I recently started streaming Final Fantasy XIV, and I used my character deck—along with chat—to create my character. When I created him, I rolled for his reason for becoming an adventurer and got "to improve his living situation". This could mean something basic, like growing up poor and wanting to earn a decent living. I felt that was a little "typical", though, so I decided to see if I could make his backstory a little more complex.
- Name: Frian Isafvik
- Pronouns: He/They
- Race: Viera (Veena)
- Main Job: Black Mage
For this worldbuilding exercise, I employed the Story Engine deck, along with the Humble Roots & Epic Origins expansion.
Here are the cards I drew:
- Backstory Engine: Has always looked up to (Agent)
- Agent: A writer
- Backstory Engine: Has always carried with them (Anchor)
- Anchor: A curse
- Who is the writer?
- Aspect: Elegant. Brazen.
- What is the nature of this "curse"?
- Aspect: Controversial. Shattered.
Once I was satisfied, I put the cards away and started interpreting them into a single idea.
Warning: Spoilers for FF14 are ahead!
Frian is from a forest village comprised of skilled warriors and hunters. Despite an aptitude for thaumaturgy, he was often mistreated and shunned because of his "curse", which will be revealed later to be his Echo, a blessing from Hydaelyn. This "curse" allows him to not only see brief flashbacks of a person's past from time to time, but also lets him see visions of a person's "other selves".
At first, these visions don't make sense to Frian. The people in the visions often looked similar to the people in front of him, but would be dressed in fashions he had never seen before, and they spoke with different accents. Later, he would learn these "other selves" were actually the shards of that person as seen on other reflections of the Source.
Whenever he tried to talk about his visions and these "other selves", he would always be met with severe reactions. The village was strongly against the belief in reincarnation, and to them, these visions—or delusions, as they called them—sounded an awful lot like reincarnation. There was only one person who believed Frian and listened to him describe his visions: The village storyteller.
This storyteller was also a village oddity, having come from somewhere far away after fleeing the Garlean Empire. Their clothing was the same as anyone else's in the village, but somehow, they wore them more elegantly. Their mannerisms, gestures, and movements made them feel like they were someone otherworldly. They were also quite brazen, never hesitating to stand up to elders or angry warriors no matter the threats and bluster.
This storyteller didn't know what Frian's visions meant, but knew they were important. When Frian was old enough to fend for himself, the storyteller received their own vision. A giant crystal who named herself Hydaelyn told the storyteller that Frian needed to go on a journey to Eorzea. It didn't take much convincing; Frian was itching to leave the village and do better for himself. The storyteller sent him to an old friend who helped him make it to Eorzea, and that is how he found himself in Ul'dah.
Frian joined the adventurer's guild after hearing it was a way of making money. His goal was to earn a decent living and maybe get the respect he deserved after being kicked around for his entire life. He didn't know that the visions were a sign that he was destined for greater, more dangerous things than he ever dreamed.
Technically speaking, this is less worldbuilding and more character creation. I'm counting it though because part of the point of the worldbuilding challenge is because I wanted to use some tools and aids I had started accumulating, but wasn't using, like the Story Engine decks. Since I used them here, I'm counting this little exercise as a challenge entry. :3
