Limsa Lominsa - A Question on Modern History

[Mysterysword]

So having begun writing fanfiction of my own, I've been researching the recent timeline of Eorzean history. I've run into a problem in that I'm attempting to write about events that took place within the 30 years before the events of 2.0.

With that in mind, one of my minor characters is planned as a member of the Rogues' Guild, sometime between 1547 and 1552 of the Sixth Astral Era. Of course, the problem with that is that I'm not even sure the guild existed at that time, since I don't think Merlwyb was Admiral at the time. I can rewrite the character to fit the timeline, but if any Lominsan history buffs could clear things up for me, that would be great. I do especially want to know if the Code the rogues uphold was in existence during this time period.

[Anonymoose]

Merlwyb won the Trident (a three-pronged no-rules ship race) to assume the admiral's chair not long after 1562, when Commodore Sthalmann arranged the assassination of her predecessor in a failed coup. I'm not sure how long that guy was in charge, though I don't believe we got a name, either way.

The Rogues' Guild existed... in a sense. The rise of the guilds is tied to the Age of Calm (1562 to 1572, after the Battle of Silvertear Skies forced the Empire to retreat to Ala Mhigo and hold that position for want of a way to combat the primals). Before this, there still was a group of dexterous dagger-wielders stalking the shadows of Limsa Lominsa, ensuring that the pirates' code was kept... but they weren't "rogues", they were thieves. (The Upright Thieves was the official name, though even then some believed they were just a legend.)

Merlwyb's ascendancy led to a lot of changes that downplayed underworld factors and made things seem more legitimate. For example, piracy was outlawed (on paper) to bolster the legitimacy of the actual city-state government. Not all obeyed, of course. They was some push and pull to keep things in balance. But I digress. This is the excuse for XIV not having Thief - the Upright Thieves are gone; how could such a group be allowed to exist when piracy is outlawed and the Maelstrom has been established? (I didn't say it was an ironclad excuse.)

[Mysterysword]

Thanks, that's just what I needed to know. I'll also assume that the Adventurer Guilds didn't exist either, although there were people who took up the lifestyle back then. Speaking of the events of 1562, however, did 1.0 begin in 1562? I'm only drawing this conclusion based on the fact that the opening cutscene for Ul'dah, in 1.0, took place in 1562, but I'm still not sure.

[Anonymoose]

I'll also assume that the Adventurer Guilds didn't exist either, although there were people who took up the lifestyle back then.

Correct. Until the fall of Ala Mhigo in 1557, the city-states didn't really rely on official, standing armies. There were, however, a ton of hedge knights, sellswords, and mercenary companies. After the aforementioned armies were raised, however, it put all of these individuals out of work. As you can imagine, it wasn't a smooth transition, as out-of-work mercs are only a few bad days away from becoming regular old bandits.

Before the chaos got too, too bad, the realm's leaders helped establish a system of guilds, giving rise to the slightly-more-noble, definitely-more-organized adventuring lifestyle. Baderon's own father, a mercenary captain, established the Adventurers' Guild (and Baderon kept on mercing until he took over the Drowning Wench). This all got rolling between 1557 and 1563-ish.

Now, that's not to say that all of the establishments that are now guilds suddenly appeared at the same time in 1562. Naldiq & Vymelli's forges, now home to the ARM and BSM guilds, for example, has been there for a very long time. What changed was that adventurers were admitted and their training was structured; for some places, this was simply a new layer of apprenticeships. The Adventurers' Guild oversaw these introductions and interactions, while also creating the guildleve system to handle anyone and everyone's "Help Wanted" ads for mercs. This also ensured that adventurers who weren't reliable or trustworthy were essentially blackballed from the system.

Speaking of the events of 1562, however, did 1.0 begin in 1562? I'm only drawing this conclusion based on the fact that the opening cutscene for Ul'dah, in 1.0, took place in 1562, but I'm still not sure.

Kind of. All of 1.0 took place in 1572, but pretty much all of the story until you joined the Path of the Twelve was actually you having Echoes of 1562. Before joining Minfilia, all you did in the present day was wander around town having visions, passing out, and frightening people until someone finally recognized what was wrong with you.

[Mysterysword]

So does that mean that fights which take place in Echo visions really meant that the player character was swinging at thin air in reality? It's a wonder we didn't land ourselves in an asylum.

Are the Adventurers' Guilds of the 3 cities are also considered separate guilds? And were they established at different times?

[Anonymoose]

So does that mean that fights which take place in Echo visions really meant that the player character was swinging at thin air in reality?

The Echo worked a little differently back then. You'd be drawn away from reality entirely and the Echo would resonate with another's memory to re-create a moment in time. You could interact with it however you wanted, but you couldn't change the past. For that span, time outside of your vision was (relative to your perception) frozen. Usually, it would last as long as the NPC triggering your Echo would need to have the thought that triggered it in the first place, and then suddenly collect themselves. It didn't get weird until you started to get overwhelmed by it - lagging out and standing there glassy-eyed, or getting a terrible headache and/or passing out.

Are the Adventurers' Guilds of the 3 cities are also considered separate guilds? And were they established at different times?

Different chapters of the same overall guild. There's a new chapter that's just getting established in Mor Dhona when you arrive. I'm not 100% on the timing, since the information can (seemingly?) get a little contradictory. It's possible they were all existing taverns before the guilds got there, or perhaps the guilds established the taverns. I'll dig around a bit and see if I can find anything.