Would you want Polynesian inspired aumaua?

[Barothmuk]

A common speculation (or perhaps hope) I have seen on the forums is that the aumaua race will be inspired by the varying Polynesian cultures of the Pacific. This is likely because they're a coastal/islander people and "aumaua" sort of sounds like Maoi and Maori.

 

Personally I'd be strongly in favour of this being an influence. The cultures of Polynesia are rich and something that have virtually been left untouched by most fantasy settings so any inspiration taken from them would likely be something fresh.

 

To add a topic of discussion to the thread, would you want the aumaua to be inspired by Polynesian cultures? If not what type of cultural inspiration would you like to see?

[Gumbercules]

I like the idea. As you say, it's a culture that's still fairly free of over-use in fantasy, so the more of that the better.

[TRX850]

Hell yes!

 

 

[Alexjh]

To a point - I'd rather that each culture is original, but with perhaps a bit more inspiration from a particular source rather than, say, going to a Dwarven town and everything is copy-pasted from Vikings.  So in the Aumaua, if the Maori/Polynesian thing is an actual source, I'd rather that it was a subtle thing about the way their society works rather than just them having Polynesian style decoration everywhere.

[WorstUsernameEver]

As long as it's just inspiration, given that using different races as proxies for real-world culture poses a number of problems.

[Osvir]

I hope that each Race has a multitude of culture. The Aumaua Wizard looks to be of a higher status, in some ways just because he is holding a book, but also the clothes. Then there's the woman Aumaua with the axe, way more fierce, Barbaric.

Similarly, there can be Humans who are dumb peasants who knows nothing of life except the way of the hoe, just as there can be Humans who might even live in "Aumaua Culture".

Rather than "Racial" Culture, perhaps there could be some more "Global" Cultures that spread across several races?

[PrimeJunta]

Yes! Polynesians kick ass all across the Pacific, and who else can you say that about? Also they're way underrepresented in games. 

[SophosTheWise]

If subtle - why not. But I feel that a TOO colorful implementation of every culture in one game just seems weird. That's what I also said about (Asian) monks in Project Eternity. A party with a shaolin monk, a samurai, a polynesian barbarian, a renaissance-knight, a greek cipher and a celtic ranger. No, thanks. 

[Barothmuk]

To a point - I'd rather that each culture is original, but with perhaps a bit more inspiration from a particular source rather than, say, going to a Dwarven town and everything is copy-pasted from Vikings. 

Of course, hence my use of the word 'inspired'. I am curious though, how far must a fictional culture stray from its original influence for it to be deemed accpetable in your eyes? Most staple designs in the fantasy genre (monsters, weapons, armour, clothing etc) are just slight modifications of their historical source material.

 

I hope that each Race has a multitude of culture. The Aumaua Wizard looks to be of a higher status, in some ways just because he is holding a book, but also the clothes. Then there's the woman Aumaua with the axe, way more fierce, Barbaric.

 

Personally I hope those clothes were not reflective of the aumaua culture. They were pretty generic.

 

 

Similarly, there can be Humans who are dumb peasants who knows nothing of life except the way of the hoe, just as there can be Humans who might even live in "Aumaua Culture".

 

Rather than "Racial" Culture, perhaps there could be some more "Global" Cultures that spread across several races?

I can't recall why but I have been led to believe both orlans and aumaua are the more 'isolated' of the the races. Meaning they're the groups with the least interracial interaction.

[Osvir]

^It's my "Peace on Earth!" ideology that's talking xD

What I meant to say was that perhaps there's an interracial "Maori" Culture, and likewise in Cities, a more Industrialized Culture, with not just Races, but Multi-Cultural (Maori, Digger, Industrial, Village etc. etc.).

What are the usual, simplistic now, cultures?

Industrial/Multi-Cultural = Lots of different Races from all over the world, different languages (Sigil is such a place, and many Capitals of the world are as well).
Maori = Island dwellers
Digger = Dwarven~Deep Castle Fortress.
Village = Smaller Towns, more specific types of people.

"Types of people": Being an Aumaua, physiologically/biologically, would give a different type of personality?

Can an Aumaua feel love in the same way a Human does? If that's the case, then can there even be interracial villages? Or will there be prejudice? 

[Barothmuk]

Well we do already know that multiracial(/cultural?) communities exist in P:E (see "Free Palatinate of Dyrwood"). As mentioned before I was just working off the assumption that the aumaua were one of the more isolated peoples.

 

Also, (personal preference) if they were to be inspired by a Polynesian culture I'd rather more of an Hawaiian inspiration as opposed to a Maori one.

[Calmar]

Back when we developed the theory in the old thread that the aumaua might be inspired by themes from Polynesian cultures, I was hoping, personally, they'd be a reinterpretation of some mythical creatures found there; similar to the way our dwarves or elves originate from northern European mythologies.

 

What is the current status of the aumaua? I lost interest a bit when they were revealed to be basically large people, but didn't want to complain before there are more information about them.

[Wirdjos]

Well we do already know that multiracial(/cultural?) communities exist in P:E (see "Free Palatinate of Dyrwood"). As mentioned before I was just working off the assumption that the aumaua were one of the more isolated peoples.

 

When the peoples of Drywood were introduced, I got the impression that there would be a lot more mixing between the fantasy races than is usual. I thought, especially with the slant towards the time in real history the game is having, that cultures would be more of a local than racial thing. I was thinking it would be more like the culture of Drywood or Pearl Coast and not the culture of the Dwarves or Elves. If culture is more of an area than race thing, that would help with the common issues WorstUsernameEver mentioned.

[Naurgalen]

If subtle - why not. But I feel that a TOO colorful implementation of every culture in one game just seems weird. That's what I also said about (Asian) monks in Project Eternity. A party with a shaolin monk, a samurai, a polynesian barbarian, a renaissance-knight, a greek cipher and a celtic ranger. No, thanks. 

 

Then u didnt like Planescape: Torment

[NerdBoner]

is it too late to post "In B4 Medieval realism whiners"?

 

 

as for me, I'd be into it...the Poly's have a long history of glorious savagery and brutal blood letting that can sate even the geekiest of nerds.

 

and since the Amaua seem to be big fat tatoo'd shark people a dash of brutality would seem to be in order.

[Nonek]

Sounds interesting to me.

[SophosTheWise]

 

If subtle - why not. But I feel that a TOO colorful implementation of every culture in one game just seems weird. That's what I also said about (Asian) monks in Project Eternity. A party with a shaolin monk, a samurai, a polynesian barbarian, a renaissance-knight, a greek cipher and a celtic ranger. No, thanks. 

 

Then u didnt like Planescape: Torment

Oh, I absolutely did, because Planescape was so outlandish, that it never seemed anachronous or wildly mixed. I think there are a lot of credible fantasy worlds with a broad range of cultures, but just mixing everything cool together sucks. Kind of like that movie with ninjas, zombies, robots and whatnot...

 

Edit: I think you get what I mean by anachronous, I know it's the wrong word, but it expresses the sentiment behind my statement :D

Edited January 25, 2013 by SophosTheWise

[Hormalakh]

Hey. So I remember that Aumaua thread from a while back and I had been thinking about it for a while. My thoughts on it have slightly changed a little. I think that the aumaua can derive some physiological traits simiilar to some Samoans (big, built, etc), but I'm not too keen on all Aumaua being of the Samoan culture.

 

I'm not Samoan/polynesian, but I doubt I'd be happy if I knew that a game has taken my culture/people and made them the orc-equivalent in a game. It can be seen in a good or a bad light, depending on the person. There really is no reason for a species to be based on a culture. However, if you want an island culture to be based on polynesian culture, I'm all for it. Just not a whole race.

 

My 2 cents.

[J.E. Sawyer]

 

Personally I hope those clothes were not reflective of the aumaua culture. They were pretty generic.

 

 

I can't recall why but I have been led to believe both orlans and aumaua are the more 'isolated' of the the races. Meaning they're the groups with the least interracial interaction.

 

They were not.  There are two major aumaua-dominated cultures in the world, one that is closer to the Dyrwood (but still not that close).  Their clothing looks very different.  When Polina made her first full-scale aumaua illustration, he looked so out-of-the-ordinary that the physiology combined with the outfit and equipment made him seem like he wasn't part of a fantasy setting anymore.  Personally, I thought it was pretty cool, but we did additional illustrations of aumaua who had culturally integrated into Aedyr/Dyrwood/Readceras/The Vailian Republics.  Ultimately, aumaua characters in the game can be geared in the same outfits that other characters can use, so we wanted to make sure that they were physiologically distinctive even in "normal" gear.

 

Orlans are fairly isolated (more by choice than by anything else), but many have integrated into the colonial settlements of the Dyrwood.  Aumaua actually have a lot of contact with other races and were some of the earliest long-range coastal explorers in the world.

 

"Nearby" aumaua have stylistic visual elements taken from Japanese and various Polynesian cultures, but their cultures themselves are not based on Japan, Samoa, Maori, etc.

[Lephys]

I suspect all the hard work they've put into this should... "Aumauant" to a high quality race.

[Tsuga C]

No.

[Malekith]

 

 

Personally I hope those clothes were not reflective of the aumaua culture. They were pretty generic.

 

 

I can't recall why but I have been led to believe both orlans and aumaua are the more 'isolated' of the the races. Meaning they're the groups with the least interracial interaction.

 

They were not.  There are two major aumaua-dominated cultures in the world, one that is closer to the Dyrwood (but still not that close).  Their clothing looks very different.  When Polina made her first full-scale aumaua illustration, he looked so out-of-the-ordinary that the physiology combined with the outfit and equipment made him seem like he wasn't part of a fantasy setting anymore.  Personally, I thought it was pretty cool, but we did additional illustrations of aumaua who had culturally integrated into Aedyr/Dyrwood/Readceras/The Vailian Republics.  Ultimately, aumaua characters in the game can be geared in the same outfits that other characters can use, so we wanted to make sure that they were physiologically distinctive even in "normal" gear.

 

Orlans are fairly isolated (more by choice than by anything else), but many have integrated into the colonial settlements of the Dyrwood.  Aumaua actually have a lot of contact with other races and were some of the earliest long-range coastal explorers in the world.

 

"Nearby" aumaua have stylistic visual elements taken from Japanese and various Polynesian cultures, but their cultures themselves are not based on Japan, Samoa, Maori, etc.

It IS cool.The beauty of fantasy settings is that they allow outlandish and alien races,places whatever. If a fantasy setting is completelly familiar and similar with others we have already seen before, where is the fantasy in that?  In that aspect, planescape was the best fantasy setting in a game,ever.

I understand that many people like familiar elements in their fantasy, so i believe a mixed approach works better.

But don't be afraid to have some completelly outlandish and bizzare elements in P:E as long as they make sense in the setting

[Barothmuk]

 

 

Personally I hope those clothes were not reflective of the aumaua culture. They were pretty generic.

 

 

I can't recall why but I have been led to believe both orlans and aumaua are the more 'isolated' of the the races. Meaning they're the groups with the least interracial interaction.

 

They were not.  There are two major aumaua-dominated cultures in the world, one that is closer to the Dyrwood (but still not that close).  Their clothing looks very different.  When Polina made her first full-scale aumaua illustration, he looked so out-of-the-ordinary that the physiology combined with the outfit and equipment made him seem like he wasn't part of a fantasy setting anymore.  Personally, I thought it was pretty cool, but we did additional illustrations of aumaua who had culturally integrated into Aedyr/Dyrwood/Readceras/The Vailian Republics.  Ultimately, aumaua characters in the game can be geared in the same outfits that other characters can use, so we wanted to make sure that they were physiologically distinctive even in "normal" gear.

 

Orlans are fairly isolated (more by choice than by anything else), but many have integrated into the colonial settlements of the Dyrwood.  Aumaua actually have a lot of contact with other races and were some of the earliest long-range coastal explorers in the world.

 

"Nearby" aumaua have stylistic visual elements taken from Japanese and various Polynesian cultures, but their cultures themselves are not based on Japan, Samoa, Maori, etc.

Interesting. Thanks for the lore drop.

[Messier-31]

Amaua; are these going to be something similar to DA:Origins race of qunari? Looks human but is not human.

[Umberlin]

When Polina made her first full-scale aumaua illustration, he looked so out-of-the-ordinary that the physiology combined with the outfit and equipment made him seem like he wasn't part of a fantasy setting anymore.  Personally, I thought it was pretty cool,

 

That sounds amazing actually.