New-ish Player Considering a Return to FFXIV

[Rising]

Hello folks! As indicated, I have the game and have played in a limited fashion a couple times in the past year. I am primarily an RPer but I also like to be fairly decent at the games I play. FFXIV has proven quite confusing to me but I'll figure that part out. 

 

I'm here for RP, to create, and develop a character in the FFXIV world. I am not sure if I will continue with the character I originally created, Kaecia Sorel, an Elezen Archer, or if I will create an entirely new character. I was quite happy with the Elezen, but I rolled her and played the game alone. However, in general, I found it difficult to get into RP. I usually seemed to be ignored, or got a lot of whispers from folks wanting to ERP. So, I have to wonder, is this something expected in general in RP here, or is it just that she wasn't guild attached and seemed available?

 

This time my RP partner in another game has decided to give FFXIV a shot. I'm pretty pleased with this, and it's gotten me thinking about just doing a whole 'restart' and rolling a new character. That said, he's very interested in rolling an Au Ra, specifically Xaela. So I am considering rolling a Au Ra as well, and starting fresh. 

 

I am new to the FF setting, having never played any of the other FF games, and only very limited time in XIV. I like to do my research so my first iteration of a character is accurate and I don't have retcon anything. I've had some trouble finding much detail on the Au Ra. I've found the wiki's and they seem rather... lean on details... unless I'm missing something? Anyway, initial thoughts were his Xaela being somewhat of an outcast (primarily because we don't know anyone and so won't have clan ties). He likes the idea of me creating a Raen (which I like visually anyway). 

 

So, I'm wondering if there's any stigma with such a friendship? Does it completely fly in the face of lore? How does class/job fit into characterization? Any common mistakes I should avoid with either the world or the Au Ra specifically? For me to know my character, I need to know where she came from, what her past is. Any info on their homeland would be helpful.

 

Anyway, I'd love some advice, or ideas. I'd also love some contacts, references, resources, links, FC's, etc. Thanks for reading, and I look forward to seeing you in Eorzea!

[Sounsyy]

I am new to the FF setting, having never played any of the other FF games, and only very limited time in XIV.

 

While all Final Fantasy titles share common themes, the lore for each game is unique to each title (for the most part). So the lore behind moogles in this game will not match the lore behind moogles in FFXII for instance. So you don't need to be familiar with previous games to enjoy the one you're playing! ^^ The common threads are just there as fan service to its predecessors.

 

 

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I like to do my research so my first iteration of a character is accurate and I don't have retcon anything. I've had some trouble finding much detail on the Au Ra. I've found the wiki's and they seem rather... lean on details... unless I'm missing something?

 

I'd recommend checking out the Race Lore Masterpost, which contains lore on the origins, customs, naming conventions, and racial traits of the six races. There's a tab specifically for Au Ra!

 

Unfortunately, FFXIV's lore is spread out of various mediums, tidbits, and places across the game and out of it. Some NPCs are unreliable, others go missing. So compiling an all-encompassing overview of this game's lore is very difficult to do. But if you have any questions about the game's lore feel free to ask in our shiny new Lore Forums section and we'll be sure to get it answered!

 

 

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So, I'm wondering if there's any stigma with such a friendship? Does it completely fly in the face of lore?

 

Most often, Raen and Xaela avoid contact with each other. There doesn't seem to be any explicit hostility between the two clans, just that they purposefully avoid each other and have carved out largely different territories across Othard. This also can vary from tribe to tribe as some tribes, such as the Malaguld Xaela, are known to accept Raen into their tribe.

 

One of the only tribes that accepts people of the Raen--those that have been exiled' date=' or those who have fled persecution--into their circle.[/quote']

 

 

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How does class/job fit into characterization?

 

This is entirely up to you! Some people decide to play class and jobs, others abandon the limitation altogether. In short, "classes" are Eorzean-specific professions which are taught in guilds across Eorzea. However, while the armoury system that makes a weapon = class, in the lore, it's not always that simple. A prime example is the Gladiators' Guild, which teaches its hopefuls how to fight with a sword and shield for sport in an arena called the Bloodsands. But not everyone who uses a sword is a Gladiator. In fact, only someone who fights on the Bloodsands is a Gladiator, and not all of them use swords! So it can kind of get confusing.

 

"Jobs," on the other hand, are professions that are no longer (for whatever reason) widely used across Eorzea. Some of these professions are ancient, some lost and forgotten, others forbidden, many just dwindled away from disuse. Most often, these jobs have or require the use of a soulstone, an item which houses the memories and souls of previous owners that helps guide the new user to understanding said memories and the abilities of the job. It can be complicated to wiggle some jobs into your character, while others its not so difficult. Being an Au Ra from Othard makes having known most of these jobs pretty impractical, but not impossible that there's a Far Eastern version that is similar to said jobs.

 

It's all in how you want to play it. Do the Othardians have swordsmen? Yes, definitely. Do they likely have gladiators in the Eorzean sense? Not likely. etc etc

 

 

For class/job lore, I think these links should help:

-Class/Job Lore Compilation

-Soulstone Lore

 

 

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Any common mistakes I should avoid with either the world or the Au Ra specifically? For me to know my character, I need to know where she came from, what her past is. Any info on their homeland would be helpful.

 

There's another recent thread that asked some similar questions. What's important to remember is that Au Ra, particularly Raen, are but recent immigrants to Eorzea for the most part. They originate from the Far Eastern continent of Othard, which was invaded by the Garlean Empire roughly 50 years ago and submitted completely to the Empire 25 years ago. So most characters originating from there would have grown up under Imperial rule.

 

Recently, within the past year or so, Garlemald's first emperor fell ill and died, sparking the War of Succession for a new Emperor. Attempting to capitalize on the distracted imperials, Doma, a province along Othard's eastern coastline just below the northeastern mountains and valleys in which the Raen make their home, rebelled. However, they were betrayed by the shinobi and to set an example for the other provinces, Garlemald razed the city-state. This has displaced many of the Raen Au Ra who originate from Doma and the lands/islands surrounding. Many of those displaced refugees have come halfway around the world to Eorzea in search of a land free from the Empire.

 

 

Xaela, on the other hand, are largely nomadic. They live in tribes ruled by khans and inhabit the other regions of Othard, such as the Azim Steppes to the west, the northern mountain ranges, the coastline and islands to the southeast, and the far south deserts. Each tribe has its own ideologies and customs. While these Xaela are incredibly rare as far west as Eorzea, there are historical notes of small Xaela groups or tribes coming to Eorzea in the past.

 

 

Here's some more links you might find helpful!

-Hydaelyn Geography Lore

-Othardian Geography Lore

-Doma Lore

-Garlemald's Occupation of Othard

 

 

Hope this helps! ^^ Lemme know if you have more questions!

[Askier]

Take the plunge and return! The waters of rp are great!

[Valence]

As long as you got the basics I would say, I find FF to be pretty easy and lax with retcons since the lore is designed to be super malleable and often told by the word of NPC characters with ignorance and bias rather than pure canon.

[Nebbs]

Your character concepts are fine, some may IC twitch but OOC go for it.

 

My tips for surviving starting RP would be..

 

Find and join a good Free Company (guild) and Linkshell (see the Linkshell list above)

 

Go to the events where you will see RP gathering outside of the open RP-pit, think of it as a pre-filter and expectation that all will be middle-ground RP.

 

There are a lot of tavern houses that have sprung up. These tend to be 3-9 players at any given time. The RP is light, and easy but it is a great way to find folks who RP and even see what some of the FCs are up to.

 

This should help you find RP links and avoid the open RP-pit of randomness. Not that the open RP-pit is bad, it is just what it is and you are going to get all sorts.

[Rising]

 

I like to do my research so my first iteration of a character is accurate and I don't have retcon anything. I've had some trouble finding much detail on the Au Ra. I've found the wiki's and they seem rather... lean on details... unless I'm missing something?

 

I'd recommend checking out the Race Lore Masterpost, which contains lore on the origins, customs, naming conventions, and racial traits of the six races. There's a tab specifically for Au Ra!

*snip*

OMG, this is amazing. Thanks for all the links and info. Just what I needed.

 

Thanks for the welcome and words of advice. The other problem I've run into is creating a character on Balmung, or even Gilgamesh... I've woken up in the middle of the night to check availability and still they're full. Is there some trick? Or is there perhaps another server than RPers go to?

[S'imba]

Balmung is pretty much impossible to get onto unless you transfer from another server. I managed to get on gilgamesh early morning a few months ago, not actually sure how it is now, though it seems extremely difficult to find any rp there. I've been exploring the other servers for rp just cause I'm curious what their communities are like, as well as maybe offering a bit of support to help theme grow. 

 

Though like I said probably your most sure fire bet for finding rp is eat the 18.00 and transfer to Balmung. (You can transfer 8 characters off one server at one time for those 18.00 though.)

[Rising]

I actually rolled a character on Jenova. There's a small but friendly group of RPer's there. I've not actually RP'd yet as I need to flesh out my character before doing so, but they've been helpful and I see them call out in the LS fairly often promoting RP.