I see a lot of talk about need for new races. I personally would say the Hearthlings are like most “Halfling” races, a combination of both. I would far more prefer falconry, bears, deer, residences, cooking, fishing, pharmacy/alchemy, and effective roof design and rope. We already have one people. They are a handful and while I would love to see other variations. Giving them unique properties is one thing, but in this game, properties are driven largely by class. Make a class that has the ability to climb trees, or control the undead - temporarily. Make a class that can draw the power of the sun down and enchant items for buffs. Make seasons so crops have to be cycled and you have to prepare for times of scarcity and shelter from the elements.
I am intrigued heavily by this game, and would love to see THIS people grow into their own. I am just not sure what forest people or cave people bring to a world where the people already comb the forests and mountains for any sign of their future they can find. Elves and Dwarves are great lore. Make some abilities connected to discovery of relics of these once noble people. Make an archeologist who unlocks their mysteries to grow the other classes from the base few. But first and foremost - don’t lose the HEART in hearthling.
Other races aren’t planned to be added till at or after beta, as far as I know, and only the Dwarves woll be playable.
For the most part I don’t want to see too much magic added, as I feel a lot of good games like this get screwed up when magic (not alchemy, per say) is added.
If I remember right The 1st Race that will be added will more thank likely be Dwarves but I might not be right it has been a long time. And they will be added after the game is out of Alpha and Beta I think. But yes I would like them to work on that stuff as well after they have done a lot with the people they have now and it looks like they are doing that.
I totally agree. I think almost everything I mentioned as a rule except deadspeaker (charms undead temporarily) and lightbringer (buffs items for bonuses, and helps trees grow) were natural and real things - deer, bear, fisherman, falconer (hunts and has support for, forester (climbs trees and finds fertile seed for new trees to be planted.) This is not too much magic and has support utility for growth. I think they also would not terribly step on the toes of magma smith or geomancer… but that is speculation.
Personally, I’ve always believed the ascendancy would be a balance of the traits between every race. I also am a firm believer that the dwarves will have a focus towards inorganic materials. Perhaps the elves could have a focus on trees? I dunno. All I do know is that elves can be different within any fantasy, so perhaps there is a future for them. (Remember those old fairy tales? You know, the ones where elves are short magic users?)
Three main human factions (I’m not sure where the original poster got halflings from), with their own interesting cultures and supposedly minor gameplay differences.
Then the dwarves… who are smaller than the other three factions and are awesome looking. Huzzah!
I believe Tom answered what races are planned to be playable in one of the streams. If I remember correctly, only Dwarves and Hearthlings were planned to be playable, the other races simply being npcs in the world.
Hearthlings are Halflings by definition if not title. They are just tall enough to be considered that by all standards of fantasy. Focus on production and profit? check. No formal or cultural application religion? check. No latent sense of courage unless compelled by sense of duty? Check! Tend to stick to their own kind in which there is very little other than an amity and sense of communal property? Check! These fit the Hairfoot Hobbit description nearly to a T. Not to mention a rabbit on its hinds could nibble on their belt and they stare goblins in the eyes without bowing their heads.
well TR has clearly stated that they are humans… so even if the “facts” make it look like they are halflings, they arent… the reason they are so “short” is just because of the “cutesy” style of stonehearth.
Well the physical traits are all due to the graphics of the games. The Hearthlings also share their cultural traits with humans, as well as share the wide range of skin pigmentation, of which I have never seen hobbits have.
Audio recordings show that humans (as we know them) evolved from Hobbits after the age of Elves and Wizards were gone. Those called men in Middle Earth tower over our stature that evolved from hobbit kind, though we stand twice as tall as our hobbit ancestors.
THe Harfoot are all dark skinned hobbits in Middle Earth. ALSO, hobbits were unique in that the sees were ABSOLUTELY equal in stature and status. Often more hardy than their men.
Specifically, The Harfoot are called “Nut Brown” in skin color. This is the color of an almond skin kept long and dried. He uses it to also describe the color of a dark brunette.
Again, I am not trying to make this game Middle Earth based, but fantasy tropes are SO emerged in every aspect of fantasy they shine true and through. Tolkein is the DNA of almost every fantasy that emerged from the genre he established.
[quote=“Charles_Humphries, post:13, topic:13608”]
They are just tall enough to be considered that by all standards of fantasy.[/quote]We can’t objectively tell how tall Hearthlings are, as the game doesn’t decide whether a block is a ’ (foot?) or a m (meter?). They’re out of normal proportion, sure, with Tom’s motto of “Stubby is cute”. But this is an aesthetic choice, not a size one. [quote]Focus on production and profit? check.[/quote]Sure, the Ascendency at least is quite focused on that. In addition with their diversity, they seem quite… erm… like Americans. [quote]No formal or cultural application religion? check.[/quote]But what about Cid, the Church of Plenty, and the visions of ladders? Now that all dialogue is hidden in the journal, you may not see it much, but they do have some mysterious hints of some organized customs, traditions, and religions. [quote]No latent sense of courage unless compelled by sense of duty? Check![/quote]No, what you really mean is no courage unless promoted to the army or if called to attack or defend. This is just as much about giving the player some control as it is a statement about the Hearthlings. [quote]Tend to stick to their own kind in which there is very little other than an amity and sense of communal property? Check![/quote]Dialogue and flavor text indicates that some Hearthlings would like to have personal possessions, though there currently is no system for that. [quote]Not to mention a rabbit on its hinds could nibble on their belt and they stare goblins in the eyes without bowing their heads.
[/quote]If a rabbit was any smaller but at the same scale, it would hardly be recognizable as a rabbit. If it was at a different scale than everything else, it would look out of place. Some of the same holds true for the goblins (Tom’s said before that he can’t make hands any smaller) and also, they must be large enough to pose a threat, though not as mich as the "orc"s we’ve seen before in stream (that look absolutely nothing like your standard Tolkien orc.)