Quote:(07-20-2013, 10:03 PM)Naunet Wrote: Callipygian
The other outcome is the tia loses, at which point we begin wrestling again with the question of does the nunh kill the loser (in this case an insubordinate tia) and the illegitimate offspring? Â I suppose a third possible outcome is tia and female take a cue from the Hyur and elope, but that would be highly controversial (and some fantastic storyline).
I mentioned this earlier, but one of the legitimate ways for a Tia to become a Nunh is to take a female or two and go start his own tribe.
I highly doubt a Nunh would outright kill a Tia who tried to mate "under his nose", much less kill any children sired by that Tia. Back to the whole miqo'te are a sentiant, cultured, abstract-thought-and-morality-capable species.
The way the scenario with the tia and the female was described, I read it as them being outcast or running off to avoid conflict with the nunh. It's unlikely any other females would follow as he would likely be viewed as a coward and also unlikely any other Seekers would consider an outcast pair a new tribe.
It also expresses a bias to assume that modern Western morality should be the expected norm for Miqo'te. Given that they've segregated their males into two groups (a few worth breeding, most not worth breeding) indicates that their values for life and individual rights are not the same as our own.
As for the killings based on vying for a breeding position, this happens all the time in nature. Many animals fight to the death over mating.
There are human precedents as well. I'll pose two scenarios.
Consider a member of a fictitious "Ox tribe" that practices a ritual similar to the ancient Nordic practice of Holmgang. The challenger poses a challenge and the challenged chooses the terms. It's likely the nunh would choose a fight to the death for several reasons. First, a death on the ox hide is not murder but at worst a destruction of property resulting in an exchange of weregild. Second, if all tia are expecting a fight to the death in order to become a nunh, they're not going to issue a challenge lightly or commit offenses that could be interpreted as a challenge. Third, many of the nunh may prefer death rather than a loss of station and ceding breeding rights.
Now consider a tribe with a moral code similar to that of Bushido in Japan. In that particular culture, the worst disgrace a nunh could bestow upon a defeated tia might be leaving him alive. In essense you would be saying "you're such a disgrace you're not even worth the effort to kill." This particular sentiment was even echoed in pistol dueling throughout Europe and the United States late into the 1800s. To deliberately misfire your shot was a grave insult and a sign of cowardice.
I would argue that the ancient Vikings, feudal Japanese, and colonial Europeans/Americans were "sentiant, cultured, abstract-thought-and-morality-capable" people. Their morality simply differed from our own.
My point here is that if someone wanted to play their Seeker tribe as resembling ancient Viking or bushido morality, that would be pretty cool. I wholeheartedly agree that only the most barbaric, isolated sort of tribe would kill defenseless children, but the option should exist for someone willing to play such a dark character, because some people enjoy pushing the envelope to those sorts of extremes. I had a friend in my previous tabletop group who consistently played characters whose sole motivation seemed to be "what's the next terrible thing I can do that I can get away with?" Oftentimes this led to some very tense and very rewarding roleplay.
I'm a tinker! Tinkerer? Hrm.... I'm an artificer! - Myxie Tryxle | Impressions and Memories
