Numbers check: Who HERE* roleplays a regular class without any special abilities?

[Knight Kat]

I don't even understand why it's a thing outside of combat situations. 

 

I play characters on both ends of the spectrum and I see nothing wrong with a regular joe -- nor do I see anything wrong with a guy with impressive abilities.

 

Take Gladiator Bob for example. He's 22 years old, picked up a sword and board three years ago. Three years have passed and he's trained himself up to be decent at it. Bob, however, doesn't really have the capacity to manipulate aether to the point of being flashy. His rampart is simply him lifting and locking his shield, his convalescence is nothing but him running closer to a healer and probably begging for a cure. Savage blade? Just a hack and slash swipe designed to maim. 

 

Then there's Gladiator Bill. Bill's about twenty five, he's been training for about six years with a Skilled Free Paladin. Bill was born lucky, he has the capacity and ability to manipulate aether! He's not super rare, special or a Warrior of Light, he's just attuned to the energy that damn near chokes the air in Eorzea. Bill's rampart involves him lifting his shield up AND erecting a somewhat decent barrier of aether in front of him. His convalescence attunes him more properly to the aether coming from his healer. His savage blade makes his sword glow as he hacks apart his foe.

 

Bob and Bill are both viable in the world we play in, and NOTHING is wrong with either one. It's just a matter of preference!

 

Bob and Bill's players both exercise discretion when in combat. Bob finds creative ways to match up against stronger foes, while Bill makes sure to cleverly tune his writing to allow any weaker opponents a fighting chance. Bob isn't special, he doesn't want to be! And that's okay. Bill is special -- and why the hell shouldn't he be! And that's okay. 

 

Bill's player wants access to the more fantastic side of the world to flavor his roleplay, Bob's player enjoys the rustic, gritty and on the ground setting. Both players have every right to enjoy both things, and neither is any less creative or worse a writer than the other.

 

It's a matter of preference!

 

I just wanted to say thank you for this ^

 

That is what I have been wanting to say since I started reading this thread. I just could not think of the words for it. That is very well said.

 

In response to the OP's question, Kiht would not qualify. She would -almost- qualify, but Kiht is more like Gladiator Bill in Berrod's example.

 

This is probably a good thing since Kiht is only five feet tall and lean (She's Miqo'te). She's primarily a Lancer, but knows knife/dagger combat (but not a Rogue) and archery.

 

Is she that special? I have never thought so. I had always thought it was not that uncommon for adventurers to use aether. Kiht uses it to give her short boosts. She can jump a bit higher than average, muster up a bit more strength than her size and muscle mass should naturally allow. She can only do so for short periods.

 

Could she use aether to win an arm-wrestling match against a Roegadyn? No, but it might help her not loose instantly. Can she jump like a Dragoon? Certainly not. Do I think Kiht would win against a Gladiator Bob type character? No more of a chance than she would against a Gladiator Bill type character.

 

There are -many- factors in combat, and the ability to use some flashy aether tricks/boosts is just one thing. If Kiht ever did battle with a PC that does not have aether abilities, I would still give them the same consideration I would to a PC who does.

 

To compare, there is a character who's player does not frequent these forums. His name is Rinh'li, and his character can -not- use aether. Yet, in battle scenes his combat emotes are often "flashier" than mine! :lol:

[Gegenji]

In response to the OP's question, Kiht would not qualify. She would -almost- qualify, but Kiht is more like Gladiator Bill in Berrod's example.

 

Oddly enough, I think Chachan would be a "Gladiator Bill." And even then, he has access to aether. He just uses it solely for magic-related things, like his weak Physick spell to deal with scrapes and bruises, rather than aetherically boost his attacks and defense and the like. It's kinda weird that the goofball character uses the gritty approach, huh?

 

Also, I can totally believe someone being able to be flashy enough without relying on aether. Swashbucklers do it all the time in normal literature, or any sort of "show off" character. It's all in how you present it.

[Hiro]

Just wanted to say that, between Dissidia, all of FFXIII, ARR's intro, FF7's various spin-offs (Advent Children in particular), and all of Japanese media in general, I find the idea of trying to be realistic in roleplaying combat in a Final Fantasy game to be utterly comical on its face.

 

 

 

In light of... the entirety of this clip I tend to share your opinion to a degree, that said I will always appreciate anyone willing to indulge me in more realistic combat sequences.

 

 

 

[Zael Aders]

I guess Ludivine counts as being a regular class...well, more like that she isn't a job or class with any special powers.

 

Sometimes I think playing a civilian character is better than being all heroic, though it does tend to limit RP if you're thinking of doing events in the game in characters.

 

Is being able to drink other people under the table a special ability though?

[Devereau]

I sort of like the concept of moderation through extremes. Great power in one spectrum, yet a glaringly large weakness or disadvantage in another. I suppose that would cater to both options, though. Thoughts?

[Gegenji]

I sort of like the concept of moderation through extremes. Great power in one spectrum, yet a glaringly large weakness or disadvantage in another. I suppose that would cater to both options, though. Thoughts?

 

Strengths and flaws help shape a character, even without going to such extremes as "one really amazing thing and one terrible thing." They don't even need to be "evenly balanced" either, unless you're going full Achilles Heel and are basically the best at everything except this one thing and that makes it okay, right guys?

 

And really, you shouldn't feel the need to force yourself to make your characters great or terrible at things, either. There's nothing wrong with having strengths and weaknesses grow organically through the development of a character.

[Erik Mynhier]

To clarify Erik is an aether user in combat, if only for my own logic. I built him where at his origin 16 years ago he was a conjurer, and used that base understanding of aether in his overall combat model. It is very light really, as aether warrior's I've seen go. He has an enchanted ring that converts his Sworn armor to aether and stores it, and a false eye embedded with an ice aether shard that lets him "see" the health, wellness, or lack thereof of those he sees, calling it Lybra after the legacy Final Fantasy spell. The only other aetheric skill he uses is when he uses the aether like the force to control the flight and return of his shield when he throws it.

 

All this is not to say he won't gain/lose aetheric skill in the future. He is a constantly evolving character who in the past has been both weaker and stronger at times. It all flows for him.

[Yoshi]

I watched a documentary on snipers in WWII a little bit ago and decided if I couldn't be one, I'd make a character that could. >;D (I'm not uh... what's the word... "cunning.")

It had pretty cool information and they pointed out that soldiers originally from the boonies with a background in hunting (obviously) did the best as snipers. And it really demanded a lot from you! Coincidentally, people who grew up on the streets with very little also showed similar traits to these hunters - all survival instincty and what-not. 

ANYWAYS! Cat people being born hunters made it really easy to slip that in there. *Pats a sign that reads "Bamf" onto Fae's back* So now I just see her as this Finnish feline sniper ;u;

Her primary role is merchant, though. Second is accidental arson.

 

Edit - UH, I imagine most traditional Miqo'te are at Fae's bow-wielding level. Fae's just not an up-close and personal kinda go-getter... fighter... thing. ... @_@

[Zyrusticae]

In light of... the entirety of this clip I tend to share your opinion to a degree, that said I will always appreciate anyone willing to indulge me in more realistic combat sequences.

 

 

Yeah, pretty much. Roleplaying a more realistic bent can be fun, too. And it's not like anyone has to indulge me in particular - I'm just one person with one particular view on things.

 

There's something else worth noting here for this topic in particular - the armorer questline makes it clear that properly made cobalt chainmail is enough to stop bullets, something patently absurd IRL but a fact of life in Eorzea. That alone should help put into perspective just how different the laws of physics are in the game world as opposed to RL. Now, I have no idea how levels translate into the game world (if they mean anything at all), but it seems like even a mundane soldier can make up for a lot with the right equipment...

[Telluride]

In light of... the entirety of this clip I tend to share your opinion to a degree, that said I will always appreciate anyone willing to indulge me in more realistic combat sequences.

 

 

Yeah, pretty much. Roleplaying a more realistic bent can be fun, too. And it's not like anyone has to indulge me in particular - I'm just one person with one particular view on things.

 

There's something else worth noting here for this topic in particular - the armorer questline makes it clear that properly made cobalt chainmail is enough to stop bullets, something patently absurd IRL but a fact of life in Eorzea. That alone should help put into perspective just how different the laws of physics are in the game world as opposed to RL. Now, I have no idea how levels translate into the game world (if they mean anything at all), but it seems like even a mundane soldier can make up for a lot with the right equipment...

 

But this hardly matters for armor, since even a relative scrub Marauder can break apart Elephant-sized, solid boulders with a single swing of an average-quality axe - even if the Marauder in question is a tiny Lalafell.

 

This is why Eorzea never bothers with Magitech, and only Limsa bothers with cannons. Apparently, all you need to destroy any fortification, anywhere is about a dozen Lalafellin Marauders, unless every single wall in the game is made of stronger stuff than legendarily unbreakable boulders.

[Martiallais]

My characters dip into both 'sides' of this really. I find them to be fun and allows for diversity and different situations/stories/etc between characters.

 

Zarek is, by and large, a scrappy guy who grew up in Ul'dah as a bouncer/collector for the Mirage. Through adventuring and other shenanigans he's been able to open up and use his Aether/chakra but I treat it like a 'special moment' sort of thing. It's far, far more common for him to fight with his hands, knives (hello rogue), or a stick (them lancer levels) and be a pretty great martial artist than a super powerful magic fighter, but still fairly 'normal'.

 

Tseh'to on the other hand is a staff/lance fighter who does use Aether, but I don't and won't consider him a dragoon IC even once I get to those levels. If anything it's prep/groundwork potentially for dark knight, as that's traditionally a class that mixes magic and melee.

[Aduu Avagnar]

Nako is most definately a normal mage with the exception that he has practical kbowledge of most forms of knowledge, (except black and white magic which he o ly has theoretical knowledge).

 

He will be picking up astrology or whatever theyre going to call it.

 

Quick edit for my other character Jeryn Stern.

 

He is moat definately not a bog standard mage. He is hero of light level of power, though I tend to use him in an npc deus ex machina role.

[K'nahli]

All classes have special abilities that could only be explained as using Aether. Gladiator is able to produce a magical barrier that causes them to take less damage (Ramparts, Sentinel) or are able to cause massive aetheric explosions from their swords (Rage of Halone, Circle of Scorn). Likewise Pugilist can do similar things with Arm of the Destroyer, and it's Pugilist who gets Fist of Earth and Fist of Wind, two abilities clearly fueled by Aether if for no other reason than their obvious showy and somewhat spell-like appearance.

 

The way I see it, Aether is just a tool of the Adventurer, as much a part of their training and skill as wielding a sword or a staff.

 

No one's surprised to see me posting this, I bet.

 

That's all arguably subjective, though. Gladiator is based around training with a sword and shield: Rampart and Sentinel could be waved away as tightening up your defenses to protect against specific attacks or dangers. The color burst effects on attacks could be video-game components of flashy attacks to make it interesting to look at. Fists of Wind and Earth could arguably be acknowledged as the beginnings of a fighter's chakra beginning to open in accordance with the Monk storyline. After all, we never see pugilist enemies using those stances.

 

Aether is a tool that not everyone is able to channel to the capacity as the MSQ Heroes. That's why aetheryte travel isn't readily available to everyone in the land, otherwise trade caravans would cease to exist.

 

I don't even need to post my opinion anymore because Warren, once again, did it for me. I don't take game skills literally as they appear; they are, after all, meant to be representations of something else more times than not as well as something to appeal to the "ooo, flashy skill" side of us when we actually play the game instead of roleplaying it.

 

I guess I sort of did anyways just now... but it didn't need to be dragged out at least!

 

 

In any case, none of my characters are job classes nor do any of them use magical/aether abilities.

 

 

K'nahli Yohko is a very, regular archer. Though young, she's talented since she has spent a long time dedicating her free time to training as the bow is her passion, but she won't be firing two arrows simultaneously at a target that isn't a massive creature where range and accuracy are not a concern.

 

Andre Winter isn't a "gladiator" as we know the term outside of the class name, but he uses a sword and shield and was training to join the Sultansworn one day as his father had hoped for him, he never got around to seeing that through though due to an unfortunate incident.

 

Alex Hawthorn is a mercenary whom wields a large axe. He's powerful and very talented but he doesn't use super amazing attacks, nor does he throw tomahawks or anything of the kind. I would like for him to be a sword wielder too on less-than-frequent occasions, so instead of making a new character come Heavenward, I may simply give the Dark Knight class to him since it seems rather fitting for a number of reasons.

 

Lulani Manani is a young and silly, little lalafel whom wields a sword and shield but is very inexperienced and clumsy. He is not much of a force to be reckoned with.

 

Tayo Thorne is more of an NPC character than anything, but he used to be a lancer in his day and worked as a mercenary before settling down to a simple life where he earns his coin through carpentry. Nothing special to his fighting style either.

[Kou]

I think K'washi is technically an ordinary rogue? He doesn't use aether because he was never taught how to use it properly. He may accidentally use it in life-or-death situations, but because he just doesn't know, he... well. Doesn't.

 

Alex, on the other hand, is practically a pro. He's learned how to use aether since the day he was deemed old enough. He focuses more on protection than anything (Scholar bubble ftw), but if he's given a sword, he'll absolutely use the aether around him to conjure up some elemental help. >>

 

From my understanding, aether-use is a learned skill, with Adventurers simply being the most proficient it for obvious reasons (stronger, better, faster, smarter). I haven't really... found evidence to the contrary.

[Aduu Avagnar]

I think K'washi is technically an ordinary rogue? He doesn't use aether because he was never taught how to use it properly. He may accidentally use it in life-or-death situations, but because he just doesn't know, he... well. Doesn't.

 

Alex, on the other hand, is practically a pro. He's learned how to use aether since the day he was deemed old enough. He focuses more on protection than anything (Scholar bubble ftw), but if he's given a sword, he'll absolutely use the aether around him to conjure up some elemental help. >>

 

From my understanding, aether-use is a learned skill, with Adventurers simply being the most proficient it for obvious reasons (stronger, better, faster, smarter). I haven't really... found evidence to the contrary.

yes and no, the thaumaturgy story line has made it clear that there are those whose personal aether simply isn't strong enough to either get a result or they get a result but at great physical cost to themselves, up to and including death, despite how much they practice. As to the other two, there isn't really anything else that shows a negative, or inability to study it. Though I guess a natural predisposition to be able to gauge whether the elementals will help you with Conjury, and generally being smart (mathematically so) would be a prerequisite for Arcanima(sp?)

[Artigan]

I role play a paraplegic Hyur, who wears only a loincloth, and wields a rusty butter knife.

 

People call him wheels. The ladies love his ride. His special ability is being underestimated.

[Kou]

I think K'washi is technically an ordinary rogue? He doesn't use aether because he was never taught how to use it properly. He may accidentally use it in life-or-death situations, but because he just doesn't know, he... well. Doesn't.

 

Alex, on the other hand, is practically a pro. He's learned how to use aether since the day he was deemed old enough. He focuses more on protection than anything (Scholar bubble ftw), but if he's given a sword, he'll absolutely use the aether around him to conjure up some elemental help. >>

 

From my understanding, aether-use is a learned skill, with Adventurers simply being the most proficient it for obvious reasons (stronger, better, faster, smarter). I haven't really... found evidence to the contrary.

yes and no, the thaumaturgy story line has made it clear that there are those whose personal aether simply isn't strong enough to either get a result or they get a result but at great physical cost to themselves, up to and including death, despite how much they practice. As to the other two, there isn't really anything else that shows a negative, or inability to study it. Though I guess a natural predisposition to be able to gauge whether the elementals will help you with Conjury, and generally being smart (mathematically so) would be a prerequisite for Arcanima(sp?)

Haha. Y'know, I just learned that through the Thaumaturge storyline. owo;;

 

But thank you for the additional information! I do love learning more about the FFXIV world.

[C'kayah Polaali]

I almost think that watching how people respond to this is more interesting than the question itself.

 

But anyways! To answer: C'kayah is a conjurer ICly, but I'd put his IC level as somewhere around 2 or 3. He's simply never had the desire to stick with the training long enough to do anything with it. Instead, he sticks with his DoW "abilities", instead. He's a damn fine archer, courtesy of growing up in the hunter's ton in his tribe. He's fair with a sword - he's gotten better in the last few years, mainly at the insistence of an old lover. He also doesn't believe in fighting fair, so he uses poisons liberally.

 

His superpower, however, is his tongue. Once he started making connections with people and putting together organizations, he went from being a barely-making-it smuggler and thief to a fairly powerful crime figure.

 

Is being able to drink other people under the table a special ability though?

 

I like you!