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Questions about the Qunari


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#1
Thresh the Qunari

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My Questions are.

1.Do all qunari have weapons made just for them. (like Sten's sword)

2.Do qunari have rogues.

3.Can they grow Beards. (Most important question)


could some one please answer my questions:crying:

Modifié par Thresh the Qunari, 03 août 2010 - 03:01 .


#2
Mary Kirby

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Thresh the Qunari wrote...

My Questions are.

1.Do all qunari have weapons made just for them. (like Sten's sword)

2.Do qunari have rogues.

3.Can they grow Beards. (Most important question)


could some one please answer my questions:crying:


1. All qunari have a tool that signifies their role in qunari society. For soldiers, those tools are always weapons. Weavers and farmers and doctors don't rely on swords quite so much.

2. Do you mean the class? Or unsavory thiefy-types? Nobody gets the job of "Pickpocket" in the Qun. Some qunari are bred for speed and stealth, though.

3. Total spoiler. Not sayin'.

#3
Mary Kirby

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Nerevar-as wrote...

Just how much are they based in societies such as the Japanese Tokugawa era?
Sten´s plight with his sword is similar to some samuais stories.


Loosely? Kurosawa's samurai films were an inspiration for Sten's character. But qunari society isn't class-based. Extremely OCD and obsessed with order and stability, yes. But not feudal, no ruling class.

Johnny Jaded wrote...

No. The most important question is: Will we get to see them riding jet ski lions?


Isn't it obvious? Of course the qunari wear Old Spice.

#4
Mary Kirby

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Johnny Jaded wrote...

This is the real reason Sten flipped out and murdered that family, isn't it - he lost his Old Spice - nothing to do with his sword.


Wittnessing the brutal slaughter of all the men under his command and waking up in strange surroundings with nothing and no way home -- that doesn't cause post-traumatic stress disorder. Running out of Old Spice body wash -- that causes post-traumatic stress disorder.

#5
Mary Kirby

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captain.subtle wrote...

1) Do they have currency?
2) Do they have Gold/Diamond/Silver-Mines?
3) Do they have a Religion? Qun does not sound like a religion. It sounds like a Philosohpy. I woud like to define the fine line between the two by saying that Religion is Dogmatic.


1. Not exactly, no. "Merchants" in qunari cities have the job of making sure goods are distributed appropriately. Qunari don't buy and sell things amongst one another.

2. To some degree, they do. Those materials all have uses beyond the decorative.

3. The Qun is both a philosphy and a religion by your definition. It is a philosophy, but it shapes every level and aspect of their civilization and their daily lives. It's hard not to find it incontrivertible when it forms the foundation of your life and has done so since before you were born.

#6
Mary Kirby

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captain.subtle wrote...

So... They engage in Bartering?


Yes and no. Not every qunari has a role that produces something tangible. If the role you've been assigned is "astronomer" what do you trade?

What other uses than decoration will Gold and Silver have? (Diamond is defensible as it is sharp-cutting tool)


Crafting medical tools, magical tools, scientific research...

#7
Mary Kirby

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captain.subtle wrote...

Brrr.. Qunari... are actually.. Inhuman! They follow the way of the Open Palm to the letter!

What kind of people, try NOT to change their position (I know, I asked that question to Sten...)?

Do they not want more food, more  beer, bigger houses and more clothes?(except the Tal-vashoth)?

I can understand a Dogmatic philosophy as a concept. But I don't understand how you can implement it without a powerful conditioning OR total..... innate conformity which the Qunari display.....


You know, I get the distinct impression that the Qunari are, in fact, something other than human...

The Qunari view of things is: If you are unhappy being who and what you are, then changing your job won't help. You are fundamentally in conflict with yourself.  Or you are in conflict with reality. That's not something a career change will fix.

They do want more food and more beer. They actively work to improve methods of production. They research better ways to make the things they use. They adopt superior methods from conquered people and neighboring cultures. But they don't own the houses or the clothes, and having more just means more work to maintain them. Qunari love efficiency.

It does take powerful conditioning to adopt the "Everything is done for the good of the society and not for the individual" mentality. There's a reason why, for the most part, Qunari convert people to the Qun by conquering them, dismantling their society, separating their families, and raising all their children as Qunari.

#8
Mary Kirby

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captain.subtle wrote...

I come from... Dresden, which was in East Germany .... so I kind of understand... But that does not feel right to me.... (It actually sends shivers up my spine...)

EDIT: Can I know your personal opinion on the matter, meaning you feel if its right or wrong, irrespective of the Qunari?



Personally, I view the Qunari as a negative utopia. Totalitarianism is too high a price to pay for anything. Even an end to poverty and economic class discrimination.

#9
Mary Kirby

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The Woldan wrote...

* Can horned Qunari still use helmets?


Yes. Shockingly, since they are the majority of the Qunari, they have long since perfected the art of designing headware around them.

#10
Mary Kirby

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The Woldan wrote...

So, Qunari helmets are going to be like underwear, the perfect helmet for all sizes and shapes of horns? Posted Image


The helmets don't cover their horns. If they lose a horn, or part of a horn to an enemy blade, they don't care much. There are no nerves in there.  Their helmets just have to fit around them.

#11
Mary Kirby

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Anarya wrote...

Oh I have a question. Was Sten being serious about "the Qunari act"? I can't tell if he has a wickedly deadpan sense of humor or whether he's just dead serious and occasionally unintentionally hilarious.

I wouldn't put it past him to mess with Morrigan as payback for her teasing, though.


He was, indeed, messing with Morrigan. If "the Qunari act" were deadly to females where do little Qunari come from? You'd think there would be a lot less of them, somehow...

#12
Mary Kirby

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Sable Rhapsody wrote...

So...this means that we can nuzzle with the newly redesigned--and dead sexay--qunari in DA2?  Please say there will be qunari nuzzling for Hawke! ^_^


... I just tried to imagine the player walking up to some random Qunari and nuzzling him. And then I almost laughed iced tea out of my nose. I'm just going to suggest that such a thing would not go over well.

Modifié par Mary Kirby, 02 août 2010 - 10:59 .

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#13
Mary Kirby

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Kimarous wrote...

How exactly do the Qunari ultimately determine their role in life? Are there a series of tests to determine their strongest aptitute? Did Sten take the G.O.A.T. or something?


The Tamassrans raise all the children, give them their general education, and evaulate them. Qunari are officially assigned their roles when they are twelve years old. The Tamassrans have some tests, but nothing requiring a #2 pencil. They also have something of a head start on the process, since they are the ones who control the Qunari selective breeding program.

#14
Mary Kirby

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Herr Uhl wrote...

How far is your role determined by your parentage then?


Qunari have been bred for specific roles for a very long time. Parentage isn't really the issue anymore: It's more like pedigree. If you're a soldier, then there have been lots and lots and lots of soldiers in your bloodline, to the extent that you were probably born with the capacity to march in formation. If you were bred to be a fisherman, you are probably drawn to water the way that Labrador Retrievers are compelled, as if by an unseen force, to jump into the swimming pools of the neighbors. But breeding doesn't mean you, specifically, are suited for the job. Maybe you're bred to be a soldier, but you turn out more intellectual -- the Tamassrans may stick you in the priesthood, researching weapons technology or the Ben-Hassrath, policing the populace, or who knows what, depending on what roles need filled by someone with your specific traits.

#15
Mary Kirby

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Herr Uhl wrote...

But if they continue to use you for breeding, do they go after your pedigree or your own talents? A 5:th generation soldier that turns out to become a baker, would he be used as breeding material for bakers or soldiers?


They'd probably breed him for both, and see if the baking trait passes on. Always a good idea to keep adding new blood if you want to keep a breed healthy.

attend wrote...

Question - So the Qunari do not have the traditional family units? Love is not a factor since breeding is..assigned?


Nope. No family units. They don't marry or choose partners. Qunari do not even know to whom they are related. A Qunari's "family" are his or her coworkers. Which is why Sten calls the men he served with his brothers.

Modifié par Mary Kirby, 02 août 2010 - 11:49 .


#16
Mary Kirby

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UbiquitousGrue wrote...

Just out of curiosity - how do the Qunari gender norms fit into that? Like, when they're breeding for soldiers, do they pick ladies with stronger builds? Is there some crossover between the farming and fighting strains, say? :P Just wondering.



Yes, there's a good deal of crossover. The mothers of soldiers might be farmers, or smiths, or masons... or they might be Ben-Hassrath, if they're trying to add some more discipline to a bloodline. Or priests, if they think their officers need more organizational skill and attention to detail.

#17
Mary Kirby

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Do they fall in love at all? I expect there's "under the radar" relations going on sort of like in the Circle Tower, since they seem to have the full range of other human emotions. And if so, what happens to children of those pairings, if there are any?


Qunari don't generally associate mating with love. They feel love. They have friends. They form emotional bonds with one another. They just don't sleep with each other to express it. And if they do, they get re-educated by the Ben-Hassrath. So, y'know, not exactly encouragement there.

If such a thing occurred and produced a child, the same thing would happen to the offspring as happens to all other Qunari offspring: It would be raised by the Tamassrans, evaluated, and assigned a job. Qunari don't waste people unnecessarily.

Modifié par Mary Kirby, 03 août 2010 - 12:20 .


#18
David Gaider

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attend wrote...
Maybe I am making incorrect assunptions but that would give the Tamassrans an incredible amount of influence. They choose the pairings, handle the upbring and education, and determine the roles of the next generation.


They might not see it the same way, but yes-- the Tamassrans wield a huge amount of influence. It's also a female gender role (as all administrative tasks are) which might lead an outsider to conclude that female qunari rule their society. Qunari don't, however, look on ruleship quite the same way. The brain could be said to rule the body... but so does the heart, the lungs, the stomach. They are part of the whole.

What happens if a large majority of the creche does not provide candidates for a much needed role. Would they be forced to accept a life/role they were not meant for? For example say healers.


If it was a task within the confines of that gender, yes. Even then a qunari might do it if the need was great enough-- though they would feel a task belonging to another gender beneath them. A male qunari will farm, if he must, just as a female qunari will fight. They won't like it, however.

What about the mages? Are they among those defeated or do the Qunari have their own?


They have their own mages. The saarebas (from the word "bas" or "thing/object) are considered defective tools-- but the qunari don't waste those, either.

Modifié par David Gaider, 03 août 2010 - 03:14 .


#19
David Gaider

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SDNcN wrote...
Are other races that have been assimilated into the Qunari accepted in leadership roles?


If the Ben-Hassrath was satisifed with them, yes, it would technically be possible.

Kimarous wrote...
The more and more I hear about the Qunari,
the more and more they sound like they've mastered having a tribal
society on a national scale. Everyone working for the benefit of a
whole, management not neccessarily being "rulership", a general absence
of self-interested commerce...


Keep in mind that there's the ideal way of things working and then there's the actual way of things working. If all qunari felt exactly the same way you wouldn't have Tal'Vashoth or have a need for Ben-Hassrath. They are not machines.

Modifié par David Gaider, 03 août 2010 - 03:36 .


#20
Mary Kirby

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Anarya wrote...

Oh and another one: Do Qunari have personal names and if so, why does Sten never tell you his despite feeling close enough to you to call you kadan?


A qunari's personal name isn't what you think of as a name. It's more like a social security number. It's information that the Tamassrans use to keep track of breeding. It's not something they ever call one another. What a qunari thinks of as their name is their job title.

#21
Mary Kirby

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Anarya wrote...

Huh. Then what happens in a situation where there are more than one Qunari with the same job in a setting? For example, the infantry soldiers under Sten's command. Would they all have the same name or would they be further differentiated by fighting style or weapon? I mean I guess it would be the same as a human named Steve happening to work with 2 other guys named Steve but we tend to resort to appending a last initial or coming up with a nickname. I'd think it would get confusing if you habitually traveled with a group of 3+ guys who all had the same name, if you needed to address one in particular.


They're further differentiated by rank and task. Scout, archer, first swordsman, second swordsman...

#22
David Gaider

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nightcobra8928 wrote...
a beresaad, a vanguard

due to his initial skills i'd say, first swordsman

Sten only gave you part of his name/designation simply because he knew the rest of it was meaningless to you. It's something that differentiates him from the rest of the stens in his kith-- something you don't need to do.

#23
David Gaider

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Arttis wrote...
Does he go join a new group when he comes back?I am guessing so since they do not waste people.


Sten probably faces a lengthy debriefing with the Ben-Hassrath. He's been off gallavanting with bas for quite some time. Contamination is a risk, you see.

#24
Mary Kirby

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Herr Uhl wrote...

Corker wrote...

But like I said, I find it strange that a culture which seems so focused on fitting people into society based on ability would slot a twin brother and sister - same parentage, same genetics, same breeding - into different places based on sex instead of actual aptitude.  Not impossible, just odd.


How do you know that the reason that it is so is gender? It might be so since the men might be bigger and stronger. That Sten then has it hard-printed into his mind that there are no female fighters would be his personal interpretation, not how the Talmassran thinks.


Qunari believe the genders are inherently better at certain tasks: No matter how much aptitude a male shows for management, he'd never be as good at it as a female, therefore, it would never be considered efficient to put him into a role where a woman would serve better.  The Tamassrans would find something else he showed aptitude for, and have him do that instead.
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#25
Mary Kirby

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Herr Uhl wrote...


How many jobs are (virtually) gender-exclusive then? Is it only a few or most?


Most of them. At best, you might see fields (like philosophy or the sciences) that have both genders, but they'd be broken down by discipline. Men would do one sort of research and women would do another. The Ben-Hassrath has both genders but again, they're separated somewhat by specialization. You will almost never find a role in Qunari society that is occupied by both genders doing exactly the same thing.