Kenash's Comments Questions & Suggestions Thread

[Banickle]

PC REQUEST TRACKER: SLAVES DYNASTY Works in the Fields Works within the Manor Shopkeep, Clerk or Grunt Other: Multi-Purpose, Personal Attendant, Etc. Runaway? Paille - - - - - Konrath - - - - - Askara - - - - - Sitai - - - - - Lorak - - - - - Draer - - - - - Morealis Lilou - - - - Radacke Coal - - - - Lynint - - - - - Rajor - - - - - Ackina - - - - - Zulaca - - - - -

[Banickle]

PC REQUEST TRACKER: FREEBORNS Mongoose, Pycon Mercenary Haeli, Human Herbalist Luce Vuiterrone, Human Arbitrator/Etiquette Master

[Banickle]

PC REQUEST TRACKER: BUSINESSES Coralin Draer, Chocolate Shop: Draer Chocolates Rowan Morealis, Inn: Name Pending Jonathan Draer, Chocolate Refinery: Name Pending Alexis Morealis, Jewelry Shop: Name Pending Haeli, Herbalist Shop: All Things Wild Adair Askara, Brothel: Name Pending Adrienna Lynint, Pet Shop: Lynint's Biters & Prowlers Jael Sitai, Hemp Shop: Name Pending J'aqil, Eatery: The Widow Konrath's Tea Room Katherine Morealis, Cosmetic Shop: Name Pending Athus Morealis, Scribe Shop: Name Pending

[Gossamer]

A few comments here. Banickle, I think you should move your chart posts on the family members, slaves, freeborn, etc to a separate thread that's stickied so they are easily traceable without having to dig through this thread if it gets too long. We can put a link to it in the first post of the family request thread. Once a family is full - about three members - then its going to get difficult to get in... the fourth and fifth members of the families are questionable. That means you can request, but we will allow them only if the other families are fleshed out with active members. This keeps everyone from being in the same family and having a PC/NPC imbalance. PCs will not run the families. Storytellers will. PC's, even the bratlings with businesses, will be at the whims of their family leaders. So, all is not perfect in paradise. Each family member needs a SEPARATE business. This means that you need to write a business plan for that business and submit it to the business plan forum. You have roughly a month and a half to do this... maybe three months if we go for Fall 1. I suspect we will be open sooner. If there is an existing posted business, your PC (if part of the same family) can claim it and run it and we will remove the NPCs. But you must write a business plan for this business. If you want a similar business to one already posted in the city, your business, with its business plan, will superseded this existing business and the NPC business will be removed. No businesses will be shared. Everyone needs their own responsibilities. If the kids of the family can't cut it by creating a successful business, you as a Player have no business trying to RP the rich and influential. We are only going to let you be rich and successful if you earn it. Each family will spring for business starting money. You can borrow money from your family, but you must pay it back, and the sooner you pay it back the sooner the profits of your business go straight into your pockets and make you as badass as you want to rp being. Slaves in Kenash have no power. Zero power. They have no authority at all and their life exists at the whim of the Dynasty Families. They have no say in their place in life. They are NOT educated one bit unless it is in a skill they do to provide their services to a family member. Examples of this are blacksmithing, healing, painting, cooking, cleaning. Slaves only very very very rarely can read and write. I do not care what 'history' says in terms of slavery or what happened in the past on Earth. This is Mizahar. And these people have zero value other than the skills they come with. Their families are no families at all - they are not allowed to have them - and since Kenash was only founded like a hundred years ago, there's no generation upon generation upon generation of slaves. Remember, the other cities of Mizahar are only 250 years tops in most cases unless they were pre-Valterrian. The first couple of hundred years after the Valterrian folks existed underground because of the CONSTANT djed storms you guys experienced on Spring 1 of 512. Most of Kenash's slaves are from all over, brought in and sold by caravans that saw the need and turned coin. Some can be from Ravok, some ex-Drykas, some even Akalak, Dhani, or god forbid Symenestra. They have no real culture. Any of this culturalization will be forming in game through rp over the next several years after Kenash opens. If you pick a slave PC, your job will be assigned to you... by family members or NPCs leading the family. You can't pick cushy spots or difficult spots. You'll be a slave in all senses with no control over your PC's job or destiny unless you take charge of it in thread. If you want to be part of a family, PCs who have already staked a claim in a family have no say if you get in or not. It's first come first serve and when the slots are filled, they are filled. No one has to ask the other claimants if they can join. Again, people in families don't lead the families, the NPCs do. They are at the whim of the Head of Household.... good bad or indifferent. Any questions?

[Philomena]

Jen - thanks so much for the great post, it clarified a lot for me about slavery and how its working in Kenash, as well as making me think differently about the history and culture. Appreciate it!

I'm curious how other people are handling PC naming? Naming is so steeped in tradition, and family loyalties seem so important in Kenash, its made me think about the topic a lot. I suppose there is a lot of different cultures mashed together in Kenash, so perhaps naming will not be terribly universal, but I'd love to hear how other people are thinking through the naming of their families.

For my PC, I'm having her have a strong family tradition, now that she's a freeborn, so I'm giving her a long, long name: Luce Amalie Genevieve Lemaribeau Vuiterron. Of course, much like IRL, she'll never use most of this name, but I wanted to have her naming be part of her heritage. So the naming of girls in her family I'm having follow a specific pattern:

Luce: First name. These are chosen much like names IRL, and have a fair degree of the random, but to reflect the cohesivity of a family cultural tradition, I'm trying to stick with French-ish names. Of course, there's no France in Mizahar (thank goodness), so they aren't ACTUALLY french, IC, but having a pool of names that sound likle they are culturally related to the reader, I'm hoping, will give the feleling of 'they are different, but all belong together', if that makes sense?
Amalie: Mother's name. The daughter inherits the mother's first name as a second name, much like a patronymic.
Genevieve: Family Honor name. The daughter is given, for a third name, a name that honors one of her relative's achievements. Genevieve, traditionally is given as third name tot he firstborn daughter of all members of the Vuiterron in honor of the matriarch who founded the clan.
Lemaribeau: This is a tradition I've been thinking a lot about - Lemaribeau (it'd be sort of like 'Goodman' or 'Goodhusband' in english) is a Blessing name. Lemaribeau is, in the tradition of her family, a respectful way of denoting Lethe, something like how one might say "The Blessed Virgin" instead of "Mary" on earth, or "The Son of Man" instead of "Jesus". The fourth name is given to members of her family to pay homage to gods. I could come with other appellations too. For instance, if your mother wanted to ask, say, Qalaya's blessing on a daughter, she might have the blessing name of "Plumedouce" - that is 'Sweet Pen'.
Vuiterron: The name of her family (there's a bit of complication here, too, but its specific to my family bg, and probably not relevant or useful to anyone else).

Anyone else have fun ideas about naming? Or care to point out problems with mine?

[Traverse]

I am curious as to what happens with slaves as Kenash opens. It seems that it would be easy enough for new slave PCs coming in to be thrown into a moderated thread where they're taken up by one household or another, playing out their sale, but what happens with slaves that have resided previously in Kenash for some or most of their lives? Would entering a certain household require a request from the PC, or would the sale thread just be modded in a flashback?

[Banickle]

Philomena, as with most of your concepts, your desire to be logical and somewhat reality-based shines through. I honestly don't see much wrong with how you came about your name. It's lovely. Do you want to know how I'm naming the Askaras? On the fly, with a dash of structure from our world mixed in for good measure. For example, Banjemin Cherales Mahtu Askara the First is just Benjamin Charles Matthew Askara the First. His wife Elisaba is just a variation of Elisa. I want their names to sound familiar, as well as a tad Southern. Banjemin the Tenth has a brother named Adym or Adam. Banjemin and Elisa had a daughter named Jassaka Haly Elazeth or Jessica Halley Elizabeth (thanks to Wrenmae who will be using her to populate part of his family tree!) So, as you can see, some thought was put into my naming system, but nothing too elaborate. Traverse, after an hour long discussion with Gossamer - which was very exiting, by the way - it appears that every slave established or new, young or old, skilled or unskilled, will most certainly be put up for auction. So, yes, to answer your question, I would imagine that if you attempt to start them out in a role more than field hand - which will be rare in the beginning - you will have to do a flashback of how you came to be in that role and, even then, there is always the risk that you will not remain at that level. Speaking of which, yes, there will be levels within the slave division. Those who work in the fields are the lowest of the low. The next step up, only after showing some level of intelligence or competency, will be those who work inside the great houses as cooks and maids and butlers and such. After this, a slave that works in a shop will be considered a bit more valuable, since, chances are, they are more skilled, as well as trusted to handle the exchange of money, under the watchful eye of the shop's owner. Lastly, those who become personal servants (or lovers!) of specific family members will be the most prized. So, as you can see, there will be something to gun for even within the slave division, which will only heighten the level of rivalry, corruption, and deception all around! Oh, also, there is going to be a dangerous group of runaway slaves who live in the swampland and work to undermine the wealthy, as well as free the enslaved. I'm working on a Mizaharian name for them. If anyone has any thoughts, let me know! Happy writing, Nick PS: Philomena, I just received a reply from Gossamer and it appears that Kenashern is what we will be using. Spread the word!

[Gossamer]

Phil- Please note Freeborn are solo agents. They aren't part of clans or prominent families. They are ONLY individual folks. The only familes in Kenash are the plantation dynasties.

[Philomena]

Woot! Hurrah for Marronage and a good adjective! Thanks Binks and Jen!

Jen - so the freeborn do not have proud family histories? Hrmm... oh well. Scrap and start over .

[Solene Radacke]

Can we have a little topic in the Consortia for family talks, rivalries and such? Or will that just be worked on here since Kenash isn't open yet?

Thanks in advance.