.
That is actually a really good observation.
I have no good answer.
Militia is also a term for a state police force, which the Arm of the Dragon very definitely is.
I've never heard it used that way, actually.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Militia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Militia_%28Police%29
I have no idea why the Byn have "military abas", but "military boots" also exist in game, so... ???
Then again, the Byn are also Purple Dragon Knights from Forgotten Realms, in disguise.
Inconsistencies annoy me!
On this topic, and the topic of fashion (another thread), I would like to see such social rules as:
"Socially, abas generally denote military lifestyle. While not worn by soldiers alone, they tend to form the base of military uniforms." Whether this was true for a single culture area, or the whole game (which might be more playable) I would like to see this sort of cultural rule exist in the documentation. Note that it does not prevent any character from wearing an aba. It would simply color the way the character was seen by those around them.
Morrolan
I think clans should give up cloaks and abas and adopt pinnies. Sort of like jerseys but simpler.
http://www.teamskyline.com/productImages/SKP3_1a.jpg
Sandcloth pinnies ftw.
A neat crest on the chest and flashy colors to differentiate clans and their importance.
I'm pretty sure the Byn's 'military' aba refers to the style of aba, being open at the front for access to weapons etc. Kind of like army-boots, being a style of boot rather than official boots for the army.
Quote from: Spoon on January 24, 2008, 01:36:45 PM
I'm pretty sure the Byn's 'military' aba refers to the style of aba, being open at the front for access to weapons etc. Kind of like army-boots, being a style of boot rather than official boots for the army.
That's exactly what I think.
Spud: do you mean tabards?
Is that what tabards look like?
Pretty much, except a lot more elaborate.
I'd rather have pinnies then tabards, though. Make everyone wear one color, their clan's color.
Pinnies is a ridiculous name for something though, and I for one am against anything that sounds that silly.
When you boil it down we are talking semantics here. Tabard just sounds cooler while meaning, 'basically', the same thing.
Alright, the name doesn't matter to me I just thought the look was neat. Anyways, I was thinking of people that can't identify what clan someone is in..
Why aren't clanned characters given a title in their sdesc if they're wearing a uniform?
The wispy, silver haired Salarri has arrived from the east.
Like Templars, but for everyone! I'm pretty sure this has been brought up before but I figured I'd bring it up again.
I really like that idea.
Agreed, it would be easier for Newbies to tell who the hell you were, when they as characters would undoubtably know that the guy with all the jade cross gear is a soldier.
J-Rod
Quote from: Spud on January 26, 2008, 07:32:05 AM
Alright, the name doesn't matter to me I just thought the look was neat. Anyways, I was thinking of people that can't identify what clan someone is in..
Why aren't clanned characters given a title in their sdesc if they're wearing a uniform?
The wispy, silver haired Salarri has arrived from the east.
Like Templars, but for everyone! I'm pretty sure this has been brought up before but I figured I'd bring it up again.
[/quote
Reason: because we can look at a hunter/soldier/crafter/noble and determine which faction they are from by their rings, armbands, sigils, and cloaks. Every time I see a 'steel-grey' cloak my brain sees "Salarr."
I'd hate to see clan titles in sdescs. The next point to digress after allowing clan titles in sdescs would be having names over our character's heads.
Now, back to the military, militia, soldier, templar conversation: I would love to see bynners having the words mercenary in their sdesc and those in AoD and the Sun Legions have the words soldier added to their sdesc when wearing the uniform.
I also would like seeing other words like hunter, merchant, crafter, and other obvious words added to a person's sdesc when they wear uniform items.
We have npc's with some of these titles and I feel strongly that the use of a scheme like this would add atmosphere to the game and alleviate some of the feelings of emptiness when we pass the tall, indescript man on the road on our way to the tavern.
These titles would also help us understand a character's basic appearance without having to take time to spam look. The three-fingered mercenary means much more to me, in terms of atmosphere, than the three-fingered human does.
We can look at Templars too.
I strongly support the idea of PCs who -would- recognize things as clan symbols as having the -option- (clandescs on/clandescs off) of seeing clan-specific descs. Absolutely. Could work very well with an invisible city lore skill, even.