What about Aumaua?

[Scottfree6000]

It's has been a while since we heard about the Aumaua race, and all I've heard was that they are huge people with wedded hands and feet and big heads. I hate to ever bring this up but the concept pictures make them look like buff up Na'vi.  

 

I guess since I've always like my main character to be a meat-headed all tank  Orc like fighter (I know it's a more trivial role to play) in BG1 & 2, I feel like this race would be feared and hated for their size alone like the cute and cuddly Orlans who are just ostracized for their well uses of guerrilla tactics. I just  want to know Aumaua history and how they are view and treated in the society that surround The Ruins of Eir Glanfath. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Barothmuk]

Sadly there isn't that much information yet.

 

From the wiki:

 

They are large, semiaquatic humanoids with a diverse array of skin patterns, elongated heads, and semi-webbed hands and feet.^[1] Aumaua are a minority in all of the "core" nations/cultures around the Dyrwood. The aumaua-dominated cultures to the (far) north and (slightly closer) south are about as technologically-advanced as the Aedyr Empire.^[2] Including Rauatai.

 

In my thread "Would You Want Polynesian inspired Aumaua?" J.E. Sawyer had this to say:

 

 

 

 

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

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.

 

 

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

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.

Regardless, even though information is sparse I think it's safe to assume they're unlikely to be portrayed as similar to orcs.

Edited February 12, 2014 by Barothmuk

[Karkarov]

Yeah personally I am far more interested in Aumaua than the other "new races" and really not concerned about Godlikes at all.... sadly coverage/info drops seems to be the exact opposite direction.  We know they won't be orc like and they live near water... that's really about it.  We still have a long way to go before release though, I am sure they will do a big update on them sooner or later.  Just hope it is the former not the latter.

[Messier-31]

Yeah, I mean: what is Aumauauau?

[Blarghagh]

Yeah, I mean: what is Aumauauau?

 

This reminds me of the character in the Thor movies constantly referring to Mjolnir as "meow-meow".