Lashunta Art Confusion (potential spoilers for Temple of the Twelve)

[TheGoofyGE3K]

So am I crazy, or is there no longer a physical difference between Korasha and Damaya Lashunta anymore? Because based on the artwork and descriptions, I'm having trouble telling the difference. Originally in pathfinder, there were stark physical differences, with the men being shorter and hairier, while the women were taller and more lithe. I completely get why they changed it. But now it seems there's no physical difference at all between the two different types, gender not withstanding.

Some examples:
-The two from the Lashunta page in the core book look like they could be either one interchangeably.
-The Priest guy looks like a Korasha, which doesnt make much sense as he'd then have low wisdom. Plus I'm pretty sure someone has claimed he's Damaya as well
-Whaloss's art makes him look like a korasha with his large face and thick hair, yet is described as tall, thin, and gaunt.
-We're told Ralkawi is a Korasha, yet the art looks more Damaya than Whaloss.
-Avissa actually is an example of Korasha who is female and finally matches art, description, and looks Korasha, yet
-The one on the cover looks like he could be either one in body, though could be a Damaya who has let his hair out.

Is there little to no physical difference anymore? Is the art not consistent with description? Or is it all more subtle? Or overt, and I'm just missing it?

[Torbyne]

I wouldnt call it specific to Temple of the Twelve, the art in the friggin core book makes you work to figure out what each Lashunta is supposed to be. There was a post ages ago from... dang, it was ages ago and i cant remember, i think it was one of the higher up muckie mucks from Paizo trying to explain what its like to order art. the artists take a lot of leeway in what they produce no matter what orders are placed. I think the example given was for a female in an artic or winter environment and yet the art would always come back with boob windows. I suspect something similar is happening with the Lashunta, the artist sees that the race as a whole is universally attractive so no matter what each individual is supposed to look like they end up being very close to the artists concept of beauty. This is all rampant speculation on my part however.

[Keshon]

From the Core Rulebook description:

Quote:

To survive on the predator-rich world of Castrovel, the telepathic

humanoids called lashuntas evolved adaptive genetics that allow
children to develop into one of two subspecies, depending on the
stresses they endure at puberty: either the tall, intellectual, and
adaptable damaya—who make up most of their race’s political
leaders and ambassadors—or the short, burly, headstrong korasha,
who excel as warriors and explorers. Both feature short forehead
antennae that focus their natural telepathy, as well as colorful
swirls and raised markings on their faces unique to each individual.
Due to natural pheromones and lashuntas’ almost perfect physical
symmetry, most humanoid races find lashuntas of both subspecies
subconsciously (and sometimes unnervingly) attractive.

Some of the art captures this better than others.

[Squiggit]

Probably doesn't help that the vital statistics chart only lists one height and weight for the race too.

[Torbyne]

Keshon wrote:

From the Core Rulebook description:

Quote:

To survive on the predator-rich world of Castrovel, the telepathic

humanoids called lashuntas evolved adaptive genetics that allow
children to develop into one of two subspecies, depending on the
stresses they endure at puberty: either the tall, intellectual, and
adaptable damaya—who make up most of their race’s political
leaders and ambassadors—or the short, burly, headstrong korasha,
who excel as warriors and explorers. Both feature short forehead
antennae that focus their natural telepathy, as well as colorful
swirls and raised markings on their faces unique to each individual.
Due to natural pheromones and lashuntas’ almost perfect physical
symmetry, most humanoid races find lashuntas of both subspecies
subconsciously (and sometimes unnervingly) attractive.

Some of the art captures this better than others.

True but even the characterization of "some of the art" is misleading from my point of view, it is closer to "the majority of the art ignores this aspect of the description." The only example of a Korasha female i can pin down in the core book is a mechanic type and i only came up with Korasha because of the body to hair ratio making me think she is supposed to be short. She certainly isnt what i would call Burly (which is itself an odd descriptor to throw in with "short" since Burly means "large") Basically the Korasha are "Dwarves with antenna" and i havent seen any Lashunta that i would consider dwarf-like, only elf-like or human-like.

[Ross Byers]

Torbyne wrote:

I suspect something similar is happening with the Lashunta, the artist sees that the race as a whole is universally attractive so no matter what each individual is supposed to look like they end up being very close to the artists concept of beauty. This is all rampant speculation on my part however.

I suspect this too. It doesn't help that the reference art pool is fairly shallow right now, and that the Lashunta iconic is Damaya.So if you use her as Lashunta reference art when sending an art order, even if your text says 'short and stocky because this is a different subrace', artists will frequently look at the reference art as much/more than the written art order.