Sthalmann & The Barracudas

[treuhavik]

Last night my FC threw a Halloween party in which several members dressed up and were judged/awarded for different costume categories. Begin Roegadyn, I decided to go as a pirate-esqe NPC vaguely familiar to my mind. After doing some research and a creating a nigh identical costume, I realized two things; A) The NPC from my memory was Sthalmann, Commodore to the Knights of the Barracuda and right hand of Merlwyb's predecessor and B) That neither Sthalmann or the 'Cudas are in the game anymore.

It would seem that the Barracuda's were replaced with the Yellow Jackets, but why? Where did they all go? What happened to Sthalmann? Are we to just assume they all died in the calamity without note?

[Grayve]

Moose will no doubt have something to say, as he loves Sthalmann. I have no idea who Sthalmann is, other then what Moose has said in the lore podcasts. But I do know Sthalmann was discussed in the most recent one, if you want to hit that up.

[treuhavik]

He was pretty heavily involved in the main scenario for Lominsans in v1.0+, as you never dealt with the Admiral directly.

[Alenore]

In fact, the Yellowjackets is only a division of the Baracudas.
We had no news of what happened to Stahlmann but it was confirmed recently that he's alive and we might see him in the future

[treuhavik]

In fact, the Yellowjackets is only a division of the Baracudas.
We had no news of what happened to Stahlmann but it was confirmed recently that he's alive and we might see him in the future

Interesting... Thanks! If he's indeed alive, I wonder what his role was (or lack there of) during the calamity. I wasn't able to play through the last couple story missions myself, so if he made an appearance do tell!

[Anonymoose]

It would seem that the Barracuda's were replaced with the Yellow Jackets, but why?

If all you need is a short answer, because The Thalassocratic Navy is no longer the top of the food chain. The Navy is part of the Maelstrom, and thus everything that's part of the Navy is itself part of the Maelstrom first and foremost. The Knights of the Barracuda, in the context that they were once known, don't need to be that thing, anymore.

A full understanding will require a more lengthy explanation, I'm afraid, so bear with me.

Before the Seventh Umbral Era, the power structure in Limsa Lominsa was a lot simpler. Much like today, there were captains, and whoever won the Trident (big race, few rules) won the Admiral's chair. Much like today, the Admiral was essentially a regular captain, but with more legitimacy because they commanded Lominsa's affairs, not just their own. And, much like today, the Thalassocratic Navy was essentially the crew of the city itself, loyal to the people and the current admiral, not a specific captain.

However, that was the top of the food chain back then. Not only that, but the admiral often filled the highest ranks of the Navy with his own men, anyway, so some people didn't see much of a difference between them and the pirates - one just wore a different uniform and also got to command Limsa's resources and had to manage Limsa's concerns. Other crews, especially, grew disdainful of the "legitimate" authority once its highest ranks swelled with the new Admiral's old hands and thus took on their idiosyncrasies to some degree. To really get an idea of how we get from there to where we are now with the Yellowjackets, though, is going to require a bit of a digression.

The Thalassocratic Navy's membership was known as The Knights of the Barracuda. As a thalassocracy, Limsa's power is rooted in the power over the seas, and thus the Navy sails all the Five Seas of Eorzea. There's a squadron for the Bloodbrine Sea (2nd), the Indigo Deep (4th), the Sea of Ash (5th), and the Sea of Jade (9th). Lominsa's sea, the Rhotano, is subdivided with a squadron for every major area of their region. There's a squadron for Galadion Bay (1st), the Straight of Merlthor (3rd), the Cieldalaes (6th), the island of Bianaq (7th), and one for Clearwater (8th). You'll notice that Clearwater is an area around Coerthas and the Black Shroud, but it connects directly to the Straight of Merlthor and the Rhotano by way of the White Maden.

Each squadron is broken down into Levies, with some infantry acting as police for the area in which they are stationed. These are the Yellowjackets. For instance, 1st Squadron 2nd Levy Infantry Yellowjacket Sergeant Sylskaetsyn is a police sergeant of the 2nd Levy of the Squadron stationed in Galadion Bay's infantry. Even in 1.0, these Yellowjackets acted as the police within areas controlled by Limsa Lominsa.

Then came the Seventh Umbral Era.

When the Maelstrom was reinstated and all of Limsa Lominsa's resources were brought under one banner in hopes or surviving the Calamity, the Admiral was elevated to Chief Admiral, and the Maelstrom swallowed everything; the Thalassocratic Navy became only a division of her authority. Maelstrom Command oversees the Thalassocratic Navy ('Cudas), but also The Crimson Fleet, the city's principle fleet independent of the Navy proper, the Privateer factions (civilian ships commissioned or requisitioned for the war effort). Maelstrom Command even controls the pirates, to some degree, as part of the Galadion Accord (an agreement that united the pirates as one under the pirate lord Hyllfyr, who has agreed to fight under the Crimson Banner of the Maelstrom for the duration of Limsa Lominsa's fight against the Empire as part of the Eorzean Alliance) in exchange for certain freedoms that essentially guarantee the survival of Lominsa's pirate way of life in the future. This is why the Maelstrom has also swallowed, you may have noticed, the official Marauder's Guild.

Thus, we come back to where we started. The Yellowjackets are part of the Navy, the Navy is part of the Maelstrom; the Yellowjackets are now the Maelstrom. Even the old Barracuda banners are now simply Maelstrom bannders. The 'Cudas don't go by 'Cudas like they used to (though some of them do still throw the name around in ARR when referring to strictly-Navy concerns), and, with the Crimson Fleet, Privateers, and Pirates doing a good deal of the fighting, most of the standard Navy is now utilized for keeping order, which you'll notice simply means a huge increase in Yellowjackets. Even Reyner, Lieutenant to Sthalmann and current Commodore, refers to himself simply as Commodore of the Yellowjackets, when you first meet him in ARR.

What happened to Sthalmann?

Well, he's not dead, but he hasn't been heard from since he was the pre-Calamity drunken pirate captain of a crew of one... (two if you count me!) I like to believe he's doing something great, however. The Calamity offers no shortage of opportunities to go great things, and I think Sthalmann would finally see the chance to be who he truly is.

Moose will no doubt have something to say, as he loves Sthalmann.

What it mainly comes down to is that Sthalmann had a very broad and solid foundation as a character, and he had a good deal of character development in comparison to other 1.0 NPCs. I got invested in his story during the Main Scenario during his fall, and then started getting returns on that investment as I went through the Marauder story arc... but then, poof! He disappeared in the Calamity. A lot of characters did, but not so many of them were as fleshed out as Sthalmann was. Moreover, NPCs more shallow than he were retained. My position was one of, "It's a shame, but I get it, that's their call. Maybe he doesn't have a place now. But I'm gonna ask about it just in case." It turns out, though, that (being heavily invested in Limsa's development in 1.0 himself,) Fernehalwes also developed a bit of an attachment to ol' Rusty Steel, and his story might not be over just yet...

I also appreciated the nod to Dunstan from the Gridania storyline. He wasn't a thoroughly developed character, but it's nice to see he wasn't forgotten.

[Grayve]

It wasn't a criticism. More a lot of confusion about why someone most 2.0 players had never heard of was important. It's like a historical I joke that we can't get.

[Anonymoose]

More a lot of confusion about why someone most 2.0 players had never heard of was important.

Now that you mention it, we never do talk about that part, lol.

Long story short (I'll tell the long version soon), Sthalmann was Commodore of the Knights of the Barracuda and felt that the sea had come to swallow all, deciding that he was going to "save all who call this realm their home" by claiming a recently-discovered treasure misunderstood by most who'd heard of it; a powerful relic that he could use to overcome whatever challenges he felt were coming. Apparently he didn't feel that his captain, the Admiral, was up to the job because he had him assassinated as part of the plot. Of course, once he had the relic, he couldn't make it work and it was promptly stolen by an Ascian (turns out it was a horn used to aid in summoning, and you can imagine why the Ascians would want the Sahagin to have that).

Between that time (1562) and the Calamity (1572) he descended from a proud, calculating Commodore named Sthalmann (Steel Man) into the drunken, abrasive captain of a one-man pirate crew, hated and mistrusted by nigh every single person in the city-state. Colluding with Pirates and Sahagin to wipe out a levy of the 'Cudas and assassinate the admiral doesn't win you any points, it turns out, no matter how good your intentions are. He changed his name to Rostnsthal (Rusty Steel), and though he was a brash, offensive oaf, he looked after the player's best interests and tried to keep them from being dragged into (and killed by) the toxic politics of the Knights of the Barracuda and pirate factions.

In the end, all he wanted was to improve Limsa Lominsa, and last we saw him he was still trying (and failing) to find the right way to do that.

Still rootin' for him to get somewhere with that.

[Grayve]

Ooooh so that is the source of the horn you always ask Ferne about?! Interesting stuff.

And his admiral was male? So beloved merlwyb has been the Admiral for how long?

[Anonymoose]

Ooooh so that is the source of the horn you always ask Ferne about?!

Yuss!

And his admiral was male? So beloved merlwyb has been the Admiral for how long?

I'm not entire sure, actually. Sthalmann tells Y'shtola in 1562 that the male admiral is new-ish, like two weeks before before he's assassinated. And then in 1572, Merlwyb's policies are still considered rather new and shocking, as well. I've never firmly established if Merlwyb won the Trident in 1562 and changed when Urianger came around, or whether there were Admirals between them. There may be some things I've missed that narrow it down, but Merlwyb's been admiral somewhere between 5 and 15 years.

I think the biggest clue is that Merlwyb has Mistbeard's guns and Mistbeared disappeared a while before 1572. We now know that the last Mistbeard let the legend die because he believed Merlwyb could bring Limsa Lominsa forward and he wanted to be a part of it, so if he disappeared that long ago, perhaps she's been Admiral for quite a while.