Final Fantasy 14 offers plenty of ways to keep players occupied; the main scenario, side-quests, the daily grind of jobs, collectibles, dungeons, trials… it’s got the lot. But some of the best ways to entertain your Warrior of Light come from the community within Eorzea.
The White Hare is a prime example of this. A SFW roleplaying cafe nestled in The Mist housing area on Faerie, this Free Company house opens its doors every evening Friday-Sunday, offering a range of live music, dining, art, photography, special events, and movie nights. The founder of The White Hare, Raphtalia Raven, was kind enough to allow me a behind-the-scenes look at the venue and experience the delights of roleplaying — something I had never taken part in before.
Upon entering, a waiter showed me to my seat and offered me a menu. The White Hare has a full, completely real menu on its website so you can have the full cafe experience. After I made my selection, he gave my order to one of the chefs — actual Culinarians who craft each dish to order — before returning to serve my Loaghtan Steak.
All around me, staff were bustling to and fro, committed to their roles and attentive to every customer that entered. The most surprising part was how many customers had the "Wanderer" status, indicating these characters had arrived from other servers. It’s clear proof that word of mouth has spread about this amazing place, despite it only being open for the past three months. The attention to detail is incredible, with the smallest of touches, like the waiter pulling out a touchscreen to take my order, making the whole thing feel more real.
The feeling of community spirit inside the place was palpable. The White Hare goes all out in providing entertainment for its patrons; Skap and the Pack were playing live on stage, people were dancing, and G-Pose photographers and artists were creating lasting memories for visitors.
The White Hare offers a dedicated SFW area for veteran and newbie roleplayers alike, making it stand out from the crowd of NSFW roleplaying venues. “I wanted to create a space, a home, for all those in the community to be able to visit and kick back to enjoy roleplay,” Raven tells me. “We get a large variety of customers coming in every weekend. Some are literate roleplayers and some are non-RPers. We honestly welcome all walks of life within our venue as long as they are kind and respectful to those around them. I have gotten non-RPers that have come in and because of how we work the way we work, we have inspired others to try and give roleplaying a shot!”
Interestingly, The White Hare didn’t start out as a roleplaying-specific cafe. “In fact, there was hardly any RP during service hours and I could tell it wasn't going the direction I wanted it to go,” Raven explains. “So within two weeks, I had gotten more staff members, trained every single one of them, created guides, and revamped our website and venue. It was the best decision I had ever made and I'm more than ecstatic that the staff are now more motivated than ever to be working here!”
Though it started as a two-man cafe run by Raven and her partner, The White Hare now boasts over 25 dedicated staff members. “It grew and grew,” she says. “You could really tell how infectious the place was becoming since more staff began to pile on.” It takes a couple of days to plan out each week and, much like any real-world cafe, Raven has to create rotas, train staff, and even pay them a wage in Gil, not to mention that as hostess, she does her fair share of work in front of house too. The team includes waiters, bartenders, front desk managers, and chefs, as well as creative roles such as artists, performers, and photographers.
SFW roleplay venues aren’t common, but The White Hare is making a name for itself. “It honestly makes me emotional sometimes to receive messages from patrons after a night of work and know that we have created such a home for them,” Raven says. “I hope someday the SFW venues get more recognition for the time and effort they put into their craft.”
Naturally, a cafe needs an ideal venue, and the in-game housing was the perfect solution. Most Final Fantasy 14 players know getting an FC house is easier said than done, as demand is high and spare houses are almost non-existent. Raven jokingly refers to the in-game housing as “the true 'endgame'” as she explains that The White Hare started in a small house but that she was lucky enough to snag a bigger house on just day two of the cafe opening.
Fridays offer the usual cafe experience, while Saturdays are for special events with live performances, themed nights, and giveaways. Sundays are movie nights, where patrons sit in Raven’s custom-built movie theatre while sharing a stream via Discord.
“Our most popular events are our cosplay and fight nights!” Raven says. “The staff gets to take part in these events as well, which makes the experience all the more rewarding since patrons love to get photos with them. Fight nights provided such a unique experience for roleplayers to show off their skills as well as immersing themselves in such a venue at the same time.”
Raven explains that the ideas for the events come from those who attend The White Hare. “The base ideas for the themes we have are always taken from my staff and the patrons. I love to hear what they would enjoy and what gets them excited. I feel like listening to them is what makes this place successful and helps it grow. It also shows that the community we have built is active because they want to take part in something that wants to involve them!”
With Endwalker fast approaching, Raven hints at the possibility of a bunny-boy event to coincide with the introduction of male Viera. Not to mention, celebrating this new leporid race would fit in nicely with The White Hare brand. If you want to keep up to date with The White Hare and all its events, you can check out their Discord channel.