Ethnic Groups

I would like to see separate ethnic groups within races. These would be a sub-group after you pick your char.'s race. Ethnic groups are like races within a race, and should be treated as such in the game. They should also have separate avatars. Here is a sample of my ideas for humans, although I think I would like all the races to have at least 2 distictive racial groups.

HUMAN GROUPS:

Haadrada: Humans of the North. They have been strongly influenced by the dwarves, and are honor-driven, truthful folk. Haadradi have strong familial bonds, very similar to dwarven clans. They are tall, strong of body and mind. They had harnessed a primitive form of technology years before the Bates Steam Engine. (+2 strength, +10% technological aptitude)

Haadradi have blond hair and white skin. Both thier males and females have visible amounts of extra muscle mass.

Cumbrians: Humans of the South. While they are known as Cumbrians, this ethnic group inhabits Tarant, and even far-flung Ashbury. Cumbrians are shorter than Haadradi, and also more adapted to the warmer climes of Arcanum. Humans of this group are set at birth into a rigid caste system. It is rather difficult to move about the social ladder of Cumbrian society, due largly in part to the entrpenourial mindset of Cumbrians. (+1 to haggle, -1 dexterity)

Cumbrians have black or brown hair, and white skin.

Panar: Humans of the West. The Panar are a deeply religious people, and scholarly as well. They are a very traditionalalistic people. Young Panarii are encouraged to learn as much as they can at a young age, and discouraged from too much physical activity (Why play with a wooden sword when you can be learning how people can forge and steel one?). Most Panarii are Magickally orientated, and somwhat wary of this new...'Technology'. (+15% magickal apptitude, -5% technological aptitude, -1 strength, +3 intellegiance)

Panarii have red or brown hair, and white skin. Panarii avatars should look decided thin and wiry.

[NOTE] The Panar ethnic group and the Panarii religion are not the same. While many Panar are devout Panarii (in fact, the name for the religion is derived from the ethnic group) they are not synomous.

*I hope you like my idea. I encourage you to post up your own ideas for more ethnicities (for ALL races in Arcanum), as well as comment on the ones i have posted, or on the idea in general.

~Thank you for your time!~

 

I think sub-groups within races would work if you just kept it to skin color, and a special background or two. As well as some different dialouges.

 

Yeah, as long as you don't go the modern America racial stereotyping route. You know, no black=gangsta dialogue.

I always thought of Arcanum, the island itself, as kind of like Great Britain. It's about the same size, and has the whole unified kingdom thing. Caladon, to me, is like Scotland. In that case, you wouldn't need raical subgroups, just sort of cultural subgroups, which already exist to an extent.

 

The idea is great and it should involve changes to the overal racial stats

 

Well I think its getting too complicated. I agree with Dark Elf, maybe some backgrounds and extra dialogue allows for more RP goodness. I always wanted to be a Dark Elf but the background didn't work out too well. Dark elves still rejected me :cry: and maybe some dwarven clans aswell.

 

I think that the more complicated the better but that's just my opinion

 

Well, duh - not in Arcanum. Kinda funny though, the racial stereotyping seems to exist because 90% of black entertainers/athletes are perpetuating it. With a vernacular consisting of 'pimpin', 'G', and 'n***a', you can hardly blame anyone for accepting this as the dominant stereotype. Every ethnic/racial/cultural/religious group is stereotyped, and there's nothing at all wrong wth that - the problems arrive when some people forget that stereotypes are broad generalizations and start prejudgingly applying them to individuals. Much like country folk will forever be stereotypical hayseed yokels, unless they stop square dancing and driving pickups.

The question is whether a self-perpetuated steretype is doing harm - I think the 'gangsta' mentality isn't doing anyone any good, except the select few making millions off it. And they're not likely to quit anytime soon, because it's a lot easier to be 50 Cent or Snoop Dogg than Tiger Woods or Colin Powell. Hey, if you can get millions for boasting that you got shot nine times and miraculously survived, go for it, but you're not exactly being a healthy role model for black youths, are you?

Exactly, and it's no coincidence - Cumbria (Cambria) is the Latin name of Wales - Scotland in turn was called Caledonia.

 

unigolyn, I don't think you can use driving a pickup as part of the country folk stereotype anymore - about half the people in the cities of the midwest, southwest and west seem to be driving these days.

Arcanum is based on the series "Tales of Arcanum" which was written about the same time as the Sherlock Holmes stories. It was very definitely and pointedly satirical of Great Britain and many of her policies regarding the Industrial Revolution and her relations with other nations. Even the name of the government in Tarant - Unified Kindom - sounds like the United Kingdom. So, YES, Arcanum is definitely based on Great Britain, or if you prefer, the United Kingdom.

As for having more ethnic groups of the types described, at the time that Arcanum is set, there would have been very few of those actually present other than some characterized by differences in height and hair color. Think of the differences between the Scots, Welch and English - as unigolyn pointed out.

 

A little unrelated, but this interested me I wasn't able to find any reference to these books. Would you be able to post an author and possibly a few titles as well? Thanks

 

I can see the headlines now:

"Pink orcs of Tarant sue Willoughsby for racial discrimination"