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Incompatible Character Traits: A Comprehensive List


xelliexell

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Disclaimer: We are not claiming that any of the below traits are impossible to possess, or even implausible. Anything is possible within a fantasy setting with a good enough explanation. Please read everything below to understand why we put these restrictions into place. 

 

In the spirit of creating a more transparent standard in regard to new applicants, we've decided to create the following list so that LS hopefuls can know what could lead to character denial within the screening process. Every RP group on Balmung (or any server) has their own expectations and limitations in terms of lore-adherence and power level, and we hope that this will help define our own preferences.

 

This LS would likely be described as "low" in terms of power level, as compared to other RP groups. The reason for this is due to this LS's themes and storytelling structure. Our theme is more about people who are relatively 'ordinary' by Eorzean standards banding together to overcome extraordinary odds. Additionally, while the conflicts we introduce are dynamic and fantastical, their own "power level" is traditionally on par with that of a Primal. If a character routinely defeats such things, there wouldn't be any individual sense of danger or draw toward the conflicts we introduce, and it creates a poor narrative on both sides.

 

We are almost always willing to work with people to devise a way for their character to RP in our setting, either by omitting the traits that are incompatible with our established LS structure when RPing with us, or finding lore-established ways to accomplish the same narrative for the character.

 

To offer more specific examples, the following character traits are considered incompatible with this LS due to the LS lore, plot, past experience, and player guidelines that have been established:

 

  • Any character with power, skills, and achievement on par with the Warrior of Light or high-powered NPCs such as Louisoix.
  • People who were once Tempered/Touched/Drowned, etc., but have since been cured.
  • Some versions of The Echo. **
  • IC Beastmen (goblins, etc.)
  • Animals that have been glamoured to look like people.
  • Man-made constructs/automatons/robots (although people with prosthetics are okay.) 
  • Immortals/Unkillables.
  • Characters who are resurrected from the dead (excluding instances where they are only "clinically dead" for a few minutes, as that can happen in real life.) 
  • Characters who have been granted extraordinary, above-and-beyond abilities via voidsent, Ascians, etc.
  • Characters who currently have small off-screen armies under their command (i.e.: a group of individuals who answer only to them and do their bidding, beyond the standard presence of retainers.)
  • Abilities that come from sources outside of those described in the in-game lore (i.e.: an invented magic type that draws its powers from the sun, etc.)
  • Abilities that deviate too far from the skillsets shown in game (i.e.: a thaumaturge summoning a cyclone of fire horses in combat.) 
  • Characters who are IC 'masters' of 3+ (three or more) IC combat classes, including possession of 3 or more active soul stones.
  • IC White Mages (although please read the footnote below.) †
  • IC Black Mages (although please read the footnote below.) ‡
  • IC Summoners. §
  • Characters who strongly exemplify an exception to the established lore (for more information, please read the footnote about Monks/Dragoons/Red Mages/Scholars below.) *
  • Padjals.
  • Characters who traveled to Eorzea from another dimension. 


Note: While we do not deny the lore from 1.0, if lore contradictions arise between what was said in 1.0 and what was said in 2.0, we will err on the side of 2.0's lore. (For example, Conjurers should not be able to use Conjury to cast Fire spells, as that was removed between 1.0 and 2.0. Although the scholarly theories and writings behind it still likely exist, applying it in practice no longer seems possible, perhaps due to the shift caused by the Calamity.) 


** About The Echo: 

Spoiler

 

The Echo is shown to have many different applications in game, and there are likely some abilities that have yet to be revealed regarding its use. Some abilities of The Echo are relatively low-powered, such as Arenvald's manifestation of the Echo -- this would be all right within the context of this guild. However, abilities granted by a stronger version of The Echo would not be as compatible with our power level (such as the ability to foresee attacks, or the alleged ability to shield others from Tempering, etc.) 

 

If your character has The Echo, please tell staff everything it grants your character during your screening, so that we can make an informed decision. 

 


§ About Summoners: 

Spoiler

 

While becoming a Summoner is shown as entirely possible in the game, the combined luck, inherent ability, and connections involved in unlocking the job are too high for this guild's power level. Even with The Echo, surviving a Primal encounter is still shown as difficult/rare for the common soldier or adventurer.  When a cache of Summoner soul stones was found at the end of the level 70 Summoner job quest, the team decided to feed them to a book rather than risk disseminating them, which means that the Sons are not like to give these rare finds to just anyone. There are only shown to be 3-4 living Summoners in the game, and even those come nowhere near the WoL in terms of ability. Unfortunately, everything involved in unlocking and mastering the job is just a bit too sticky for the purpose and theme of this guild. 

 

However, being a scholarly researcher of Summoners/Summoning, like Y'mhitra, is just fine!

 


† About White Mages: 

Spoiler

 

While not impossible to attain, 2.0 conveys the concept of being a non-padjal White Mage as fairly difficult and/or rare. The true rarity of this job class is still a point of debate among many RPers, since there is so little information about anyone other than padjals and the WoL being White Mages in present day. Because of this, we would ask that any IC White Mages keep the knowledge of their abilities as "opt in." Be sure that the person (or people) you're RPing with are cool with knowing an IC White Mage before dropping that knowledge onto them, or integrating that detail into your role-play/scene. Of course, this also means you'll have to keep the White Mage aspect a general secret in relation to the guild/group as a whole -- but, considering the scarcity and mistrust of White Magic in the lore, your character should have apt motivation to maintain said secret. 

 

In the meantime, as far as the public or general group is concerned, it's perfectly fine to simply claim that your character is a Conjurer and Hearer. Again, please only share the IC knowledge of your character's White Mage status with individuals who don't mind OoCly, in private scenes/events.

 


‡ About Black Mages: 

Spoiler

 

We acknowledge that the legitimacy of Black Magic is on a very slow and shaky rise, but the heightened destructive ability that goes along with it just isn't compatible with the average-powered nature of this guild. The entire Black Mage job quest line continually emphasizes just how powerful and awesome the abilities of a Black Mage are, to the point that it seems to completely eclipse the abilities of a standard thaumaturge. RPing next to someone who's "just like them, except better" really isn't fun for most IC thaumaturges anyway, as it only serves to make their character feel useless by comparison. 

 

Much like with White Mage, we ask that if your character is an IC Black Mage, please keep that aspect to private RPs between consenting individuals. Also like White Mage, they should have appropriate IC motivation to keep their Black Magic a secret, in light of the mistrust and illegality of the art.

 

 

* About Monks/Dragoons/Red Mages/Scholars, Etc.:

Spoiler

 

Even if not related the specific jobs listed in the above header, we would prefer that people utilize the IC job lore as opposed to writing a backstory that contradicts it. Some examples are listed below, although this list is not exhaustive: 

 

Monks: Monks are synonymous with Ala Mhigan culture, and to be one is to adopt a certain way of life. To be an IC Monk (not just a skilled pugilist), a character should be taught by a monastic of Rhalgr, and should also embrace those beliefs. If your character is old enough, they can also be a Fist of Rhalgr, so long as they acknowledge that Rhalgr is at the epicenter of their Order. An "atheist" Monk doesn't really make sense when placed into this setting, as being a Monk is just as much a way of life as it is a style of fighting. Stormblood is a treasure trove of Monk lore knowledge, so we recommend studying up if you decide your character is a Monk instead of a pugilist! 

 

Dragoons: The high military rank of "Dragoon" (proper noun) has been severely restricted within the lore. Only ~12 Dragoons exist, and many of them are named NPCs. However, being an ex-military/former Dragoon is okay, as is being a lowercase dragoon (who would basically be a soldier trained to fight dragons.) Also, if your character is non-Elezen or non-Hyur, we ask that your backstory acknowledge the elitist racism that Ishgard is known for. For example, a Miqo'te dragoon would have faced considerable opposition as they attempted to climb any rank within that culture, even if they are considerably skilled. Of course, within the last two years or so, the gates have opened to outsiders and attitudes have changed, so make of that what you will. 

 

Red Mages: Just don't have your character be a secretly surviving (or taught by a secretly surviving) Crimson Duelist, and we're good! The only one left alive that we know of is the one who gives the job quest itself. However, he doesn't seem to have any qualms with teaching the art to others, so we're okay with it being accessible. It's pretty reasonable that the knowledge could have fanned outwards, as there is no citation in the lore of Red Magic being banned or outlawed. While Red Magic only uses the elements of Stone, Air, Fire, and Lightning in game, we won't get on your case if you wish to include Water and Ice due to the nature and origin of the job -- just make sure that you integrate the remaining two elements in a way that is equivalent in scope and purpose to the ones shown in combat. 

 

Scholars: Fairies cannot exist without an aetheric host of some sort, so the likelihood of running across one out in the wild, by pure chance, is extremely slim. However, a character with a background in historic research/exploration (in particular, that of Nym) may be able to discover, unearth, and attune with a fairy. We only ask that there be a lore-utilizing reason for your character to have their own fairy, as opposed to "I just found one randomly and they liked me."

 

 

About Astrologians: 

Spoiler

We're all right with IC Astrologians, as long as there is some sort of explanation as to how they learned it. While the job quests do paint the Bibliothecs as wanting to stop the spread of Astromancy in Eorzea, the result of that questline whole-heartedly let the proverbial cat out of the bag. In both later-Heavensward and early-Stormblood, Leveva is cited as rapidly tutoring everyone within arm's reach, and even the Vault steps out of her way eventually (due to it falling out of power post-Heavensward.) There are really several avenues that a character could utilize in learning Astromancy, especially if we operate under the assumption that such teachings and knowledge can spread outward. Of course, if someone would like to include opposition from the Bibliothecs in their Astromancer's storyline, that also falls in line with the lore. Even if the knowledge has already been released to the general public, that's not to say that these groups would no longer oppose its dissemination. 


About IC Jobs Not Taught From Guilds (Such As Tribal Shamanism):

Spoiler

 

Many people enjoy exploring the concept of applying aetheric abilities to tribal Shaman concepts, and we think it's cool, too! We only ask that your character's aetheric abilities remain in step with the traits listed above, and do not deviate very far from the applications shown in game for equivalent jobs.

 

For example, if you want to play a character who learned how to be a "red mage" (roughly speaking) through their tribe's teachings, we ask for their abilities to be on par with a standard IC Red Mage, with the same aetheric origin, and so forth. As mentioned above, a tribal Thaumatuge should not be able to cast a cyclone of fire horses, or generate their ability from the sun (as opposed to manifesting their internal aether.) However, a character can spiritually believe that their abilities come from wherever, even if said belief doesn't align with how things actually work. 

 

These same Guidelines can be applied to Garlean characters who have been altered to wield magic similar to Eorzeans, or any other character with a variant background. Even if they've come to learn the techniques in a different way, we don't want them to contradict the lore of the jobs themselves.

 

 
 


I would again like to stress that we do not have anything personal against any of these concepts or ideas, and encourage people to play whatever they want to maximize their RP enjoyment! We are also not in any position to determine lore plausibility beyond the application process of this LS, so we're not making any argument to that effect. This is only a guideline for traits that, as we know them, would not be happily accepted within a LS of 60+ individuals, each with varying opinions regarding the above subject matter. 

 

This list does not include every single incompatible character trait, as it would be impossible for us to predict what may go awry when certain concepts are introduced to the group. If you are unsure whether a character trait would be well-received, please contact any member of staff, and we would be happy to review it with you. Everything above can also be applied to existing characters, as plot arcs outside of this LS can trigger various "power evolutions" throughout one's story. Again, if you wish to introduce anything about your character that may be received poorly, contact a member of staff before publicly unveiling the idea so that we can work with you and offer our best advice. 

 

We thank you for your understanding, and look forward to collaborating with you!

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