spoiler Qunari philosophy, lifestyle and religion

[danscott84]

RB, I mean in the sense that where everyone talks about Arlathan, but not knowing it's location, perhaps the Qunari found it. :whistling:

[RustyBlade]

Perhaps some of it but they "supposedly" arrived with their cannons and advanced navy so the bulk of their tech either came from their own scientists(?) or they stole it from another race on another continent (planet?)

[brokenergy]

The way I thought of Arlathan, I thought of the famed cities of Tenochtitlan, Machu Pichu and El Dorado. Besides the last one, I thought that Arlathan as a real city was city that either existed but was reclaimed by nature or a city which was built over. Either way it would feel sad to enter the city as it symbolizes the elves' fall from grace.

 

Back to topic...

 

In the issue of Qunari compared to the Persians, I have to disagree on that part because they don't have a Persian feel to it (because I am one :biggrin: ). I agree with the devs that they have more to the Turks before the Ottoman Empire and their constant raids to Byzantine side. If we take into account that it is based around the 12-13th centuries, I would feel that the Fex or another race would represent the Persians as a whole as they were in constant odds and were once occupied by them (which is what's happening in Pan Volen currently). As for the Qunari and their cannons, I also think that someone else had something to do with that and the Qunari known for their effectiveness used that idea for war. In reality Qunari just use everything to their advantage to conquer more land, which is what any effective leader would do. I'm not lowering the greatness or the mystery but since they are using Eurasia and Africa kingdoms and empires as templates, might as well say that there are people who might resemble the Chinese or a Mongol Hoard.

[danscott84]

Brokenergy, I can see that part on the Ottoman Empire to a degree. Maybe using the Persians around the time of Alexander was wrong. I used him because more are familiar with him than who I was really thinking of along the Persian line, Darius. Particularly the fable of (I am going to butcher the spelling) Nebachanezzar. Neb, for short, so impressed Darius that he was accepted as a top advisor to Darius despite being an outsider captured and holding to a different belief than the Persians. Also how the Persians approached the Greeks prior to the Battle of Thermopelae (sp again) pass. Darius, to get his army to Greece faster around Asia Minor built a bridge of old ships to move his army instead of taking the extra time to march around the sea. An engineering marvel, taking advantage of old materials to achieve his goals.

 

And I can see the Mongol comparison as well. And specially those cultures in the Russian steppes around the time of Attila. As for based on the 12-13th centuries, you could even go back to around the fall of the Roman Empire. As I said before, there are a lot of sources that I see being used for the Quanari, whether the devs reealize it or not.

[brokenergy]

Yea that's true. All the nations of Thedas come from different background but they have some sort of a dominant feature within them whether it is subtle or shouting at your face. The reason I didn't think that Qunari were Persian is that they lacked the empathy of one. They feel alien to me which leads to the question of their culture; it is cold. It reminds me of 1984 and the totalitarian government who controls every aspect of the person's life. It feels more like a giant machine. The great thing is that they are not demons/human hybrids but I would have thought that there would have been resistance within their own society but it seems like that it isn't the case.

[danscott84]

1984 is a good example of the governing structure. Good call. Also a little Logan's Run (book, not movie ;) )