Kalashtar Gender and Spiritual Lineage - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Kalashtar Gender and Spiritual Lineage

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
EnderXenocide0
Oct 23, 2012 9:47:40 From Races of Eberron, page 59:

"Quori spirits do have gender, and a newborn kalashtar inherits the bond to the spirit of the parent with the matching gender. Kalashtar can interbreed with humans and half-elves; if the gender of the child matches the kalashtar parent, it inherits the bond and is born a kalashtar. Otherwise it matches the race of the mundane parent."

The part that's managed to confuse me is this: "a newborn kalashtar inherits the bond to the spirit of the parent with the matching gender". Does this mean that a female child inherits the bond from the mother? Or that a female child inherits the bond of a female Quori if one of the parents is bonded to a female Quori? It would seem to be the former, indicating that every spiritual descendant of Taratai would have been male (because she first was bonded with Hazgaal, who was male). If it were the latter, all spiritual descendants of Taratai would be female, because Taratai was female.

Am I interpreting this correctly?
#2
KhanSemus
Oct 23, 2012 12:30:42 I read it as the former, a female child inherits the bond from the mother. As you said, we have that example of a female Quori and a male human (later kalashtar). As written, it stresses the gender of child and parent, not the gender of the Quori.
#3
EnderXenocide0
Oct 23, 2012 12:59:52 I wonder then, what the purpose was of giving the Quori gender at all? Or, more specifically, why make such a point of stressing that fact?
#4
KhanSemus
Oct 23, 2012 17:02:38 I just pulled out my copy of RoE to read it over. Now it looks like I was mistaken and the later example was correct. However, it seems to be an editing error. A later section explicitly states that:

"Kalashtar inherit the spiritual bond from thier parents, but the bond is always based on gender; a son always takes the father's bond, while a daughter inherits from the mother."

The Quori are individuals, so giving them gender isn't unusual. It doesn't seem to determine gender of descendent.
#5
EnderXenocide0
Oct 23, 2012 18:02:52 Ah, I missed that later section! Excellent, that seems to clarify things.
#6
Aelth
Oct 24, 2012 6:16:00 From what I understand, Quori don't really have a gender being spirits and all, though they tend to identify as one gender or another, a lot like Warforged in that aspect.

So, yeah, a male inherits his father's bond, female her mother's etc. etc.
#7
EnderXenocide0
Oct 24, 2012 6:54:24
From what I understand, Quori don't really have a gender being spirits and all, though they tend to identify as one gender or another, a lot like Warforged in that aspect.

Directly from Races of Eberron, page 59 as quoted above: "Quori spirits do have gender" It does sort of strike me as odd that the embodiments of nightmare and various emotions have gender, but there it is.

#8
KhanSemus
Oct 24, 2012 10:46:11 We all like things that we can relate to. Even angels, embodiments of law or fire, have gender.
#9
Hellcow
Oct 25, 2012 16:45:26
Directly from Races of Eberron, page 59 as quoted above: "Quori spirits do have gender" It does sort of strike me as odd that the embodiments of nightmare and various emotions have gender, but there it is.

The key to this is that Dal Quor isn't an isolated thing. It is directly affected by the central reality of Eberron; after all, this is the reason that the Inspired seek to control mortals. Quori don't reproduce, and thus don't have biological gender. However, in being embodiments of fear and emotion, they are reflections of mortal minds. Think of them as literally Yin and Yang. Two Tsucora are both embodiments of fear: but men and women can have different fears, and a "female" quori is one that holds a particularly feminine fear.

As noted above, the spiritual-link-matches-the-gender thing indeed means the gender of the human parent, so all kalashtar of a particular spiritual lineage share the same mortal gender. This is the gender of the Adaran monk who first served as the host of the spirit, creating the spiritual "key" that quori can attach to.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 EnderXenocide0 Oct 23, 2012 9:47:40	From Races of Eberron, page 59: "Quori spirits do have gender, and a newborn kalashtar inherits the bond to the spirit of the parent with the matching gender. Kalashtar can interbreed with humans and half-elves; if the gender of the child matches the kalashtar parent, it inherits the bond and is born a kalashtar. Otherwise it matches the race of the mundane parent." The part that's managed to confuse me is this: "a newborn kalashtar inherits the bond to the spirit of the parent with the matching gender". Does this mean that a female child inherits the bond from the mother? Or that a female child inherits the bond of a female Quori if one of the parents is bonded to a female Quori? It would seem to be the former, indicating that every spiritual descendant of Taratai would have been male (because she first was bonded with Hazgaal, who was male). If it were the latter, all spiritual descendants of Taratai would be female, because Taratai was female. Am I interpreting this correctly?
#2 KhanSemus Oct 23, 2012 12:30:42	I read it as the former, a female child inherits the bond from the mother. As you said, we have that example of a female Quori and a male human (later kalashtar). As written, it stresses the gender of child and parent, not the gender of the Quori.
#3 EnderXenocide0 Oct 23, 2012 12:59:52	I wonder then, what the purpose was of giving the Quori gender at all? Or, more specifically, why make such a point of stressing that fact?
#4 KhanSemus Oct 23, 2012 17:02:38	I just pulled out my copy of RoE to read it over. Now it looks like I was mistaken and the later example was correct. However, it seems to be an editing error. A later section explicitly states that: "Kalashtar inherit the spiritual bond from thier parents, but the bond is always based on gender; a son always takes the father's bond, while a daughter inherits from the mother." The Quori are individuals, so giving them gender isn't unusual. It doesn't seem to determine gender of descendent.
#5 EnderXenocide0 Oct 23, 2012 18:02:52	Ah, I missed that later section! Excellent, that seems to clarify things.
#6 Aelth Oct 24, 2012 6:16:00	From what I understand, Quori don't really have a gender being spirits and all, though they tend to identify as one gender or another, a lot like Warforged in that aspect. So, yeah, a male inherits his father's bond, female her mother's etc. etc.
#7 EnderXenocide0 Oct 24, 2012 6:54:24	From what I understand, Quori don't really have a gender being spirits and all, though they tend to identify as one gender or another, a lot like Warforged in that aspect. Directly from Races of Eberron, page 59 as quoted above: "Quori spirits do have gender" It does sort of strike me as odd that the embodiments of nightmare and various emotions have gender, but there it is.
#8 KhanSemus Oct 24, 2012 10:46:11	We all like things that we can relate to. Even angels, embodiments of law or fire, have gender.
#9 Hellcow Oct 25, 2012 16:45:26	Directly from Races of Eberron, page 59 as quoted above: "Quori spirits do have gender" It does sort of strike me as odd that the embodiments of nightmare and various emotions have gender, but there it is. The key to this is that Dal Quor isn't an isolated thing. It is directly affected by the central reality of Eberron; after all, this is the reason that the Inspired seek to control mortals. Quori don't reproduce, and thus don't have biological gender. However, in being embodiments of fear and emotion, they are reflections of mortal minds. Think of them as literally Yin and Yang. Two Tsucora are both embodiments of fear: but men and women can have different fears, and a "female" quori is one that holds a particularly feminine fear. As noted above, the spiritual-link-matches-the-gender thing indeed means the gender of the human parent, so all kalashtar of a particular spiritual lineage share the same mortal gender. This is the gender of the Adaran monk who first served as the host of the spirit, creating the spiritual "key" that quori can attach to.