Garlean Playable Race (?)

[Theodric]

As an aside, I don't think that it's true that Pureblood Garleans are not visually distinct from the other playable races. Barring Raen, Xaela and Hrothgar pretty much every other playable race is already just a taller or shorter 'human' with some additional features tacked on. You could even argue that Raen and Xaela should be included in that category.

It's also been a common request for a taller, conventionally attractive option to be added to the game for those who like to play male characters. Indeed, major streamers and many fans of the game such as myself have long stated that we've felt there aren't enough options on that front. We know from the game's established lore that Pureblood Garleans are physically imposing and as we've seen from the likes of Gaius, Varis and Nero they have distinct facial features and are arguably pretty handsome.

They likely won't appeal to the same crowd that is content to play a dainty character, certainly - but tastes are broad and there's many ways in which the selection of playable races could be expanded to appeal to more individuals.

I'd be playing a Highlander since I like their physique and height, though their faces and lack of eyebrows leave much to be desired. Garlean Purebloods, designed correctly, could fill a niche between Midlander and Highlander. Similar builds to the latter, handsome faces like the former.

At any rate, this just circles back to the claims that male viera would never happen because of 'lore', or how we'd never get a darker themed job because of the 'lore'. Yet both happened due to popular request. Given the game is supposedly set to have development support for at least another decade, that's plenty of time for things to change substantially as it progresses. For all we know, there might even be a new point of entry for the MSQ's. Or we might get fresh reveals once we reach Garlemald itself in the upcoming expansion.

The development team may just decide to add something based entirely on the 'rule of cool' basis - which is basically why Hrothgar came to be due to Yoshi-P wanting to see a more bestial playable race.