General Lore Questions

[Valence]

Do we have accounts of the actual impact of natural seasons on all the lands in Eorzea? I'm not referring to calamity stuff like what happened in Coerthas.

 

Does the Shroud gets snowy in winter? That kind of things. It's somewhat harder to find than I imagined, even with the lore finder (considering the amount of results to parse through...).

[Virella]

Yes, seasons are a thing in Eorzea.

 

 

The North Shroud has been experiencing an unseasonably warm winter this year. In fact, there're even some as say winter has yet to arrive there. The conjurers, in particular, are taking the matter very seriously, fearing this break in the natural cycle may wreak havoc upon the region's flora and fauna.

 

http://chrysaliswiki.com/quests:ffxiv-winter-is-not-coming

 

 

"By now no doubt all have heard of the Firefall Faire being prepared for in Eorzea's cities. But tell me this—do you not find something strange about these festivities? Why, I ask, in the midst of these the year’s hottest days, must we be forced to look upon balloons fashioned in the likeness of bombs, and everywhere reminded of this unbearable heat from which we constantly seek even the briefest of respites?"

—Yumah Molkot, reporter of The Harbor Herald

 

http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Moonfire_Faire

 

This fish uses its uncanny resemblance to a reddened leaf to hide amongst fallen detritus and wait for unsuspecting prey to approach. As this hunting technique is only effective for a two-moon period of the twelvemoon, the wavekin will gorge itself while it can, and then lie dormant until the next autumn calls.

 

http://ffxiv.gamerescape.com/wiki/Autumn_Leaf

http://ffxiv.gamerescape.com/wiki/Autumn_War (they call it the Autumn War for a reason I assume)

 

I just imagine for practical reasons they leave seasons out (I can't recall any MMO having seasons actively anyhow). There's... a lot on seasons if you go looking for it. These are just a few examples.

[Valence]

To be more precise, I didn't find it especially a hard stretch to conclude there is indeed seasons in Eorzea/Hydaelyn considering all the references we get of winter, spring, summer, etc. Or just seasons.

 

I forgot about that specific quote on the heat wave they get in the Shroud, but otherwise I'm more specifically looking for possible info on what seasons do on most regions.

 

The only thing so far I have been able to gather is that winters in snowy Coerthas are extremely cold and bitter, but then again, we are already speaking about a region climate that got completely fucked up by the Calamity.

 

Again, to speak more simply, I'm interested in hints or description of what it can be in other seasons. Is the Shroud snowy in winter? Are a lot of its trees deciduous and so the forest gets a lot less thick? How does Thanalan look in winter? Are summers in La Noscea full of storms and thunder like a tropical islandic climate, or are they closer to a homogenous equatorial thing?

 

Well, I'm well aware that not much has probably ever been written on the matter by the lore team considering how hard it is to track (and maybe there is actually nothing and i'm tracking a chimera), so I'm obviously not expecting something that detailed. But you get the picture.

[Sounsyy]

The only thing so far I have been able to gather is that winters in snowy Coerthas are extremely cold and bitter, but then again, we are already speaking about a region climate that got completely fucked up by the Calamity.

 

Again, to speak more simply, I'm interested in hints or description of what it can be in other seasons. Is the Shroud snowy in winter? Are a lot of its trees deciduous and so the forest gets a lot less thick? How does Thanalan look in winter? Are summers in La Noscea full of storms and thunder like a tropical islandic climate, or are they closer to a homogenous equatorial thing?

 

Abalathia's Climate: Coerthas, Dravania, Gyr Abania

 

Hot Summers, Cold Snowy Winters, Autumn deciduous trees, plants blooming in Spring

 

The Frozen Fang

In years past, the hot alpine summers would have seen this fallen Dravanian outflyers blown with maggots and reduced to bones in a matter of days. Now, in the endless winter wrought by the Calamity, the carcass rests in the permafrost under a thick blanket of snow, perfectly preserved since the day he was pierced through the heart by a ballista.

As doing so was positively prohibited' date=' however, the knights had the children slip in while swathed in their scarlet jackets. Thus were they spared the worst of the [b']cruel cold. These orphans survived the winter[/b], and, later in life, they went on to convey the same kindness to others that they had once received. On the coldest week of the year, they took to sporting scarlet and passing out presents to the children of the realm. And over time, their deeds developed into the favored festival known as the Starlight Celebration. ...A representative from the Adventurers' Guild informed of the proposed plan—snowmen, made with powdery stuff sleighed down from Coerthas...

It's a festival for ushering in winter' date=' where grown-ups and younglings alike cry "Winter is coming!" while [b']hurling snowballs in a joint effort to build a giant of snow named Father Frost.[/b] What sets him apart from ordinary snowmen, you ask? Why, it's the gemstone he bears within his breast called the Heart of Winter, an age-old Ala Mhigan relic.

Rhalgr take this desert heat! Ahhh' date=' I'd give anythin' to be back in the crisp mountains of Ala Mhigo. ...Well, perhaps not my freedom.[/quote']

Due to their natural resistance to colder temperatures' date=' hemlocks remain abundant in Coerthas even now, long after the Calamity-induced winter killed off the less hardy species.[/quote']

This fish uses its uncanny resemblance to a reddened leaf to hide amongst fallen detritus and wait for unsuspecting prey to approach. As this hunting technique is only effective for a two-moon period of the twelvemoon' date=' the wavekin will gorge itself while it can, and then lie dormant until [b']the next autumn calls[/b].

This beautiful flower blooms only once every spring. The rest of the year' date=' the plant is considered one of the ugliest in all the land.[/quote']

 

 

Gridania's Climate (Likely extends to Mor Dhona):

 

Temperate climate. Long, cold, snowy winters, deciduous plants. Wet Spring.

 

An odd few have been heard expressing that they would as soon skip the harshness of winter in favor of an early spring. This way of thinking' date=' however, is dangerously naïve, warns Fufucha of the Botanists' Guild. [b']The bounty of ice and snow[/b] is no less important than that yielded in warmth, stresses the Lalafell, before going on to remind us in a motherly tone that nature is dependent upon the turn of the seasons. The coming of the cold tells plants to shed their leaves against the chill, and animals to hoard what food they can. A late winter would cause seeds to sprout prematurely, only to wither before the onslaught of biting wind.

For centuries' date=' farmers on the northern fringes of the Black Shroud, as well as the Coerthas lowlands, have planted this hardy flower in early spring as a cover crop to increase soil fertility.[/quote']

A warm winter and a damp spring have resulted in an explosion in the number of dreamtoads living in the ponds and lakes near Treespeak. The ravenous scalekin' date=' which have few natural predators, have already begun devouring the area's flora, and there are even reports that the toads have been eating some of the area's smaller fauna as well. To maintain the balance of the fragile ecosystem, the Gods' Quiver is seeking adventurers willing to assist in culling the cyclopean creatures.[/quote']

Herds of antelopes have been spotted in several faerie apple orchards located on the fringes of Camp Tranquil' date=' ignoring the fallen apples set aside for the beasts, and instead eating the unripe ones still on the trees. If this continues, there will not be enough apples left for the farmers to take to market, forcing them [b']to struggle through the long winter[/b]. The Holtwatch is petitioning adventurers to travel to the wooded area, locate the herd, and send as many of the beasts back to the forest as possible.

Have you seen the wildflowers? They are awfully beautiful this time of year. I like to bed down among them and let the elementals bring me sweet' date=' sweet dreams.[/quote']

 

 

Limsa and the South Sea Islands Climate:

 

Hot summers, bright sun, storm season, southern isles tropical, springtime and winter are things. Winter mild, but would be cold to most Lominsans.

 

Of late' date=' however, a perceptible change has swept across the land. Brawny sailors are being observed hurling profanities at “Menphina’s bloody cur” for [b']unseasonable storms out upon the high seas.[/b]

The long rainy season has wreaked rusty havoc on iron rivets preferred by many a farmstead. Once the Consortium's silver-tongued agents are done' date=' the clamor for bronze rivets is expected to be somewhere between “loud” and “gods protect us.” Smiths both deft and deaf are sought for this opportunity.[/quote']

Just when one has gotten used to the incessant flapping and occasional snapping of the dragon galley ensign' date=' the Maelstrom comes up with a new means to vex the populace: intensifying its recruitment drive. Spearheading the effort is a celebration dubbed Foundation Day, which entails posting barkers in the city-state whose obnoxious blaring puts one in mind of apkallus during breeding season.[/quote']

Why' date=' I ask, in the midst of these [b']the year’s hottest days[/b], must we be forced to look upon balloons fashioned in the likeness of bombs, and everywhere reminded of this unbearable heat from which we constantly seek even the briefest of respites?

Every summer' date=' we lose more than a quarter of our yield here at the Red Rooster Stead to a plague of filthy rats who sneak into the fields at night and eat the young vegetables straight off the vine. [b']Every winter[/b], we lose another quarter to the same rats when they chew their way into our storage silos. If the quick-breeding pests are not continuously dealt with, our losses will grow even larger, and I will be forced to abandon the farm. The Stead seeks fleet-footed adventurers to come and chase down the creatures so that my family and I might rest easily.

Passions revive in Master Gegeruju like sap rising in a springtime copse. Having recalled a boyhood lesson from a naturalist' date=' he has entranced us by creating a floating compass out of needles. Such fun─and now done! 'Tis time to restock the sewing cases and make safe the reflecting pool.[/quote']

The weather up in the North Shroud don't seem t' be gettin' as cold as it rightly should this time o' year' date=' ye see, an' them Gridanians is bloody wailin' about it. Bah! We're it up t' me, I'd strike the season from the reckonin' an' go straight to spring, but ye could be sure them tree-botherers would spout some bilge about the bleedin' circle o' life.[/quote']

 

 

Thanalan's Climate:

 

Hot and less hot. Summer, spring, possibly a mild winter? I couldn't find very much seasonal references for Thanalan. There could potentially be a rainy season, though a levequest notes increased rainfall since the calamity, there's always been more rain than most normal deserts because Thanalan used to be all grassland and lush forests a few thousand years ago.

 

In this season when the peach blossoms bloom' date=' we are reminded of Princess Edyva of the Thorne dynasty, whose famous tale became the origin of our Little Ladies’ Day festival.[/quote']

Got some northerners working the caravan route' date=' friend. Hard people, hard workers, but the weather's been a right harder mistress. They wear their northern wool and leather, and boil. They shed 'em, and burn. You see how it is. They need something fit for our climes, or they'll be dead betimes.[/quote']

[Aedan Marceaux]

A hand if you all will....

 

My wife swears up and down that somewhere in the game there is mention of a monster/creature of Bronze Lake. Despite looking through the lore book and google searching anything related to Bronze Lake, even fishing quests, we were unable to find it.

 

The closest thing we found was Thalaos, which got me a, "No, that's not it. It's something still alive and in there...."

 

Anyone hear/read of said creature and by chance have a link to a post or something about it?

 

And no... I don't mean the rubbing oils on Godbert quest....

[Charity322]

I knew I'd heard of it somewhere too. Is it this FATE?

 

Legend says deep beneath the waters of Bronze Lake dwells a terrible creature with jaws so powerful they can tear a man in two with a single bite. Common sense would suggest that Oannes is merely a tale to frighten babes, but the local smallfolk would have us believe otherwise.

 

http://ffxiv.gamerescape.com/wiki/Truth_in_Faerie_Tales

[Aedan Marceaux]

That seems to have sated her curiosity. Thanks.

[Aedan Marceaux]

This may well have been discussed somewhere on the forums already, but a search didn't bring up any answers for me.

 

Garleans. Can they be healed via aether?

[Gegenji]

This may well have been discussed somewhere on the forums already, but a search didn't bring up any answers for me.

 

Garleans. Can they be healed via aether?

 

I... don't know. :surprise:

 

I mean, it's usually someone else using their aether (or local aether for Conjury) to mend wounds of their intended target. So I suppose they should be able to? You're not trying to utilize their aether or anything, after all, so it should work. In theory, anyway.

[LiadansWhisper]

This may well have been discussed somewhere on the forums already, but a search didn't bring up any answers for me.

 

Garleans. Can they be healed via aether?

 

They should be able to, yes. They can't actually control or direct aether, but there's nothing to indicate that they are not themselves suffused with aether.

 

What I'm saying is, if we can light them on fire via aether, we should also be able to heal them via aether.

[Unnamed Mercenary]

This may well have been discussed somewhere on the forums already, but a search didn't bring up any answers for me.

 

Garleans. Can they be healed via aether?

 

Conscripts? Sure, go ahead. I'm pretty sure there have been some CNJ ones thrown at us multiple times.

 

Pureblooded ones? ...I want to say yes? We know it's pretty rare for pureblooded Garleans to be able to manipulate aether themselves to the extent that until multiple lore panels from the dev team, it was assumed they all couldn't. Period. But like Gegenji said, the healer would be doing that manipulation, not the Garlean. I don't see why it would fail, but I'm certain most Garleans would begrudgingly take it or would be mouthing off the whole time during the healing.

 

Now a pureblooded Garlean healer? Bit more iffy. They could be one of the few gifted with decent manipulation ability, but it's far more likely they'd turn to more scientific methods.

[Aedan Marceaux]

Right, my thought was as well that being affected by the magic should be fine (talking about Pure-blooded) seeing as a fireball will still burn them. Was just curious if there was anything in lore stating otherwise about magic healing them. As in conjurer from Eorzea going wooshy wooshy on their boo-boos. Not so much a full-blood Garlean doing it themselves.

 

Righto, thanks all.

[Valence]

A fireball will harm anything, be it constituted of aether or not (cf voidsent, inert non organic materials, etc). Aether is energy, and using it to light a fireball or what you have will cause mayhem around no matter what. So to me the analogy is moot here.

 

As for the question, garleans are as far as I know, Spoken and thus are probably partly made of aether like everyone. So yes.

[L'ohba Tia]

Aether permeates -everything-. Even Garleans. Really, the idea of being 'aether resistant' or whatever and being immune to healing magic is entirely headcanon. Unless Sounsyy has some obscure piece of text from 1.0 to show me I'm an idiot.

[Sounsyy]

Like everyone's already said, everything and everyone is made up of aether. It's the building block of life on Hydaelyn. And I can actually prove Garleans are equally affected by magical attacks by others due to the advancements in Garlean armor they've made to defend themselves from aggressive magi.

 

Garlean uniforms are made from revolutionary materials' date=' such as carbon fiber and cermet alloys. The armor of Garlean officers is particularly ingenious, as it is coated with a substance that decreases aetherial conductivity, and therefor protects the wearer from magic attacks. The selfsame contrivance prevents the use of offensive spells, yet this hampers the pureblood Garleans little.[/quote']

It only took a few heated skirmishes with the allied city-states for Garlemald to realize that the magicks wielded by the realm's mages were too much for even the thickest magitek armor plating. Alloyed gilding has since been discovered to dampen the effects of elemental charges and is now standard issue.

[Valence]

I'm digressing a little there on that last quote now that I read it again after like, the thousand time, but it seems to imply to me that before facing Eorzea, the Garleans didn't face a lot of deadly magic... Does that mean that Ilsabard states, besides the ones that immediately bowed after seeing the first ones conquered, had little if no magic as well?

[Sounsyy]

I'm digressing a little there on that last quote now that I read it again after like, the thousand time, but it seems to imply to me that before facing Eorzea, the Garleans didn't face a lot of deadly magic... Does that mean that Ilsabard states, besides the ones that immediately bowed after seeing the first ones conquered, had little if no magic as well?

 

I think it implies that Eorzean magic was stronger than any they had yet encountered. Because we know peoples in Othard and Ilsabard have magic and can use it. We know Othardians summoned a primal. But we also know aetherial density is highest in Eorzea. We know Silvertear Lake is the fount of all aether in the physical plane. So it is theorized that this might make our magicks stronger than anywhere else. Hence why thick alloys and cermet plates might've dampened weaker magicks, but weren't enough to halt the destructive forces employed by our magi.

 

 

Here's a bit on Ilsabardian mages:

Survival was no small task. In desperation' date=' the Garleans began to employ Roegadyn magi from the central mountains to bolster its own army where it was weakest. They also waged war from the shadows, sending spies to incite conflicts betwixt the surrounding nations. For centuries, Garlemald prevailed, using every tactic at its disposal.[/quote']

 

On a side note, Ilsabard's central mountains are supposedly where Dalmasca is located in the current year.

[Valence]

Sounds good to me, seems to converge with my own feeling on the matter as well.

[Alice Lancaster]

Not sure if this has been asked before, but are cameras a thing in FFXIV? Like, could someone RP their character as being a photographer that develops film and takes pictures for a living? Just something I've been curious about. I've asked around, and I seem to be getting conflicting thoughts on the subject.

[Kismet]

Not sure if this has been asked before, but are cameras a thing in FFXIV? Like, could someone RP their character as being a photographer that develops film and takes pictures for a living? Just something I've been curious about. I've asked around, and I seem to be getting conflicting thoughts on the subject.

 

I suggest giving this thread a look.

[Kallera]

Would Garleans use tomestones for data storage and transfer or is that still too far ahead for them?

 

Also, would their helmets have tech or attachments added to them?

[Gegenji]

Also, would their helmets have tech or attachments added to them?

 

Well, the level 50 Magitek healer helmet has a swivel goggle-piece, so they definitely can have attachments. Though, whether that's just a magnifier like a jewelcutter or something or some more advanced piece of tech, it's hard to say. I don't recall seeing any camera angles from a Garlean's PoV that imply they have any advanced targeting systems or any manner of HUD - but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. We just don't really know - leaving it a grey area once can play with.

 

I mean, I was using the Alexander MNK/DRG headpiece's visor as having a Kindle-esque HUD that displayed text in a couple RP fights. Granted, I haven't done any of that on that particular character in a while now. :blush:

[Sounsyy]

Would Garleans use tomestones for data storage and transfer or is that still too far ahead for them?

 

They are able to download data from ancient tomestones (to an extent) but we haven't yet seen any evidence that says Garlemald, or the Eorzean Alliance for that matter, has been able to replicate the computers necessary to upload and disseminate new data into tomestones. For example, when the Grand Companies occupy a tomelith on Seal Rock, the information within is downloaded into a mammet, which is clockwork tech. The data can then be taken from that mammet or transferred in that manner. But we haven't gotten to a point where we can make/process tomestones. Also keep in mind that most tomestones are non-functional and worthless and that most people don't have the means of taking data from them in any case. Which is why they were (and are currently still) used as currency.

 

We call them tomestones - relics from the Third Astral Era. It is believed they were once used to store the knowledge of the empire that ruled during that age' date=' but time has rendered them useless - no more than novelties to collectors. You may be interested to hear that Nael van Darnus, Legatus of the VIIth Legion, hails from a family of just such antiquarians... Moreover, van Darnus's father - a decorated hero of the Empire - famously used Allagan technology to give Garlemald the upper hand in the war which ultimately earned the Empire its independence.[/quote']

 

This gets talked about a little more in this earlier post in the thread.

 

 

__________________________

Also, would their helmets have tech or attachments added to them?

 

This is what info we have on Garlean helms and armor:

 

The Garleans are an enigmatic race of people from a massive empire situated to the north and east of Eorzea' date=' and despite coming from a realm so large, remarkably little is known about them. As few have ever seen them without their armor, rumors about their physical makeup are many, some of the more "coloful" claims being that they implant machina in their bodies to improve agility and strength, and that they possess a third eye allowing them to see in all directions at once. Though, I would assume there is little truth to these sailor's tales.[/quote']

The next question had to deal with the functionality of the Garleans’ third eye (a question that a lot of people ask me personally at Fan Fests and game shows). Oda-san had an answer prepared for this one as well' date=' so I read what he gave me. This pretty much stated that the third eye is believed to considerably improve the race’s capacity for spatial recognition. Because of this, the Garleans have a decided advantage over other races when it comes to navigating aircraft or firing weapons. I then bring up Cid’s bandana and the legatii’s helms...but Yoshi-P says that armor has been designed not to interfere with the workings of the 3rd eye.[/quote']

Garlean uniforms are made from revolutionary materials' date=' such as carbon fiber and cermet alloys. The armor of Garlean officers is particularly ingenious, as it is coated with a substance that decreases aetherial conductivity, and therefor protects the wearer from magic attacks. The selfsame contrivance prevents the use of offensive spells, yet this hampers the pureblood Garleans little.[/quote']

 

 

Hope this helps! ^^

[KoharuIyashi]

Hello, I was wondering if anyone would know if slaves are a thing in Eorzea. If they are, how are these slaves distinguished from normal people? Do they have a certain branding on somewhere on their bodies?

[LiadansWhisper]

Hello, I was wondering if anyone would know if slaves are a thing in Eorzea. If they are, how are these slaves distinguished from normal people? Do they have a certain branding on somewhere on their bodies?

 

Not legally. But there seems to be an underground slave trade going on - there are references to such a thing during the Arcanist questline, for instance.

 

As far as I know, slaves aren't distinguished by any particular brand. And slavery is very, very illegal in Eorzea.