personally, i think probably the "best" option (in quotations cuz imo other people might disagree with me) would be to go with something more inspired by ffxiv than an actual full-scale ffxiv rp.

a large part of this is because of concerns with scaling the setting - ffxiv is a very big world already, and it's only going to get bigger with each expansion. wolfe explained it really well in other posts in some other threads before, but like,,,, tl;dr my main worry would be that only one part of eorzea would really end up populated out and the rest would be varying degrees of plotting dead zones just because there's not enough people in any of the areas to get any momentum going.

(while i personally wouldn't have any issue with series canons being playable, i'd be super leery of having a hard wol or even a group of wols just because i've had bad experiences in the past with that kind of thing where someone's playing the game protagonist and i wouldn't be super eager to repeat that.)

personally, my main interest in ffxiv for rp is, well, that lighter fantasy adventuring vibe that you just don't see in a lot of the current fantasy rps out there right now (which i get a lil bit, it's not something that's particularly easy to rp in large groups, it tends to get stale kind of fast). to that end, i'd honestly be pretty hyped just to have a ffxiv-inspired site where you're starting in one location and slowly expanding outwards into new ones via exploration + adventuring and maybe there's some overarching plot maybe there isn't but it's just a general low-key good time.

(i'd also very strongly prefer a jcink host - since i don't like proboards - and general anime fcs with no option of using the game images - largely for some consistency in image quality - but again, that's just me.)




tl;dr i think a ffxiv inspired site would be an idea that's more likely to have longevity to it since it's easier to limit the setting to avoid spreading the character base too thin + to be able to go in different directions for a site plot or general development (and that would have the added bonus of attracting people who aren't familiar with the series but like the idea of a lighter fantasy adventuring site), so. yeah.

• fcs - i don't think i mind since it's people's characters, not mine!
• jcink highly preferable because Reasons
• prefer inspired > original/AU plot - easier to be inclusive, follow, go cray, etc. 

Not really one of those pinged, but final fantasy is a flexible enough jrpg setting, so I might be able to do certain character concepts in it? If I'm to be honest, though, I'm not really that familiar with FFXIV--- the most I know about Final Fantasy is Tactics Advance and its sequel, which are set in Ivalice (FFXII).

I don't know how much my opinion weighs since most of my interest hinges in whether I could do a certain character or not, but like what the others said, inspired rather than directly canon is probably the best. Anime fcs would be the most convenient, and I don't care either way between Jcink and Proboards.

I really would love an FFXIV AU! For me, original RPs or straight-up Panfandoms are so difficult to get into, so AUs are really my favorite niche. There's a level of familiarity with the concepts but an AU slaps a ton of creative freedom onto it at the same time.

Piggy-backing off of other points, I think that in terms of making boards and areas on the site itself, the main hubs of Limsa, Uldah, Gridania, Kugane, and their surrounding areas are probably just as big as you need it. A lot of RPing on FFXIV (I've only done it a few times) really only occurs in those main hubs and in the housing districts which could be more like generic 'residential' districts that allow more than just 'houses' but restaurants, bars, cafes, and libraries just a bigger part of the respective city. I suppose Ishgard could be added as well!

I think perhaps, just an AU that's set without a calamity or scions existing? Or maybe something like decades before they came to be. Because also, I'm just not a fan of canons being playable in most AU settings. And in general, a casual kind of site is what I would for. Something that would focus on giving festivals, themes, or contests for players about once a month or every two months, but lets them do whatever adventuring they want. And maybe the threat of Empire on the horizon?

I really like syhrinx's idea of a Novrandt only AU, I feel like it's a whole world that could be explored without stepping on two many toes and without being too excessive since Shadowbringers only has so many areas but each area is vast enough to host many different adventures! I'm just not sure how appealing that would be, considering people who have FFXIV OCs would likely have them come from Eorzea rather than the Source. (Shadowbringers *is* an Isekai)

I'm impartial to any board, I can use both JCINK and Proboards effectively lol. I suppose the only thing would be whether people really would want that 18+ tag for the sake of it. But I'm good any way.

FCs wouldn't bother me. I personally prefer illustrated but heck, taking screenshots of your own characters from the game could be fun too! (I spend too much time in gshade anyway...)