What's so cool about the Biata? ;)
- Thread starter Rskennan
- Start date
Maxondaerth
Squire
Yes! Get down here, we need more Gypsies to get this place more stylish. I'm doing what I can, but there's just so much one Rom can do with a town full of gaje, you know?
obcidian_bandit
Count
Rskennan said:
A common misconception. You pay double cost for Read & Write and for Read Magic. For an Earth caster, it means you pay a one time extra cost of 3 build. For a Celestial caster it's 7 extra, also one time. At low level, it seems like a lot of build. It's really not. By the end of your first year playing you'll have 70-100 build, and be wishing you made that scavenger.
Play the concept you'll enjoy playing. Don't worry about the minor increase in build cost, it's worth it to play the concept.
Mike Ventrella
Duke
Marcena said:
This is a violation of the rules, and TC should change to match the National race packet. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. (The feather colors and their meanings will be in the next Rule Book, by the way!)
Biata were created by my wife Heidi Hooper, and are a unique race to fantasy so that alone makes them cool in many people's eyes.
May I suggest a certain novel that is all about biata? It's getting good reviews....
http://michaelaventrella.com
Shhh I'm not here
Artisan
uh, Mike, I gotta take a little issue with this. I've been playing a Biata since about '01, I've also been on a chapter plot committee, and this is the first I've heard that there even is a national race packet... For any race race actually.
One of the first things I was asked to do as a plot committee member was to flush out our Biata racial history for the chapter, and I've always been under the impression that every chapter developed its own individual racial histories.
Personally, I think there should be National race packets. I think the racial backgrounds and culture should be standardized across all Alliance. Some common racial roots are a great way for biata, or gypsy, or dark elf, etc. players to start their rp when they chapter hop somewhere they don't know. So my issue isn't having national race packets, it's that if we already do, uh, you need to find a better way of letting players know they are out there and get access to them.
One of the first things I was asked to do as a plot committee member was to flush out our Biata racial history for the chapter, and I've always been under the impression that every chapter developed its own individual racial histories.
Personally, I think there should be National race packets. I think the racial backgrounds and culture should be standardized across all Alliance. Some common racial roots are a great way for biata, or gypsy, or dark elf, etc. players to start their rp when they chapter hop somewhere they don't know. So my issue isn't having national race packets, it's that if we already do, uh, you need to find a better way of letting players know they are out there and get access to them.
obcidian_bandit
Count
Nope, feather colors are in the national packet, not in the local, modifiable part.
There are indeed national race packets for every race. Mine are all from 2002 (which is probably when I started on plot), so I know for sure they've all been around for at least that long. Every chapter should have them and know about them, IIRC they come on the same CD as the databases.
Basically, the packets that are given to each chapter have two parts. The first half is the "National Packet." The second half usually starts with something like "Ashbury Biata History." That's where the local packet starts. The Ashbury part is an example that should be changed out by your local plot committee and the local racial history should be substituted in its place.
Matt, WCV
GM Seattle
There are indeed national race packets for every race. Mine are all from 2002 (which is probably when I started on plot), so I know for sure they've all been around for at least that long. Every chapter should have them and know about them, IIRC they come on the same CD as the databases.
Basically, the packets that are given to each chapter have two parts. The first half is the "National Packet." The second half usually starts with something like "Ashbury Biata History." That's where the local packet starts. The Ashbury part is an example that should be changed out by your local plot committee and the local racial history should be substituted in its place.
Matt, WCV
GM Seattle
Shhh I'm not here
Artisan
See, that's great, or at least it would be great if the national part of that packet at least was actually getting to the racial players. I don't think it is though, and not just for Biata. Since Mike's reponse went up I've tried searching the web for any copies or references to the national packet, all I found was Nero International's packet in .pdf...
Individual chapters should of course be responsible for creating and disseminating info on the local racial history, but can we come up with a better way to make sure the "National" part of the packets gets out there? Is it a problem if the national portion gets posted in .pdf or some such commonly accessible format?
That would be great. I've asked for several race packets since I've started playing in the interests of making a secondary character and NOT having to write another entire race packet like I had to do for my sea-faring gypsy.
Post the national race packets here? They weren't in the last rule book, why not post them on a public forum?
Post the national race packets here? They weren't in the last rule book, why not post them on a public forum?
Quinn
Squire
From what I've always heard the Powers That Be don't WANT the Race Packets to be public. They want them to be hard copies handed to players by the local campaign staff.
In Ohio we don't wait for people to ask-- if you create a local non-human Race we come to YOU with the National and local packets and offer them to you. Usually we end up following up to just to help clear up any questions they may have after they've read it too.
In Ohio we don't wait for people to ask-- if you create a local non-human Race we come to YOU with the National and local packets and offer them to you. Usually we end up following up to just to help clear up any questions they may have after they've read it too.
Telokh_Amdo
Baron
Marcena said:
Stone Elf! Stone Elf! One of us! One of us!
Actually scavvy is good, too (see my sig LOL). Go all out with your look. Prosthetics, fur, the whole nine yards. I'll be breaking out my Platypus for the newly announced HQ lowbie event. My sig pic of him is pretty much what I'll look like. Going Aborigine tribal: red headband, red pants/loincloth, the rest of me covered in brown underarmor or something similar. I might add a little fur, but I don't want to get too hot. I have the duck-bill prothetic already, it just needs a paint job.
Shhh I'm not here
Artisan
And I get why they want the race packets to be something kind of kept within each racial group, and there has been some great rp built out of some races having mysterious backgrounds and xenophobic attitudes. On the others hand, isn'tn that why we have a National packet and a Local one? If the National packet covers common racial traits between all Biata (or elves, drae, miwi's, etc.) across all of the continents, then surely those traits are common enough knowledge by now, whereas the local packets can cover the more mysterious regional flavor of each culture.
Mike Ventrella
Duke
Shhh said:
Well, now that REALLY bothers me. All owners know there are national packets, we discuss them all the time, and whenever they go to the Owners Yahoo Board where they can download the databases, monster manuals and other information we provide, there are national packets for every single race.
Each national packet is generic and gives the basic background that every race should have. Each chapter can then add to this with their local campaign's culture(s) for the race.
Shhh said:
Histories in the sense of cultures, yes. But not in the basics of the race. All biata are descended from gryphons and stone elves, for instance. You can't decide your biata are descended from chickens and dung beetles.
But your biata do not have to be organized in the same way ours are. Biata in Ashbury have councils with specific hierarchies and customs and so on. Biata in your lands may be completely different in that regard.
Take dark elves. In one chapter, their culture may be more Japanese based. In other chapters, they may be based on Egyptian culture. But no matter where you go, all dark elves should have the same basic attitude concerning honor.
All high ogres will hate necromancy no matter where you go, even if they are part of a royal kingdom or wandering tribes in the woods.
It's the culture that changes from chapter to chapter, not the race. (Heck, in Ashbury, we have six different cutures for our dwarves alone.)
Shhh said:
Heh! I obviously agree, because there are national race packets and always have been!
Shhh said:
You need to place the blame on your Owners then, folks. I have made references to these national packets more than once in these threads! I'll make sure to say this again though in the new Rule Book (which, as I have said, will have greatly expanded racial descriptions. I kind of tried not to do that for years but I now think that it is better to give away some racial "secrets" to make sure we are all playing the same race than it is to keep those things in race packets -- especially when I keep getting reports of chapters not having packets available).
By the way, it may also be that people are getting big packets from your chapters and they are doing everything right but you don't realize that these are national packets. Your race packets should all have a full page picture of the race on the cover and then inside will be a two column packet of at least 4 or so pages with the basic background. Following that will be your local chapter's culture packet which possibly is of a different layout.
If you are not getting these, DEMAND them of your Owners and LET ME KNOW.
Only by sharing these things can we be a true Alliance and make it much more fun for everyone who plays a race and travels to another chapter to know that the basics of the race remain the same, even if the culture is different.
Mike Ventrella
Duke
Quinn said:
Yeah, isn't it more fun to find out in-game than to read a packet for a race you don't play?
We make every packet available to anyone of that race...
Shhh I'm not here
Artisan
Mairead said:
This isn't about knowing the details of someone else's player race, Maeread, its about knowing one's own. And I suspect the oversight in this boils down to something so basically simple as the Owners/staff don't necessarily know who all the new race players are to ask if they've received their packets, and the new players don't know there is a national packet to ask for. Or even the local portion isn't entirely written yet, and people don't think to get just the national portion, instead they keep waiting for the "whole" thing.
Whatever the reason, I think there are a considerable number of players of all races out there that have never seen their race packet. Enough that we may want to consider open distribution of the national packets, and let the local packets contain the racial "secrets" so to speak.
And I understand your frustration Mike. Believe me, I get it, which makes me wonder what system HQ has in place to make sure all of its players receive their appropriate racial packet?
Oh... and can I get a Biata packet please?! Thank you!
Mike Ventrella
Duke
Shhh said:
Once you have a character of that race whose home chapter is Ashbury, you can either pick it up at logistics or send a self addressed stamped envelope and we'll mail it to you.
Shhh said:Oh... and can I get a Biata packet please?! Thank you!
If your biata is from Ashbury, and you have the character in our database, yes!
Dreamingfurther
Baron
Yea, its also viable and thats why you can see from time to time an Ogre or Orc Scholar of either school, because its only a one time tax for the prerequisite skills for spells.
I also just wanted to add, one downside about Biata is that they have issues with Celestial Magic. So you are limiting yourself to generally not sleeping with people who sleep in wards. And rather not accepting the Celestial protectives and other cool spells unless you want to get racial crap and have people look strangely at you... Just saying.
I also just wanted to add, one downside about Biata is that they have issues with Celestial Magic. So you are limiting yourself to generally not sleeping with people who sleep in wards. And rather not accepting the Celestial protectives and other cool spells unless you want to get racial crap and have people look strangely at you... Just saying.