NPCs refering to our character's age

[Leowilde]

Not sure if the lore forum is the right section for this, but it was the closest I could find. Please redirect me if I'm wrong.

Anyway, Hyur and Elezen both have an old/mature face to choose when creating a character. In addition, players can tweak their characters to look older with grey hair and such.

I play an older elezen (see my avatar picture or signature), and I'm not the only one. But quite often, NPCs will refer to him as young. Young, I imagine, as in 20-30 years or so. My character looks to be maybe 50+.

When there's an option to create an aged character, it strikes me as a bit wrong to always be refered to as "young" "wise for your young age", "young adventurer" etc.

Or is it just me...?

[Enur]

The young might be a reference to your time spent on a certain profession. While my Hellsguard looks well up in his fifties he is a "young" carpenter.

Or the localisation team made it that way due to the "Young hero" trope.

[Zojha]

Or the localisation team made it that way due to the "Young hero" trope.

Pretty sure it's more along these lines - they expect you to be young. And appearance-wise, they're right 99 times out of 100, because we don't have a great many "old" options. I consider the few who use the old options "collateral damage" of that.

[TinyRedLeaf]

It's probably worth noting that FFXIV is significantly different from other titles in the franchise, in that many of its key characters are in their 20s and above. Most of the Scions, notably, are in their mid- to late-20s, if not in their 30s. For that reason, I've been quite comfortable imagining my character to be in his 20s as well. Lyland, in my mind, arrived in Eorzea in the autumn of his 20th year, and is now 23.

The trope in anime and JRPG is that of characters being considered over-the-hill by the time they're 20. Heck, they're ancient by the time they're 29, and are, for most intents and purposes, already in retirement by that age. I'm glad that FFXIV is generally bucking the trend.

[Leowilde]

It's probably worth noting that FFXIV is significantly different from other titles in the franchise, in that many of its key characters are in their 20s and above. Most of the Scions, notably, are in their mid- to late-20s, if not in their 30s. For that reason, I've been quite comfortable imagining my character to be in his 20s as well. Lyland, in my mind, arrived in Eorzea in the autumn of his 20th year, and is now 23.

The trope in anime and JRPG is that of characters being considered over-the-hill by the time they're 20. Heck, they're ancient by the time they're 29, and are, for most intents and purposes, already in retirement by that age. I'm glad that FFXIV is generally bucking the trend.

That's a good point, and I'm glad young does not have to equal 13 years. I still wish they were a bit more broad in their phrasing, as I'm left feeling I'm not playing who I should be playing. :/

[Eloah]

If you become a lala you'd be forever young, XD. Just look at Papalymo, his close to 50, 48 I believe, book's at home sorry. But how old does he look, honestly. I think for the most part all adventurers are 20 or older, since 20 is a significant age in Japan.

[Lukha]

Well, to be fair, adventuring really isn't an elderly person's passtime, for the most part. It's very taxing and dangerous. There's even a couple of NPCs (An elderly Elezen and a Doman man) in the Rising Stones who discuss it. They do what they can, but that's unfortunately not a great deal at their age, what with their backs aching and joints getting stiff on damp nights (Which is when the best hunting is!).

And then you have our dear Scions, who are actually on the older side and concealing it with high-grade Sharlyan cosmetics XD. One of these days I'd like to catch Thancred complaining about his back and hastily trying to cover it up when he realizes you were listening.

[Nestama]

Wouldn't you have to be 70-100+ to be considered elderly, though? 40-50 is more along the lines of midlife, or 'Veteran Adventurer.'

[TinyRedLeaf]

^ We don't really know the life expectancy of the average Eorzean, though. In the real world, most people up until the 20th century could only expect to live to about 35 or so, before war, famine or disease claimed them. Life was harsh, and people were forced to "grow up" a lot sooner, shouldering "adult" responsibilities by their mid-teens. Heck, Alexander the Great was only 20 when he became the King of Macedonia, and by the time he was 30, he had conquered the known world. So, yes, there is good reason why a 30-year-old would be considered an antediluvian in a mediaeval setting.

[Leowilde]

^ We don't really know the life expectancy of the average Eorzean, though. In the real world, most people up until the 20th century could only expect to live to about 35 or so, before war, famine or disease claimed them. Life was harsh, and people were forced to "grow up" a lot sooner, shouldering "adult" responsibilities by their mid-teens. Heck, Alexander the Great was only 20 when he became the King of Macedonia, and by the time he was 30, he had conquered the known world. So, yes, there is good reason why a 30-year-old would be considered an antediluvian in a mediaeval setting.

Aegis is seen by the NPCs as completely ancient if that's the case. :S