Dark Knight Origins (New to RP)

[Xareux Sangajin]

Currently, I'm RPing as an Ishgard born Elezen Dark Knight. My question is, do people become Dark Knights just by grasping that inner darkness or can it be caused by say "A scholar embraces dark Aether" scenario? So far, it seems people become Dark Knights for various reasons. Like when people in power abuse it. Any insight would be awesome. I am still new to the lore. I have read some stuff on FFXIV Wiki too, just need a more solid answer.

[Kieron Lohengrin]

The first DRK was Tryphaniel, from over 6 centuries ago. He was put on trial for killing a pedophile rapist.



Dark knight abilities are fueled by strong emotions and passions, such as wrath, love, and forgiveness, as seen in the 30-70 jobquests. They often make reference to the danger of being consumed by your own personal abyss and inner darkness if you let any of your emotions out of balance, leading to a loss of control - for example, Fray's rage and anger in the quests up to 50, and Myste's guilt and compassionate savior complex in the quests up to 70. Keeping both balanced, instead of tending toward either extreme, is essential to effectiveness and success.

While starting out as Darkness-named abilities in lower levels, DRK skills later upgrade to Shadow-named abilities at level 70+, making reference to Shadowbringers / overarching plot developments. Balance is, again, key to the job identity - there's a reason it's the poster job for the expansion. Without giving away 5.0 spoilers, light must cast a shadow, and an overabundance or lack of either just leads to problems for everyone in the story.

[Xareux Sangajin]

So to make sure I have this straight, the power the DRK uses is based solely on the their own inner darkness. Do DRKs go mad at all with the influx of emotions and general dark magic of said job? To add another question, can someone evil become a DRK? Do they have to have been good at one point or can they be evil to begin with. Like a DRK without a real code of ethics? 

Edited July 2, 2019 by Xareux Sangajin

[UnidessGaming]

I would say that an evil DRK would at some point inevitably succumb to the abyss and go mad. For to be evil they would end up imbalancing their own emotions, much like Fray (as Kieron said) was starting to border on being an evil maddening presence with all his intolerance of others not standing up for themselves and only leaning on sentiments of anger and wrath. The whole DRK job storyline up to 70 is centered around the concept of not suppressing one's own emotions, but at the same time keeping them in balance while embracing them all. Which is not a mindset that lines up well with an evil character, since no matter how well written is a villain they need to be imbalanced in some aspect to be one. All of this directly links with your first question too, since balancing emotions and their powers go hand in hand for a DRK.

 

Using a D&D alignment system, I'd say that a DRK that doesn't succumb to the abyss and follows the job's legacy would stay in a spectrum ranging from Chaotic Good to Neutral Good, since the premise of the first one to follow the path is one of righteousness unbound by man's laws. Maybe a not-so-righteous DRK could be pure Neutral at best, but I think any other inclinations outside of these spectrums would end up imbalancing the DRK and at some point drive them crazy and succumb to the inner abyss.

All of this doesn't mean that if one was to experience the imbalanced aspect of the job it would be bad from a story or character development point, it would actually allow for a lot of character growth and depth if at the end they'd end up in the balance once again.

 

Edited July 3, 2019 by UnidessGaming

[Xareux Sangajin]

That's not a bad idea, but now that I really grasp it all I'll see what I can do character wise to make this balanced.