Do you have siblings?

[Travel Cake]

In real life it would never occur to me to call my family by anything but their names, with the exception of mom, dad, grandma and grampa. I have one uncle I call Uncle Bob, but never do I just call him uncle. I always find it odd, that on Zalanthas people call their relatives not by their names, but titled by familial affiliation. Sister, shall we head to the tavern? Brother, give me back my spice pipe. Cousin it's nice to see you again. as if they can't remember their names, or they're only related if they use these terms. I think it's a little jarring, and wondered why people do it, and why they feel it's better than using these people's names.

[Maybe42or54]

Because, I never write any of their names down. so Titles are what I use IG.
And OOC, I give everyone nicknames.

[Cuusardo]

Some family members, it just seems silly to call by their relation.  I never call my brother Brother, or my cousins Cousin.  I call them by their first names.

I think that even on Zalanthas, people would call such family members by name rather than title, unless they were being formal about it.

[My 2 sids]

I always felt that these family "titles" reflect the society.  The society simply doesn't allow or stress a truly "connected" family unit.  Marriages (and the children from said marriages) are business deals... one don't need to feel "familiarity" with a business deal.

[Whira's Luck]

Familial titles may mean more than just a family relation.

In large families like merchant and noble houses, people may be only distantly related to each other. In merchant houses, especially, where non-family members may hold the same or even greater ranks in an intrahouse political structure, it's important to tell who is family from who, even if they are distantly related, as a sign of respect given to the ancestry. Therefore two people who are essentially strangers may be only distantlyrelated and to call them 'Cousin' is an informal title stating that yes they are related to you and family, but not close family,  instead of having to address them as: "My fifth cousin twice removed Senior Merchant Ralph".

In tribal societies familial titles may hold an even stronger impact. Calling somone 'sister' may not even imply that they are related to your specific family unit, but may infer that they are a tribesmate within the same generation. The same is true for aunt, uncle, brother and cousins may be for those who come from a generation younger than you. In such a case, brother/sister/uncle/aunt becomes a title of tribal bonding and respect.

In essence, it's a bit silly for an actual brother and sister to only refer to such as that title without using their names, but in other cases, it makes perfect sense, especially when you begin dealing with tribes and large extended families where relations may be distant but it is essential to create a connection between family members.

[corona]

I think this is something ultimately left to the player, sometimes IRL, yeah I call my brother, brother or bro, or by his name, depends on my mood or whatver.. and yes IG I've called someone Sis, Poppa, Cousin, Momma, etc, etc.. I don't think this is something that requires a guideline, but I can understand how some people won't agree with it. I figure.. leave it to the person making the decision.

[creeper386]

I've also called my sister, 'sis' from time to time. So I don't see how you could say, "All you people doing this just stop!" Now if it is all the time, I could see it being odd, but maybe everyone has some wierd quirk that they need to establish their ties to people all the time.

Also, as someone else as said, it may mean something beyond blood relations. Maybe two people are 'brothers in arms' or something. So, who knows.


Creeper

[Vanth]

Also, keep in mind that with Noble/Merchant House families, these people may not actually be cousins, but they may call one another 'Cousin', and that this is mostly a civil form of address that recognizes their kinship, however distant, and doesn't necessarily mean that they have parents who are/were siblings.  They may be distant cousins, or have nearly no familial relationship at all, yet they belong to the same 'Family'.  I hope this clears a few things up.

Edit: Whira's Luck basically said the same thing as I did.  Listen to them.

[JollyGreenGiant]

Some family members, it just seems silly to call by their relation.  I never call my brother Brother, or my cousins Cousin.  I call them by their first names.

I think that even on Zalanthas, people would call such family members by name rather than title, unless they were being formal about it.

I refer to my younger brother (who is significantly taller than I) as "little brother" all the time.  I call my younger sister "hey stupid."  She's got her own nicknames for me as well, of course.  Point is, we grew up close and we're just as likely to call each other by a nickname or familial reference as anything else, most of the time.

The habit, especially among nobility, of referring to someone as "Cousin" probably stems from the use of the word in older literature (and its usage in society when those were written).  Shakespeare and Oscar Wilde come to mind as places where you can see examples of this.  Depending on the circumstance, it could be simply a more formal way to refer to a family member without addressing them by title, or a term of familial affection.

[da mitey warrior]

Having other pcs as relatives is kind of neat, and I think are just doing it to over-emphasize the point that they are related.

Just call it a quirk of Zalanthian culture if it bugs you.  Maybe in your culture people are call eachother by their first name, but on Zalanthas everyone has a habbit of calling eachother by their relation title.

[sarahjc]

I have always thought about it as social etiquette.  When playing a commoner PC I once had a sibling and I just called him Tom.  But when I have played a noble or snooty merchant I have used the term cousin or their full title. I think it's just your own personal style.  I get the idea of how I think a person talks in my head and certain this just seem to fit right.

[Agent_137]

As long as it isn't ringing of the tone of some elf from rivendell going, "BROTHER! GO NOT THAT WAY!," there isn't really a problem.

Though, if I could figure out some way to make a Father Gregory that fit into the gameworld, I'd do it in a hearbeat.

"I fear I have led you into a darker place, my brother!"


Pic of Father Gregory: http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2004/reviews/914642_20041112_screen065.jpg

[fearwig]

The use of titles such as Brother, Sister, Father, or Mother is all but gone in modern society, especially modern American society, but that doesn't make it unusual or unrealistic. Whether it is realistic in-game (despite how it may sound to your ears) would depend upon your culture, your circumstances, your relationship, and, most importantly, you, the player. Or maybe that's just me.

[Travel Cake]

All of these answers make sense to me except for not making the effort to remember people's names, and the fact that having a relative in game is cool. And I think the times it sounds most awkward is in these two situations.

[Cuusardo]

Titles are an excellent cop out if you can't remember someone's name.   :wink: