Why cant we play Garlean empire?

They're not wrong in believing the Warrior of Light and his allies to be rebels as that is exactly what they are.

Let's stop feeding the obvious troll, shall we?

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Originally Posted by Theodric

They're not wrong in believing the Warrior of Light and his allies to be rebels as that is exactly what they are.

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This is true, but also irrelevant. It is correct to say that Garlemald had a good reason to try and attack the WoL and their companions. After all, they wish to prevent rebellious actions from being taken, and the WoL and their companions would probably pursue them. So, it's logical to try and do something about it, namely kill them. However, the rules of Kugane state that fighting is not to be done in the city, and nobody is supposed to attack one another. It's part of their 'armed neutrality' system. By attacking the WoL inside of the city, they are violating Kugane's laws and, being the clear aggressors, are at fault. Effectively, they most definitely did not follow Kugane's rules or 'keep' the peace. Now, if they had attacked somewhere where they had control over (IE Doma) it would be more as you seem to be describing it. Similarly if Garlemald had used its influence to force the Hingashi government to expel them (they're implied to have some influence given how they managed to make them agree to not support the Ruby Tithe) it would also be another story. But the fact of the matter is that they willfully and blatantly ignored the rules and laws of Kugane in their attempt on the WoL's life.

And I will defend Theodoric in stating that he is not a troll. He merely has opinions and wishes to state them, as is the right on this forum.

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Originally Posted by Theodric

They're not wrong in believing the Warrior of Light and his allies to be rebels as that is exactly what they are.

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That like arresting or killing someone because they could be onto something or could turn into something. They had no idea that the group coming from Eorzea and staying with a business will be bad. Normal travelers exist and there should be normal adventurers in the city too. There is no rule that nobody can travel over the sea, just that most dont do it because of the situation right now. As long as the Garlean soldiers did not know for a 100% that they would cause trouble, which they simply could not, then they were the aggressors that attacked others in a city that was meant to be peaceful for every party. (Yes even for rebells)

And as CaesarCV pointed out, even if they did know for sure they would still break the rules of Kugane, because the city does not care why you are there as long as you keep the peace, thus no armed conflict. So they are far away from peaceful.

They could have given other soldiers on the other side the hint that there are people coming over that seems suspicious and let them handle it. But they chose to set up a trap and tried to kill us, on nothing but an uncertain "could be". This is far away from the claim that the WoL in any form caused it.

Like I said, I'm tired of the long-winded dissertations, so I'm going to keep this short and simple.

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Originally Posted by Theodric

Yet, thankfully, we know that isn't the case at all as it has been confirmed through multiple sources that whilst some regions suffer under Garlean rule others have prospered or remained virtually unchanged. It is largely inevitable that we will see such areas in the future for ourselves as we explore more of Hydaelyn. We've also seen Garlemald keeping the peace in Kugane.

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Some provinces prospering under Imperial rule doesn't change the fact they aren't free or independent. Furthermore outside of their homeland in northern Ilsabard no known Imperial territory was acquired through peaceful negotiation.

Gilded cages are still cages. If the people in those provinces prefer Imperial rule they should be left to it; if they do not want (and never wanted) it, it should not be forced on them.

Garlemald did not keep the peace in Kugane. It broke the peace by hiring an informant to lead anyone seeing passage to Othard into an ambush. The Imperials in Kugane didn't even know who we were - they just knew someone was looking to get to Othard, therefore they must be a rebel. Outside of Varis himself, no Imperial seems to recognize us. (Even Zenos didn't know who we were when first we met.) They were right in this case, but Kugane has a strict no-violence policy, which the Empire broke first. We defended ourselves and made as peaceful and stealthy an escape as we could.

(And then I brought the Garlean consul bath water from the hot springs after he ordered me killed. I'm so awful. Tell Festus I said hi! /sarcasm.)

It was stated in the lore book that some of the locations close to the garlean homeland were annexed through diplomacy as well. They just didn't give specific names, if i remember correctly they referred to it as a 'carrot on a stick' offering magitek in exchange for joining them.

The kugane incident was definitely dirty and unlawful, overall we've seen the fringes of the empire and until we see all of it and it's people we can't make a completely accurate judgement. Their military might be brutal but it does seem like the citizenry are kept complacent through propaganda and the like I'd be very interested in seeing garlemald as a whole, especially purebloods who aren't apart of the aristocracy or military. Nero for example came from rural garlemald so it'd be nice to hear more about that.

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Originally Posted by VargasVermillion

It was stated in the lore book that some of the locations close to the garlean homeland were annexed through diplomacy as well. They just didn't give specific names, if i remember correctly they referred to it as a 'carrot on a stick' offering magitek in exchange for joining them.

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Hey, I learned something! (/no sarcasm.)

Still... neither Doma nor Ala Mhigo got the gentle treatment. Ala Mhigo had its ruler fed paranoia by Imperial spies for a decade before being deposed in response to the brutality born of that paranoia, making it easy pickings for the Empire. Doma seems to have just been steamrolled. Those are the nations pertinent to the discussion at hand, and neither wanted Imperial rule. (The same seems to be true of Dalmasca. Viva la resistance! Viva!)

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Originally Posted by VargasVermillion

The kugane incident was definitely dirty and unlawful, overall we've seen the fringes of the empire and until we see all of it and it's people we can't make a completely accurate judgement. Their military might be brutal but it does seem like the citizenry are kept complacent through propaganda and the like I'd be very interested in seeing garlemald as a whole, especially purebloods who aren't apart of the aristocracy or military. Nero for example came from rural garlemald so it'd be nice to hear more about that.

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Their military is the only part of the Empire we have dealt with. The Imperial army is what subjugates and oppresses the people of the provinces we've seen.

How exactly Imperial civilians live is something I'm curious about as well. Still, if a majority of Imperial civilians feel being an aan (lowest-ranked member of Imperial society; non-citizen, no better than a slave or chattel) is an honor, well...

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Originally Posted by CaesarCV

And I will defend Theodoric in stating that he is not a troll. He merely has opinions and wishes to state them, as is the right on this forum.

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There is stating your opinions, and then there is wilfully ignoring established facts and stating the contrary just to get attention. You've been repeating the same facts over and over again only to get ignored because what you say doesn't fit into his opinion. Don't you get tired of it?

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Originally Posted by Cilia

How exactly Imperial civilians live is something I'm curious about as well. Still, if a majority of Imperial civilians feel being an aan (lowest-ranked member of Imperial society; non-citizen, no better than a slave or chattel) is an honor, well...

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If I'm right in assuming that Garlemald runs an extensive propaganda campaign (and really, no dictatorship is compelete without one), then it would be fairly easy for the government to convince their citizens that serving them is an honour. The Garleans uphold a rigid caste system, and from what I can tell, the only means of social mobility is through the military. When we get to Garlemald, I'd be disappointed if we didn't get civilian NPCs who want to advance past their lot in life, but have no means of doing so other than the military, and are upset about this, if that's the case.

Additionally, making more guesses here, but Garlemald's propaganda for its citizens would be teaching them something along the lines of: their war of conquest is their right as people of Garlemald, anyone who wishes to serve is doing a noble thing, their current way of life is the only civilised way, anyone who cannot advance from their current rank/caste and is unhappy about that is simply lazy/incompetent.

A state run by constant indoctrination from birth would be an interesting thing to see in-game, for me, anyway. Show us loudspeakers on every corner! Give us the banners, the public speakers, the pamphlets, flyers, and maybe even television ads! It's all just extrapolation from the fact that I see so many Garlean soldiers wholeheartedly believing in their idealogy despite all the evidence to the contrary, and trying to think of reasons why they would think like that.

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Originally Posted by Mysterysword

A state run by constant indoctrination from birth would be an interesting thing to see in-game, for me, anyway. Show us loudspeakers on every corner! Give us the banners, the public speakers, the pamphlets, flyers, and maybe even television ads! It's all just extrapolation from the fact that I see so many Garlean soldiers wholeheartedly believing in their idealogy despite all the evidence to the contrary, and trying to think of reasons why they would think like that.

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I'm less keen on the idea of seeing such a thing in-game, entirely because from what I've seen of most fiction media, any attempt to depict a "constant indoctrination" regime immediately goes over-the-top with its depiction. And to be honest, I really don't trust the story team of this game to get it right.

We don't need loudspeakers on every corner, and the entire place plastered with banners and fliers. A lot less of it, in more judicious areas, is more than enough to cause the same effect. The trick is to make it ever-present, but subtle and subversive. The citizen shouldn't need to be reminded of the Correct Way of thinking; they just need to believe that the Correct Way is common sense.

However, fiction likes to make things ridiculously obvious, because they have to quickly set the stage at a glance. This is why "(European-themed) fantasy" means knights and magic everywhere, and "Old Japan" means samurai and ninja around every corner. It's lazy set-dressing.

I acknowledge that there are real-world examples of intense propaganda meaning the aforementioned loudspeakers everywhere. It's essentially brute-forcing the issue. We've all learned far more effective ways since then, and that is what I want to see in-game, should it occur.

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Originally Posted by Mysterysword

Let's stop feeding the obvious troll, shall we?

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I hope to see an apology for such a hurtful comment. I have repeatedly offered to agree to disagree on issues that specifically relate to subjective interpretations of the canon lore. One man's hero is another man's sworn enemy, after all and there are countless examples in-game and within the lore book that suggest and outright state that most things in this setting are more nuanced than they are often credited as being.

Not to blow my own horn too much but I put forward the theory that there would be more to the Dragonsong War back before Ysayle was first introduced. I proved to be on the right track. I also put forward the theory that Garlemald likely suffered immensely in the past and resorted to putting their own people first and foremost as a result of such suffering. The lore book came and that proved to be the case as well. Then there's the situation with the Warriors of Darkness. I speculated that their intense conviction was a sign that they were justified from their perspective and the stakes would be incredibly high if they failed. That proved correct too. Then there's Regula, who many people here suggested would become the next Kefka. I disagreed and suggested that he would, instead, prove to be an honourable man as he had a very 'knightly' vibe about him. Yet again I was proven correct. The subtle hints about such things have always been present - many simply choose to ignore them and then act surprised when things turn out to be more complicated than they initially assumed.

I think it's pretty ridiculous for some people to act like my points never have any merit and that things couldn't possibly be viewed through a lens that shows things in any way beyond what happens to paint the antagonists in the worst possible light and the protagonists in the best possible light at every turn. You're welcome to agree to disagree, as I already stated. That goes for anyone. Nobody gets to insult other posters or push a false narrative about their motives, though.

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Originally Posted by VargasVermillion

It was stated in the lore book that some of the locations close to the garlean homeland were annexed through diplomacy as well. They just didn't give specific names, if i remember correctly they referred to it as a 'carrot on a stick' offering magitek in exchange for joining them.

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Yes on page 177 they write that "..one town named itself the center, and the others were brought into the fold through negotiation and force." So they are capable of diplomacy but even in their starting points they also used force to unite. But at least at that point it was about survival. After getting those small towns they started to send in spies "to incite conflict betwixt the surrounding nations".

Later on Galvus used warmachina to "avenge every wrong ever done to them", and "Garleans invaded the countries of northern Ilsabard and annexed their lands. To expand its small army, Garlemald recruited the subjugated people, promising to better their lives with magitek technology in exchange for service. This cunning carrot-and-stick strategy made the republic greater and more powerful with every victory.."

"Having unified the continent through force for the first time in history, Galvus proclaimed himself Emperor, and thus created the Garlean Empire." After that the lorebook states that one continent was not enough for him and he look towards Othard. So yes they used some diplomacy with some of the smaller towns next to them but the rest of the continent was conquered with force and the carrot on the stick was still only gifted to those that were forcefully integrated into the soon-to-be empire. Its written like they conquered it first because of vengeance but after that, it was not enough for the Emperor so he started his world conquering. There is also no mentioning of another reason, other than wanting more land.

Just wanted to post all the important quotes because this makes it easier to know the whole story.

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I also agree that calling someone a troll is not very nice, but I wish both sides would stop with their verbal insults. Also there is nothing wrong with trying to look at it from a different perspective but they should still be within the games own facts. It is just wrong to say that the Garlean soldiers were not the aggressors in Kugane and that they are peaceful there, even though the game has shown or told us about at least two happenings where they set up a trap to kill people. Gosetsu might be known but they did not know who we are and there is a strict rule about attacking anyone in the city. Also like always most of us dont always just see it just in black or white, which lots of our posts already showed.

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Originally Posted by YianKutku

I acknowledge that there are real-world examples of intense propaganda meaning the aforementioned loudspeakers everywhere. It's essentially brute-forcing the issue. We've all learned far more effective ways since then, and that is what I want to see in-game, should it occur.

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On the other hand, brute force is largely the language of the Garleans. They can be subtle when needed, but would they feel the need to be subtle about their propaganda? Over-the-top indoctrination can also fit into the story, if its effects are also accurately portrayed.

For example, show us some citizens who, in response to this intrusive propaganda, actively try to resist and reject it out of hand. Or people who weren't convinced by it at all, but keep their opinions quiet and heads down to avoid being imprisoned as a traitor. Propaganda, whether overt or covert, still works as a means of control for a reason. Even today, we still have an example of a totalitarian dictatorship run by such means. Accounts told by people from that dictatorship indicate that it doesn't work fully on the citizens either.

And going back to the game, the failure of this brute-force may be exactly what gives us defectors from the regime, in the end, just as in real-life.

The Garleans are described in the lore book as valuing efficiency, thus if brute force proves to be a repeated failure then it doesn't do them justice to have them stubbornly embrace it...unless the intention is to make them deliberately stupid to justify more territory being liberated and practically handed over to the Eorzean Alliance and its allies on a silver platter with minimal losses. Something which doesn't necessarily make for a satisfying story. It'd be much more refreshing to see plot points from FFXII embraced where we don't see the dull 'defector' trope embraced and instead see someone from Garlemald show up who is primarily loyal to their own people and homeland but sees the value of peace. Someone inspired by Larsa who doesn't lead to the Garlean Empire being dismantled or rendered overly vulnerable whilst also appeasing those who want to take pride in everything it has endured and accomplished.

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Originally Posted by Theodric

The Garleans are described in the lore book as valuing efficiency, thus if brute force proves to be a repeated failure then it doesn't do them justice to have them stubbornly embrace it...unless the intention is to make them deliberately stupid to justify more territory being liberated and practically handed over to the Eorzean Alliance and its allies on a silver platter with minimal losses. Something which doesn't necessarily make for a satisfying story.

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Well i don't mean to burst your hopes but it seems more likely they'll just get proven incompetent even if the lore implies otherwise. It's likely we only have 2 more expacs until the garleans are dealt with so I won't be expecting too much based on stormblood. We'll get more diplomacy for sure, it's already known that there are garleans who are opposed to the violence which is why there was a war of succession in the first place, but in combat? they'll probably just be curb-stomped as always throwing the 'efficiency' out the window.

Dictatorships have a tendency of hunkering down and forcing its people to fight to the last breath unless they're actually toppled, if things get desperate enough. I see no reason why the current regime would abandon its warhawk, expansionist ways. If that Larsa character analog is going to be any sympathetic they'd need to acknowledge that the core leadership is rotten and either needs to actually use diplomacy, or get replaced.

Leave Othard, leave Aldenard. Or at least release lands that clearly do not want Imperial rule. And drop this arrogant attitude that only they can save the world from primals via genocide and enslavement, and the "me vs. them" attitude. Then we'll get to talking. Otherwise, there's not going to be an understanding reached with them. Ever. And since Varis is dead set on conquering Eorzea, and Eorzea is dead set on never surrendering to the Empire, there's going to be perpetual conflict until one of them's destroyed.

I think it's important to remember Garlemald's "might makes right" policy. This leaves other territories with no recourse but violence if it wishes to prove its independence is right. For conquered territories seeking independence, this means violent rebellion against Imperial rule. It was right of the Empire to take their lands since it was mightier; conversely, proving greater might is the only way to establish a right to independence.

Until "might makes right" no longer works for the Empire, violence is the only option for resisting it. We need a drastic change in leadership for that to happen. I am not opposed to a Larsa figure - far from it, I'd very much like one - but they will have their work cut out for them, assuming such a figure appears.

Some of Garlemald's colonialist fervor is fueled by a victimhood narrative born of real past suffering that they use as justification. It's fine to point out this part of their cultural canon, but doing so without acknowledging how they have weaponised it is fallacious.

Seconding some thoughts I've seen here on imperial civilians. I want to know what they know. What do "ordinary" Garleans think? We know part of their military are censors--the 'goe' infix is used for both spies and censors. The disaster at Bozja Citadel was not well known of, for example, and was only known about at all because its sheer scale was too great for censors to fully suppress.

One of my hopes for a Garlemald trip is that we'll get an unflinching look at what their 'normies'' views are. It's not exactly unusual that civilians whose leadership are geared at violent suppression either don't know what's up and aren't interested in finding out, or do know what's going on and don't speak out.

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Originally Posted by Mysterysword

On the other hand, brute force is largely the language of the Garleans. They can be subtle when needed, but would they feel the need to be subtle about their propaganda? Over-the-top indoctrination can also fit into the story, if its effects are also accurately portrayed.

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My objection with brute-force is largely because however else the Garlean Empire may be portrayed, the biggest sin would be if they were shown to be incompetent. Even worse, that incompetence stems not from any deep exploration of the themes and plotlines, but simply because of lazy set-dressing.

In other words, not a criticism of Garlemald, but a potential criticism of the writers. (I trust I don't have to put "potential" in bold italics.)

The Empire has already used propaganda techniques, back before ARR (at least according to accounts of the plotline I've read here). They are not complete newbies to the concept.

To answer the direct question: We'll never get to play as a Garlean starting race; the MSQ simply won't be able to accommodate it.

That said, if you think of the Garlean empire as a "Corporate Company", not unlike a surface interpretation of the meaning of "Grand Company", with actual political power, as is one of the stages of judging real-life industry progress (and their incorporation, and importance within civilization itself), then one may be able to understand the policies of the Garlean Empire. Potential and ability is valued above all, to make "profit" for the company and "carry out" its orders. "Clean" operation is paramount; there is no place for personal feelings, bonds, and superstition to bemuddle corporate efficiency. And there are no true friends, there are only competitors, assets, and profit. Even within the company itself. Ruthless, but far from overwhelmingly complex and incomprehensible.

The results of such an inhuman corporate mindset, the latest example being how growing up in such an environment pretty much makes you a monster, would seem frightening, and further lead us to think of Garleans as "evil, inhumane, cold, etc." but for the people in that corporation structure who are already devoid of most of the "warm, fuzzy, soft" kind emotions, it is perhaps all quite logical and and nothing is truly "right or wrong" per se anymore, and thus they don't even worry in the way we do when we see their thoughts and actions. From that perspective, even the claim of us being the true "savages" is understandable, as was brought up by other posts.

This is falling into the "The Empire did nothing wrong" argument for Star Wars. Thus I really don't think it is valid to draw direct conclusions from fiction as if we were examining real life history. However, we may be supported to draw other types of "conclusions" ... the kind which fiction and art excels at. Is that your motivation to try playing as Garlean, to see it from their perspective, learn what you could not otherwise, and thus be a better person from doing so? If that is so, then luckily there are other ways to do it besides actually "playing as Garlean Empire". As for how we could accomplish that ... well that's the new question now.

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Originally Posted by Theodric

The Garleans are described in the lore book as valuing efficiency, thus if brute force proves to be a repeated failure then it doesn't do them justice to have them stubbornly embrace it...unless the intention is to make them deliberately stupid to justify more territory being liberated and practically handed over to the Eorzean Alliance and its allies on a silver platter with minimal losses. Something which doesn't necessarily make for a satisfying story.

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I dont agree a lot with you on Garlemald but I agree here. I really hope that we will not just win because the empire makes stupid decisions..its already hard to accept stupid decisions from our own character..but such an empire should not be making newbie mistakes or something..I really want them to either be our true enemy through the whole story but remain to be a serious threat at the same time, or somehow see them changed so that they would fight with us against an even bigger threat..but I dont want just mustache twirling evil guys that will be their own grave..anyway until Zenos, no Garlean truly felt dangerous to our WoL and the treat itself through them does not feel strong too so I remain skeptic how SE will treat them.

(I would accept their downfall through their war mongering actions. It happened a lot in real life too where big empires just fell because they were simply too big and because they had an war on the inside. Like people are not happy with the leader and try to take him down but the following leaders will ruin the land by not finding a good compromise..or it will bite them in the back that they treat some of their conquered countries really bad)

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Originally Posted by Alleo

(I would accept their downfall through their war mongering actions. It happened a lot in real life too where big empires just fell because they were simply too big and because they had an war on the inside. Like people are not happy with the leader and try to take him down but the following leaders will ruin the land by not finding a good compromise..or it will bite them in the back that they treat some of their conquered countries really bad)

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I particularly agree with this sentiment. The Empire has, until now, been able to support a much larger military than it can actually afford through successive conquests and the rapid conscription of local populations. We've seen in the cases of Doma and Ala Migho just how much this rapid conscription harm the local economies, but in the short term that's fine. To the Garlean Empire, the continued conquest of the world is far more important than the economic state of a few savage provinces. Similarly they've been able to keep moving rather than focus their efforts on long term investment into their territories or trade relations with other states. So far it's worked out for them as well, with their massive expenditures of resources (Project Meteor, Military Magitek, Allagan Expeditions, etc) covered by their expansion into new territories. These provide the resources (especially manpower) to continue their campaigns.

It was a similar situation with the real life Roman Empire, which had an economy partially based on the huge influxes of wealth and slaves provided by their conquests. But, just as what happened to the Romans, the Garleans' conquests have largely stopped. Between Silvertear Falls, the Battle of Cartenau, and the new failures in Ala Migho and Doma, they're probably going to see their economy and ability to fight heavily reduced. the rebellion of Doma and Ala Migho as well as the civil war make it apparent that the cracks are starting to show in the Empire. While things have been held together mostly through brute force and continued conquest so far, it's only a matter of time before more troubles show in the Empire, especially since Ala Migho and Doma proved that the Empire is not unassailable or undefeatable. It's important to remember just how rapid the rise of the Empire has been when considering these issues.

I think having some Garlemald-related quests and some gathering and crafting jobs related to Garlemald would be excellent for an expansion. Maybe even have some housing there and in Ala Mhigo. The prices of garlic would drop like a stone!

Personally I'd like the idea of the empire becoming a neutral force that we might have a truce with but aren't actually allied with. Could create some interesting scenarios later down the line after the initial war-path is ended.

I just think that empires being easy to destroy, or at least a given that they are destoryed within the events of the story, is just overdone. Not everyone is blessed with a chosen one doing the heavy lifting for them. Or are enlightened figureheads with modern day rules of engagement.

Maybe I'm someone biased in light of recent conflicts, but if war is an inevitability, then that war should not be pretty. There should be problems and victories on both ends. not "one side own goaling themselves while the other plays normally."

But as far as playing as them or their faction, I'd be down for that. There are definitely men and women willing enough to fight for the empire's peace, why not adventurers?

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Originally Posted by CaesarCV

the rebellion of Doma and Ala Migho as well as the civil war make it apparent that the cracks are starting to show in the Empire. While things have been held together mostly through brute force and continued conquest so far, it's only a matter of time before more troubles show in the Empire, especially since Ala Migho and Doma proved that the Empire is not unassailable or undefeatable. It's important to remember just how rapid the rise of the Empire has been when considering these issues.

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And lets not forget that Hien sent his ninjas in other territories to spread the information about the successful rebellion so there might be more rebellions in other countries, thus a necessary split of power. It could be that this will be unsuccessful thanks to the meddling of the ascians but I really dont understand why Varis was so calm after losing those two countries. Not only did he lose his access to Eorzea but the spreading of the news could be the first steps towards their downfall. Either he does not realize the relevance of these losses (and he should have never ever sent his son there..)or he has some kind of unknown trick up his sleeve. (That probably will be dealt with by the WoL..like always x))

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Originally Posted by YianKutku

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We do differ in our opinions of this point: I don't mind seeing the Garlean empire being portrayed as incompetent, if, and only if, there are specific reasons behind it, and it's not just that set-dressing.

But, all that depends on how you define "incompetent". I wouldn't call that brute force propaganda incompetent, because it would still get results. It would be more appropriate to call it inefficient. And it can be argued that the Garlean empire is extremely inefficient at actually running their empire. See my previous posts. They're good at warmongering, but actual governance? Gaius seems to have been the exception, as a politically-savvy Garlean. All their policies regarding their conquered territories, so far, seem to have all been focused on reaping as many resources out of them in the short-term, as fast as possible, with absolutely no regard given to sustainability or long-term prospects.

Honestly, soldiers don't tend to make good politicians in general. This is true even in real-life, and China's Great Leap Forward is just one example of the kinds of disasters that arise from having a soldier sit at the top of a dictatorship.

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Originally Posted by Cilia

We need a drastic change in leadership for that to happen. I am not opposed to a Larsa figure - far from it, I'd very much like one - but they will have their work cut out for them, assuming such a figure appears.

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Examining Larsa just reminded me of how much I personally liked him as a character, but then I realised just how specific his circumstances and upbringing had to be, to have him serve the role in FF XII that he did. Part of his ascension to the throne was that Gramis and Vayne specifically wanted him to rule (I should probably do more reading because it really makes no sense to me why they would think he would've made a better ruler for an empire that was bordering on an outright war against another, equally powerful empire. And I get that FF XII had a lot of story to tell as it was, but it would've been nice to actually see some of the conflict between Archadia and Rozarria, rather than having one of them be completely sidelined in the plot.). In fact, if I remember correctly, pretty much everyone wanted Larsa on the throne, either as a legitimate Emperor or a puppet.

In addition to being of high status (though somewhat politically impotent), for Larsa to be willing to extend the olive branch to Ashe, he had to be markedly different from other Archadians. It would be slightly difficult to produce a similar character in Garlemald, because the way I see it, while Archadia and Garlemald are outwardly similar, they're very different internally. Archadians seem to have much more freedom than Garleans, for one, even though Archadia is facing a legitimate threat in the form of Rozarria, rather than conquering other nations for the hell of it.

Put simply, while Archadia was a good breeding ground for defectors, or at least moderates, Garlemald doesn't seem to be, at least for the moment. It's difficult to envision how a Larsa-type character might come about, because from what we've seen so far, nobody in Garlemald manages to make it to a high rank while being diplomatically-inclined. Gaius was the closest we got, and even he still wanted to conquer Eorzea.

So far, if we ever do get FF XIV!Larsa, they are very likely to be of little importance in Garlemald.

Why we can't play the Garlean Empire? Because that would practically add, I'd say, 30 to 80 % more work for the dev team to make possible, and they're already stretched fairly thin.
Now, when it comes to Garlemald being an accessible area in the future, now that's an entirely different point. Could even be that the second to last expansion ends with us making a truce with Garlemald, and then getting to enter it in the last one. Possibly to hunt Ascians or something. *shrugs*