How exactly do Samurai work?

[cptndunsel]

Hello all,

 

I am a seasoned roleplayer who is new to the FF14 setting. I am trying to take the deep dive into roleplay, but honestly I find myself crippled by the fear of getting the lore wrong so I was hoping that some people here could help me. In particular, I have some questions about the Samurai in this setting and how they work.

 

My questions are the following:

• Do the Samurai of FF14 resemble the samurai of real life? (Do they have lords that they serve, clans that they are part of, ect) Or are Samurai in ff14 more of the archetypical warrior who has a fancy sword?
• If Samurai in this setting are closer to the former, how do you rp concepts such as having a master, upholding honor, ect.
• What about Ronin?
• How widespread are Samurai? Is this a profession that is only traditionally practiced by the people of Doma and Hingashi? Or is this a profession that you could plausibly find in any culture? What races would make the most sense for rping a Samurai?

 

Super Specific question time:

• Do the tribal Xaela of the steppe retain any samurai of their own?
• Or would a Xaela need to leave their tribe to become Samurai?

Thanks to all who answer. I am sure that many of these questions are obvious to those who have played the story, but I am just starting out and these are details I would like to have hammered out before I commit to a character. Thanks again.

Edited September 15, 2021 by cptndunsel

[Mua Viras]

So, for your first question, you hit it pretty dead on with having a lord, mentor, city,  etc to serve.   As you do the job quest most of the lore will be explained, especially through Stormblood.

 

As far as rping the concepts, I've seen it done many ways.  Generally it just depends on how you write the character, unless you find another pc that wants to co-write that interaction with you.  Wandering samurai are totally a thing, though expect there to be tension with most traditional samurai that still have their obligations.

 

 Samurai are most widely spread in Doma and Hingashi,so expect the highest concentration of them to be in those cities.  The job quest for samurai, when you take it, gives a good idea of how samurai are viewed outside of those areas.  One traveling mentor was enough to spread rumors throughout Ul'dah.  As for anything close to samurai in other cities, the gladiators or paladins in Ul'dah are similar but to be expected, each area has its own interpretation of fidelity.

 

As for Xaela, it's not expressly shown that they have samurai, however, that's not to say that a kha could meet a mentor in reunion and learn skills through them.  Basically, write your character with what is comfortable and enjoyable for you.  FF is so open ended, it's hard to break lore unless you're really trying to do so.