drmonkey

Which conversation was that? I don't recall her coming up when talking to Tekehu. Is it tied to romancing him or having a specific relationship with Iovara? Or maybe I just missed and/or forgot about it.

I never got such a vibe from her or a sense that she finds her powers overly impressive. Agree to disagree there. I'm not trying to justify it exactly, but do you really think the poor fair any better in Rautai or the Republics? You're going to find an impoverished underclasss in any sufficiently large society. The Huana trade social mobility, which is likely going to be pretty limited anywhere, in exchange for the underclass being cared for. Which seems to work pretty well outside of Neketaka. It's by no means a great system, but I can't say I find it worse than what the other factions offer. Again a solution will be necessary in any society, and the prince actually is willing to try to find one. If the Watcher doesn't find a source of food, either the Dawnstars or smugglers, he doesn't have much to draw on to solve the problem, just swearing that he'll find a solution if it kills him. And take note that if you work with the prince the Roparu's conditions actually do improve. In contrast Rautai just evacuates the Gullett and burns it down, and Vailia doesn't do anything. Enslaving dragons is bad, no argument here. But again, with the possible exception of Aeldys, all of the faction leaders would be up for exploiting the situation. Castol might wring his hands with guilt, but he'd still go along with it. The others wouldn't even hesitate. The Huana are far from perfect, but their problems aren't unique to them, and they show more concern for their people than the alternatives do.

They have flaws, like all the factions do, but I definitely wouldn't say they're the worst. I don't recall the queen ever using telepathy just to show off. It's to speak to you without alerting anyone else in the room, usually either because she's surrounded by people she doesn't trust or who don't need to know things and occasionally just to express that she's not holding up quite as well as she lets on. The caste system actually seems to work pretty well. The Roparu are guarateed food, even if it's somewhat lacking, which is probably more than most peasants in the rest of Eora can claim. The are designated for starvation in times of famine, but that's going to happen to the lower classes anywhere, the Huana just made it official. They don't have a great lot in life, but compared to the lower classes anywhere, it's not a bad deal. The only place the system breaks down is Neketaka, and that's less out of malice, more a combination of a huge population and the Roparu being out of sight and out of mind in their own section of the city. The prince actually does want to help them, and will do so if presented with a solution, even if it means bending the rules of their traditions or turning a blind eye to smuggling. You only lose reputation if you pressure him into dealing with it without providing a solution to the problem. As for the enslaved dragon, no on other than Mairu had any idea that that was the source of the watershaper's powers.And with the possible exception of freedom loving Aeldys I doubt any of the other faction leaders wouldn't make use of such a setup.

I did. Only played through Beast of Winter once, so not sure what was important. I had two motes of conviction and one of regret, and used metaphysics in the trial of identity.

Is the caste system and price-share really that bad of a system? Remember, what we see in the gullet isn't the norm, it's come about as a result of the massive population and the Roparu being isolated in their own section of the city. There's no sign of the Roparu starving or being left with rotten food in any of the tribal settlements. On the contrary, they're guaranteed sustenance so long as there's enough to go around. Sure they're the designated victims of starvation if there's a famine, but realistically that's going to be the case for the lower class anywhere in the world. It's definitely not an ideal system, but they probably have a better deal than the average peasant in the Old Empires. I'd also like to point out that there's a considerable difference between one tribe holding loose sovereignty over the others and a foreign power conquering the region and imposing it's culture and values on the natives.

Unless I missed something, siding with Woedica doesn't seem to have any effect here, and woefully little acknowledgement in general.

Given that they sent overtures to the RDC before using force and they and the Roparu were both living on Sayuka for, I would assume, years before the RDC arrived, I doubt they're that overtly bloodthirsty.

I think it should be noted that the state the Roparu live in in Neketaka seems to be the exception rather than the rule. Tekehu and the prince both lament that the population size and the division of the city have further stratified the population and made it easy to forget the Roparu. In the smaller settlements like Tikawara the divide between the castes is smaller and if nothing else they're guaranteed food if it's available. True they are the lowest priority when divvying up resources, but it's still probably a better deal than the average peasant gets. I'm not saying it's a good thing by any means, just maybe not as made as it seems.

Anyone noticed any changes if you sent the souls to Woedica? So far I haven't seen any acknowledgement that the Watcher helped her or that's she regained her place ruling over the other gods. Nothing from her and Skaen when the gods are meeting, nothing in her temple, nothing from Aloth. I wasn't expecting anything massive, but at least something. It's my one big disappointment so far.