Pathfinder Adventure, Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber
Lojaan wrote:
Nowhere did they say it's a racial belief. It is an excerpt, not the whole page. This entry uses several lines from the existing "Alignment and Religion" subheading on the AON page. Cultural norms are called that for a reason--because they are social standards and values that form the fabric of a society. Some cultures have higher rates of variance within those norms than others. Individual beliefs can differ from cultural norms, but that doesn't change the broader fabric of the culture. Yes, Dongun Hold likely has different norms from a Darklands clan, but some broad strokes must be made to set guidelines. Emphasis on guidelines. The editing and writing costs of detailing the similarities and differences in Edicts from every single Dwarven settlement would be prohibitively monstrous, and even if Paizo did that, that would probably be seen as being too restrictive and not allowing room in Golarion's world for GM or player freedom. These are examples. A baseline. Players and GMs can extrapolate from there, whether they want their characters to agree or disagree, because writing "every single person is unique, go wild" for every Ancestry's culture is not helpful from a worldbuilding perspective. All they're saying is "more often than not, they value clan daggers. More often than not, they are vindictive towards those that harm their communities. More often than not, they value fine craftsmanship." It's not a racial belief. They're literally describing the most common (not even the only!) cultural view. I can guarantee they've put a lot more thought into this than you have.
Pathfinder Adventure, Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber
I have quite a few, but my favorite: Vruushnak is a full orc (monk) who, at the hands of a cruel brother, suffered a leg fracture that didn't heal right in his youth, and was harassed by brother for years. Hungry, bitter, and angry, he left the tribe. And proceeded to starve without any skill for subsisting in the wild. Stewing in misery, he tried to take his frustration out on a butterfly, envious that such a delicate thing could survive in a harsh world. The butterfly flitted away. He chased it out onto a roadway where there was a passing Lastwallian knight, which he tried to mug in a haze of desperation. The knight subdued and tied up the belligerent starving kid, took him to safety, and fed him. After a little some time under the knight's mercy, a priestess of Sarenrae healed Vruushnak's leg. They gave him simple work and over the years Vruushnak came to understand the teachings of Desna, Cayden Cailean, and Shelyn. Sometimes, he wondered if that one butterfly had actually been an omen from Desna. Now understanding that the greatest prison is fear, hunger, and suffering, he travels, looking to keep people safe in the night that he can see so clearly in. Love all the orc content, guys. Keep it up, and here's hoping we get an AP centered on Belkzan someday! |