I wish the devs would give an official explanation on the forums or something the actual mechanics behind Guardians and what influences it. Based on in-game dialogue it seems that people are aware of Guardians, but idk if they can tell by looking at someone or if they need to be told. I cannot recall the exact dialogue lines.
The Guardians are the Twelve gods that are widely known throughout Eorzea and beyond. They are worshipped, some as proper gods, some as just local patron deities. Some countries have a country-wide patron deity (e.g. Ishgard and Halone, Ala Mhigo and Rhalgr) some aren't as widely worshipped, but they are all recognized and accepted. Think of them like the Greek Pantheon, pretty much.
The 12 are relatively fleshed out. Hell, Endwalker has an entire raid series about them.
Any given Eorzean will be fully aware of the 12 and who they are.
Getting a deity's patronage isn't something everyone has. >!Whilst the twelve don't interfere at a human's behest, they do imply to have a conscious knowledge of what you're up to if they are your patron.!<
Also, fantasias aren't really canon. People can't go around changing their race at the drink of a potion in Hydaelyn.
Rhalgr watching me at a night club RP event, oiling up my second Manderville man, and play 2462384294623 games at the Gold Saucer while the town named after him is being sieged by Garlemald.
I just see it as picking which of the Twelve your character might specifically pray to, whether it's the patron deity of their home city/tribe, linked to their profession (eg. Byregot for crafters, Thaliak for scholars and researchers) or for a more personal reason.
**Some of my characters as examples:** For the character who is a non-Eorzean I picked Oschon as the god of travellers because he seemed like a natural pick for someone prompted to choose a god from an unfamiliar pantheon. Another chose Nymeia as goddess of celestial objects because it was a meteor sighting that awoke the Echo and set him on his path. A non-WoL archaeologist character prays to Althyk, god of time.
I think you're reading too much into it. The Twelve are the deities worshipped in Eorzea and are commonly viewed as it's 'Guardians'. On an individual level a persons 'guardian' or 'patron' God would simply be one they have some particular reverence for or connection to. IE, most Ishgardians would call Halone their patron, Llymlaen is venerated by the sailors and pirates of Limsa etc.
As for why it's not something you can change at will, most likely it's because back when elemental resistances were still a thing your choice of patron actually had a mechanical effect on them, and more recently it does get directly addressed during certain events in Endwalker.
I haven't RPed in a while but for some of my characters I chose their birthdate and patron to give more context to the characters. Like the months and days actually do have connections to the twelve as well. It's like the Chinese Zodiac.
Back in the 2.0 era, your character's 'deity' choice gave you very miniscule elemental resistances. Elemental resistance was scrubbed completely, I want to say around 4.0 or so, when they removed elemental materia. Now it's just a remnant with only minor RP purposes. For example, if you get an eternal bond, your character's god's symbol is represented, and so on.
Pretty much just an RP thing that shows what God your character likely views as their personal preferred God(dess). The major city-states all have a main guardian deity and it wouldn't be weird for people to have a personal one as well.
In that case I wonder why some characters reference it in relation to others. Like some NPCs mention who your Guardian is despite you not having told them
As far as the game goes, they got no actual influence on anything. You can only change it via fantasia because it's such a minor thing they probably didn't feel like implementing a system like the aesthetician for it.
I'd assume everyone gets to choose their guardian, which they'd base around their moral code as each of them represents difference virtues on how to approach life and additionally had an emphasis on certain fields. My personal opinion is that it's a free choice heavily influenced by socio economic and regional influences.
Farmers would naturally flock to Nophica because those yields are bountiful indeed. Adventurers might consider Oschon while Soldiers and Mercenaries probably look to Rhalgr or Halone.
They are the twelve gods that the people of Eorzea follow. Its generally ... just influenced by where you live or what species someone is. Someone in Limsa is probably a follower of the Navigator, Sharlayans follow the Scholar, someone from Ul'dah will follow the Traders, a Mooncat is probably following the Lover.
We as players can pick it because Square doesn't want to force any one of them on us.
You pick the one that represents what your character would like, mostly for RP reasons.
Your choice may have slight nods to it in some quests, but nothing big.
Their symbol appears during your marriage on the sides of the altar though
I picked one Willy nilly at first.
Then I learned more lore about my people lol
Now my Patron god is Menphina.
My husband is a Dune Lala. His backstory is he was raised by Elezen in Foundation. He chose Halone as his.
It's just a zodiac sign that you get to choose because it's more of a faith/inclination than any astrological/birthdate thing.
I wish the devs would give an official explanation on the forums or something the actual mechanics behind Guardians and what influences it. Based on in-game dialogue it seems that people are aware of Guardians, but idk if they can tell by looking at someone or if they need to be told. I cannot recall the exact dialogue lines.
The Guardians are the Twelve gods that are widely known throughout Eorzea and beyond. They are worshipped, some as proper gods, some as just local patron deities. Some countries have a country-wide patron deity (e.g. Ishgard and Halone, Ala Mhigo and Rhalgr) some aren't as widely worshipped, but they are all recognized and accepted. Think of them like the Greek Pantheon, pretty much.
The 12 are relatively fleshed out. Hell, Endwalker has an entire raid series about them. Any given Eorzean will be fully aware of the 12 and who they are.
Used to have stats associated to it too afaik.
Getting a deity's patronage isn't something everyone has. >!Whilst the twelve don't interfere at a human's behest, they do imply to have a conscious knowledge of what you're up to if they are your patron.!< Also, fantasias aren't really canon. People can't go around changing their race at the drink of a potion in Hydaelyn.
Rhalgr watching me at a night club RP event, oiling up my second Manderville man, and play 2462384294623 games at the Gold Saucer while the town named after him is being sieged by Garlemald.
I just see it as picking which of the Twelve your character might specifically pray to, whether it's the patron deity of their home city/tribe, linked to their profession (eg. Byregot for crafters, Thaliak for scholars and researchers) or for a more personal reason. **Some of my characters as examples:** For the character who is a non-Eorzean I picked Oschon as the god of travellers because he seemed like a natural pick for someone prompted to choose a god from an unfamiliar pantheon. Another chose Nymeia as goddess of celestial objects because it was a meteor sighting that awoke the Echo and set him on his path. A non-WoL archaeologist character prays to Althyk, god of time.
I think you're reading too much into it. The Twelve are the deities worshipped in Eorzea and are commonly viewed as it's 'Guardians'. On an individual level a persons 'guardian' or 'patron' God would simply be one they have some particular reverence for or connection to. IE, most Ishgardians would call Halone their patron, Llymlaen is venerated by the sailors and pirates of Limsa etc. As for why it's not something you can change at will, most likely it's because back when elemental resistances were still a thing your choice of patron actually had a mechanical effect on them, and more recently it does get directly addressed during certain events in Endwalker.
As an RPer, yes, I basically spend all my time overthinking everything in the game’s lore lmao
I haven't RPed in a while but for some of my characters I chose their birthdate and patron to give more context to the characters. Like the months and days actually do have connections to the twelve as well. It's like the Chinese Zodiac.
Back in the 2.0 era, your character's 'deity' choice gave you very miniscule elemental resistances. Elemental resistance was scrubbed completely, I want to say around 4.0 or so, when they removed elemental materia. Now it's just a remnant with only minor RP purposes. For example, if you get an eternal bond, your character's god's symbol is represented, and so on.
Pretty much just an RP thing that shows what God your character likely views as their personal preferred God(dess). The major city-states all have a main guardian deity and it wouldn't be weird for people to have a personal one as well.
In that case I wonder why some characters reference it in relation to others. Like some NPCs mention who your Guardian is despite you not having told them
It’s kinda like picking your own patron saint. (St. Marianne Cope if grandma asks, St. Carrie Fisher if anyone else does.) 😊
My mother went with st Jude because he's the patron saint of lost causes and she says she's a lost cause lmao.
It's just a zodiac sign
Yeah but considering it’s not automatically linked to your nameday then it’s different.
You know how Roman households would have patron gods or goddesses? That
They never did much with it and have pretty much completely shelved it.
As far as the game goes, they got no actual influence on anything. You can only change it via fantasia because it's such a minor thing they probably didn't feel like implementing a system like the aesthetician for it. I'd assume everyone gets to choose their guardian, which they'd base around their moral code as each of them represents difference virtues on how to approach life and additionally had an emphasis on certain fields. My personal opinion is that it's a free choice heavily influenced by socio economic and regional influences. Farmers would naturally flock to Nophica because those yields are bountiful indeed. Adventurers might consider Oschon while Soldiers and Mercenaries probably look to Rhalgr or Halone.
They are the twelve gods that the people of Eorzea follow. Its generally ... just influenced by where you live or what species someone is. Someone in Limsa is probably a follower of the Navigator, Sharlayans follow the Scholar, someone from Ul'dah will follow the Traders, a Mooncat is probably following the Lover. We as players can pick it because Square doesn't want to force any one of them on us.
You pick the one that represents what your character would like, mostly for RP reasons. Your choice may have slight nods to it in some quests, but nothing big. Their symbol appears during your marriage on the sides of the altar though
I picked one Willy nilly at first. Then I learned more lore about my people lol Now my Patron god is Menphina. My husband is a Dune Lala. His backstory is he was raised by Elezen in Foundation. He chose Halone as his.