Au Ra physiology and other lore.

[Mahri]

Different personalities from the last few pages (as I interpret them at a glance)

Eccentric who's probably some sort of wizard.

Deadly competent pike brigade captain.

Ultra hip DJ chick.

Princess but wears wolf pelts instead of ermine.

[RomildaRayne]

Heh. Thanks for giving me the cool description. Here's the same Au Ra with shorter hair.

[Samcaesar]

Snip

Sorry! :P I mean, the best explanation for that was the one Cilia I think suggested and just lack of genetic drift due to recent separation of the two clans (Like 100 years or so). Now if we find out the Xaela and Raen have been seperate for centuries.. Well that's just silly in that they don't look very different at all.

Snip

Good point! Maybe Pipin vs Merlwyb is more fair? Either way, the point is a Roegadyn's body would fair so much better in battle than a Lalafell's :P

Maybe! But discussion and debating silly things like game lore is a hobby that I enjoy!

Snip

Ah, but the military makes sure no matter what branch boot camp still trains the body and introduces one to a lot of basic training, no way they'd ever focus just on one field from the get go, that breeds holes that are easy to exploit in the military. Specific branches further that specialization, but I'd be sure in saying no matter what branch you still know gun maintenance and usage. I would say likewise would go for Xaela war parties, everyone there receives training in handling swords, archery, et cetera. While the girls may excel in magic or archery, that's still no excuse for the horrid lack of physical strength that's they've got. Seriously, it looks like they could hardly hold up a shield, much less take an attack while defending themselves up close.

On the contrary! Speculation and discussion is the life blood of things like lore forums! After all, if we just accepted that we don't know squat then this thread would be dead til new bouts of information, receive a few posts, then nothing til the next bout of lore.

Snip

See, I don't think a game ought to make it a "challenge" to make a certain sort of look with a race, it's silly and limiting. Not a bad job, though I suppose.

Snip

Same thing could be said about so many hours in the day, though, one only has so long to become an expert archer. An archer who can kill at a hundred paces would be decimated up close, which all that would take is a big enough shield. Strict specializations are nice, however it's much better to have rounded training. A jack of all trades master of none will fair much much better in a battlefield than a one who has strict specialization. After all, what will the archer do once you're three paces away, as you can only retreat so far.

I suppose it's an issue of "Practicing one kick 1000 times vs 1000 kicks one time", which normally one favors the former in the idiom, but if one finds a way to not have to worry about the one kick practiced 1000 times, then the person's skill is useless. Aristotle's advocacy of well-roundedness in life really rings a bell in this situation.

I had a theory why the males are so much larger then the females. It may be because, like deer, the men compete with each other for the attention of the females so they are physically larger to show they are the better mate. It'd, also, go to explain why males horns are larger and more "pointy" then the females.

Could be, but theoretically those sorts of distinction fade away as one develops into a more humanoid appearance and societal structure (Ie tribal groups). There's a reason why humans tend to stray from direct bouts of strength with each other, it's just not too productive.

[PArcher]

That said, magic in FFXIV is a weird thing.. The Garleans are such a supposed threatening force, yet in the opening cutscene you see a mage decimate one of their Magitek Walkers with what looks like relative ease. It doesn't really seem to have any major disadvantages with the exception of people being wary of them due to the whole War of the Magi thing.

Well, the Garleans haven't had a lot of experience fighting magic before they invaded Eorzea, so a magic weakness isn't surprising. Read the description of the Gilded Magitek Mount for a bit more

[Frederick22]

So many beautifull creatures, oh lala *-*

[Samcaesar]

Oh and because others seem to be doing it.. My Au Ra, except like imagine her a good foot taller instead of the poor 5'2 that she is ; ;



Really neat designs though! I dig all the variety to everyones' Au Ra despite my complaints on the basis of them.

[Viridiana]

Ah, but the military makes sure no matter what branch boot camp still trains the body and introduces one to a lot of basic training, no way they'd ever focus just on one field from the get go, that breeds holes that are easy to exploit in the military. Specific branches further that specialization, but I'd be sure in saying no matter what branch you still know gun maintenance and usage. I would say likewise would go for Xaela war parties, everyone there receives training in handling swords, archery, et cetera. While the girls may excel in magic or archery, that's still no excuse for the horrid lack of physical strength that's they've got. Seriously, it looks like they could hardly hold up a shield, much less take an attack while defending themselves up close.

Eh, if we're discussing modern armies, there's going to be an extreme marksmanship difference between an infantryman and a cook. (As a whole. Of course it varies by individual.) Not intending to compare the female Au Ra to cooks, only to use that as an example. And figure that this is true in modern armies with rifles where physical strength is less central to marksmanship than skill and focus is. So, yeah, the guys who sit at a desk all day in the personnel section will be reasonably capable at basic battle tasks, but no commander is going to put them near the front lines if he has any better option.

I will concede that something like a muscle slider should be a thing for pretty much all the races and genders, though. Simply because even in the most warmongering tribes, I assume there will still be people back in the rear not participating in all-out combat, and having the option to reflect either scenario in the same race/gender would be nice.

Same thing could be said about so many hours in the day, though, one only has so long to become an expert archer. An archer who can kill at a hundred paces would be decimated up close, which all that would take is a big enough shield. Strict specializations are nice, however it's much better to have rounded training. A jack of all trades master of none will fair much much better in a battlefield than a one who has strict specialization. After all, what will the archer do once you're three paces away, as you can only retreat so far.

I suppose it's an issue of "Practicing one kick 1000 times vs 1000 kicks one time", which normally one favors the former in the idiom, but if one finds a way to not have to worry about the one kick practiced 1000 times, then the person's skill is useless. Aristotle's advocacy of well-roundedness in life really rings a bell in this situation.

In a one-on-one scenario, I agree. Someone with the focus and speed to snatch an arrow out of the air, for example, wouldn't worry much about a single archer. But, then, we're discussing armies and war, right? Yeah, your forces can hunker down behind shields when a volley of arrows is incoming, but the tighter your shield wall the closer you're huddled for the mages observing from the next hill over. And of course, the mages will need some sort of defence against a cavalry charge.

Basically, if we're talking militaries, it takes all kinds of fighters, so it makes sense to me that there would be some more lithe members among even the warring nomad types. Granted, there should be both lithe and bulky, but SE doesn't seem to want to give a fuller suite of options, sadly.

[Mahri]

Good point! Maybe Pipin vs Merlwyb is more fair? Either way, the point is a Roegadyn's body would fair so much better in battle than a Lalafell's :P

Maybe! But discussion and debating silly things like game lore is a hobby that I enjoy!

Duly noted, and all is quite fair of course!

Now, Pipin vs. Merlwyb...is I fight that would be awesome to see yet I never want to, because we've had too many good folks turn bad and it would make me cry like a baby.

Really neat designs though! I dig all the variety to everyones' Au Ra despite my complaints on the basis of them.

Interpretation on this one, factoring in the height...suffers-no-fools aristocratic type.

And I feel ya on the height....the RPG character mine's an incarnation of was originally like 5'10".

[Samcaesar]

Snip

There will be a difference between a cook and an infantryman, however we're not discussing those, we're discussing tribal groups with war. Focusing on their war parties specifically, training tends to be far more uniform and the need for troops to be prepared for all situations is much higher. If the Xaela presented themselves as a modern military force, then your claims would hold a good bit of ground! However, this isn't the case due to the whole nomadic tribe description, anyone who will be in their combat troops will need to be as well trained as their peers, least a whole weakest link in the chain scenario occur. Outside of completely barring girl Xaela from their war parties, I'm not sure how they function so well. If that is the case though, I can't help but feel disappointed in SE.

While a muscle slider would be nice, the addition of a greater height range of at least a foot+, as opposed to the current 4 inches with the girl Au Ra, would seem to be best. The wild sexual dimorphic that occurs with the Xaela in particular makes incredibly little sense.

Snip

As someone brought up, there are ways to dampen Aether in the world. Perhaps a Phalanx of sorts with gilded shields would prove to be the answer to both archers and mages? War is all about strategy, and strategy wise having those with that sorts of specific specialization with little in the way of a back up is basically suicide, especially in the case of tribal conflict. Honestly, my biggest issue is the lack of actual customization with the Au Ra, specifically with their girls. Their body shapes hardly suit the warring nomads, unless every Xaela girl is either noncombat or fights with quicker techniques/magic, but kinda bunk if every Xaela girl works like that.

Snip

Merlwyb's gonna be next in the Eorzean drama, I tell ya! She's gonna have enough of the Scions and challenge us to combat I bet!

Not a bad draw, though not what I was aiming for.

[WyrahFhurrst]

Now, Pipin vs. Merlwyb...is I fight that would be awesome to see yet I never want to, because we've had too many good folks turn bad and it would make me cry like a baby.

But what if they get into some heated discussion and enter into a physical disagreement? No one turns evil, but we still get to see them fight!