Roegadyn AST?

[Koko]

Hey guys! After having life snatching me from FFXIV for a couple of years some friends recently dragged me into the game again and as someone who had always mained WAR, I found myself trying out AST and really loving the concept. Now, as I'm a creature of high taste and refinement, I play a Roegadyn Sea Wolf who is not an established character. Essentially, he's a blank slate as I never truly RPed him despite having plans for it. I was trying to figure out a concept that might be interesting because even if I don't want to play a very cerebral Ishgardian sort of Astrologian, I think that there's legitimate fun in trying to RP card readings and sort of a lighthearted Tarot with players.

 

... my problem is that I'm looking for a way to have it make sense that I'm a Roegadyn, and not one particularly invested in anything Ishgard at all. So I was thinking of perhaps playing him as a Navigator who used the stars and other signs for his work on ships, and eventually picked up Astrology more as a parlor trick but eventually did learn the art. Point being is that I'd love to have more of a roguish take on a fortune teller, while still having a practical use for the class proper. Is this something you'd consider viable or should he just be a hack with a deck of cards? My AST lore is a bit rusty and I'm not really sure about how to go with the foundations of the character. If I can't make it work I have an absolutely dashing RDM set with cowboy hat and all, so not all is lost.

[Valence]

Well it depends already what kind of astrologian you want to roleplay. There is 3 major kinds I can think of:

 

- Ishgardian astromancy is mostly a "science" based around observing stars in order to predict the coming of the Horde, dragon invasions. This art has been practiced for centuries and has very little to do with astromancy, the job ingame. It's also declining now obviously since the Dragonsong War is over, but maybe they're still observing the skies for other things.

 

- Sharlayan astromancy, is the real art that relies heavily on tarot readings and time magics. This is basically what the ingame job is, and it's just starting to make an appearance in Ishgard without being hunted by inquisitors, for once. It has been accepted, but it's barely in its infancy there. If you really want to go deep into astromancy, with seniority and whatnot, the only place to find it without too much trouble is Sharlayan. You can find all races in Sharlayan without any issue also.

 

- Othardian geomancy, which is a far eastern cousin to astromancy, and instead of being focused on the stars and heavens, is focused on the Earth and elements. Seems to rely heavily on protection glyphs, shields and barriers, among other things. Obviously roes are a thing in Othard, they're not sea wolves but far eastern roegadyns  (but can use the same character models ingame).

[Sounsyy]

All kinds of ways to swing this and race should never be a disqualifier for a job! Like Valence said there's several ways that this concept can be swung and all of them are perfectly viable. I'll add a few more.

 

So first and foremost, the actual "Astrologian" job that we get to play is of Sharlayan origin and has been around for centuries. Sharlayan is situated in the seas north of Eorzea and is one of two archipelagos in the Northern Empty, the other being Aerslaent, the Sea Wolf homeland. Sharlayan's founder was even a Sea Wolf. So there's an easy shoe-in there! Sea Wolves are likely common sight in Sharlayan, and its easily possible that Astromancy has proliferated across the Northern Empty over the years. If not in its card-reading form, then certainly in its use for seafaring navigation. 

 

Roegadyn can also be found in Ishgard and the Far East, where Dragonstar-centric Astrology and Far Eastern Geomancy are taught, respectively. Using cards to tell fortunes is also a fairly widespread concept, even when not tied to Astrologian. Practitioners can be found throughout Eorzea. 

 

Finally, using stars for navigation and study is also seen in the three main city-states. Limsa, which has the largest collection of Sea Wolves in Eorzea, uses the stars for seafaring navigation. Ul'dah's Order of Nald'thal also teaches astrology. And Gridania's Gods' Quiver also keep detailed logs of the movement of the stars. 

 

So the sky's the limit!