Becoming a White Mage

[allgivenover]

As we all know, roleplaying the jobs can be a tricky process. 

 

So far I've had no intention of roleplaying Rakka'li as a White Mage, thus far he's been just a Conjurer with a moderate talent for Hearing. However I've lately been considering - and this could take some time - having him actually become a White Mage. I'm still undecided here, but I'd like to get outside input on the subject.

 

As I understand it being a White Mage in character would imply some connection with the Seedseers, a highly exclusive group that likely isn't too keen on sharing their secrets with anyone. So, given what we know of White Mage lore - if you made the decision to write a way for your character to become a White Mage - how would you go about it? 

 

Please don't treat this as a debate about whether or not it's correct to roleplay the jobs, that isn't the question I'm posing here. I'm more interested in how you would go about it in a hypothetical situation where you chose to do this. If you're already doing it in character, then share how you've already gone about it~

 

Thanks~

[ansemaru]

I've thought about it before. Probably would skip the middlemen and have some kind of a deal or circumstance with an Elemental be the direct cause of it- since they're ultimately the arbiters all Succor-related business.

 

Of course, I'm not exactly excited about the prospect of wrangling lore for it, since everyone kicks up so much of a fuss about it.

[LiadansWhisper]

I think the "safest" course would to be a student of an unnamed student that A-Towa-Kant could have taught the ways of Succor to.

 

Edited to Add: It would also be a huge-ass secret. Because White Magic is still technically forbidden, and only Padjal were allowed to be taught it, etc. So, yeah. I wouldn't announce it, either. I'd make it a centerpiece secret of my character.

[Naunet]

Mmm...

 

-There's bound to be other lost white mages besides A-Towa-Cant in the history of white mages. Perhaps your character manages to unearth the soul remnants of one of them and gradually learns to draw on it for knowledge, using that connection with the soul to gain access to succor. Could even be a soul as ancient as the time before the elementals wiped out white magic, which might make for some fun conflict with Gridanians.

- I have to wonder just how far the reach of the elementals goes beyond the Shroud, which is a highly insular territory. I wonder also if it might be easier beyond the walls of the Shroud to, say, broker agreements with elementals for access to succor. There's no such thing as Woodwrath or Greenwrath outside of the Shroud, after all. So... possible entry there.

 

My brain's tired after doing wedding planning stuff all day, so this is all I can do for now. Sorry.

[T'shina]

I personally have played off that in the storyline, it tells of an adventurer who was accepted to be a White Mage. That this opened up the ability for the Seedseers to pick from those in the Conjury Guild to learn Succor and to expand the White Mages of old for the newer times and the new Era.

 

But that is just me. I felt it was more open to allowing people to RP the class. It would still require being chosen and hard work to gain recognition as well.

[Sounsyy]

So I've come up with a few creative ways to be / become a White Mage without breaking or ignoring the lore. Just by bending it some.

 

 

Can start off with the two in-game methods for becoming a White Mage:

1. You are born of the Padjal line in one of the many Padjal families. Padjal were created by the Elementals for the specific purpose of being bearers of the Succor because they are pure, innocent, and incorruptible. They do not grow up, they do not go through puberty, they do not lust.

2. You are a person deemed by an Elemental to be pure of soul and purpose. Incorruptible by evil.

 

"Gentle child of man... Thy heart knoweth no vice, thine intentions being righteous from the first."

-Oha Sok; The Wheel of Disaster

 

"O child of gentle heart... My kindred acknowledge thy fervent wish for peace. Thine is a heart that brimmeth with compassion - a compassion that knoweth not fear, and favoreth not friend o'er foe. It is to that compassion that my kindred and I shall trust. Of their own free will, they would fain give themselves unto thy garb of Succor. Thy hopes and dreams, they take to be their own."

-Oha Sok; The Chorus of Cataclysm

 

 

Then you can get creative:

1. In the 1.0 CNJ storyline, an Elemental takes an Ishgardian boy lost in the Wood and turns him into a Wildling. When the boy awakes besides Amber Scale Rock, he can no longer remember who he is or where he came from. He is found by the Conjurers of Stillglade Fane and taken to Gridania where he is given a name and trained as a Conjurer. But the boy can already speak freely with the Elementals because of his connection to them. This in-game story can be used for inspiration for your own. Any character, living any life, can easily be taken by an elemental and given a purpose to the Wood. Perhaps one takes your character and breathes the light of succor into them. 

 

2. There existed an eccentric Padjal by the name of A-Towa-Cant in the early days of Gridania. It is said he left the Twelveswood to travel the world. It is also said that he has an apprentice. But it is never said that that apprentice is also a Padjal. Perhaps A-Towa-Cant's teachings were passed down from apprentice to apprentice, then eventually to you.

 

3. In a similar vain, perhaps A-Towa-Cant was not the only Padjal to leave the Twelveswood. Very few Padjal appear in the actual game, but it is given to believe that several more exist. (A couple from 1.0 haven't yet shown up in 2.0)

 

4. Elementals do not just live within the Twelveswood. They exist everywhere. They are the physical manifestation of the Aether of Nature. Just as they are the wind, the water, the trees, and the earth of the Shroud, they are also these things in other places. Perhaps not as clustered as in the Twelveswood, but present none-the-less. Your assistance to one of these Elementals may go rewarded?

 

5. Play around with the idea of being the servant of an Elemental. Wildling or other. 

 

6. You can RP a Padjal. I got a lot of flak about this on another thread but don't really care. Not all RPers roleplay in game. Some perform forum-based RP only. Or a mix of. Therefor, Padjal doesn't have to be a race choice to RP one. And I'd say you can play as a Padjal in game even so. A good many RPers I've run across have very young characters. ( <30 years old) Knowing that Padjal's horns grow with age, and considering we have no basis for knowing just how long a Padjal can live, I'd wager that the horns on a 15-25 year old character would be quite short. Even hide-able with hat, helm, or hair. If you want long horns, just say "Hey, this is my character but with Padjali horns." I've seen RPers give more farfetched descriptions of how their characters differ from in-game models...

 

7. Play around with the idea of being an Elemental taking the physical form of a child of man. Elementals take many forms, why not as one of us? It's as taboo as playing a White Mage, so why not? No one has to know ICly.

 

8. I've had this insane theory (that I stand by) that Sylphie, the girl in the ARR CNJ quests, has access to Succor that she does not realize, and E-Sumi does not wish to be exposed. Conjury is the manipulation of the Aether around the caster, it does not drain ones own Aetherial stores. Yet Sylphie's magic does. Sylphie has little interest and proficiency in typical Conjury skills like Wind or Water, but has a natural-born affinity to healing. (Succor) And E-Sumi is quick to discourage, forbid, and chastise the use of this magic. Perhaps because he fears she will get herself killed with it. Perhaps because it is a forbidden magic that only Padjal are supposed to wield or even know about...

 

 

 

I am an avid believer in following the lore to the best of your knowledge. It's why we RP in this world right? Because we love the story. While I will always recommend caution when RPing a White Mage, I believe so long as you have an interesting and plausible explanation that does not break lore you will be just fine. So hope this helps!

[Sounsyy]

- I have to wonder just how far the reach of the elementals goes beyond the Shroud, which is a highly insular territory. I wonder also if it might be easier beyond the walls of the Shroud to, say, broker agreements with elementals for access to succor. There's no such thing as Woodwrath or Greenwrath outside of the Shroud, after all. So... possible entry there.

 

Well, the Elementals did flood all the known world during the Sixth Umbral Era, so I think it's safe to say their reach is quite far. haha

 

And there are Elementals that exist outside the Twelveswood. They are the Aether of Nature, so they exist everywhere.

[LiadansWhisper]

8. I've had this insane theory (that I stand by) that Sylphie, the girl in the ARR CNJ quests, has access to Succor that she does not realize, and E-Sumi does not wish to be exposed. Conjury is the manipulation of the Aether around the caster, it does not drain ones own Aetherial stores. Yet Sylphie's magic does. Sylphie has little interest and proficiency in typical Conjury skills like Wind or Water, but has a natural-born affinity to healing. (Succor) And E-Sumi is quick to discourage, forbid, and chastise the use of this magic. Perhaps because he fears she will get herself killed with it. Perhaps because it is a forbidden magic that only Padjal are supposed to wield or even know about...

 

Sylphie is a Hearer.  Hearers are born, not made.  Hearers have an innate ability with Conjury, though they apparently may not recognize it or fully understand what it is they are doing.  Because of this, they do not always draw from the aether around them (as standard Conjurers and White Mages do).  Instead, they draw from their own aether.  The reason E-Sumi-Yan is so against what Sylphie is doing is made explicitly clear during the Conjurer questline - she's drawing on her own aether, and as a result is slowly killing herself.  The more power she expends, the more she is cannibalizing from her own life force.  This is why her mother died - apparently her mother actually managed to Raise someone else, but in the process damaged her own life energy so badly that she died from it.

 

The Elementals were apparently trying to get Sylphie's attention and were offering her power to heal others and protect herself, but Sylphie didn't understand what they were saying (in part because her mother - having heard voices for as long as she could remember, but apparently never having been identified by the Conjurer's guild as a Hearer, and thus trained - drilled into Sylphie the belief that the Elementals were angry with the Conjurers and Gridania as a whole, and that they didn't like anyone using their power), and rejected the help.

 

It's interesting to note that every Padjal is also a Hearer.

[Ildur]

Roleplaying a Padjal, an Elemental or a chosen one of the Elementals is just making your character a Mary Sue. Padjal are part of Gridania's ruling body, so it is a major "Mary Sueism", even if you imply he's wandering around and not delving in politics. Still, they are directly influenced by the Elementals, so besides being a leader of Gridania (and nobody could refute you because that's what Padjal are meant to do) you are also a Chosen One. Being deemed pure by the Elementals is akin to being a Chosen One of any other god-like entity. Being one of the Elementals taking physical form is no different that implying your character is Nophica made manifest, or that you are a piece of Bahamut soul. It's just asking for incredible trouble.

Of course, if you don't care about the implications your character has on other roleplayers (maybe because you are part of a close group who is okay with those type of characters), then be my guest.

 

All the other suggestions are intereting and plausible enough, though, specially the Wildlings one, though you have to remember Wildlings are 'cursed' to roam the Shroud forever, so it might be hard to justify going anywhere else ICly. Not impossible, but pretty hard to do unless you handwave it with "the Elementals work in mysterious ways".

[Naunet]

 

And there are Elementals that exist outside the Twelveswood. They are the Aether of Nature, so they exist everywhere.

 

I know they exist, but it seems the elementals are very deliberately restricting their authority to within the Shroud's borders. Why else would one be unable to attract woodwrath outside the Shroud? Or avoid its consequences by leaving it?

[Sounsyy]

 

And there are Elementals that exist outside the Twelveswood. They are the Aether of Nature, so they exist everywhere.

 

I know they exist, but it seems the elementals are very deliberately restricting their authority to within the Shroud's borders. Why else would one be unable to attract woodwrath outside the Shroud? Or avoid its consequences by leaving it?

 

Hmm, not sure. I know that the Twelveswood Elementals do have some control over the world outside. I'll reference the 1.0 CNJ class quests again. The Wildling Conjurer Morys attempts to leave the Twelveswood to go and search for something in an Ishgardian hamlet called Owl's Nest. But the Elementals make him go poof right in front of your eyes. You later find him curled up unconscious beneath Amber Scale Rock.

 

As for why the Elementals seem to be powerless outside the Shroud, my only hypothesis would be because they are revered in the Twelveswood. Despite the Elementals being ageless, they can be killed. There is a cutscene where Kan-E-Senna sends off three dead Elementals who were slain by Garleans. And this was within the Shroud! I guess Elementals are too afraid to appear in lands like Thanalan where they may be killed for profit? Makes me think of 1.0 LNC quest where some Ul'dahn merchant/mercenaries try to kidnap a moogle and bring it back to Ul'dah. Hehe naturally this envokes Greenwrath against them and you have to save their hides...

[LiadansWhisper]

Roleplaying a Padjal, an Elemental or a chosen one of the Elementals is just making your character a Mary Sue.

 

No more than rolling a White Mage.  Unique doesn't automatically equate to "Mary Sue."  I think the term is thrown around way too much.  Just because something is different, or special, doesn't make it bad.

 

Padjal are part of Gridania's ruling body, so it is a major "Mary Sueism", even if you imply he's wandering around and not delving in politics.

 

The only Padjal we definitively see as part of Gridania's ruling body are the Seedseers.  And there are only three of them - whereas there are other Padjal that are obviously not part of that body.  Making the claim that you can't play Padjal because 3 of them rule Gridania is like saying you can't play a Lalafell because Ul'dah is ruled by the Sultanate of Ul.

 

Still, they are directly influenced by the Elementals, so besides being a leader of Gridania (and nobody could refute you because that's what Padjal are meant to do)

 

Yes, you can.  The sole purpose of the Padjal is to intercede between the Elementals and the Gridanians.  It does not automatically follow that this makes them rulers.  At best, you could say they are Emissaries - so diplomats.

 

you are also a Chosen One. Being deemed pure by the Elementals is akin to being a Chosen One of any other god-like entity. Being one of the Elementals taking physical form is no different that implying your character is Nophica made manifest, or that you are a piece of Bahamut soul. It's just asking for incredible trouble.

 

Technically, you're the "Chosen One" if you play a White Mage at all, unless you ignore the lore.  But I think it's perfectly viable to say that your character is one of a very few who was deemed pure by the Elementals.  Unless you're claiming to the be the only one, I don't see how it drifts into "Chosen One" territory, beyond the already difficult issue of being a White Mage.

 

All the other suggestions are intereting and plausible enough, though, specially the Wildlings one, though you have to remember Wildlings are 'cursed' to roam the Shroud forever, so it might be hard to justify going anywhere else ICly. Not impossible, but pretty hard to do unless you handwave it with "the Elementals work in mysterious ways".

 

Agreed.

[LiadansWhisper]

 

And there are Elementals that exist outside the Twelveswood. They are the Aether of Nature, so they exist everywhere.

 

I know they exist, but it seems the elementals are very deliberately restricting their authority to within the Shroud's borders. Why else would one be unable to attract woodwrath outside the Shroud? Or avoid its consequences by leaving it?

 

Hmm, not sure. I know that the Twelveswood Elementals do have some control over the world outside. I'll reference the 1.0 CNJ class quests again. The Wildling Conjurer Morys attempts to leave the Twelveswood to go and search for something in an Ishgardian hamlet called Owl's Nest. But the Elementals make him go poof right in front of your eyes. You later find him curled up unconscious beneath Amber Scale Rock.

 

As for why the Elementals seem to be powerless outside the Shroud, my only hypothesis would be because they are revered in the Twelveswood. Despite the Elementals being ageless, they can be killed. There is a cutscene where Kan-E-Senna sends off three dead Elementals who were slain by Garleans. And this was within the Shroud! I guess Elementals are too afraid to appear in lands like Thanalan where they may be killed for profit? Makes me think of 1.0 LNC quest where some Ul'dahn merchant/mercenaries try to kidnap a moogle and bring it back to Ul'dah. Hehe naturally this envokes Greenwrath against them and you have to save their hides...

 

I think it's safe to say that there are issues in Thanalan that would prevent the Elementals being active there, even if you leave out the mercenary side of things.  Specifically, the place gets a lot of rain.  But is still a desert.  Now, it might just be SE being retarded, but it might also be a strong indication that there's something seriously off in Thanalan.  It may also be that the Elementals there are so weak at this point that they can't interact at all.

[LiadansWhisper]

 

And there are Elementals that exist outside the Twelveswood. They are the Aether of Nature, so they exist everywhere.

 

I know they exist, but it seems the elementals are very deliberately restricting their authority to within the Shroud's borders. Why else would one be unable to attract woodwrath outside the Shroud? Or avoid its consequences by leaving it?

 

It's very possible that there are different "Courts" of Elementals, and this is the only one we've seen so far.

[Nebbs]

For job type aspects I have in general used my own story to progress me and ignored the set one in the game. Maybe just the examples would be better than my approach..

 

WHM

Not a great student but a natural tallent.So she spent more time on laundry duty than most. Eventualy they sent her off to work with the Sylphs who like her more care free nature. This led to her finding a unicorn friend and will be her path to white mage. 

 

SCH

As part of the sylph help she was sent to understand the breadth of magic, so did basics in all the other mage classes. With Arcainist she could not get this at all until somone helped her and she discovered the song within the Aether and herseld. So while she is a scholar she does in fact sing her spells and uses music as her formula equivalent. 

 

BRD

This is her main role and she progressed from archer to traveling bard. Now with the addition of magic I class her as a Spell Singer and so more like an arcane archer.

 

PLD

Her latest experience, and I pay her as a Bard who is gaining a broad set of experiences. Here I totally rejected the paladin guild and it was through a relationship with her god that she progressed as a Paladin. However, I was pleasantly surprised with the story and so she is an associate as a free Paladin.

 

So I have kind of rolled the classes and jobs together into my character, rather than let the roles define her. She is a Bard first and foremost but now with some broader experiences. She has yet to get her relic bow IC even though she has had it ooc for ages.

 

Hope that helps.

 

edit: Just to add that this outcome was the result of RP, my initial idea was BRD/WHM but the RP took it in a different direction which is far more wonderful.

[ansemaru]

The elementals being so tied to the Shroud seems like it's a pretty vital piece of information in understanding them. Nature is everywhere, but they're not, and they're not even apparently necessary for a region being a flourishing wilderness- the jungles south of Wineport are doing just fine, without any elementals needed to protect them.

 

I think it's not necessarily a good idea to assume that they would be everywhere, or that they're all-powerful. Their power is clearly connected to the Shroud, not anywhere else. And in regards to Morys not being allowed to leave, it sounds less like the power of the elementals reaches beyond the Shroud, but more that because he had something tying himself to it, the elementals were able to reach out to him specifically to drag him back to their realm before he could get too far.

 

There's nothing equivalent to them elsewhere in Eorzea or Hydaelyn in terms of power or role. No "Sandwrath" or the ocean rising up to punish anybody who threatens Vylbrand- hell, even the neighboring Mor Dhona didn't have elementals acting in this fashion, and it was a forest region!

 

White Mages, Succor, elementals, Padjal, and the Black Shroud- all of these things are pieces of a puzzle, and specifically pieces that all fit into one particular region of the map. Speculating that there may be elementals elsewhere in the world is fruitless, because if there are, they're even less powerful than the post-Calamity elementals of the Shroud. This is what there not being any equivalent force to the Greenwrath elsewhere suggests- or, alternatively, if we're to believe for a moment that there are elementals elsewhere, that the elementals in the Shroud are just territorial assholes in comparison to the elementals everywhere else, and are the only ones that mark threats for exile and death if they're displeased.

[Kismet]

I was honestly afraid of the kind of responses this thread would get when I saw the title... But I do RP that Astrid is a White Mage, so I thought I'd offer my two cents.

 

For anyone here that RPed in GW2, there's a group your character could join called the Order of Whispers. It's essentially a spy organization. Typically, if you're an RPer and you're an OoW member? You just... don't tell anyone. Unless a) they find out through RP, b) they're a fellow OoW member and you give them OOC permission to recognize your character, or c) you join a guild full of OoW members in which situation B just becomes larger scale, basically.

 

Long story short: Astrid keeps it a secret. (Just as Liadan suggested in her first post.)

 

Does Astrid run around Gridania shouting that she's a White Mage? No. Only in the most extreme of emergencies (one such emergency being when her girlfriend was accidentally sliced across the chest by a marauder) does she use WHM abilities (which she would pass off as normal CNJ abilities if questioned anyway). And even then she gives herself pretty strict guidelines for when and when not to use them (typically no more than 3 active witnesses is one example). Otherwise, she doesn't touch them.

 

As for how she became a WHM, I'm treating it as though she was taught the art by a mentoring WHM. White Magic has not been wiped out though it is now a forbidden art and it is more than likely that Raya-O-Senna and her little brother aren't the only WHMs left in existence. If I'm still RPing in FFXIV months from now, I will be treating Astrid as an actual SCH ICly, too. I have an even better explanation for that -- the character of a friend of mine who was RPing as a SCH was killed ICly, so Astrid (with the help of another character acting as her off-screen mentor) will be learning the abilities directly from his grimoire.

 

Do I think this is the best way I could handle things? Nah. Do I find it to be a fairly logical solution that's not too farfetched? Yeah.

[LiadansWhisper]

Do I think this is the best way I could handle things? Nah. Do I find it to be a fairly logical solution that's not too farfetched? Yeah.

 

Seems legit to me, anyway, while playing as close to the Lore as possible.

 

A note, though: As far as I can tell, every single Padjal is a White Mage (likely due to their nature affinity with Conjury - which was deliberately given to them by the Elementals to facilitate their role as emissaries and mediators).  So there are most certainly more WHMs than the Seedseer siblings.  We only see 5 Padjal in the game (at least, so far in the main storyline, WHM, and CNJ questlines, and I have yet to encounter them in the ARC/BRD or LNC questlines).  Kan-E, Raya-O, A-Ruhn, E-Sumi, and A-Towa.  But there were other Padjal that appeared in 1.0, and there are apparently several families that produce Padjal on a regular basis.

[LiadansWhisper]

White Mages, Succor, elementals, Padjal, and the Black Shroud- all of these things are pieces of a puzzle, and specifically pieces that all fit into one particular region of the map. Speculating that there may be elementals elsewhere in the world is fruitless, because if there are, they're even less powerful than the post-Calamity elementals of the Shroud. This is what there not being any equivalent force to the Greenwrath elsewhere suggests- or, alternatively, if we're to believe for a moment that there are elementals elsewhere, that the elementals in the Shroud are just territorial assholes in comparison to the elementals everywhere else, and are the only ones that mark threats for exile and death if they're displeased.

 

The fact that the Greenwrath only exists in the Shroud could just as easily mean that there is something very, very important about this particular bit of Eorzea.  So important, in fact, that the Elementals are not willing to allow it to be disturbed.

 

It could also mean that there is something unique about the Shroud, unique enough to allow the otherwise non-communicative Elementals to actually manifest and make their will known.  Hell, it could mean that the area has some kind of focused magic that allows the Elementals to have a focused will at all, whereas outside of the Shroud, they simply can't be coherent long enough to get anything done.

 

There's a lot of possibilities.

[ansemaru]

I'm struggling to think what would make the Shroud so ~special~ and ~important to protect~ as opposed to literally any other region in Eorzea or Hydaelyn.

 

Also, maybe this is just the impression I'm getting, but are the elementals even remotely a force of good in the world? They're certainly something, but they only appear to have their own best interest at heart, and I'm kind of baffled that people treat them as something that needs to be appeased and obeyed rather than an overt threat like Primals.

[LiadansWhisper]

I'm struggling to think what would make the Shroud so ~special~ and ~important to protect~ as opposed to literally any other region in Eorzea or Hydaelyn.

 

It may not be something we're aware of (or that anyone is aware of beyond possibly the Padjal).  It may also have to do with Succor itself, where it comes from, and how it works.  Remember, the Twelveswood was grown specifically to hide Amdapor away and ensure the knowledge of White Magic never again fell into the hands of mortals (since they'd so grossly abused it).

 

Also, maybe this is just the impression I'm getting, but are the elementals even remotely a force of good in the world? They're certainly something, but they only appear to have their own best interest at heart, and I'm kind of baffled that people treat them as something that needs to be appeased and obeyed rather than an overt threat like Primals.

 

Because Gridania has a symbiotic relationship with them.  And because they're not evil so far as we can tell.  The Elementals are the Shroud, and the Shroud is the Elementals.  Destroying one would destroy the other.  I do think it's a mistake to judge their actions and motivations from a human standpoint, though.

[ansemaru]

If everyone is content to judge the Primals and beast tribes from a human perspective, I see no problem in judging the elementals from a human perspective. And from a human perspective, they've been an active threat to pretty much all sentient life in that region of Eorzea for centuries. Just because they can be held back by constant appeasement doesn't mean they should be- their behavior seems less like that of a benevolent protector and more on par with a monster demanding its needs be put above those of the individuals it lives near. If the Greenwrath weren't such of a threat, would anybody actually put in the effort to meet the demands and standards of the elementals?

[FreelanceWizard]

Also, maybe this is just the impression I'm getting, but are the elementals even remotely a force of good in the world? They're certainly something, but they only appear to have their own best interest at heart, and I'm kind of baffled that people treat them as something that needs to be appeased and obeyed rather than an overt threat like Primals.

 

Funny you should mention that. My character is currently pondering whether eliminating or otherwise neutralizing the elementals of the Shroud would be a net positive for the world. In her mind, if the elementals are interfering with the learning of magicks that could potentially save Eorzea from Primals and the Garleans (as she's heard in rumour), they've got to go -- they're implicitly aiding the forces of Evil. Of course there's no way the War of the Magi could be repeated if those magicks got out, because modern Eorzeans are just plain better people.

 

Of course, she keeps this opinion to herself.

 

From an OOC standpoint, Gridanians likely view the elementals as protectors and benefactors, even now. Pre-Calamity, they did a pretty good job of protecting the city from outside threats, and all they asked for in return was living in harmony with the forest -- which is something Gridanians probably wanted to do anyway due to the culture. Post-Calamity, the elementals don't seem to be so capable of keeping up their end of the bargain (poachers everywhere in the South Shroud, a Castrum in the East Shroud, Ala Mhigan refugees showing up, Ramuh being summoned, Ixal pouring into the North Shroud, etc.), but there's quite a history there that's unlikely to be wiped out in 5 years. It makes sense to me that, even if the wrath of the forest is substantially reduced except in particular circumstances, Gridanians would still maintain their beliefs about it and still take special care to avoid provoking it.

 

EDIT: I'm being bad and straying off topic. :blush: To the OP's question, I think Sounsyy has covered most of the viable approaches. I personally think the most plausible is "taught by another White Mage for some reason;" I would caution against going with playing a Padjal or an elemental, because for many RPers, that's a bridge too far as you're asking them to accept playing something that can't be played in game. Another possible option is "uncovered the keys to White Magic yourself," though I believe that strays away from lore since the elementals, according to those who've done more of the WHM quest line than I, directly control access to the underlying power source.

[Eva]

In the end this is the same argument that crops up every few weeks/months around here (and the same can be said of some of the other jobs as well) where the game's storyline quest throws lore at us which belies what we see with our own eyes (e.g. "if white mages are so rare, how come I can't run through Ul'dah without spotting fewer than 29 of them?") and there's really no easy answer.

 

For my own part I don't think anyone's explicitly "wrong" in choosing how they want to RP. I sometimes feel people take the storyline lore a bit too literally, and I sometimes feel people take far too much freedom in straying from that. For myself I prefer a middle-of-the-road approach. I deal in abstracts.

 

Eva in-character is a healer. She possesses the ability to mend wounds with aetherial energy. By trade she is a nurse (among other things). I don't think she would ever refer to herself as a "white mage", however she doesn't protest when RPers (generally those from the 'take more freedoms' bunch) address her as such. It can't really be denied that she wears that garb and I see no point in raising a fuss over it. I try to look at it as not the specific thing that the lore says it is, but more as a synonym for a healer - any healer. Or one who uses magic for benevolent purposes (and yes there are a lot of gray areas here as well, pun truly not intended).

 

I just feel like it's inhibitive of RP when folks look too far into things like this. While I enjoyed the quest story arcs, I think it's a little unrealistic to make certain expectations of peoples' RP based upon the lore contained within. There is a lot of room to play around in the abstractions. Maybe "white mage" can be looked upon as something of a synonym to "healer" - and I've certainly seen many different approaches at healing in RP, from crude field medicine, to shamanistic style rituals which may or may not draw upon aether, to the purely aetherial and traditional "white mage" approach that utilizes only magic. There is really no wrong so long as it's interesting and realistic to the world's views of the thing, however you interpret them.

 

To the OP I would encourage you to explore that facet of the character, if it is something that intrigues you - or more aptly if it's something that would intrigue the character. There are always methods to find middle ground with things that may seem implausible. In just a few seconds I was able to think of a good half dozen plausible examples that would work for a variety of different character types that could at the very least pursue a study of white magic in the more "lore-specific" sense as its presented to us. I am of the belief that it's malleable enough to make almost whatever you want of it that you'll enjoy RPing, within the confines of reasonable RP of course. :thumbsup:

[allgivenover]

I would caution against going with playing a Padjal or an elemental, because for many RPers, that's a bridge too far 

 

This is certainly off the table, as Rakka'li has been a Keeper of the Moon Miqo'te since his inception and having him discover he was actually... something else... would be a hard left turn for him, not to mention how much the idea flirts with sue status - in my view at least.

 

After re-reading 1.0 white mage quest information and re-watching the ARR white mage material I do agree that so far the only way I'd find acceptable to do it would be for Succor to be bestowed upon him by a rogue elemental (ala 1.0) or taught by a student of A-Towa or another unnamed Padjal.

 

I'm still on the fence about doing it altogether, but so far the opinions presented here have been helpful, and I wouldn't mind seeing more from others.