Lalafell and Dwarves... Plot Hole Potential?

[JeanneOrnitier]

I was under the impression that the unmaked Lalafell picture was just to show that they're using the Lalafell model and are the First's Lalafell equivalents, not that that's actually what they look like and that the beards are fake.

[Daralii]

I was under the impression that the unmaked Lalafell picture was just to show that they're using the Lalafell model and are the First's Lalafell equivalents, not that that's actually what they look like and that the beards are fake.

The slide just says it's the names that differ(the English version at least, since I can't read any written Japanese), and while we have yet to see any Drahn, there don't seem to be any biological differences for the others.

[Astarotha]

well given this is what the dwarves in 4 and mana look like, the proportions arent that far off, also

the upper half of the beard being part of the helmet is an interesting way to pull off a super long beard without running into massive clipping issues youd get if the whole beard was helm or top

[Nalien]

Side thought; I guess this completely stamps out any of the "This race was created by the Allagan!" theories? For the First to have any version of any races, they'd need to have been present long before the Allags rise to power. RIP Aetherochemical Compound 123 theories.

[SannaR]

It doesn't mean that they weren't messing around with Lalafells though. I mean we have the Anata who were around before the Allagans and yet the Allagans went and managed to make the Lamia.

[Balipu]

Well considering the split was thousands of years ago it is not impossible to imagine that Lalas and Dwarves aren't 100% same biologically speaking.

Also worth noting that we don't know when they were classified as a beast tribe.

[MikkoAkure]

I think the eyes not lining up is just a design choice for the helmet and that we’re not supposed to be thinking this deeply into it. Just like how there’s a whole bunch of different hats and helmets for miqos that have our ears in different places.

I was pretty sure that at the fan fest they said that dwarves are 100% our lalafell. If not, then why would they have a helmetless dwarf on the Shadowbringers website?

[Nalien]

I was pretty sure that at the fan fest they said that dwarves are 100% our lalafell. If not, then why would they have a helmetless dwarf on the Shadowbringers website?

I don't think they said they're 100% our Lalafell, they said they're the race the Firsts Lalafell became after 12,000 years of divergent evolution. They share a common ancestor, that's about it, I doubt they're meant to look like Lalafell under the helmet, that's just a design trick to save time.

From a development standpoint, they likely are just Lalafell with a special helmet that completely warps their heads; Unequip it and it'll be a Lalafell. From a lore standpoint though, they're effectively just an offshoot of Lalafell. What they look like without the helmet and beard is irrelevant, because "they're never seen without them".

[Mansion]

Well if it is a Beast Tribe, for me we're likely to never see anything more than these models (with a few tweaks for any kind of leader for instance), because that's how beast tribes kind of work.

So I went back to the stream and what put me on that track is what Koji says (roughly at 1:45:00 mark); "what kind of model are they using?"
I really think that the picture is just there to make the connexion between the two, as they say "Never without the helmets but it's a keynot so we can take it off".

[Daralii]

Well if it is a Beast Tribe, for me we're likely to never see anything more than these models (with a few tweaks for any kind of leader for instance), because that's how beast tribes kind of work.

So I went back to the stream and what put me on that track is what Koji says (roughly at 1:45:00 mark); "what kind of model are they using?"
I really think that the picture is just there to make the connexion between the two, as they say "Never without the helmets but it's a keynot so we can take it off".

If they're identical to their Source counterpart like all the other races(based on the cinematic at least), then NPCs taking off their beards and helmets so that they can emote during cutscenes is hardly a stretch. If you have a base model that's rigged, it makes sense to use it.