Eberron under the glass: Race relations and prejudice [Archive] - Wizards Community

Eberron under the glass: Race relations and prejudice [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Klapperman
11-16-04, 06:47 AM Kalashtar may appear physically attractive in a human sense, but their alien mind sets them apart, and while your typical adventurer is more accepting of strangeness, an average farmer or city-dweller doesn't take well to a "pretty-looking, funny-talking" kalashtar any more than someone in the modern world takes to a slick politician or book-minded ecologist telling them what's right and wrong. The kalashtar's tendency toward sincere goodness ameliorates some of their suspicion, but many people are always reminded of their ties to the Region of Dreams and the horrible quori that rule that place -- a fact that makes ignorant people fear them. :confused:

Is it me or does this contradict the fact that noone except a few VERY knowledgable people know about the Region of Dreams of even the quori? Certainly not an 'ignorant' peasant from for example Breland?

This recent Q&A from the Keith Baker thread seems to suggest something very different.

Q Originally Posted by DBlizzard My brother is running a refugee Kalashtar from Sarlona in my campaign. He was asking me what how well the situation in Sarlona is known in, say, Sharn. So, how much is known?

I know it's a mysterious area, but the real question is "how mysterious?" I don't think the average person has much information (indeed, might not even be aware it exists). On the other hand, there are a number of Kalashtar around. Do they keep all the information to themselves? Are they very insular and tend to not spread whatever information they have around?

A This will be covered in much more detail in Races of Eberron, but as that is many months away, I'll go into it a bit. By the official material, Sarlona is an extremely insular continent and the average citizen of Khorvaire knows basically nothing about it. Someone with Knowledge (Geography) or a bard will know that there's a huge empire whose leaders are revered as gods and have magical powers (unless the character is familiar with psionics, it's unlikely that they will know the difference), and a smaller nation that's been under siege for hundreds of years. Merchants know about the products they trade with Sarlona, and there are actually Riedran populations in many coastal cities that work docks and trade.

Anyone with Knowledge (psionics) will know that Sarlona is the center of psionic knowledge and discipline, and most psionic characters will have recieved training either in Sarlona or from a Sarlonan. Such a character won't necessarily know that the Inspired are Quori (not that there's much harm in it if the player does), but will know that the rulers are said to be guided by divine spirits and possess powerful psionic abilities.

Any kalashtar knows the full story. However, it's important to distinguish between the kalashtar of Adar, who spend their lives in literal battle against the Inspired, and those kalashtar born in Khorvaire. All kalashtar must remain vigilant against the attacks of the Dreaming Dark, but in Khorvaire those attacks are going to be subtle; the Inspried can't unleash a Riedran army against the kalashtar community. As a result, the kalashtar of Khorvaire are a little less rigid and set in their ways than the Adarans, who are strict traditionalists and put the fight before all things. In either case, you may say "So if the kalashtar know, why haven't they told everyone?" Partially, this is because the kalashtar need to maintain a low profile to hide from the Dreaming Dark. But there is also a certain level of racial arrogance associated with this as well. This is the continuation of a battle between quori, a war that has been going on for thousands of years. The majority of the kalashtar believe that it is their war to fight—that the common races are not capable of understanding the Dark, let alone defeating it. A kalashtar may explain the situation to her adventuring companions, because she considers them worthy allies in the struggle -- but she still won't discuss it with the innkeeper.

Over the last century the Inspired have reached out to Khorvaire, and Riedra has embassies in all of the major cities of Khorvaire (as noted by the presence of the Inspired ambassador in Whisper of the Vampires Blade). So there are actually Inspired in Sharn, though people may or may not connect them with the god-rulers of the stories... but they still keep their borders closed, and unless you meet one of the criteria mentioned above it's still a case of "That's some muckety-muck from across the sea." Kalashtar have imigrated to Khorvaire on and off for many centuries, and there are kalashtar communities in many of the large cities as well; they are very close-knit, and while friendly to outsiders they typically all live in one neighborhood and generally keep to themselves.

So is it just me, or does the article need some errata?
ieattrollsforbreakfast
11-16-04, 12:36 PM That does seem like a bit of a contradition. Perhaps the phrase from the article is meant to suggest those that do know of them fear them. Its just a case of wording I think.
For example, if you told Joe the ignorant peasant that his daughter is meeting with a handsome man that just so happens to have a monstrous psychic spirit from a dream world in another dimension buried within his mind, he might be a little worried.
CzarGarrett
11-16-04, 12:48 PM And maybe Inspired who have gotten over to Khorvaire have spread a few stories.

Sharn seems like one of those major cities where they could fit in more easily.

And the stories could be about the Kalashtar and the Quori, which would make some people who heard the stories wary of Kalashtar.
ENHenry
11-16-04, 04:01 PM One can be both knowledgeable and ignorant at the same time; knowledgeable about dreams, but not knowledgeable enough to distinguish between different types of dream-monsters.

Also, it's not big enough of a difference to worry about; I'm not going to fault Sean for "not being Keith", and what Keith says on a message board is not final word on everything in Eberron - even Ed Greenwood says "not to take everything Elminster (Ed's alter-ego) says as absolute truth." :) It pays to remind ourselves that everything in the forums said by Keith is more for fun than official word.
seankreynolds
11-16-04, 05:09 PM double post. :/
seankreynolds
11-16-04, 05:22 PM Let me also point out that Keith sees all of these articles before they go on the site, and he didn't suggest any changes to that section, so he's OK with it as presented.

Kalashtar are rare, and those who know what the kalashtar really are (rather than "nice guy, kinda funny-looking") likewise are rare (or at least uncommon), and so among those "in the know" there's still the likelihood of prejudice in the manner I spoke of in the article. Most people are ignoarant of a kalashtar's nature or even their entire existence ("kalash-what?"), so racial prejudice of that type won't be found in most people.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Klapperman 11-16-04, 06:47 AM	Kalashtar may appear physically attractive in a human sense, but their alien mind sets them apart, and while your typical adventurer is more accepting of strangeness, an average farmer or city-dweller doesn't take well to a "pretty-looking, funny-talking" kalashtar any more than someone in the modern world takes to a slick politician or book-minded ecologist telling them what's right and wrong. The kalashtar's tendency toward sincere goodness ameliorates some of their suspicion, but many people are always reminded of their ties to the Region of Dreams and the horrible quori that rule that place -- a fact that makes ignorant people fear them. :confused: Is it me or does this contradict the fact that noone except a few VERY knowledgable people know about the Region of Dreams of even the quori? Certainly not an 'ignorant' peasant from for example Breland? This recent Q&A from the Keith Baker thread seems to suggest something very different. Q Originally Posted by DBlizzard My brother is running a refugee Kalashtar from Sarlona in my campaign. He was asking me what how well the situation in Sarlona is known in, say, Sharn. So, how much is known? I know it's a mysterious area, but the real question is "how mysterious?" I don't think the average person has much information (indeed, might not even be aware it exists). On the other hand, there are a number of Kalashtar around. Do they keep all the information to themselves? Are they very insular and tend to not spread whatever information they have around? A This will be covered in much more detail in Races of Eberron, but as that is many months away, I'll go into it a bit. By the official material, Sarlona is an extremely insular continent and the average citizen of Khorvaire knows basically nothing about it. Someone with Knowledge (Geography) or a bard will know that there's a huge empire whose leaders are revered as gods and have magical powers (unless the character is familiar with psionics, it's unlikely that they will know the difference), and a smaller nation that's been under siege for hundreds of years. Merchants know about the products they trade with Sarlona, and there are actually Riedran populations in many coastal cities that work docks and trade. Anyone with Knowledge (psionics) will know that Sarlona is the center of psionic knowledge and discipline, and most psionic characters will have recieved training either in Sarlona or from a Sarlonan. Such a character won't necessarily know that the Inspired are Quori (not that there's much harm in it if the player does), but will know that the rulers are said to be guided by divine spirits and possess powerful psionic abilities. Any kalashtar knows the full story. However, it's important to distinguish between the kalashtar of Adar, who spend their lives in literal battle against the Inspired, and those kalashtar born in Khorvaire. All kalashtar must remain vigilant against the attacks of the Dreaming Dark, but in Khorvaire those attacks are going to be subtle; the Inspried can't unleash a Riedran army against the kalashtar community. As a result, the kalashtar of Khorvaire are a little less rigid and set in their ways than the Adarans, who are strict traditionalists and put the fight before all things. In either case, you may say "So if the kalashtar know, why haven't they told everyone?" Partially, this is because the kalashtar need to maintain a low profile to hide from the Dreaming Dark. But there is also a certain level of racial arrogance associated with this as well. This is the continuation of a battle between quori, a war that has been going on for thousands of years. The majority of the kalashtar believe that it is their war to fight—that the common races are not capable of understanding the Dark, let alone defeating it. A kalashtar may explain the situation to her adventuring companions, because she considers them worthy allies in the struggle -- but she still won't discuss it with the innkeeper. Over the last century the Inspired have reached out to Khorvaire, and Riedra has embassies in all of the major cities of Khorvaire (as noted by the presence of the Inspired ambassador in Whisper of the Vampires Blade). So there are actually Inspired in Sharn, though people may or may not connect them with the god-rulers of the stories... but they still keep their borders closed, and unless you meet one of the criteria mentioned above it's still a case of "That's some muckety-muck from across the sea." Kalashtar have imigrated to Khorvaire on and off for many centuries, and there are kalashtar communities in many of the large cities as well; they are very close-knit, and while friendly to outsiders they typically all live in one neighborhood and generally keep to themselves. So is it just me, or does the article need some errata?
ieattrollsforbreakfast 11-16-04, 12:36 PM	That does seem like a bit of a contradition. Perhaps the phrase from the article is meant to suggest those that do know of them fear them. Its just a case of wording I think. For example, if you told Joe the ignorant peasant that his daughter is meeting with a handsome man that just so happens to have a monstrous psychic spirit from a dream world in another dimension buried within his mind, he might be a little worried.
CzarGarrett 11-16-04, 12:48 PM	And maybe Inspired who have gotten over to Khorvaire have spread a few stories. Sharn seems like one of those major cities where they could fit in more easily. And the stories could be about the Kalashtar and the Quori, which would make some people who heard the stories wary of Kalashtar.
ENHenry 11-16-04, 04:01 PM	One can be both knowledgeable and ignorant at the same time; knowledgeable about dreams, but not knowledgeable enough to distinguish between different types of dream-monsters. Also, it's not big enough of a difference to worry about; I'm not going to fault Sean for "not being Keith", and what Keith says on a message board is not final word on everything in Eberron - even Ed Greenwood says "not to take everything Elminster (Ed's alter-ego) says as absolute truth." :) It pays to remind ourselves that everything in the forums said by Keith is more for fun than official word.
seankreynolds 11-16-04, 05:09 PM	double post. :/
seankreynolds 11-16-04, 05:22 PM	Let me also point out that Keith sees all of these articles before they go on the site, and he didn't suggest any changes to that section, so he's OK with it as presented. Kalashtar are rare, and those who know what the kalashtar really are (rather than "nice guy, kinda funny-looking") likewise are rare (or at least uncommon), and so among those "in the know" there's still the likelihood of prejudice in the manner I spoke of in the article. Most people are ignoarant of a kalashtar's nature or even their entire existence ("kalash-what?"), so racial prejudice of that type won't be found in most people.