Albino Jamoura?

[Glanrh]

I was wondering if I can go against the norm and play an Albino Jamoura, but am unsure if it will have any effect on the +10 RP to Wilderness Survival trait, and would like confirmation on my assumption that sense the definition of albino is lack of color pigmentation that it would mean I would lose the Jamoura camouflage ability as it is based of changing the color pigmentation of which Glanrh would not have? Thanks for any help on this matter.

[Evalin]

I do not know about the Albino Jamoura part so I will leave that up to a Founder or someone else who knows better than me. I would like to point out that your Race says you are a Kelvic but your CS says Jamoura. You can adjust your race by going to User Control Panel--> Profile and scroll down to the Race section and adjust it

[Gossamer]

You will have to help desk ticket Gillar for approval. An albino Jamoura might have a lot of physical issues - prone to sunburns, poor eyesight, poor health, etc. But its up to him.

[Gossamer]

I said this in chat, but since you were incredibly quiet and didn't respond I'm not sure you heard it. I'll post it here again for the benefit of the game as a whole.

Albinism is a genetic trait that usually comes out in recessive individuals. That's why they are often sickly - double recessive traits tend to manifest a whole host of genetic disorders like crazy. But that being said, you want to be an albino Jamoura.

Jamoura aren't from a long line of creatures. They were created magically. No one knows how long they will live. The only ones that died are those that have died of unnatural causes. They reproduce very rarely and are probably the most unique of creatures in all of Mizahar. For this reason, I doubt one would have albinism. It doesn't make much sense scientifically or in a fantasy realistic scenario. We have had white light grey and various colored Jamoura. But the actual white skin, translucent fur, pink eyes... no.

[Glanrh]

According to NOAH (The Nation Organization for Albinism and Hypopigmentation) there are various types of Albinism and not all Albino's have serious medical problems. In fact most commonly the worst medical problems are poor eye site, and more easily sun burned which can lead to skin cancer if not properly taken care of, though yes some do have serious heath concerns. Also about the eyes, " A common myth is that people with albinism have red eyes. In fact there are different types of albinism and the amount of pigment in the eyes varies. Although some individuals with albinism have reddish or violet eyes, most have blue eyes. Some have hazel or brown eyes. However, all forms of albinism are associated with vision problems.(NOAH)"

Also the race was not purely made out of magic, they did exist naturally in the wild before the Valterrian. After the Valterrian they were magically altered by the Goddess Caiyha. They became larger, longer lived, and able to stand up right and speak like humans but kept the general appearance they had before hand which would suggest they still carry genes from when they were mere wild being. Those genes could have carried the albinism gene which could then be paced on to new generations of Jamoura. In fact albinism while is rare still happens in the wild and is a naturally accruing mutation and as Caiyha is the Goddess of Nature, I would hardly think she would get rid of the possibility that a Jamoura could contract albinism even in there new form. By that logic it could happen and be a scientifically plausible occurrence.

Here what NOAH has to say about the types of albinism, "While most people with albinism have very light skin and hair, not all do. Oculocutaneous (pronounced ock-you-low-kew-TAIN-ee-us) albinism (OCA) involves the eyes, hair and skin. Ocular albinism (OA), which is much less common, involves primarily the eyes, while skin and hair may appear similar or slightly lighter than that of other family members.

Over the years, researchers have used various systems for classifying oculocutaneous albinism. In general, these systems contrasted types of albinism having almost no pigmentation with types having slight pigmentation. In less pigmented types of albinism, hair and skin are cream-colored and vision is often in the range of 20/200. In types with slight pigmentation, hair appears more yellow or red-tinged and vision may be better...

Recent research has used analysis of DNA, the chemical that encodes genetic information, to arrive at a more precise classification system for albinism. Four forms of OCA are now recognized – OCA1, OCA2, OCA3 and OCA4; some are further divided into subtypes.

Oculocutaneous albinism type 1 (OCA1 or tyrosinase-related albinism) results from a genetic defect in an enzyme called tyrosinase (hence ‘ty’ above). This enzyme helps the body to change the amino acid tyrosine into pigment. (An amino acid is a “building block” of protein.) There are two subtypes of OCA1. In OCA1A, the enzyme is inactive and no melanin is produced, leading to white hair and very light skin. In OCA1B, the enzyme is minimally active and a small amount of melanin is produced, leading to hair that may darken to blond, yellow/orange or even light brown, as well as slightly more pigment in the skin.

Oculocutaneous albinism type 2 (OCA2 or P gene albinism) results from a genetic defect in the P protein that helps the tyrosinase enzyme to function. Individuals with OCA2 make a minimal amount of melanin pigment and can have hair color ranging from very light blond to brown.

Oculocutaneous albinism type 3 (OCA3) is rarely described and results from a genetic defect in TYRP1, a protein related to tyrosinase. Individuals with OCA3 can have substantial pigment.

Oculocutaneous albinism type 4 (OCA4) results from a genetic defect in the SLC45A2 protein that helps the tyrosinase enzyme to function. Individuals with OCA4 make a minimal amount of melanin pigment similar to persons with OCA2.(NOAH)"

They further state that all that is needed for OCA albinism is for the father and mother to both be carriers of a albino gene in which case they have a 1/4 chance of having an albino child. In the case of OA albinism sense that trait is on the X chromosome males are more likely to develop it because all that is needed is for the 1 X chromosome to contain the gene for them to have it where as a female would need both X chromosomes to be carriers of the gene sense it is a recessive gene.

With all of this information and the additional information that is listed on the NOAH site I see no reason for why it could be possible for a Jamoura to be albino. Also in re-guard to your statement in chat about how Albinism could be a cliche writer crutch I can easily see where you are coming from, but with the variety of albinism types and appearances it doesn't have to be. It can be used as a writer boon and can be in a form that doesn't stand out all that much, or it could be quite obvious or anywhere in between.

This post was not and is not meant as a rage post but an informative post. Vick suggested that I research the subject matter so I did, and while originally I wanted to be an albino to stand out after researching it that is not the case anymore. I want it to be beneficial to the essence of my character, the reason for him to go on a spiritual journey to understand himself and the world around him. I still stand by my word of excepting whatever the final verdict is whether yes or no with out questioning the verdict. All I ask for is a fighting chance to present my idea and receive a fair verdict rather than the vibe which I am currently getting which is "No" from the very question of being an Albino Jamoura. I will fight this battle I want the character and I want to feel like I at least had a fighting chance to receive it. This site sparks creativity and lets it turn into a blazing bonfire, this concept is my creativity and it feels like water is being poured on it before it even has a chance to get close to starting a small flame.

[Gossamer]

Hi There!

This is almost verbatim the same cut and paste as well as argument another player made recently who wanted to play an albino zith. Good job on the research. But that still doesn't cover why you want to play an albino. Your NOAH info is true to the real world but that again doesn't mean it's true to Mizahars creatures. That is up to the creator of the Jamoura. I really admire your passion and politeness with this.... but I think everyone still wants to know why.

[Glanrh]

The why is explained a in more detail in the HD Request that is tagged for Gillar. Though it is still vague because the reason can't be explained in a few short simple paragraphs. It can only be observed as through the playing out of the story but if I had to sum it up it comes down to two words, Spiritual Journey. The Jamoura are so closely tied to nature and the natural occurrence of the world that for an Albino to be born among them they would want to know why, and none more so than the Albino Jamoura itself. Glanrh as an Albino and a a raise of high intellect would easily want to know this why. Which would lead her do to his faith and ties directly to Caiyha. As Caiyha is one that doesn't explain things directly coupled with the fact that the Jamoura are long lived would give him the base knowledge to be able to find out this why, over the course of time and through experience. That is the Why for Glanhr's existence and that is the why behind my fight for this character concept. But it goes farther when I researched albinism I realized just how much I miss understood it and through this character I can bring this awareness to others. The more aware we as a society are about something the better off we are so to sum it up my reasons are, Awareness, Freedom of Creativity, Character Depth, Character and Personal Spiritual Journey of Understanding and Knowledge. Those reasons are why I am fighting for this and these reasons are why I will do all that I can to see this character and story come alive. I believe this should be enough of a reason to understand why I'm doing this, what do you think?

[Ximal]

Thing is in the spires there's only one albino jamoura and i believe that it's the only albino / white jamoura in the game and that's Marn, the "leader" of the jamoura. And yes i use the term "leader" in brackets because he's not technically a leader but for his importance he may as well be. Having said that i was told this by the former and the current DS of the spires when i inquired about a white jamoura though this was some time ago i really doubt that the state has changed. Still happy days Ximal

[Gillar]

Howdy, I am currently addressing the Albino question in another thread but will also address it here more generally. Gossamer is right in that the Jamoura were created during the Valterrian by Caiyha. Their primitive minds an bodies were blessed by the goddess and transformed into a symbol of balance between wild nature and civilization; the perfect mix of intelligence, wisdom and natural instinct. I created the Jamoura as well as the first one of their kind, Marn. If he has been said to be albino, then I am afraid such a claim is wrong. I can see after more than 500 years of age, he may have grown a bit silver and possibly white in places but it is due more to aging and not because of being an true albino. While albinism may, I repeat MAY, be possible among the Jamoura, it would be extraordinarily rare to the point of nearly impossible. There are only 1,000 Jamoura alive with nearly half of them being of the first generation blessed by Caiyha and that half have no albino in them. That leaves only around 500 born since the Valterrian and the inception of the current Jamoura species. If we want to look at real world comparisons and ignore the fact that the Jamoura were magical engineered, roughly 1 in 10,000 mammals has some form of albinism. If only 500 Jamoura have been born since the race's creation, the odds of a naturally occurring albino Jamoura are so great that they aren't even worth quantifying. Now, for a moment, let us look at the Jamoura race a little closer, specifically an example of an Albino. As an albino, the character has poor vision. He loses the ability to camouflage himself and in fact stands out prominently in nearly any environment save for extensive snow. As the Jamoura are not very fast or agile, their ability to camouflage is essential for hunting as well as hiding them from danger. As powerful as a Jamoura is, their natural habitat in Taldera is filled with Dire Animals that are often bigger, faster and even stronger than a lone Jamoura; especially one that can't hunt effectively and thus relies on gathering and scavenging for food to maintain even some semblance of health. Even those who live outside of Taldera would encounter numerous threats if they could not effectively hide themselves (primitive human tribes, hunters, large or numerous predators, etc). If one has vision problems, is slow and lacks agility, is unable to hide from danger and may tend to avoid others of their kind due to their deformity, survival becomes less of a great challenge and more of an impossibility. The parents of such a character would not allow him out of their sight and he would have to rely on others for food and protection. Add in a number of other potential health problems that may experienced due to the mutation, such a Jamoura would likely not live very long and if they did, would be too reliant on others to be an effective player character. So, is there such thing as an Albino Jamoura? I can say under good authority that there is not. Perhaps after many generations have come and gone, maybe in another 500-1,000 years, there may be one....Maybe.