Hey, @Havenstone, I got bunch of insignificant questions going through my mind again no need to answer though if don’t feel like it
Do Calea and Hector have younger siblings? Are they just as arrogant and cruel as the two of them are?
What’s up with Calea’s and Hector’s mother? Is she still alive and kicking?
What did the nobles in Rim Square think of noble mc’s mother? Since she seemed rather unconventional. Did the Keriatou think anything of her one way or another?
Is it possible for Xaos-companion to betray or grow more hostile toward mc if they end up travelling with them all the way to Shayard City and they end up making decision they’re not keen on? Can’t see Kalt/Kala liking mc getting all buddy-buddy with Leilatou or nobles.
Is the priesthood in Shayard City aware of the heretical branch of priesthood? Are there attempts to root them out?
I vaguely recall mention of a uncle for noble mc…Is that uncle going to help mc to have alias to use in Shayard City? They can’t very well just walk in the city surrounded by nobles and use their family name.
Yes, but she broke her back in a riding accident–something the Theurges don’t yet know how to fix–so she’s confined to the family home. She nonetheless plays a significant role from there. We’ll see more of her in Game 3.
Her unconventional views were an embarrassment, but your family wasn’t significant enough for it to rise to the level of scandal.
Oh yes. Throughout Game 2, not just once you’ve reached the bright lights/big city.
Yes, they’re aware of the Shayardene Codex heresy and keen to stamp it out.
Your uncle wouldn’t help you–he’s no rebel. If you want to pose as a noble, you’ll have to come up with your own alias, and hope no one digs deep enough to expose you as a fraud. (Though even if they did, it’s worth noting that they wouldn’t necessarily assume that makes you Infamous Noble Rebel from the Rim…there are lots of jumped-up merchants or scions of disgraced Houses who are periodically caught pretending to be from another made-up House).
@Havenstone, yesterday I saw a documentary about the early years of the Communist movement in China, and apparently some of the governos after 1949 had a plan to deal with illiteracy in the rural parts of the country. They’d plant planks of wood with verbs written near places where people would usually work to try and teach them something a bit more connected to the peasent’s life. So, in a rice field, you’d have things like “to sow”, “to reap” and so on.
Maybe that wouldn’t catch on in a place inspired by Classic Greece, but if you ever need more tactics for the MC to use build a couple of literate followers, you could try that. I’m not so sure it would work, though.
I’d be more in favour of something like the Cuban literacy campaign. My only worry is that we may not have enough literate teachers for it to reach the same critical mass it did in Cuba.
Nevertheless that campaign was one of the most successful initiatives in history to decrease illiteracy.
Ultimately we need to find something that works for whatever portion of the former Hegemony we may end up controlling. Raising literacy is something that is very important to my mc however.
As known some people that were in the Cuban campaign It was great to make masses more cult but lacks in technical stuff to make that knowledge practically effective. Like make people theoricaly know motors but haven’t physical motors or tractors to practice or even use in the farms. Same in all areas like soctors never use modern machines.
That’s true for the technical side, but literacy only needs books, or even just paper, ink and a writing implement if you want to create something yourself. For teaching purposes even learning to write in the sand could do and it seems the kids being taught in the woods by our rebellion predominantly use that method…for now.
More generally speaking, yeah, crummy rural infrastructure and poorly optimized infrastructure in general are going to be significant problems in the later games going forward, particularly when trying to implement radical social changes.
@Havenstone Is there any form of soup kitchen or workhouse for the unemployed urban poor? Because if there isn’t, bread riots would be an almost daily occurrence.
Cuban illiteracy program was probably the only success they had. But yeah, in theory everyone has a medium cultural level and a great literature level Cuba is known in Spanish circles by that and their doctors are appreciated in every not technically advanced. Not because they are bad is because the total lacking of technical and technology equipment. That’s terrible in rural areas A friend of my dad tells the story of a cooperative with 3 mechanics one engineer and ZERO cars or agricultural machine… They have the skills not the industry to use them. Still my total love for Cuba as my family where there when was still colonial.
I want established something similar too but more with a guild based system something like kids until 10 study in public schools and at 11 there is a number of testing practical and theoretical that situated them in one of the different Guilds to a study until 18 where they become journeyman. And further advances with testing. Of course Normal university study is part of guild as a Medical guild a Engineering guild and Laws and theology guild. Study would be basically practical and destined to development of technicals and technology that doesn’t require Blood.
I know that is Head canon. But i think if a merchant society focus in technology and culture banking systems and being neutral could be something positive to everyone. At least to Mara people if the others prefer use blood and be barbaric. Mara has no way to change them. As she is zero combat
So I came across this story today, and it totally struck me as something Breden would do:
A Roman senator named Pupius Piso once ordered his slaves not to speak unless spoken to. He had no time for idle talk. He also arranged an elegant dinner-party at which the guest of honour was to be a dignitary named Clodius. At the appropriate time all the guests arrived except Clodius. So Piso sent the slave responsible for having invited the guest of honour to see where he was - several times - but still Clodius did not appear. In despair Piso finally questioned the slave: ‘Did you send Clodius an invitation?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘So why hasn’t he come?’ ‘Because he declined’. 'Then why didn’t you tell me earlier? ‘Because you didn’t ask.’
This anecdote was recorded, about AD 100, by the Greek moralist Plutarch. It is a story that presupposes a constant tension between slave and master in the ancient Roman world, and is a striking illustration of how a lowly Roman slave could outwit his superior master.
Technically Roman slaves were the property, the chattels, of their owners, held in a state of total subjection. But to outwit an owner as Piso’s slave did was to win a victory in the game of psychological warfare that always existed between master and slave.
Shame and confiscation of all your property by the local authorities. Anyone rich enough to be pretending to be noble is clearly too rich. But it’s not a Harrowable crime, like pretending to be an Ecclesiast or Alastor or Telone.
There’s the army or navy. Otherwise it’s day labour on the urban market. Bread riots = volunteering for the Harrower, so compared to our world (a) they happen less frequently and (b) the government cares a bit less about preventing them.
And @MCK-V, love the article about resisting slavery in Roman times – thanks!
About treating slaves was dependant of the area Hispania was infamous for treating them like shit. That comes from the original tribes previously romans. Galicia Celtic tribes were hardcore to point sacrifice slaves and burning slaves alive when a boss died. Sadly I have no articles in English. Probably the fact most slaves here worked in Gallaecia gold and silver mines made all even more harsh for them.
Popular in rome was the story of Vedius Pollio a roman guy with possessions in spain and ultra rich so rich that he had Glass jars and cups. That in the time only few people could imagine. A slave broken one in a party with the emperor. So mad in rage the cruel man that created a cruel punishment in front of his guest. He sent the slave to be eaten alive by fishes. A very specific spanish fish called in Spanish Lamprea That sucks blood also known as the water vampire and by Spanish standards a very cruel death. I forgot add that they behave like piranhas and are like slim snakes that covering all your body bitten you and suck you in a long agony except you are lucky and drown first
Would you be willing to share that @Havenstone@KuriosIasoun ? Unless of course it is something proprietary or your as of yet unreleased academic thesis or something.
Oh, Havie, you scuppered so much potential by limiting Abhumans to mammals only… imagine the crocs… the sharks… the Haast’s eagles… what a shame. What a darn shame.
You know what I miss the adhumans haven’t a civil war against reptilian or asexual spore plants people. I loved a book called The Salamander wars that is in fact a deep seriously sci fi and social book about what would happen if Humans find in a Polynesian island a race of humanoid salamanders that are in prehistory state.
We slaved them we changed them with breeding we teaching them and finally I don’t want spoiler the ending but to people that loves Choice of rebels will love that book for Karel Kapek the creator of Robot term is super cool
Hey so question, Havie. I don’t really care about “gender-neutral-presenting nipples” so.
What gender is Jev, if any? What gender is Laj, if any?
I know that you said, societally, Jev, as nb, somehow inhabits the societal role of their grandfather, but a) I’ve forgotten how, and b) that doesn’t answer about trans, nb and intra-nb culture in their society.
Is it barely accepted, and defined as a trinary where the societally accepted “third gender” or forced agenderism which encompasses all nb identities is a “filler” gender that can absorb binary roles? If so, what happens to genderfluid and binary-aligned nbs? Or is the entire umbrella of enbyism understood and/or accepted?
Is transgenderism considered connected to Abhuman Change rituals? Are they done at the same time or separately - if so, is the “coming of age” so to speak, delayed - or which takes priority if you were to both undergo a physical transition or Change related to being trans while also wanting to Change to imitate your/an animal? Do they inhabit a similar sacred role in society like the fully Changed priests, like māhū or two-spirit persons due to completing or undertaking such a major Change as coming out or physical transitioning (since some animals do that)? If so, would trans people be considered differently from binary society for the better or the worse?
How does the treatment of nb people and identities differ from that of binary people in the cultures of the world, and how does the treatment of trans people differentiate between that of cis people? Are there any where enbyism is considered a separate natural state of being as opposed to an offshoot of binary transgenderism?
Havie, why did you make the cool leopardess available to straight men? Why do you disappoint me this way? Why do you create this cool thing and not make it gay, when we all know monsters are LGBT culture? She’s trans, right? Please tell me she’s trans.
Ok so Karagonds are Greek inspired, Erezza are italian plus maybe a bit of spanish, Wiends are slavic + maybe a bit of scottish.
What real world countries/cultures are Nere and Shayardeen?
Is Shayard not carrying any strong resemblance to any real world culture in order to make it easier for player/reader to identify with the MC?
If so - clever, Author, very clever.
Also, Author, will second installment of XoR be by your estimate bigger, smaller or similar size to the first one?
PS. (Not really PS because I’m still S) what real world nations/cultures (or interesting mixes of cultures) will be Hallasurq empire and Abhumans inspired by?
no need to answer though if don’t feel like it
