(07-21-2013, 07:52 PM)Swift Wrote: Sheesh...
I'll tell you how it works in R'aqsha's tribe, and maybe that will help you.
They are Seekers of the Sun, of the Raptor tribe. They live mostly in the Sagolii Desert but have branched out to earn money in Ul'dah, mostly as dancers/performers. They are prestigious spear hunters, so most of them have the dragoon/lancer class.
1. How, exactly, are challenges for the title of Nunh handled?
Usually with a fight of some sort, sometimes to the death but not always. The loser is kicked out of the tribe if they are still alive, left to die in the desert or go off to the city - whatever.
2. Â How much influence to women have over who becomes a challenger?
Since only a woman can decide if she enjoys mating with a particular male or not, in this tribe they have a lot of say - their opinion is very important. They can decide if they think a nunh is mentally unfit, or his personality is shit, if he's too ugly for their tastes, or if he's cheated in his fight to earn the title, etc. Each woman's willingness to mate with a particular nunh is considered a 'vote' - if the majority are fine with him, he stays. If it drops down to say, 60%, he's getting in some trouble. Anything less than 50% and they try to find another guy. Haven't thought beyond this, though.
3. Are the challenges a straight-up fight? Or are they most like contests, such as "who can hunt the most game in a single week?"
It depends on what the two fighting males want to do. Usually they will have a particular challenge they want to show off with, like hunting the biggest game.
In-game, there's a Basilisk tribe Drake tribe (sorry, got it wrong at first) of miqo'te living in an oasis of the Sagolii desert that pride how well the females can hunt, and seem to make a contest of it. So, I'm thinking depending on the particular tribe, it could be a 1 on 1 fight, or some feat of strength, or a hunting quota. It may change from issue to issue.
4. Is the loser killed? If not, is there a punishment associated with failure? (Shunning? Exile? Castration? Etc.?)
It's possible they can be killed, but not necessary. For the Raptor tribe, losing and being cast out into the desert is pretty much a death sentence anyway unless they decide to go live in Ul'dah, where they are forced to cut ties with the Raptor tribe completely.
5. If there is a particularly fatal or gruesome punishment, how does this affect the morale of the rest of the tribe? If there isn't, what factor prevents the challenges from occurring very commonly?
Women only want to breed with the strongest, most appealing male. Weeding out the weak is usually no issue to them. Living in the desert is extremely hard and if you can't keep up you are left behind.
8. Does romance play a role anywhere? If so, how common is it? How many partners are culturally acceptable? Does romance include a sexual element with the relationship? Is this okay with the Nunhs, or does it have to be in secret?
Not in the traditional sense of a single couple. Women and nunh are encouraged to form strong bonds with each other, and favorites are looked down upon. The nunh is expected to treat each woman with equal respect and "love.". Ideally, it would be a huge "big love" going on between them all, where nobody is above the other. Women may also seek pleasure from other women, or have fun in groups, especially with their nunh - to promote this bond. Recreational sex is common, thus.
The only thing that isn't allowed is messing with tia. Tia have no sexual rights in their clan, unless it's with another male - which isn't really often because there are so few. They are considered 'eunuchs' until proving they are good enough to mate with the girls and produce good offspring.
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And there you have it. Maybe it helps you answer some stuff. I personally have a lot of fun thinking about this and creating the NPCs that form R'aqsha's tribe. I'm even tempted to make a Keeper character to explore their culture as well. It's just really fun for me.
