Teleportation in Eorzea and RP

[Kage]

So I'm curious.... how do people as a whole or in general treat teleporting in RP?

 

For me, it's there. People can and do teleport. However... what keeps it from becoming a mechanism that people just don't want their character in trouble. If a player character (and player) don't want capture that's fine and that's a person's character.

 

I feel like there's game mechanics that say "you can't teleport some where you haven't attuned to" and "you can't teleport while in battle." Other things say that it requires anima and many of those out there just don't have a lot of it or any to actually fully use it. So I imagine that you can't just keep teleporting away (you'll waste your energy and/or your gil eventually giving the guards that fee).

[Val]

I'd imagine teleportation can happen, but it takes a while. And like many things, one could likely find a way to dim the effects of the stone so that it takes longer to gather the aether necessary to perform the teleport.

 

As far as combat is concerned, let's assume teleportation takes 30 seconds. That's.. a lot of time. Even if it was just ten seconds, that's a LOT of time. I'd imagine anyone in a combat setting can fire an arrow, throw a bunch, cast a quick spell, whatever to try and stop the person from teleporting away.

 

Assuming their teleport is successful, it does use aether. If anyone is nearby, perhaps someone familiar with aether can trace some sort of, ah.. aetherial residue in order to discern the location the person went? If not the location, the general area, which would be far less OP. I'd imagine something like that would take an expert in the field rather than just your atypical caster, though.

 

Just my thoughts

[Aya]

I personally don't care for teleportation because it makes the world feel small, and trivializes things that should be terrific sources of drama (and challenge ).  But, in the world of Final Fantasy teleportation is baked right into the setting, so its really unavoidable.  In my own RP I never bring it up as a possibility, but always just roll and play along with it when its used by other characters.  I kind of hand-wave it by saying that its just too expensive for Aya to afford, a luxury, in a sense, for playing a poor character

 

For characters who really are jet-set types, movers and shakers, it may be something of a necessity to keep all of their stories in order. Using it to escape trouble sounds like a Deus Ex Machina, perhaps useful when the situation really demands it, but it may cheapen the story (or drama) in the process.

[Verad]

I'm willing to use the aetheryte and airships for personal transportation, but since Verad gets a lot of junk cargo, I take overland travel times into account whenever I can.  Of course, it would help quite a bit if I had a sense of how long travel across Eorzea is meant to take, and how the airships and aetheryte nodes cut down on that time. 

 

How long did it take those Doman refugees to get from Vesper Bay to Mor Dhona, anyhow?

[Eva]

There was a post awhile back that adventurers are generally heartier and do not suffering the aetherial sickness that a commoner might, which is why most NPC's stay "close to home".

 

I think certain restrictions being imposed during certain sorts of events seem reasonable to prevent godmode, but I also feel that it's an element of the universe of Final Fantasy XIV and shouldn't be forsaken just because of the possibility for abuse.

 

In past RP I have suggested that it requires a certain amount of focus, and even once suffered a condition where one of my characters was unable to teleport due to this lack of focus, being unable to recall being attuned to aetheryte, or other aetherial sorts of blocks that made things a bit interesting.

 

It's easy to have events where a DM-type-person says, "you can't teleport" for whatever reason - aetherial disturbances, whatever.  I think most RPers wouldn't abuse it, and sort of self-impose these blocks in order to facilitate more interesting storylines.  But like things like magic, abilities, etc. - players are going to vary in opinion with what is acceptable and what is not.

[Unnamed Mercenary]

So I'm curious.... how do people as a whole or in general treat teleporting in RP?

 

For me, it's there. People can and do teleport. However... what keeps it from becoming a mechanism that people just don't want their character in trouble. If a player character (and player) don't want capture that's fine and that's a person's character.

 

I feel like there's game mechanics that say "you can't teleport some where you haven't attuned to" and "you can't teleport while in battle." Other things say that it requires anima and many of those out there just don't have a lot of it or any to actually fully use it. So I imagine that you can't just keep teleporting away (you'll waste your energy and/or your gil eventually giving the guards that fee).

 

At least in my understanding of the lore, I'd fall into the anima-based ideas from 1.0 as my basis. THe general idea was that all people that could use aether would also build up anima, which was how they'd teleport. but that isn't to say everyone had an equal amount. Natually, someone with more anima could handle more teleports. But also, from a lore-perspective, we don't really know what a lack of anima would mean. Aethersickness? A complete inability to teleport?

 

From an RP standpoint, I think it's ok, and something that should be there, having seen/used it in a few scenes. But because of an RP standpoint, I do think it needs ot be discussed as a possibility beforehand, as someone could simply write "/em teleports all over the place with perfect dodge", which would ruin a scene. So my main concern would be, how much is a "proper" amount, and how would we expect it to work?

 

As for tracing a teleport, I agree with Val. Aether is an energy, and we know that events can be measured from residual aether from much, much later in time. (MNK story quest shows some of this). It would definitely take someone who was knowledgeable in the field, and had the right tools. But I could also see a person with an innate aetheric ability being able to maybe sense where it happened, and maybe where it led. (I tend to see teleports as pathways on an aetheric plane, others' interpretation of lore may vary, and that makes good discussion).

 

TLDR: I think teleports would need to be discussed/limited to a certain scope in a scene to prevent powergaming. But the same could be said for healing. It ultimately depends on what people are comfortable with, and if there's agreement in it, I see no problem, and would encourage it if it fits within the context. People won't see me teleporting left and right, but I have certainly used the aethernet and aetherites in scenes. ...there have also been two get-aways that used teleports, one of which was my own.

[Coatleque]

Coatleque will use the airship to travel between cities. She'll ride most other places then. The Aetherite is used only when absolutely necessary because it makes her sick.

 

I feel that something as powerful as Aetherite travel should have it's own associated negative consequences for over-use.

[FreelanceWizard]

The devs have provided us some lore on this. Basically, a fairly limited subset of the populace has the spiritual strength ("anima") to regularly teleport; that subset just happens to be player character adventurers. Most "normal" people can only teleport very rarely due to a lack of anima. When you arrive, you pay the guard gil for Aetheryte upkeep.

 

Based on the MSQ and mechanics, we know that because Teleport and Return have you traversing the Lifestream, you need to "lock onto" an Aetheryte as a sort of beacon, so you can only teleport to an Aetheryte to which you've attuned; this is a big part of the Titan part of the MSQ and plays into the HM Primal quests, too. Presumably, you can't teleport in combat because it's a time-consuming ability that requires considerable concentration.

 

So, I basically play it straight from the mechanics and lore. I'll confess that I have, for comedy reasons, had L'yhta miss a teleport, appearing near but not at an Aetheryte when she's very flustered, but she can't teleport to any random location intentionally. In terms of tracing teleports, that's something she's been actively researching, but hasn't yet produced a repeatable breakthrough -- which is to say that, if the person running the plot wants to allow it, then she can do it, and if not, then she can't. In RP, L'yhta doesn't try to teleport if there's danger about; the spell leaves you extremely vulnerable for a long duration, and that's just asking for trouble. It's not really a viable escape technique.

 

EDIT: In terms of how L'yhta uses it day-to-day, she views it as just any other spell, albeit one that costs her gil unless she's teleporting back to Limsa Lominsa (because of her associations with the Maelstrom). She uses her Reaper for short distance travel or if she just wants to go out exploring, her chocobo if she wants to go out for a ride, and the airship if she's feeling cheap, but teleportation is her primary mode of long-distance travel. Then again, she is a highly skilled spellcaster who regularly uses magic, so that works for her conceptually.

[Kage]

Indeed a lot of what I decided on about teleportation was from Camate's post in the lore subforum, here.

 

That said I was curious as to how RPers treat it.

 

Kage used to liberously use it since he had been a (practicing) thaumaturge but after his transformation... well he uses it very sparingly. He uses his chocobo a lot more now (thankfully the person who just handed the chocobo to him wasn't a Lalafell) or he uses the airship. Just as sparingly does he use sea vessels. Why? Even though he's taller, he's no less anxious about deep bodies of water than when he was a Lalafell. Still a child of the desert after all.

 

I like the words about tracking too.

 

I just.. never did the monk questline yet so that wasn't something I was aware of. Interesting.

[Unnamed Mercenary]

I just.. never did the monk questline yet so that wasn't something I was aware of. Interesting.

 

Aetherometers are weird.

[Yune]

From my character's perspective, teleports are a strange and magical thing that she has no grasp of. I, as the player, may tele/return or use Aetheryte to get around when I'm keeping to myself and just trying to get OOC things done, but IC I'll never have Yune use any because I don't view it as something that she understands/feels she needs. Most days I don't even think of them as a physical presence in the game when I'm moving about.

 

That isn't to say I'll wag my finger at those who do use them. As I said, she takes it as something awe-inspiring when someone does teleport right in front of her to get around. As for combat, I'll agree with Val when he says that the spell itself takes an eternity in battle time. So much can happen and chances are (depending on who is trying to stop you and how) you're not going to get away. A character can try if that's just what they would do, but I'm sure the casting process would not occur without some sort of physical or mental penalty of sorts. Perhaps something along the lines of too much exposure to all of that raw and active aether that is forming the "bridge" from point A to point B. Not all of our characters are well-traveled individuals who have already experienced exposure to many of the world's elements, so especially for a first-timer, the penalties should be very noticeable.

 

Personally, I would just want to view teleportation as another form of magic, hence, not everyone can do it, only those who are very adept in the arcane arts or know how to manipulate aether in the air. I'm sure there could be a very sciency way of explaining the mechanics of how a teleport could work if we want to get technical, but as this is a fantasy game, it's just simpler for conversational purposes to chalk it up to plain ol' magic.

 

Though I am curious on how it could be justified IC how a person can taxi other people along with them. Is it just to be taken that they just open up some sort of a rift that you can walk through together? Or is it more that they know how to manipulate the aether just right to snatch you up in the spell? (Scotty, beam me up?) Would be especially frustrating in kidnapping scenarios, I suppose.

[Unnamed Mercenary]

Though I am curious on how it could be justified IC how a person can taxi other people along with them. Is it just to be taken that they just open up some sort of a rift that you can walk through together? Or is it more that they know how to manipulate the aether just right to snatch you up in the spell? (Scotty, beam me up?) Would be especially frustrating in kidnapping scenarios, I suppose.

 

I kinda see it as like opening a door. Provided it's still open, other people could walk/get dragged through. Once it's closed, you may not be able to reopen it, but you could find out where it leads to.

 

Now randomly teleporting someone out of the blue would be something I couldn't find possible. (At least, not without some really amazing RP detailing how). I don't think we'd have to worry about a portal gun-level of teleports. (But that would be funny to see in an OOC stance)

[Raz]

Raz is the same as Coatleque -- he can teleport, but it gives him the Mother of all migraines. I think it has its place in RP as it's pretty ingrained in the lore, but it's up to the players to decide if their character can make use of it or not.

 

As for teleporting in battle? Sure, why not. But I imagine it would require a whole lot of concentration, more so in the heat of a battle. It could, of course, become OP extremely easily if an individual can just teleport to safety with absolute ease. /shrug.

[Kage]

In teleporting other people, I always thought that that was a very exhausting process on both your aether and your gil. I imagine you can teleport someone by taking them alongside you but it takes a lot out of the character. I don't think you can teleport someone if you can't physically grab them.

[FreelanceWizard]

For L'yhta, teleporting a group is just casting a larger spell -- more draining, yes, but feasible if everyone is in the vicinity. However, to provide a convenient story "out," the patterns of the participants and their thoughts have to "synchronize" with the spell's arcanima pattern, or they end up getting left behind. So, those who don't want to be teleported don't go. Likewise, those who are bound, chained, or otherwise held fast can't be teleported, because the pattern to which they're connected interferes with the spell's pattern by requiring the teleportation of too much mass, presenting an "unowned" aetheric pattern, or what have you. Even if she were to get to the room where someone is chained up, she'd still have to free them from those bonds before being able to teleport away with them.

 

Magi-babble: It Solves Plot Problems.

[Erik Mynhier]

For me of course its there, and it is used in extreme emergencies, and it has a tendency to cause nausea. Just to limit it for myself, if I teleport ooc I just IC that I am using an airship, it isnt instant.

[AllAboutTheRP]

Meriel uses her mount and airships most of the time. If she does teleport she does so from an aetheryte. So she won't teleport from out in the middle of nowhere. She will travel to the nearest shard. Unless of course she is defeated in which case I have no choice. Meriel does not like or handle teleportation well IC and you will see her stumble sometimes after she has done it.

 

I used to do this on another game that had teleportation. Would drive players nuts but it helps me with immersion. And the other game didn't have mounts so you know it took me awhile to travel. lol

[Aduu Avagnar]

As with Freelance, Nako'li just see's it as a spell. Although he has never really gotten the hang of a smooth teleport, so many people feel nauseous after he teleports them, even if they are somewhat used to aether travel.

 

regarding teleporting people who didn't want to, or stopping someone from doing it, I am actually exploring that with an NPC bad guy that I am doing some bits and pieces with. Essentially he can slap on an aetherial anchor as it where, or simply override someones will when it comes to him moving them. That being said, he can only do it if he can see them. And its nothing that will, through me at least, ever be available to players interacting with the plot. kind of an inate ability of theirs as it were.

[TheLastCandle]

Hwab has some superstitions about aetheric teleportation. Namely, he avoids it because he's convinced that there is a remote possibility of "getting lost" during the travel and becoming stuck in an incorporeal state. He'd rather keep his feet planted on firm ground or a deck, whether that be by sea or air!

[Kage]

Hwab has some superstitions about aetheric teleportation. Namely, he avoids it because he's convinced that there is a remote possibility of "getting lost" during the travel and becoming stuck in an incorporeal state. He'd rather keep his feet planted on firm ground or a deck, whether that be by sea or air!

Good thing he hasn't been transported by Franz. The merc had an experiment and got himself lost and stuck once. ;o

[Unnamed Mercenary]

Hwab has some superstitions about aetheric teleportation. Namely, he avoids it because he's convinced that there is a remote possibility of "getting lost" during the travel and becoming stuck in an incorporeal state. He'd rather keep his feet planted on firm ground or a deck, whether that be by sea or air!

Good thing he hasn't been transported by Franz. The merc had an experiment and got himself lost and stuck once. ;o

 

Twice, actually. /cries

[Knight Kat]

I personally don't care for teleportation because it makes the world feel small, and trivializes things that should be terrific sources of drama (and challenge ).  But, in the world of Final Fantasy teleportation is baked right into the setting, so its really unavoidable.  In my own RP I never bring it up as a possibility, but always just roll and play along with it when its used by other characters.  I kind of hand-wave it by saying that its just too expensive for Aya to afford, a luxury, in a sense, for playing a poor character

 

For characters who really are jet-set types, movers and shakers, it may be something of a necessity to keep all of their stories in order. Using it to escape trouble sounds like a Deus Ex Machina, perhaps useful when the situation really demands it, but it may cheapen the story (or drama) in the process.

 

THIS^^^^

 

I know it is in the lore, so I go with it when people use it, but i hate ICly using it. I have only done so in situations where the story pretty much required it. Other than that, Kiht is not a magic-user. She can control Aether flow in her body for enhanced physical combat, but if teleport has to be a spell, it is the only one she knows, and does not know how to do it very well. Most of the time she uses airship, boat or caravan for travel. I know airship presents its own lore problems, but its one of those things I somewhat ignore. I need a means of long-distance travel, and would rather find an IC way around airship passes than find an IC way around being able to spam teleports all day. IMO airships do not cheapen the experience like teleport does.

[Xydane Vale]

I'm glad you brought up this topic, ExKage.

 

As you know from our earlier RP scene, Xydane used an aetheryte shard to teleport in order to evade capture. Twice.

 

As most of you know, I like keeping my posts very simple. It's there in lore and it's possible. In my character's situation for instance, he had planned ahead knowingly that capture is very likely. Characters; however, need to be smart about when they use teleportation during RP.

 

There's a point where characters need to understand that they cannot cross the "line." As Val stated, teleportation takes more than a few seconds and I have given a proper and understandable use of cover while teleporting - smoke bombs for instance. Honestly, just be smart about it, give good reason, know the lore, and don't abuse the system.

[Val]

I always try to make it comical when it's used around Val. He doesn't have the aether/ability to really use magic, at least as of yet, and I don't think he could ever really figure out how to actually use an aetheryte. That being said, he can kind of "hitch a ride" with other people when they use it and it often leaves him queasy. The first time, he vomited everywhere.

[C'kayah Polaali]

When I first started out, I tended to avoid RPing teleportation, and instead focused on overland and airship travel. However, as C'kayah became more and more of a smuggler and fixer, his need to travel around meant that I had to adopt IC teleportation simply in order to meet the people he needed to meet, many of whom rely on IC teleportation to get around.

 

I figure the big aetheryte crystals are thoroughly baked into lore, so there simply isn't any question about those. C'kayah does carry an aetheryte shard, too. I see this as a way to explain adventurer's ability to teleport to an aetheryte from anywhere. At the same time, I completely respect Aya's position, so I view the portable crystals as being expensive - not everyone can afford them, and I imagine they probably wear out over time, too. Requiring a portable crystal to be able to port out of a situation, too, means that it can be taken away, trapping C'kayah.

 

I typically RP teleportation as taking some small-but-not-insignificant amount of time. This means it's not really feasible to teleport out of combat, or any sort of immediate conflict. It otherwise feels just a little too Deus Ex...