[Locked] Skrellian Speech: Thoughts & Solutions

[Crescentise]

I was wondering a little about why people don't play Skrell that much. Anecdotally, I came to the conclusion that Skrellian slurring plays a part in this. My very long explanation and thoughts on why is hidden in the spoiler tag.

 

I myself had been decreasing in enthusiasm for the race because of the inconsistency of speech standards. Taj have theirrrs clearrr cut, sssame with Unathi. And yet, what exactly is that of the Skrell's? I was eager to play one and went ahead with a fery impulshif shtandard of my own, even though it's not quite the literal definition of slurring. But then I saw otherth were doing it like thith, uthing a lithp. Some, much to my own personal worry, were forgoing any strange pronounciations in favour of crappy grammar, or even giving them perfect Basic without explanation.

The reason the latter is personally worrying is because it directly 'disobeys' the lore. I accept that I could be the only one who feels weird about this sort of thing. Yes, the lore is not always clear cut or fully updated. But it's stated explicitly both before the update and after that

 

Their lack of teeth and articulate tongues leaves them with great difficulty in creating inflections typical of other races

 

Therefore, not attempting to mar their Skrellian character's speech is in direct contradiction of the lore, as contradictory as saying their character is the CEO of NanoTrasen. Skrell cannot pronounce things perfectly due to the innate differences between their facial structure and that of others. There is no way to get around this, other than a speech synthesiser, but I will say more on that in a bit.

Now – why do people do this? One reason could be laziness. Another is because making Skrell sound like that is to the players' distaste. I spoke to someone recently, encouraging them to revive their Skrell character from another server. They were reluctant to do so, because they didn't like the way Skrell talked. They found it 'cheesy'. And in a way, I sort of get where they're coming from. Skrell are supposed to be the squishy technological and military badasses of the galaxy – and are similar in several ways to the very respectable race of Asari from Mass Effect – and yet – lol, they sound silly when they talk. This detracts from the respect they deserve as a playable species, since most people – especially those who haven't read the lore – seem to dismiss them as squishies who talk funny.

Why else do I think this is a dilemma? Well, let's look at the general station diversity. I have found that aside from the obviously most common race of humans, Taj are next, then IPCs-Unathi. Hell, you even see more Dionaea than Skrell in general, possibly thanks to Conspire popularising them slightly. This is not in direct contradiction with the lore as far as I know, but still seems iffy. Skrell are supposed to be the xenos that have the tightest bonds with humans, right? Unathi and Taj only recently even came into contact with humans. And I was under the impression that IPCs – non-law-bound bots – were a fairly recent development, too? So why oh why are Skrell not the second most frequent race aboard the Aurora? After all, they're kind of supposed to be, no? It must only be due to their enduring lack of popularity among the playerbase, and one possible reason for that that I want to address is the manner in which they speak.

I have attempted to think of some solutions, and I've only really thought of three.

1) Making one standard of Skrell pronounciation and vehemently enforcing it upon everyone who doesn't attempt to make their Skrell speak as such. Bad? Bad. Would reduce the players who want to play the race even more.

2) Removing all the dissimilarities between Skrell facial structure and human facial structure so they talk completely normally. Also not that good, as in my opinion it's a pretty interesting thing about the race that makes them alien beyond anthro appearances.

3) Making it a thing that pretty much all Skrell talk through special voice synthesisers when speaking human languages. I like this option, and the main aim of this thread is to ask for it to be canonised and implemented in the lore. For one, it provides an extra thing to expand on in the wiki. Secondly, it adds to their apparently emotionless exterior by making the voice of Steven Hawking machines emanate from their squishy organic bodies. Third of all, it would add to their air of supreme technology, showing that it's no trouble for them to get around this communication issue race-wide (that instrinsically gets in the way, might I add – there can be no efficient collaboration on technical research between human and Skrell without perfect clarity of communication on every detail).

This post is a hybrid of a Lore Question and a Lore Canonisation Application. Sorry for that. If you lovely people could tolerate that in favour of discussing the ideas outlined in it, I would appreciate it very much. I would like to hear feedback from the lore team on the implementation of Solution 3, as well as the general opinion of everyone who wishes to comment on the various points that I brought up.

Edited May 21, 2015 by Guest

[Guest]

Short slurring squids, in a nutshell. Could tell more, but this generally sums up why I'm not interested.

[Guest]

Generally speaking, do we really need Skrell to have a silly accent?

While other species also have odd speech patterns, they dont really prevent you from having a more serious alien character using their speech pattern. However, I have a hard time taking skrell seriously when they have this allegedly funny accent going on all the time. All the Skrell I have seen do something serious or feel inducing so far have been speaking normally instead of using the accent.

I will be honest, there's a rational explanation was to why the Skrell slurr is there, but it sort of looks like a forced joke to me.

Like, not really that funny. Certainly not funny enough to make an entire race supposedly known for being serious business all the time into slurring odd speaking foreigners.

Remove the accent, either with voice synthesizers like Cres suggested, or through other means. Allthough, I like the vocal synthesizer suggestion more than the complete removal of the Skrell slurr because it will allow Skrell players to both slurr and not slurr depending on their personal taste in Skrellifcations.

[mrimatool]

As the person who wrote ALL of the Skrell lore the slurring is not and should not be forced, they have trouble pronouncing things, but that doesn't mean with enough practise they wouldn't be able to.

Second me and Jackboot are working on a piece of lore to do with the Skrell, the general gist is that the majority of Skrell are refusing to leave their homeworlds in recent years due to the discovery of Jargon Fever, the term refers to a genetic defect affecting Skrell that gives them around a forty year lifespan, this defect DOES NOT affect all Skrell and is the result of the Skrell abusing cloning.

With the next change to the Skrell lore being their lack of reproduction and instead heavy reliability on Cloning blank slate Skrell bodies and transplanting into them when their old ones can't function anymore, I will gladly change the wording of that sentence so it does not seem to force the Skrell players into slurring.

Finally, I think it's silly that people will play purring pussycats and hissing crocodiles but they think slurring is too far despite it making sense due to the Skrell biology.

[Edit] due to the Skrell being almost identical to humans Mechanics wise, it's very painful to have to remove any differences between them and Humans. Without the speech difference the Skrell will be left with two differences, inability to wear human hardsuit helmets and the ability to speak a different language. Which makes me worry about their future as a race if they're so close to humans, remember the kocassalani?

Edited May 21, 2015 by Guest

[Guest]

As the person who wrote ALL of the Skrell lore the slurring is not and should not be forced, they have trouble pronouncing things, but that doesn't mean with enough practise they wouldn't be able to.

Second me and Jackboot are working on a piece of lore to do with the Skrell, the general gist is that the majority of Skrell are refusing to leave their homeworlds in recent years due to the discovery of Jargon Fever, the term refers to a genetic defect affecting Skrell that gives them around a forty year lifespan, this defect DOES NOT affect all Skrell and is the result of the Skrell abusing cloning.

With the next change to the Skrell lore being their lack of reproduction and instead heavy reliability on Cloning blank slate Skrell bodies and transplanting into them when their old ones can't function anymore, I will gladly change the wording of that sentence so it does not seem to force the Skrell players into slurring.

Finally, I think it's silly that people will play purring pussycats and hissing crocodiles but they think slurring is too far despite it making sense due to the Skrell biology.

 

Oh, okay.

[Cassie]

I actuallyish agreesh with thisesh. I thinkesh the accentish is a bitush ridiculousish. It wouldesh be very tediousesh to type out very singleish time you want to talkesh and say anythingush important. It also soundsesh pretty stupidesh innitesh doeish?

Ahem, so! Yes, I think that Skrell could either have a different (less corny) speech pattern instead of the current. Or if the lore was changed so Skrell only slur slightly, and it is left to the person's imagination instead of typing it out. I imagine Skrell to be super-intelligent cool aliens who sound non-human but not like jabba the hut. But yes, this speech pattern legit ruins the image of Skrell for me.

Not intensely, but still.

[Johnny Mnemonic]

due to the Skrell being almost identical to humans Mechanics wise, it's very painful to have to remove any differences between them and Humans. Without the speech difference the Skrell will be left with two differences, inability to wear human hardsuit helmets and the ability to speak a different language. Which makes me worry about their future as a race if they're so close to humans, remember the kocassalani?

As Lore writers i believe you can do much better then to rely on a cheap accent to differentiate between a Skrell and a human. Personality>gimicks, afterall. Although the Skrell pattern makes sense lore wise, it's clearly making people hesitant to pick up the race, and the ones that do tend to ignore that piece of lore. So what's the point of having it around?

[Loow]

It's all been said here. The "accent" is keeping people from attempting RP as the race that canonically has known humanity the longest.

It is an injustice that a race with such advanced technology, interesting culture and fascinating differences in psychology is so horrifically handicapped simply because of an accent that is neither clearly specified nor necessary. If an edit to the wiki made it more clear that this accent is, as was stated, not mandatory, we'd likely get more good RPers interested in the race rather than annoyed with the warbling. These Skrell would then likely inspire more players to give Skrell the fair chance it deserves.

I am not against the idea of voice synthesizers and such changes to the species. I feel the race has plenty of flavor without needihng tooh hafe shuch rediculoush ackshents.

 

I respectfully ask our community to consider adding to the ranks of the Skrell. They have been in contact with Humanity the longest and frankly should be much more common on the NSS Aurora.

[keinto]

Do an experiment where the requirement of a whitelist for Skrell is removed.

Cons:

-Equivalent of bald Human Assistants playing a race that is supposed to be withdrawn and rational

-Skrell will eventually kill everyone because there is no pool on the new map

Pros:

-More Skrell on station like there are supposed to be

-The existance of those random Assistant Skrells could be explained by the Jargon Fever, with some adjustment as to what the genetic disease actually does

[Blue]

Okay. So people are making me post things. Okay.

I hate Skrell. I hate them with a burning passion. And that stupid slur is just the most minor reason why (It really is hard to take seriously. And if you don't take it seriously you're racist and your job gets threatened...Tool...)

Why do I hate Skrell then? Their lore. The way it sets them up as the best guys in this side of the galaxy. So they have better medical and science fields than us. That's great. Oh, they also have the best military too. Skrell are their own independent power while the other races are barely living off of NT (note, I haven't really brushed up on lore in a bit. Feel free to correct things).

So essentially, Skrell are best at everything. And they spend their time soaking naked in the pool, soaking naked in hydroponics trays, fussing about how they can't eat meat, and warbling incomprehensible things. In my opinion, that's rather bland.

Tajara and Unathi have a unique and flexible relationship with NT in terms of RP. Since they are considered 2nd class "uncivilized heathen savages" like Vittorio puts it, you can easily be racist towards them. They can be racist back. You can sympathize with them because they're prejudiced and stuff. You can have a Taj claim his race is the best because they have the greatest willpower. Or an Unathi because they are the greatest warriors. With Skrell, there is no arguement; They have the best of everything.

I'd think it would be better for the lore if Skrell were dependent on NT. They lacked the proper "elite" military force. They need protection in order to survive, and NT gives that protection in exchange for Skrellian tech. But that's gonna rip the floorboards off of some people's characters so...yeah.

Just my two cents.

[Frances]

Skrell are simply not as attractive of a race as others.

Tajarans are basically furries. Unathi are tough space lizard badasses who can be funny at times (and also furries). IPCs have quirky robot personalities.

Skrells don't have much going for them. Most of them are awkward, hyperintelligent space nerds. And lots of people who like to roleplay super smart characters prefer them to be a bit more glamorous. There's a few serious, non-funny non-accent Skrell (well, I've mostly seen them in events, not as regular characters). But I'm cool with them. I'm cool with anyone who tries to play a Skrell, cause they're sorta neat. But no matter the role, in comparison to the other races available, Skrell will always remain a niche role, because fewer people are interested in being space squids than anything else.

[Guest]

Okay. So people are making me post things. Okay.

I hate Skrell. I hate them with a burning passion. And that stupid slur is just the most minor reason why (It really is hard to take seriously. And if you don't take it seriously you're racist and your job gets threatened...Tool...)

Why do I hate Skrell then? Their lore. The way it sets them up as the best guys in this side of the galaxy. So they have better medical and science fields than us. That's great. Oh, they also have the best military too. Skrell are their own independent power while the other races are barely living off of NT (note, I haven't really brushed up on lore in a bit. Feel free to correct things).

So essentially, Skrell are best at everything. And they spend their time soaking naked in the pool, soaking naked in hydroponics trays, fussing about how they can't eat meat, and warbling incomprehensible things. In my opinion, that's rather bland.

Tajara and Unathi have a unique and flexible relationship with NT in terms of RP. Since they are considered 2nd class "uncivilized heathen savages" like Vittorio puts it, you can easily be racist towards them. They can be racist back. You can sympathize with them because they're prejudiced and stuff. You can have a Taj claim his race is the best because they have the greatest willpower. Or an Unathi because they are the greatest warriors. With Skrell, there is no arguement; They have the best of everything.

I'd think it would be better for the lore if Skrell were dependent on NT. They lacked the proper "elite" military force. They need protection in order to survive, and NT gives that protection in exchange for Skrellian tech. But that's gonna rip the floorboards off of some people's characters so...yeah.

Just my two cents.

 

Funny you say that, as when I was developing the initial scheme for Skrell, I intended them to have rather glaring weaknesses, quirks, etc. For one, their military is absolute shite, and Humanity outguns it like the Unathi outgun the Taj. Basically, a huge arms race gap.

In addition, Skrell in my mind weren't the "oh we immediately trust you -NT" race. They merely had something humanity wanted, and so they made a mutual agreement to share technology. that's really it, they're just good business partners.

Skrell were also intended to have separate subcultures with zealots, liberal-thinkers and even pacifists.

I never wanted to force that suddenly obligatory slur. I stated in my mission statement for the Skrell development that wouldn't be the case.

I imagined the Skrell to the best at being wise and taking slow, deliberate steps at a time. The Skrell had a very dark, bloody history with their own kin, and the culture slowly adapted for the Jargon Federation to be harsh peacekeepers, attempting to keep conflict amongst their own and others at its minimum, but not by brute military force. I imagined them best as diplomats and politicians and wise squids.

The Skrell themselves were only "da best" at medical because they were forced to put resources into researching vaccinations and medicines due to their lack of resilience against disease. Either they cured themselves of the next generation cancer before it struck, or they died before they knew what was coming. Skrell are very very squishy in terms of antibiotics. Pun.

I don't know what the fuck Tool has done with it. AFAIK, either no work has been done on it or the only work that has been done on it was my own, taken credit by the team itself. I left the lore team because I had communication issues with specific problem members of the team that I couldn't bother to be 'cooperating' with, on top of the inane and otherwise unproductive and unnecessary playing of devil's advocate to every known lore suggestion on dickplanet.

I don't know what the lore really stands for anymore, I just pretend things are the way they are and pretend like I'm right about them. I make shit up as part of my own volition and then involve people in the bubble. Which, kind of reminds me, I need to get to work on the ICN thing.

So, anyway, returning to my original point.

I personally don't think Skrellian players should rely ever so heavily on the lore. They should do their own thing as long as it's sensible to the setting itself (not the blurred lines of what we call 'lore') and is fun/inclusive for some/most people, then that's totally okay.

[mrimatool]

Right, Delta you really need to calm the fuck down. You did one paragraph one. Before you quit, and I didn't use it, I opted to using my own stuff instead as I didn't feel it fair to use your paragraph. If you took the time to read the lore you'd see that.

In terms of military the Skrell DO have the best military BUT they would not win in a fight against humanity mostly due to sheer numbers and the Federations own slow to act methods. And I actually pretty much got rid of the "Skrell and human are besties" bit because I wanted Skrell and Human relations to be a little more tenuous the Skrell sharing whatever technology they don't need or won't threaten them.

Now how about we keep it on topic and you stop throwing your accusations around hmm?

[EDIT]: as I really hate people taking credit for work I've done(just a note Delta, you trying to take credit for work I did in spring 2014 is kind of silly, since you weren't on the server back then, silly Delta.) I decided to find the work delta had done for the Skrell before he left the lore team.

 

Skrell Rework: SS13, NSS AURORA [WIP]

OneOneThreeEight

Objective: To improve upon the current (yet unfinished) Skrell lore and flesh out potentially important aspects, as well as giving possibilities for player character Skrell diversity. Upon release of this document, feel free to poke holes in it and assist in pitching ideas to add to or improve upon the prototype as developed by Delta. Criticism is welcome, if not downright encouraged.

Etymology

“Skrell”, in the ancient native tongue, once loosely translated to that of “The Knower”, as defined by ancient Skrellian texts from over hundreds of thousands of years ago. In modern Skrellian society, it’s typically defined by historians and sociologists as “the Enlightened”, in light of ‘recent’ cultural developments and reform movements.

Biology

Skrell are warm-blooded amphibian-like sentient organisms. They are bipedal organisms in their adolescent and adult stage, and are naturally adept swimmers. They have a pair of large eyes that grant them binocular vision, not unlike humans. Skrell produce a thin film of toxic slime over their skin in order to deter predators and as a defense against parasitic organisms and other pests. As they are amphibians, cryogenics tends to have a more beneficial effect for them whilst utilized. Their metabolisms are also naturally high as a result. Skrell, however, must also maintain moisture in their skin elsewise they would dry out. Skrell suffer from dehydration at a more extreme state than humans typically do, and become dehydrated faster.

A traditional Skrell’s typical diet consists of swamp flowers native to the marshes of Qerrbalak, beans, nuts, and large insects for protein. Cakes and other assorted meals often mash together these foods and are baked to be served as a rather popular meal. Major limiting factor for Skrell has historically been finding sufficient protein with an herbivorous diet. This limited expansion into the colder regions of the planet for a long time.

History

Evolution

The first Skrell evolved on Jargon IV in the Deep Marshes of Qerrbalak. The first anatomically modern Skrell appeared approx. 400,000 years ago. The first behaviorally modern Skrell appeared 80,000 years ago. The Skrell are descended from a clade of pseudo-amphibians. Modern Skrell proceeded to colonize all major landmasses of Qerrbalak, moving from Al Gael Yuel, the first landmass the Skrell made their first evolutionary landing upon, to the landmass of Al Si Hiin 200,000 years ago, then to the next landmass known as Al Baal Raasch 100,000 years ago, attempting to colonize the remote landmass in the midst of a giant sea, known as Talaos, about 20,000 years ago, and various remote and northern items between 300 and 1400 AD.

The closest living relative to the Skrell is the Frogmonkey, which shares 97% of their genome.

The First Civilizations

The first initially recognized Skrellian factions and civilizations focused around the belief of traditionalism. In the system of traditionalism, the first stories told of the first Skrell, translated as “Skrell Prime” by human historians. It was believed that the Prime Skrell travelled all across Qerballak in search of knowledge and answers. After stumbling upon a font more ancient than most of the stars themselves, heretofore known as the “Font of Enlightenment”, the Prime Skrell was blessed with vast amounts of knowledge and cosmic power. Certain tales tell of how the Prime Skrell was able to create a lesser Skrell at will, to have his own cadre of followers to fulfill his dream for sharing the knowledge with the beings of the cosmos.

The tales go on to tell what small deeds he would perform for the greater of all Skrelldom, thousands of pages detailing of what power the Prime Skrell possessed at their disposal. It is speculated the Prime Skrell had even more power at their beck and call, states one theological historian.

It was then speculated by historians that the Prime Skrell ascended to “Rakell Jasch”, the equivalent of nirvana. The tales state that any Skrell that performed acts of selflessness, courage, passion, determination, and the will to , regularly, would ascend to Rakell Jasch as a Saint.

As a result, the first civilizations honored and praised the eternal quest for seeking knowledge, and often power, along with it.

As time changed, so did the motives of many of the Acolytes of Tradition. Often more than not, the leaders of the Pillar of Tradition would come to blows over differing, if not pointless and otherwise harmless opinions. Tensions rose over the many thousand years, and eventually, war exploded between father, mother, brother, sister, and clan alike. In approximately 3900BC~ (the exact date has been up for debate by many historians, due to inconsistencies in terms of pre and post-Skrellian Crusade events), the first Skrellian Crusade erupted in a bloody swathe of hate and zealotry. During the course of the first war, lasting nearly eighty years, the disciples of the Pillar of Tradition had forgotten their true mission. Their focus was, for a long time, on eradicating the other side of the same faith and adopting their ideals for Qerrbalak.

It took a peaceful intervention of nonaffiliated Skrell to stop the First Skrellian Crusade. According to historians, the group stood in between the two fighting forces, and chanted the Thirty Trials of Talosi, the first Skrell believed to have ascended to Rakell Jasch. Though the war did not stop there, the two heads of the Pillar of Tradition agreed to a cease-fire until they could reach an accord. The Tuluot Accord was signed four months later, and peace returned to Qerrbalak.

 

Now please tell me if you find this anywhere in my Skrell lore, or even anything even similar? Because I didn't use it at all. I used our old Skrell lore (which I wrote by the way). And then changed bits people didn't like.

[Edit 2]:

[attachment=0]image.jpg[/attachment]

[Guest]

Skrell should not be dependent on NT, they are their own, and far more successful form of the Sol Alliance In a way. They would have their own interstellar corporations . And, no, the SA is not reliant on NanoTrasen, there are multiple interstellar corporations keeping the SA economy afloat .

[Guest Marlon Phoenix]

kek

rekt

 

Hello, I hear that you feel your work on the Skrell has been underappreciated, or even stolen? I'm sorry if during your time on the lore team that people utilized your work without crediting you; I know how frustrating it can be to see someone else take credit for your work, and I take these things very seriously.

However, could you possibly refresh my memory on what specific mechanics or lore for the Skrell you have done? The wiki history currently shows that you have zero contributions to the page.

 

[Crescentise]

Skrell are simply not as attractive of a race as others. Tajarans are basically furries. Unathi are tough space lizard badasses who can be funny at times (and also furries). IPCs have quirky robot personalities.

Deep down, Frances, I do know this. You are correct. This is something intrinsic about the race that can't be changed. Therefore, I want to make up for it by giving them a few extra mechanics and a more clarified and liberal yet relatively sciencey and realistic lore (particularly on that of speech).

Tool. You are worried about their similarity for humans. Is it any wonder? They have no unique mechanics, unlike every other race. Nobody seems to even be looking into inventing some, which is practically a personal slight to me. In case you haven't guessed: I CARE ABOUT SKRELL AND KINDA THINK I HAVE GOOD IDEAS ABOUT THEM. Please help me help you! Like, look, I came up with this thing! Please don't discount it like you did before like 'hey I'm responsible for ALL the stuff on the wiki rn, look at all this OTHER stuff I'm gonna add'; no. The stuff you've brought up could be brilliant, it could be crappy, but all I know is that it is entirely irrelevant in debating whether or not my ideas are good or should be implemented.

Said thing is a unique mechanic idea, based on this article. If we pseudoscience it up a bit, basically we can say that special photoreceptors in Skrell skin give them some kind of vision bonus. For example, even if they have their eyes removed, they can still see everything, but in that ss13 white haze sort of way. I mean, hell, I'm an idea-generating machine. I, among others, think bioluminescence looks fucking cool. What about them being slightly bioluminescent? Always emanating a PDA-style or slightly higher light beam? Maybe even the light would depend on what colour they are? Either one of these seems a totally viable unique mechanic option to me. And why not both?

And what's the harm in making speech synthesisers the norm? I already explained the benefits. So why didn't any lore-person acknowledge it? Why is this thread getting so derailed?

Also,

 

an experiment where the requirement of a whitelist for Skrell is removed.

is a really novel idea for increasing Skrell numbers. Could we focus on discussing that and the above, please, instead of lore team in-fighting?

[Guest Marlon Phoenix]

Changing mechanics of a species is not a lore responsibility. We have literally no power over how races are mechanically played except asking if the devs want to do a certain thing for them. We work with the mechanics available, we don't create new ones.

[Crescentise]

Ever heard of going the extra mile, Jackboot? You have a race that is suffering in every way. Lore-wise, playerbase, mechanics. As the head of the lore team, I can't possibly fathom why you'd let it continue to do so, and not do everything you can to alleviate it. So please dispense with your 'computer says no' attitude and do the following:

1) Listen to my idea.

2) Understand and outline the pros and cons, discuss with lore-team.

3) If possible, see what non-lore-team people think.

4) Make a decision whether or not the lore team approves of the idea.

5) Make an official request to the devs and present it along side all the info and opinions you've gathered.

It's really that simple. Why is a lowly commoner having to remind you how to work your own domain of expertise?

[Hycinth]

I'd be infinitely more interested in playing Skrell if they were differentiated from humans more. Just, at this point? It doesn't make sense to bother. Why fill out a whitelist for a character with an extra language?

I'd love to play a Skrell scientist. They seem interesting, but... It's just not worth it at this point.

[nanotoxin]

Changing mechanics of a species is not a lore responsibility

Who's to say that the mechanics can't fit to suit the lore? I don't doubt that if you rolled up your sleeves and put your back into it, the lore could actually mean something, and make a difference. Skull and Scopes are great guys, I don't doubt even a little bit if you made a case, they'd be willing to improve the skrell For the server.

[Dea Tacita]

Who's to say that the mechanics can't fit to suit the lore?

 

He's simply saying that It's not his job to modify mechanics and expecting lore-team to do so isn't the best idea.

[Guest Marlon Phoenix]

Changing mechanics of a species is not a lore responsibility

Who's to say that the mechanics can't fit to suit the lore? I don't doubt that if you rolled up your sleeves and put your back into it, the lore could actually mean something, and make a difference. Skull and Scopes are great guys, I don't doubt even a little bit if you made a case, they'd be willing to improve the skrell For the server.

 

I find it extremely patronizing that you have this assumption that I'm not already working hard. That I'm just lazing around, giving an occasional regal gesture for the lore court to interpret as another declaration that vacation will be extended for an additional three winters, and that the entire team is just sitting around eating candy apples and getting waxed thighs or whatever. I've already pushed for several mechanics in my tenure as a player, a regular lore dev, and the loremaster. But you are literally asking me to overstep my authority and promise species mechanics that don't even exist.

It doesn't matter what the lore team writes on mechanics or how well we present it to the development team. It's literally 100% up to them. There are several lore-based projects that have been pitched to them, but that is all we can do: pitch. There are even things still in development like the IAC uniforms, but again, I literally have no power in getting the actual mechanics completed or even started any faster than a regular player. That's not my department. This is like asking medical to build a Gygax. Sure, they could try, but it's going to be a lot more difficult than pestering robotics to do it instead.

[Dea Tacita]

Locking at OP's request.