Garuda race and other possibilities

[Ibsen's Ghost]

In consideration of the recent stunning developments by TMJ with the Kwama race, I considered the possibility of adding a whole new race to ST that hadn't actually appeared before and thought I'd post up a suggestion.

I wouldn't want to add more burdens to TMJ's shoulders when he is already so busy with what he is doing, his new job and, of course, his excellent ongoing work on the Kwama so I started a new thread.

I have been reading a very entertaining 'steampunk' book called 'Perdido Street Station' by China Mieville and was struck by the quality of Mieville's creatures and races. I wanted to see what an artist might make of these creatures and found this blog: http://perdidostreet.blogspot.com/2007/0...on-of.html .

The third link beneath the picture led me back to the deviantart site where an old friend of mine and fellow Thief-modder used to hang around quite a lot to post up his stunning artworks. Anyway, here is that third link: http://homarusrex.deviantart.com/gallery...wse/scraps . It features lots of concept art of the creatures created by Mieville including an old favourite of mine, the 'Garuda' race (basically birdmen).

I have attached some of these pieces of work below for easy reference but I was thinking that something like the Garuda would be a fairly manageable race to do by using a base model of Argonians and the work of other modders who have successfully attached wings to characters.

These are just thoughts (and not really connected to the world of MW) but I thought they would be a fantastic idea for a new race. Anyway, they're just suggestions at the moment but I was thinking of having a look at this 'create a new race' tutorial when exploring different ways of making my companion NPC idea 'Anaster Marrowmir' a reality: http://grimdeath9740.googlepages.com/tut...ourownrace . Either that or go get advice from the ZBrush forums, which I'm told are really cool. If I ever got the skills to go as far as the 'Garuda' suggestion then I'm sure it would be worth the effort. I could certainly do a lot with the idea of 'writing them into' the mod.

[blackbird]

That kind of race is actually not lore correct, especially not if this race is playable. You can use it perhaps as a deadra spawn or some kind of enemy.
But hey, the concept art looks cool to me.

[Ibsen's Ghost]

Originally posted by blackbird
...not lore correct...

I'd sort of expected that but there is always a way around the lore...like them being the result of some mages experiment, for example.

[Razorwing]

The team guidelines, which you could say is a set of rules for our mod, state among other things that new races must be supported by lore.

§7 New races must be supported by lore
We are very careful about adding new races. Any such decision must be put to a core vote. But generally speaking:

[indent][/indent]- If the race is mentioned in lore as being alive and well (sloads, riecklings, akiviri snakemen and apemen) then there's no real problem with featuring them, within reason. That's assuming someone feels strongly enough about them to bring them in on their own accord.

[indent][/indent]- If the race is mentioned but presumably not existing at this time (chimer / pre-dunmer, dwemer, falmer/ice elves) then we shouldn't allow them to be added.

[indent][/indent]- If the purpose of the race is to get away with things that wouldn't be possible otherwise - like the Freak, or as a means of bringing children - then that is another matter entirely.

Naturally the rule's context is that we're a mod focusing on the Dunmer and in light of that adding new races isn't really within our scope.

[Ibsen's Ghost]

'kay. Fair do's. :guar:

[Deeza]

Actually, I believe there are birdmen mentioned in lore in the book called "Father of the Niben". They lived on the Imperial City island of Cyrodiil thousands of years ago. It's in the Imperial Library:

http://www.imperial-library.info/obbooks...iben.shtml

However, they are assumed by the writer to be extinct. The relevant passage is:

For eleven days, they traveled north, until they came
To a crystalline lake, and eight islands of
Surpassing beauty and peace.
Brilliant flightful creatures of glorious colors
Greeted them in Aldmeri language,
Making the mer wonder, until they
Understood they were only calling back
The word they were speaking without
Understanding it, and then the sailors
Laughed.
Topal the Pilot was enchanted with the islands
And the feathered men who lived there.
There the Niben stayed for a moon, and the bird
Men learned how to speak their own words,
And with taloned feet, to write.
In joy for their new knowledge, they made Topal
Their lord, giving him their islands for the
Gift.
Topal said he would return someday, but first he
Must find the passage east to Firsthold, so
Far away.

This last fragment is bittersweet for a number of reasons.

We know that this strange, friendly feathered people the Pilot encounters will be lost - in fact, this poem is the only one where mention is made of the bird creatures of Cyrodiil. The literacy that Topal gives them is evidently not enough to save them from their eventual fate, likely at the hands of the "cat demons," who we may assume are ancient Khajiiti.

I guess there could be one or two knocking around someplace in Tamriel, but it seems unlikely to be in Morrowind. I just thought I'd let you know about these things, I only found them by chance.

[Ibsen's Ghost]

Cool! Thanks for that, Deeza. Of course, birds do migrate....

[Deeza]

We could always stick it in Black Marsh. Nobody in Tamriel knows even half of the stuff that hangs out in there.

[Ibsen's Ghost]

Absolutely! I'd love to give it a go. Of course, I'd like to bet that finalising such a thing would be long away from completion. These are just ideas for if I get the time to become fully acquainted with NPC modding or if some wonderful fellow modder volunteers to do it. Nonetheless, I think it would make for a really interesting race.

[Deeza]

I definitely agree with you, it'd be great. I think that Black Marsh already has quite a long list of custom creatures that we'd like somebody to do, but it's always a good idea to have a stock of ideas for people to finish if it catches their eye.