An experiment in 'recycling' those unused Au Ra designs

[Tsiron]

Don't take this too seriously, it was just a way to pass the time, ultimately.

Was thinking back to the Au Ra concept art again and sighing wistfully because they'll never add a second race like them, despite the fact Miqo'te and Hrothgar are fundamentally both cat-people, which nevertheless got me brainstorming one, and this is the idea I came up with:

The Nodra

Descendants of Meracydian dragons who evolved forms not unlike those of the common peoples of the star, much to the bewilderment of their kin. They bear their contemptuous name unflinchingly;

Can be divided into Mut Nodra, with scales ranging from blue to black and pale bellies, and Mat Nodra, their scales anywhere from red to green, with vivid undersides. As with their more conventionally draconic relatives, gender is purely a matter of convenience or preference;

(imagine they're wearing their race's Hempen gear here)

I could've called them Gria to appeal to nostalgia, but I opted to cobble something together using the Dragonspeak dictionary, instead. "No dra" is... "no dragon"? Basically? The clans (though there's no real distinction) were themed after Bahamut and Tiamat.

You're probably wondering "why do they still look so human", and the answer is... well, personal preference mostly, but also I don't think the devs would want to stray too far from a basic humanoid shape (male Hrothgar probably hit that limit) for gear compatibility reasons. Also, Hraesvelgr has hair, so so can these... and, let's be honest, would people really be willing to give up hairstyles for a more "authentic" reptilian race? And the way claws are handled in this game sucks, so I'd rather just give them nails at that point.

Lore-wise, I would be shocked if the idea that "Au Ra are dragons who evolved humanoid forms" didn't occur to the devs, especially given they were added in an expansion they... had nothing to do with? In the end? There's a few... issues? I can think of with the idea of playable dragons, even ones as watered down as these: 1) It would limit their existence to just the Source, 2) Could a dragon inherit an Ancient's (i.e. Azem's) soul in order to work as the canon WoL...? 3) The fact they're genderless. Getting misgendered by strangers based on appearance is one thing, but characters you've known for a while who are supposedly your friends doing so is... another matter. The ability to choose your character's pronouns has become relatively widespread, so maybe FFXIV would, too? 4) I would've called a dragon's longevity one, but Viera exist now, so...

Well... Hope that made for entertaining distraction while the game's down for maintenance.

[Hanayumi]

Rather than another dragon-esque race a lot of those designs could prolly make for a neat voidsent race instead, which im sure would be very popular, some folks do love things demonic.

[Cynric]

Rather than another dragon-esque race a lot of those designs could prolly make for a neat voidsent race instead, which im sure would be very popular, some folks do love things demonic.

I'd love to see a demonic race. Aura do look ok for it but I certainly wouldnt mind a more demonic looking one.

[Roda]

Rather than another dragon-esque race a lot of those designs could prolly make for a neat voidsent race instead, which im sure would be very popular, some folks do love things demonic.

Au ra were stated to be this game's tiefling-like equivalent around the time of their release, with yoship saying they were closer to voidsent than dragons.

[Tsiron]

To be honest at this point I'd argue Au Ra are the Voidsent race, in terms of appearance. They certainly make me think "demon" more than they do "dragon" (even if they're neither)...

[DiaDeem]

Everyone wants to be a dragon, a wolf, or a dog lion...

I wanna be a plant

[Tsiron]

No yeah I... don't see them adding a second "dragon" race, like I said. If they were to add another race after female Hrothgar I imagine they'd want a concept that none of the other races embody

[Oizen]

I wasn't thrilled with them adding Cat Race #2, I do not want Lizzard/Dragon Race #2.

[Tsiron]

It's the only way (that I can think of) for us to get female-Au Ra-but-tall anymore, though... I guess it's a moot point if you're happy with how they turned out, but I unfortunately am not...

[Zumi]

I want a more dragon or lizard race. Au Ra is like the best we have but its not really it.