Maraya Rewrite Concept

[Drahydra]

So, there's an idea that I've been toying around with in my mind for a while now, both on my own time, and with other roleplayers in Discord. While the rewrite introducing the new Marayan subrace is yet to be done, I figured there wouldn't be any harm in dropping my own concept for it here. Best case scenario, it inspires something in the rewrite. Worst case scenario, it was at least a way to put my thoughts down on paper, so to speak.

Please note that this is a concept only, but it is written as though it were a lore entry. None of this is actually canon.

The Maraya have an overall "fae" aesthetic. Their overall goal is still world domination, but the two subraces have very different ways of going about this.

-~-~-~Differences Between the Subraces~-~-~-

The El Maraya are like the fae of the Seelie Court, who are generally light(er)hearted, and are more interested in establishing themselves as the councilors, bureaucrats, and lorekeepers of the world. They see themselves as superior to others in talents involving the mind, and are sure to flaunt this fact frequently. For the most part, they are more than happy exerting control vicariously through another, and do not mind playing the political game in the slightest. The El Maraya look like the Maraya we have currently, and are more likely to wear brightly colored, vain outfits, often fashioned from silk.

The Ka Maraya meanwhile are more like the Unseelie Court. They feel properly robbed of a world that rightfully belongs to them, and are very willing to exact their price on the others unfortunate enough to be nearby. The Ka Maraya (while subtle due to necessity) are more heavy-handed in their seizing of assets, making up a percentage of the burglars, pickpockets, smugglers, and assassins of the world. One might be happy serving as a scout captain or the head of some crime syndicate, but there will constantly be an urge in the back of their mind to take what they believe is rightfully theirs; just as their massive empire was taken from them.

Ka Maraya look radically different from the El Maraya. While the El Maraya were freed from their bestial forms from the effects of Zzarlo's Plague, the Ka Maraya for unknown reasons have actually evolved further away from the Nelfin-like shape, and as a result their insectile traits became exaggerated. Ka Maraya often have darkly-colored, iridescent chitinous limbs and chestplates. Many of them no longer have legs that resemble those of other races, but now look much like digitigrade hind insect legs. Their skin that is not chitinous is always dark, is normally a shade of navy blue, and their hair retains its bleached color from the effects of the Plague. Ka Maraya also wear silks, but prefer more mellow shades, and are more likely to want to conceal their form. However, some individuals choose to wear outfits that exaggerate it even more, as though to insult the El Maraya.

-~-~-~Dynamic Between the Subraces~-~-~-

The Maraya are known for their competitive nature among each other. This could not be more true than the relationship between a typical El Maraya, and a Ka Maraya. The El Maraya look at the Ka' as little more than monsters; like the molted carapaces of their Circcian past, which they so prefer to keep locked away and forgotten. The Ka Maraya see the El' as pretentious and shallow, and cannot help but draw comparison to the Nelfin, whom they particularly blame for the loss of their empire, and thus hate. However, the two races still both follow the Great Purpose, and have been known to begrudgingly work together in the interests of restoring their lost power. When working together in this way, the El' acts as the face of the two, working publicly to gain some position of power. Meanwhile, the Ka' is the hit-man; doing the dark deeds that would otherwise stain the El''s reputation.

-~-~-~Possible Abilities~-~-~-

In ancient times, the Meraic possessed potent mental abilities, which allowed them to bend the minds of their slaves, and rule with total control. While these powers have faded away from the 3000-odd years in stasis, the transition into Maraya have marked the first trappings of these abilities returning. Both subraces have access to a primitive form of these mental powers, and though but a candle to the roaring flame of their past potential, these powers are eerily potent in their usage today.

El Maraya possess the ability to "add" to a subject's mind. Specifically, they can create an image or scene in the mind of another person, with a startling amount of detail. If the subject is unwilling, then the Maraya can create a single stationary image in the subject's mind. However, if the subject opens themselves to the ability, then the Maraya can recreate any setting they wish in the subject's mind, essentially allowing the subject to re-live an experience that the Maraya had. The Maraya must have witnessed the image or scene themselves, in person in order for this to work.

Ka Maraya, inversely, have the ability to "subtract" from a subject's mind. Specifically, they can completely remove the perception of any one object from someone's mind, rendering it completely and utterly invisible to that person. When doing this, the Maraya makes it impossible for the person to see, hear, or smell the object in question. Most terrifyingly, the most common usage of this ability is the Ka Maraya erasing themselves from a potential victim's mind. Touching or physically interacting with the object however, will break this illusion. Furthermore, the object will be gone, but its effect on the environment will not be (Ex. an invisible boat will still leave a boat-sized indentation in the water's surface). The Maraya needs to be able to see both the subject, and the object upon casting the ability, and must be able to perceive the object somehow for the duration, even if only by hearing or smelling it.

Either ability demands roughly 70% of a Maraya's concentration (making combat infeasible), and any person can only be affected by a Maraya's mental powers once per day. This is not a result of the Maraya's fatigue, but moreso from the subject's mind growing a tolerance to the magic. As the ability is magical, the subject cannot be a Drowdar (but the object can be), and effects that would break the concentration of a mage breaks either illusion (I.E. a thirsty witchblood while the ability is being used).

 

[Drahydra]

And because it was suggested to me while writing this: Thoughts? @MonMarty

 

[Shrykos]

I feel as if this discussion about Maraya has become less of a struggle for niche and roleplay implementation and more of a push for abilities. In this, I will present that there is a misconception that ability somehow drives an interesting narrative. An ability can serve to compliment some situations, but when one poses that it will create intrigue and narrative, it becomes somewhat irrational. Abilities along the lines of these are limited to Trustee players, with good reason. What's more, why precisely would every single Maraya have them? Just because Humans build nuclear reactors does not mean that any human possesses the exact knowledge to build one. Even millennia ago, Maraya would still have to learn how to exercise these abilities. They would be far from innate, and not every member of a global society would need to be able to manipulate the minds of others. What of the artisans, the bureaucrats, and the soldiers to name a few? How does this ability drive roleplay for someone who is not directly trying to manipulate others, and how could we create intrigue for these other classes who have no use for it?

 

[Reaganism]

If you want to have Draenei, then have them, they are cool and a pretty popular race to RP.

But Maraya have been a sorta-stuck-between-lame-fae-and-Draenei.

 

[soapboxstage]

While I do want bug people back, I dislike rewrites. They overall discourage people from playing the race because nobody wants to make a character they'll have to remake the second they make it, this happened to me 2 mekket rewrites ago. Then, staff members see this as "nobody wants to play the race" and they just up and get removed. But really, rewrites are just a hassle for, me at least, the people playing the race. But, if a rewrite comes I'll adapt. This character has survived 2 rewrite so far, but it can't survive a deletion...

 

[Drahydra]

I feel as if this discussion about Maraya has become less of a struggle for niche and roleplay implementation and more of a push for abilities. In this, I will present that there is a misconception that ability somehow drives an interesting narrative. An ability can serve to compliment some situations, but when one poses that it will create intrigue and narrative, it becomes somewhat irrational. Abilities along the lines of these are limited to Trustee players, with good reason. What's more, why precisely would every single Maraya have them? Just because Humans build nuclear reactors does not mean that any human possesses the exact knowledge to build one. Even millennia ago, Maraya would still have to learn how to exercise these abilities. They would be far from innate, and not every member of a global society would need to be able to manipulate the minds of others. What of the artisans, the bureaucrats, and the soldiers to name a few? How does this ability drive roleplay for someone who is not directly trying to manipulate others, and how could we create intrigue for these other classes who have no use for it?

Click to shrink...

The closest comparison we have to the Maraya situation is the Slizzar. Most races have an understandable niche that they can fill very well, and in fact, allow you to create a character to fit in nicely into the world, such as by being part of a family (almost every race), filling a niche in a caste system (Allar), or meeting an archetype that the race fits snuggly into with little deviation (Orcs). Maraya and Slizzar both deal with a situation where they cannot effectively be part of a family, have a niche, or a sound archetype that generates RP. The major difference between the Slizzar and the Maraya, however, is that Slizzar have not one, nor two, but three different abilities which make them desirable to play in lieu of fitting in somewhere. In other words, Slizzar are required to carve their own place into Regalian society using their specialities, and that fits them. If you claim that the power of these two offered abilities is too much, then by that logic, Slizzar are straight up overpowered and would require trustee to play; as I based the power level of those two abilities directly off of the Slizzar's sensation ability, ensuring that they have enough limitations to be on par, or even less powerful than it.

So yes, this is a push for abilities. And the reason for that is that the Maraya are currently two cubic tons of work in order to get a character that's like an elf, except they can't have blood relations to anyone, can't have children (due to timing restrictions since Zzarlo's Plague), have literally no means of having an established power they can go to while in Regalia, can't have a meaningful history with an organization, can't have any worthwhile spell knowledge, and is distrusted even more than a true Nelfin (somehow) while in the pro-human-anti-elf city, which makes forming these bonds hilariously difficult. There is literally only two reasons to make a Marayan character over a Nelfin one, and that's if you want to: A.) Pull the "I'm 3000 years old" card, or: B.) Play a race with eye-gougingly-bright color schemes.

There's a reason that you see more Slizzar than you do Maraya, and why when you do see a Maraya, they are often in the same place that a Slizzar would be.

I'll probably add more to this tomorrow.

 

[PresentMediator]

I have full faith in the developing Maraya community, and every conception should be respected even with disagreements. Returning a more insectoid race / sub-race would be an interesting opportunity for roleplayers. However if it is unused, I fear Maraya just may be removed entirely which would be very discouraging and disappointing. In my opinion even if a race is not played they do not necessarily deserve being removed. An opportunity stored in the wiki for a passionate player to pick up at a later time. That was partly the heart break I underwent when Circci were removed.

Now, beyond unrelated opinions, I had the same thought on Sa-Allar originally. Here you have this dull stupid lizard who really is only the strength of a muscular ailor, but holds the iq of a 10 year old. Why would anyone play a challenged character of the sa-allar category when they could just be an ailor of equal or greater proportions. Perhaps you preferred the regeneration? Then why would you choose a Sa-Allar over a calculated ripped Mu-Allar of greater speed and agility? Instead of complaining, I dived in and researched. First I gathered an opinion from the few Sa-Allar players our Allar community had left. The reality is they don't play a Sa-Allar for the strength or any abilities, simply the niche or style a big dumb lizard holds.

I would've compared the Maraya in the same manner, however I see some Maraya misinterpreting their lore / refusing to even abide to it. The equivalent of a Yub Yub but for Maraya. That occurred for players who attempted to role as Sa-Allar with 100 iq's, but they were eventually flushed out due to constant reminders and suggestions by the Allar community.

Adding a minor ability to the Maraya or perhaps a trait that makes them more unique and emphasizes their personalities would be something I strongly recommend gets seriously debated. Not for the power play, but to make Maraya less like Pastel Altalars.