ow the edge

[kamikrazy]

Hello everyone, longtime lurker here! I've recently had an inclination to throw off the shackles of balance and sanity and fanta'd from a highlander into a cat! In the course of doing this, I've decided to really refresh the game to myself by maining a new class and making a totally new RP character who is also completely different from any RP characters I've ever made in the past!

 

I thought about it for a while, and I've always admired seat-of-the-pants edgy characters (even if they are a bit shallow a lot of times).

 

I've come up with a basic character concept, but I was watching The Resurrected the other day and it got me thinking about stuff! So even though I have a functioning backstory for my character at the moment, I'd like to summarize this idea to see if its too wacky to even attempt. I work at a bookstore, and I have so many different rulesets for various universes and fiction that unfortunately they kind of bleed into each other in my head, and I don't have a great gauge of what is too outlandish for a certain universe (especially when I've gone out of my way to be as edgy as possible with this character!).

 

I don't wanna be an annoying time waster though, so I'll skip the fluff and get right to the idea I wanted to present for some ruthless critique!

 

The Concept!

The character is murdered after some drama, and wakes up in some kind of underworld/purgatory (represented by Palace of the Dead). They are attacked by monsters/demons inside, and have to fight them off while moving from rest-spot to rest-spot. This goes on for a very long time (maybe even years?), with them meeting other people inside the labyrinth. Eventually she finds her way to the "top" floor, and there's a hole that opens up to the sky.

 

They walk outside to find themselves back in the mortal world, and are very disoriented about where they are and how they are, as they specifically remember dying and know they were dead. Quite maddened by their predicament, they sit next to a tree, where they fall asleep...and when they wake up, they find they are back in the maze, except even further down! They notice its much hotter and darker, and so they make their way up again, butchering monsters en masse until finally they reach the top, but this time it begins to fill with dirt as they approach!

 

They dig through the dirt with their hands, and notice as soon as they are outside in Eorzea again, they are immediately wracked with what feels like months worth of sleep deprivation, but conclude that if they fall asleep they will be taken back, this time in an even hotter and darker place that they won't be able to escape from.

 

So they go looking for someone who can help them, a mage of some kind? Someone who can find a way to cure their tiredness so they never have to sleep again?

 

That's as far as I got! I know there isn't much basis for it in-game that I can think of, but I also can't think that it actively conflicts with anything, and I thought it was a kinda interesting (and very edgy) concept. I've always thought potd was very interesting, especially because it feels like there's such a lack of understanding of it (maybe that's just me!)

[Nebbs]

Interesting.

 

I suppose you need to define what is actually going on so that anyone helping you could actually fix it, be that free you from the hole or make sure you never get out again, or move you on to the next realm of existence.

 

In terms of IC fixes my witch may offer, so I suppose these are spoilers, could be:

• Some way to keep you awake for longer or permanent, with coresponding side effects
  
• Some kind of talisman of the hole that allows you to exist outside of it, probably needs a quest into the hold to get the components to make it
  
• The realization that you need to eat peoples' brains to survive
  
• The clearing up of the unfinished business that is stopping you moving on to the next life
  

It sounds fun but I wonder how viable it will be, which will come down to your creativity in playing the character I suspect.

[Ellmida]

Yeah the concept does sound a bit out there,  but the way you write it I think you could pull it off. 

My recommendation on this for role play is to determine how much this background affects your character with how they deal with others or react to stressful situations because even if the story is interesting it means little if you can't telegraph it with the character since it's unlikely the lore you created is going to be revealed by a massive info dump on unsuspecting players.

 

That being said, I'd almost like to see this put forward as an individual story since it sounds like you have an interesting concept and I'm not certain if working within the confines of the game will be able to give it due Justice.

[Valence]

On the lore side, the only thing I see that might cause trouble is the "being dead" thing... Unless your character wants to turn into a zombie, I'm not sure lore covers the possibility of coming back from the dead, at least, not yet to my knowledge.

 

It's possible to come close to it or being lost to the aetherial sea like Y'Shtola and the other Scions though. Who knows what you could find in there? Antitower style.

[Kazukata]

On the lore side, the only thing I see that might cause trouble is the "being dead" thing... Unless your character wants to turn into a zombie, I'm not sure lore covers the possibility of coming back from the dead, at least, not yet to my knowledge.

 

It's possible to come close to it or being lost to the aetherial sea like Y'Shtola and the other Scions though. Who knows what you could find in there? Antitower style.

 

Having a character "consigned" to the Aetherial Sea sounds cool as shit. Would also go a long way to explain why they're magically cast back there whenever the trigger happens. "Aether" is used as an explanation to handwave so much crazy, wonky stuff that I could see it working well here, too. It also would work the same as being dead, since when you die, you basically disperse and return to the Aetherial flow reincarnation style from what I remember. Actually staying a physical being in the flow is the hard part.

[Ryslo Suramlo]

On the lore side, the only thing I see that might cause trouble is the "being dead" thing... Unless your character wants to turn into a zombie, I'm not sure lore covers the possibility of coming back from the dead, at least, not yet to my knowledge.

 

It's possible to come close to it or being lost to the aetherial sea like Y'Shtola and the other Scions though. Who knows what you could find in there? Antitower style.

 

Plus don't the Ascian's use Black Materia to prevent themselves from joining the life force, virtually causing them to come back from death as death was never able to grab a hold? Think It is the one time you see this other then the Zombie References made throughout the game (Thanalan just outside Little Ala Mhigo, Dungeons ect.,). Ya the only thing we know about the life stream is that all characters return to it unless blocked by the usage of Black Aetheryte Crystals, Hence the usage of the White Crystals. We don't even know if there is a subconscious beyond death.. all we know is we turn into the flow of Aether as far as I know and spiritually believe in the '7 Hells' as NPC's have said on more then one occasion.  We know that the 'Void' isn't death just a place where darker magic and horror's exist.. so not sure the answer on this one as far as lore.. seems vague enough to allow room but also seems a little stretching.

[Valence]

On the lore side, the only thing I see that might cause trouble is the "being dead" thing... Unless your character wants to turn into a zombie, I'm not sure lore covers the possibility of coming back from the dead, at least, not yet to my knowledge.

 

It's possible to come close to it or being lost to the aetherial sea like Y'Shtola and the other Scions though. Who knows what you could find in there? Antitower style.

 

Plus don't the Ascian's use Black Materia to prevent themselves from joining the life force, virtually causing them to come back from death as death was never able to grab a hold? Think It is the one time you see this other then the Zombie References made throughout the game (Thanalan just outside Little Ala Mhigo, Dungeons ect.,). Ya the only thing we know about the life stream is that all characters return to it unless blocked by the usage of Black Aetheryte Crystals, Hence the usage of the White Crystals. We don't even know if there is a subconscious beyond death.. all we know is we turn into the flow of Aether as far as I know and spiritually believe in the '7 Hells' as NPC's have said on more then one occasion.  We know that the 'Void' isn't death just a place where darker magic and horror's exist.. so not sure the answer on this one as far as lore.. seems vague enough to allow room but also seems a little stretching.

 

I'm not totally sure what you mean by "black materia", but the Ascians are a whole other kind of species that we don't know much about (yet). We don't know if they even are living beings, and if they follow the same rules than anything else.

 

They are servants of Zodiark, the Dark Crystal exiled to the Moon by Hydaelyn. It's the power of the Dark Crystal that seems to prevent their souls to be dispersed to the lifestream (which could mean that the WoL could be subject to the same blessing from the Crystal of Light? Comparison only valid as long as Ascians are similar beings and their echo power is similar though).

 

Anyway, the Dark Crystal refers to the power of Zodiark, and is not the same as any black crystal you might have in mind. Similarly, materia isn't the same as an aetherial crystal. Materia is the condensation of persona infused gear into small stones not that different from soulstones, with the difference that they don't quite hold souls or personas, just traces of it.

 

The only known way to kill Ascians is to use white auracyte, which can temporarily suck and hold any flow of aether, and then kill it with a particularly powerful aetherial blast (something even shattered Tupsimati had trouble to do). So far, the only two Ascians killed that way are Nabriales (by the sacrifice of Moenbryda) and Lahabrea (by the eye of Nidhogg).

 

Ascians are also immortal due to their nature of parasites, actually possessing people and discarding them when they need another one, not dissimilarly to voidsent.

 

 

Servants of Darkness, the Ascians are pledged to Zodiark, a celestial syzygy legend holds was exiled in the moon by Hydaelyn Herself. From the shadows, they have shaped history by imparting forbidden knowledge unto mortals, stoking the fires of war while revealing the secrets of primal summoning. Throughout history they have been known by many a name, among those, Paragons and the Bringers of Chaos.

 

What the Ascians whence did the shadowless beings come? Do their bodies harbor "life" as is defined by our laws of nature or are they something different - something more sinister? As of this writing, these questions and more remain unanswered for want of evidence. Mankind has not, however, been completely blind to the existence of the Ascians. A report compiled by the Students of Baldesion points to their lingering presence throughout recorder history. Indeed, it is thought thse beings also known as Paragons have long interfered with the affairs of man, and are somehow connected to each of history's seven umbral calamities.

 

Recent direct encounters with the beings has shed more light on both their true nature and intentions. For one, the Ascians are known to posses the echo - just as the Warrior of Lightand a handful of his companions - and use this power to transfer their souls into the bodies of others. This is doubtless the secret behind how the so-called "immortals" have survived for so long. Should the vessel of an Ascian inhabited to be utterly obliterated, his soul does not appear to succumb to the tug of the lifestream. Instead, the Paragons harness the power of the Crystal of Darkness to find sanctuary in a space that lies twixt corporeal and aetherial. At present, there is only one known means to destroy an Ascian: entrap its soul within white auracyte - a substance capable of temporarily holding aether - and then shatter the stone with a blade of concentrated life energy.

[kamikrazy]

So many great responses, but after some speaking with people in game, I've decided to write this into a backstory short story fanfiction instead, as I've found the ending to the situation. Unfortunately I'm not sure if I'll be posting it here, as I just went maximum-edge on it, and there's quite a few parts that would most certainly not be okay to post on this board! I may make a censored version and post it here later.

 

Thank you guys for being encouraging, I've already torn into it, and I'm very happy with the results so far!

 

Next stop: TO THE EDGE OF EDGE

[Ryslo Suramlo]

On the lore side, the only thing I see that might cause trouble is the "being dead" thing... Unless your character wants to turn into a zombie, I'm not sure lore covers the possibility of coming back from the dead, at least, not yet to my knowledge.

 

It's possible to come close to it or being lost to the aetherial sea like Y'Shtola and the other Scions though. Who knows what you could find in there? Antitower style.

 

Plus don't the Ascian's use Black Materia to prevent themselves from joining the life force, virtually causing them to come back from death as death was never able to grab a hold? Think It is the one time you see this other then the Zombie References made throughout the game (Thanalan just outside Little Ala Mhigo, Dungeons ect.,). Ya the only thing we know about the life stream is that all characters return to it unless blocked by the usage of Black Aetheryte Crystals, Hence the usage of the White Crystals. We don't even know if there is a subconscious beyond death.. all we know is we turn into the flow of Aether as far as I know and spiritually believe in the '7 Hells' as NPC's have said on more then one occasion.  We know that the 'Void' isn't death just a place where darker magic and horror's exist.. so not sure the answer on this one as far as lore.. seems vague enough to allow room but also seems a little stretching.

 

I'm not totally sure what you mean by "black materia", but the Ascians are a whole other kind of species that we don't know much about (yet). We don't know if they even are living beings, and if they follow the same rules than anything else.

 

They are servants of Zodiark, the Dark Crystal exiled to the Moon by Hydaelyn. It's the power of the Dark Crystal that seems to prevent their souls to be dispersed to the lifestream (which could mean that the WoL could be subject to the same blessing from the Crystal of Light? Comparison only valid as long as Ascians are similar beings and their echo power is similar though).

 

Anyway, the Dark Crystal refers to the power of Zodiark, and is not the same as any black crystal you might have in mind. Similarly, materia isn't the same as an aetherial crystal. Materia is the condensation of persona infused gear into small stones not that different from soulstones, with the difference that they don't quite hold souls or personas, just traces of it.

 

The only known way to kill Ascians is to use white auracyte, which can temporarily suck and hold any flow of aether, and then kill it with a particularly powerful aetherial blast (something even shattered Tupsimati had trouble to do). So far, the only two Ascians killed that way are Nabriales (by the sacrifice of Moenbryda) and Lahabrea (by the eye of Nidhogg).

 

Ascians are also immortal due to their nature of parasites, actually possessing people and discarding them when they need another one, not dissimilarly to voidsent.

 

 

Servants of Darkness, the Ascians are pledged to Zodiark, a celestial syzygy legend holds was exiled in the moon by Hydaelyn Herself. From the shadows, they have shaped history by imparting forbidden knowledge unto mortals, stoking the fires of war while revealing the secrets of primal summoning. Throughout history they have been known by many a name, among those, Paragons and the Bringers of Chaos.

 

What the Ascians whence did the shadowless beings come? Do their bodies harbor "life" as is defined by our laws of nature or are they something different - something more sinister? As of this writing, these questions and more remain unanswered for want of evidence. Mankind has not, however, been completely blind to the existence of the Ascians. A report compiled by the Students of Baldesion points to their lingering presence throughout recorder history. Indeed, it is thought thse beings also known as Paragons have long interfered with the affairs of man, and are somehow connected to each of history's seven umbral calamities.

 

Recent direct encounters with the beings has shed more light on both their true nature and intentions. For one, the Ascians are known to posses the echo - just as the Warrior of Lightand a handful of his companions - and use this power to transfer their souls into the bodies of others. This is doubtless the secret behind how the so-called "immortals" have survived for so long. Should the vessel of an Ascian inhabited to be utterly obliterated, his soul does not appear to succumb to the tug of the lifestream. Instead, the Paragons harness the power of the Crystal of Darkness to find sanctuary in a space that lies twixt corporeal and aetherial. At present, there is only one known means to destroy an Ascian: entrap its soul within white auracyte - a substance capable of temporarily holding aether - and then shatter the stone with a blade of concentrated life energy.

 

I didnt remember the 'exact' names hence the Black & White Materia but I was just using them as an example of a being avoiding 'death' and able to come back from a 'death' like state even if they actually never 'touch' that state.

[Kirsche]

>tfw you do lose the edge war. RIP.

[Hali]