Xaela RP & Racism

[LiadansWhisper]

1 minute ago, Verad said:

Be more racist than your opponents.

 

Just now, Kal Qestir said:

Now we are talking. 

 

You two are bad influences.

[Nokai]

20 minutes ago, LiadansWhisper said:

 

I mean, I get it.  It's tiring when you see your character one way, and everyone else seems to see it another.  I've run into that a time or two.  The thing is, you are expecting every other character to have that intimate knowledge about the Dotharl that only comes out for the Warrior of Light and his/her companions during Stormblood.  When, in reality, the vast majority of people will have only heard about the Dotharl from other Xaela - other Xaela whose tribes the Dotharl have raided and massacred.  Like, the Hotgo.  So, I mean, it's really not surprising at all that most players view the Dotharl in the light of being savage warmongers when that is their reputation to other tribes of their own people.  I get that your character isn't a warmonger.  That's awesome.  The thing is, no one else is gonna know that if the only thing they know about your character is that she carries the name Dotharl.  They're going to assume - cause people do this shit all the time - that she is culturally Dotharl.  And to everyone not Dotharl, the Dotharl are basically savage warmongers who kill men, women, and children indiscriminately. 

 

I'm not trying to be a debbie downer or anything, I'm just saying that this is the reaction the name "Dotharl" does, and probably should, inspire among characters who have no firsthand knowledge of the tribe or its customs.

 

Here's the thing though. We do SHOW others that they aren't just like the Dotharls they are usually assumed as. They respond respectfully and even politely telling them to stop or to tell them to at least respect them because they're also people with emotions and that they're being rude and their insults are becoming hurtful. Think of it this way: A black person stands there just talking to their friends/family and someone starts throwing insults and threats at them. It goes on and on until they finally had enough of the hurtful words and starts lashing back through words saying that's enough. Lo and behold, the law is suddenly there and is telling the black people to stay down and blaming them for things.

 

I know it sucks to use real life examples but most of our RPs goes like that almost every other time and I feel like it's easier to understand if real life are compared to with it

 

Quote

I mean, probably not?  On the one hand, you have people who are reacting solely to reading the name above your heads - that is godmodding and you don't want to play with them anyway. Just put them on ignore and shut them out.  On the other hand, though, you have people who find out IC that you and yours are Dotharl, and are reacting to in-character prejudices.  You're asking other players to modify their justified in-character behavior because you don't like that tribe you chose to play has a terrible reputation outside of said tribe.

 

¯\(°_o)/¯

 

I have no idea how to solve that. Seriously.  Other than telling people that you aren't interested in RPing with them.  Which kind of defeats the purpose of public RP.

 

I am not asking others to change their characters for us. We are asking ways how to avoid problems or have confrontation/conflict RPs in our every day RP. There are people that are suggesting new RP hubs and we appreciate that offer and thinking about it as well as the whole, blocking and OOCly telling them things. We never intended to force others to change their character for us.

 

I would also respond to the other things you posted but that doesn't really connect much with the topic and what we're asking for help with. It's just an IC lore/character thing which I guess shouldn't have been brought up by me but at this point seems to be a big part of it. We just really need opinions and suggestions on how to not have conflict RPs 24/7 in public. Cos clearly we're doing something wrong with how we're handling it (making our chara suck it up and try to be calm always) and thus we are asking for help from others.

 

I had less problems with such 'racism' when I RPed a Moon Keeper and a Raen xD;;; Xaela+Dotharl is just the ultimate combo I guess.

Edited April 24, 2018 by Ayaka

[Verad]

Apart from being more racist than your opponents, you can integrate comedy of the commons and start treating this exactly like the everyday occurrence it appears to be. You have heard all the same replies, so pre-empt the replies. Make up nonsense. Invent stereotypes that nobody would ever think to apply to Dotharl and act as if they are commonplace.

 

Bluntly, people playing racist characters are all doing exactly the same thing, because there's only so many ways people playing racist characters can think of to be racist. Take notes on the commonalities and adapt to it. 

[Kal Qestir]

Just gunna point out that just because you act one way in a scene isnt going to ICly erase probably years of rumors/stories from either eastern travelers or other Xaela playing up the murderous past of the Dotharl. One good warmonger does not a peace make. AKA you can be the goodest of bois, you're still gunna get shit because on the whole your reputation is sorta drenched in blood. Just saying. 

[LiadansWhisper]

1 minute ago, Ayaka said:

Here's the thing though. We do SHOW others that they aren't just like the Dotharls they are usually assumed as. They respond respectfully and even politely telling them to stop or to tell them to at least respect them because they're also people with emotions and that they're being rude and their insults are becoming hurtful. Think of it this way: A black person stands there just talking to their friends/family and someone starts throwing insults and threats at them. It goes on and on until they finally had enough of the hurtful words and starts lashing back through words saying that's enough. Lo and behold, the law is suddenly there and is telling the black people to stay down and blaming them for things.

 

Which is terrible. Unfortunately, Eorzea is, in fact, a terrible place.  There's some quote somewhere that states something along the lines that every race in Eorzea is sexually compatible.  They can all make babies with each other, if they try.  So why isn't Eorzea overrun with halflings? Because the races unconsciously hate each other so much that they rarely engage in cross-race copulation.

 

In Gridania, if you're a Duskwight, you can expect to encounter awful treatment at the hands of just about everyone.  It's nearly impossible for you to advance in any of the guilds based in Gridania, because they hate Duskwights.  If you're accused of poaching, or breaking some other law in the Shroud, don't expect to be exonerated - even if you're innocent.  Duskwights are always guilty.

 

Take all that, and replace "Duskwight" with "Keeper of the Moon," and just dial it back ever so slightly.  And don't get me started about how things work in Garlemald.

 

We are not talking about enlightened individuals.  Racism is alive and well in Eorzea, and it shows no sign of retiring anytime soon.

 

6 minutes ago, Ayaka said:

I am not asking others to change their characters for us. We are asking ways how to avoid problems or have confrontation/conflict RPs in our every day RP. There are people that are suggesting new RP hubs and we appreciate that offer and thinking about it as well as the whole, blocking and OOCly telling them things. We never intended to force others to change their character for us.

 

Stop telling people that you're Dotharl.  Pretend to be another tribe.  Barring that, stop RPing in public.  There are your solutions.

 

7 minutes ago, Ayaka said:

I would also respond to the other things you posted but that doesn't really connect much with the topic and what we're asking for help with. It's just an IC lore/character thing which I guess shouldn't have been brought up by me but at this point seems to be a big part of it. We just really need opinions and suggestions on how to not have conflict RPs 24/7 in public. Cos clearly we're doing something wrong with how we're handling it (making our chara suck it up and try to be calm always) and thus we are asking for help from others.

 

Actually, the rest of what I wrote completely connects with the topic, as it explains why you're getting those reactions in the first place.  But you do you, boo.

[Verad]

Just now, Kal Qestir said:

Just gunna point out that just because you act one way in a scene isnt going to ICly erase probably years of rumors/stories from either eastern travelers or other Xaela playing up the murderous past of the Dotharl. One good warmonger does not a peace make. AKA you can be the goodest of bois, you're still gunna get shit because on the whole your reputation is sorta drenched in blood. Just saying. 

 

Sure, but the IC circumstances that allow people to have good IC reasons to react that way don't suddenly make the people who are doing it any good at actually doing it, or weathering a daily barrage of this stuff any less boring or unfun.

[Kal Qestir]

4 minutes ago, Verad said:

 

Sure, but the IC circumstances that allow people to have good IC reasons to react that way don't suddenly make the people who are doing it any good at actually doing it, or weathering a daily barrage of this stuff any less boring or unfun.

Neither does getting hit in the face with a baseball make baseball any less enjoyable of a sport. *disclaimer I don't play baseball* Hazard of the environment, although I am not sure what is so enticing about Ul'dah to make it the go to Dotharl RP spot. 

[Mi Ming]

Yeah, we're definitely not trying to make anyone change their character, that's not why I made this thread. 

 

I think a lot of it is OOC though because our characters don't exactly go up to people and say "We're Dotharl." In fact Sen tries to keep it hush hush because she doesn't want to get a hate mob. I feel a lot of people see three Dotharl nametags and whether realizing it or not come up and act based on that. 

 

Liadan we have heard your advice as harshly worded as it may be, thank you for your input. Please remember that this is a discussion and that we are asking for help, we are not here to argue with you. We have done a few of your suggestions and will consider the rest though "Don't RP a Dotharl, and Don't RP in public" with respect are kind of the things we made this topic to avoid. While you think those are the only options others have posted other options that we are very grateful for. "Don't RP your character" and "Don't RP in the RP hub" is a bit extreme, we're looking to what others have said and as for pretending to be another tribe and switching it has been considered.

I am aware that Eorzea is a racist place and that lore supports people treating Xaela and eachother like shit, but that isn't the issue. It's not a matter of "is it lore friendly" it is about how we as RPers can deal with it, RP it, and roll with the situation we have been given. 
 

I would very much like this not to devolve into arguing. 

Edited April 24, 2018 by Pumpkin

[Nokai]

Just now, Kal Qestir said:

Neither does getting hit in the face with a baseball make baseball any less enjoyable of a sport. *disclaimer I don't play baseball* Hazard of the environment, although I am not sure what is so enticing about Ul'dah to make it the go to Dotharl RP spot. 

 

It is not really the Dotharl RP spot--It is however the RP Hub where you can just drop your character there and happily interact with randoms. Yeah we could attempt to RP in other public spaces but less RPers there--and mostly, nobody gathering there really for RPs.

[Nokai]

9 hours ago, Seriphyn said:

Hello!

 

I thought I should post in here since the 4th Combined Brigade engages with a lot of Xaela RPers in and around Pearl Lane when it comes to peacekeeping. I completely and utterly understand the paradox that exists with Xaela RP:

 

1) IC: Xaela tribal habits (especially in-fighting) would not be tolerated in Ul'dah. Racism is also likely, with little motivation to welcome tribal folk who aren't contributing anything to Ul'dah.

2) OOC: Ul'dah is the RP hub and thus new Xaela RPers would want to RP there rather than try to get to the gated Azim Steppe.

 

There have been times when 4th peacekeepers have encountered Xaela RPers about to fight each other in Pearl Lane. IMO, that's a big no-no however one looks at it. The Brass Blades would probably cut them down in an instant. Typically, my lot will direct them outside city walls. That's the most common approach that we take.

 

We have a set of commandments we follow that you can read about in the "Peacekeeping" chapter of our handbook. These commandments should make our approach clear! If you don't think we've been following them, do let me know!

 

Also--I keep forgetting to quote you but we actually had one of your members come into one of our RPs and they actually handled it very well and we were quite happy to see a Flame officer handling things professionally IC-wise in that situation rather than ignore things.

 

Kudos to you guys!

[LiadansWhisper]

11 minutes ago, Pumpkin said:

I think a lot of it is OOC though because our characters don't exactly go up to people and say "We're Dotharl." In fact Sen tries to keep it hush hush because she doesn't want to get a hate mob. I feel a lot of people see three Dotharl nametags and whether realizing it or not come up and act based on that. 

 

Seriously, tell them to fuck off.    Send me a tell, and I will do it for you.  Ignore godmodders and metagamers.  They are not worth your time, they are not worth your energy, your stress or your tears.  If they have no valid IC reason to know you are Dotharl, then don't acknowledge them.  Blacklist, blacklist, blacklist.

 

11 minutes ago, Pumpkin said:

Liadan we have heard your advice as harshly worded as it may be, thank you for your input. Please remember that this is a discussion and that we are asking for help, we are not here to argue with you. We have done a few of your suggestions and will consider the rest though "Don't RP a Dotharl, and Don't RP in public" with respect are kind of the things we made this topic to avoid. While you think those are the only options others have posted other options that we are very grateful for. "Don't RP your character" and "Don't RP in the RP hub" is a bit extreme, we're looking to what others have said and as for pretending to be another tribe and switching it has been considered.

 

While I may not be at my gentle max at the moment (seriously, my empathy button took a hard nose dive after I clocked out at work, because I've had people in my face all day, so I hope you'll excuse me for being harsher than normal), try not to read too much tone into my text.  I don't have the best text tone, but that's not really something I can fix barring spamming the board with emoji.

The problem, as it was presented to us, was that people were ICly harassing your Dotharl characters for being Dotharl.  I didn't see it mentioned until your post that people were literally just walking up and reading nametags and using that as justification, which is 150% shitty on their part.  When people pointed out that, hey, Dotharl get treated like that because they have a really terrible reputation, the response was basically, "But I don't have fun with this, I don't want conflict RP."

 

The central issue here, to my mind, is that if you don't want conflict RP, you don't make a character that inspires conflict RP, nor one that seeks it out.  So while your characters may not actively be seeking out conflict RP, they're carrying a tribal name around that attracts Conflict RP to them.  If the issue is purely IC - and not metagamers - then your choices are to a) not mention that they're Dotharl (with removes the IC justification for someone to get into a fight with them for being Dotharl), or, if you want to be able to RP openly as Dotharl but without having unwanted Conflict RP, don't RP in public.  Because...I mean...characters are gonna be that way.

 

I'm not saying not to RP your character at all.  I'm saying, don't openly play a Dotharl. There's a difference.  It's not "not RPing your character" if you just lie about your tribe or fail to mention it.  Unless that would go against your character concept, and your character would be loud and proud about being a Dotharl.  But then you run into the issue of...the Dotharl have a really bad IC reputation.  So, I mean...  ¯\(°_o)/¯

 

Take this however you like.

Edited April 24, 2018 by LiadansWhisper

[Anstarra]

Discussions are fun~

 

Personally though, I'm just kinda wondering why someone would play a Dotharl and NOT revel in the tribal stereotype. Their whole point is that they're arrogantly superior about being self-styled immortal badasses. The counterbalance to that is a culture of suicidal violence wherein you don't care if you die because then you're just reborn more badass. It's very clearly noted in-game in the quests and NPC interactions that this results in low population and an understandable lack of popularity with more peaceful tribes.

 

If you're not being a Dotharl to be a Dotharl, what're you up to? Or is it just a case of wanting to be the one dark elf who's not such a bad guy and has lavender eyes rather than red and is tormented by how evil his people are while retaining all the badassery?

[Kal Qestir]

If you want everyone to love you play a Mol. Cinnamon bun incarnate. 

[Nokai]

7 minutes ago, Anstarra said:

Discussions are fun~

 

Personally though, I'm just kinda wondering why someone would play a Dotharl and NOT revel in the tribal stereotype. Their whole point is that they're arrogantly superior about being self-styled immortal badasses. The counterbalance to that is a culture of suicidal violence wherein you don't care if you die because then you're just reborn more badass. It's very clearly noted in-game in the quests and NPC interactions that this results in low population and an understandable lack of popularity with more peaceful tribes.

 

If you're not being a Dotharl to be a Dotharl, what're you up to? Or is it just a case of wanting to be the one dark elf who's not such a bad guy and has lavender eyes rather than red and is tormented by how evil his people are while retaining all the badassery?

 

I for one want to be like that one quest line in the Dotharl Khaa where it's the series quest in the Steppe. Where you'll help him train and realize what he did wrong and why he sucks at fighting AND still be able to be friends with an Oronir no matter their tribal relationship just because they're warriors that wishes to be strong together and respects each other like so.

 

It's not all about fighting and killing. It's about exploring your character and how they see things and how they handle being a 'reborn' of a strong warrior in the past... Which is not the reason for this discussion so yeah but I just wanted to respond to your question lol.

 

5 minutes ago, Kal Qestir said:

If you want everyone to love you play a Mol. Cinnamon bun incarnate. 

 

Honestly, at this point--I wanna do this as well.

Edited April 24, 2018 by Ayaka

[Mi Ming]

I'm glad you mentioned your text tone being bad at times Liadan, thank you very much- like honestly. Text is an oddly garbage means of communication at times especially with people like me who tend to care a lot what people think (don't tell anyone) so I'm very grateful.

I had another Dotharl RPer I respect say something similar to you and while harsh it was very true. "Why would you play a Dotharl if you didn't want conflict?" And while I think there's reason to play a Dotharl even if you don't want conflict I am aware that even unknowingly I signed myself up for this ride that I am not so much enjoying. I had no idea how severe it was. I didn't know this slide made me go upsidedown so to speak 

 

We're definitely going to try some of your advice, already I'm leaning Sen towards taking interest in the Mol and while there's no lore on tribe switching (I think?) I am sure one can leave there tribe and within reason join another be it through marriage or a true willingness to integrate. That or she could easily ditch being a Dotharl alone or just not care (I wish.).

As for the "Why play a Dotharl and NOT play to the Dotharl aspects?": Part of it is that we used to RP their parents and wanted to continue the line when those characters were "Done" So their children followed and picked up the leftovers and patch their parents were on etc. Your Dark Elf analogy isn't entirely wrong but it's not entirely right either. Our characters are willing to kill, they in fact enjoy combat to the death and have secret jobs where they do take contracts on lives. (Shhh.) But they are also civilized due to their upbringing. They WANT to fit into society so they can work easier, so they can have friends. They do not entirely relate with their own people but neither can they with others. They want to follow the Dotharl ways but do so with less gloating and more 'honor'

I'm not sure if I explained the last paragraph well, TO PUT IT SIMPLY: While they are Dotharl that is only a very small part of their cultural identity whereas Hingan is very much more their culture. Like- I'm Scottish and while my family takes pride in it we've lived in Canada forever, my cultural identity is Canadian, my ancesty is Scottish. I hope that makes this less silly to explain. 

[Kal Qestir]

1 minute ago, Pumpkin said:

 

We're definitely going to try some of your advice, already I'm leaning Sen towards taking interest in the Mol and while there's no lore on tribe switching (I think?) I am sure one can leave there tribe and within reason join another be it through marriage or a true willingness to integrate. That or she could easily ditch being a Dotharl alone or just not care (I wish.).
 

I forget where exactly but it was mentioned that tribes take in the members of defeated tribes as well as their outcast at times. So tribe "swapping" as it were is very likely a possibility. Specially if your character doesn't have any real ties to their tribe's cultural identity. 

[Caspar]

I'm not really certain how the other characters knew yours were Dotharl without godmodding. If anything, given that your characters are so far removed from the tribe itself, it is unrealistic of them to expect yours to have anything in common with Dotharl, as your Xaela would in all likelihood be as foreign to the steppes as Hingashi's people. A passerby could even be forgiven for assuming your characters weren't Dotharl at all.

[Tiergan]

I feel folks should focus less on why someone would pick a Dotharl and not play them as violent/aggressive, and more on actual solutions these players can use to resolve their problem.  If people want to play cinnamon roll Dotharl, more power to them.  Hell, if someone wanted to make a pacifist Dotharl that is tormented by the fact that they'll never be reborn if they don't actually go out there and fight - they should be entitled to do that.  The RP community would be boring as all fuck if everyone played things exactly as we expect.

 

Pumpkin, Ayaka - the two biggest things I want to highlight from this thread are: 1) You shouldn't waste your time with godmoders if your characters tend not to mention at all they are Dotharl.  They're already demonstrating right off the bat that they can't keep IC and OOC separate, so you know instantly that they're not going to be any fun for you.  RPing your characters having to keep their tribe name on the down-low can be interesting in and of itself, perhaps they only reveal their tribe name to people they trust not to judge them based on where their lineage comes from.

2) Respond to IC problems ICly, but OOC problems OOCly.  While "my character gets harassed all the time for her clan-name and it's not fun for me" might seem like a purely IC problem - the "it's not fun for me" part is the exact moment it became an OOC problem.  Definitely communicate politely with people, let them know that while you appreciate them trying to engage with you - you're just not in the right mental space for that sort of RP right now.  RPing in public doesn't mean you have to put up with and accept every single interaction that comes your way, regardless of whether or not it is enjoyable to you.  RP is a hobby played for fun.  So long as you are respectful of other folks and not actively being a dick, it's okay to communicate and change things up the moment it stops being fun.

Edited April 24, 2018 by Tiergan

[Tregarde]

Here's one point I do wonder about - just how much DOES the average Eorzean know about Dotharl, or Xaela, or even Au Ra in general?  Can someone who has never seen Au Ra till they started showing up in Eorzea be able to tell the difference between them? Even if someone hears Dotharl talking in their native tongue, would that person know what they are hearing?

 

Prejudice and bigotry tends to cover a wide blanket over an entire population, rather than selecting a very specific segment of it.  But how much WOULD people be prejudiced against Au Ra, or a specific segment of them? Let's be honest, for a lot of people they would see horns and scales and it would be more "Oh yeah, I heard about them. Uh, maybe we should avoid them," and stop there, not even bothering to get any details. Some probably couldn't even tell the difference between the tribes, it's all just foreign words to them.

[Maril]

I have never experienced these kinds of problems on my Au Ra, he is a Khatayin and the most reactions I get are; "Is that a player-made tribe?" and reactions to his looks (he doesn't look friendly). I've had him hang around Ul'dah quite a lot, including pearl lane, and the shit I've gotten there is shit I started on my own because he "accidentally" threw some rats at people. 

I would be cautious to take an incident, or even a repeat of incidents, and go out to call it a generic problem than spans the whole community. It's the kind of thinking that would only push to drive you away from playing a certain race. I got caught up in it with my first attempt at playing a female miqo'te- finding it hard for that character to be taken seriously- and thinking "Boy, people really do think female miqo'te's are only here for the sexy" - Instead of focusing on finding people who didn't think this way and ignoring the rest. 

 

It sounds to me like you need to communicate OOCly with people who come to you and act in a way you think is unfounded. People have already commented a lot on the how-could-this-happen, and I definitely agree on the notion that you have to own up to what you play and accept that some races are more open to certain stereotypes. Because Eorzea is a horrible place, and Othard is even worse. But at the end of the day, if you feel harassed and that your roleplay is being ruined, you need to send a tell to the person/people doing this, and either ask them to back off or ask for an explanation as to the behavior. Alternatively, you need to put the people on ignore, stop responding to them or move to a different location. Don't limit yourself by thinking that you shouldn't whisper a stranger, if anything the fact that you don't know the people who are roleplaying at you is even more cause to communicate oocly. Your comfortzone is as valid as theirs, and sometimes you can salvage things through communication, and if it can't be salvaged then the worst that happens is that you figure out that you shouldn't be rping together- and that's okay. Saves both ends a lot of hassle. 

 

Whenever I am around the quicksand and related nearby areas, I always apply a filter onto what my character hears and sees, because if I didn't their world-view would be skewered and broken rather quickly - People come out with the most random admissions, from being half-dragons to walking-and-willing voidsent-possession victims, and I can't actually stay true to my characters in those cases, as especially with my Xaela his immediate reaction would be to punch people's faces in.  Applying a bit of a filter and taking things with a grain of salt, assuming that people are straight up crazy, allows me to hang out in these locations and still retain the possibility of finding new connections there, character progression and all of that jazz.

[Maril]

2 hours ago, Tregarde said:

Here's one point I do wonder about - just how much DOES the average Eorzean know about Dotharl, or Xaela, or even Au Ra in general?  Can someone who has never seen Au Ra till they started showing up in Eorzea be able to tell the difference between them? Even if someone hears Dotharl talking in their native tongue, would that person know what they are hearing?

 

Prejudice and bigotry tends to cover a wide blanket over an entire population, rather than selecting a very specific segment of it.  But how much WOULD people be prejudiced against Au Ra, or a specific segment of them? Let's be honest, for a lot of people they would see horns and scales and it would be more "Oh yeah, I heard about them. Uh, maybe we should avoid them," and stop there, not even bothering to get any details. Some probably couldn't even tell the difference between the tribes, it's all just foreign words to them.

 

I think it's difficult to find an average-eorzean and go by that, especially since most roleplayers don't roleplay an average-eorzean. There's definitely a base of not knowing that every eorzean character would have to lift themselves from, through exposure to the race. If you have a book-wise character, chances are by now there might be some books one could pick up in Kugane and read a bit about what the Au Ra, maybe descriptions of their culture/society/history - Maybe even written by a Raen.
I think it would be very likely for an eorzean to, once talking with an Au Ra & being able to ask questions, be told of some of the big-seeming tribes like the Dotharl and the Qestir. They're very distinct tribes and it would provide a good conversation piece - compared to the Khatayin which is just "We herd goats in the mountains.." 

 

I don't think any Eorzean hearing a Xaela speak would have any clue, from what I gather, the concept of language between tribes is still at a point where different tribes have such big differences in dialects that it can be hard to understand each other. Said Eorzean would have had to really get into learning the language which I would say at that point they've probably already picked up on stigma elsewhere first and, maybe even overcome it. I suppose if a character has The Echo^TM, you could be dealing with someone who understands all languages because of it, but then again I'd say you'd have to ask that character if it's the case and they wouldn't be a member of the average joe fleet at any rate. 

 

Has enough time passed for it to be common that Xaela roam about, speaking common eorzean, to make a big impact that means your average joe could tell the tribes apart? 
I don't really think so? I mean, when I am on my Xaela, I never assume even he can tell the tribes apart or even knows of them all. It makes more sense for some tribes to know a lot about all of the tribes, and less sense for others because they might be reclusive or very insular. 

 

But then at the end of the day, most roleplayers don't tend to or seem to roleplay as anything that could be called an average, regular eorzean joe, so you're always going to be dealing with people whose characters may know a whole lot, or may know a whole lot of misinformation, or may know nothing at all for whichever unique reason. 
 

[Tregarde]

4 hours ago, Maril said:

But then at the end of the day, most roleplayers don't tend to or seem to roleplay as anything that could be called an average, regular eorzean joe, so you're always going to be dealing with people whose characters may know a whole lot, or may know a whole lot of misinformation, or may know nothing at all for whichever unique reason.

 

True, adventurers are not 'average' people - but the 'average' person serves as a baseline.

 

Take my characters for example - none of them have traveled beyond Eorzea yet IC. 95% of what they know about Au Ra comes from the actual Au Ra they've met, who have mostly been pretty decent folk. Sure, they've heard the rumors and stories, but they judge others from actual experience not hearsay. Just like with Duskies, or Moonies, or whatever - from experience, most of them are decent folk who just want a comfortable life.

 

So my characters are not prejudiced against any Au Ra, because they have no reason to be! Simple as that. I'm not saying others should or should not have prejudices, but if they do it should make sense for the character to have it. Remember, it's only been mere months since SB came out, and major contact with the East opened up (and with the official timeline  being so compressed, it may have only been mere weeks, officially) -  and before that, even among adventurers, not much was known by most people from Eorzea.

[Sounsyy]

 

12 hours ago, LiadansWhisper said:

Unfortunately, Eorzea is, in fact, a terrible place.  There's some quote somewhere that states something along the lines that every race in Eorzea is sexually compatible.  They can all make babies with each other, if they try.  So why isn't Eorzea overrun with halflings? Because the races unconsciously hate each other so much that they rarely engage in cross-race copulation.

 

We are not talking about enlightened individuals.  Racism is alive and well in Eorzea, and it shows no sign of retiring anytime soon.

8 hours ago, Tregarde said:

Here's one point I do wonder about - just how much DOES the average Eorzean know about Dotharl, or Xaela, or even Au Ra in general?  Can someone who has never seen Au Ra till they started showing up in Eorzea be able to tell the difference between them? Even if someone hears Dotharl talking in their native tongue, would that person know what they are hearing?

 

Prejudice and bigotry tends to cover a wide blanket over an entire population, rather than selecting a very specific segment of it.  But how much WOULD people be prejudiced against Au Ra, or a specific segment of them? Let's be honest, for a lot of people they would see horns and scales and it would be more "Oh yeah, I heard about them. Uh, maybe we should avoid them," and stop there, not even bothering to get any details. Some probably couldn't even tell the difference between the tribes, it's all just foreign words to them.

 

Fernehalwes: "Now, as for how the Au Ra are regarded by others living in Eorzea, while there was racial tension in past ages, recently with the onset of the Age of Adventure and an influx in the amount of people of all races flocking to Eorzea, there truly isn’t any form of heavy discrimination towards the Au Ra (it also helps that because very few Au Ra ever visited Eorzea before, there is little deep-seated hate stemming from historical conflict). However, because they are new to Eorzea and there is much mystery surrounding them, a lot of native Eorzeans are still a bit wary (even if they don’t really know why)."

 

Most of Eorzea's contact with the Far East has been with the nations of Doma and Hingashi, not the Steppe.  And Doma and Hingashi, for the most part, also have very limited interactions with the Xaela. This is relevant because many Domans and Hingans dislike the Xaela, regardless of tribe, if they're aware of all the various tribes at all. So just as much suspicion and hate should technically be thrown at the other Xaela tribes like Hotgo as well, unless of course there is specifically a Hotgo or other Steppe tribe Xaela who is seeing these Dotharl in the streets of Ul'dah, there's not really any other reason for anyone else to be outrageously racist, unless that's just their character - but that should extend to all Au Ra/Xaela regardless of tribe if that's the case.

 

Encyclopedia Eorzea: "Possessed of a strong self-preservation instinct, the Au Ra believe in protecting tribe and family, though the means by which the two clans choose to do so diverges greatly. The Raen coexist peacefully with other races to ensure the safety of their own land, while the fiercely tribal Xaela shun relations with other races, even viewing strangers of their own kind as potential enemies. As such, the former are viewed favorably by the outside world, while the latter are typically regarded with suspicion and hostility."

 

Yugiri: "I give you the Azim Steppe, Sounsyy. Though I should say that this is but one small portion of it. Despite the close proximity, Domans rarely venture this far north. Most find these lands and their people strange and foreign..."

 

Encyclopedia Eorzea: "With suitable grazing land sparse, conflict between individual tribes is common, with tribes forming, disbanding, and dying off in a ceaseless cycle of war and bloodshed. At last observation, Xaela tribes numered fifty-one, though there is a high likelihood that recently splintered or merged tribes have rendered that count outdated."

 

11 hours ago, Anstarra said:

Personally though, I'm just kinda wondering why someone would play a Dotharl and NOT revel in the tribal stereotype.

 

If you're not being a Dotharl to be a Dotharl, what're you up to?

 

Why play a Seeker of the Sun and not engage in the tribal lifestyle? Why play a Duskwight from anywhere outside the Shroud, away from prejudice? Why bother playing a thaumaturge who's not one of the Order of Nald'thal? Why not? We don't ask these questions of other concepts, why this one? There are people who want to RP out the stereotypical, by-the-lore definitions of races, classes, or other concepts, and then there are people who want to take a unique approach. There are Seekers who don't live in tribes, Duskwights who've escaped the Shroud and racial prejudice, thaumaturges who aren't beholden to Ul'dah, and there are Xaela who aren't living a tribal lifestyle on the Steppe, but instead have made their homes elsewhere. This is all okay. 

 

All of this is besides the point, however. Regardless of whether it is the lore or isn't the lore there are, at least, two RPers being harassed to the point of not wanting to play a perfectly viable concept anymore just because too many people are having a conflict boner. A Xaela can live and integrate into Hingan culture no matter what tribe they were born into. Conflict RP is great, but dealing with it all the time or too much isn't fun, and the OP has said as much. A lot of good suggestions have been thrown out already, but I'll second:

- Open OOC communication with these people and tell them that you're just not really wanting to get into that type of RP today, but maybe you can set up another time where you both can do a scene.

- Ignore them if they persist or ICly make some mention that the streets of Ul'dah are too loud and you want to move to some other street in Ul'dah to continue the conversation. 

- If they follow, block them? 

 

I'm not really kosher with the idea that our go-to solution for any kind of harassment help threads is "RP in private somewhere" because we're on Balmung or Mateus or one of the bigger RP servers for a reason and that's to be in an environment that allows for open RP. Finding a house to set up a familiar RP setting is good, but you should be able to RP in the main RP hub without being harassed because of your surname. 

Edited April 24, 2018 by Sounsyy

[Gegenji]

This may be a long shot random suggestion I just came up with but...

If people are going to look at your name and character and metagame that stuff... along with just ignoring the folks that do that if they won't listen to reason - maybe put something in your Character Info block that points some of this out?

 

Like...

"Nicer Than Your Average Dotharl" or "Dotharl Dreaming of Being a Maid" or something that implies that your character, while a Dotharl, is still a unique entity separate from all the stereotypes and preconceived notions. Obviously that should be an assumed thing, but every little bit could help, right?

[Koro Dotharl]

RPers that are so shallow to OOC grief people cause of a tribe they don't like on top of metagaming and godmoding aint worth anyone's effort imho.