The New Dawn

A Light of Hope Amidst the Darkness

Last Updated: 02/24/2023

Happy New Year!

Welcome to the New Dawn!

We've moved! Check out our new FC site at:

DUSK

A Trove of Treasures Await

50 runs of The Great Hunt anyone?

Heaven on High and Four Horsemen

About

Hall of the New Dawn
Lavender Beds Ward 20, Plot 31

The New Dawn is a good-aligned, heavy RP Free Company on the Balmung server of FFXIV, focused on characters who want to make the world a better place. Our stories are mostly dark, involving political intrigue, morally gray heroes and villains, questionable decisions, and hopefully some heartfelt moments along the way.Outside of roleplay, we strive to be a close-knit, welcoming, and relaxed community for our members and friends.Our goal is to provide a place for roleplayers to come and tell their stories; we encourage all of our members to bring their own personal plots and explore them with us. While we are not a traditional adventuring Free Company, through our members’ personal stories, characters will have the opportunity to venture out into the world of Eorzea and face dangers, intrigue, and evils in the field.While roleplay is the central focus of our FC, our members enjoy spending time with each other out of character, as well. We regularly run FFXIV content (including dungeons, raiding, maps, mount farming), and join each other for other games, such as Wildermyth, Armello, and Phasmophobia. We even work on art together through screensharing! We are a group that loves to be together, and want to expand this circle to make new friends.

Rules

  1. Respect. We expect all members of The New Dawn to respect the leadership and its decisions. We also expect members to remain courteous with one another and keep conflicts, and controversial topics, out of the main channels. If a problem or concern does arise, please take it to an officer for mediation.

  2. Content. While we will not dictate what and how our members roleplay, we will ask that controversial subjects remain behind closed doors and that our members make sure to confirm consent with their roleplay partners. Examples of said subjects include, but are not limited to, excessive gore, rape, suicide, and other such darker themes.

  3. OOC/IC. These should never mesh. We do not accept self inserts or excessive personal feelings leaking into roleplay.

  4. Trigger Warning. While we believe in basic human decency and encourage our members to come forward with anything that makes them uncomfortable, The New Dawn is not a “safe space”. Our theme revolves around adventuring and traumatic, emotional experiences. Whatever your character has been through, someone else has probably seen worse. We don’t recommend any of this content be absorbed OOC.

  5. HAVE FUN. That’s what we’re here for!

Ranks

Guiding Light - Leader

  • Head of House and the leader of The New Dawn. The Guiding Light has final say in regards to everything The New Dawn does and is its generous benefactor.

Radiants - Officers

  • Those who aid the Guiding Light and keep the peace within The New Dawn. They are the FC officers and officer alts.

  • Note: The New Dawn was founded by two people and meant to remain a smaller-sized FC. As of writing this, we are not currently seeking to promote players to an officer position, however we do have in-character promotions detailed in our IC Ranks sections.

Lightbringers - Members

  • The tenants and guests of the Hall who work to keep it safe, functional, and bustling with energy to tackle the odds.

Seekers - Trial Members

  • The New Dawn’s trial rank. Lasts for as long as needed and allows new members the chance to see if they are a good fit in the community. However, with good participation, we try to bump trial members up to full membership within two weeks.

OOC Members

  • A rank for characters who are not associated with the New Dawn in-character. This is generally used for alt-characters, friends of the Free Company who are not involved in roleplay, and other rare exceptions. Please note, we do not recruit for this role.

Airship Manager

  • For trusted members who help the leaders with Airship and Submersible management.

Lore

“In a world full of darkness, hope is still seeing the light amidst it.”

Hidden in the deep of the northern Twelveswood, an old temple of Menphina once laid abandoned and without purpose. For years, the forest reclaimed it, growing over the old stone walls and shining stained glass. It was said that the temple was once a place where Menphina would watch over her children, and keep them protected from the world beyond.The desire for a safe place to hide away from the evils of the world is what brought the temple back to life. It underwent a restoration, becoming sturdy and comfortable once more. Those responsible for that restoration, Ahzra’li Lhomi and Captain Marcus Feral, opened the doors of the sanctuary to any and all who had felt the oppressive hand of troubled times, and needed somewhere to feel safe, protected, and rehabilitated until they were ready to face the world again.Guarded by the local Keeper clan, who would help deter outsiders from coming too close, the Hall knew peace and quiet for a time. But it would not last.

War has displaced many across the land, in Eorzea and beyond. Families and homes have been destroyed. Crime runs rampant throughout so much of the world, and enslaves those who seem to have no other options. The evils of the world profit from the war, and trample any others underfoot. In such times, many feel as if they have nowhere to turn, and nowhere to hide from what plagues them.The Hall of the New Dawn strives to change that.Overseen by Ahzra’li Lhomi and his partner, Marcus Feral, the New Dawn was once a sanctuary to recover from trauma and hide away from the world. Lately, however, they've learned that some evil never rests and it's long past time to fight back. There is strength in numbers, and strength in togetherness.As the Hall gathers its strength, it plans to move away from secrecy and out into the light once more.

The New Dawn has a focus on dark stories with oftentimes morally gray heroes and villains. We consider ourselves good-aligned at the end of the day, but that doesn't mean that everyone's intentions are entirely pure. Our central plot is one that revolves around tackling the enemies of the Hall and perhaps making Eorzea a better place in the process.Many of our current storylines involve lore such as:

  • The Keeper clans in the Shroud

  • Xaela tribals

  • Doman/Ishgardian/Garlean politics

  • The Void

  • Mercantile exploits

  • and the everyday life inside of the Hall

If all of this sounds like something your character would be interested in being a part of, or if you think your character's own story would make a good addition, we welcome you to visit our Join section and fill out an application!

Our Stories

“We all do terrible things for love sometimes.”

The New Dawn hosts various ongoing stories, both private and public. We specialize in GMing for our members and bringing their personal character stories to life for the rest of the FC to participate in.How we run our stories:

  • Stories are all organized in a discord channel for easy reference.

  • Every story comes with a google doc for reviewing current hooks, summaries of past sessions, and relevant NPCs

  • We have our own simplified combat system, and are happy to put the dice away to keep it even simpler.

  • Stories are typically run on Fridays or Saturdays between 5:00 PST/8:00 EST and 7:00 PST/10:00 EST. This can change based on availability.

  • We offer guides, templates, and ongoing support to help you tell your stories!

Examples of Ongoing Stories

The 42nd R&D Facility

One of the overarching plots of the New Dawn, the 42nd is an Imperial research and development facility run by a member of House Ferrum of Garlemald. It’s known for its hideous experiments and odd weapons development projects, all hidden away in a castrum-like facility in a location not often spoken aloud. Ahzra’li and the Captain seem reluctant to speak of it, but over time the details have been slowly coming out. It's possible the true meaning behind the Hall of the New Dawn could have something to do with the 42nd.

Note: The Endwalker expansion may affect this storyline in the future. Y'know, because Garlemald is on fire.

IC Ranks

Head of House

  • Founder of the New Dawn and the one with the final say as to how it operates.

Chief Security Officer

  • In charge of maintaining the security of the Hall, and managing all security officers and staff.

First Officer

  • The Head of Security's Number One. Most likely to get stuck with the paperwork.

Security Staff

  • Also affectionately called the "Scouts", the core protection of the Hall and its inhabitants.

Special Ops

  • A team of special forces focused on jobs that go beyond normal Hall security issues.

Chief Medical Officer

  • In charge of the Infirmary and all medical staff.

Medical Staff

  • Healers and health professionals that keep the Hall ready for the next challenge.

Allies

  • Those aligned with, or working in cooperation with, the New Dawn.

Ahzra’li (Glyngaris) & Marcus (Sephirah)

They have very few fucks left to give, yet somehow still make friends in this wild community. Ahz is the worldbuilder and main storyteller, while Marcus plays bad cop and keeps the files updated. Together they’ve kept New Dawn alive longer than all of their previous FCs, and they don’t plan on changing their methods.

Law (Kiwi)

A very tired, very chill bird. Experienced roleplayer, from forums, to MMOs, discord and everything in between.

Relexano

Angriest Man Alive

Tali'sae

Half robot, half musician, all Dadaist. Came to this MMORPG for the Final Fantasy, have continued to stay for the Final Fantasy. Always trying to weave storytelling into the music I make.

みんなで楽しんで頑張りましょう。

Lotsutsu (Lotsu)

Round? Check. Brown? Check. Comes from the ground? Check. Possibly a potato in real life, too. Educator, high school esports coach, writer. Lover of zombie survival games and G2’s League of Legends team. Bullet journals or doesn’t know what the heck is going on. Fancy pens sustain me.

Tsuneaki (Fern/Devilfern)

Resident sentient houseplant, greyhound lover, and freelance game artist. Longtime MMORPG roleplayer, from Aion to LotTRO to WoW to GW2. Hobbies include baking, singing, and occupying the peanut gallery.

Twitter: Devilfern.draws
Instagram: devilfern.draws
Commission Inquiries: devilfernart.carrd.co

Anaguma (Naga)

✘ Upside-down. Homer.
✘ Ph.D in Advanced Shitposting from Meme University.
✘ Can’t remember how to play D&D, writes for the [FFXIV x D&D 5e Project] anyway.

Dob (Torghul)

Here because Marcus won't let them leave.

Kurdor (Ning Xiong)

Olivia

Has been RPing for a very long time. Once rebelled against D&D by creating their own homebrew RPG and forcing people to use it. Played a lot of bad MMORPGs and is a reformed raider. Guinea Pig Enthusiast, Roguelike fan, and lifelong academic librarian.

Leadership

Head of House

Ahzra'li Lhomi

Also known as “Mr. Ander”, Ahzra’li founded the Hall of the New Dawn to help those who cannot help themselves. Quiet and undeniably stoic, he is both the mother hen of the Hall and one of it’s more enigmatic forces.

The Captain

Marcus Feral

Co-owner and founder of S&S Trading, Marcus keeps the books tidy and the gil flowing discreetly into the Hall to support his husband’s desire to help others. Prudish and strict, he cares little for nonsense and would see everyone stays safe and well behaved.

Security Staff

Chief Security Officer

Relexano Delmandi

One of the Hall’s few Garleans, Relexano is secretive and justifiably cautious. Trust is a two way street, and while the Hall had to learn to trust Relexano, he had to learn to trust them as well. Despite his rocky start with some of the more xenophobic members, he has since become the Hall's Chief of Security.

First Officer

Leif ban Malum

It's not entirely certain how Leif landed the job of First Officer, considering the higher authorities in the Hall seem to eye him with no small amount of disdain. Either way, Leif performs his duties quietly and prefers keeping to himself.

Lotsutsu Lotsu

Cheerful and enthusiastic Lotsutsu Lotsu always does her best to make people happy. Unless you make one of her friends sad and then she will be vengeful and enthusiastic. And don't mind her shifty eyes or her habit of talking to herself; the head doctor says she's fine for active duty on the security team!

Tsuneaki Nagao

Tsuneaki is a noble-born Raen with charming manners and quick wit. For most of his life he was nothing more than a rich layabout and playboy, but his family excommunicated him over a misunderstanding involving a young lady. With the help of the New Dawn, he now runs a small, artisan blade forge out of the Black Shroud. He is on a journey of self-improvement to be a better man, and a better father to his baby son, Kiyoteru.

Adamaris Vescorus

A former enemy turned ally, Vescorus is one of the few formally trained soldiers in the hall. Her brash and brusque personality has made her few friends, but no one can deny her usefulness in battle where she is an indomitable powerhouse of strength.

Jakkh'a Mhaura

A bundle of joy and energy, Jakkh’a helps keep the peace while also lightening the mood. As one of the Hall’s scouts, he also patrols the local area and gathers supplies.

Special Ops

Liawix Daipette

A void hunter of some vague origin, Liawix Daipette has been proven and vouched for by various reputable sources. He carries ties and contacts to various guilds and organizations operating out of Ul'Dah, and most importantly, or unfortunately, a callously honest and straightforward disposition. He has become well known for his dedication to every task he sets for himself, and achieves them with efficiency. Wielding blade and sorcery both, he applies the same judgements to combat as he does to investigations.

Sephirah Longfall

Marcus' so-called "Mage Hunter". Sephirah has apparently worked for the Captain for a number of years now, but information about him is kept largely contained. He apparently has a habit of disappearing for several months at a time, during which he is never found until he decides to show himself again.

Ning Xiong Zhiang

This quiet, blind Yanxian comes around the Hall to conduct business with the Captain. His battle-scarred body and robust, leaking aether are mementos of his voidsent hunting past. Just what do his current capitalistic ventures and perfumer hobby front?

Veke Illska

Unfortunately for the New Dawn, Marcus's Mage Hunter, Sephirah, is often shadowed by a foul-mouthed Keeper thief known as Veke. Whether she is simply Sephirah's fling or if she is actually useful is anyone's guess. Both a lack of trust and respect has often earned her the coveted spot of being used as bait in dangerous situations.

Medical Staff

Chief Medical Officer

Syrenen Buduga

A proper, knowledgeable physician, Syrenen has come a long way since his tribal origins. Through the Conjurers, he was introduced to those who led a hidden sanctuary known as the New Dawn, and is currently volunteering as their infirmary’s lead physician.

Lead Therapist

Khuril Dotharl

Khuril's talent for destructive magic was fostered from an early age. He traveled the world as a mercenary before coming to Aldenard and discovering his hidden potential--and passion--for healing, especially the mind.

Mhridi'a Vosu

The Captain’s ward, Mhridi’a is a budding healer with a need to please and be useful. His skill with aether is rapidly evolving and he assists in the infirmary whenever he can.

Olivia Ryan

Olivia Ryan came into her position as New Dawn’s resident healer after being referred to the Free Company by the Conjurer’s Guild. She is a pragmatist, dedicated to her work, and an excellent source on aetheric studies and alchemy. Though cagey about her past, it is known that Olivia served as a healer in the Eorzean Alliance until the 7th Umbral Calamity.

Guests

Anaguma Kenesa

He's just here to sweep and clean. Honestly. Just pretend he's not there.

Villains & NPCs

Marius nan Ferrum

Second born son of House Ferrum and the director of the 42nd R&D Facility. An imposing and powerful figure, just speaking his name seems to make the leader of the Hall nervous. Marius has a connection to both Ahzra’li and Marcus that they have only barely begun to reveal.

Victor mal Argyris

Marius' protégé. The Hall has had little to do with Victor, but Victor has had plenty to do with the Hall's leadership. They are reluctant to speak of him so not much is known beyond the fact that he is a vindictive and vile creature.

Yusui Asai

An ancient voidsent known for a number of horrors. He was able to convince most of the Hall that he was an apathetic creature, generally kind, but otherwise uninterested in making waves. Some remained unconvinced. He is currently imprisoned by Sephirah and Veke, albeit barely. It’s only a matter of time before he finds a way to break free.

Torghul Himaa

???

Adrestus sas Lexius

A former Imperial Tribunus, and once a foe of the New Dawn. Though he was known as a fair, albeit strict commander, he has departed from his role in Garlemald to pursue his own goals. In this, he is tied to Leif ban Malum, working with the man to right past wrongs. For the time, his goals align with the New Dawn's, though the leadership would be hesitant to call him an ally.

Cyrillus Anastasius

"Cyril Stasus"

???

Join

Recruitment Status: Closed!
The New Dawn has moved

Thew New Dawn's story is one of cornered men and women who are ready to begin fighting back. While currently still located deep in the Shroud where any would be hard-pressed to find them, they have plans to move out into the open soon. Currently, that means that any characters looking to join will need to be escorted to the Hall after their interview.

Regarding 6.0 - Endwalker Lore - (No Spoilers)

Roleplaying the current events of any expansion can be difficult given the time in which things happen and how much they impact the environment. Given how substantial Endwalker's impact is on the star, we've decided to treat this as an event that is just beginning to manifest so as to give everyone time to roleplay their character's reactions to it. If you are a new player and have not reached Endwalker yet--no problem! We will work around spoilers for you.

Players We Are Looking For:

  • Mature, friendly, relaxed – We are run by players who all understand that real life can be hectic. We have jobs, families, and other obligations. No one should ever feel obligated to play a game. We want to be here for you to have fun and relax.

  • 18+ – Due to the nature of our roleplay, which often encompasses dark and mature themes, we are accepting 18+ players only.

  • Storytellers – The New Dawn is designed to be a platform and community for you to tell your story, and to take part in other peoples’. While the officers will occasionally run storylines of their own, The New Dawn’s content will be largely made up of what our members put into it. We encourage ALL of our members to occasionally run storylines.

  • Strong command of grammar – Because of our heavy RP tags and focus on storytelling, we encourage our members to be as grammatically correct as they are able to be. While we all occasionally misspell a word, we would like to see some effort placed in the writing of their emotes (such as capitalization, punctuation, and brackets to indicate an OOC comment).

  • LGBT+ Friendly – It goes without saying, but The New Dawn is LGBT+ friendly. Many of our characters fall within this, also!

Characters We Are Looking For:

  • Good-aligned, martial-focused characters willing to guard the Hall and go afield to combat any dangers to their charges.

  • Healers and physicians who would like to tend to the Hall's infirmary.

Characters We Will Deny:

  • Underdeveloped characters and those who cannot find a reason to be at the Hall. You are responsible for choosing or making your own Hook to join.

  • Lore breaking characters.

  • Unbalanced characters in terms of abilities.

  • Self-inserts or characters that are idealized versions of the player.

  • Player-related conflicts (such as time zone).

The New Dawn is lore-strict in terms of capabilities and backgrounds of our characters. We do not tolerate characters who are blatantly written to be unrealistic in terms of combat capabilities, magic, or other abilities.

Premade Hooks

The Conjurer's Guild

Within the Conjurer's Guild is a healer by the name of Ishvi Ayil: a pale Raen from the Far East with a passion for plants and medicine. Should an adventurer who has heard whispers from certain little birds catch wind of a charity in Gridania that helps others get back on their feet, as well as maybe help find a solution to what is plaguing them (be it a sickness or a person), come to the guild and speak with Ishvi, he can set up a meeting for them with the Hall.

The Hankathe Clan

A Keeper clan that lives deep in the Black Shroud. They help guard and protect the Hall by keeping outsiders away from its borders and erasing any trails that may lead there. Currently, however, they have been under attack by another clan led by a foreigner with superior military knowledge and weapons. If your character lives in the Black Shroud, or travels through it frequently, these events may have reached their ear.

S&S Trading Company

A shipping and trading company founded by Captain Marcus Feral and now jointly owned by himself and his husband Ander. Its primary connections are through Limsa Lominsa and Ishgard, with the main office being in Ul'dah. Being that the Hall is now beginning its on-paper transition into a public charity, there would be the occasional listing in either of these city-states asking for extra hands to "aid in the prosperity and protection of a new, charitable endeavor by the name of The New Dawn."

Ishgard

Captain Feral has a history with Ishgard, both good and bad. It was his first big break in the trading business and he had always been known as an upstanding citizen there. However, after the divorce with his wife Dovienya Cuenn, and subsequent remarriage to Ander, there were unsavory rumors which led him to leave the city to live by his first love: the ocean.Some time has passed since those days, and The Captain's reputation has begun to repair itself. There have been whispers in fact that the Captain will soon be inheriting Cuenn's properties in Ishgard. Furthermore, he has filed paperwork to request the officiation of a new charity by the name of the New Dawn there.

FAQ

Q. When will you respond to my application?

A: We respond to applications within 48hrs by Discord or FFXIV. If you have not heard from us beyond this time limit, then your application may have been denied. While we respect everyone’s time and appreciate all interest in our FC, from experience we have found it best not to contact denied applications.

Q. What is the process to join?

A: Application review -> Short OOC interview -> IC interview.When we reach out to you, we will ask you a few questions about your character and your plans for them in the future, while inviting you to ask us any questions you may have. Applicants that are invited to join do so under a trial rank called the "Seeker" role. During this time, players in the community can get to know one another and we can all decide if it's a good fit without any strings attached.

Q: How active is your FC?

A: We're revving back up with fresh stories now that the Expansion is here. Our goal is to have 8-10 active members with some extra for padding. Our discord on the other hand is as active as you make it!

Q: Do you host events?

A: We do! Sometimes twice a week! We try to have 1 Event Night a week, and 1 Dedicated Casual RP Night.
Our event times usually begin at 5-6:00 PST.

Q: Do you accept alts?

A: We do! We welcome all alts. All we ask that we see you more than once a week. Currently though we are no longer accepting characters from other servers or applicants in time zones that will never make our events.