Yet Another Cat!

[Z'leilan]

Hello!

 

I just though to pop a thread to say hello to the lovely lot around here!

I've been around ARR for some time already, but only recently transferred to Balmung from the EU side, since I heard Balmung is one of the “unofficial-RP” servers around.

 

My prior RP experience consists of many many many many many hours of World of Warcraft, some 4 or 5 years ago, and at least equally many years of tabletop RP. I've been really wanting to get back into MMO role-playing, but so far all the games I've tried haven't felt... right? Until now!

 

I'm looking for RP in the medium-heavy “zone” although I'm not really fond of dividing role-playing into such categories.

 

You can find me with the name Z'leilan Yelho, if you so wish; and while I'm at it, could someone please explain to me the whole Miqo'te tribe/clan system, so I can avoid making a complete fool out of myself? (Oh, and how do Linkshells work anyway?)

 

Hope to see you all around!

 

– Z'leilan

[Gegenji]

I'm sure sure someone with more in-depth Miqo'te knowledge will jump in after me (or post while I'm typing this up - both are likely), but I can throw out a couple tidbits.

 

All the L'etter clans are Seeker clans, who are very... lion-like in their culture. Each tribe is more or less led by a "Nunh", who holds his position against any non-breeding "Tia" that seeks his title as the strongest and most fit to father the next generation. He is the sire for the clan's children, who take their father's first name as their last. So, in your case, Z'yelho Nunh would be your sire's name (unless he was ousted from his position, making him Z'yelho Tia).

 

Of course, sometimes a Tia doesn't want (or can't, due to inability overcome the current Nuhn) to lead their tribe... but splinter off and form their own instead. If he can gather enough females to his banner, they can form a splinter group, usually being Le'tter clans, with an extra letter before the apostrophe to identify both the original clan and the fact that they're a splinter group.

 

In fitting with the lion-esque tribe lifestyle, it's usually the females who hunt - though some Tias seem to join in from time to time as well, from a few RP interactions I've seen. Of course, that's not the only positions available. There's seers, shamen, healers... all sorts of roles like one would find in a tribal, sometimes-nomadic group.

 

And that's not even getting into tribes that have become more ingrained into "modern" city life and have settled down. Then you can have Miqo'te who are more Hyur-like, acting as the citizens of the city would, just with their own little quirks and idiosyncrasies left over from their heritage. Or, if they're adopted, they may act even more like their foster parents.

 

Then there's the Keepers, and that's a whole 'nother spiel one could go on due to their matriarchal society in contrast to the Seeker's patriarchal, so I'll leave that to someone else if you're interested in that aspect as well.

 

...

 

As for linkshells, they're like mini-guild chats. You can have up to eight and you use /l# to use them. They can be used for all sorts of things - keeping tabs on special monsters to hunt, goofy OOC banter, or even as IC shells the characters have to interact with each other. There's no real requirement to having them beyond someone with the permissions to do so adding you to the shell.

 

... Um, hope that covers everything! :blush:

[Tali]

Howdy, and welcome to Balmung!

 

I see your questions have already been answered pretty darn well, so I'll just leave you with this that explains the logic behind the naming (kinda) and what each tribe letter means. (Again... kinda).

 

I'm sure someone can provide a more in-depth meaning behind each of the clan letters! (I'd be interested in seeing that myself, actually.)

 

For EU-based Free Companies, Sastra has compiled a list of your current timezone-friendly options here: http://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/showthread.php?tid=9233

 

You say you're a transfer character, does this mean Z'leilan Yelho has a backstory already? Tell us more about her~!

 

Please.

 

Anyway, hope to see you around Eorzea!

[Sounsyy]

Welcome to Eorzea and the RPC!

 

 

So Miqo'te are divided into two "clans" that are culturally and biologically separate.

 

The first are the Seekers of the Sun, worshipers of the sun goddess Azeyma. They are distinguished physically by vertical pupils and a lack of fang-like canines. Traditionally, Seeker of the Sun Miqo'te belong to Tribes, or extended families of Seekers tracing their routes to one of the 26 original Tribes to migrate to Eorzea some 3,000 years ago.

 

These Tribes consist of many females to a small group of males, designated either Tia or Nunh depending on their breeding status. Nunhs are the "alpha males" and are most desirable for breeding since they are usually chosen for being the biggest, strongest, and smartest of the males in the Tribe. While Nunh's are the desired breeding partner, they are not always leader of their sect of the Tribe, but can be. Nunh's will usually mate with 20-50 willing females of the Tribe, so bigger Tribes with more members may have multiple Nunhs in a Tribe, while smaller sects of a Tribe may only have one Nunh. Tias, on the other hand, account for all other Male Seekers who are not Nunhs. So all newborn male Miqo'te are Tia. A Tia may challenge a Nunh to claim his title or he may leave a Tribe and start his own. However, most Tia who do the latter are not looked upon favorably by females.

 

 

The second are the Keepers of the Moon, worshipers of the moon goddess Menphina. They are distinguished physically by round, dilated pupils and fang-like canines. Traditionally, these nocturnal Miqo'te have a Matriarchal social structure where the females run a family or multiple families living together. These family names can also trace their origins to their first ancestors who migrated to Eorzea. Male children are incredibly rare for Keepers.

 

 

One thing to note though, that a majority of the lore behind Seekers and Keepers revolves around their traditional lifestyle. However, in game, many of the Miqo'te we interact with appear to be more culturally assimilated into an "urban" lifestyle. So you have your traditional Tribal Miqo'te and you have your non-traditional assimilated Miqo'te of both clans.

 

 

I hope that helps! That's sort of just a general overview. Lemme know if you have more questions though. And here's a couple links that might be helpful to you in researching Miqo'te lore!

 

-Miqo'te Naming Conventions

-FreelanceWizard's Miqo'te Lore Compilation

[Z'leilan]

Wow!

 

Thanks a lot to each of you! Gave me a few good pointers. Seems Z'leilah has just the wrong god though, since she's a Seeker :lol: .

 

You say you're a transfer character, does this mean Z'leilan Yelho has a backstory already? Tell us more about her~!

 

I'm sorry to disappoint you Kilid, but no. Not really. I never found any role-playing on the server, except some I created up in my own mind as I played on and leveled up. I love playing as a healer (in MMO's) and also love role-playing a healer.

 

That's a starter to build something, I guess.

[Gegenji]

Hey, nothing wrong with following a different god if it better fits your character's views on life and stuff!

 

And there's plenty of ways you can go! Give it a shot, feel around, and see what you like best. That's the fun of RP, right? :thumbsup:

[Sounsyy]

Seems Z'leilah has just the wrong god though, since she's a Seeker

 

Don't feel pigeonholed into one god. ^^; Seekers "traditionally" worship Azeyma because she's the sun goddess and Seekers, you know, seek the sun. But lifestyle, family, and environment also come into play.

 

For instance, if you live in Limsa Lominsa, the city-state's patron deity is Llymlaen, goddess of the sea and all its creatures. So a Seeker Miqo'te who is a sailor may feel a more kindred spirit in Llymlaen. Likewise, an artisan may take Byregot as his/her deity. A Thaumaturge, Nald'thal. And don't feel limited to just one. You may practice worship of many gods - all Twelve even, or none at all!

 

So feel free to explore your religious options.

[Gegenji]

Seekers, you know, seek the sun.

 

[Tali]

Hey, nothing wrong with following a different god if it better fits your character's views on life and stuff!

 

Precisely that~ And, if they grew up in a way that led them to worship a different deity, no-one can pick on that either.

 

Well... except fanatics.

 

Anyway, yay!  Can't go wrong with more medics RPing on the server.

 

Edit: Yeah, everyone got there first

[Z'leilan]

Seekers, you know, seek the sun.

 

 

I like the two of you.

[V'aleera]

Welcome to the fun world of Balmung RP and the contentious world of Seeker Miqo'te culture (beware comparisons to animals).

 

If you ever want to look for inspiration or guidance when building your character, there is a lot of good information, advice, and character building practices in the forum of the same name. It can also help a lot to look at the wiki profiles a lot of people here have created for their characters, just to get a feel for how a lot of people like to construct their own characters.

[K'nahli]

Well, all twelve Gods exist(for believers I mean) so is there anything explicitly saying that you can't follow the teachings of multiple gods? Or is that a really, bad question? Haha ;

 

As for Seeker lore, people have pretty much covered the need-to-know parts about it, but if you have any further questions about it then feel free to post asking for more information. My main is part of an actual tribe which seems to be significantly, more rare among the RP'ers on this forum, so if you are considering that route then feel free to ask me about anything you're curious about and I'll happily explain how our particular system works (^^/

 

Also, I'm not sure if it has been said already, but if you're not interested in the tribal lifestyle then it's perfectly fine to RP a city miqo'te or anything of the kind. You'll find many people whom RP characters whom have had no, personal affiliation with their tribe and those who have but have since stemmed away from it.

 

 

 

Welcome to the fun world of Balmung RP and the contentious world of Seeker Miqo'te culture (beware comparisons to animals).

 

If you ever want to look for inspiration or guidance when building your character, there is a lot of good information, advice, and character building practices in the forum of the same name. It can also help a lot to look at the wiki profiles a lot of people here have created for their characters, just to get a feel for how a lot of people like to construct their own characters.

 

Also, if you decide to try this, juuuust be wary that a lot of wikis seem to be out of date. I know that I have neglected mine MASSIVELY since the launch of the game. I am afraid to touch it but I'm pretty sure it's a bad representation of the way I see and play my character now, haha(please don't read it, anyone).

 

 

 

Silly me.... I forgot to welcome you to the forums! So... welcome!

[Faye]

Helloooo! Everyone has already done a decent enough job of explaining of Miqo'te lore, so I'll just say, Welcome to Balmung! I'm glad to role-play anytime so feel free to say hello in game sometime!

[Ligardian Dreamer]

Hello and welcome! Yay, more Miqo'tes~ X3 Hope you have fun in Balmung!

 

This Biological Viewpoint thread on the Miqo'te mating strategies might also help shed some light about the Miqo'tes... Which is strictly  the purpose of me showing this to you. Don't mind too much that it says mating there... But I personally feel that it also helped in gaining further insights on how Miqo'tes are within the Seekers and the Keepers respectively... Something to add with the info that have already been given by those before me... or to reinforce what you now already know X3 

 

"May the path in the light of the crystal" be filled with many memories and experiences!

[V'aleera]

I'm personally not a fan of that thread, but I'd rather not clutter up someone's welcome post with an in-depth discussion about the common misconceptions people have about Seeker lore.

[Ligardian Dreamer]

I'm personally not a fan of that thread, but I'd rather not clutter up someone's welcome post with an in-depth discussion about the common misconceptions people have about Seeker lore.

 

It's okay. Generally speaking, in the end, it comes down to where, you wanna put your focus on and how you organize your info based on what's valid, up in the air, or one that is on shaky grounds.

 

I'm just putting my two cent in with one that also intended to put in their two cent.  Eventually, we all learn how to compile the right information or the kind that makes sense =)