Travel Methods

[Xha'li Moui]

I know from the story that airship travel between the cities is rare, and likely expensive due to the risk of losing one of the limited number of airships the Eorzean Alliance possess to empire attacks, my question is what other methods of travel would be likely for more "common" folk who need to travel from one of the city states to another.  In particular I'm wondering about getting from Gridania to Limsa Lolimsa and how long it would probably take.  Reason I ask is Xha'li's back story leaves him in Gridania and for the start of his story come P4/Launch he needs to be in LL for the Arcanists guild.  While I could just wave the magic wand of plot and have him go there off screen I'd prefer to due it IC via the forums, but want a better idea for structure first.

[Nox]

I'd... imagine he'd take a carriage from Gridania to... somewhere, then take a boat from there. Lore is not my strong suit, as you might notice. But that'd be what I'd guess.

 

Edit: As far as duration goes, I have no clue either. I probably shouldn't have even posted, seeing as I'm almost no help.

[Aysun]

This has been something I've been dealing with a lot since starting RPing again in ARR. Travel! Before the Calamity, Aysun had a chocobo, could take an airship or the ferry, or even just use aether travel if she was really desperate.

 

In ARR however, airship travel has been restricted, and the ferry from Aldenard to Vylbrand is extremely expensive! You can't teleport to aetherytes you haven't attuned to before, so there's no just zipping around to new places..

 

It presents a fun challenge, really!

 

If he wants to get to Limsa from Gridania, it could be quite a journey! Could take anything from a couple days on chocobo to longer depending on the hardships he encounters. From attacks on the chocobo carriages to trying to afford they ferry ride..

[Tyriont]

Part of what I'm working on for the explanation of what Ty and his crew have been doing during the last five years involves a lot of...less than legal work. Some of the slightly less dubious things they're likely to have undertaken though is offering passage for those who need it. For a price, of course. Should you wish, I'd be happy to work something along those lines out with you - assuming you're the kind who doesn't mind associating with pirates, that is.

 

Alternately, if you'd rather keep things your own then that general idea is still an option. The Limsan storyline makes it clear that while the 'golden age of pirates' is over there are definitely more than enough crews still around - the type of people who would be more than happy to undercut the obscenely priced official ferry and aren't likely to ask too many questions.

[Aysun]

Part of what I'm working on for the explanation of what Ty and his crew have been doing during the last five years involves a lot of...less than legal work.  Some of the slightly less dubious things they're likely to have undertaken though is offering passage for those who need it.  For a price, of course.  Should you wish, I'd be happy to work something along those lines out with you - assuming you're the kind who doesn't mind associating with pirates, that is.

 

Alternately, if you'd rather keep things your own then that general idea is still an option.  The Limsan storyline makes it clear that while the 'golden age of pirates' is over there are definitely more than enough crews still around - the type of people who would be more than happy to undercut the obscenely priced official ferry and aren't likely to ask too many questions.

 

So um. So.. Um. My lil bro and me need to get from Limsa back to Thanalan..

[Xha'li Moui]

Part of what I'm working on for the explanation of what Ty and his crew have been doing during the last five years involves a lot of...less than legal work.  Some of the slightly less dubious things they're likely to have undertaken though is offering passage for those who need it.  For a price, of course.  Should you wish, I'd be happy to work something along those lines out with you - assuming you're the kind who doesn't mind associating with pirates, that is.

 

Alternately, if you'd rather keep things your own then that general idea is still an option.  The Limsan storyline makes it clear that while the 'golden age of pirates' is over there are definitely more than enough crews still around - the type of people who would be more than happy to undercut the obscenely priced official ferry and aren't likely to ask too many questions.

 

That would work, being an exile Xha'li isn't exactly swimming in Gil even if his only crime was wanting to study magic.

[Isilme]

I'm not sure what the final Ferry price is going to be (SE stated that it was a 'known bug', so I assume someone misplaced a decimal point there), but I doubt it's going to drop to less than a few thousand, as I imagine they want players to go through their starting nation story missions at get to level 15 before cutting them loose on the world. Between Black Shroud and Thanalan there might not be a toll or anything, but there ARE level 20+ aggroing mobs.

 

Gameplay wise, it basically means that it's a discouragement from wandering out of your own area too early, but it won't stop the truly determined.

 

RP-wise... well, I imagine at the opening to AR, travel IS restricted. The Maelstrom fleet is still recovering from the Calamity, and Serpent Reavers, Sahgin and Garleans make sea travel dangerous, even just between the mainland and La Noscea.

 

For someone who is poor, 5,000 gil (What I suspect the ferry price will settle on) is a huge sum, and probably represents life savings to make the trip. Also, I suspect the average person doesn't have access to aetherytes.

 

Given the refugee situation, smugglers like Tyriont are probably common, and probably a lot less scrupulous than he is. Refugees are often preyed upon by Primals to swell their ranks of followers, or by groups like the Serpent Reavers as conscriptees and slaves.

 

All in all, going from Gridania to Limsa Lominsa is probably a dangerous, harrowing and expensive trip, even for a well-armed adventurer.

[Neka]

I'm glad this thread was made! As a new player I'm curious if carriages would have a fee, and if so how much typically would that fee be? I'm looking at doing a journey of some sort from Gridania to Ul'dah.

[FreelanceWizard]

I'm glad this thread was made! As a new player I'm curious if carriages would have a fee, and if so how much typically would that fee be? I'm looking at doing a journey of some sort from Gridania to Ul'dah.

 

I'm sure carriages would have a fee. It's hard to predict an actual cost in terms of purchasing power (for reasons discussed on another thread but basically boiling down to "gil costs do not represent reality"), but any long-distance travel is, I believe, going to be quite pricey and difficult for the average citizen. I'd suggest that, since new adventurers end up in the city-states with little more than the clothes on their back and a head full of dreams, long distance travel via carriage is expensive enough to render average people largely destitute.

[Tyriont]

So um. So.. Um. My lil bro and me need to get from Limsa back to Thanalan..

 

That would work, being an exile Xha'li isn't exactly swimming in Gil even if his only crime was wanting to study magic.

 

Well you two should hit me up in a PM and we'll work something out! I've not roleplayed online since my old RP shell in FFXI disbanded years ago and I've been feeling the bug more and more over the course of Phase 3.

 

Manaani, as far as gil goes...Ty is fairly soft-hearted (despite what he tries - and for the most part fails - to portray) so a sufficient sob story will likely help result in a sufficiently low price ;D

[Naunet]

This past week of beta, my friends and I have met up to RP every couple days or so. It turned into something of a beta short story that involved characters traveling into the Shroud, to Gridania, and then back down through the Shroud and out into Thanalan. My character was on a business trip ICly. Considering the restrictions on airships - being only reserved for exceedingly special circumstances - as well as the idea that average citizens likely don't have the ability (or even the funds) to teleport via aetherite, I decided Antimony's options were walking (when the distance from town to town could be covered in a day) or renting a chocobo (for longer stretches, such as from Camp Tranquil to Camp Drybone).

 

Travel is a fun thing to consider, but on thing I always keep in mind is that the in-game world is decidedly smaller than it really would be, so tacking on days (or even weeks) to an IC trip is prudent. I'm actually going to take the next two weeks we don't have beta access as IC time in which Antimony journeys through Thanalan and then crosses back into La Noscea before finally ending in Limsa Lominsa. That seems a reasonable amount of time, given her age and the average speed of walking and chocobos (equating them to horses). When beta 4 starts up, I'll RP her as having just arrived back in Limsa.

[Neka]

I'm glad this thread was made! As a new player I'm curious if carriages would have a fee, and if so how much typically would that fee be? I'm looking at doing a journey of some sort from Gridania to Ul'dah.

 

I'm sure carriages would have a fee. It's hard to predict an actual cost in terms of purchasing power (for reasons discussed on another thread but basically boiling down to "gil costs do not represent reality"), but any long-distance travel is, I believe, going to be quite pricey and difficult for the average citizen. I'd suggest that, since new adventurers end up in the city-states with little more than the clothes on their back and a head full of dreams, long distance travel via carriage is expensive enough to render average people largely destitute.

Informative! Thank you.