So what is a Hrothgar?

[Penthea]

Don't recall them being "badly received," if anything, the fact that one of the main NPCs was a female Roegadyn when there was only males available being a talking point. People just requested for the opposite genders of the spiritual successors of XI since they were remaking the game anyway.

Man I didn't even play FFXI and I heard about the gender locking being badly received before I played FFXIV. I really wonder how you managed to avoid seeing criticisms about it.

It's as plain as day that the really vocal people in that thread want male viera and if you think that's not an underlying motive to push for "unlocking" possible genderlocked races you're being willfully obtuse.

I'm being obtuse? SE released male viera concept art for HW. At one point they were planning to put them as a playable race and gender combo in the game. Now that you know this, do you still think it is obtuse to ask for the male viera now that female viera have been announced? Currently the playerbase feels it is getting only half of what they have been waiting years for.

The simplest reason is because viera are not a creation of XIV. They are immigrated from another different story, game, whatever- where females are the primary representatives of that setting and males have not played any part in it. Not to say that they can't simply write-them in with some weak Deus ex Machina that comes out of nowehere, but I admit I'd respect the devs more if they adhered to the source game they borrowed them from.

And yet the image I linked above shows that SE had intended to make male viera playable. It is definitely not outside the realms of possibility. Not just because SE own all the lore and they can do what they want with it, but also because there is proof that they wanted players to be able to be male viera.

By the way miqo'te and roegadyn are pretty much immigrated from FFXI. In 1.0 they had the exact same gender locking as their FFXI counterparts. Even the elezen and lalafells are just newer versions of the elvaan and tarutaru. Tataru's name is most likely a nod to the tarutaru race.

So now that you know this as well, have you now lost respect for the devs because they removed lore-based gender locking during the life cycle of FFXIV with races heavily inspired by FFXI's gender locked races?

[Shougun]

Don't get me wrong I think ronso are really cool. I always wished that SE explored their lore more in the FFX games. However they are essentially cat people and we already have that. I don't fancy the idea of having the cute cats and the bad ass cats. I'd rather we get a race based on a different animal so that all the races can stand on their own.

I agree there could be something more "unique" but at the same time I'd totally switch my race to Ronso if that was a thing and I've been the same race .. and look since FFXIV beta (technically the beta was on another account but w.e I've never changed me looks).

Also strictly imo, Ronso > Miqote.

To be honest, since so many players liked Lupin perhaps the Hrothgar will borrow traits from both wolves and lions? Perhaps they will be like Miquote in that they can select between a more canine and feline subrace? I don't think that in FFXIV they'll come with horns directly protruding from their foreheads though, since that would render some horns for Summoner and the PVP one for Bard unwearable.

Yeah I'm doubting the horn as well but I'd take it if it was there, I like it lol.

Correct me if I am wrong here but didn't the devs state at one time that the racial choices for our character would always be Human-like, particularly when it came to the face? And the reason for this was that the conflict between the Races of Man and the Beast Tribes is a major plot point in the game? That Miqo'te, Au Ra and Viera show how far they would go in giving us a player race with bestial features? Wouldn't that leave the Ronso out?

In the other thread we thought that it might being a bit like Pantera/Lupis from BLESS:


Which would give it a bit of a Miqote vibe, but imo the above > miqote as well so .. eh lol. Not trying to knock people who like miqote but I've never had a desire to be them, but I would be the Pantera or Ronso.

[Berethos]

There's an awful lot of non-Hrothgar talk in this thread that is ostensibly about Hrothgar. Maybe take it back to the other thread that is specifically about gender locking?

Back to the actual topic - I'm getting serious Dwarven vibes from that name...or Viking-esque bigger races (on account of the name coming from Old Norse and being a Danish King that appears in the Beowulf and Widsith epics, as well as other Norse sagas), but we basically have that to a degree with Roegadyn as it is...at least the big strong race part of it.

Either that or a red herring name provided to obfuscate the actual race name. Honestly, Hrothgar strongly suggests an individual or a place-name to me and not really the name of an entire race, unless it's meant to be indicative of a culture that is reminiscent of the culture represented by the Danes in Beowulf...even then it feels like it would be an odd choice for a name of a race based on said culture.

[Cidel]

Man I didn't even play FFXI and I heard about the gender locking being badly received before I played FFXIV. I really wonder how you managed to avoid seeing criticisms about it.

Easy, I actually played the game and didn't see people constantly complaining about being unable to be a male Mithra. Maybe because I frequented actual gameplay discussion boards and not outlets centered around frivolous griping, which was not as mainstream back then, I guess.

By the way miqo'te and roegadyn are pretty much immigrated from FFXI. In 1.0 they had the exact same gender locking as their FFXI counterparts. Even the elezen and lalafells are just newer versions of the elvaan and tarutaru. Tataru's name is most likely a nod to the tarutaru race.

So now that you know this as well, have you now lost respect for the devs because they removed lore-based gender locking during the life cycle of FFXIV with races heavily inspired by FFXI's gender locked races?

I've always known; this isn't news. And the whole initial draw of XIV's starting races was playing on the racial familiarity of the previous ones from XI, right down to the initial gender lock of the Mithra and Galka. It's as clear as day that they're spiritual successors/homages to XI right from the get go- and they are both the online games of the Final Fantasy numbered franchise. So... A rather fairly moot point.

[redcurrant18]

Someone PLEASE make as much art of female Hrothgar and male Viera as possible so we can post them on the forums and show the devs that WE DO NOT WANT GENDER LOCKED RACES.

Since I've been posting a lot of male Viera on the other thread, have what will hopefully be a future playable female Hrothgar that someone else has drawn:

[Shougun]

Either that or a red herring name provided to obfuscate the actual race name. Hrothgar strongly suggests an individual or a place-name and not really the name of an entire race, unless it's meant to be indicative of a culture that is reminiscent of the culture represented by the Danes in Beowulf...even then it feels like it would be an odd choice for a name of a race based on said culture.

One thing to keep in mind, I think, is that the Ronso is the race name yes? Ronso is also all their lasts names. Khimari Ronso, Kelk Ronso, etc, etc.

So you might say ... Hrothgar is a name, why would it be a race name? Well Ronso clearly did just that .

Also happens that Hrothgar besides being a bit of a cold name also references a dude really good with spears, a main weapon for Kimahri. Could be coincident though.

Someone PLEASE make as much art of female Hrothgar and male Viera as possible so we can post them on the forums and show the devs that WE DO NOT WANT GENDER LOCKED RACES.

Since I've been posting a lot of male Viera on the other thread, have what will hopefully be a future playable female Hrothgar that someone else has drawn:

That picture is beautiful mate.... I may even switch my gender at that point lol.

[redcurrant18]

There's an awful lot of non-Hrothgar talk in this thread that is ostensibly about Hrothgar. Maybe take it back to the other thread that is specifically about gender locking?

Back to the actual topic - I'm getting serious Dwarven vibes from that name...or Viking-esque bigger races (on account of the name coming from Old Norse and being a Danish King that appears in the Beowulf and Widsith epics, as well as other Norse sagas), but we basically have that to a degree with Roegadyn as it is...at least the big strong race part of it.

Either that or a red herring name provided to obfuscate the actual race name. Honestly, Hrothgar strongly suggests an individual or a place-name to me and not really the name of an entire race, unless it's meant to be indicative of a culture that is reminiscent of the culture represented by the Danes in Beowulf...even then it feels like it would be an odd choice for a name of a race based on said culture.

Dwarves in Final Fantasy are more associated with lava/volcanoes than snowy mountains if the other games in the series are any indication. Maybe that ruined castle in the artwork for Shadowbringers was their old kingdom maybe? The dwarves of FF9 did live on a mountain in a desert like area, but it was anything but cold there.

[Daralii]

Hrothgar sounds like a placeholder development name. It doesn't "feel" like it belongs with the other races, especially since it carries real world connotations with it.
Though because of that I wonder if they're based on Scandinavian history, with braided hair and vikings and all that jazz.

A lion with braided hair does sound familiar though.

[/img]

In the Danish version of the myth, his name is Roe instead. That bridge was crossed a while ago.

[Iscah]

Hrothgar sounds like a placeholder development name. It doesn't "feel" like it belongs with the other races, especially since it carries real world connotations with it.

On a curious note regarding that reference, I did notice this line in the section on the name origin:

The form Hrōðgār is thought to have derived from the proto-Norse *Hrōþigaizaz[3] "famous spear", i.e. Roger.

...which at the time just sent me thinking how odd name variants can be - "Roger" doesn't remotely conjure up the fierce Viking image that "Hrothgar" does.

But then my mind was drifting somewhere around that thought and it occurred to me: what's the one fictional character I know named Roger? - which is, as coincidence might have it, one that brings us right back to male rabbits.


The separate listing to Viera and other descriptive quote make it unlikely to be deliberate, but it's still rather curious.

[YatoShishi]

Iam really curious! Cant wait to see what happens next fanfest!