Post by Lenora Lovett on Nov 22, 2022 11:02:54 GMT -6
Since this is the most difficult part for a lot of roleplayers, I thought I'd write a short guide to make filling out your form a little easier. First, however, I would like to preface it with this: roleplaying is subjective by its very nature. The ability to go wherever you want, do whatever you want, and be whoever you want is the whole beauty of it. I am then loathe to put restrictions on it, so everything that follows should be taken as a flexible set of guidelines rather than a strict rulebook. With that out of the way...
Name:
What's in a name? Well, that's up to you. All of the races have set naming conventions, but you don't have to adhere to them so long as you can explain why. A Hyur from Eorzea might be named after a Doman relative. A Hrothgar raised by Lalafell might have a Lalafellin name. A Miqo'te whose parents were saved from certain death by a Viera might be named after said savior. An orphaned Au Ra with no family or clan might invent a surname for himself. A Roegadyn whose parents were seafarers might give their child a name they heard on one of their travels to a foreign land.
Age:
Most races have a lifespan of 100-120 years, with Elezen tending to live a little longer. Viera are the exception with a lifespan triple the average. Of course, Hydaelyn is a dangerous place, and most of its people don't live long enough to die of old age.
Pronouns:
The RP community as a whole is very LGBTQA+ friendly and the Omni Venture is no exception. Whatever pronouns you choose for your character are fine.
Race:
This one is pretty straightforward for most people. Different races have different cultures but, as with names, how closely you adhere to these is up to you. This will affect your character's appearance more than their background. Mixed-race individuals absolutely exist in FFXIV—you meet several through the MSQ—but they are rare due to the taboo placed on interracial relationships.
Profession:
This is important: Your character's profession does not have to be a class that exists in the game. When you're playing through the MSQ, you're playing the Warrior of Light, armed with plot armor and an insane power surfeit. A lot of the jobs (not classes, the ones with the soulstones) are inherently limited per the lore, but that doesn't mean that your character can't be powerful. Your character doesn't need a dragon's eye to be a fearsome lancer with epic parkour skills. A caster's repertoire of spells needn't be limited to the ones we see in-game. On that note, your character doesn't need to be a fighter at all. They might be a merchant, a seamstress, a barmaid, a con artist, a chocobo racer...
Personality:
The best piece of advice I have for creating your character's personality is this: pick one you can play. If you're playing a cowardly character and your best friend's character is being harassed, you (the player) might want to stand up for them but your character is... well, a coward. There are pros and cons to every personality type and the best roleplayers take both of them in stride. Characters can be complicated—there are plenty of people who have an avoidance to conflict but will still rush to the defense of those they care about—but it has to be realistic. Just don't make a habit of abusing this to get your character out of less-than-ideal situations. If you need help building the foundation of a character's personality, you can try taking a personality test as them. 16Personalities or True Colours are a couple I recommend.
Appearance:
Just like with professions, your character's appearance is not limited to what is available in-game. Your characters can have different face paint, scars, tattoos, hairstyles, clothes, body types, clothes, the list goes on and on. If you want your character to have beads in their hair, a peg leg, and a dragon sleeve tattoo, that's fine. Just try to stick to things that would feasibly exist in Hydaelyn. In regards to mixed-race characters: There has been a longstanding rumor that mixed-race children always take the appearance of their mother, but this has (to my knowledge) never been confirmed by Square Enix. I would disregard it for now and assume such characters would take a bit from each of their parents.
History:
This is where it gets a little sticky. Generally, your age would indicate how old your character was when certain world events were happening. However, FFXIV exists in a "time bubble" for gameplay reasons wherein the characters act like all the events in ARR and beyond happened within a few short years. While the RP community has universally agreed that this is ludicrously unacceptable given all the major things that have occurred, they have not universally agreed on what the alternative timeline should look like. Some people simplify it by giving each expansion one or two years. Others avoid it by never mentioning dates. We are working to create our own timeline for the FC. Whatever you choose to go with is fine.
As for actually writing your history, it can be as brief or as detailed as you like. Everyone has their own style and however you choose to go about it is fine. The history is a good place to tie all the things about your character together, as it has had some effect on all the other details in your character's profile. If you're struggling, look up some fantasy writing prompts or DND backstory generators for inspiration.
That about wraps it up! If you need help developing your character or have any questions about the game lore, you can check out our resources list, post in the OOC board, or hit us up on the #roleplaying channel in our Discord.
Name:
What's in a name? Well, that's up to you. All of the races have set naming conventions, but you don't have to adhere to them so long as you can explain why. A Hyur from Eorzea might be named after a Doman relative. A Hrothgar raised by Lalafell might have a Lalafellin name. A Miqo'te whose parents were saved from certain death by a Viera might be named after said savior. An orphaned Au Ra with no family or clan might invent a surname for himself. A Roegadyn whose parents were seafarers might give their child a name they heard on one of their travels to a foreign land.
Age:
Most races have a lifespan of 100-120 years, with Elezen tending to live a little longer. Viera are the exception with a lifespan triple the average. Of course, Hydaelyn is a dangerous place, and most of its people don't live long enough to die of old age.
Pronouns:
The RP community as a whole is very LGBTQA+ friendly and the Omni Venture is no exception. Whatever pronouns you choose for your character are fine.
Race:
This one is pretty straightforward for most people. Different races have different cultures but, as with names, how closely you adhere to these is up to you. This will affect your character's appearance more than their background. Mixed-race individuals absolutely exist in FFXIV—you meet several through the MSQ—but they are rare due to the taboo placed on interracial relationships.
Profession:
This is important: Your character's profession does not have to be a class that exists in the game. When you're playing through the MSQ, you're playing the Warrior of Light, armed with plot armor and an insane power surfeit. A lot of the jobs (not classes, the ones with the soulstones) are inherently limited per the lore, but that doesn't mean that your character can't be powerful. Your character doesn't need a dragon's eye to be a fearsome lancer with epic parkour skills. A caster's repertoire of spells needn't be limited to the ones we see in-game. On that note, your character doesn't need to be a fighter at all. They might be a merchant, a seamstress, a barmaid, a con artist, a chocobo racer...
Personality:
The best piece of advice I have for creating your character's personality is this: pick one you can play. If you're playing a cowardly character and your best friend's character is being harassed, you (the player) might want to stand up for them but your character is... well, a coward. There are pros and cons to every personality type and the best roleplayers take both of them in stride. Characters can be complicated—there are plenty of people who have an avoidance to conflict but will still rush to the defense of those they care about—but it has to be realistic. Just don't make a habit of abusing this to get your character out of less-than-ideal situations. If you need help building the foundation of a character's personality, you can try taking a personality test as them. 16Personalities or True Colours are a couple I recommend.
Appearance:
Just like with professions, your character's appearance is not limited to what is available in-game. Your characters can have different face paint, scars, tattoos, hairstyles, clothes, body types, clothes, the list goes on and on. If you want your character to have beads in their hair, a peg leg, and a dragon sleeve tattoo, that's fine. Just try to stick to things that would feasibly exist in Hydaelyn. In regards to mixed-race characters: There has been a longstanding rumor that mixed-race children always take the appearance of their mother, but this has (to my knowledge) never been confirmed by Square Enix. I would disregard it for now and assume such characters would take a bit from each of their parents.
History:
This is where it gets a little sticky. Generally, your age would indicate how old your character was when certain world events were happening. However, FFXIV exists in a "time bubble" for gameplay reasons wherein the characters act like all the events in ARR and beyond happened within a few short years. While the RP community has universally agreed that this is ludicrously unacceptable given all the major things that have occurred, they have not universally agreed on what the alternative timeline should look like. Some people simplify it by giving each expansion one or two years. Others avoid it by never mentioning dates. We are working to create our own timeline for the FC. Whatever you choose to go with is fine.
As for actually writing your history, it can be as brief or as detailed as you like. Everyone has their own style and however you choose to go about it is fine. The history is a good place to tie all the things about your character together, as it has had some effect on all the other details in your character's profile. If you're struggling, look up some fantasy writing prompts or DND backstory generators for inspiration.
That about wraps it up! If you need help developing your character or have any questions about the game lore, you can check out our resources list, post in the OOC board, or hit us up on the #roleplaying channel in our Discord.