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Goddamn it. Ahhhaaaaaa
Where do you even find these?! 
Guys, we are getting really off-topic.
@Moreau what era would you place the fashions worn in the setting of your game?
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This thread never gets off topic right? If it’s a problem I’m sure @Moreau would say so. It was like two posts, so I think we will be fine.
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Wow i feel like i missed out on a bit of fun here xD haha 
as far as the actor/actress for the characters i kinda had a Christopher Walken voice in my mind for Arinthas xD i don’t know why but eh xD and can’t help but give momo a soft vice, something that makes it so when she talks everyone has to stop and really listen to hear her but at the same time if your i a tavern or somewhere its really loud it sounds like shes right next to your ear and everything else just dies off to a light hum. xD but maybe im just weird xD haha
@RenaB simply amazing xD <3
Completely not sarcastic, I was thinking ‘Who was that Bond Villain who dated Dolph Lundgren in the 80s…’ and it just wouldn’t come to me.
I… I… It’s beautiful…
It’s like a light bulb just switched on above my head. That’s such a good casting I may have to reach out to his agent.
That all seems so long ago, now…
Good question. Mostly taking inspiration from the Sun King’s court and the later Victorian aristocracy for the Nobles, lots of elaborate stitching, decadently expensive fabrics and elaborate hairpieces for the ladies. In the streets a much more rough, utilitarian look.
Revealing plot information like:
“Please, robots, scooch closer. Don’t make me tell you again about the scooching.”
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So… Fashion is Amadeus for the haves, Snowpiercer for the have nots?
…More questions!
edit: er… I had even more questions. And I checked some stuff and had to change some stuff around…
What language do people speak? Er… English, right, but do they call it English? Do they call it Galactic Basic? Or do people simply not really care about that sort of thing? Also, accents. How have accents evolved (or devolved, depending on how you view things, I guess) since humanity shut itself in? Or is this setting an accent buffet?
Religion-
Glancing back at the plot synopsis, the major religion in the world is the Church of the Nomad. Is that the only form of religion? There was a reference to praying to Gods and Goddesses in the game, so I imagine not, but would any of these other religions come anywhere near the size of the CotN? Also, did any survive the journey from the Homeworld in any way, shape, or form?
Re: Church of the Nomad- Are there ways of worshipping the Nomad (other than moving out to the third ring to become closer to it, obv) set out in a book or on stone tablets or anything? ‘The Nomad decrees no sex ever because you will get pregnant and die,’ that sort of thing. Or is it basically ‘the Nomad guards humanity, so we love it?’
Death-
How do people handle their dead here? Do they bury them? Cremate them? …eat…them?* When it comes to mourning/memorial service type things, do those even happen? And are they more subdued or celebratory?
What do people believe happens ‘after?’ Are there superstitions about the dead and their spirits? (like the wisp. I like wisps. Would what happens to Flash be considered great enough suffering to generate one?) Does the Church of the Nomad have any views on death/the afterlife?
Let’s talk about sex ba-by, let’s talk about you and…
Actually, less about sex, more about modesty. I just have that song stuck in my head… Also, what does it say about me that I ask about sex directly after asking about death?
So, bodily modesty…? It still exists as a concept, as evidenced by the whole cloak scene (which makes for a nice… connection moment(?) for the newborn MC and the Lady, certainly, and may only be that) but…why? Afaik, this idea of modesty that’s pervasive in society today (at least the US, I don’t want to speak out of turn about other countries) is left over from the “Puritanical” (but not actually Puritanical, but we call them that?) beliefs that this country is ‘built upon.’ We’re slowly working our way (back) towards being able to view the naked body as something other than a sexual object, and I’m assuming that the pre-Fall humans made it at least far (no real reason.)
I…guess I’m asking how this particular society decided that the body needs to be covered? Is this more of a noble thing, do the poor folks have that same inclination? Are there religious reasons, is it simply a remnant of the long forgotten past that people have somehow managed to cling to? …was this question asked already?
And… Okay, sex. Orientation is no big thang, but what about the actual doing of the do? Is this society sex-positive through and through, or do some look down their noses at those who get it on the regular regardless of marital status? Is there a difference in how the nobility and the not nobility view sex?
(*Sub question: would the nobility be averse to eating the poor, Hannibal-style? I don’t merely mean ‘cannibalism,’ I mean ‘cannibalism as culinary art’)
(…that video’s safe, unless raw meat makes you squeamish.)
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Exactly!
Language is one of those ‘in the eye-of-the-beholder’ type deals, the language can be whatever you want it to be. For me the key thing is that for the first time ever in history Human language is entirely homogeneous. Wherever you come from in the Rings, you’ll be able to talk to anyone else. Its a part of the reason their culture is so slow to change. Language doesn’t need to adapt because its never going to encounter any new words or concepts.
Possibly a holdover from the pre-Fall era policies of Mankind, or maybe those who fled to the Three Rings were of one particular linguistic creed, but whatever the cause, everybody speaks the same language.
This is a good question. I would say that instead of religious beliefs there are religious traditions. There are shrines to give offerings to and superstitions to obey, but the meaning behind them has been lost or changed or co-opted by someone else until its more of a hobby than a spiritual occupation.
The main way particularly devout people seek to worship the Nomad is by a sort of extended pilgrimage/becoming a hermit style ‘walkabout’ where they will endeavour to follow in the wake of the Nomad to try and better understand its thought processes.
They carefully catalogue and interpret every noise, step and motion the machine makes and try to determine the meaning and mindset beneath them. A giant foot-fall side-stepping a King Toise shell? Must be a sign that the Nomad preaches mercy, even to the wicked. Its enormous head scanning the horizon? The Nomad is telling us to be vigilant in all things.
The Church itself organizes and endeavours to provide protection for these pilgrims, and collates the learning of past pilgrims into religious texts, which are then read to those unable to make the journey themselves. While the themes and focus of the sermons can vary wildly from church to church, the priests all pay tithes and homage to the Church’s central organizing body, which has a full wing of the Royal Palace at Kadana available for its use.
The Church is one of the most powerful organizations in all the Three Rings, so their leaders are more proficient at politicking than pneumatology.
Eek!
This varies from place to place, some interpretations of the Nomad’s movements infer that the beast looks longingly over the wall, so sky-burials are the burial option of choice in the hope that the dead person’s soul will be caught on the wind.
Others surmise that the Nomad is keeping watch on the horrors outside the wall, so they bury themselves in reinforced tombs seemingly designed to repulse invaders rather than inter the dead.
In the big cities few can afford the luxury of choice, so they just bury the great multitudes in crypts after a short stay in the graveyards (for the little wormies to do their part. The result is rooms full of tibias and corridors lined with skulls and so on.
Nobles do not like mingling with the common folk, so they often have family crypts that are as lavish as anything they ever had in life.
As to the notion of eating the dead, there are plenty of animals and humanoid robots who are perfectly happy To Serve Man as it were, so people are naturally a little reticent to encourage the behaviour.
Yes. Let us do just that.
We’re on the same page vis-a-vis the notion of modesty, our culture is steadily phasing it out the same way it phased out flip-phones and the safety dance.
The ‘shock’ the nobles feel upon seeing a naked robot in the study is fairly subdued by my reckoning, I thought their shock was more on the fact that someone just dropped their clothing at someone else’s request. Seeing a completely naive, almost programmable person who can coincidentally bend steel/shape-shift/build an atom-bomb out of leftovers is pretty interesting to them.
This society is pretty sex-positive as a rule of thumb, and casual nudity is more of a quirk than a sign of mental discord to the man on the street. Poor people wear a great deal of clothing because they’re cold and can’t afford to heat their homes. Rich people wear a lot of clothes because how else are they meant to show people that they’re rich?
Especially pretty nobles will find a way to show off their bodies as well as their tailors though, and all they will get is a vague insinuation of narcissism.
Most pre-industrial taboos regarding sex come originally from a public-health standpoint (in my most humble opinion). A man can’t have multiple partners because if he gets an STI, all of his partners get that STI, right? That’s the prevailing reasoning behind thousands of years of careful monogamy written into every religious and cultural structure we’ve ever produced.
Much as the condom has spent the past century unravelling those taboos in our own society, the Cirus tree does for their society.
Most STIs are seen as minor irritations rather than debilitating illnesses, and often some Cirus fruits for breakfast will get rid of the problem for good.
Ergo, sex is freely given and received by any and all, as the lasting consequences (pregnancy aside) are much reduced.
The only stipulation among nobles regarding sex is that if you’re going to have children, at least one of them has to come from your spouse. This is much easier for LGBT couples, as there is a very old piece of medical equipment in the Royal Palace that is capable of incubating a same-sex baby which contains the DNA of both parents. Naturally this machine is reserved only for those who are in the King’s good books.
Edit: Oh! By the way, I haven’t added any new sections in a while, but I did upload a redrafted first scene. The choices are the same, but the dialogue and exposition have been combed through finely by @OScott.
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Not saying it wasn’t subdued in any respect, it would appear I just misinterpreted the reaction a tiny bit. Or misremembered. Probably both.
Next question: like…why would anyone be surprised that someone dropped trou at the Lady’s request?
Do diamond studded pasties not exist in this universe?
[quote=“Moreau, post:572, topic:15992”]
Most pre-industrial taboos regarding sex come originally from a public-health standpoint (in my most humble opinion).[/quote]
It is also a very sensible opinion.
I…just like to pretend I’m much smarter/more thoughtful than I actually am.
For a certain definition of the word ‘finely,’ mind you. Odds are very high that you were better off without my combing.
edit: Again… I’d like these questions to come either all at once or not at all.
Is Arinthas the last True Technomancer in the world? Mr Gray’s “charlatan” remark, the whole “part of the show” bit… It makes me imagine Technomancers being viewed as little more than…Vegas-style magicians or maybe snake oil salesmen…? I don’t know.
Just how hard is Technomancy to pick up, anyway?
Oh! (And this one’s open to the whole class!)
Bit weird perhaps, but I’ve been watching my sister play Dragon Age Inquisition, so I’ve been sort of wondering…
If y’all were to make character select cards like the ones in DAI, which tarot card would you assign to each character? If… That makes sense?
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They’re really more of a lounging around the house sort of look…
Technomancers are a varied lot, its the kind of discipline that attracts career weirdos and eccentrics. Arinthas is merely the best at what he does. Most are only able to produce simple effects with ancient technology, and such devices are usually jealously guarded by their owners.
For a Technomancer to become proficient in his field, he must find a way to make things work. Someone might well possess a perpetual motion device or an immortality generator and the thing will be utterly useless unless someone can figure out how to use it. That’s where Technomancers come in. They’re like priests mixed with tech support guys. Their job is to try and figure out the logic behind a piece of technology and then determine what it needs to function again.
Its as difficult as it sounds. Pre-Fall technology is so advanced that many of its principles and functions occur in dimensions beyond traditional human comprehension, so you need to be a special kind of weird to start figuring out how to turn it on.
Am I the only one who wants to romance Lady Calinas?
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But if the rabble can’t gaze upon them in silent (and not so silent) reproach and envy, what’s the point?
Roughly how big is the… skill gap, I guess, between him and the second best?
Also, is Arinthas the only human character the MC will be able to interact with in the ‘destiny’ branch?
I’m just wondering 'cause… Each branch is substantially different in terms of the people and the nature of their interactions with the MC… They kind of have to be, right? It’s like three largely separate games after the intro? And you can make roughly the same flavor of choices in each, but a smartass MC in the noble path has to be different from a smartass MC who cast their lot with Arinthas and so on- beyond the obvious ‘well, the noble MC didn’t go with Arinthas, so… Duh.’ Ahh, I don’t know, I’m just excited to imagine all the different ways the MC can develop and grow and all that.
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Lady Calinas? why? 
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…I like Lady Calinas as a character, but I don’t even know that she’d consider romancing the MC.
She’s planning on using the MC in a bid for political power (right?), so… Would she have any interest of that sort in someone who’s essentially a tool? Plus there’s that whole treating the MC like her child thing…
So… Unless she prefers being called ‘mother’ in bed, I can’t see this happening. Or Oedipus, etc., etc.
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Shouldn’t have used that picture of Christina Hendricks…
Pretty frickin’ big. Technomancy isn’t exactly in vogue these days, and there haven’t been any serious institutions dedicated to its study in oh… around 200 years…
At the moment, yes. But there are other characters who are significantly more erudite than Vitruvian has proven thus far.
It’s not our place to judge…
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I just want to sleep with her once or twice, not fall in love.
What happened to this thread ?
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