Introduction and Question

by **Hamisi** on June 13th, 2011, 1:02 am

Hello Mizahar. I wasn't sure whether or not to post this here or in the New Player Forum, but since it focused on questions that I had, I thought this would be a better idea. But first of all, I just wanted to say that I've been looking at the site for awhile now and just decided to throw my lot in with you. I've seen a lot of good things, but I do have some questions moving forward, mostly about the Jamoura. I'm going to use the pronoun 'we' a lot to denote no one in particular...but any help is appreciated.

First of all, I saw in the 'Starting Package' page, that each character is awarded three languages: one at Fluent, one at Basic and one at Poor. I assumed that my character, as a Jamoura would naturally speak Jamourian as their dominant language, but then I read on the Wiki page that "the Jamoura speak the common human tongue when communicating with non-Jamoura as well as their own kind." Is their language just a product of their environment, or would the typical Jamoura speak Common as their natural tongue? Any clarification on this matter would be extremely helpful.

Another question, since Jamoura seem to have little need for clothing, what would be a good substitute for the clothing section under the Starting Package. Will they wear clothing outside of The Spires in the company of humans? Do they have some type of covering for traveling in more remote areas where they may need additional protection? As for the race itself, I have probably my biggest question. You mention in multiple pages that the list of races is fixed and that there should be no deviation. But, under the page for the Help Desk, you mention that a request for a "special circumstance might be a unique background (My PC came from space?!) or a unique race that they might want to play." Is this information retconned by the other pages or is there actually a possibility for other races? And if there is a possibility for new races, are these just offshoots of the races currently implemented or entirely new cultures? I only ask because I am wondering what actually consists a 'Jamoura.' Because, assuming the Valterrian affected many creatures (as mentioned in the Wikipedia post), are the Jamoura only restricted to great apes? The Wikipedia post mentions that the fur color ranges, including dark orange. Does this means that (our world's equivalent of) orangutans were also transformed? Can the help desk allow other monkeys to be transformed, such as a baboon, mandrill, saki, or my personal choice: a Japanese macaque? I'd prefer to have a monkey because I think it opens up some unique avenues among Jamoura culture i.e. questions of domination by bigger apes, religious identity, and even questions of primality/primitiveness as a monkey deals with the rest of his kind.

That being said, assuming that something along these lines is possible, I had another question. What is the possibility for creating new demi-gods? I wanted to make my character as a sort of herald who argues that Caiyha is not the goddess that they should worship but something more in the image of an ape or a monkey. The concept that I had is for two brothers that were created by Caiyha, one who was given power and one who was given knowledge, which represent the duality of the Jamoura: their wisdom and their innate primal nature. I was thinking that my character would try to develop this canon under the auspices of the already religious Jamoura and how this would affect his reputation and the challenges he would face. But I'm not sure if any of this is even possible, and I really would just love a veteran to clear things up.

Thank you for any help on this matter, and I'm glad that I've finally made the plunge into the world of Mizahar.

by **Bjorn Grimdark** on June 17th, 2011, 9:52 am

Welcome to mizahar. I am also new, so i can't answer much, but i would think that as the race are animals, similar to the kelvic, that they would not wear clothes or covering. I'd think the fur would protect them enough from the elements, and as monkeys their hands would be rough enough to do any sort of manual labor without need of gloves or the like.

I also think that the Jamoura Are indeed confined to being apes, though if you really had your heart set upon the Japanese macaque or others you could be a kelvic that shifts into that particular shape.

As for the rest, i have no idea. Hope i was of help. Frith.

by **Panna Cotta** on June 17th, 2011, 11:41 am

I cannot answer specific Jamouran questions, though The Spires has a dedicated Assistant Storyteller who will be able to assist you more with those things. What I can offer you instead are the following answers:

Typically Jamourans don't really need clothing, and should you want to take full advantage of the starting package, you can say that you have a set of clothes. These, of course, fit your character. Feel free to have a Jamouran-sized cloak, extra large pants, super sized shirts.

The key thing here is not to over think. Instead of bringing your ideas into Mizahar, try to shift perspective and inspire yourself by Mizahar's own lore. You have to keep in line with the game's theme, always. Jamourans are not apes, not monkeys, they are Jamourans. You are free to say "my Jamouran looks like a Japanese macaque and is smaller than the usual lot" or a picture in your avatar will help people get your "appearance". You don't need to help desk that.

Also, forgive me being a nitpick, wikipedia is different from a wiki. ^.~

Um, no aliens. I don't think they allow far-out things like that. There's only one PC I know of who is a demi-god, and that is Leo Varniak. People who want to start out with Gnosis that aren't "freely given out" like Dreamweaving, also need to get Help Desk permission.

I'll try to drag AS Secret in here so you'll be better assisted.