Kalashtar questions... - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Kalashtar questions...

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
Tal-eth
Sep 07, 2010 11:11:51
I'm a little confused about kalashtar.

As I understand it, there were 67 human monks who became the original hosts for the Quori spirits and, together, the union resulted in the Kalashtar race. Each of the original hosts was tied to a specific quori spirit.

But how did/does procreation work? The progeny of the original hosts all have a fragment of the parent quori spirit...but I'm not sure what that really means. Do all members of a kalashtar bloodline share the same quori spirit somehow? Is that quori spirit living within and influencing every member of the bloodline simultaneously?

Furthermore, if a Kalashtar were to mate with a kalashtar of a different quori lineage, what would that mean for their offspring, since bloodlines (and thus quori spirits) would have been crossed?

Admittedly, I may be missing the boat entirely. Can someone help me get an accurate understanding of this race's origins and nature? I am very intrigued by the race and want to know more.

Thanks!
#2
naturax
Sep 07, 2010 12:03:53 I remember reading that the essence of the quori was diffused and spread across the lineage, but I don't know if that helps you out any.

As for offspring, you can't cross lineages because the sex of the child determines which of the two lines it belongs to: the child always shares the same line as the parent that has the same sex as it.
#3
Tal-eth
Sep 07, 2010 12:34:27
I remember reading that the essence of the quori was diffused and spread across the lineage, but I don't know if that helps you out any.

As for offspring, you can't cross lineages because the sex of the child determines which of the two lines it belongs to: the child always shares the same line as the parent that has the same sex as it.

Ahh...OK, children share the same line as their same-sex parent. That helps.

Thanks!
#4
AvonRekaes
Sep 07, 2010 12:46:55 Hi Tal-eth.

Exactly as Naturax says, the child takes on the same sprit as their parent of the same sex. However, it gets a bit more confusing, because sometimes the Spirit's gender isn't the same as the lineage's sex. For example, the extinct line of Taratai. Taratai was a female gendered Kalaraq spirit, but she inhabited a male monk. That monk's sons all shared the link to Taratai. I only mention this in case you came across an odd mention of a kalashtar with an opposite-gendered spirit and got more confused.

As for the link, let me answer one of your questions specifically:
Is that quori spirit living within and influencing every member of the bloodline simultaneously?

The answer is yes. But the strength of the influence is related to the size of the current population of living kalashtar of that lineage. When the quori first melded with human monks and created the first generation of Kalashtar, the bond was much stronger, because each quori was bonded with only one human. The quori may have been able to exert much influence over the human's body, or may have been able to directly converse with the human's mind.
However, when that generation of Kalashtar had children, the influence of the Quori was split evenly between each kalashtar of the line. For instance, if Kalashtar Lineage A started with one person, who's quori had 100% connection with, then when that kalashtar had a child then Lineage A had two people. The quori then had 50% connection to each. If the original then had another child of the same lineage, then the quori had 30.33333~% connection with all three members of the lineage.
Continue this down through the centuries, and you end up with the modern-day kalashtar which only have inklings of their quori's thoughts and feelings. It's all very subliminal at this point, with vague emotions underpinning certain actions. Some kalashtar seek a deeper connection with their quori (and in 3.5 there was a prestige class for this called the Atavist), but by default kalashtar can't really communicate with their quori. The quori certainly has no control over any individual kalashtar's actions.
Instead, the quori's influence manifests in a certain predominance of personality traits in a given lineage. For instance, the Harath Lineage is one of a Du'ulora Quori. Du'ulora quori are the most battle-minded of the quori, and live for conflict (They are spirits of Rage, though are rather cold themselves.) This Harath's penchant for action and combat manifests in his Lineage, causing many of the Harath kalashtar to lean toward the more active Shadowwatcher philosophy (those not content to sit and meditate on the Great Light to turn the age, but rather actively seek to combat evil and darkness.)
#5
Tal-eth
Sep 07, 2010 13:34:22 @Avon

Thanks so much! That was very helpful!

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Tal-eth Sep 07, 2010 11:11:51	I'm a little confused about kalashtar. As I understand it, there were 67 human monks who became the original hosts for the Quori spirits and, together, the union resulted in the Kalashtar race. Each of the original hosts was tied to a specific quori spirit. But how did/does procreation work? The progeny of the original hosts all have a fragment of the parent quori spirit...but I'm not sure what that really means. Do all members of a kalashtar bloodline share the same quori spirit somehow? Is that quori spirit living within and influencing every member of the bloodline simultaneously? Furthermore, if a Kalashtar were to mate with a kalashtar of a different quori lineage, what would that mean for their offspring, since bloodlines (and thus quori spirits) would have been crossed? Admittedly, I may be missing the boat entirely. Can someone help me get an accurate understanding of this race's origins and nature? I am very intrigued by the race and want to know more. Thanks!
#2 naturax Sep 07, 2010 12:03:53	I remember reading that the essence of the quori was diffused and spread across the lineage, but I don't know if that helps you out any. As for offspring, you can't cross lineages because the sex of the child determines which of the two lines it belongs to: the child always shares the same line as the parent that has the same sex as it.
#3 Tal-eth Sep 07, 2010 12:34:27	I remember reading that the essence of the quori was diffused and spread across the lineage, but I don't know if that helps you out any. As for offspring, you can't cross lineages because the sex of the child determines which of the two lines it belongs to: the child always shares the same line as the parent that has the same sex as it. Ahh...OK, children share the same line as their same-sex parent. That helps. Thanks!
#4 AvonRekaes Sep 07, 2010 12:46:55	Hi Tal-eth. Exactly as Naturax says, the child takes on the same sprit as their parent of the same sex. However, it gets a bit more confusing, because sometimes the Spirit's gender isn't the same as the lineage's sex. For example, the extinct line of Taratai. Taratai was a female gendered Kalaraq spirit, but she inhabited a male monk. That monk's sons all shared the link to Taratai. I only mention this in case you came across an odd mention of a kalashtar with an opposite-gendered spirit and got more confused. As for the link, let me answer one of your questions specifically: Is that quori spirit living within and influencing every member of the bloodline simultaneously? The answer is yes. But the strength of the influence is related to the size of the current population of living kalashtar of that lineage. When the quori first melded with human monks and created the first generation of Kalashtar, the bond was much stronger, because each quori was bonded with only one human. The quori may have been able to exert much influence over the human's body, or may have been able to directly converse with the human's mind. However, when that generation of Kalashtar had children, the influence of the Quori was split evenly between each kalashtar of the line. For instance, if Kalashtar Lineage A started with one person, who's quori had 100% connection with, then when that kalashtar had a child then Lineage A had two people. The quori then had 50% connection to each. If the original then had another child of the same lineage, then the quori had 30.33333~% connection with all three members of the lineage. Continue this down through the centuries, and you end up with the modern-day kalashtar which only have inklings of their quori's thoughts and feelings. It's all very subliminal at this point, with vague emotions underpinning certain actions. Some kalashtar seek a deeper connection with their quori (and in 3.5 there was a prestige class for this called the Atavist), but by default kalashtar can't really communicate with their quori. The quori certainly has no control over any individual kalashtar's actions. Instead, the quori's influence manifests in a certain predominance of personality traits in a given lineage. For instance, the Harath Lineage is one of a Du'ulora Quori. Du'ulora quori are the most battle-minded of the quori, and live for conflict (They are spirits of Rage, though are rather cold themselves.) This Harath's penchant for action and combat manifests in his Lineage, causing many of the Harath kalashtar to lean toward the more active Shadowwatcher philosophy (those not content to sit and meditate on the Great Light to turn the age, but rather actively seek to combat evil and darkness.)
#5 Tal-eth Sep 07, 2010 13:34:22	@Avon Thanks so much! That was very helpful!