Lore question about the races

[zered]

I read up on the wiki that sexual pairings by different races never result in conception. But how does it work for subraces? Does a union of a Pale and Wood Elf result in a mix of the two? A Pale Wood Elf?

[house2fly]

I'd imagine so, as a pale elf and wood elf are essentially the elf version of a white human and a black human.

[scottii]

very good question for god-like

[Sceptenar]

very good question for god-like

 

Godlike are sterile.

[scottii]

ya i know, but how are more made?  are they a-sexual or something?

[Rosveen]

ya i know, but how are more made? are they a-sexual or something?

They're children of regular people of any race, born with a god's blessing.

[scottii]

i guess that's cool.  there's prolly some families that would abandon the child.  if so, that would make a really great story.

[house2fly]

In the game Pallegina's family basically disowned her because as a godlike she can't continue the family line.

[JJGee]

Godlikes are explained pretty well in the game and related material. They're not actually even a species, as much as they're an anomaly that occurs arbitrarily with offspring of all kith. They're often not something a parent wants - not just the inability to reproduce, which is an apparently inevitable part of being a Godlike, but also the fact that they're likely to face some difficulties growing up different from anyone else. Those difficulties might just as well carry on into their adult years.

 

I haven't been interested in playing one, but Godlikes are quite a fascinating element in the lore of Pillars of Eternity, in my opinion. They're all unique in not just appearance, but in the way they deal with their "condition" - particularly, their relationship with the deity whose essence they reflect. While some do think of it as a blessing and feel all the more special for it, others curse the god that made them such freaks, questioning the righteousness of the state of their being.

 

As for the original question, I think it's pretty accurate to say that subraces are still the same race - the differences are more geographical than genetic, so presumably reproduction is entirely possible between individuals from different subraces, as long as the general species is the same, essentially eliminating the possibility for half-elves, half-aumaua and the such. Which I think is entirely fine.

[falchen]

Godlike are pretty much D&D genasi with some twists. Whether it's a blessing or a curse is up for debate I think.

[PrimeJunta]

In the game Pallegina's family basically disowned her because as a godlike she can't continue the family line.

Also Pallegina is legally male, which is why she was allowed to join the Brotherhood of Five Suns.

 

I get the impression that she's a little pissed off about that actually.

[FlintlockJazz]

The sub-races thing is a good question.  I know people are thinking they are just like different races on earth, I have to disagree: the different non-human sub-races have drastically different special abilities whereas the human ones all have the same they just have different appearances.  If Pale Elf and a Wood Elf get together which ability do their offspring inherit?  Can they end up with the looks of a Wood Elf with the ability of a Pale Elf?  If so, why isn't it available?  I'm not saying it's not possible, just that we don't really know from the information we have been given.  Who knows, maybe the less 'extreme' looking Pale Elves (the ones with more normal pigmentation you can choose and blonde hair) are supposed to be due to Wood Elf ancestry?

[zered]

I asked this because it could be an interesting way to introduce some new subraces yeah. Hopefully for POE2

[DreamWayfarer]

Also Pallegina is legally male, which is why she was allowed to join the Brotherhood of Five Suns.

 

I get the impression that she's a little pissed off about that actually.

Really? I felt she was glad for that legal loophole, since she saw being a paladin of the Brotherhood as the only way to be a part of society, even if still apart from "normal" people.

[Luckmann]

 

ya i know, but how are more made? are they a-sexual or something?

They're children of regular people of any race, born with a god's blessing.

 

 

Or curse.

 

My personal theory is that the gods are in the same state of decay or "splintering" as every other living thing is believed to be. They make this up by usurping or consuming or incorporating slices of other souls, but some of the "soul-matter" from the gods goes on to merge with other souls in the great wheel, and the offspring that receives such a shard will be born as a godlike.

 

...although that'd imply that there's a Deathlike Bunny out there somewhere, and that's a horrifying thought.

[scottii]

Funny that you mention it, because that is what I was thinking all along.

 

I thought the machine near Thaos converter souls into energy that powers gods.  hehe, I also thought thaos was going to try and steal that power.  too bad it didnt, he would have been a lot better boss.

[falchen]

Realistically or from a genetic viewpoint the racial traits make no sense anyway unless you can argue that island amaua are born with extra pockets.

 

From a gameplay view, most rpgs get around this by having subraces "breed true", (so for example, "pale" and "wood" elf would have children who are either "pale" or "wood" elves rather than "pale wood" elves), while different races either create half-something or just can't breed at all.

[Ausir]

 

 

I have to disagree: the different non-human sub-races have drastically different special abilities whereas the human ones all have the same they just have different appearances.

 

Having human races with different abilities would open a can of worms...

[Rosveen]

 

I have to disagree: the different non-human sub-races have drastically different special abilities whereas the human ones all have the same they just have different appearances.

Having human races with different abilities would open a can of worms...

Other games have done without being demolished by politically correct outrage. *shrugs* Just give them something more original than "Ocean folk are the fastest runners."

[Ausir]

In other games these abilities tend to be based on their culture, not race as such in general. Which is separate in PoE.

[Fiaryn]

 

In the game Pallegina's family basically disowned her because as a godlike she can't continue the family line.

Also Pallegina is legally male, which is why she was allowed to join the Brotherhood of Five Suns.

 

I get the impression that she's a little pissed off about that actually.

 

 

Close, but not quite. Godlike are legally genderless. It doesn't matter if you're overtly male or female, as far as society is concerned your lack of an ability to reproduce makes you effectively genderless and unfit for marriage.

[Luckmann]

In other games these abilities tend to be based on their culture, not race as such in general. Which is separate in PoE.

That's extremely generous, really. If anything, culture and race are far closer in other games than it is in PoE. Use whatever excuse, really, the fact still stands - there's no shortage of games that have no trouble depicting sub-races as quantifiably different, whether you blame it on "culture" or not; it tends to not be defined which it is.

 

Having human subraces be different is no different to having elven subraces be different, no matter how you cut it, and either way, the last thing we want to do is be held hostage by cultural marxism and politically correct outrage.