Are there any rules to having a non-traditional background?

[AquaNinja]

Hi, I just realized that I posted a question like this a year or so ago, but decided that rping wasn’t for me, so I left it. But, now I’m hoping to get back into it and wanted to know if having a background like this would be alright. I’m not sure if this is too much for a background start or not. I’m still very new to RPing, so I’m unsure.

 

Currently, my character a moon keeper & is 2/3 Miqote (both her parents areMiqote) and 1/3 Elezen (one of her grandparents was an Elezen on her mother’s side), although I’m not sure if that is too much and it is better to have her be half Elezen and half Miqote. Her name is going to go by a miqote sounding name and a French surname, so she would have a mix of cultures.

 

Both her parents were adventurers and either settled down inDoma, Sharlayan, or Thavnair, where my character was born. Here is where I’m worried, is it alright to have her come from one of these areas? We don’t know much about them, so I’m worried if it’s possible to write her from somewhere that we haven’t visited in Doma yet (since it would be weird for no one to recognize her if she came from one of the places that she was raised). If she were from Sharlayan, is it possible to not have run into the Scions or Alphinaud and Alisae? Thavnair is the only one I can see actually working, since we haven’t been there before.

 

Also, do you have to play as the WoL, or can you just be another member of the scions who has the echo?

 

 

I apologize for these probably strange questions, I’m just a bit nervous about trying to come back into the rp world again, and wanted a sort of fresh start for my character.

[Kieron Lohengrin]

Originating from any of those nations is fine. Glamours for them even exist ingame already. Play the character you like, enjoy yourself, and don't fuss overmuch about what others might think. Use the glamour sets, read up on places like Radz-at-Han and their alchemical bent, to get an idea of what someone from there might be like.

 

Even the Echo is getting played up more in recent MSQ with Arenvald, Fordola, and Garlean science. We now know that it's not just the WoL who can fend off and survive primal attacks and tempering. The degree of Echo capability you want for your toon and how they got it is entirely up to you.

[Valence]

Currently, my character a moon keeper & is 2/3 Miqote (both her parents areMiqote) and 1/3 Elezen (one of her grandparents was an Elezen on her mother’s side), although I’m not sure if that is too much and it is better to have her be half Elezen and half Miqote. Her name is going to go by a miqote sounding name and a French surname, so she would have a mix of cultures.

 

I don't see anything wrong with that as long as you're aware of what you're getting into I guess? Keep in mind that inter species relationships are somewhat very taboo and shunned in most places and cultures in Eorzea. But they happen. And often, the offspring aren't in a good place to grow up.

 

This would put your whole family out of most societies, unless they find a nice safe spot of more understanding people I suppose. The fact that they mix both naming conventions also implies probably that it's not an isolated incident that happened between two people only and that they are a family or community having chosen to live like that.

 

Both her parents were adventurers and either settled down inDoma, Sharlayan, or Thavnair, where my character was born. Here is where I’m worried, is it alright to have her come from one of these areas? We don’t know much about them, so I’m worried if it’s possible to write her from somewhere that we haven’t visited in Doma yet (since it would be weird for no one to recognize her if she came from one of the places that she was raised). If she were from Sharlayan, is it possible to not have run into the Scions or Alphinaud and Alisae? Thavnair is the only one I can see actually working, since we haven’t been there before.

 

It isn't impossible, just keep in mind that so far Doma, Hingashi, or anything part of eastern Othard at least, only have native midlander hyurs, Au'ra (raen and xaela) and roegadyns. But since even Hingashi isn't totally closed to trade and foreigners, you can of course find other races around, albeit in smaller amounts and most of them just foreigners. For example, Hingashi being the reclusive island nation that it is, only allows foreigners in the foreigner district in the port of Kugane. Doma is another beat entirely. The nation has been subjugated for decades by the Empire and thus invaded by the imperial army, which is comprised of true garleans yes, but even more of a load of conscripts of various races (eorzeans, ilsabardians, othardians, etc). It's a big mess.

 

Sharlayan is a good possibility and we know they have a lot of different faces living there. Among them, elezens, miqo'te, lalafells... Pretty much everything. It would be good to check the lorebook for better demographics but I'm at work right now.

 

We don't know a lot about the demographics of Thavnair as far as I know. Maybe Sounssy will have specific info on that but on the top of my head, I don't see any. But Thavnair is a huge sea trade hub connecting all the continents and therefore witnesses a LOT of passing by countless different cultures. It's not really a stretch to imagine that most races probably live there now, and unlike Hingashi, I don't think Thavnair is closed to foreigners in their inner lands.

 

If she were from Sharlayan, is it possible to not have run into the Scions or Alphinaud and Alisae? Thavnair is the only one I can see actually working, since we haven’t been there before.

 

Well, it's not because you live in the same city as celebrities, or on the same archipelago, that you necessarily have met them... Keep in mind that they aren't that famous since the Scions have always been a rather secretive society until very recently. Also, the Scions are a fairly recent entity since it was born from the merging of the Circle of Knowing, a Sharlayan group focused on knowledge and helping foreign nations, lead by Louisoix and composed of Y'shtola, Thancred, Urianger, and all that jazz, and the Path of the Twelve, a fledging group of amateurs possessing the power of the echo and trying to do good in Eorzea, founded by Ascillia (Minfillia) and where the warriors of light from 1.0 initially get involved.

 

Also, do you have to play as the WoL, or can you just be another member of the scions who has the echo?

 

This touches a whole different subject and encompasses a vast amount of discussions, so... Briefly, some RPers choose to play as the WoL with a group of friends and stick together since obviously not everybody can be the WoL. The majority of Rpers however generally just play a character detached from the main story of the game, because eventually you don't necessarily have to RP the same character that you see in the cutscenes and the story. Some do it and have fun doing so, some don't and also have fun doing so.

 

We have known since 1.0 that the echo isn't exactly a common occurence, but it's not something specific to only a handful of people either. It's a rare trait much like the Force is a rare trait in Star Wars. It's also pretty unique in most of its bearers.

 

Krile for example, has an extremely strong ability to constantly pry in other people's pasts and histories, much more so that the WoL. Fordola has it too since technically she received it from experiments on Krile. Minfillia had a strong connection to Hydaelyn. A lot of people also suspect the WoL to have a very powerful echo capable of foreseeing the immediate future, like AoEs, attacks, etc.

 

 

In any case, as a general rule, keep in mind that the closer and specific to the story characters and organizations, the more you'll exclude yourself from the general RP scene. If you play the WoL, well, there can only be one of them. If you play a scion, some might see it as being a bit of a special snowflake. It's a bit like saying "I personally know the Sultana and we stroll at night together". Not that much though. The Scions have become a larger entity and a lot of common folk work for them now. Much like saying you are employed by Garlond really. I personally don't find being a standard Scion to be very special snowflaky. Neither do I find having the echo being it, but it sure gives you a powerful power already. Mix them both and you'll grow in uniqueness for sure, especially since most of the Scions got murdered by Livia Sas Junius during ARR 2.0, and probably along with them a lot of the echo members from the old Path of the Twelve.

 

So yes, you'll have various scales on that specific matter. It's up to you to balance it out, see what you want to play, and then who will be ok with it, as usual.

[Sounsyy]

Valence covered just about everything, so I'll just say that you can be from any of those places if that's what you want to do! And it might just depend on what sort of character you're wanting to make. If your character came from Sharlayan, for example, they're likely far more educated than if you had a character from Doma. Doma has also been under Garlean occupation for 25 years, but Sharlayan is free. Meanwhile island nations like Hingashi and Thavnair remain neutral to the Empire, but allow an imperial presence.

 

Some of these are older posts, but they should help hopefully.

- Thavnair Lore

- Doma Lore

- Sharlayan Lore

[Graff Lacroix]

Also, do you have to play as the WoL, or can you just be another member of the scions who has the echo?

 

I'd recommend against being the WoL, honestly. In fact, I have an unsubstianted hypothesis that the WoL isn't so much a discrete individual as a sort of "anti-ascian" that piggybacks on various echo wielders in their times of need. This could explain both the discrepencies in the WoL's alleged appearance and the continuous narrative surrounding the character.

 

And I don't think you have to join the Scions if you have the echo, either. They'd love to have you, though.

 

In regard to unconventional backgrounds in general, I go by the approach that if something isn't flatly denied, then it could exist. This gives more space for player creativity. There's also the possibility your character might be misinformed about one or more aspects of their background.