Idea for group/linkshell RP and stuff

[Jace Hunter]

So, I've recently created an alt, Kami Wami. His name was decided off of a previous character I had "Kamika" on Mabinogi when I used to play and RP on there. I've decided that, this Lalafell (picture here: https://31.media.tumblr.com/22d2db7faeab06683e3e7f787c342fcc/tumblr_n4urduDjba1tn000yo2_500.png ) Will be similar to Kamika, except in Eorzea.

 

Kamika, in Mabinogi, was a Royal Alchemist in that world. He had power, limited to the kingdom he worked for, but was all around respectable. If he had an alignment, I'd say he was actually neutral. Maybe Neutral Good. Ish.

 

I wanted to make Kami Wami similar to that. To get to the point, here is what I came up with: Kami Wami is a commanding officer of a special branch of Wood Wailers in Gridania. Respectable and all that jazz, too, basically the same personality as the character he is based off of.

 

When I thought more on the subject, I also decided that the group he commands should be more than just a bunch of NPCs.

 

That being said, I am wondering. Does this idea sound viable? The idea is to make it an IC-linkshell group instead of an FC, so that people can keep to their IC-Companies and the like.

 

Would people perhaps like to give it a try with me and join the ranks? Perhaps make this a well known group in due time? Let me know your ideas! And please, keep the criticism constructive.

 

EDIT: This all takes place on Balmung!

[Jace Hunter]

Bumping for the late nighters.

[Paradox Reality]

Ah, so it was you I was racing for Rose Hips in Gridania this morning.

 

Truth be told, I'm curious about this as well. So far as I know, there is no group IC for the Wood Wailers or the God's Quiver. I do know that the Sultan sworn on Balmung are doing something very similar to what you just described. They'd be good people to ask.

[LandStander]

You know what? I love this idea. I thought about putting a Brass Blade or Yellow Jacket group together myself, a few months back that is. I always love law enforcement groups as they provide a nice counter-balance. The thing I have seen is that in this universe there aren't that many criminal organizations though. Not as much as I have seen in other games such as Guild Wars 2. Maybe its the crowd?

 

I would give you tips and tricks from things I have seen and what to expect, but I have RP'd with you before and I know you know your way around the block ^^. If I didn't have my hands full right now I think I would really enjoy RPing as a Wood Wailer. Keeping the peace, fighting poachers, and all that jazz. Sounds like some adventures to be had.

[Jace Hunter]

There seem to be many IC-criminals, but, it doesn't seem as if they're doing a whole lot to disturb the peace. I assume that this might be because there are more good groups than bad? I'd definitely like to see more "bad guys", but, I did really wanna make this group a thing now that I've begun thinking more on it. I feel like, if this group, or other "good" groups approached bad groups and said: "Hey, lets drum up some drama and make some enemies." there could be some awesome RP between the two, and that is what I hope to do sometime, should I get this Wood Wailer branch going!

[Zhavi]

There seem to be many IC-criminals, but, it doesn't seem as if they're doing a whole lot to disturb the peace.

 

Not all criminals are created equal. Having had a major setting changing rp plot going for the last ...four years on another site (with an original setting open to being changed, not like ffxiv where most things are immutable), I can safely say that I'm happy playing a low key criminal with hopes for low-key criminal infighting that can easily be ignored by the majority of players if they'd rather not get involved, while at the same time being fulfilling for those who do choose to get involved.

 

(so. much. time. investment.)

 

But, eh, the problem with a lot of rp criminal organizations, in my eyes, is that they're so independent of each other and the world they're in, giving them a sort of. . .disconnected feeling. At least for me. It's hard to set them up so they feel organic, harder than it is to fit into the already established policey-type groups that, in the case of FFXIV, is already in the setting and acknowledged. I mean, for a criminal group you have to figure out why they're doing what they're doing (most criminals aren't evil for the sake of being evil or for Big Shiny Evil Doom), how they're doing it, why they weren't heard of in the setting before, who their connections are, and how they fit in with the other various things going on (be it economically or whatever, you know, do they have enemies besides the law? friends? etc). Without thinking all of that through, I think it can get boring to play criminals, because you're alone in the soap bubble, and you're probably getting slotted into generic-bad-guy real quick.

 

Not to say that you can't create a convincing or fun group of whatevers without that, but imo that's why "bad guys" tend to either poof or turn into a trope/stereotype quick. And not to say that I'm an expert on it either, but after spending the past year really amping up both sides in the rp plot conflict and making them both appealing enough for people to want to play characters on one side, or the other, or both (and finding out the hard way that slapping people together into an isolated cell-type group without adequate consideration for who they are as individuals leads to bad, bad things and tossing out several month's worth of work after it just flat out doesn't jive nicely), I've found that the more work that goes into building the connections and reasons behind a group, the longer it lasts and the easier it makes the rp. Problem is, doing all that background and backend stuff takes time, and unless you're an established member of the community who is known for sticking things through and being generally okay with the arpee stuff, you're going to have a rough start to it. Eff that, man, starting stuff in general can be rough. Much less leading stuff. (sidenote: experience tells me that agreeing to become a moderator/officer/temporary-gm-I'll-be-back-in-several-months/whatever is a trap. Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't do it. Who am I kidding. We're rpers: masochists by nature.) Not to say that it's impossible or not rewarding, it's just. . .time investment. Headaches.

 

Then again, I am quite strenuously avoiding research at this point in time and am amped up on caffeine (late night jitters have begun), so er, salt and stuff.

[Jace Hunter]

There seem to be many IC-criminals, but, it doesn't seem as if they're doing a whole lot to disturb the peace.

 

Not all criminals are created equal.  Having had a major setting changing rp plot going for the last ...four years on another site (with an original setting open to being changed, not like ffxiv where most things are immutable), I can safely say that I'm happy playing a low key criminal with hopes for low-key criminal infighting that can easily be ignored by the majority of players if they'd rather not get involved, while at the same time being fulfilling for those who do choose to get involved.

 

(so.  much.  time.  investment.)

 

But, eh, the problem with a lot of rp criminal organizations, in my eyes, is that they're so independent of each other and the world they're in, giving them a sort of. . .disconnected feeling.  At least for me.  It's hard to set them up so they feel organic, harder than it is to fit into the already established policey-type groups that, in the case of FFXIV, is already in the setting and acknowledged.  I mean, for a criminal group you have to figure out why they're doing what they're doing (most criminals aren't evil for the sake of being evil or for Big Shiny Evil Doom), how they're doing it, why they weren't heard of in the setting before, who their connections are, and how they fit in with the other various things going on (be it economically or whatever, you know, do they have enemies besides the law?  friends? etc).  Without thinking all of that through, I think it can get boring to play criminals, because you're alone in the soap bubble, and you're probably getting slotted into generic-bad-guy real quick.

 

Not to say that you can't create a convincing or fun group of whatevers without that, but imo that's why "bad guys" tend to either poof or turn into a trope/stereotype quick.  And not to say that I'm an expert on it either, but after spending the past year really amping up both sides in the rp plot conflict and making them both appealing enough for people to want to play characters on one side, or the other, or both (and finding out the hard way that slapping people together into an isolated cell-type group without adequate consideration for who they are as individuals leads to bad, bad things and tossing out several month's worth of work after it just flat out doesn't jive nicely), I've found that the more work that goes into building the connections and reasons behind a group, the longer it lasts and the easier it makes the rp.  Problem is, doing all that background and backend stuff takes time, and unless you're an established member of the community who is known for sticking things through and being generally okay with the arpee stuff, you're going to have a rough start to it.  Eff that, man, starting stuff in general can be rough.  Much less leading stuff.  (sidenote: experience tells me that agreeing to become a moderator/officer/temporary-gm-I'll-be-back-in-several-months/whatever is a trap.  Don't do it.  Don't do it.  Don't do it.  Who am I kidding.  We're rpers: masochists by nature.)  Not to say that it's impossible or not rewarding, it's just. . .time investment.  Headaches.

 

Then again, I am quite strenuously avoiding research at this point in time and am amped up on caffeine (late night jitters have begun), so er, salt and stuff.

I suppose I can agree with what you're saying. Though, despite that, I am still looking for some people to help me out with this Wood Wailers thing. As I said before, if this can really take off, I'd be willing to do some stuff with some Criminal/bad guy RPers that want to wreak some more havoc than normally for once.

 

On the topic of moderator and officer and all that, I've done it before. And I am willing to do it again, but only if I see as much effort from members as I put in myself. I am sorry to say this about something that hasn't even lifted off the ground yet, but, I would be just as willing to let this flop--should there be some kind of lack of effort, as much as I am willing to let it fly.

[LandStander]

*coughs and points towards title* I may be kicking up some dust in Thanalan. I actually thought about doing some big stuff, but honestly after playing an antagonist almost exclusively, I have come to learn that there are lots of things that can go wrong when doing large scale events.

 

You have your "I just want to win crowd", your white knights (and boy are there a lot), your metagamers, your DBZ characters, your super special snowflakes with amazing powers, and all the other tropes we have come to know. I play an antagonist because I enjoy conflict filled stories of drama, but I also know that you put yourself at risk of causing your character to become completely alienated. You can't go walking around town and hanging out because someone will point at you and go "hey, isnt that the person who kicked my chocobo in the knee last week?". I actually ended up retiring Denn a few months ago (and quitting the game for 2 months) because she had caused so much trouble that she became unplayable. 

 

And maybe that is why I dont see many criminals hanging around. I think you are on the right track of finding a group and planning some RP with them. I'm actually doing the same with the little group that I managed to cook up. I mean its okay if spills out a little bit and ends up grabbing some other people, but in my own opinion, RP conflict on a larger scale (group v group) should be kept a bit more localized to avoid headaches ^^.

[Kage]

I play a part of one Sultansworn group on Balmung and... *cough*

 

I haven't gotten into the complete random investigation stuff others have done but a lot of -my- RP generally just goes "hello antagonist player wanna have our characters meet up? This may or may not happen cause RP... is RP. 

 

That said, it can be extremely fun while also being a complete clusterfuck of epic proportions if anything comes to a battle of sorts. If not even close to " regulated" in a sense you will most likely have people missing emotes or questions as well as possible powergaming.

 

I think in order to have good "criminal" vs "law enforcement" RP most of the time there would be large amounts of OOC chatting. Whether plotting or hashing things out. Without Fantasia and a non 3 day lockout for name changes, a lot less people are willing to have their characters die if it's their only. I mean without communication the criminal characters are almost certainly going to be railroaded somehow...

 

*kicks Denn and Fist before wheezing softly out of breath*

[Boo the Hamster]

Honestly will need more info for that to consider whether it's 'viable' or not.  Is it a 'mercenary' group that eventually became assimilated into the Wood Wailers?  Is it just 'unofficial work'?  From what I recall, the Wood Wailers are restricted to the Shroud alone, and will not leave under any circumstances, as the priority is the Elementals, and the city of Gridania itself.  They don't really have a specific branch, and as far as I know, act as the militia.  They specifically wield the lance and the lance alone, and I have not seen a -single- Wood Wailer that doesn't use it as their weapon of choice.

 

Other groups have done something similar with the Sultansworn and the Red Wings.  Lore should be respected when it comes to playing law enforcement and dealing with criminal rp, in all aspects if possible.  And as far as I know, I'm not seeing much evidence to say that it is viable, but that could also be that I don 't have enough information, or enough information is given by SE.  From what little information there is, it might be better off having origins with the Twin Adder.

[LandStander]

Honestly will need more info for that to consider whether it's 'viable' or not.  Is it a 'mercenary' group that eventually became assimilated into the Wood Wailers?  Is it just 'unofficial work'?  From what I recall, the Wood Wailers are restricted to the Shroud alone, and will not leave under any circumstances, as the priority is the Elementals, and the city of Gridania itself.  They don't really have a specific branch, and as far as I know, act as the militia.  They specifically wield the lance and the lance alone, and I have not seen a -single- Wood Wailer that doesn't use it as their weapon of choice.

 

Other groups have done something similar with the Sultansworn and the Red Wings.  Lore should be respected when it comes to playing law enforcement and dealing with criminal rp, in all aspects if possible.  And as far as I know, I'm not seeing much evidence to say that it is viable, but that could also be that I don 't have enough information, or enough information is given by SE.  From what little information there is, it might be better off having origins with the Twin Adder.

 

Yes, the Wood Wailers are restricted to just the Shroud, as the Yellow Jackets are to La Noscea and the Brass Blades to Thanalan. I really dont see the problem here. Denn's group is based out of Thanalan and so she ends up running into the Sworn sometimes (and soon hopefully some members from the Flames) and it works out perfectly. 

 

Now I'm no lore expert of Gridania as I rarely travel there IC or OOC, but I don't think the wailers are mainly concerned with just Gridania, but the entire surrounding area. Don't they fight off poachers alongside God's Quiver? And I remember a quest where Wood Wailers ask for your help in curing some people who were caught in a stampede. There are Wailers at every outpost in the Shroud. They are basically the main force of law enforcement in the region. 

 

As far as them only having a lance, I think its possible to simply bend lore here to open up the ranks to more people. It can be a special beta division that Gridania is trying out or something. Perhaps after 2.0 ended they realized they should really buff up their defenses to be better prepared for the future and so they want to try to include a few new things. I think the only group where it is hard to find wiggle room is the Sultansworn being paladins.

[Jace Hunter]

Honestly will need more info for that to consider whether it's 'viable' or not.  Is it a 'mercenary' group that eventually became assimilated into the Wood Wailers?  Is it just 'unofficial work'?  From what I recall, the Wood Wailers are restricted to the Shroud alone, and will not leave under any circumstances, as the priority is the Elementals, and the city of Gridania itself.  They don't really have a specific branch, and as far as I know, act as the militia.  They specifically wield the lance and the lance alone, and I have not seen a -single- Wood Wailer that doesn't use it as their weapon of choice.

 

Other groups have done something similar with the Sultansworn and the Red Wings.  Lore should be respected when it comes to playing law enforcement and dealing with criminal rp, in all aspects if possible.  And as far as I know, I'm not seeing much evidence to say that it is viable, but that could also be that I don 't have enough information, or enough information is given by SE.  From what little information there is, it might be better off having origins with the Twin Adder.

 

Part of my reasoning for making this is to gather some support and help for fleshing it out. I apologize if I didn't make that clear. I get what you're saying by having it under the Twin Adder, but, I do feel that the Twin Adder are a little more wordly--which does help with pieces of the RP, yes--But, I did want to do something more "Shroud-centric".

 

I imagine that, while out in Ul'dah xyz of the Blah-branch of the Wood Wailer/Gods' Quiver finds a criminal doing something bad and pursues. However, having zero jurisdiction in Ul'dah because of the Red Wings, and Sultansworn and Brass Blades and what have you, the member is arrested along with the original criminal, causing tension between the groups.

 

Basically, what I mean to say is, I would much rather have this group only have power and 'control' of the shroud and it's laws.

 

To build upon what you were saying about lances and mercenary and stuff. I feel that it could be something like that? I wouldn't want to restrict people to only use certain weapons, so, perhaps we are a mercenary-like branch of the Wailers/Quivers.

 

Again, I am mostly just asking for some friendly ideas, possibly some help building on the idea, and the like.

 

Also, as I am dumb and do not know how to quote two people, what ExKage had to say is something I already understand. I used to play on a very strict Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas RP server. If you were ever caught meta-gaming or anything of the sort, you were banned for life, basically. And, if you wanted to do some big bank robbery RP, you had to clear it with the mods of the server and the police officers on the server. So, I get the communication thing 1000%

[Boo the Hamster]

 

Yes, the Wood Wailers are restricted to just the Shroud, as the Yellow Jackets are to La Noscea and the Brass Blades to Thanalan. I really dont see the problem here. Denn's group is based out of Thanalan and so she ends up running into the Sworn sometimes (and soon hopefully some members from the Flames) and it works out perfectly. 

 

Now I'm no lore expert of Gridania as I rarely travel there IC or OOC, but I don't think the wailers are mainly concerned with just Gridania, but the entire surrounding area. Don't they fight off poachers alongside God's Quiver? And I remember a quest where Wood Wailers ask for your help in curing some people who were caught in a stampede. There are Wailers at every outpost in the Shroud. They are basically the main force of law enforcement in the region. 

 

As far as them only having a lance, I think its possible to simply bend lore here to open up the ranks to more people. It can be a special beta division that Gridania is trying out or something. Perhaps after 2.0 ended they realized they should really buff up their defenses to be better prepared for the future and so they want to try to include a few new things. I think the only group where it is hard to find wiggle room is the Sultansworn being paladins.

Isn't that the point of the Grand Alliance though?  To bolster the defense of all as well as to be a united front against the Garlean empire?  Within the Grand Companies, there is no restriction when it comes to who they recruit so long as they are part of the Alliance in some way, shape, or form, including those of outside forces, while they can stick with tradition with their main guilds.  Yes, they fight off poachers and are posted throughout the Shroud, I must have omitted that somehow, but this much is true.  They will have defenses there of course, but that isn't the point I am trying to make.

 

The problem with making a special division of Wood Wailers is that they have only wielded a specific weapon, through tradition and history, with consent of the Elementals.  When they require ranged weaponry, that is what the God's Quiver is for, with consent of the Elementals.  When they require magical aid, this is what Conjury is for, with the consent of the Elementals.  Getting anything done, to the point of aiding a dying child, is rather whimsical at best, which can only be done with permission from the Elementals.  Gridanians in general distrust outsiders, as the damage done to the Elementals were great, with the ideas of trade being damaged greatly, mostly at the hands of Ul'dahn merchants who tried to scheme, steal, and kidnap for profit.  I would imagine they would feel the same thing when it comes to classes/jobs outside of Gridania, with the Twin Adder tolerated since they are a part of the Alliance alone.  I feel that the Wood Wailers are too steeped into tradition to just suddenly make a radical change for what feels like a random reason like the one bolded when the Twin Adder already solves that problem.

 

I am not sure whether the power of the Elementals have gotten to the point where one cannot acquire Wood-Sin or not, but I assume that most Gridanians would have the same distrust if they knew basics of how one acquired Wood-Sin.  Papalymo and Y'da had Wood-Sin by simply being in the Shroud in specific, forbidden areas as an outsider in 1.0.

 

To OP: I honestly don't know how to quote either besides the old copy/paste. Your idea is logical with the powers and rules and what not. But it sounds like Twin Adder in the RP is better off. Possibly the Petty Officer/Soldier area and pretending one is not part of the Commissioned Officer groups. Again, from what I read on the lore, I think Wood Wailer's are too steeped into tradition to have another weapon of choice. In your example of the Wood Wailer being arrested as well, it is more likely that they will be punished just because they left the Shroud more so than the Ul'dahn people arresting them.

 

I tend to follow lore to the letter, so I try not to get too involved if needed. Most of the lore I get is from this site here. http://ffxiv.gamerescape.com/ I will admit that I could be wrong in these points, but with the logic of material conditional, that is how I came to these conclusions, which I feel Gridania strictly follows.

[Knight Kat]

Jace, once you get this group of yours worked out, and set up, I have a group that could be opposition for yours. And for those who know of me, NO I am not speaking of the Exiles.

 

It is the IC FC I'm in that I am talking about. It wouldn't really be like criminals VS law enforcement, but more like a clash of ideals and philosophies that could lead to conflict between an organization, and your group. Yes, I know that kinda sounds like Criminal VS Law-enforcement, but it won't be quite that simple.

 

I will clarify and elaborate further if you are interested. Either let me know on this thread, or send me a PM, and I will get back to you.

[Jace Hunter]

I'm truly taking everything into consideration, and I thank everyone for their input. As it stands right now, I am leaning toward making to more "Twin Adder" centric, but with a true focus on the Shroud and having powers within that region. That's just the current thought.

 

Knight Kat, I will be glad to work something out with you as soon as things are finalized and I am ready to get started.

 

As it stands, there are some things I realize I'm going to need help with, so, first and foremost, I'd really like to get something of a "committee" together? Simply to make it easier to read over lore and brainstorm and what not.

 

Another thing high on my list of priorities is simply getting my little Lalafell leveled up! Haha. But, other than that, I truly thank everyone for their help, feedback, and support! If people would like to help out and be a part of the group/linkshell and really get the ball rolling, send me a PM or add "Kamiwolfy" on skype and lets get some stuff done!

[LandStander]

Yeah Hamster, you can no longer acquire Wood-Sin from what it looks like. I'm kind of upset that they took this out because I think that is what made The Shroud so darn awesome. They say its because the elementals are weakened after the fall of the moon. So at least they have a good excuse for writing it out ^^. 

 

I think I am just going to have to disagree with you on the Wood Wailer thing. I know what the lore states, but I'm also not one to follow lore to the tee and don't mind it with a slight 10 degree bend just to accommodate people. Its all about that wiggle room! 

 

I really do hope this succeeds as I would love to see more conflict between characters in the world ^^