Miqo’te Mating Strategies Explored: a biologist’s point of view

[NKato]

Argue about how a Miqo'te spreads her legs to a mate all you want, you guys are seriously reading too much into it.

 

Best get your minds out of the gutter, lest this game's RP community turn into another ERP Central, like TERA.

 

That said, Keeper clan is best clan. :V

[FreelanceWizard]

Sheesh, it seems that the longer this topic goes on, the more difficult it's becoming to make up my mind as to what to do with my character's particular tribe.

 

There's quite a few questions that I'm trying to answer as I go along:

-snip-

 

I was going to put "we don't know" to all of these, but, well, I'm sure you already know that.

 

Narratively, I think you can get a lot of mileage by having your character be from a branch of a tribe and answering these questions as they'd work for your character's story. If you want a light backstory for a tribal Seeker, have your character's tribal branch be friendly and happy with challenges being battles of wits and the women having a lot of social influence. If you want a brutally dark one, have the challenges be common and gruesome with the women little more than trophies for the nunh with no say in what happens. Since there are lots of branches (the devs say tribal branching via expansion of territory is "quite common") and little lore to specify how things must be, there's lots of room for you to do what makes best sense for your character's story.

[growly beast]

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.  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.

 

---

 

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.

[Naunet]

Argue about how a Miqo'te spreads her legs to a mate all you want, you guys are seriously reading too much into it.

 

Best get your minds out of the gutter, lest this game's RP community turn into another ERP Central, like TERA.

 

That said, Keeper clan is best clan. :V

 

Bah, c'mon, NK. This is a lot different than TERA's erp-fest.

 

Also, hello there.

[Swift]

 

I was going to put "we don't know" to all of these, but, well, I'm sure you already know that.

 

Narratively, I think you can get a lot of mileage by having your character be from a branch of a tribe and answering these questions as they'd work for your character's story. If you want a light backstory for a tribal Seeker, have your character's tribal branch be friendly and happy with challenges being battles of wits and the women having a lot of social influence. If you want a brutally dark one, have the challenges be common and gruesome with the women little more than trophies for the nunh with no say in what happens. Since there are lots of branches (the devs say tribal branching via expansion of territory is "quite common") and little lore to specify how things must be, there's lots of room for you to do what makes best sense for your character's story.

 

That's exactly what I'm trying to do, actually ^^

 

It's just that I feel as though I'm playing with weights and scales.

I want to add some darker, more questionable influences into the mix so that I have a place to spawn some character flaws from, and a way to add some complexity and depth whenever my character interacts with other PCs--but at the same time, I don't want to overdo it to the point in which I end up with a character that could only be realistically represented as a depressed recluse or a savage.

 

This is probably because I've recently been playing two very dark characters in my D&D campaign, so I kinda want to step back out into the light for some fresh air, lol.

 

I also know there's a lot of depth that can come from the lighter-side of these details as well, and I've been planning on several of those already. But I like inter-cultural contrasts, conflicts, and interaction a lot, so, again, I'm trying to find my middle-ground xP

 

Edit!-

Also, thanks, Growly. I'm planning on using the 'M' (Marmot) tribe and setting them in more temperate climates, but I believe I can use the information you provided as a sort of reference point for my own. ^^

[growly beast]

Argue about how a Miqo'te spreads her legs to a mate all you want, you guys are seriously reading too much into it.

 

Best get your minds out of the gutter, lest this game's RP community turn into another ERP Central, like TERA.

 

That said, Keeper clan is best clan. :V

 

Pretty sure "reading too much into it" is the basis of what roleplayers do. You are on a website devoted to writing on and on about the lives of your video game character. What exactly makes the way you do it so much better?

 

And there's nothing "in the gutter" about discussing culture and nature. And if it was - so what? Again, what makes your kind of RP any better than somebody who enjoys ERP?

---

And no problem, Swift!

[Zyrusticae]

One simply MUST integrate the environmental & cultural aspects, traditions, religion, morals and mores and so on into the equation. For it is THAT that shapes 'who' and 'what' we are....

At least in my opinion. But this is the simple 'nature vs nurture' argument that still persists today. Even among anthropologists. (esp between evolutionary and cultural anthropologists!) But I digress.

You've opened this can of worms, so you're going to have to deal with it.

 

It's actually a combination of both. How you react to and process certain situations is largely determined by a combination of past experiences and your own genetic predispositions that move you towards certain conclusions. For example: some people who suffer traumatic childhood experiences become killers as adults; other people, for whatever reason, do not. You simply cannot divorce nature from nurture as that is oversimplifying the facts of the matter.

 

Experience, or nurture, whichever, is most likely the more important of the two, I will note. People who have a predisposition towards becoming murderers and/or serial killers are actually perfectly capable of living a healthy and productive life, provided that the environment they were born and raised in wasn't a destructive one (and this is one reason I am not a proponent of the current punishment-justice system, but I digress). However, that predisposition is always there, and it still manifests itself in some pretty interesting ways - for example, the aforementioned potential killers will display a noticeable lack of empathy towards other human beings, even when they are behaving quite amiably.

 

This means that, if, for example, your character was born in an environment that was harsh, unforgiving, and heavy with violence, they are not necessarily guaranteed to reciprocate with more violence. They might simply withdraw. They might give up. They might defend themselves, but only against aggressors. Or, indeed, they may become terrifying, remorseless killers. That all depends on many things. It's never a clear-cut "this happened, therefore X character is going to become this". You can draw up a chain of events, but once you change the foundation, that chain is unlikely to apply to another.

 

Annnd that's that. I hope this was informative to someone.

[Kyatai]

Hahaha...

I agree with you, Zyru. Just like in all things, there MUST be a happy medium. Strict totalitarian thinking is illogical- especially when discussing humans and human societies. There is always a mix of things because we are complex organisms.

Nature DOES affect an aspect of personal development, just as Nurture does.

My dismissive comment there was more along the lines of "don't want to get into that discussion here" rather than "I don't believe Nature plays a role." I tend to write a lot and try VERY hard to self-edit. That was... one such attempt.

But in rereading, I can see how my comment "THAT is what shapes who/what we are" was misleading... because, frankly... it is.

And yes, very informative.

[Azthran]

 

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 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.

 

 

I didn't do much exploring in the Sagolii due to my level so is there a second group of NPCs out there? I'm just curious because I know Forgotten Springs houses a bunch of Drake tribe Miqo'te.

 

Now I'm sorry if this next issue has already been brought up as I only skimmed over most of the thread.

 

From my skimming I got the vibe that a few people seem to think being a Nunh goes hand in hand with being a tribal leader. While this -can- happen SE's blurb on it says that it's very rare for a Nunh to actual hold any sort of leadership role in the tribe. Again there are exceptions and as I said it's -rare- not -impossible-.

 

Also from bits of NPC dialogue it seems, at least in my opinion, that he can't just simply walk up to any of the women and get some tail any time he wants. This could be different for each tribe so please keep in mind that I'm speaking strictly about the Drake tribe in Forgotten Springs. Now in one of the buildings there you can find two women talking and one of them asks the other "When is your next coupling?" In my opinion this suggests that the Nunh and the women have to plan when they get together to mate. Also close by there is another woman who talks about the Nunh ignoring/not caring about his duties, suggesting that she's not very happy with the current Nunh. Now we can all get something different from NPC banter like this but for me anyways I'd like to think that the women still hold a lot of sway over the Nunh and can refuse him should they consider him unfit for his duties.

[growly beast]

 

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 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.

 

 

I didn't do much exploring in the Sagolii due to my level so is there a second group of NPCs out there? I'm just curious because I know Forgotten Springs houses a bunch of Drake tribe Miqo'te.

 

Now I'm sorry if this next issue has already been brought up as I only skimmed over most of the thread.

 

From my skimming I got the vibe that a few people seem to think being a Nunh goes hand in hand with being a tribal leader. While this -can- happen SE's blurb on it says that it's very rare for a Nunh to actual hold any sort of leadership role in the tribe. Again there are exceptions and as I said it's -rare- not -impossible-.

 

Also from bits of NPC dialogue it seems, at least in my opinion, that he can't just simply walk up to any of the women and get some tail any time he wants. This could be different for each tribe so please keep in mind that I'm speaking strictly about the Drake tribe in Forgotten Springs. Now in one of the buildings there you can find two women talking and one of them asks the other "When is your next coupling?" In my opinion this suggests that the Nunh and the women have to plan when they get together to mate. Also close by there is another woman who talks about the Nunh ignoring/not caring about his duties, suggesting that she's not very happy with the current Nunh. Now we can all get something different from NPC banter like this but for me anyways I'd like to think that the women still hold a lot of sway over the Nunh and can refuse him should they consider him unfit for his duties.

 

Ah crap, sorry, I meant drake. Those are the guys I'm talking about, actually.

[Kyatai]

I just got done working on my Seeker's bio and I have to say that this thread in its entirety was helpful... though was not literally used. (which I think was the point)

 

In my character's tribe (T' (Condor) which I have not seen anyone else claim as yet- but regardless, it is one of many 'Septs' of the Condor, so not the 'rule' of all Condor Miqo'te):

*  The Tribe is 'led' by a Council of the Elder (non-breeding) females, with the Prime Elder being the present Nuhn's mother. They DO have an overall role in the direction of the Clan and in the worthiness of the present Nuhn. Sure, the Prime might be favored toward her son, but I also envision both would be taken into consideration when deciding on Nuhn.

*  The role of Nuhn is less of a leader role, and more of a service and protector role. His overall job is not only to impregnate the females, but also to protect his 'assets' and the Sept as a whole. I do not see him as being any more elevated in the society as any other, his job is simply specialized.

*  The role of Tia is not an 'lower' status than Nuhn- it is simply the status of those males that are either too young, lacking the genetic qualities favored by the community, too old, perhaps defeated challengers/former Nuhn that choose/permitted to stay or simply just uninterested in the role. These would also serve as protectors of the tribe- but perhaps seen as more 'expendable' than the Nuhn- though the Nuhn (being the most 'powerful' male) would also be in the thick of it.

* The battle for the title of Nuhn is a physical one.The outcome of the defeated is in the hands of the victor. Upon the 'choosing' of a new Nuhn, the Prime Elder is demoted to simply Elder, and the new Nuhn's mother is elevated. If the former Nuhn is killed, the Prime no longer has a role in the tribe at all, and typically heads out into the desert to meet Azeyma.

* The Nuhn has the right of access to breed with the tribe females, but not the right to demand it (aka 'tribal supported rape.') Females have a say- so if a Nuhn is accused of forcing himself on a female, the Elders will see to it he is removed.

One way or another. The only hold back might be not having a suitable Nuhn to install in his place.

[Clover]

Speaking of mating strategies... does anyone have any idea of what age do Miqo'tes breed at?

I'm fearing it'd be a very young age. I don't want my Miqo'te to have had any experience with males (unless the RP itself naturally changes this fact), but I don't want to imagine she's 11 just to make sure that she hasn't done anything *sweatdrops*.

 

I wonder if 16 would be a good age for her. I feel that making her older would be pushing it.

[Desmond Aryll]

 

* The battle for the title of Nuhn is a physical one.The outcome of the defeated is in the hands of the victor. Upon the 'choosing' of a new Nuhn, the Prime Elder is demoted to simply Elder, and the new Nuhn's mother is elevated. If the former Nuhn is killed, the Prime no longer has a role in the tribe at all, and typically heads out into the desert to meet Azeyma.

 

Wow, this is a great idea for nuance in your tribe! Well done! Sounds like this group can be very intense when it comes to Nuhn ascension as it might potentially change the direction of leadership.

 

---

 

Clover

 

 

 

Speaking of mating strategies... does anyone have any idea of what age do Miqo'tes breed at?

I'm fearing it'd be a very young age. I don't want my Miqo'te to have had any experience with males (unless the RP itself naturally changes this fact), but I don't want to imagine she's 11 just to make sure that she hasn't done anything *sweatdrops*.

 

 

I wonder if 16 would be a good age for her. I feel that making her older would be pushing it.

 

---

 

 

I kind of think the Miqo'te female's point of view can be a bit more optimistic. To use a loose example, imagine a society where a group of females had to share George Clooney, Chris Hemsworth or whoever they might consider very desirable.

 

 I would imagine that a significant portion of the population wouldn't see it as a hardship so it wouldn't be something she was forced to do. If your Miqo'te hasn't had that kind of experience I would suggest that it is simply because she's not interested. Just a thought.

 

 

 

---

[growly beast]

I just got done working on my Seeker's bio and I have to say that this thread in its entirety was helpful... though was not literally used. (which I think was the point)

 

In my character's tribe (T' (Condor) which I have not seen anyone else claim as yet- but regardless, it is one of many 'Septs' of the Condor, so not the 'rule' of all Condor Miqo'te):

*  The Tribe is 'led' by a Council of the Elder (non-breeding) females, with the Prime Elder being the present Nuhn's mother. They DO have an overall role in the direction of the Clan and in the worthiness of the present Nuhn. Sure, the Prime might be favored toward her son, but I also envision both would be taken into consideration when deciding on Nuhn.

*  The role of Nuhn is less of a leader role, and more of a service and protector role. His overall job is not only to impregnate the females, but also to protect his 'assets' and the Sept as a whole. I do not see him as being any more elevated in the society as any other, his job is simply specialized.

*  The role of Tia is not an 'lower' status than Nuhn- it is simply the status of those males that are either too young, lacking the genetic qualities favored by the community, too old, perhaps defeated challengers/former Nuhn that choose/permitted to stay or simply just uninterested in the role. These would also serve as protectors of the tribe- but perhaps seen as more 'expendable' than the Nuhn- though the Nuhn (being the most 'powerful' male) would also be in the thick of it.

* The battle for the title of Nuhn is a physical one.The outcome of the defeated is in the hands of the victor. Upon the 'choosing' of a new Nuhn, the Prime Elder is demoted to simply Elder, and the new Nuhn's mother is elevated. If the former Nuhn is killed, the Prime no longer has a role in the tribe at all, and typically heads out into the desert to meet Azeyma.

* The Nuhn has the right of access to breed with the tribe females, but not the right to demand it (aka 'tribal supported rape.') Females have a say- so if a Nuhn is accused of forcing himself on a female, the Elders will see to it he is removed.

One way or another. The only hold back might be not having a suitable Nuhn to install in his place.

 

I love this! It works pretty similar for my subsection of the Raptor tribe, especially with the nunh not really being a leader but has other important jobs.

[Razamir Lahoka]

Argue about how a Miqo'te spreads her legs to a mate all you want, you guys are seriously reading too much into it.

 

Best get your minds out of the gutter, lest this game's RP community turn into another ERP Central, like TERA.

 

That said, Keeper clan is best clan. :V

I have to agree,  with you NKato.  Wholeheartedly on the fact that this topic comes up way to often on forums and in chat.  Even as an example this thread is getting more replies than many IC ideas / hell even greeting post by new people.

 

I agree there is being to much read into this one topic, when there are many other things about the seekers that could be speculated on.  Hell for one such instance their nose, as per SE "  have the noses of hounds."  If you bring this topic up, you are shot down as being a metagamer or even godmodder. But to have yourself be a nuhn and have an ic reason to try and "mate" with as many females as possible, which could possibly turn very bad icly, will likely turn out to have more metagaming than the use of their nose.

 

Before anyone wants to argue that it wont be metagaming/godmodding, take into account people that would abuse this will generally only rp with your character if they think they have a shot at getting something.  Otherwise you will be totally invisible to them icly. Which mean they will be taking ooc knowledge of the fact that your character will or wont do something for them and use it to determine whether their character will even acknowledge you icly. That or they will use blackmail to try and force you to rp with them, such as " if you don't do this I wont rp with you anymore."  I doubt this will be done aloud, but in some form or another it boils down to that statement. 

 

Now before anyone says they have to agree, yes they do, but lets take this into account, say your character has a nuhn, and your nuhn is challenged and beaten icly by a tia character. Okay you now have a nice new shiny nuhn. Perhaps your character had feelings for the other nuhn, who is now dead/banished/crippled etc.  Now because of whatever reason or another your character isnt going to be to happy with said new nuhn. Your either going to be ignored, if you dont want to be a part of that "breeding" process, or you will get the ooc statement of, if you dont want to do that, i just wont rp with you. As mentioned above.  Because lets face it, there are people who would use this to their advantage, Yes there are people who will not even try to rp with you if they arent able to get something from your character.  Not saying these people are bad people, they might be your friends oocly but when it comes to rp you will be invisible to them.  

 

tldr =  Why are people focusing on the mating so much of this race, when there are many more aspects to focus on, str/stam/agi their senses ie noses, eyesight, hearing.   etc. Unless alot of people are planning on doing just this " breeding."  Should it really matter if not?  I personally think , if any aspect of the nuhn thing should be focused on is their other duties, such as protecting their lands/ clan members, hunting  etc.

[Kyatai]

I'm not so much focusing on the mating process as the entire culture.

*shrugs*

The OP began discussing it, but it has evolved from there. It's a lot to read- so understandable if you have not read it all.

 

As to your comments... not sure exactly what to say.

Metagamers/Godmodders will use whatever niche they can find to do their dirty work. Frankly, just because I'll play a Seeker female doesn't mean I'm going to be every Miqo'te male's whore. And... if I were to RP that aspect of the culture with another, it would not be with a douchebag that would threaten to 'stop RPing with me' if I refuse. Because honestly, THAT is not why I RP anyway.

 

There is FAR more to RP than ERP... and far more to the Seeker culture than mating (as you have mentioned).

But.. talking of nose sizes is stupid, self-limiting and boring. Talking/developing culture ideas to set the Miqo'te apart from being "humans with kitty ears and tails" using what stated lore we have, is not.

[allgivenover]

Argue about how a Miqo'te spreads her legs to a mate all you want, you guys are seriously reading too much into it.

 

Best get your minds out of the gutter, lest this game's RP community turn into another ERP Central, like TERA.

 

That said, Keeper clan is best clan. :V

 

Skimmed the thread again to be sure, but I'm fairly certain no one is insisting that all Miqo'te adhere to this or "spread their legs to mate".

 

Indulging this discussion is not the same as endorsing or encouraging ERP, and given the quality of RPers I've run into so far, this community has zero danger of becoming like TERA's.

 

All things considered, Keeper clan is best clan. /nod

[Rhynka]

There is FAR more to RP than ERP... and far more to the Seeker culture than mating (as you have mentioned).

But.. talking of nose sizes is stupid, self-limiting and boring. Talking/developing culture ideas to set the Miqo'te apart from being "humans with kitty ears and tails" using what stated lore we have, is not.

Tell us how you really feel about it! Because I can only see in your statement that talking about sex with miqo'te is the only thing that must not be BORING!

 

Wanna talk miqo'te penis then...? What if SE some how announced sex was painful for the miqo'te. It'd make sense seeing as if they had an endless desire to screw like humans, with the social structure they have they'd breed themselves into extinction!!

 

Let's not lie here honey, the idea that someone such as myself plays the beastly aspect of a miqo'te that can track like a blood hound is bothersome because that might actually make a real RP challenge. Cause RP is actually supposed to be based off adventures of some kind, not the kind you take after you leave the bar through some guy's bush in his trousers. It's boring to you cause you're interested in this tribal aspect that could easily start turning into some distorted BDSM mutation of it that it never needed to be!

 

You wanna set them apart from humans, let's make mating PAINFUL! You wanna set them apart from humans, dabble in their heightened senses. I mean that could be easily said IC about the ways of that world in general. We can even apply it to the nunh obsession! "Gettin' snuggly with a Nunh's favorite is asking for a maiming as he'll smell your hands all over her!" And well since we're getting so biological on the idea!!!! Let's talk that kinda nature science and the fact that a trail goes cold to a blood hound after 300 hours that's about 12 and a half DAYS! Yes we can wash and so on but there are things WE can't smell that doesn't wash off which a miqo easily could detect... oh but I forgot that's boring!! BUT it isn't making them out to be just hyurs with ears and a tail!! Yet it's still boring, sorry!

 

So let's talk sex then instead since anything else could be boring! Cause I'm not calling it mating it's just a word being thrown around this thread to water down the real important subject here-MIQO SEX! I also wanna avoid using the term "Breeding" because it just sounds demeaning when referring to a sentient species.

 

And about meta-gaming, how meta gaming is it when a player with a nunh wants to challenge another simply because they like how one of their females look OoCly. Don't say it doesn't happen cause it happens all the god damn time and I've RPed for over a decade and have seen whole communities crumble to nothing but cybering when obsessing over lore aspects like this. (Not gonna call it ERP cause it's not ERP if there's little IC motivation!)

[Razamir Lahoka]

I'm not so much focusing on the mating process as the entire culture.

*shrugs*

The OP began discussing it, but it has evolved from there. It's a lot to read- so understandable if you have not read it all.

 

As to your comments... not sure exactly what to say.

Metagamers/Godmodders will use whatever niche they can find to do their dirty work. Frankly, just because I'll play a Seeker female doesn't mean I'm going to be every Miqo'te male's whore. And... if I were to RP that aspect of the culture with another, it would not be with a douchebag that would threaten to 'stop RPing with me' if I refuse. Because honestly, THAT is not why I RP anyway.

 

There is FAR more to RP than ERP... and far more to the Seeker culture than mating (as you have mentioned).

But.. talking of nose sizes is stupid, self-limiting and boring. Talking/developing culture ideas to set the Miqo'te apart from being "humans with kitty ears and tails" using what stated lore we have, is not.

So discussing their senses, which make them stand apart from the typical human with kitty ears and tails concept.  Such as their strength, and to what limit how much stronger than a human they are,  their flexibility and agility compared to said humans.  Their sense of smell which is the equivalent of a blood hounds nose ie follow a scent that is 300+ hours cold. Which makes them far superior trackers than humans.  Their eyes which are better than a humans, and their ears, which can hear more than a human.  This is limiting?  Considering there is no set standard for these, wouldn't it make sense to discuss these topics, and get a collective opinion on the matter, so you wont have people saying they cant do that or this, or that is god-modding or meta-gaming.

 

Your right CULTURE of the race, is nice to build upon, but focusing solely on the mating of said race, isnt all there is to its culture.  Their daily habits, the food they eat, their music, their art, their writing, their language, considering the miqot'e have their own language none of the other races can speak, they changed their language so the other races could talk to them, and adapted to the more common tongue. the list goes on and on.  Considering culture  originally meant the cultivation of the soul or mind. Things like I said would be more fitting to their culture.  I think if you want to focus on the "culture of the race, it wouldn't be solely on the habits of their mating.

 

I  liked your post, but seeing as it seems to mix qualities of both keeper and seeker,  ie female leader when seekers are a patriarchal ( Male leaders) society and keepers are a matriarchal (Female leaders.)  Im not sure how the mating habits really influenced it at all.   As you have stated Nuhns aren't typiclaly leaders, but considering the whole of the seeker culture is patriarchal it would only make sense their leader would more than likely be a male.

[K'nahli]

Excuse me if I have missed this anywhere, one person implied it but I don't know if it was a personal opinion, part of the lore of just a generally accepted idea.

 

Would mating be considered a traditional part of their society where it would occur at specific times of the year/when females reach a certain age or would it be a more voluntary thing? I liked the point that someone made about nuhns simply being attractive to females and they(females) choose to mate with them rather being obliged to.

 

Anyways, my concern is rather simple. I want to know if age would be a factor in the seeker tradition. For example, if we're to assume that females do return to mate with the nuhn at a certain age then I'd want to avoid having my character too close to that age because, as with most of us, we want our characters to explore and have many experiences rather than being tied down to societal obligations like that.

 

I'd rather not just ignore the lore or whatever people may generally assume about the race so that is why I am curious to know.

 

 

Once again I am sorry if this has already been covered but the topic was quite large and delved into areas that I wasn't exactly curious about.

[Desmond Aryll]

Well seeing as this is a discussion originally set to be about Biology, sex would play a big part in that. It's not a stretch if it includes the "why's" behind the nature of the Miqo'te. It doesn't have to be garish or tasteless. I don't think any contributors have gone that route actually. 

 

Also, biology and sex pervade more of our own lives than we think. There's a reason Katy Perry is more famous than Susan Boyle, ya'know? It doesn't have to come from a bad place. 

 

If the Miqo'te present a very different version of something we as Humans look at in only a Human way then naturally it would garner attention.

 

A thread on Miqo'te senses is interesting, we should have a thread about that too.

[Azthran]

Excuse me if I have missed this anywhere, one person implied it but I don't know if it was a personal opinion, part of the lore of just a generally accepted idea.

 

Would mating be considered a traditional part of their society where it would occur at specific times of the year/when females reach a certain age or would it be a more voluntary thing? I liked the point that someone made about nuhns simply being attractive to females and they(females) choose to mate with them rather being obliged to.

 

Anyways, my concern is rather simple. I want to know if age would be a factor in the seeker tradition. For example, if we're to assume that females do return to mate with the nuhn at a certain age then I'd want to avoid having my character too close to that age because, as with most of us, we want our characters to explore and have many experiences rather than being tied down to societal obligations like that.

 

I'd rather not just ignore the lore or whatever people may generally assume about the race so that is why I am curious to know.

 

 

Once again I am sorry if this has already been covered but the topic was quite large and delved into areas that I wasn't exactly curious about.

 

There isn't a lot to go on from what I've seen. I had mentioned in an earlier post about some NPC banter I had seen in a Miqo'te village that possibly hinted at a few things such as the Nunh and a female having to plan their interactions in advance. Also thinking on it a bit more it may also suggest that there would be little to no recreational sex involving the Nunh and that the focus of the Couplings, as the NPCs put it, is to simply try to produce offspring.

 

As for what age a female enters sexual maturity or if there is an obligation to have a child or not I can only speculate. Using that village as an example again the women there are great hunters so it wouldn't surprise me if some of them chose when they wanted to try for children instead of having an obligation to do so.

 

Again just my thoughts on some observations I've made while in the beta.

[K'nahli]

There isn't a lot to go on from what I've seen. I had mentioned in an earlier post about some NPC banter I had seen in a Miqo'te village that possibly hinted at a few things such as the Nunh and a female having to plan their interactions in advance. Also thinking on it a bit more it may also suggest that there would be little to no recreational sex involving the Nunh and that the focus of the Couplings, as the NPCs put it, is to simply try to produce offspring.

 

As for what age a female enters sexual maturity or if there is an obligation to have a child or not I can only speculate. Using that village as an example again the women there are great hunters so it wouldn't surprise me if some of them chose when they wanted to try for children instead of having an obligation to do so.

 

Again just my thoughts on some observations I've made while in the beta.

 

I didn't ask about recreational sex actually but thank you for adding that bit! I had just assumed that that was the case but it's good to have something to mildly back up the idea(if not then someone please indicate otherwise ^^).

 

I had guessed that a lot of it would be down to speculation and interpretation but I am very thankful for your input ^^/ It reassures me significantly, I hope you are correct.

[Naunet]

Indulging this discussion is not the same as endorsing or encouraging ERP, and given the quality of RPers I've run into so far, this community has zero danger of becoming like TERA's.

 

As a member of TERA's RP community, I should resent that. xP

 

The focus for me, in topics like this, isn't the mating per se but the culture and societal structure as a whole (gender roles or lackthereof, tribal stratification, duties and activities and how these are distributed on an individual and group level). But that's just me.

[Kyatai]

*snip*

*snip*

Wow.

Ok, I'll ignore the flames because it is obvious I misunderstood what you meant by "noses like hounds."

I thought you meant physically- which seemed odd to me, (didn't recall that from Char Creation, but then again, supposedly the ears and tails of Keepers and Seekers are supposed to be different too, and I never noticed that in the CC either) but was like *shrug* okay...

And therefore wasn't exactly sure how that could be Metagamed or... anything... so clearly I missed a large part of the point of your post, and for that I apologize.

Of course reading it -now- it is clear. I have no idea how I misunderstood before, but whatever.

 

I -really am- into the exploring the entirety of a culture- but societal structure is, as  Desmond mentioned- very much shaped by interpersonal interactions. Which... yes... often involves sex.

Doesn't mean I get off on it. Just means it (apparently) shapes the Seeker culture in significant ways.

 

Now...

YES.

Going into the physical enhancements of the Miqo'te IS a valid and interesting aspect to discuss. I totally agree and support this, and frankly think that is cool too.  I think exploring that aspect in RP would be awesome. I recall reading about the enhancements once before somewhere, but I don't recall where. All I could recall was the evolution of the iris shape based on sun exposure (and the aforementioned ear/tail shape).

Seems to me that based on the feline attributes, sharper eyesight (esp Keepers at night), increased running endurance (and maybe stride?) would be logical. Enhanced sense of smell? That is a more caninid attribute- but not unheard of since Keepers are supposed to have more wolfish tails, so why not? Would make them great trackers... though I am unsure exactly what the biological benefit of a more wolfish tail would be. Typically tail structure forms to assist balance (or in the case of some monkeys an extra hand). Not sure why the difference in tails between Keepers and Seekers- unless it just has to do with their environment (desert vs forest) and maybe the temperatures....

As far as the others (strength, hearing, etc) also very valid avenues of discussion and these would also play a huge role in total development of what it 'is' to be Miqo'te.

 

Oh. Regarding the Patrilineal vs Matrilineal focus- My interpretation was that the bloodline was followed through via the male line (which is demonstrated to be 'stronger' physically) in Seekers, but not necessarily making it relevant as the seat of Leadership. Perhaps this is because, traditionally, Seekers live in a harsher environment of the Sargolii, where the ability to protect/fight is a necessity whereas the leadership is more 'cerebral' and led by those that have lived the longest and seen/experienced the most? Which... is actually something I was toying with- having the Leadership be both Elder female and males. Since in my created tribe, former Nuhn were not necessarily killed or run off.

Anyway... honestly fiddling with our human 'structures' and tweaking them a bit to not be literally like 'us' but a shade of...

*shrugs*