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Icelander
Master of Realmslore
1864 Posts |
 Posted - 15 Oct 2012 : 13:48:04
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quote:
Originally posted by Ilmarinnen
So, what do scribes think that the opposing forces would call each other?
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In my campaign, Thayvian mariners and soldiers sometimes call Mulhorandese - "beast-worshippers", due to specific outlook of southern gods.
Unterese are also renowned as "bearded" of "unshaven", for their fashion of wearing beards and long hair in opposition to shaven Thayvians and Mulhorandese.
I like the idea that Untheri wear hair and beard more often than Mulhorandi or Thayans.
The sources are not conclusive on the matter.
On one hand, noble adventuring Untheri warriors are described (in Warriors and Priests of the Realms) as shaving their body hair and oiling themselves, but then again, they are also described as eschewing armour to distinguish themselves from soldiers of Untheri armies. So it's possible that soldiers have hair and beards.
And since Gilgeam is always shown with a full head of blond hair and a luxurious beard, it's possible that the God-King inspired grooming fashions. To support that hypothesis, his priests, in Powers and Pantheons, are shown with long hair and (fake-looking) styled beards.
I also like a fashion for well groomed and perfumed beards among the Untheri, as it serves to distinguish them from the other inhabitants of the Old Empires. In my mind, some affect the flowing locks and curled, oiled beard style of Gilgeam*. Others, particularly among the lower classes, favour shorters, more practical beards and hair that is longish, but not more than mid-neck length. And finally, shaven heads and coiffured beards are a stylish and bold new look made popular by supporters of the Northern Wizards.
So I could see the Mulhorandi calling them 'the unshaven'.
*The fashion is old and entrenched enough so that it is rarely perceived as a political gesture, any more than merely having facial hair during the American Civil War could be construed as support for any particular faction. Dying the hair and beard blond, however, is a mark of reactionary politics or at the very least a nostalgic view of the old regime. |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11701 Posts |
Posted - 15 Oct 2012 : 15:19:52
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quote:
Originally posted by Icelander
quote:
Originally posted by Ilmarinnen
So, what do scribes think that the opposing forces would call each other?
---------------------------------------------------------------
In my campaign, Thayvian mariners and soldiers sometimes call Mulhorandese - "beast-worshippers", due to specific outlook of southern gods.
Unterese are also renowned as "bearded" of "unshaven", for their fashion of wearing beards and long hair in opposition to shaven Thayvians and Mulhorandese.
I like the idea that Untheri wear hair and beard more often than Mulhorandi or Thayans.
The sources are not conclusive on the matter.
On one hand, noble adventuring Untheri warriors are described (in Warriors and Priests of the Realms) as shaving their body hair and oiling themselves, but then again, they are also described as eschewing armour to distinguish themselves from soldiers of Untheri armies. So it's possible that soldiers have hair and beards.
And since Gilgeam is always shown with a full head of blond hair and a luxurious beard, it's possible that the God-King inspired grooming fashions. To support that hypothesis, his priests, in Powers and Pantheons, are shown with long hair and (fake-looking) styled beards.
I also like a fashion for well groomed and perfumed beards among the Untheri, as it serves to distinguish them from the other inhabitants of the Old Empires. In my mind, some affect the flowing locks and curled, oiled beard style of Gilgeam*. Others, particularly among the lower classes, favour shorters, more practical beards and hair that is longish, but not more than mid-neck length. And finally, shaven heads and coiffured beards are a stylish and bold new look made popular by supporters of the Northern Wizards.
So I could see the Mulhorandi calling them 'the unshaven'.
*The fashion is old and entrenched enough so that it is rarely perceived as a political gesture, any more than merely having facial hair during the American Civil War could be construed as support for any particular faction. Dying the hair and beard blond, however, is a mark of reactionary politics or at the very least a nostalgic view of the old regime.
Just a thought, perhaps attaching beads within their beards decorated with various symbols might be a commonality. I don't rightly recall any other culture in the realms that does that, and if you want their beards to be some point of pride, decorating it could be common. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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Icelander
Master of Realmslore
1864 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jul 2013 : 03:21:38
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quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
Just a thought, perhaps attaching beads within their beards decorated with various symbols might be a commonality. I don't rightly recall any other culture in the realms that does that, and if you want their beards to be some point of pride, decorating it could be common.
Absolutely.
I'm trying to distinguish between the 'cultures' of the cosmopolitan, decadent urbanites that made up the majority of courtiers and high officials in Gilgeam's regime and the rural population of more humble folk, given that The Alabaster Staff informs us that there were class-based dialects in old Unther. Obviously very different subcultures.
I also want the 'hill tribes' of shepherds and the bandits that prey on them in north Unther to be different from Untherites from the Greenfields, which against would be different from those living close to the Shaar.
Taste in clothing and fashion, including hair and beard styles, are some of the things that help with that.
For example, clean-shaven nobles with fake beards are a very decadent, very modern trend, in my campaign. It marks the person as someone who moved in the very fad-driven mileu of Unthalass nobles and courtiers.
In Messemprar, the wearing of conservatively styled beards in Chessentan styles is more common. The border 'nobles' (more like tribal leaders or just respected farmers), bandit lords and their followers are (in)famous for very curly beards, which they decorate 'barbarously' with ornaments.
Ironically, that style was customary in polite Untheri society a mere century or so ago, but tastes moved on in the capital. |
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Mulhorand-Unther War, slang, strategy and more
