« Staking Out My Brain | Home | Shifts of Focus »
the Bleynac
By Corvus | May 11, 2006
I thought I’d toss something up while I let my next couple of posts simmer a bit.
This portly fellow is a Bleynac, one of the major races within my storyscape, the Drachurae Cycle. The Bleynac live predominantly on the northern hemisphere of the Serra and are associated with the elemental force of Hydros. A such, they have a strong intuitive awareness of history and the lore of the land. They tend to portliness, but their strength and agility should not be ignored. They can be fierce warriors when called upon.
Their diets consist predominantly of fish so their cities tend to hug the coastal regions, river banks, and lake sides. Their most honored sailors dare to venture beyond the relative safety of the bays and coves along the shore, daily challenging the tempestuous ocean and its unpredictable inhabitants. The palace of the Queen, a figurehead position at this point in time, is decorated with the largest shells, scales, teeth, and claws brought back by these deep sea fishermen. The largest trophies, the teeth of a time serpent that attacked fourteen boats, measure fully the height of nine stout Bleynac in length and arch over the palace’s main entrance.
The Bleynac are an advanced culture with a great love of music and the arts. They are skilled crafts-people who feel that to create beauty is the highest calling. Their houses are typically encrusted with elaborate mosaics of shells and scales, their boats painted with bright swirling colors, and their clothing sewn with sumptuous designs of wrought metal threads. Their music ranges from wild dances to soothing night-laments.
They also prize learning and, as a culture, devote much time and resources to studying the natural world and the other cultures that share the Serra. Normally a fun loving and joyful society, the Bleynac’s trade system is based upon reputation, or Renown, something they have an intuitive understand of. Unfortunately, their xenophobic reactions to barter and currency based economic system make relations with the other races, particularly the humans, strained at best and violent at worst.
May 12th, 2006 at 2:48 am
OK, I usually don’t comment on your Drachurae cycle stuff because I’m not that interested in other people’s universes (there are just too many of them!) However, can I make a suggestion for future consideration?
Instead of only naming your races with unique arcane signifiers such as Bleynac, also provide nicknames that other races call them – ones that can be rendered in plain English. This will give players a hook to remember the race. For example, I imagine a race such as this might be called ‘Shellfolk’ by some polite people. I wonder what racial slurs might be coined…
Have a good weekend!
May 12th, 2006 at 8:03 am
Interesting input, thanks Chris. I do find it interesting that you provided your own “plain English” nickname for the race, though. Given that our goal is to create a framework for people to tell their own stories, perhaps providing the nicknames ourselves isn’t the best choice? I’ll think on it some more.
May 12th, 2006 at 9:31 am
Do you really think I am a typical example of your audience? Because I doubt it.
I’ve created several dozen fantasy and sci fi worlds in my time, and this sort of thing is second nature.
If you leave names to your players, you will get some truly awful names, probably comparing them to existing things. Do you want the Bleynac to be called ‘River Hobbits?’
My point is, if all your races have names in their native languages, there is no ‘chink in the armour’ for people to get to grips with your world. They must acquire an entire lexicon of terminology wholesale. I like a little ‘native colour’ in a fantasy world – but six custom race names leaves me cold. How am I supposed to remember who is who?
Think about it, see how it sits with you.
May 12th, 2006 at 9:49 am
Absolutely, you are representative of a large portion of our early audience, Chris. Since the first thing we expect to publish is a table top version of the system in the form of a role playing manual or two.
Regardless, I understand your point and it’s officially gone into the mill for processing.
May 12th, 2006 at 9:52 am
P.S. I expect people will call them the “Otter-Man Empire” once they see the society in action. *kniw*