New race art - Horkval Bard

Sarapis

Man, look at the size of those antenna....is it getting hot in here?

Mizik

Hot.

Asmodron

Amazing. I didnt think Horkval could  ever look attractive.

Draekar

Now that is fantasy art!

Anaidiana

from CLHELP ADP:

8. Xorans/Grooks/Horkvals do not have mammary glands, therefore, they do

not have breasts. If you must have breasts, reincarnate into a race

-capable- of them.

edit: yes, I know i'm probably going to get smacked and told to shush BUT someone had to say it....

Katzchen

Anaidiana said:

from CLHELP ADP:

8. Xorans/Grooks/Horkvals do not have mammary glands, therefore, they do

not have breasts. If you must have breasts, reincarnate into a race

-capable- of them.

edit: yes, I know i'm probably going to get smacked and told to shush BUT someone had to say it....

And the hair? Maybe she's wearing a wig, and padding her human designed clothing out...

I would expect something that looked more like a 'real' horkval from cannon artwork. Of course she looks awesome as is... but is that really the most important thing? Note to males - yes that was a rhetorical question, don't answer it.

Darklyre

She's a race capable of leaping, she's on an obviously unstable ship in stormy weather, and she's wearing high heels.

Girl must have stabilizer muscles like whoa.

Synbios

The way the bard holds the mandolin reminds me of:

Ognog

I had to look it up ... " Hair, while uncommon, is not unheard of" - HELP HORKVAL

Eld

Ognog said:

I had to look it up ... " Hair, while uncommon, is not unheard of" - HELP HORKVAL

Translation: Only 90% of horkval characters have hair in their descriptions.

Nellaundra

Maybe she's a special horkvali!  That grew it's feet into high heeled boots!

Sarapis

Katzchen said:

Anaidiana said:

from CLHELP ADP:

8. Xorans/Grooks/Horkvals do not have mammary glands, therefore, they do

not have breasts. If you must have breasts, reincarnate into a race

-capable- of them.

edit: yes, I know i'm probably going to get smacked and told to shush BUT someone had to say it....

And the hair? Maybe she's wearing a wig, and padding her human designed clothing out...

I would expect something that looked more like a 'real' horkval from cannon artwork. Of course she looks awesome as is... but is that really the most important thing? Note to males - yes that was a rhetorical question, don't answer it.

This is canon artwork, actually. Horkval do have breasts, and sometimes hair. 

Synbios

Balance might be horrible, but man, if she had a FACESTOMP attack, you're definitely gonna have a bad day.

Katzchen

That goes against what players have thought for... a very long time - that breasts are not supposed to be there, and hair is not the norm. Could the racial files be made more specific to avoid these discrepancies?

Sarapis

Not sure why. The previous picture of a Horkval female had breasts too, and the help description has always indicated that some have hair.

Eurulis

Eeeh. I think it's just more an issue that mammary glands are honestly immediately identified with mammals, and therefore seem strange and out of place on something like an insectoid Horkval. Same with the Xoran and Grook really. But, what's canon is canon, whatever, I don't think many people will really care too much. Can't help but imagine that one VGcats comic with the Tauren now, though. Damn it.

As for the picture itself, I like it. Promises lots of high-seas adventures and swashbuckling action. Now if only ships really were that exciting. Or if I were allowed on one...

Aktillum

Some players have often pictured Horkvals as cockroaches. Aetolia's are pretty roachy. This looks like more a praying mantis with boobs. Buddha would be pleased.

Corbeaux

That is one sweet dagger curved dirk. Those eyes tell it all. She's planning on switching to serp.

Ognog

Dr Kavorkian specializes in Horkval breast implant surgery, among other nefarious things...

Sarapis

Just to clarify, the help file says they are insect-like humanoids, not human-like insectoids. That may be splitting semantic hairs, but they aren't insects. 

The reality is that just like "How do you pronounce Achaea?" the question "How does <this thing that exists only in Achaea> look?" is, when one possible answer is codified into a quasi-authoritative form, going to be contrary to the vision at least some people had in their heads. I say quasi-authoritative because you're still free to picture them however you want in your heads. That's one of the beauties of MUDs.

Katzchen

Sarapis said:

Not sure why. The previous picture of a Horkval female had breasts too, and the help description has always indicated that some have hair.

If you're talking about the picture under help races, I would have thought that was more of a chestplate than breasts, wouldn't have guessed it was supposed to be female. If someone with more of an understanding of biology can explain how a creature with an exoskeleton can have breasts, that might help. It just seems wrong to me.

ETA: Unlike 'how to pronounce Achaea' this question is answered in descriptions all over the game... and I'm sure it's done both ways. If it was made obvious which is correct, it would make it easier for horkval to have an appropriate description. 

Sarapis

@Katzchen You may as well ask why dragons can breathe fire.

Katzchen

Sarapis said:

@Katzchen You may as well ask why dragons can breathe fire.

Regardless, it doesn't really matter to me which way it goes, as long as it picks one and makes it obvious. Clearly this is going to be the 'horkval have breasts' way.

Eld

I've always pictured the horkval carapace as just extra exoskeleton-like armour, but with an internal skeleton serving the actual structural purposes. After all, how else does mending mend my bones?

As for the ADP, while they have some good guidelines for descriptions, ultimately they're just a group of players with opinions. You may agree or disagree with those opinions, but that doesn't make them right or wrong.

Nellaundra

@Sarapis I don't think asking how a giant dragon can breathe fire is the same as asking how something with an exoskeleton has boobs.

Sarapis

@Eld That had never actually occurred to me re: the mending messages....

Someday, just to mess with you guys, we'll put in a one-armed race....that can dual-wield.

Ognog

Achaea is less affected by "male gaze" than other games. If it were World of Warcraft, this image would have huge boobs and g string armour.

Sarapis

Nellaundra said:

@Sarapis I don't think asking how a giant dragon can breathe fire is the same as asking how something with an exoskeleton has boobs.

Sure it is. There's no possible biology that we know of that could produce a being that can breathe rock-melting fire. I'd suggest that an endoskeleton with an exoskeleton over it is far more in the realm of the possible than a giant flying lizard-esque creature producing fire and belching it out. Or, say, transforming into a Horkval in the case of player-dragons!

Asmodron

Also it could easily be stated that over the generations and intermingling and breeding of the races that certain new traits came about. Why couldnt it be stated that a Horkval with some human racial connections could have hair? Or a mhun with scaly skin?

Of course this wouldnt mind Grooks born with wings, just general small evolutionary physical traits.

Katzchen

I do like that if this is how horkval are to be depicted now, it's going to encourage more female characters to try the race.

Sarapis

Well, once we're redone all the races, we're going to switch the portraits in character creation from the existing art to the new art (which you can see all of so far at www.achaea.com/gallery).