Between the Calamity and A Realm Reborn

[FaerieAura]

This is all fascinating stuff! Thank you all!

In regards to beginning in La Noscea, I definitely still plan on doing so, but I will probably omit the part about refugees. There are plenty enough people who will need helping there without that plot detail, and it could add an interesting twist to Ul'dah when the party arrives there. For some reason, I missed the detail that Ul'dah was a refugee center during the Calamity, as I had tied it more strongly with the Highlanders' fleeing from Ala Mhigo. I'm just going to have to find a better reason for all of the party to have been in Limsa - not too difficult, as I'm sure at least some manner of recruitment for recovery efforts was out there.

In regards to Mhach, you all gave me a lot to think about. I'll probably hold back and save Mhach for later, if at all - there's plenty of content to explore outside of that. My original intent was going to be to have the 'leader' of the Lambs of Dalamud be a direct descendant of a Mhachi warmage, who was using the group as a means to gain more and more magical power under the auspices of a cult dedicated to Dalamud. He was kind of insane, but in a more Lawful Evil type of way - he thought he could bring back some remnant of his ancestors' power. I might still try to work in a similar storyline, but leave Mhach out of it.

I had forgotten the plot detail about Leviathan destroying Limsa Lominsa as well! That gives me some ideas for how to work in the Sahuagin, and how to begin the Allagan ruins exploration storyline too.

One thing I learned after poking around a bit in-game yesterday - it does seem that the aetheryte network is damaged somewhat, given that Revenant's Toll was taken completely offline by the Calamity. I didn't want to give my players easy access to teleportation until it made sense, so having this actually be something they can work towards might be a good way to encourage them to move around (running protection for Aetheryte reconstruction missions, and facing heavy resistance from Beast Tribes who want to take those sweet, sweet crystals for themselves.)

Again, thank you all!

[Enkidoh]

One thing I learned after poking around a bit in-game yesterday - it does seem that the aetheryte network is damaged somewhat, given that Revenant's Toll was taken completely offline by the Calamity. I didn't want to give my players easy access to teleportation until it made sense, so having this actually be something they can work towards might be a good way to encourage them to move around (running protection for Aetheryte reconstruction missions, and facing heavy resistance from Beast Tribes who want to take those sweet, sweet crystals for themselves.)

The original (1.0) aetheryte network was indeed completely destroyed during the Calamity - when you first sign up with the Moogle Delivery Service to use their inboxes the Delivery Moogle explains that is why the Moogles started a mail service in the first place, due to the sudden lack of communication (it wasn't just the aetherytes that were destroyed by the Calamity either - linkshells were also destroyed, an interesting explanation for why gameplay-wise player characters being transferred into ARR from 1.0 lost any linkshells they had active in 1.0).

Basically the aether released with Dalamud's fall/Bahamut's release and rampage and the... end result, caused the existing aetheryte and linkshell networks to explode into a mass of aetheric energy (hence the weird crystalline structure at the ruins of Camp Revenant's Toll where the aether that erupted from the aetheryte after exploding coalesced and crystallized). However it's not the only ruined aetheryte still surviving into the present day - Camp Riversmeet in the Coerthas Western Highlands still has it's original 1.0 aetheryte more or less intact, although it's still been rendered inoperable due to aetheric crystallization.

It's not entirely certain what happened to the remains of other aetherytes, although one other ruined 1.0 aetheryte camp still exists in game, albeit bereft of it's ruined aetheryte - the ruins of Camp Iron Lake next to the modern Camp Overlook in Outer La Noscea, but the remains of it's aetheryte are nowhere to be seen, suggesting that the citystates removed the remains of their old aetherytes sometime in the period following the Calamity. Another explanation is that... they might have actually started to actually levitate out of the ground (like the Floating City of Nym), as shown in this official concept art of a ruined 1.0 aetheryte camp with a levitating aetheryte that has been chained to the ground to stop it floating away. Sadly though, it seems that concept was not followed through in the actual game.

And finally, it was officially confirmed (here in fact ) that the new, current aetheryte network was funded by 'a group of certain influential Ul'dahan businessmen' (hence the fee you pay each time you use one - it's a tax that goes towards paying off the enormous debt the citystates incurred to these said businessmen to fund the reconstruction). This is after all why Vesper Bay never had an aetheryte built - it was a snub to Minfilia and the Scions of the Seventh Dawn because they refused to accept bribes from Lolorito (who owns, among other things, the East Aldenard Trading Company, the largest merchant/transport corporation in Eorzea), and thus instead of an aetheryte he had an ostentatious statue of himself erected there, effectively laying his own ego over the good of the realm.

Anyway, I hope that infodump wasn't too confusing for you.