Au Ra physiology and other lore.

[Kaiser-Ace]

Shrugs, it makes a races' clans, imho, feel more unique if they have some visible differences. Like.. maybe Sea wolves Roegadyn would be thinner or have kinda flatter hands to indicate lots of swimming or something. I know the Hyur are an exception, but it really feels like an honest attempt at unique races whenever the clans actually have differences outside of minor things. It sorta helps make the clan feel more unique as well as sorta give the player more diversity in options outside of "Do you want dragon/demon people with black scales or white scales?" Or "Do you want big large guys who have primarily cool color tones or primarily warm color tones for their skin?"

But clan and species are two diffrent things. A Clan is just a creature of the same speicies that live in a diffrent area. There is little diffrence umungst the clans but vast ones in the races for this reason.

[Samcaesar]

But clan and species are two diffrent things. A Clan is just a creature of the same speicies that live in a diffrent area. There is little diffrence umungst the clans but vast ones in the races for this reason.

Shrugs. Highlanders looked pretty different visually from Midlanders. I'm just saying I would love more things to make the clans stand out, primarily with minor details and body shape, which isn't unheard of within the same species. Like look at poor dogs and all their breeds :P

[Cilia]

Ehh, we've been over this. Dogs are a unique case in that their phenotype expressions are highly mutable by selective breeding... something either not possible with the Au Ra, or something they don't do (because that's eugenics, and until it's confirmed a civilized people practice eugenics I assume the contrary).

Anyway, there isn't that much difference between Midlanders and Highlanders. Highlanders are, on average, taller and more muscular... that, and the in-game tendency of Highlanders to have naturally darker skin tones, is about the only physical difference between the two clans. (... and female Highlanders having larger bust sizes, but that too can be explained by musculature.) The other differences (unique hairstyles, clan tattoos, emotes) are purely aesthetic.

Speaking of clan tattoos, do the Au Ra not have any? I know they have the scales, but there isn't a tattoo option for them in the Benchmark... if they don't that's cool, but it feels weird because every other race has them.

[myahele]

I wonder what lore reason there will be explaing why Xaela males have black sclera?

[WyrahFhurrst]

I wonder what lore reason there will be explaing why Xaela males have black sclera?

That likely has to do with being descendants of the Dusk Mother, just like their scales are for the same reason.

[Samcaesar]

Snip

I know. Still not like they couldn't be different, shoot how some how Xaela maintain their scales due to being the children of the Dusk Mother, I just sorta wish it was something else besides just the scales.

Eh, they still look different physically. Like if you silhouette tested them you'd probably be able to tell 9/10 times which is which.

I guess I'm just sorta skeeved out by the Nadeshiko esque way the Auri girls kinda act and wanted something different from dragon/demon girls because this is probably the only thing close to a reptilian race we'll get. Shrugs.

[Nataruma]

Snip

Roegadyn aren't very different between the clans save for colouring, in the same way Au Ra differ from each, very minor differences in physical attributes.

Most races are basically the same body size for both types apart from the hyur, even so the males and females match each other for size in all the races released so far. The fact Au Ra are so different in regards to sexual dimorphism is a new concept as far as design goes, so I think it's different enough from what we've already seen, but I do like your idea of flipping between the clans even though evolution-wise there doesn't seem to be enough of a time period for that sort of mutation to occur.

Logically the sizes of males and females as they are would be retained for millenia until environmental circumstances would begin to affect their growth. And even then, it would depend on what sort of environmental stimuli whether it would have any impact on their size.

[Samcaesar]

Snip

I recognize that, it's more just a personal want for SE to make clans feel more unique besides a palette swapping them >_> Like.. It'd be a lot more interesting imho if Sea Wolves sorta portrayed a more swimmer's esque body, maybe some like being thinner overall or something.

See, their sexual dimorphism isn't that unique imho, look at how massive the Roegadyn men are with regards to their women. Sure the height difference is much more apparent with the Au Ra, but Roegadyn seem to definitely have the largest amount of sexual dimorphism portrayed outside of the Au Ra and it is quite noticeable imho. Honestly a more different one would be to invert the sexual dimorphism from what we usually see.. But again personal wants.

We're really not sure how long the two clans have been separated, but honestly it's a question that's been brought up. My only question is if the scales seem to be a clear indicative of one being Xaela/Raen, which would suggest that they've been separated enough that you don't see anyone with white scales popping up in a Xaela tribe, why not other traits as well? Like, to rephrase it, are the scales that much of a unique trait that it would be impossible for one with Raen parents to have black scales? If so, why just the scales and not other traits like size? Like.. I'm attempting to stay away from getting into a debate again for reasons, but I'm curious on why something like scales can be accepted as something so static between the two clans, but not other traits as well.

[Nataruma]

I agree!

You're right about the fact that they could have made it a lot more interesting, but they also have to think of the sales pitch, and I have to say that tough he-men and cute girls sell better than petite men and well-built women. There may be a demand for the latter, but it doesn't outweigh the majority. Personally, the way things are right now don't bother me at all, I quite like what they've done with the Au Ra, but I can recognize that they could have done more or developed the two clans for better separation than just a scale difference. They could also have done more in terms of customization, seeing as other races suffer from that aspect, but I will still be happy with the character I roll

[Cilia]

We're really not sure how long the two clans have been separated, but honestly it's a question that's been brought up. My only question is if the scales seem to be a clear indicative of one being Xaela/Raen, which would suggest that they've been separated enough that you don't see anyone with white scales popping up in a Xaela tribe, why not other traits as well? Like, to rephrase it, are the scales that much of a unique trait that it would be impossible for one with Raen parents to have black scales? If so, why just the scales and not other traits like size? Like.. I'm attempting to stay away from getting into a debate again for reasons, but I'm curious on why something like scales can be accepted as something so static between the two clans, but not other traits as well.

Genetics. If a certain scale color is dominant or recessive, and the genetic code for that scale color isn't in one of the tribes (e.g. Raen don't have a genome capable of expressing black scales and vice versa), then it won't be possible for that tribe to express the opposite scale color. There's also the possibility of co-dominance, meaning the colors mingle together and produce a grey scale coloration, but inter-clan relationships are rare and undocumented. Without scientific study, it's impossible to tell.

While the Au Ra aren't the only ones to exhibit sexual dimorphism, they are far and away the most extreme case. Roegadyn females just don't have the muscle mass the men do; besides that there's very little difference between the sexes of any race. You wanna talk environmental adaptation? Well then, the Roegadyn Sea Wolves should have webbed hands and feet to help propel theyselves through the water for when they fall overboard, and not be anywhere near as massive as they are unless they regularly haul up large sea game to feast on.

... but it's just a game, so whatever.