Hi, so I’ve played a Keeper of the Moon who was raised in a traditional/old fashioned family for nearly three years now, and I’ve read all the lore I know of. I’ve also spent many hours theory-crafting what Kiht’s childhood and life would have been like before she entered into the life in which I’ve played out over the last three years.
Some parts of your questions can be answered with lore while other parts need a little theory-craft. Instead of echoing the lore already posted above, I will confirm and tell you what I think.
I would say: not usually. Adult males wander, and their birthrate is far lower than that of females. There is a greater chance that a male will sire many children with several different partners in his lifespan, and as he leaves one mate behind, that mate may meet a different wandering male later.
Most lore I have seen has Keepers talking about being raised by their mothers. No mention of the father.
However, I thought of one possible way for Keepers to know of their fathers. I think it’s possible a male may wander back to a mate he has had before, and may meet his children. I think this might be uncommon, but I don’t see why it would never happen. People can develop preferences, and I could imagine a wandering male developing a preference for a certain female or group of them. Why not?
Males are named based on birth order, but because they don't usually stay with the family as adults, I doubt it plays any part in social hierarchy.
My theory is they are named by order as a means of showing how many sons a single female has. I could imagine it being a prestigious thing for a female to have many sons since they are usually so rare. Otherwise, why give them their mother’s name along with the suffix? I believe Keepers might care who the mother of a male was, or they’d just give them random forenames.
Females -may- have social hierarchy based on birth order because they usually remain with the family, and that likely means the eldest daughter will inherit roles, responsibilities and property of the mother. This is just an assumption on my part.
I'd imagine most fathers don't usually grow close to their children since they would have them with multiple mates through their lives. As you already saw, this is pretty backed-up by lore.
However, mothers do raise their children directly, and this includes their sons and daughters both. I really don’t think males could survive as lone wanderers unless they were strong and knowledgeable. They are probably taught how to hunt, fight and survive on their own. This means lots of training from their family which would be made up of mostly females.
I’ve never seen lore to suggest males are given the boot as children. This would be a horrible idea. Males are rare enough by birthrate, and to make a small minority even smaller by casting them out to grow and survive in nature seems like Keepers would be inviting extinction. The Black Shroud is -not- a safe place.
I’d be more willing to accept that males are grown and trained until they come of age then are given an encouraging boot.
It is insinuated that adult males are only welcomed in short spurts. So my theory is they prepare the boys for a long, nomadic life.
Some have hypothesized that males are treated as lesser, or downright abused. But I don't think so. Abusing males would make them fearful of females, and less likely to visit with their "gifts of game" for some romance. Keepers also worship Menphina the Lover as their patron goddess. "The Lover". Unless all males are born as masochists, I don't see abuse as being true to Menphina.
I only mention this because I see it as a common theme for many male Keeper player characters to think females are horrible because they abuse males. I don’t think that’s actually common lore-wise.
Keepers live in small, tight-knit groups of two or three families. These groups seem to be informal as they are often nameless. There’s been countless arguments about what to even call a Keeper group (clan, sept, tribe?). The lore doesn’t name them.
To me, this means the members of these groups would have to be highly cooperative, and every member would be important because of limited numbers.
That said, Keepers are known to have a reputation for tenacity. This shows in most Keeper NPCs you encounter. Females can’t rely on males to serve much of a role in their society, so they take on every job that needs to be done. Males are independent and solitary, so they have to be tough, “lone wolves†or they die to a house-sized scorpion or something.
I imagine this tenacity can breed tensions and rivalries. But within families, this is likely kept in some kind of check for the sake of close-knit cooperation.
I respect you for going into this sort of detail with your character while using the lore for reference.
This has come up a lot. The typical approach is: his mother could be blessed for having male offspring more than most other females. I doubt it would be seen as crazy; lore wouldn’t mention naming conventions for up to ten sons if it -never- happened. It’s just very rare.
That said, I’d bet you the family would raise all the boys the same way they raise any boys.
Also keep in mind that there can always be exceptions to rules and commonalities. Let the lore inspire you and guide you, but not dictate what your character must be. Sometimes it’s fun to be contrary too.
Some parts of your questions can be answered with lore while other parts need a little theory-craft. Instead of echoing the lore already posted above, I will confirm and tell you what I think.
(10-09-2016, 03:24 AM)luxemas Wrote: Are families the typical two parents with each child being from the same parents?
I would say: not usually. Adult males wander, and their birthrate is far lower than that of females. There is a greater chance that a male will sire many children with several different partners in his lifespan, and as he leaves one mate behind, that mate may meet a different wandering male later.
Most lore I have seen has Keepers talking about being raised by their mothers. No mention of the father.
However, I thought of one possible way for Keepers to know of their fathers. I think it’s possible a male may wander back to a mate he has had before, and may meet his children. I think this might be uncommon, but I don’t see why it would never happen. People can develop preferences, and I could imagine a wandering male developing a preference for a certain female or group of them. Why not?
Quote:[*]What are the expectations and responsibilities of children? Do things like age or birth order play part?
Males are named based on birth order, but because they don't usually stay with the family as adults, I doubt it plays any part in social hierarchy.
My theory is they are named by order as a means of showing how many sons a single female has. I could imagine it being a prestigious thing for a female to have many sons since they are usually so rare. Otherwise, why give them their mother’s name along with the suffix? I believe Keepers might care who the mother of a male was, or they’d just give them random forenames.
Females -may- have social hierarchy based on birth order because they usually remain with the family, and that likely means the eldest daughter will inherit roles, responsibilities and property of the mother. This is just an assumption on my part.
Quote:[*]How close are parents with their children? Both mother or father? Do those relationships differ strongly based on gender?
I'd imagine most fathers don't usually grow close to their children since they would have them with multiple mates through their lives. As you already saw, this is pretty backed-up by lore.
However, mothers do raise their children directly, and this includes their sons and daughters both. I really don’t think males could survive as lone wanderers unless they were strong and knowledgeable. They are probably taught how to hunt, fight and survive on their own. This means lots of training from their family which would be made up of mostly females.
I’ve never seen lore to suggest males are given the boot as children. This would be a horrible idea. Males are rare enough by birthrate, and to make a small minority even smaller by casting them out to grow and survive in nature seems like Keepers would be inviting extinction. The Black Shroud is -not- a safe place.
I’d be more willing to accept that males are grown and trained until they come of age then are given an encouraging boot.
It is insinuated that adult males are only welcomed in short spurts. So my theory is they prepare the boys for a long, nomadic life.
Some have hypothesized that males are treated as lesser, or downright abused. But I don't think so. Abusing males would make them fearful of females, and less likely to visit with their "gifts of game" for some romance. Keepers also worship Menphina the Lover as their patron goddess. "The Lover". Unless all males are born as masochists, I don't see abuse as being true to Menphina.
I only mention this because I see it as a common theme for many male Keeper player characters to think females are horrible because they abuse males. I don’t think that’s actually common lore-wise.
Quote:[*]Is sibling tensions and rivalry common? Competition for parental or community attention?
Keepers live in small, tight-knit groups of two or three families. These groups seem to be informal as they are often nameless. There’s been countless arguments about what to even call a Keeper group (clan, sept, tribe?). The lore doesn’t name them.
To me, this means the members of these groups would have to be highly cooperative, and every member would be important because of limited numbers.
That said, Keepers are known to have a reputation for tenacity. This shows in most Keeper NPCs you encounter. Females can’t rely on males to serve much of a role in their society, so they take on every job that needs to be done. Males are independent and solitary, so they have to be tough, “lone wolves†or they die to a house-sized scorpion or something.
I imagine this tenacity can breed tensions and rivalries. But within families, this is likely kept in some kind of check for the sake of close-knit cooperation.
Quote:I mean... I know that's some pretty nitty gritty stuff, but at least for myself in writing characters, its something I tend to find rather valuable in gauging how they deal with relating to strangers and building relationships.
I respect you for going into this sort of detail with your character while using the lore for reference.
Quote:For a bit of context, my Keeper is named Tali'ra which would make him the fifth born son in his family (which yes I know, quite rare, but its one of those things where you picked the name first before realizing the context) and in that sense I figure he'd be something of a total Momma's boy? But I'm also not sure if having so many male children would seem like... obscene in some way so I'm just here kinda like how do I write out this boy's past.
This has come up a lot. The typical approach is: his mother could be blessed for having male offspring more than most other females. I doubt it would be seen as crazy; lore wouldn’t mention naming conventions for up to ten sons if it -never- happened. It’s just very rare.
That said, I’d bet you the family would raise all the boys the same way they raise any boys.
Also keep in mind that there can always be exceptions to rules and commonalities. Let the lore inspire you and guide you, but not dictate what your character must be. Sometimes it’s fun to be contrary too.
