-is considered acceptable, before it's considered not acceptable?
Hello all, Winter here.
So this question has come up, while I had earlier been attempting at a new OC just to relax my mind.
Via the Forgotten Realms website, I learned that there is something called: Szarkai
In short: They are albino drow.
Quote: Szarkai (pronounced: /ˈzɑːrkaɪ/ ZAHRK-eye[2]), meaning "ghost spiders", were albino drow. Although extremely rare and a subject of mystery, they could easily pass as normal elves, making them ideal spies for the drow noble houses, able to operate freely in the surface world.[2]
I thought: COOL! Especially since I found the perfect reference image for my OC.
Here's where the rub comes in....
It seems (based off what I read on the Forgotten Realms page) like with the Szarkai, there are only females of this type. So the fact that I wanted a male, it would be interesting for me to try and spin a tale about my OC. Especially given that drow men are looked down upon by the females, due to the main deity is Lolth who is female.
So in the end, I decided to cease working on this OC. There would be too much lore bending I'd have to do, because they are so rare and precious, that the drow wouldn't allow things to happen to them.
Basically if I make my guy to be opposite of that, and go out to kill and such, there would be tons of issues.
As a note: Szakai are basically the same as drow, just that they are albino, and are considered slightly better than the normal drow in certain things.
So. Just curious in general, which doesn't need to relate to what I just talked about, but: How much lore bending is considered acceptable, before it's considered not acceptable?
Source: Szarkai, Forgotten Realms
P.S. Please be respectful of other's thoughts and opinions, and follow RPR's rules/guidelines. Thanks!
Hello all, Winter here.
So this question has come up, while I had earlier been attempting at a new OC just to relax my mind.
Via the Forgotten Realms website, I learned that there is something called: Szarkai
In short: They are albino drow.
Quote: Szarkai (pronounced: /ˈzɑːrkaɪ/ ZAHRK-eye[2]), meaning "ghost spiders", were albino drow. Although extremely rare and a subject of mystery, they could easily pass as normal elves, making them ideal spies for the drow noble houses, able to operate freely in the surface world.[2]
I thought: COOL! Especially since I found the perfect reference image for my OC.
Here's where the rub comes in....
It seems (based off what I read on the Forgotten Realms page) like with the Szarkai, there are only females of this type. So the fact that I wanted a male, it would be interesting for me to try and spin a tale about my OC. Especially given that drow men are looked down upon by the females, due to the main deity is Lolth who is female.
Here's where the other rub comes in...
Society
Szarkai were the result of a very rare mutation, appearing in only 0.01% of the drow population. They were relatively more common among the noble houses than among lower castes, though it was unknown if this was the product of inbreeding or meddling by the goddess Lolth. The birth of a szarkai was viewed as the blessing of Lolth upon a family, and thus they were dubbed szarkai, or "ghost spiders". Other drow looked on them in awe. They were far too valuable to risk in the cutthroat politics of drow society, or to be murdered by chance in the streets.[2]
Thus, their existence was kept a secret from all, known only to the highest-ranking members of a family and those who had a vital need to know. Kept apart from everyday drow life, szarkai were sequestered and lived much safer than many other drow, though no less harsh or corruptive. They tended to receive personal attention and training from the very cruelest of priestesses and the most duplicitous of nobles. Almost from birth, they were trained as spies and saboteurs and readied for a life undercover on the surface, living among elves and in human cities where elves were common, where they could operate without suspicion. When they'd completed their training and had the necessary skills, szarkai were sent on deep-cover, long-term assignments to the surface, to advance the plots of their houses and of the Spider Queen.
Activities
"Very rarely did their work involve base assassination, as eliminating single specific persons was inconsequential to drow aims, and it carried too great a risk of discovery. Instead, these szarkai provocateurs had long-term goals, their plans reaching across generations of lesser races, so subtle and stretched so thin as to be undetectable."
Society
Szarkai were the result of a very rare mutation, appearing in only 0.01% of the drow population. They were relatively more common among the noble houses than among lower castes, though it was unknown if this was the product of inbreeding or meddling by the goddess Lolth. The birth of a szarkai was viewed as the blessing of Lolth upon a family, and thus they were dubbed szarkai, or "ghost spiders". Other drow looked on them in awe. They were far too valuable to risk in the cutthroat politics of drow society, or to be murdered by chance in the streets.[2]
Thus, their existence was kept a secret from all, known only to the highest-ranking members of a family and those who had a vital need to know. Kept apart from everyday drow life, szarkai were sequestered and lived much safer than many other drow, though no less harsh or corruptive. They tended to receive personal attention and training from the very cruelest of priestesses and the most duplicitous of nobles. Almost from birth, they were trained as spies and saboteurs and readied for a life undercover on the surface, living among elves and in human cities where elves were common, where they could operate without suspicion. When they'd completed their training and had the necessary skills, szarkai were sent on deep-cover, long-term assignments to the surface, to advance the plots of their houses and of the Spider Queen.
Activities
"Very rarely did their work involve base assassination, as eliminating single specific persons was inconsequential to drow aims, and it carried too great a risk of discovery. Instead, these szarkai provocateurs had long-term goals, their plans reaching across generations of lesser races, so subtle and stretched so thin as to be undetectable."
So in the end, I decided to cease working on this OC. There would be too much lore bending I'd have to do, because they are so rare and precious, that the drow wouldn't allow things to happen to them.
Basically if I make my guy to be opposite of that, and go out to kill and such, there would be tons of issues.
As a note: Szakai are basically the same as drow, just that they are albino, and are considered slightly better than the normal drow in certain things.
So. Just curious in general, which doesn't need to relate to what I just talked about, but: How much lore bending is considered acceptable, before it's considered not acceptable?
Source: Szarkai, Forgotten Realms
P.S. Please be respectful of other's thoughts and opinions, and follow RPR's rules/guidelines. Thanks!
I'd say that if you're not playing in a game where the things to be bent are really important - won't mess up other lore, won't cause confusion even if it takes a bit of a "by the way" up-front, doesn't really change the overall point or feel, doesn't mess up any rules or mechanics to be used, etc - then it shouldn't really matter what you do to have fun.
Add in that I didn't see anything about them being only female on the link you provided (I might have missed it?), so that part already doesn't seem to be of the utmost importance.
Add in that exceptions can exist without actually changing lore, oftentimes. Like "X is the tradition, it's how we always do it! But because of very specific circumstances, we'll do Y this time and also probably hide that we did that." There's definitely a difference in making and exception vs changing something to not be so unusual, sure, but both are viable.
So... families always keep these individuals secret, right? And they are intensely matriarchal - to the point that it wouldn't be surprising for families to hide that one of these extra-special and valuable individuals had been born male, because they can't go giving extra respect to males, can they? The existence of a male might taint the idea that these are special individuals to their goddess. It's even possible it's not that rare of a thing, but always goes unreported because no one wants to admit that they spawned the only freak they'd ever heard of. So maybe the males that do appear are disposed of, or somehow enchanted or straight up mutilated to hide their gender. Or maybe they're just rare enough that no one ever bothers to acknowledge they exist (plenty of real-world examples of that phenomenon, even). After all, albinism isn't a sex-specific thing in anything else.
And going a little further, males are already less valued, so why wouldn't a male Szarkai also end up in a more risky situation, such as involving assassination a little more than usual? He'd certainly still be reserved for really important targets, but still might be seen as more okay to risk. Or, if he was kept more hidden out of shame, or abandoned or something, he might not have quite the same connections or anything as others would; he might be a more narrowly-used tool by someone with more personal interests in mind, or be more just out for himself.
(I've never been involved with Forgotten Realms, so I have no idea if anything I'm saying is at all reasonable. Just trying to offer ideas.)
Add in that I didn't see anything about them being only female on the link you provided (I might have missed it?), so that part already doesn't seem to be of the utmost importance.
Add in that exceptions can exist without actually changing lore, oftentimes. Like "X is the tradition, it's how we always do it! But because of very specific circumstances, we'll do Y this time and also probably hide that we did that." There's definitely a difference in making and exception vs changing something to not be so unusual, sure, but both are viable.
So... families always keep these individuals secret, right? And they are intensely matriarchal - to the point that it wouldn't be surprising for families to hide that one of these extra-special and valuable individuals had been born male, because they can't go giving extra respect to males, can they? The existence of a male might taint the idea that these are special individuals to their goddess. It's even possible it's not that rare of a thing, but always goes unreported because no one wants to admit that they spawned the only freak they'd ever heard of. So maybe the males that do appear are disposed of, or somehow enchanted or straight up mutilated to hide their gender. Or maybe they're just rare enough that no one ever bothers to acknowledge they exist (plenty of real-world examples of that phenomenon, even). After all, albinism isn't a sex-specific thing in anything else.
And going a little further, males are already less valued, so why wouldn't a male Szarkai also end up in a more risky situation, such as involving assassination a little more than usual? He'd certainly still be reserved for really important targets, but still might be seen as more okay to risk. Or, if he was kept more hidden out of shame, or abandoned or something, he might not have quite the same connections or anything as others would; he might be a more narrowly-used tool by someone with more personal interests in mind, or be more just out for himself.
(I've never been involved with Forgotten Realms, so I have no idea if anything I'm saying is at all reasonable. Just trying to offer ideas.)
While the Forgotten Realms site did not outright say "no males", I noticed that in the section "Notable Szarkai" it mentioned females. Granted one of them was pretending to be an albino drow, but still. So I myself, personally just assumed they were mainly female.
I did more look into the drow themselves, and there's a lot more to take in than I originally thought. Basically I didn't research as far as I should have, when first dabbling into creating a drow sometime ago.
For example, Martial Arts: Drow were frail like any other elf. They had a tendency to ambush their enemies with ranged weaponry, and retreated when melee combat was the sole other option.[92] They favored light and quick weapons like rapiers, and would choose hand crossbows when possible, to deliver their poisons from afar.[109] The drow had a number of combat styles:
Which is similar to the Szarkai, concerning combat.
Quote: "They planned to never get caught up in combat, choosing instead to leave the dirty work to others or simply wait their opponents out. When forced into a fight, their first aim was to escape, as soon as possible. Otherwise, they preferred to eliminate an enemy quickly, quietly, and with no trace of their involvement."
Okay so the Szarkai have a little leeway, by the last sentence. But still.
While combat rp is not my forte, I like being able to have a character that can stand and fight. Like how Drizzt Do'Urden doesn't hide he actually fights, if I remember correctly as been too long since I've read any books involving Drizzt.
Now of course I won't be making my OC like Drizzt, who'd be good and blah blah. I'm trying to dip my hands more into the non goodie goodie types.
Plus if my OC were to want to be like Drizzt, in the sense of up front fighting without running, then it could potentially cause issues due to he's rare.
I'll save myself, and others, from copy/pasting in a collapse tag. Forgotten Realms: Drow Do the CTRL + The "F" key, type in Gender Roles, and you'll get the idea.
I will go over this again when I am more awake, especially to re-look at your suggestions fully, and can think properly. I just don't want my OC to be too different from what is considered custom for the drow race. Hence why I posted this topic.
While I know OC's should be done how a person wants, I sometimes am subject to being told my OC in question, at the time, is not believable for one reason or another. And with drow being a particularly well know race, I'm trying to not mess it up too badly.
I did more look into the drow themselves, and there's a lot more to take in than I originally thought. Basically I didn't research as far as I should have, when first dabbling into creating a drow sometime ago.
For example, Martial Arts: Drow were frail like any other elf. They had a tendency to ambush their enemies with ranged weaponry, and retreated when melee combat was the sole other option.[92] They favored light and quick weapons like rapiers, and would choose hand crossbows when possible, to deliver their poisons from afar.[109] The drow had a number of combat styles:
Which is similar to the Szarkai, concerning combat.
Quote: "They planned to never get caught up in combat, choosing instead to leave the dirty work to others or simply wait their opponents out. When forced into a fight, their first aim was to escape, as soon as possible. Otherwise, they preferred to eliminate an enemy quickly, quietly, and with no trace of their involvement."
Okay so the Szarkai have a little leeway, by the last sentence. But still.
While combat rp is not my forte, I like being able to have a character that can stand and fight. Like how Drizzt Do'Urden doesn't hide he actually fights, if I remember correctly as been too long since I've read any books involving Drizzt.
Now of course I won't be making my OC like Drizzt, who'd be good and blah blah. I'm trying to dip my hands more into the non goodie goodie types.
Plus if my OC were to want to be like Drizzt, in the sense of up front fighting without running, then it could potentially cause issues due to he's rare.
I'll save myself, and others, from copy/pasting in a collapse tag. Forgotten Realms: Drow Do the CTRL + The "F" key, type in Gender Roles, and you'll get the idea.
I will go over this again when I am more awake, especially to re-look at your suggestions fully, and can think properly. I just don't want my OC to be too different from what is considered custom for the drow race. Hence why I posted this topic.
While I know OC's should be done how a person wants, I sometimes am subject to being told my OC in question, at the time, is not believable for one reason or another. And with drow being a particularly well know race, I'm trying to not mess it up too badly.
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