Questions related to Lore

[OskarHelvig]

Oskar Helvig: while I know you are certainly familiar with gamerescape and our wiki, just in case you hadn't seen, we've managed to compile a great deal of the dialogue from the sidequests. See the Plot Details category. Not to say that your specific questions will be answered, but for all the RPGers out there, there is quite a bit of lore in these sidequests.

Thanks for the link and info, the wiki is a great tool. That said, SE should still be able to offer lore freely without the players going in there and forming a network/wiki, and literally copy/pasting whatever tidbits there are in quests. I am glad that people have done that, as I could read through at my leisure.

We already know much about the answers to question 1-3 just from talking to many NPCs in Eorzea, which should be obligatory to any roleplayer who wants to know more about the world his or her character is going to live in.
I don't want the lore to be handed to me on a silver platter, thank you.

Aside from the condescending tone, I disagree with you pretty much throughout your post. Just to clarify once more, as mentioned in the OP these questions do not belong only to myself, but rather certain individuals in the RP community. I think that such basic questions /should/ be handed to us on a silver platter. It's unreasonable to expect someone to play though most of the game's content and only THEN form a comprehensive character concept. A RPer should be able to read about the lore details before even rolling a character, in order to make a decision on what kind of race/clan/religion/city state/etc they should be from. The other major concern of the RP community is that the answers are not always clear. For example, a quest might mention something in passing, but we are left to wonder if that bit of info applies to everything or just that specific situation. This is why clear answers from SE are needed.

About 7...I totally disagree with you.
Especially as a role player you should be bound to your character and play through every situation.
We also can have just as many characters as we want and pay for only one, because we pay only for the one "active".
So if you really get bored of one character you made (which is poor design, btw) you can just switch to another one after a month.
Just my personal opinion though.

Again, do not disagree with /me/ since I didn't ask the question, disagree with the question. The reason why someone may wish to have multiple characters is not to play them as mains, but rather as stand ins for story purposes. Other people just do not wish to RP a single character, and I don't think it's fair for you to tell them how they aught to play in order to enjoy their game time. In most cases though, multiple characters are needed to play out a story in a way that's more believable. You can RP with an empty space as I describe a side character to you, or you can actually see the model and interact with it, which do you think is better?

Let's grow wiser, curb our ignorance, and also...

#devswewantanswers

[Deli]

I think the new quest at pug guild - There Might Be Blood suggests the current Coliseum owner is dating a lala. So I guess inter-race dating is ok...

it feels weird, feel so wrong for some weird reason. (smex with under?)
but I want that bull armor set :O!

[Loggos]

Got my "like". I'd really like to know more about the average world view - e.g. do different races share different opinions about certain issues? Do the Mi'qotes worship other Gods of the row of The Twelve than Lalafells?
I really like that we can gain access information by quests and I think this should be enhanced more. What I really like about quests is the storyline because actions become repetitive quickly (go there, collect this, kill that, lead x to y) which I consider natural for a video game though (can't do much more than your keyboard/controller allows you). With the stories provided the quest or game becomes like an "interactive book".

Like I said, we already have that but I think this should be enhanced more deeply, maybe some "bigger side quests" or "important side quests" that also contain cut scenes and the like (probably not managable for now but maybe for future patches/ 2.0? )

Edit: In the Miner's guild in Ul'dah some Elezen was crazy about the Mi'qote dancer and another in there Mi'qote flirted with mine (making clear that I'm a girl) just like a Hyuran girl in the ship to Limsa (story opening) who does the same. So I guess it is not only interracial connections that are somehwat accept but also those with same gender (at least I have not met a char that spoke negatively about it).

[Baxter]

I think races can interbreed. I forget the quest, but there is one with a half hume half elezen I think.

[Nabiri]

I especially want an answer to question number 7.
Characters being $3 each is very hard to afford. I don't enjoy a MMO unless I have multiple characters to RP on.
As things are right now it looks like I won't be able to enjoy this game very much because I'll have to get rid of some. :\

$3 is just far too much. $1 each I could handle.

[Verence]

There's bountiful evidence for interracial relationships but absolutely 0 for interracial offspring. Just off the top of my head, the Ul'dah intro CS's show a Hyur flirting with a receptive Miqo'te and Elezen, the Ul'dah airship docks feature a Miqo'te and Hyur husband and wife, and the weaver guild CS's feature an Elezen woman with Hyur, Miqo'te, and Lalafell adoptive daughters. I'm sure there are other examples.

As to whether interracial couples can have children? Jury's out. Nothing's said. We can guess based on circumstantial evidence but it's just guesses. Personally, I think it'd make a whole lot more sense for a variety of reasons if they couldn't (or at least if it was a very uncommon event due to biological reasons), but a hard line from SE would be nice.

I'd also be interested in more info on the history of the races. It just seems so sparse. We know the Keepers of the Moon lived off to themselves in Twelveswood seclusion - how did they deal with the Elementals and Greenswrath? How did this color their views of the Twelve, if they held any? How did that WORK? And don't get me started on the Duskwight or Hellsguard...

[OskarHelvig]

Got my "like". I'd really like to know more about the average world view - e.g. do different races share different opinions about certain issues? Do the Mi'qotes worship other Gods of the row of The Twelve than Lalafells?
I really like that we can gain access information by quests and I think this should be enhanced more. What I really like about quests is the storyline because actions become repetitive quickly (go there, collect this, kill that, lead x to y) which I consider natural for a video game though (can't do much more than your keyboard/controller allows you). With the stories provided the quest or game becomes like an "interactive book".

Like I said, we already have that but I think this should be enhanced more deeply, maybe some "bigger side quests" or "important side quests" that also contain cut scenes and the like (probably not managable for now but maybe for future patches/ 2.0? )

Edit: In the Miner's guild in Ul'dah some Elezen was crazy about the Mi'qote dancer and another in there Mi'qote flirted with mine (making clear that I'm a girl) just like a Hyuran girl in the ship to Limsa (story opening) who does the same. So I guess it is not only interracial connections that are somehwat accept but also those with same gender (at least I have not met a char that spoke negatively about it).

While some interactions here and there, tidbits of lore from levequests or NPCs is alright - you really cannot say with certainty if for example same gender dating is okay, or is it just the fact that they are *coughs* workers of a certain kind, and are willing to do whatever for the Gil. This is why official lore from SE, a clear account of how things are, as opposed to (what can be seen as) bias views of in game characters, is very much needed.

[Felis]

Got my "like". I'd really like to know more about the average world view - e.g. do different races share different opinions about certain issues? Do the Mi'qotes worship other Gods of the row of The Twelve than Lalafells?

From the Miqo'te description:

The self-proclaimed Seekers of the Sun are the diurnal clan of the Miqo'te race. Their preference for the warm light of day pervades all aspects of their culture, as is apparent in their devout reverence for Azeyma the Warden, goddess of the sun.

The nocturnal among the Miqo'te have dubbed themselves the Keepers of the Moon. Shying from the garish light of day, they revel in the shroud of night, with most offering their piety to Menphina the Lover, goddess of the moon.

[Mho]

I'd like to hear a few more lore tidbits from SE myself. It's true that a roleplayer's character learns and changes and adjusts their worldviews in response to what they learn about the larger world (often from quest NPC dialogue!). This actually works great if you're roleplaying the character the game presents you - a random adventurer from a far-flung Somewhere Else who knows nothing of Eorzea. But it would be awfully boring if everyone roleplayed THAT character - we'd all have more or less the same backstory! And since nothing more is said on the topic, who's to say where Somewhere Else is, or what it's like?

A lot of people opt to roleplay characters native to the city-states, and it's not really practical to say they know nothing and learn as they go, talking to random people around town. If a character was born and raised somewhere, they really ought to know a few things, even things people on random street corners won't blabber about at random! It doesn't really work to say we ought to be able to pick up everything we need for roleplay from NPC dialogue. We need another source, an out-of-character source so that we, as roleplayers, can be informed on behalf of our characters who really ought to know these things.

Often we'll solve this problem by making things up and if it's plausible and appropriate, everyone plays along with it. Roleplayers actually generate a lot of their own "lore" just by roleplaying and it can really enrich the setting! This can make problems though, if someone comes up with something that others just don't think belongs there. When this happens, people will usually do the polite thing to keep things running smoothly and look the other way, ignore it, or gloss over it, but sometimes conflicts can arise that get in the way of fun and easy roleplaying. To enhance our enjoyment of the setting, our ability to build stories based on it, and avoid disagreements, we simply need to know more about Eorzea.

And about the $3 char slots... I agree completely. While many people can enjoy RP with just one character, many like to have more than one and not just for "throwaway" plot character reasons, though that's a very legitimate one too... Humans are extremely visual creatures, it's the primary way we interact with our environment. Being able to see something adds legitimate value, it's why movie-making is such a major industry. Sure you could read a book, and many do, but we want to see it!

But in addition to that, characters have their own quirks, abilities, prejudices, inclinations, personalities, etc. A single character is not a "one size fits all" unlimited pass to roleplaying every place, in every way, that a person might want. Another character hugely opens the field of potential for the sorts of things we can roleplay, where, and with who. Roleplaying with one character only 'til the end of time would be a bit like a RTS fan deciding they only ever want to play Starcraft and forget about Command and Conquer, who needs it? Well, that may work for some, but a lot of people prefer to experience the full range. I have an alt I use purely for RP but I'm just not sure how long I can justify $36 extra per year for her...

[Rowyne]

I am a casual RPer and care deeply about the lore of any MMO I immerse myself in. FFXIV is no exception.

5. Can you expand on the history and origins of races?

I think this question here is what most concerns me. I often feel disconnected from my character because there's a lack of in-game lore that really sets me apart from other races. No history, no settlements, nothing to really make me feel proud of the character that I play. I thought this would be different, since each race was broken up into two clans. I was especially excited about the Elezen, expecting that the tension between the Duskwight and Wildwood would be explored in game. But that's not the case. In other games, I get a rush when I enter the home of my race or class. And while there is a bit of class lore in FFXIV, race lore is sorely missing.