What's so cool about the Biata? ;)

R

Rskennan

Newbie
Ok, total pre-noob question here, and I hope it doesn't offend anyone.

I haven't played Alliance yet, but with the help of Tieran and Kiersten (I can't remember her forum handle), I'll be giving it a try in the fall. I'm pretty excited, and I might be able to get my family to come as well.

Anyway, I'm probably going to play a human, but I've been wondering about the Biata. I've picked up that they are kind of avian, and maybe a martial race, but I'm not sure about the last part. Edit: It also seems like they're a popular race.

So my questions are: What are they all about, and what's the appeal? They honestly seem kind of bizarre to me, even as a former game designer and fantasy writer. Maybe if you guys can tell me a bit about their backstory or place in the world it will help me get them.

Thanks a lot.
 
Biata are supposedly descended from Griffins and Stone Elves. The story in TC is that Griffins kept Stone Elf pets thousands of years ago and mated with them to produce biata. Their emotions and personality types tend to be in the extremes. If you're going to play an evil character, play a REALLY evil character. If you're going to play a good character, play a REALLY good character. Biata, for this trait, may seem stubborn and kind of zealous. I don't think the avian aspect really comes into play or it's up to the discretion of the player. A biata's feathers are supposed to represent certain traits about a person. It varies by chapter. In TC, black is rage, green is lust and despondency, and blue is hope. The biata I knew had these three colors, but I'm certain that you can have fun making other colors mean other things.

There's also the cool racial thing that all biata can do. They can affect the memories of other people. They can pull certain memories to the front of peoples minds, they can lock off memories in people's minds, they can even remove memories and take them into their own mind. This of course, must be willingly accepted by the one whose mind is being altered.

Ask your chapter for a race packet for specifics, this is just what I can recall from the book and from the ones I've met.

Hope it helps,

~Jesse
 
Ok, that's really cool, actually- Griffins (I prefer the spelling "Griffon") are my favorite fantasy creature.

I'm still looking at playing a human, or if you guys have them, something that at least looks like a satyr (Mystic wood elves?). I realized that I have the perfect idea for a costume if I can wear cloven hooves. Fun fact- I learned to walk high on the balls of my feet before learning to walk correctly, so I have the unnatural talent of being able to walk like that indefinitely without discomfort.

I hope I didn't just derail my own thread in the third post. :D Edit: I told my wife about the cloven hooves idea, and she thought I was nuts.
 
MWEs as far as I know have regular feet. It's the horns that make them satyr-esque. MWEs are a fun race to play, but if you're going to play a human, invest in colorful clothes and play a gypsy! :D
 
Rskennan said:
Ok, that's really cool, actually- Griffins (I prefer the spelling "Griffon") are my favorite fantasy creature.

I'm still looking at playing a human, or if you guys have them, something that at least looks like a satyr (Mystic wood elves?). I realized that I have the perfect idea for a costume if I can wear cloven hooves. Fun fact- I learned to walk high on the balls of my feet before learning to walk correctly, so I have the unnatural talent of being able to walk like that indefinitely without discomfort.

I hope I didn't just derail my own thread in the third post. :D Edit: I told my wife about the cloven hooves idea, and she thought I was nuts.
Click to expand...

If you want to play something that kind of looks like a satyr you can make a Goat Scavenger, this way you can have the cloven hooves, you can have the horns and pointed ears, add a little makeup and there you go....

-Matt K.
 
Iron stomach and feign death

(joking...)
 
No, chica, that's a possum. I want to make some sort of scavvy myself...but there's just so many of 'em! So many creatures...I was thinking....slug scavvy with racial mucus! :D
 
It works for either! Goats eat anything, and there are a species that faints when frightened.
I wanted to make a possum... now I'm thinking of a chipmunk.
Play one in MN, as far as I know Durl is the only one.
 
My secondary is either going to be a Stone Elf or a scavvy. Some sort of strange scavvy. Or a dog scavvy. You have alt?
 
Fyn's my only one right now. I want to make a scavvy to play in seattle. Reasons being: Fyn's got no reason to go out of Alboria, don't want to have to buy another staff or bring mine, want to have a more combat-able character
 
Good luck with that. I've been looking for a forge for my main off and on for three years now.
 
Ok, I've done some research, and I found out that scavengers don't make good scholars. I was planning on playing a scholar (or maybe an adept if I can find out more), so I don't think I can do the whole scavenger thing.

I'll pick up the rulebook as soon as I can and find out exactly what I want to do. Thanks everyone.
 
Not at all, I appreciate the help and I enjoyed reading all of the posts. It's helping me get more of an idea of what the game will be like.

I'm really looking forward to it, and I wish August wasn't full for me so I could start sooner. You all seem like really fun people and I can't wait to start slinging spells with you.
 
Sweet, sweet. Found out that Ohio is only five hours from me, so I'll see what I can do about making the haul out there before the season's up.
 
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