Conception Lore

[Kyran-Varlsen]

Honestly, given that Gegeruju is a Lalafell himself, I'm a bit surprised that there aren't MORE Lalafel gals in his employ. I guess he's got a fetish for other races? But, yeah, there's definitely a Lala dancer among the NPCs on the Hidden Falls docks. I became well acquainted with all of them, during the time I spent trying to catch that damn Bombardfish! XD

And no need to apologize. Even if it doesn't precisely qualify as "lore", the meta stuff is still interesting and worth talking about!

Alright thanks. Still, sexual fetish considerations aside, I don't think we have much more to go on in speculating possible cross-species compatibility when it comes to conception. I would not rule out that the developers may introduce a new race in the next expansion if it is thought that this will bring in new players. With said race introduced maybe new backstory on possible conception combinations will be considered. They could bring back the Viera (the bunny people) which originated in Final Fantasy 13 as a female only race. They were originally on the table for Heavensward where male Viera would have been included but the Au Ra won out in the end. Though I think the Guado from Final Fantasy X would be better as the Viera are too similar to the Miqo'te and Au Ra. Lest we forget, the Guado bore many similarities to the Elezan and did also produce a hybrid in the form of the character Seymour. Or we could just make do with a revamped version of the Aegyl, bird people from Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, though they would need to have their wings clipped to fit in normal armor and perhaps add feathers across more portions of their bodies to make them distinct from Hyur.

With the Guado we can get a humanoid that is distinct enough from the Hyur, who are already almost copied by the Miqo'te and Au Ra, while only slightly infringing on Elezan features. They certainly don't need to be as tall as the Elezan, those Ishgardian knights we fight alongside are hulking warriors indeed compared to a small hyur like my own character.

[WhiteArchmage]

Pssst, the Viera in XII were never female-only lorewise, they were female-only in the sense that we only see females but their society is actually very segregated to the point that males and females live in separate villages and only get together to mate. Meta-wise, we only see female viera because...well, bunny girls = boner money.

Yoshi-P already confirmed no new races for Stormblood, but since the demand for playable Viera is pretty overwhelming AND they already have concept art, they could change their minds for 5.0 given enough support.

[Kyran-Varlsen]

Pssst, the Viera in XII were never female-only lorewise, they were female-only in the sense that we only see females but their society is actually very segregated to the point that males and females live in separate villages and only get together to mate. Meta-wise, we only see female viera because...well, bunny girls = boner money.

Yoshi-P already confirmed no new races for Stormblood, but since the demand for playable Viera is pretty overwhelming AND they already have concept art, they could change their minds for 5.0 given enough support.

Oh, well that is certainly news to consider. I would never have known that male Viera existed due to how torpid the story telling in XIII was. Though I do hope the developers find a way to streamline patch 2.55 content before they add a new race into the mix for new players. Heavensward was prepared for veteran level 50 players to start their new journey at lvl 50. Since this is certainly no longer the case because new players will often jump into HW content already at lvl 54 or 55 then they should do what World of Warcraft did and ensure dynamic zone leveling tailored to each player so that players are never fighting lower level enemies for long. More accessible gear for higher level players would also be appreciated. Maybe a new addition to the Smith system?

As for the Viera, I just feel like they don't bring anything new to the table. perhaps if they make them as tall as Elezan with less Hyurian characteristics than say the Miqo'te or the Au Ra it will fit better into the game's more neatly.

[Mysteltain]

I'd rather not have Viera in the game, as well. This game already borrows from FFXI's races (in terms of general forms), barring the Au'ra, as far as I know. I never played the game, myself, so please correct me if I'm wrong.

Although, speaking of Au'ra, do we know when their horns and scales develop? Because if they begin to develop to some extent in the womb, then I would imagine that female Au'ra would have specifically evolved to be able to birth horned and scaled children without undue harm being caused to them during labor (beyond the pains of giving birth, to begin with). As such, I'd have a hard time believing that a female of any other race could bear a child with a male Au'ra without having severe complications.

[PArcher]

Although, speaking of Au'ra, do we know when their horns and scales develop? Because if they begin to develop to some extent in the womb, then I would imagine that female Au'ra would have specifically evolved to be able to birth horned and scaled children without undue harm being caused to them during labor (beyond the pains of giving birth, to begin with). As such, I'd have a hard time believing that a female of any other race could bear a child with a male Au'ra without having severe complications.

Considering scales are actually just specialized skin cells, its likely they're there before birth; just softer and smaller until they get older.

The horns are probably acquired like many other animals that have them; they start out as small, hard "bumps" on the skull and grow as they mature. I'm 99% sure there as a dev post about the horns being able to heal/regrow if damaged, so they could also just be another type of scale that grows over time (which would start out small and soft and harden over time)

Other big problem with anything X Au Ra/Mi'qote is their tails...this probably prevents crossbreeding in-and-of-itself...

[MeowingKittens]

Other big problem with anything X Au Ra/Mi'qote is their tails...this probably prevents crossbreeding in-and-of-itself...

Not necessarily. Even humans, early in embryonic development, have things such as tails and webbed fingers and toes; it's just that they're reabsorbed/destoyed later on for the vast majority of us. There are people out there who are legit born with webbed fingers or vestigal tails. I'd imagine in Eorzea, such cross bredding cases might cause issues, for example something like a Hyur being born with a small vestigal tail, or a manx-like Mi'qote. Not every major difference would automatically make every embyro non-viable, but I will say it's highly likely to be a factor, and I am of the mind the rareness of Hybrids in this universe isn't soley due to cultural taboo, and that chromosomal differences play a role as well.

Take breeding of Donkeys and Horses, who have different numbers of chomosomes. A mule is easier to produce than a hinny, and they are differences between them, even though the only difference at the breeding level is the parent's genders. The different physiology in the various races of Hydaelyn might end up with similar results among potential offspring; not all embyos are viable, some pairings may have higher conception rates (and possibly related to parent's gender), and the final offspring may very well end up sterile.

To add to that, physical size between pairings may not even be a major factor in viability in and of itself. Take the Savannah cat; a serval is about twice the height and weight of the average domestic cat (maine coons and norwegian forest cats notwithstanding). The difficulties in breeding an F1 Savannah come not from sheer size difference, but from the different gestation periods (combined with pickiness with mates). So an offspring between a Roe and Lala may not necessarily be out of the realm of possibility by sheer size default, for example.

[Melichoir]

If the species all have a common ancestor, and are a product of Divergent evolution or genetic manipulation, then it should be conceivable for all of them to interbreed. Whether that offspring is genetically viable to have children themselves is another question. It might be why interbreeding is rare or frowned upon.

In regards to 'size', thats going to boil down to aesthetics and function. Where a horse has a large part, that stems from the physical limitations of horses needing reach, while human size proportions are likely related to selective breeding. If they have a common ancestor, it's possible for all males to have similar sizing, unless some of it was bred out. Not likely, since we see Lalafell women pining over taller men. And same in reverse for lalafell men.

And with real world example of woman with dwarfism having children, it shouldnt be a stretch for lalafell to have the same potential with any taller race. Though magic assistance might be a necessity in childbirth

[Kyran-Varlsen]

I summon the fell powers of necromancy to raise this thread from the dead!

Also, there is apparently a partial-cannon confirmation that Au Ra and Hyur are able to interbreed. In the Ruby Sea we come across the legend of the Fisherman who befreind a Kojin, saved an Au Ra Raen Princess and then married her. An oral account of this union states that there had even been children who were noted to have almost no scales.

This does not answer the question of whether these half-breeds are fertile or not. However, if the line of Ruby Princesses is unbroken then it stands to reason that the stated offspring had yet more children whose decedents later became indistinguishable from normal Au Ra Raen.

While it is possible that this is just a tale among a given peoples, I believe that it is more likely in the context of the story woven before us that this was indeed true where it concerned the union and the offspring. The fertility of said children is still open to speculation however.

Also, if Hyur can interbreed with Elezan and Au Ra then can Elezan and Au Ra interbreed? Would seem odd otherwise, whatever biologically makes them compatible with human/hyur physiology should also connect across their own respective races.

[Lego3400]

I summon the fell powers of necromancy to raise this thread from the dead!.

We also have what appears to be a Half Hyur half Roe hybrid as well in the MSQ, one of the returning minor Scions we see in the MSQ introduces himself has a "Halfbreed"

[Kyran-Varlsen]

We also have what appears to be a Half Hyur half Roe hybrid as well in the MSQ, one of the returning minor Scions we see in the MSQ introduces himself has a "Halfbreed"

I thought when he (Arenvald) said that he was just referring to a mixed Hyurian heritage. I didn't read it as Arenvald being anything other than a Hyurian Highlander. It was quick and I might have glossed over the text but that was my take.

That said, I found it odd that he would bother to identify as half Ala Mhigan as though it where something people should be on notice about. Maybe something was lost in translation? Half-breed has negative connotations in English but maybe the Japanese transcript was held in a different light.

Oh wait, here it is - he is half Garlean with his mother being Ala Mhigan. Considering standard Garlean "policies" towards civilian populations I think it a small chance that the union between his parents was a.... happy one:
http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...ean-half-breed

I can see now why he would broach the matter in a negative manner... Truly FF14 does have it's dark moment amidst its lighter tones.