Au Ra physiology and other lore.

[Cilia]

Loud noises!

While mixed race relationships (marriages) aren't all that common and are still looked at askance by most people, they do exist. Regardless, it's not a matter of eugenics (or racial purity, if you want to go there) that drives people to refrain from them these days, but the social order that is instilled in people when they're young. People also tend to form groups that are similar to theyselves (based on any number of things, race included), so there's that.

In regards to Xaela tribal organization, if we're going to go on real-world examples, look at the American Indians. While they were generally pretty insular, they would take women and children from other tribes during war and "adopt" them into the tribe. It's a pretty brutal way to get more people in the tribe to be sure, but it helps to prevent genetic degradation through inbreeding... which sticking solely to one's own tribe would inevitably result in, leading to the death of the tribe.

Alternatively, a Xaela might be exiled from his or her tribe and go on to form a new tribe of similar outcasts, not unlike how wolves make new packs. This also supports genetic diversity and health.

Either way, eugenics are not present.

OK... it's really quite simple to explain the sexual dimorphism. For the sake of argument, let's say Au Ra have the same sex chromosomes as humans (XX / XY). If their sex chromosomes produce a female (XX), there is an inhibitor sequence on the X chromosomes that limits their growth when they hit puberty so they don't end up as tall or muscular as the males; this sequence only expresses if the Au Ra has two X chromosomes, so only the females are small. By extension, the males do not have this smaller stature, either because their Y chromosome changes their growth or the limiter is not expressed without two X chromosomes.

Bam! Sexual dimorphism. (Consequently this is what I meant when I said "genetics can be used to explain anything.") Why these are expressed among the Au Ra I do not know, but there you have it.

1. I'm not saying there is no real-world inspiration for the Xaela, but until I know what it is I can't make judgment calls on what their society is like. (For the record I do think they're similar to the Mongolians, since they sound an awful lot like the Mardu Horde from the most recent Magic expansion who were based on... you guessed it, the Mongolians.)

See above. Also, the "rules of magic" can be changed to suit the authors' needs, which is why it's the ultimate cop-out.

While I can see why Lolorito might want Raubahn alive, the reality is he had his arm cut off and was engaging in vigorous physical activity. He already lost a lot of blood with that arm (even if the cutscene / FMV doesn't show it, if you want to apply real-world logic it happened), and with that large open wound and accelerated heart rate he'd be losing more every second he went medically unattended to. The body can only sustain itself on endorphins and adrenaline for so long; after a few minutes, at best, he would collapse simply from the lack of oxygen. At best; this does not include engaging Ilberd in heated combat. There's a reason they use tourniquets to cut off blood flow before amputating limbs.

Bladed and pointed weapons (most nonmagical weapons available to PCs) are designed to puncture or rend flesh, not break rock. While using such a thing on a rock monster might wear it down eventually, you're more likely to end up ruining the weapon before you accomplish this. A properly trained MNK has the best chance of really winning against rock monsters due to their fists bludgeoning things, followed in a very distant second by WAR thanks to their weapons relying more on force than finesse. Ergo, fighting rock monsters with daggers (or most available weapons) does not make sense. (Of course, MNKs could crack said rock monster and the people with bladed weapons could exploit those cracks... but we don't always have a MNK and that's a very restrictive way to fight.)

3. I do not pretend to know what genetic hybrids among the "races of man" would be like, and there is no way at all to know. Genetic hybridization can produce expressions not seen in either parent (ligers, bred for their skills in magic, are more massive than either of their parents, f'ex), so it's not wise to dwell on that question.

5. See above about sexual dimorphism.

Yes, making Xaela women more robust would make some people happy and some people not. I don't know why they chose to make them just as waifish as the Raen women, but I'm not going to say it's stupid until I get an explicit answer for that specific question. The most likely answer is they didn't have the time or didn't want to put the time into making two different models, and while I don't think that's the best reason, it's not my place to judge that as stupid (or "bunk"). In terms of lore, see above point about sexual dimorphism.

Only time will tell if making the Auri women (and men, y'know!) the way they are was a mistake. If they deem it was and redo the models, and consider giving everyone a free Fantasia their way of accepting responsibility for it, OK. Until then, stop trying to say it was a mistake; that's just your opinion.

Using the same model for both clans is, incidentally, the norm; the Hyur are the exception. I do not expect any new race to have different models depending on their clan, and I do not think anyone else should either.

Again, personal gripes aside, there is no way to know if introducing a new "tough" female model would interest people. Leaving it as does not help, but adding one might not help either... it's a risky proposition, and not doing so errs on the side of caution.

Leave the doughy walrus midget men alone! They're peaceful fishermen who make jewelry! The world can't be populated by bishounen like Alphinaud... you can't complain about Auri ladies being too cutesy and then demand my fictional walrus men be similarly built or they'll face genocide! Boo double standard!