Quill & Sword (WIP) - Sneak Peek pre-alpha (updated 7/7/15)

Hosted Games Works In Progress
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That’s actually wrong.

“Intersex” is a general term used for a variety of conditions in which a person is born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn’t seem to fit the typical definitions of female or male." (ISNA) Intersex people can identify as binary.

Agender is one form of being non-binary. There’s a lot of others. It’s also not a term I’d tend to use in a fantasy game.

As has already been said, cisgender is just the opposite of transgender. Most people are cisgender, Non-binary comes under the transgender label.

I’d admittedly not use any of our terms for describing gender and sexuality in a fantasy game. I think in this case making up your own terminology, using it to slot into your own world, is perfectly acceptable. It may involve a little bit of world-building, just working out how it fits though, how people see things.

I don’t particularly like changeling, but that’s because it’s a word I tend to associate with a child that’s been stolen away by the fae and an impostor left in its place.

Have a read of this thread, particularly the posts after the one I just linked to. Writing Non-binary MCs - Noble Nouns & Other Questions - #21 by SwanMaiden

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If you make up your own terminology, I’d suggest seriously making it up – totally new word in made-up language. Picking a word from earth fantasy, like “changeling” or “fae,” will usually leave you with something that inadvertently implies that the non-binary aren’t entirely human. Better (I would think) to make up a word for non-binary people. Even if you’re trying for a game that doesn’t need a glossary. :slight_smile:

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This WIP sounds pretty interesting.

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@DDrum75 Yes, that’s a typo. Already caught and corrected it, but that’s the kind of thing that’s good to bring to my attention, thank you very much.

@seabean To answer, they are fights to death or yield. Yielding is like saying ‘I’ve let my kingdom down, I’ve lost the war’, but it can happen. You can also forge alliances, however- fighting to the death isn’t the -only- way. You are a Diplomat, after all. Though in this game, that’s like half gladiatorial rockstar, half celebrity.

The romance aspect of the game will play a major part in the game. Actually, almost all of the ROs are fellow Diplomats, so you can fell them in combat. If you want to play that way, you can. (You monster :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: ) So as the game goes along, your ROs are going to get pared down further and further. Each has their own personality, so some may get very upset at you if you win against a friend of theirs in the arena. Ah, the troubles of being Diplomatic… :wink:

@FairyGodfeather Thank you for the information. As to the word changeling, what you associate it with is exactly the implication. A replacement-child. Though at present, I’m just trying to think of a good word that could be used (quickly, if possible). I could use faeborn rather than changeling. The superstition would be that the non-binary is created or given purpose by a non-mortal being, whether fae or demon or god, they don’t have a regular ‘mortal’ agenda (to the suspicious common folk). I want a term that evokes equal amounts fear and respect. I’ll take a look at that forum link to try garnering ideas… at present any suggestions for a good fantasy term are welcome.

@Havenstone ^ That would be the common suspicion. Of course, there’d be no reality to it, but suspicious common folk would see such an individual as an outsider. (Kindof like the implications of Tyrion Lannister being a dwarf in Game of Thrones) The hunt for a good term begins.

@Shawnheatherly Thank you. high five to another Shawn

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@FairyGodfeather and @Havenstone Right, checked out the other thread. Tricky to walk that fine line, isn’t it? I’m new to learning about non-binary (I guess that’s obvious), and I don’t want to alienate non-binary, whereas at the same time, it seems like folly to ignore superstitions and mis-understanding from binary masses. The part about fae creatures being able to smite people with curses or give blessings evoking respect is the kind of point I’m trying to go for. The non-binary NPC in the game is a total badass, if that helps at all. XD Vizir and Zalav as terms of respect ‘feel’ right as totally fantasy unique to the world, but a term not necessarily of respect but not of disrespect either is what I’m in need of. It doesn’t need to be fae-indicative, that could well be the wrong route to take. I’d like, basically, something similar to the way Eunuchs are portrayed in Game of Thrones, with Varys and the Unsullied. There’s the concept that they aren’t normal, but then they go and prove they are equals, and work hard and rise to a certain level of superiority at the same time. ‘Unsullied’ is such a great word I wish I could use, but it’s, well, already in use. :\

The whole changeling idea also was inspired by the Changeling race in the Eberron D&D campaign setting. They are part-dopplegangers, able to take on different likenesses; male or female, so their real gender is …fluid. Though that implication isn’t, well, the implication given to common association with the term.

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This is the creative choice you’re making which will be controversial.

Lots of nonbinary readers will probably ask why they have to be abnormal in your fantasy world in the first place. If the point is to be inclusive, why not imagine a world where binary gender categories don’t have the same grip on people’s ideas and prejudices? There are examples from earth cultures that you could model it on.

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Its quite interesting. I like all the flavor of the text.

About the whole gender thing, I think changing the intro into: I identify myself as a woman/man/none of the above should do the trick for the intro, the guard noticing the non-binary person could be possibly skipped.

If you want real terms for this case though, I would recommend searching into mythology, there are plenty of gods which are both male and female. Maybe that can give you some light on what to do with your fantasy setting.

Oh boy, not saying that you should not make said character badass, but making a character too over powered/ethical just because he is part of group that normally suffers prejudice does not help at all.

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There’s some issues with othering those who don’t identify on the gender binary.

I’d point at Heroes Rise, which for all its good intentions, the zehir just didn’t make sense to me at all. There was a great deal of othering about them, and treating them like they were something different, as if non-binary people don’t already exist.

However, our own notions of transgender identity are very modern, very Westernised, if that’s the right words for it? I’m likely going to fail to explain well so I’ll just drop a link. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgenderism_and_religion touches on some stuff. (I often use wikipedia as a starting point for further research.)

I think if you are going for the magical route, pull in some spirituality. Also, if you are going for the magical race of non-binary folk, have some humans who’re non-binary too.

I can likely criticise most portrayals of transgender characters in fantasy literature. But that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try. As long as you’re respectful.

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Presently, I’m trying to figure out how to balance it. If I were to take some totally different concept, like slavery… In a fantasy setting: Is it possible a fantasy world includes slavery? Yes. Does it have to? No. If it does, is it for the purpose of having a concept to fight against? I hope not. - If it were to exist, I would want it to be a realistic concept. It’s going to have an ugly side, no matter how you slice it. On both sides of the coin. Btw- I want to make my fantasy world with minimum amounts of slavery- essentially a choice of an individual selling theirself in for whatever reason. It’s so strange for me because, for some folk, power dynamics is important, my best friend is part of the BDSM community, where power -imbalance- is a thing, but then, on the flipside, power imbalance with slavery is a concept I want to avoid so many headaches with. I’d rather individualize it than portray it in a probably more brutal, realistic light, considering ‘it’s my world, I can do what I want to’.

@FairyGodfeather Gender identity is tricky for me to think about, as a hetero-normative male. Not by any means impossible, but like learning a new language, it takes time to understand the full concept of how things interrelate. I already want views towards non-binary to be individual (some people will despise you for wearing green socks, for example - but others will not).

I want to leave the controversy out of this game as much as I can- the goal is for it to simply be fun and enjoyable, not to ‘say’ anything grand and thought-provoking. All I need is a catch-all term, really. Something that’s as neutral by association as ‘man’ and ‘woman’.

I like how Legend of he Five rings handled something of the sort- where ancestors could be born again down a family line, not always the same gender. I’d like to do something like that: a non binary being a family ancestor’s soul reborn into the present.

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Love the WIP so far, seems like a really well-developed world.
I also really like the character summary on the stats page, much more interesting than just listing our special skills and where we come from.
Quick question, how much will whatever kingdom Taris was originally a part of affect the story, or is it just part of the stats building?

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Also just notice that other options for our appearance differ based on our skin color. That’s a cool feature!

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It will affect the story. By way of the culture indigenous to that area, and how you interrelate with other Diplomats. (Various countries have old alliances and rivalries) There are also other ways they will interact- such as the end of the game, getting a ‘Fallout: New Vegas’ like rundown of how the various kingdoms are doing.

It -is- also a part of the stat building, though. Just to be clear on that.

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I was doing a few quick character customizations just to look at the different things you’ve included, and created these stats when I was playing as an agility focused female from Cydonia.

732×632 59.6 KB

Not sure if this is an error or not, but I thought I should take a screenshot for you just in case!

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laughs That is not an error. You can play that character- and your agility will do some amazing things for you- but one of your other (low) stats will suffer, because it will never change (as a tradeoff).

Characters like these are savants- basically a genius in one particular focus; a paragon of talent. With more game, the effects of various stat levels will show more.

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I thought he said you could get ypur stats past 100
And thats when you achieve god levels on that stat.
(You are so lucky now you can do an inverted triple ultra mega 630 bammy whammy barrel roll triguintillion backflip frontflip)

And about the catchall term.
Neither born or something like that?

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Character creation is not based on fairmath. If you are a savant, it sets that stat at 100; it is possible then (during further character creation) to increase it slightly above. And yes, that is above human maximum. But remember- the world has magic. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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Can’t wait for it, I’ve seen you around the forums, also thanks for supporting my topic/project!

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@FairyGodfeather @Havenstone @MKVP What do you think of the term ‘Yomi’? In Japanese, the term for the world of the dead. I would like to make non-binary thought of as an ancestor soul that is reborn, rather than going the fae route. Helps with the concept of giving respect, but doesn’t erase superstitious tension completely.

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:slight_smile: NPC isn’t a badass because of non-binary. Just happens that the badass is non-binary. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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Hahaha love the idea of that and thanks for letting me know! I only skimmed the other posts so I didn’t see where he had mentioned it.

Sorry @Shawn_Patrick_Reed ! :sweat_smile: