Playable Moogles, and why I think it would actually work

[Terin]

Before someone comments on this being the wrong forum, I'm simply not high enough level to post in other forums, so here I remain for the time being :P

Now.... On to Moogle GLORY!!!

1. Why Moogles?

Frankly, Moogles are adorable, and every bit as iconic to the franchise as Chocobos. Not that there's any shortage of Moogles in the game, mind you, merely that being able to play one is something I think some fans have been hoping for in a game since FF6.

2. How would they even "work", wearing armor and using abilities?

I would have them display only your helmet, and your weapons would levitate by your side -- not completely unlike Sora's "Final Form" in KH2 (for anyone who played that game). Even with the most physical classes and jobs, Moogles would use their magic to wield their weapons for their various abilities.

3. Don't Lalafell already kind of cover the "cutesy" angel?

Well, sort of, but I think they're also very different. Humans and Miqo'te, for example, are quite similar, physically, save for a few minor distinctions, and I think Moogles and Lalafell are even more different. Plus, there's no way a Moogle would ever fit in a robe or suit of armor, so the distinctions would be even further evident.

4. What kind of customizations would they even have?

Honestly, their options wouldn't be nearly as robust as other races, but I think there's still room for variety. For one, they could easily incorporate tons of face-types, based on various incarnations (ie. the big-nose variant, seen in Kingdom Hearts), various fur types (smooth, rough, super-fluffy, or even "rubbery" fur), fur and pom-pom colors. I would even take it a step further, and have different types of pom-poms; Star and Moon shapes, maybe spikey-ball variations, just go crazy with it! (if you've ever played the Chao mini-game in Sonic Adventure 2, Chao are quite similar to Moogles but had a TON of Variety).

Biggest thing; more expressive faces.

If that weren't enough, another idea could be having a "Tribe" of Avarice-style Moogles. They're a little more humanoid, but still pretty awesome, and probably a little more traditional in how they could be implemented. I never played FF12, but when I saw their design, I knew that I liked it and wanted to see it again.

5. Do you really think Moogles are the best choice for a new race?

No. Surprise! I really don't think Moogles should be the immediate new race, because right now, more than anything, the game needs a more "serious-looking" race. I know people are clamoring for Viera, but I honestly think that would be a huge, huge mistake, as there isn't nearly enough visual-variety in the game. I'll probably post my own suggestion on that before too long, actually.

However, I *do* think Moogles should be added -- merely at *some* point in the future. They're crazy adorable, could have some pretty hilarious animations, and are iconic enough that I couldn't imagine a character I would want to play more -- especially seeing one riding atop a Fat Chocobo!!!

[Enkidoh]

It actually won't work, given the storyline and lore of FFXIV.

Here moogles are inhabitants of the Black Shroud only, and act as immediacies between the elementals and the 'spoken' races (that is, the playable races). They're naturally shy and don't normally like to appear to those they don't trust (in 1.0 after all, it was stated it was very rare to even see one, let alone communicate with one - to the point many used to think moogles didn't even exist).

After the Calamity Kan-E-Senna managed to convince the moogles to assist the city states with running the mail service (hence the Moogle Delivery Service). But that's really the limit of their interaction with others.

They also don't seem to be very mercenary - their culture appears to be very insular and mistrusting of outsiders, the exact opposite of the races of people who are naturally curious and industrious, hence adventuring makes an attractive career for hyur, miqo'te, roegadyn, lalafell and elezen, but for moogles... no.

[Terin]

Nothing a bit of story-development couldn't fix, though! I'm in kind of a "writing mood", so lemme take a stab at it...

After the defeat of Good King Moggle Mog, the Moogles are able to restore him to his true, benevolent self. Now, as Real Good King Moggle Mog, he feels the desire to redeem himself, and his people, for the havoc that they had caused while he was corrupted. As such, he asks for a handful of Moogles to volunteer themselves to redeem the name of Moogle-kind! Essentially, you, the player-controlled Moogle, would be among these volunteers, and as far as actual story goes, there would only be a handful who actually volunteered.

Not necessary a case of "becoming a mercenary", so much as being seeking to help the people of Eorzeo and undoing the damage of "Good" King Moggle Mog. Perhaps have a scene in which the rulers of Ul'dah publicly outlaw the hunting of Moogles, and that anyone who is caught will be thrown into the Colosseum.

[Niwashi]

In one of the opening cutscenes when starting the game (I think it was the Gridania one) your character sees a moogle and the moogle is surprised that you could see him. Apparently most people can't.

I'm not quite sure how the lore explanation fits that together with the existence of the Moogle Delivery Service. Perhaps whatever explanation is used for that could be extended to player characters. (E.g. Perhaps moogles can choose to be visible or not, but people with the Echo can see them regardless. Then player characters could be moogles who are choosing to be visible to everyone, just as the delivery moogles apparently are.)

It would require a bit of race-specific story exposition to explain them, and currently there isn't much in the game that's race-specific, but I don't think that would be insurmountable.

[Terin]

I mean, like I say, I certainly don't think it's something that needs adding to the game right away, but rather I think maybe a long, slow build-up could make it work. Maybe in like a year, we might see a town of nothing but Moogles, growing more comfortable with the people of Eorzea, and then a few months after that, maybe a few Moogle NPC's travel to some of the capitals. Don't just throw Playable Moogles in there and yell "Deal with it!", but slowly sort of incorporate them into the fiction a bit more, so if they *did* become playable, it would make sense.

Of course, there are probably many players that just don't think Moogles should ever be playable whatsoever, and that's a perfectly valid point of view, as well. I just think it's a very cool possibility to consider, and speaking purely for myself, I could absolutely see making one my main :P

[Enkidoh]

In one of the opening cutscenes when starting the game (I think it was the Gridania one) your character sees a moogle and the moogle is surprised that you could see him. Apparently most people can't.

I'm not quite sure how the lore explanation fits that together with the existence of the Moogle Delivery Service. Perhaps whatever explanation is used for that could be extended to player characters. (E.g. Perhaps moogles can choose to be visible or not, but people with the Echo can see them regardless. Then player characters could be moogles who are choosing to be visible to everyone, just as the delivery moogles apparently are.)

It would require a bit of race-specific story exposition to explain them, and currently there isn't much in the game that's race-specific, but I don't think that would be insurmountable.

It was indeed the Gridanian opening which featured the moogles on the carriage (where they invisibly drink the merchant's booze right under his nose!). And when you use the Moogle Delivery Service for the first time, the delivery moogle actually mentions how and why they're being used to run a postal service - the Calamity destroyed the original aetheryte network and linkshells, meaning lines of communication in the immediate aftermath were cut, hence the padjal of Gridania asked them to assist the rebuilding effort by using their abilities of diplomacy and arbitration to help establish a mail service between the citystates (the Beta version specifically mentioned it was actually Kan-E-Senna who was responsible for organizing the moogle mail service, but this was changed in the release version to simply 'the little horned ones' - ala, the padjal in general). In any event, it could kind of be seen as a Gridanian counterpart to how Ul'dah recreated the aetheryte network - Gridania was responsible for setting up the mail system using moogles.

If I remember rightly in version 1.0 there was a quest where a moogle actually revealed they keep themselves out of sight usually because in past time hunters used to actually hunt them to sell as 'exotic animals' to rich Ul'dahns, so now they try to remain hidden for their own protection. Not to mention their language was stated as being generally unintelligible to most people, other than those with the Echo, although this last point has been mostly retconned in ARR. It basically all points to the fact that moogles will never be a playable race in FFXIV.

[Terin]

Yeah, I'd read about that as well. I figure with some storytelling-magic, though, you can make almost anything work. I definitely don't think they *will* be playable, but I could they would be awesome if they ever were :P

[Slatervonjager]

Making moogles a playable race wont happen, and shouldn't happen. It's lore breaking, just like it would be lore breaking to make Panjali playable.

[Urthdigger]

As much as I would love playable moogles (A look at my sig would reveal as such), I do realize they wouldn't work in this game for reasons others have stated. It just wouldnt' work lore-wise. In addition, they would likely have to be a form similar to the Ivalice version, to allow for weapons and armor.

Now, if there WERE a race of Ivalice-style moogle adventurers from a far off land... well, I still have like three bottles of Fantasia stockpiled for the day.

[Adrian74]

Moogles from XII was my favorite design. I wonder why they didn't continue it.

Actually a race like that wouldn't be bad.. They could give another name, and add it. They had much more customization than actual moggles... So they would fit more. (To be honest, playing with a moogle here would be similar to playing with a chocobo...).


PS: Urthdigger-san, Montblanc in FFXII was my favorite too!... Oh, and I still using the Eorzeapedia, awesome, I was impressed after the implementation of 2.2 seeing how fast you guys actualized it. I hope you keep it like that, and thanks for it!