Lalafell not taken seriously in RP.

[Kimikimi]

YI would play lalafell a lot more if I was taken seriously as a lalafell. Just because a lalafell is short and childlike does not automatically mean they are all children.

Does anyone else feel this way?

[Ozma]

I never seen Lalafell children in game before. So far I think I've seen younger models of all races but lalafells.

[Unnamed Mercenary]

There have been plenty of Lalafell that Franz has taken seriously and treated as the adults they are.

 

In complete honestly, there's maybe one he'd baby a little, but that's because the character identifies as under 20 cycles.

 

Showing maturity as a Lalafell does require actually typing it out, however. Due to their childish looks, I wouldn't find it uncommon for them to have to make it more obvious than the other races.

[PhantasticPanda]

I had a problem about not being taken seriously, or that I shouldn't be participate in certain themes of rp when I initially started out at FF14 launch. Even my own friends I was rping with at the time had trouble takin b them seeiously. I decided to take a break since 2.1 and came back for the expansion. And I would say, I still meet some individuals that still think as such but I've also finally met people that do take him seriously now, especially when my main is a lalafell. It would depend on the crowd you end up joining along. Now I find him wanted for his skill set and heck, has even found some love outside of his own race.

 

What I'll just say is. If you want to play a lalafell. Then play kne. There are plenty of people out there that see them as normal people, as they should be regarded as in Eorzea. If someone trolls you or bashes you rping a lalafell then just go ahead and move on till you find the rp people worth rping with.

[Sinjo]

IMHO, It's like the Elin and Popori in Tera. In RP they're pretty much a joke. Most people figure those playing  the elin are either Pedobait or a creepy dude. and the Popori are fat, silly animal people.

 

They're the 'odd' race out in FF14. Just about every MMO has one.

[Oli!]

Just play them seriously and people will take you seriously.

 

Whenever someone treats Oliwat as a kid, he yells at them and reveals that he's a 42 year old man, and that he'll shoot an ice shard through their knees if they don't stop being rude.

 

It gets awkward real fast.

[Berrod Armstrong]

If someone wants me to take their character seriously, they need to write them in a manner that'll prompt me to do so. I've come across so many obnoxiously childish (and sometimes mega creepy) Lalafell characters that it takes a bit more for them to earn the benefit of the doubt. It's a case by case thing, really.

[Kimikimi]

Its not really that I am playing an underage Lalafell, my lalafell is 27 years old. She doesnt really use the look to her advantage she just isn't taken seriously for being a Lalafell, where as if I was to play a Miqo'te they instantly get stereotyped into being horny cats always on heat.

[Kellach Woods]

Welcome to FFXIV, where people roleplay the stereotype so often that they ruin it for everyone else!

[Coda]

I've been RP'ing here about a week, and have yet to see a single Lalafell RPer at all, much less a serious one. I'll echo Berrod in that its a case by case thing. I'm sure a serious RPer will get serious RP no matter what race they picked.

[Warren Castille]

To continue painting the stereotypes: Lalafell seem to fall into one of two categories at a glance. There's the cutesy-wutesy silly child type, and then there's the way-overcompensating-for-the-others grimdark past I've-seen-some-shit lalafells living on the edge that have never smiled or laughed ever in their lives.

 

I've met lalafell roleplayers all across the board, though. If you're not being taken seriously, consider the issue is with the crowd and not your material. Maybe. I don't know.

[Riik]

I think the trouble with lalafell is (going by SE's use of the models for NPCs) that from the viewpoint of other races, they reach maturity quickly and from there age subtly (outside of hair colour and facial hair).

 

I personally play a younger lalafell, so I've never really been too bothered with treatment from other players (and I apologise deeply for any adult lalafell for 'feeding' the stereotype with my character's background). That said, I always tend to emote my character's apparent age (and general appearance, except that which can be seen in the character model itself) at the start of an RP. If anything, my character is often treated as older than he actually is, but really mistakes over a lalafell's age are something that seem understandable.

 

What needs to be remembered though is that unless they're Ishgardian (and perhaps Doman? I don't recall any Doman lalafell), most characters should be used to seeing lalafell doing what any other adult of any other race would do. So in theory they should really be giving the lalafell the benefit of the doubt and treating them like they're most likely an adult, unless something in an emote or in conversation proves otherwise. I think really, it's a case of real-life views (that lalafell look like adorable children) diluting the RPers use of lore.

[Kimikimi]

I've been RP'ing here about a week, and have yet to see a single Lalafell RPer at all, much less a serious one. I'll echo Berrod in that its a case by case thing. I'm sure a serious RPer will get serious RP no matter what race they picked.

I think this is what turns people off lalafell is the stereotype of Popotos and such. I feel a lot of lalafell players arnt taken seriously and dont rp at all and so as a rper of another race you dont see many.

 

A shining example of Lalafell done right would be Gus Pumpkinweed.

[Berrod Armstrong]

I've been RP'ing here about a week, and have yet to see a single Lalafell RPer at all, much less a serious one. I'll echo Berrod in that its a case by case thing. I'm sure a serious RPer will get serious RP no matter what race they picked.

I think this is what turns people off lalafell is the stereotype of Popotos and such. I feel a lot of lalafell players arnt taken seriously and dont rp at all and so as a rper of another race you dont see many.

 

A shining example of Lalafell done right would be Gus Pumpkinweed.

But Berrod doesn't take Gus seriously at all. Not to say that the character isn't good, or isn't done right, I think he achieves what he sets out for. 

 

But if you're looking for Lalafells that you want to be taken SERIOUSLY then you may need another example. A character done right and a character that ought be taken seriously are two different things.

[Aldotsk]

There are plenty of good Lalafell Roleplayers who do it right, besides Gus. I think Gus is good for his own event devotion and his own type of event etc.

 

Chachan has that young Lalafell backgrounds, and they both have their own good and bad in their roleplaying skills. 

 

Though I love to see a player deciding to do very old Lalafell like Papashan/Lolorito/Teledji since they are so hard to see. Everyone wants to play young adventurer.

 

>Young adventurer

*/lookself*

 

._.

[Branson Thorne]

I've been RP'ing here about a week, and have yet to see a single Lalafell RPer at all, much less a serious one. I'll echo Berrod in that its a case by case thing. I'm sure a serious RPer will get serious RP no matter what race they picked.

I think this is what turns people off lalafell is the stereotype of Popotos and such. I feel a lot of lalafell players arnt taken seriously and dont rp at all and so as a rper of another race you dont see many.

 

A shining example of Lalafell done right would be Gus Pumpkinweed.

I've never RPed with Pumpkinweed but have seen him rp before. I agree with Berrod that he is well played, but I would not choose him as the role model of a serious Lala.

 

As far as being taken seriously, you chose one of the "out" races who resemble small children. Most of the Lala rpers I've seen have actually made their characters seem a bit immature, which is fine.

 

So not only do you have a character resemble a small child, but then you have people playing the stereotype and pretty soon they have a universal reputation to all the other races.

 

There are exceptions to this, but from what I've witnessed, it would be pretty rare.

[Steel Wolf]

All I have to think about to know that Lalafells can be taken seriously is Lolorito. My character absolutely looks up to Chachanji of she ever sees him, finding awe and respect since she saw him as a Paladin about a year ago. There's a Lalafell in my FC that I very earnestly provide shoulder rides to.

 

As a Roegadyn, I have every avenue to believe my character could punt every Lalafell she sees into the sun. But I have never faced one in combat RP, and my character knows better than to assume anything of anyone. And I have had the good fortune to RP only with excellent Lalafell characters who didn't make their race the primary point of their character.

 

Sure, the perception issue with many in general is real, but honestly if you're finding those not taking your character seriously, I would echo Ser Warren in that either your approach comes off a certain way or you need to find more folks who can take your character seriously.

 

To that point, I am more than willing to arrange a hello to your Lala. Steel adores Lalafell, and admired any who have the courage to enter a life of adventuring. Especially those in the martial disciplines.

[Cassandra]

Unfortunately, most of the "joke" characters I see are lalafells. So it does make difficult to take any seriously. Hell, back when I was barely a week or so into the game, I saw some sort of naked lalafell convention, which was even advertised in shout. Now I am certainly aware there are plenty of good Lalas out there, but stuff like the aforementioned does little to help their reputation as a whole.

[Larson]

I never seen Lalafell children in game before. So far I think I've seen younger models of all races but lalafells.

 

That is because Lalafell do not age in the same way as other races. Their bodies stop growing very young, and because of this do not experience the tug of gravity in the way a Hyur might. Signs of aging in Lalafell are often little more than graying of hair and bags under the eyes. They are forever childlike, and have have evolved to cope with this.

 

Personally, I take Lalafell seriously when they are adults and not being RPed like Tataru. Ul'Dah was at one point -exclusively- Lalafell. They are keen businessmen, adept mages, and can be as strong as any Roegadyn can be. They have also been shown in the MSQ not to be the cutesy chibis they appear to be. They are cutthroat, hardworking, and innovative.

 

You can actually find a prime example in the Sultana Nanamo Ul Namo.

 

In the vanilla game, Nanamo's voice acting was saccharine and childlike. It made little sense for the sovereign of a nation to speak like a little girl. Enix came to realize this, and altered her voice acting in the subsequent patches to be much more regal and professional. They needed to show that she is of sound mind and is equipped to hold the position she does. Having a baby voice compared to the likes of Teledji Adaledji and Lolorito made her seem inferior.

[Nebbs]

Just play them seriously and people will take you seriously.

 

Whenever someone treats Oliwat as a kid, he yells at them and reveals that he's a 42 year old man, and that he'll shoot an ice shard through their knees if they don't stop being rude.

 

It gets awkward real fast.

 

This mostly, just reinforce your characterization.

 

Though they are small and cute, that is something that comes with the race and something you have to accept when you choose to play one.

[Jana]

Chachan is probably known for playing his main, young adventurer character, but he also plays Chachanji's older brother Gogonji, who's basically a cranky curmudgeon. I've played with Virara and Shoshopu too, who are both mature and never come across as child-like.

 

I'll basically echo what others have already said: I can take a lalafell seriously if they are played seriously (though IC, Jana might need some time to warm up to the idea).

[CrimsonMars]

It's like what some people here has said already. It depends on how you portray the character, or at least it should. Personality, I treat lalafell players just like I treat any other players. In the actual game, most of the lalafell npcs and especially the WoL if they happen to be one are taking seriously, and, as long as they aren't joke characters, the same should go for lalafell rpers.

 

Unfortunately, theirs a lot of people that firmly believe that non-mage lalafell are considerably weaker than the other races, which is another reason. If that's the case, than why would they recruit lalafell soldiers? Contrary to popular believe, there are some lalafells that can kick ass out there (I can recall the one in the rouge quest scenario for one). Not everything in real life has to apply to rp.

 

Unlike most other 'chibi' races in mmos, I actually like lalafells. If I had time to invest in a third character, I'd use one.

[Coatleque]

I think I'm in the opposite camp here. Or at least looking at it from a different perspective. I played the game before I started RPing in it, so my experience with Lalafell is that they are no different from other races, just shorter. Think of them more like halflings. When I come across a Lalafell who is not played as a serious character, that seems to be the exception to the rule.

 

The examples I see in-game are of course Nanamo, but also Lolorito, Teledji, Papashan, Momodi, etc. All serious characters. These do no strike me as roles to be easily dismissed in RP. When you start to see how many are in positions of power around the game world it is easier to see them as equals.

[ɴᴘᴄ]

I'd have to wonder if players dismissing lalafell RP wholesale have watched the MSQ cutscenes.

[Branson Thorne]

I'd have to wonder if players dismissing lalafell RP wholesale have watched the MSQ cutscenes.

 

The problem is the 7-8 serious Lalalfell in the MSQ does not dismiss the possible hundreds that RP them as being childish and cute.

 

It's entirely a perspective thing. Almost the same as any kind of racial profiling, no matter what color or race you are. If the majority of your race behaves aor acts a certain way, no matter how different you are, you will still be thrown into the generalized sum of everyone.