RP Idea: Help please :)

[Design]

So,

Here's the background. We are playing characters with the same last name. One is a Hellsguard* however, and the other Highlander**. What could possibly happen that would cause these two to meet and be considered brother and sister?

*Hellsguard is a boy
**Highlander is a girl

[Enkidoh]

Well, seeing as my character is kind of in the same boat here, as I chose the same last name for my character as my partner's, I've had to do a bit of head scratching as to how our character names matched (although in our case we both play miqo'te ).

The best thing to do would read through the naming convention threads on roegadyn and hyur as they also go into the social traditions of each race as well a little. If worse came to worst and you still couldn't think of a suitable reason why their names match (and are classed as brother and sister), you could have it that one was an orphan and was taken in by the other's family at an early age, and hence took on their name.

This is what I actually did for my character to explain her non lore-based name (bare with me here, it's kind of long ) : Enki's parents were outcast Seekers of the Sun - her father was a tia who challenged their tribe's nuhn for breeding rights and lost, and her mother found a preference for flower gathering than hunting - hence, they both felt they no longer had a place in the tribe, and left to found their own, eventually ending up in Ala Mhigo where they changed their tribal names to Ala Mhigan names, and accordingly, named Enki the same way when she was born some time later.

When Ala Mhgo fell to the Empire, Enki was orphaned and ended up being adopted by an elezen family in Ul'dah who had the family name of d'Roux, which she took on as her own surname, but she always forgot to add the 'd' on the front and just spoke it as 'Roux' from then on.

As for how my partner's character has the same name, he's came up with the idea that his character was also an orphan but ended up as a PGL who often dueled at the Colosseum, took on an alias that the elezen MC for the arena misspoke which Enki heard (Enki, being a GLA, was there at the same time), and from then on, she took on that family name, as Jing never knew her tribal and sire's names either.

Anyway, I'm sorry for going off on a merry reverie there - I hope that's helped give you some ideas.

[Anonymoose]

Lucky for you, this backstory pretty much writes itself. <whips out map of Eorzea>

The Hellsguard come from an area north of Abalathia's Spine called the Farreach, in the region of Dravania. This area is presently dominated by the dragon forces and the only city-state there was abandoned in 1562 Sixth Astral Era. Many of the Hellsguard go into the mercenary business, and most find themselves in Ul'dah. The Highlander Hyur, however, are settled in the region of Gyr Abania, home to the city-state of Ala Mhigo. When this city was taken by the Empire, those who resisted were either killed or forced to scatter. A great number of refugees who did not join the resistance instead re-settled in Eastern Thanalan, establishing Little Ala Mhigo. Many of them ended up having no choice but to go into the mercenary business...and most find themselves in Ul'dah.

How your two characters came to be there and where they went after is up to you, but I think you've found your meeting place. Maybe the experienced mercenary took the refugee under his wing. Maybe they were both capable and ended up in the same circle. Maybe they were once bitter rivals - it's up to you. Get creative!

[Catapult]

As the Highlanders are a warring race, their last names tend to sound more...violent, as they will often adopt the colorful nicknames they have earned during battle.

Fun Fact: Some Midlanders like to joke that because Highlander names have a very Roegadyn feel to them (in addition to highlanders being very large and muscular), that the clan is somehow “less Hyuran.” Many an alehouse brawl has broken out as a result of a Midlander in his cups uttering such quips as ‘Your mother was a Sea Wolf ’ in the presence of a Highlander. Needless to say, most of these quarrels do not end well for the instigator.

Go nuts, have fun.
Something tells me this will be an interesting thing to read once completed.