This has already been discussed before. Good show, though! You have a supporter in me!
2 Likes
Not necessarily, the Hollywood tropes where it regards the expected reactions of “good” people to killing have already been discussed here before, like @Bagelthief said.
There is perhaps a greater need to be able to distinguish the internal thoughts and emotions of the mc and their outward actions and image, it is for example one of the shortcomings in how religion and nationalism are currently handled in the game.
Speaking, again, of painting the Shayardene royalists and nobles as deluded, bigoted villains, if victorious my mc’s state could likely adopt the first stanza of the fictional Basenji anthem wholesale. 
(And yes, it would be the first stanza too with the victory over the old Hegemony being relegated to the second or third stanza).
1 Like
Just wrote a bit over on the PoC thread about how I envision the Shayardenes as having some shade of brown skin, but don’t want to get too explicit about it. Thoughts?
4 Likes
You are a modern first world person, for you blood, gore and death is something extremely strange, a nightmare. However, for your character is not.
I am Spanish so for me is easier put our past society examples but It was really similar in all old europe and colonies. Each day of your live in a small town you would show hanging up people, and raiders heads in pikes to warn thieves and criminals. Their corpses let to rotten and eat by ravens . Furthermore, as Spanish person you are expected since kid go to the Inquisition shows With public shame to minor heretics, Burning alive people were rare maybe one each year . Add the famines, the epidem episodes and wars. You had to be totally cold about it to survive and being different from that would be totally out of place with that time period. It’s like ask for a roman citizen were shocked by the circus games, it was just normal for them
1 Like
I don’t think a particular skin tone is all that important to the setting and fostering inclusiveness to players of the variety of real world races unless you intend to explore racial politics and relations as a feature of the game. Are the Shyardeens stigmatized for their skin tone as well as their status as a subject people? Will racial identity be as important for the nationalist MC as reviving Shyardeen culture and language?
In terms of climate I would expect the Karagons to be darker skinned since they live in high desert if I’m not mistaken. Might be interesting if lighter skin is more stigmatized than darker but that doesn’t make as much sense with helot piece since the must work outside.
If you are planning on leaving it vague and aren’t including any kind of racial identity material as a theme I think it’s fine for varaity/world building and avoiding accusations from readers of white washing but ultimately irrelevant.
2 Likes
I feel that I don’t have the necessary authority to speak on this properly, but from what I know it’s best to at least mention that the skin tones of your characters are not white if they’re not white, because in a fantasy series, white is the imagined default for most people (no thanks to the media). In other words, you don’t need to whitewash. Most white readers will do it for you, subconciously.
And if you’re not going to imagine yourself as your skin colour, say, if you’re a white reader, you imagine everyone else by default white until proven otherwise. Which, while not harmful, is still not so good, and video games (and choice of games!) without obvious, undeniable representation is not doing anything. So many movies, games, series’ have depicted dark characters as white, tanned, some other ethnicity, or chosen because they’re attractive or desirable by white people’s standards.
Just like with trans folk, I don’t mean to make this a big thing! Stop all the clocks, we must write 2,000 words describing the fact that all these people aren’t white just because! Throwaway lines and the occasional feature mention is enough.
2 Likes
It’s really sad, Really I sometimes Imagine my character black others White sometimes asiatic (I hope this are the terms, sorry If not people. Explain me what I should say) I use black because one of my cousins is mulato and always says he felt insulted if its called color man, “Being black is nothing wrong I have to hide under the carpet. If you’re white same as my mom, why can I said my dad is black?” I know the reason for the political correctness. But I am not trying to insult anyone. Why people can’t imagine themselves as other race? They could imagine themselves with wings and with powers but not with other skin tone??? That’s cause me a lot of troubles when I write or acting as a master in a rp session. I had many "Why the sexy bartender has to be black? I would like flirt with him!! Yeah… Like that. Or what that character is red with purple hair … Why your Scottish based character is black with Red hair??? Its a f&*& fantasy world with trolls and flying cities. So if you don’t want romance hot black Scotland traditional skirt mage. go and read about the definition of racist in Wikipedia. Sorry I am totally sick about that type of people. You can just assume everyone is from x race or has to be to be attractive
Asian!
Mixed-race is the more politically correct term now.
This is an excellent quote and one which I hear around many minorities. “We can have Fire magic but no trans people”? “He can marry an alien but not another man?” “Dragons but no nb characters?”. It’s a big point in many modern fantasy or sci-fi fandoms!
As for some people, they just like skin tone or race being mentioned and don’t have to make it a big thing, so that they can identify with, feel like they understand, and are represented by, that character. Its a matter of representation, again. There are few black girl dragon riders, in fiction, for one, trans superheroes, or disabled mages!
4 Likes
Damn English language and words it goes so fast. Here mulato and moreno are ok, no dark intentions is just Spanish. I am just trying to use the words but I don’t see the issue. I suppose bad racist using the words unpleasantly and now are seeing as bad. Asian people and Mixed? but mixed could be everyone for whatever races. 
1 Like
I always pictured them as Sikhs and the setting as Tibet/Nepal … despite this, my mc is blond and blue eyed norse 
weird how I can put both inside my head 
Maybe its just the use of the word yeoman but I always though the Sheyardenes where kind if Anglo Saxon looking. But then again I’m pretty narrow minded in my imagination
I think it’s total bullshit.
Shayardenes should have blue skin.
8 Likes
Is Xthonos pronounced Ksthonos or Zthonos?
I always pronounced it as Suh-tho-nos. And for Xaos I always say ZAY-oss in my head. Dunno if that’s correct, though.
I pronounce it Ksothnos and Ksaos.
I pronounce it in Spanish because it’s the only way I know, it is KRRONOS I know is no that way but due It’s a reading stuff who is gonna stop me ? The pronunciation police lol 
A question asked before – but as I said then and emphasised a bit later, there is no single canon pronunciation, however the author happens to pronounce it.
Thus I shall pronounce it ‘Banana’, for all else is heresy. All bow down to the Chosen one of the Angles (yes, not a typo). 
12 Likes
This is funny because I always imagined the Shayardenes being brown-skinned also, but their world feels so European that I was sure I was the only one. I think you’re right not to go into too much detail about it, because it’s not very relevant to the setting (since they already have their own systems of oppression) and it allows us to imagine the characters in our own way. I like that the game gives us a lot of descriptions of appearance (like Kalt’s broad face, for example) to make the characters feel more real and distinct without really forcing anything on us.
As a side note - to me Horion always sounds like Blackadder, I don’t know why!
I don’t know if this was reported, but just another spelling error:
And look where it’s led him. A devout, orderly sould won over to heresy and sedition." The Leilatou’s eyes twinkle, even as his face remains grave.
That sould should be soul
Also, there are two slight gender check wrongs:
He breaks off and flings her arms up in disgust. “Angels. Why am I wasting my breath? Do what you will, Captain.”
In this one Breden is male; so after flings her arms, it should be flings his arms
And this one near the beginning:
Behind him, through an aghast silence, you heard one of the other helots start to weep. “What are you doing, kuria?” There was nothing resembling mirth in her tone now.
That first ‘him’ after ‘Behind’ should be her (as witnessed in the second sentence)
1 Like