Please make the in-game Au Ra (Males) more muscular, reflective of the Artwork

[Belhi]

That's kind of silly. Being warlike isn't necessarily going to make you more ripped than if your peaceful. Peaceful Au Ra would have a lot of physically intensive labouring work associated with living in a settled location that the nomadic Au Ra wouldn't. Farmers can have serious muscle.

[beowulf81]

In fact... the more I think on it, the more I *LOVE* the idea of the Xaela culture revolving around their female warriors as leaders. It would give them a totally unique vibe (well, some Miqo'te clans seem to have female warriors, but it's still always a male who is in charge).

I would absolutely hate that idea tbh, since the males are twice the size of the females and look like they are bred for war… the females look dainty in comparison. It would make absolutely no sense from a physical perspective, and as the Xaela are the hunter gatherer clan, who have been fighting and warring for generations. It makes more sense for such tribes to have the physically dominant (i.e. the Xaela males) in charge of hunting and fighting, and as such, leading.

I'd love it if the females were actually spinstresses, cooks and healers, that would make more sense considering the sexual dimorphism, and would be refreshing in this age of political correctness gone wrong.

[Terin]

@beowulf81: I was just referring to the Female Au Ra concept-art that was shown off recently. Instead of being short, meek-looking girls, they lean and muscular, savage-looking women. Very imposing, even moreso than Roegadyn or Highlander women. *Those* are the kind of women I could have seen leading the Xaela. Not the super-petite girls we have now.

@Belhi: True, it's more justification behind having a physical different than saying they *have* to look different. No different than Highlanders, really. If they've been born and bred for war, over countless generations, it would make sense for the Xaela to look more physically imposing than their more peaceful counterparts, even if it's not necessarily mandatory.

[beowulf81]

@Terin: understood. Have to admit, I was baffled at your initial comment, it seemed as though you wanted male Au Ra's to be emasculated, to make them submissive and meek; that really doesn't fit with their character design at all, imo. As they are right now, if one gender has to be submissive and meek (and they clearly don't, seeing as how Yugiri leads a group of ninja and is clearly formidable in her own right), it would make more sense for it to be the females rather than the males, imo.

[Terin]

@Beowulf: Well, my thinking was, for the Xaela, why have *either* be submissive? I kind of like the idea of a race of true warriors, male and female alike whipping each other into a blood frenzy at the thought of battle. Again, not really possible with the current female Au Ra, because they're so petite, they would never have the physical strength to meet toe-to-toe on the battlefield, but if they were based around that concept-art, I could have seen it.

Sort of like the "Drow" society in the Forgotten Realms, if you're familiar with it. They basically all live for war and combat, the women are just left in charge because they're particularly cruel about it.

[Felis]

I would absolutely hate that idea tbh, since the males are twice the size of the females and look like they are bred for war… the females look dainty in comparison. It would make absolutely no sense from a physical perspective, and as the Xaela are the hunter gatherer clan, who have been fighting and warring for generations. It makes more sense for such tribes to have the physically dominant (i.e. the Xaela males) in charge of hunting and fighting, and as such, leading.

what if the males don't have much in their brains? Would this not make the females the better leaders, regardless of the size?

[QuietGlasses]

And what would make you think that the males don't have much going on upstairs?

[beowulf81]

@terin: neither have to be submissive; which is why I cited Yugiri. But your idea of having only females lead would imply that the males submit to the females, which would be at odds with the image that Yoshi and team are going for with the male Au Ra IMO.

@felis: of course it would. I'm sure the lore would make mention of something like this though.

[Terin]

Not if you simply make the women *more* violent than the males. So not really being a case of "one asserting dominance over the other", so much as "one is more bloody-thirsty than the other, so the others follow by choice".

And trust me, there are totally super-violent women out there.

[beowulf81]

@terin: why would you want to make the women more violent then the men, unless you want to emasculate them? Again, it would not be in keeping with the image they are trying to project. Yugiri certainly doesn't strike me as a bloodthirsty psycho, if anything she's extremely well mannered and courteous.