Concerns about the new Selunari

Respect is the word of the day.

I think that, at the end of the day, most imaginative creations that stem from our minds are influenced, either consciously or subconsciously, by things we've experienced, or learned. We may design a race or a culture that is meant to be wholly unique, without even noticing that patterns of development, ecosystem, economy, traditions, values are based off of ones we know about. Perhaps we do so because in order to provide a culture with a feeling of "realness" and "makes sense," we need to pattern it off of something that's actually happened.

To heck with races, there are so many facets to fantasy cultures that borrow from Gaelic legends and traditions. How often do you see Celtic symbolism used in games? Do you see runes?

The point I'm trying to make is that there's a difference between using those references and influences respectfully versus exaggerating them or their perceived flaws. There is a difference between celebrating a culture and mocking it.
 
Not a bad race packet at all, although I feel like it could use some more detail regarding Codes of Honor, to at least give players some suggestions for how to put one together.
 
Muir said:
Not a bad race packet at all, although I feel like it could use some more detail regarding Codes of Honor, to at least give players some suggestions for how to put one together.
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All details not covered in the National packet have been left up to chapter Plot teams to flesh out in their individual packets. This is a great question to ask your local team!
 
I'm very excited to be a selunari, but I have a question for the few of us who tried to play armoured gypsies before. I wear a steel helmet, should I mount a gem on the helmet in the same spot I will wear the gem under the helmet? I plan to have some visible on my face below the helmet, but the forhead one is important for the recognizable race. Any ideas?
 
I'm curious as well, as it would interfere greatly with my headscarf and giant hat.
 
I would assume the gems, like all other racial traits (ears, horns, etc.), can be covered so long as you actually have them on beneath the covering. That is going to be a little harder for a helmet, but the headscarf and hat should be less of an issue.
 
I would go with having the main one in place and then add 1 or 2 more in areas that are not covered.

- Matt
 
Ardos said:
I'm very excited to be a selunari, but I have a question for the few of us who tried to play armoured gypsies before. I wear a steel helmet, should I mount a gem on the helmet in the same spot I will wear the gem under the helmet? I plan to have some visible on my face below the helmet, but the forhead one is important for the recognizable race. Any ideas?
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Based on the information that is currently released, as a Marshal, I don't see an issue with your gem being present on your helmet, but in the event that your helmet is not being worn, you need to be able to have the gem present (such as a headband that you keep available for such moments).
 
So, not to be that person, but I'm going to be that person a bit. My understanding is that the gems are a part of the persons physical characteristics, so wouldn't placing the stone on the helmet be akin to having a Hobling's sideburns on a helmet instead of attached to their face? {it's also my understanding that the headband is for ease of costuming, not that its actually attached to the headband}.
 
As a marshal, I would say have them on your face. If your helmet covers them, that's perfectly allowed so long as you're actually still wearing them.
 
Due to this being the legal representation of a gem:

What kinds of gems can I use? As long as the primary gem is at least the size of a US penny, you have free reign to choose gems that best represent your character. The typical choice is the type of flat-backed gems you can find in a craft store, as they are easy to find and purchase, can be affixed to the skin with spirit gum or sewn to a headband. These gems tend to be very symmetrically-shaped, so if a rougher, more natural-looking crystal is what you prefer, feel free to choose that route! You can even experiment with making your own gems out of resin or plastic. Be creative!
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I do not see an issue with the same application for a helmet. The purpose is to indicate a gem on the player's forehead, and based on the way that metal helmets actually work, I do not see a physical gem under the helmet as being either safe or comfortable. While one could certainly use a -very thin- gem on their forehead to minimize discomfort/safety issues, or purchase an entirely new (and probably super-custom) and expensive helmet, I cannot agree that the spirit of the rule does not give enough leeway for a player in this very specific situation for a player to put the gem in the appropriate location on their helmet, -just- as its legally used with a headband.

Edit: Furthermore, I would prefer this to be allowed, purely as the Selunari gem rules are specifically designed to allow players to be creative, and therefore, allowing application to a helmet will further enable them to choose gems that they would want to be represented by...not just gems that would be convenient beneath a helmet.
 
Putting a gem on a helmet will not look like a gem attached to the person however. It will look like a gem on a helmet, wich is not a racially distinctive thing anyway (anybody can have a gem on a helmet so there's no point)- The more logical thing to do is simply design a helmet that works around the gem itself if it's big enough to be problematic since rationally that's probably what would happen in character or to wear a bandana Under The Helmet to pad ones that do fit under a given helm, but the bumps would be uncomfortable otherwise.

The player will just have to choose-big crazy gems and work with or around them when figuring out head armor, or smaller ones to accommodate a particular helm. Not a unique issue in racial accessories all things concidered.

There's a whole aspect of culture around what salunari do with the stuff on their head that could be developed IG by the characters/players on this problem.
 
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A gem on a headband also doesn't look like a gem on a forehead, it looks like a gem on a headband.

A level of disbelief is required, and I don't see why it would be different one way or the other.
 
I'd like to point out that the helmets that would have to be designed around the gem, as you suggest as the logical solution, would most likely be -extremely- expensive to attain, and for some players, actually impossible, as not everyone has access to armorsmiths that are able to fulfill an order.
 
Sounds like the best solution is a small forehead gem and a bigger lower face gem to make it obvious, everyone seemed to miss that I was already planning to do that, and getting a custom helmet that incorporates the gem (though REALLY cool sounding) is completely impractical because of the cost as I don't want to make a foam helmet that gives a low armor value. Thanks everyone for your suggestions!
 
Would someone in the official capacity to do so please answer whether a gem affixed to a helmet in the appropriate forehead placement would be acceptable, as it would be with the headband?

I don't think ARC's the right place for that.
 
Draven said:
I'd like to point out that the helmets that would have to be designed around the gem, as you suggest as the logical solution, would most likely be -extremely- expensive to attain, and for some players, actually impossible, as not everyone has access to armorsmiths that are able to fulfill an order.
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Incorrect, creating suitable head-armor from a variety of materials is actually very easy and inexpensive done at home. Ive made helmets that fit over the kyn masks I made and this isnt nearly that complicated. Worbla, Formed leather (that you can then studd for a higher point count), Canvas (that you can then stud for a higher point count), the sky is the limit and there is a huge amount of tutorials online these days due to cosplay. Again, I dont see the problem with haveing to choose between wearing particular kinds of racial representations, or wearing particular types ofhelmets. the point is it makes sense and seems fair to eitherpick something that works under your helmet, or wear something that dosnt cover the game.

A gem on a headband ABSOLUTELY can be made to look like its attatched to a person (atleast as much as MWE horns can be), I know 4 ways of doing it, atleast 2 in a way most people here probably havent thought about (Will share if people want it) all of them cheap and easy. It also sits closer to the head than on a helm. Again, the point was that anybody can wear a gem on their helmets so its sortof a pointless signifyer at that point because its really distinctly a different mount/appearance than a band.

And, finally, There are also ways to make convinceing FLEXIBLE gems out of silicon or latex or gel or foam. Cheaply. And easily. Flexible gems would eliminate ANY chance of head-trama due to helm hitting a gem on a head.

Not trying to fight- Im just seeing a lot more options than gem-on-helmet, here that will -albeit as with everything a some suspension of disbeleive yes but still would look an awful lot more convinceing.
 
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Eh hell, now that im goin...

-Mounted to power mesh then attatched to the inside of a fabric bandana with a hole in it for a flesh+ gem 'peaking through' look.
-Mounted to clear elastic
-Mounted to regular elastic ( Like MWE horns...reads best rideing high near the hairline on folks with darker hair)
-Fancy head-band useing power mesh to span open areas to give the illustion of mounted directly to flesh but attatched to IC fancier head-gear or head-band of whatever type. Could also be done with clear elastic for smaller gems...

*power mesh may call for some color-matching with makeup or paint for that perfect-match (like elf ears do) but comes in many colors so mileage may vary.

Ok, all done now.
 

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B.Barber said:
Incorrect, creating suitable head-armor from a variety of materials is actually very easy and inexpensive done at home. Ive made helmets that fit over the kyn masks I made and this isnt nearly that complicated. Worbla, Formed leather (that you can then studd for a higher point count), Canvas (that you can then stud for a higher point count), the sky is the limit and there is a huge amount of tutorials online these days due to cosplay. Again, I dont see the problem with haveing to choose between wearing particular kinds of racial representations, or wearing particular types ofhelmets. the point is it makes sense and seems fair to eitherpick something that works under your helmet, or wear something that dosnt cover the game.

A gem on a headband ABSOLUTELY can be made to look like its attatched to a person (atleast as much as MWE horns can be), I know 4 ways of doing it, atleast 2 in a way most people here probably havent thought about (Will share if people want it) all of them cheap and easy. It also sits closer to the head than on a helm. Again, the point was that anybody can wear a gem on their helmets so its sortof a pointless signifyer at that point because its really distinctly a different mount/appearance than a band.

And, finally, There are also ways to make convinceing FLEXIBLE gems out of silicon or latex or gel or foam. Cheaply. And easily. Flexible gems would eliminate ANY chance of head-trama due to helm hitting a gem on a head.

Not trying to fight- Im just seeing a lot more options than gem-on-helmet, here that will -albeit as with everything a some suspension of disbeleive yes but still would look an awful lot more convinceing.
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I do not wish to offend, but please remember that not every player has your level of crafting skills. Many of our players operate almost entirely from off the shelf resources, and making custom gear on the fly to fit a prosthetic is an expensive proposition for them.

I know it's why I'm strongly considering going human with my Gypsy. Part of my reasoning when choosing the race was that I did not want to wear facial prosthetics anymore, but wanted a bit more of an established culture than humans. Picking up a prosthetic and having to replace a couple hundred dollars worth of garb is not an enticing opportunity for me, no matter how much I approve of the race being changed.
 
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