Character Decision: Miqo'te vs. Hyur

[Nel Celestine]

I want to vote hyur but.. that beard...

[Ildur]

I declare this poll null and void. You should make a Lalafell instead!

[Havoc Snow]

I declare this poll null and void. You should make a Lalafell instead!

I REFUSE! :evil:

[Colyer]

I declare this poll null and void. You should make a Lalafell instead!

I REFUSE! :evil:

 

How can you refuse this...

 

[Havoc Snow]

My room mate has the Garlond goggles on his Lalafell with the shaved head, makes him look like a mini Riddick.

[Colyer]

My room mate has the Garlond goggles on his Lalafell with the shaved head, makes him look like a mini Riddick.

 

ha.. I wish they gave had a grumpy face option for the Lalafell - wanted to make a curmudgeonly white mage who would likely give someone a smack on the back of the head with his staff for being reckless after healing them of course.

 

And my vote tied it up at 17.

[Ildur]

I'm sure he's an adorable mini-ridick.

 

You shouldn't resist the Lalaification! You could make all the young women go 'dawwww!' just by entering a room! And you could be named something awesome like Ashren Snowen, or Ashashren Snosnoren.

 

Okay, maybe not that last one.

[Gone4everbye]

I voted Hyur. I like the design you picked out for him more as a Hyur than the one picked as a Miqo'. There are tons of Miqo's obviously (and I'm not saying that you shouldn't roll one for that reason), and a lot of us look the same. In Phase 3 I think I encountered maybe 2 or 3 Hyur males, and uncountable Miqo'tes. For that reason it's harder to stick out as a Miqo--if sticking out is what you're going for.

 

[Warning: My unpopular point of view follows. Please skip if tempted to hijack the thread with another Miqo'te-related argument.]

 

Also, if you're gonna stick with that name, it generally works better for a Hyur. If it's a Miqo'te, I hope their backstory would explain why they have a non-Miqo'te name. Being orphaned, adopted, kidnapped, brainwashed, named by crazy a liberal city-slicking monogamous Miqo'te couple that rejects the ways of their people, being born to fifth generation completely assimilated parents, taking on an alias, being a half-breed of some sort, etc etc. The list goes on--I just personally like to see an explanation for non-traditional names, rather than seeing people just kinda dismiss it as inconsequential. Cause that bugs me. >.>

 

[End opinionated opinions.]

 

But all that aside, do what you think you'll enjoy most. What fits the character you have planned? What do you find more pleasing to play? At the end of the day, it's not really about pleasing other people--just yourself. I actually would recommend making a list of pros and cons for both and weighing your options if it's still a difficult decision.

[Havoc Snow]

The character idea I have could easily work for either Hyur or Miqo'te, so I would only need to change a few details to fit if I decided to go with a Hyur. As a Miqo'te he was refused a tribal name because of his appearance and his tribe trying to put as much distance between him and them as they could, he was eventually abandoned and then adopted which is where the name Ashren came from. Snow isn't his actual last name, but a nickname of sorts and could be used interchangeably with Ashren.

 

The issue of course that I'm having is I really like both looks, but I'm the type of person that hates having alts because I prefer to just do as much possible on one character, and expand my main in RP with more connections and more meaningful RP, so I'd rather pick one or the other than use both as a main and alt. Ashren is supposed to be severely pale (he's a albino in fact) and severely scarred, though none of the Miqo'te faces really have a lot of scars, the Hyur one did however. Neither one of them can really be... albino pale, so neither one of them really wins as far as that goes, but one thing I did notice was that the Hyur eye coloring works better for him being partially blind in one eye, for the Miqo'te it just looks like he has mismatched eye colors.

[allgivenover]

The Hyur has a rather dramatic look to him. I also love that hair and was thinking of using it for an alt.

[Havoc Snow]

Also I'm not horrible fond of the Miqo'te hair, but it was the only one that looked kind of wild beyond the braids, everything else looks too posh.

[Havoc Snow]

So I find myself leaning a tiny bit more towards the Hyur because he really does seem to stand out a bit more as a unique looking character. Sadly this has a lot to do with the fact that Hyur have way more customization options than the Miqo'te do. For one they have a lot more face choices than the Miqo'te do, and each category (jaw, eyes, nose, etc) seems to vary a great deal more in appearance than the options for the Miqo'te, meaning that each Miqo'te face will only barely deviate from each other no matter how to customize it, while the Hyur faces tend to change quite a bit.

 

Still I do love my Miqo'te build, he has a very rough and gritty appearance that is not common for most of the Miqo'te I have seen, something that could definitely make him stand out a bit more. In either case I took a few more screenshots I'd like to share for any who is willing to give me some more input to help decide which of these two I'll end up using at launch.

 

Ashren was born and raised in Thanalan, though depending on whether or not he is a Miqo'te or a Hyur will change the conditions of his birth. As a Miqo'te (based on his current story) he was born part of the Drake tribe, though his physical appearance was shocking to his parents (he's an albino as mentioned earlier in this thread) and many of the tribe believed his birth was an ill omen. Because of this his parents were pressured to get rid of the child and he was abandoned on the steps of Ul'dah where he was found by a priest at the local Temple of Thal. The Thaumaturge took pitty on the poor babe and took him in, after all what place would an infant have at the feet of Thal if it had no wealth to leave behind and no deeds to speak of?

 

So Ashren was raised by the Wildwood that would become like a father to him, though Laurentes was far more than just a mere priest. Unknown to the young boy his adopted father secretly lead an organization that had dwelt in the shadows of Ul'dah for over 1,500 years quietly operating as a network of spies, assassins, and soldiers who fulfilled their own brand of justice through a modified form of the Arrzaneth Ossuary's Vengeance Orders. This group was known as the Blades of Nald'thal, an organization whose fate would be strongly tied to Ashren's fate in the years to come.

 

He was put through intense physical and mental training, being taught the ways of martial combat by mentors from each guild so that he could at least grasp the basics, attempting to make him skilled as an all around combatant while also testing him to find his strengths and weaknesses. His intellectual studies were handed by the Thaumaturges of the Arrzaneth Ossuary where he seemed to excel the most, being incredibly adept at channeling his innate Aether energies Ashren took to the dark arts quite easily though he was never allowed to forsake his physical studies.

 

Eventually Ashren was initiated into the Blades and once a member he quickly climbed its ranks, not because of favoritism as Ashren was never given special treatment within the order, but because of his discipline and remarkable skill and insights. Ashren is a master at reading people, finding their inner most fears and secrets by studying their mannerisms and body language, the small ticks that might give away the truth when their words will not. This made him a master at manipulating others in order to achieve his own objectives, and his remarkable abilities with Black Magic made him a force to be reckoned with. It was not long before he found himself within the elite inner circle, though his personal triumphs would not last long. It was not long after this that the Blades would be contracted for their largest operation to date, the Battle of Carteneau.

 

Ashren marched into battle alongside his father and best friend, eager to test himself against one of the greatest enemies Eorzea had ever faced and firmly root his newly acquired position among the inner circle. Things did not fare as well as he had hoped however, and in the chaos that ensured a great many losses were suffered by the Blades, including its leader and Ashren's father Laurente who was struck directly by a blast of a suit of Magitek Armor. The blow destroyed his shield, sending a piece of shrapnel flying towards Ashren who had been standing nearby and badly injuring him, resulting in the partial loss of vision in his right eye and severe scarring.

 

Gripped by grief, Ashren sat clutching the body of his fallen father the moment Bahamut emerged, and as the Elder Primal lay seige to the battlefield all Ashren could do is sit in shock as blood and tears streamed down his face. As he held his father's lifeless corpse to his chest a bright white light would appear, engulfing him in its radiance and banishing Ashren to the void for five years, until now...

 

 

As you can see the Miqo'te portion of his history is only a minor detail, this can easily be retcon'd so I am in no way attached to the prospect of him being a Miqo'te for my story to work.

 

Now for the screenshots!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Disglair]

lol! I love how this has become as big as it has. It's hilarious that we all agree that they both look great!

 

And humm. I still think the Miqo'te looks more battle-weary and such but the Hyur is definitely a hottie.

 

You could always make him a Were-Miqo'te and have him shift between the two!...

 

....

 

No?

[Falkner]

Please make both, Mr. Snow, and then at launch you could get them to the barber and see who appeals more to you after additional barber-only haircuts, skin treatments, softlenses... 

[Havoc Snow]

lol! I love how this has become as big as it has.

I'm actually surprised this thread has gotten so much feedback, and I'm incredibly appreciative of all the votes and comments everyone has given. It's been pretty instrumental so far in helping me decide which one I want to use, though I'm still undecided. I'm definitely leaning a bit more towards the Hyur at the moment but my issue is that, as mentioned the Hyur looks a bit more world weary and battle hardened while the Hyur just has the scarred up look I was going for.

 

Ultimately I may have to wait until I can actually get into the real character creator where I can see both appearances in the Black Mage AF before I make my final decision.

[Ildur]

Pft! It's just because you made an anime pretty boy! *shakes walking stick dismissively*

 

I still think the Miqo'te has more personality. It's the beard, I tell you. Sure, Miqo'te may be overpopulated these days, but you can't argue with the appeal of BEARDS.

[Havoc Snow]

Pft! It's just because you made an anime pretty boy! *shakes walking stick dismissively*

 

I still think the Miqo'te has more personality. It's the beard, I tell you. Sure, Miqo'te may be overpopulated these days, but you can't argue with the appeal of BEARDS.

Personally, as a person with a many chin curtain I can't disagree with this statement.

[Dubs]

Oh come on Ashren we all know your hyur is a Jareth wannabee!

ufrCIwNk1zc

[Disglair]

Oh come on Ashren we all know your hyur is a Jareth wannabee!

 

LOL Ohmygod I didn't want to say anything before but I thought of the SAME THING!

 

Sorry Ashren, now I have to jump in on this :love:fabulous David Bowie train!:love:

[Havoc Snow]

Oh come on Ashren we all know your hyur is a Jareth wannabee!

ufrCIwNk1zc

You know if I could use THAT hair I totally would. David Bowie in Labyrinth does bare a strong resemblance to Setzer actually... suddenly I'm leaning even more towards the Hyur now.

[sanguineFenrir]

I've been reading through some of the replies that were posted when I was asleep, and I do agree with Ashren's statement about the eye colors being more representative of an albino. I'm sure this has been brought up, and I know that cataracts have a blue tint, but you could also just use a white eye for the blind one. I also think that the scar crossing the Miqo'te's facial markings looks just a bit odd.

 

Either could work for his backstory, although I can't say if a Hyur would be more accepting of their son being albino in Eorzea. It would have to depend on the background and opinions of his birth parents--you could write them off as superstitious or closed-minded, which I assume is what you'll do.

 

For "Albino" pale, you might have better luck making him a Keeper, as they get grayish or paler skin colors--Kevaraan is a Keeper for this reason, because I wanted to make him as pale as possible. It's less noticeable in my avatar. 

 

The only races that do that sort of paleness very well are Sea Wolf Roegadyn (where you can make an albino, they can literally be bone-white) and Duskwight, which would be a less close sort of second. However, those body types would be a lot different from the way Ashren is now--Midlanders and Miqo'te of both clans have similar heights and such--and you'd also have to redo the backstory.

 

He'd look really cool with that hair though--almost reminds me of a game I may have seen a similar style in; can't remember which.

[Isilme]

Well, not knowing the backstory, and going purely by appearance, I had to toss my vote in for Miqo'te.

 

Now, normally I would agree with Aysun, that players as midlanders are a bit rare, but... the miqo'te seems to have more personality. The hyuran seems almost half asleep there, whereas the miqo'te has sort of a roguish air. Prolly the beard.

[Ildur]

At least midlander males have eyebrows, contrary to highlanders.

[Havoc Snow]

One of the other things I'm considering is Ashren is supposed to sort of have a gambling addiction, and he's kind of a mad scientist (Thaumaturge + Alchemist) so I'm wondering just how well those things would translate as a Miqo'te vs. a Hyur, for some reason they seem like they might be more something a Hyur would deal with, especially the gambling bit.

[Aysun]

One of the other things I'm considering is Ashren is supposed to sort of have a gambling addiction, and he's kind of a mad scientist (Thaumaturge + Alchemist) so I'm wondering just how well those things would translate as a Miqo'te vs. a Hyur, for some reason they seem like they might be more something a Hyur would deal with, especially the gambling bit.

 

I don't know if a gambling addiction would be distinctly Hyur or Miqo'te myself, but the mad scientist part definitely feels more Hyur.