What "races" are the characters of CoC2?

[HIMEROSY]

I understand that CoC2 is a fantasy world and so there won't necessarily be a 1-to-1 correlation between it and the real world, but I was curious about both the historical inspirations of different groups in Savarra, as well as the human races some groups would most closely physically resemble.

For example, the Kitsune from the Old Country are obviously based on historical Japan (~1200-1600AD), and from physical descriptions I gather that (at least for most of them) their human features most resemble Japanese people, despite the wide variety of hair and eye colours.

Other characters or groups are less clear to me. I know Jassira is based on a blend of ancient Egypt and Babylon, but I wonder if Cait would actually correspond to being caucasian, instead of middle-eastern. It's even noted in-game how different Cait and Leorah's complexions are despite hailing from the same country (of course there's a lot of variety in the middle-east so it's not inconceivable if we're pushing the comparison of Jassira and Egypt/Babylon). I had initially thought Leorah might look nubian, but after reading more of her content I think she might indeed look more North African/middle-eastern)

Tronarii seems to have a strong Roman inspiration, given the gladiator-inspired helmets of Marked Merk Mercenaries, Lorica Segmentata armour of Lieutenant Jen, and the country being a Republic with a Senate etc. That being said it is also described as a desert country similar to Jassira.

Orcs seem to be a blend of Vikings and classic fantasy Barbarians complete with coastal raidings.

I had wondered if the Pale Elves might have some inspiration on Arctic Peoples, but they seem to be a blend on icey Tolkein-esque elven fantasy and Norse/Scandinavian people.

The Lupine Warrior has an obvious Ancient Greek inspiration, given her weapons and armour.

IIRC Khor'minos was described as having ziggurats, which is a type of mesopotamian structure, interestingly enough.

I'm curious as someone casually interested in history and culture, and secondly because due to the typically stylised nature of most CoC2 art, it can be hard to pin down racial traits, so this info might be useful for artists aiming for more realistic renditions of CoC2 characters.

Let me know any other cultural/racial bases you think you've picked up on, I'd be very curious to read it, especially from content writers!

 

[Savin]

but I wonder if Cait would actually correspond to being caucasian, instead of middle-eastern.

Cait's the equivalent of a Greek Egyptian. Her ancestors came from abroad several generations ago. Leorah's probably what a "native" Jassiran would look like, at least somewhere in the Sultanate. Jassira's large enough to include several ethnicities within its borders, doubly so considering it's one of the world's primary slave-trade centers.

Orcs seem to be a blend of Vikings

Yeah, basically. Arona's tribe comes from an island archipelago that would geographically be pretty close to the real-world Scands, somewhere north-east of the Marches.

I had wondered if the Pale Elves might have some inspiration on Arctic Peoples, but they seem to be a blend on icey Tolkein-esque elven fantasy and Norse/Scandinavian people.

The Boer'alvar are very much a constructed culture, though they do draw some parallels to ancient Britain/Celts story-wise. The fact that the pale elves live in a glacier and are basically immune to the cold make them closer to Santa's elves than any real-life arctic peoples.

Lupine Warrior has an obvious Ancient Greek inspiration, given her weapons and armour.

We have very little idea what that Swiss Alpine bronze age would have looked like, unfortunately. There's relatively few surviving weapons/armor pieces aside from Otzi's axe. And even then, the Frost Marches were clearly at one point more "civilized" anyway (having been colonized by Belhar), so we just improvise.

Khor'minos was described as having ziggurats, which is a type of mesopotamian structure, interestingly enough.

I wouldn't read too much into that one. They're primarily based on the Roman Kingdoms, but foreign religions are gonna do their thing.

 

[BubbleLord]

Tronarii seems to have a strong Roman inspiration, given the gladiator-inspired helmets of Marked Merk Mercenaries, Lorica Segmentata armour of Lieutenant Jen, and the country being a Republic with a Senate etc. That being said it is also described as a desert country similar to Jassira.

You can easily find that I based Tronarii on Greece and Rome. I call it "Adriatic-based", as they actually incorporate a lot more than merely Rome culture. This is drawn not only from their gear, but their reliance on mercenaries, which are a historically significant force to both nations. They're also very staunchly against elites and pro-Mercantile rule, which leans them toward the coin & freedom-driven Greece. Their nobles and families have largely been removed, which was more of their Roman ties. Regionally, they ARE a desert but both Rome and Greece were very powerful and actively campaigned for or within African-owned territories.

Basically, Tronarii is a conglomerate of a large portion of the Adriatic Empire nations of Greece/Macedon (depending on where you place Alexander the Great's rule), and Rome. They're merely in the state of transitioning out of the imperial/feudalism governments toward a "true" merchant republic.

But as to the point of this: they aren't any "specific" racial ethnicity, as far as human standards go. This should be obvious from all the current characters being drastically different: Leofric hails from Tronarii and is a staunch, blue-eyed and blonde-haired barbarian. Jen was born there and is short, black-haired, and has green eyes. Boomer is pale-skinned as well (but unlike them, it's more due to being an indoors catboi) with black hair beneath the dye. There are dark-skinned and various other ethnicities or "races" within it because Geographically, the idea is that Tronarii is very "central" within the known world. They were one of the industrial/crafting gems of ancient Belhar's vast expanse. As such, you can basically see people who'd look like they could come from countless locales, both recently migrated and long-based.

TLDR: They can look drastically different but always have bronze on them somewhere, detailed within their cultural basis of the Adriatic. So long as they have a trinket, weapon, or armor of some kind with the stylings cast in Bronze, they'd be fairly easy to place as Tronarii originated. You can find the list of all current "majority" species in Tronarii in their codex entry.

The exception is filthy orc barbarians who won't GTFO.

 

[The Observer]

For example, the Kitsune from the Old Country are obviously based on historical Japan (~1200-1600AD), and from physical descriptions I gather that (at least for most of them) their human features most resemble Japanese people, despite the wide variety of hair and eye colours.

Like I've mentioned before, the Old Country is mostly Heian-period aesthetic-wise, from 794 AD to the establishment of the shogunate by the Minamoto in 1185 AD. It was a time of insane beauty and decadence, and it fits very well with the situation that they found themselves in after the Godswar similar to that of the USA after WW2. Protected by ocean on all fronts, their late entry into the Godswar meant that they escaped much of the devastation that wracked the world, and are making good on that temporary advantage to grab as much as they can and consolidate their power before the rest of the world recovers from the ruination of their social, industrial and financial bases.

Politics and technology-wise, we're looking at something around the Meiji restoration, with the shogunate finally crumbling both under the Godswar and the Emperor taking back all his powers with his divine ancestor at his back. It's a time of social upheaval, with the nation realising from its brush with Belhar that isolationism can't protect them forever and they have to engage the world -- this time on their own terms. The introduction of Belharan ideas and technologies are carefully sorted and debated as to their merits to the Cherry Blossom throne and its subjects. The twelve Den Mothers (with capital D and Ms) who ring the Emperor in his court theoretically are in balance once again, and the historically troublesome nekomata are pacified by the wealth and economic development that the colonies and expansion of the industrial base have brought. Numerous Belharan technologies and artifacts were pilfered from their dead owners and preserved for study for incorporation with native technologies, rather than outright copying them as they were. You have the remnants of the unfortunate Belharan expedition sent to subjugate the Old Country, now housed on poor islands; after a couple centuries of interbreeding, they will eventually become half-tanuki hafus.

It's all very romanticised and needs to be accessible to western audiences who aren't weebs, and there are some anachronisms (like ronin) that aren't from the main derived time period, but I didn't raise any objections because they have the potential to be interesting and let's face it, this is weeb, the country. The different races represent social classes more than ethnicity, and the relative immobility of changing your race, especially given the metaphysical nature of many of them, says much about the class stratification of that period.

The hair/fur colouration of the kitsune don't have very much correlation to any real-world races; they're just the colours of foxes of all stripes, nor do they -- with the exception of white -- have very much bearing on who they are.

 

[Gardeford]

The marefolk are meant to be mostly mongolian with some hints of indian. Its a little tough to physically show that cause furry, but aesthetic wise thats what im going for.

 

[Tenalc13]

When I first met the marked mercenaries, I thought of Sparta. Jen also reinforced this idea with the way she behaves during the conversation. But after reading the codex this one went away.

Jassira reminded me of Persia from information from the codex. In the part where the war with Belharan is mentioned. But otherwise there is little similarity.

Then I tried to understand what The Belharan Empire was based on, but apart from the empires of Alexander the Great and Greece, nothing else reminds me.
Then new races were added to the codex (taeleer and mecians) and I realized that trying to combine game events with real nations and history is pretty stupid ~ dah

 

[Preacher]

Why must you necro? At least it's on topic.

 

[WolframL]

Then I tried to understand what The Belharan Empire was based on, but apart from the empires of Alexander the Great and Greece, nothing else reminds me.

The public design doc describes the societal impact of the Godswar as 'Imagine if Byzantium reaches its peak in the 1300s, then got hit with the black plague and also Ottoman Empire at the same time. Bad times, man.'. So... kind of Greco-Roman with more leaning to the former, since Khor'minos is looking fairly Roman. Especially with the little lore tidbits the last update dropped via Hirrud and the talk of how one gains citizenship rights by serving in the legions.

 

[Tenalc13]

Why must you necro? At least it's on topic.

Coz i just ended AC Origins and Odessey and feel very inspired

The public design doc describes the societal impact of the Godswar as 'Imagine if Byzantium reaches its peak in the 1300s, then got hit with the black plague and also Ottoman Empire at the same time. Bad times, man.'. So... kind of Greco-Roman with more leaning to the former, since Khor'minos is looking fairly Roman. Especially with the little lore tidbits the last update dropped via Hirrud and the talk of how one gains citizenship rights by serving in the legions.

Yeah, and the influence of Greek culture on subsequent civilizations is very similar to Belharan. Of course there were others like Mycenae and Sumer. But Greece is remembered more often.

 

[Alypia]

Yeah, and the influence of Greek culture on subsequent civilizations is very similar to Belharan. Of course there were others like Mycenae and Sumer. But Greece is remembered more often.

Referring to Helladic and Hellenic culture as "other" and separate isn't necessarily wrong, but it is a great way to mess with the Internet's many Greek ultranationalists.

 

[Savin]

Referring to Helladic and Hellenic culture as "other" and separate isn't necessarily wrong, but it is a great way to mess with the Internet's many Greek ultranationalists.

"WHO THE FUCK SAID THAT? WHO IS THE SLIMY COMMUNIST SHIT TWINKLE TOED COCKSUCKER WHO JUST SIGNED HIS OWN DEATH WARRANT?"
-My Greek Ultranationalist friend upon being shown this post.

 

[Preacher]

Not that nationalism is a wrong mindset/ideology...
Here comes every single shithead who thinks their opinion is greater and more majestically right than all others. And the guys who will inevitably bring up a certain period of history and call me a certain thing.

 

[Alypia]

Well, that escalated quickly.