au Ra specific-level, I invited you to Scales of Othard. Just talk at people. Seriously, just start laying out the character to folks, if you want specific opinions on Au Ra things. People will answer, promise! Feel free to hit me up in-game, too, if you'd like to chat, or RP. I co-run Remnant (remRP) with Bearcave/Ieyasu Ryushin and we have a ton of Au Ra RPers with all different types of personalities and histories. (Hi Kaiz!) We have so many in fact I feel like we ought to put a cap on recruiting Au Ra RPers XD

[Cassandra]

Something I like to do when trying to jump start interest in a character is look for a source of inspiration. What characters or ideas have I seen in other forms that I would like to explore myself, albeit in a unique fashion? Say you're a Mass Effect or Dragon Age fan. There can be a place gather ideas and build a foundation. A good idea would be to separate the Au Ra aspect and focus on personality. Allow that to fuel her backstory; how she will react to the ideas you have and etc. That way you have a better template to work with when actually RPing. I've always found going into a character without any sort of plan can hurt my general interest because I'm forced to think how they will act instead of knowing, and that just pulls me out of the immersion.

 

That being said, if you continue to struggle. Don't pull your hair out. Sometimes, an idea just doesn't work out. It's disappointing, but in my experience, you are better off letting go than fighting a muse that isn't happening.

[Gone.]

Not really...?

 

I'm far more attached to my two Raen than I've ever been with any other character in this game. Knowing their culture is essentially a fantasy version of feudal era Japan gives me more than enough to work with, not that it particularly matters; ethnicity doesn't define who or what a person is.

 

Perhaps you're focusing too much on history and not enough on the present?

[Abbie]

I've been playing a Xaela quite a bit since the patch, and... yeah I haven't really had this issue. There's a lot of lore we don't have, but likewise, there's a lot of lore for a /lot/ of races we don't have. We're missing a lot about Ala Mhigo, the Lalafell, the Miqo'te... 

 

I haven't really seen many other Xaela rpers out there (which is kinda fine and dandy because mine would be more like to avoid them, than anything else), so I can't speak for anyone else's interpretation of the race, but as far as lore wall's I've had no issues. The nomadic lifestyle and tribal information was more than enough for me to setup a personality I enjoy'd rping, and his travel to Eorzea was largely centered around both the destruction of large parts of Othard under Garlean rule, and voluntary separation from his family (which he angsts over night and day like the dumb, 50 year old baby that he is). 

 

My suggestion, like most other here, is maybe a revamp of the character. As a man who has no issue playing male or female characters, I don't really understand your statement of "female characters are difficult to play", but if you're having issues, try looking at her from a different light, or possibly switching things up a bit.

[Saraj Malqir]

I had some difficulty playing Saraj at first, and encountered a lot of the issues brought up here. The lore on the Au Ra is pretty thin, even moreso for the Xaela, and that makes it hard to find a good baseline for your character. Their method of speaking, their mannerisms...there's nothing to really go off of. But that leaves a lot of room for interpretation, which can be good for the creative process.

 

I tend to construct characters pretty organically. The first few times I roleplayed Saraj, I'm pretty certain she behaved very differently than she does now. That's not because she's developed as a character, but more because my understanding of how I want to play her shifted as I started experimenting. So that's the best advice I can offer, is to experiment with ideas, and see what sticks. As an example, I had this idea earlier on that Saraj was obsessed with the history of Ishgardian Dark Knights. It's an idea I've been leaning away from recently, and one which I've decided I'll abandon completely, because it's not interesting and it does not add to the character in any meaningful way. I only found this out after experimenting though.

 

There are a few things I can offer that might guide the direction a character goes in. First, we know that Othard was conquered by the Garlean Empire, within the past decade or two. The Domans and the Raen probably were better off under Garlean rule than the Xaela though. To the Garleans, the Xaela were probably no different than the beast tribes of Eorzea after all. They're primitive hunters and gatherers, divided into disparate and warring clans.

 

So that's a good starting point for any Xaela character: How did they deal with the Garlean invasion? Obviously they made it to Eorzea somehow. Were they driven out by the Garlean invaders, or are they here for some other reason? What happened to their friends and family back on Othard, if they had any?

 

Then there's of course the clan aspect. Every clan has a different "trait", so how does your character deal with adapting to life in Eorzea based on what they were used to in their clan?

 

As an Au Ra, and especially a Xaela, you're a savage refugee in a strange land. There's a lot of material there to take a character in all sorts of different directions. You'll need some creative license, and because there's few concrete details, you'll need to accept that the version of history you choose to base your character on might conflict with someone else's, but I'd like to think that the lack of concrete detail gives us the liberty to be creative.

 

In the spirit of being creative, I'll offer this idea: The Xaela, who revere the Dusk Mother, are attacked by the invading Garleans. Isn't it possible, and indeed likely, that out of desperation one of the clans may have summoned the Dusk Mother Primal to defend them from the Garleans? If that is so, what happened to those Xaela and the Dusk Mother Primal? Were these Xaela tempered? Was the Dusk Mother defeated, or trapped in an Ultima Weapon-style Allagan war machine? Food for thought, and perhaps a hook someone can use to make something interesting.