A question about the Azlanti Race

[WagnerSika]

Thanks Erik, I like the in-universe explanation for this a lot.
As the paralectus aeons are composed of electricity and gemstones, I like to think that there is a strong connection between them and the aeon stones.

[Perpdepog]

Yeah, that's pretty awesome. More Aeon lore is something I am always happy with!

Well aside from this new thing with them suddenly becoming lawful, but that's a different gripe for a different thread. I can see some fun story and character potential with aeon stones possibly being very old, or very dumb and limited aeons that you can manufacture.

[Wei Ji the Learner]

Maybe they are Aeon 'eggs' waiting for a proper 'host' to hatch from?

That could also explain the 'resonance' issue.

[The Golux]

James Jacobs wrote:

CorvusMask wrote:

Erik Mona wrote:

Similarly, I've never mourned the fact that WotC claims the displacer beast as product identity (meaning Pathfinder can't use it), because that monster is a ripoff of an A. E. van Vogt alien by way of a Marvel comics adaptation.

I'm kinda sad that paizo got rights for Coeurl back in 3.5 days since it means I will never get to use monster in 1e or 2e or even starfinder :p Since I don't really do much of monster conversions from 3.5, they have been kinda odd.

(then again, Coeurl is kinda in that weird "This really should be in public domain huh" list among other stuff from same era :P I'm kinda annoyed about copyrights for stuff whose author has been long dead already. Looking at you Mickey Mouse... Edit: Huh checked it, didn't know van Vogth died in 2000. At least Couerl's author hasn't been dead for even 20 years yet, so I guess that one doesn't count even if book itself is that old)

We only had the rights to print it that one time, and didn't put it into the OGL.

Nice to have available for home games though.

[Tender Tendrils]

Honestly, I think the azlant story is more interesting if they achieved everything they did (and then fell) as normal humans. Humans in fantasy generally are interesting because they are ambitious enough to achieve extraordinary things without needing the natural speed and intelligence and immortality of elves, or the toughness and resilience and darkvision of dwarves.

I feel like making them being an ancestry of superhumans kind of undercuts their achievements a bit (and also kind of feels a bit too close to certain problematic real world ideologies about ancient super-ancesties)

[Nyerkh]

I'm fine with golden age Azlantis being not quite the same as other baseline humans.

Azlant started off as an experiment engineered by lovecraftian, inhumanly evil monstrosities that certainly wouldn't have any problem with breeding their human subjects like prized cattle, subtly working the bloodlines to better the stock, make their prized reproducers ever stronger, faster, smarter. It's not even really eugenics at that point, it's just animal husbandry.
And for all they accomplished, the azlantis never got entirely free of the algolthlus.
To compare, Mengkaure's island is child's play next to that, and his people already have some minor benefits, after so much less time to work.

I'd say the people of Azlant was as much "less tham human" as it was "more than human".
It takes more than better mechanical modifiers to make them "superior" to the rest of mankind. They might win in a fight, and they reached heights of knowledge Golarion still hasn't gotten back (which is highly suspect in and of itself) but they were still deeply flawed. Human, if maybe of a different offshoot.

...
I'd mention how SF's azlantis, after [redacted] millenia of isolation - and possibly free of aboleth interference ? Maybe ? - are back to being regular humans, but I don't think we know for sure that they're free of veiled masters influence.

[Erk Ander]

James Jacobs wrote:

The people of Azlant, collectively known as the Azlanti, comprised a wide range of skin colors and hair colors and eye colors, yes.

I notices you changed that in the latest 2e sourvebook. In 1e they were bronzed-colouzed in skin, dark hair and purple eyes.

[Rysky]

He literally said as such a few posts before the one you quoted.

James Jacobs wrote:

One SIGNIFICANT thing we'll be more obvious and clear about when and if we do more rules for Azlantis is to treat them more responsibly. Just as how there are numerous Tien ethnicities representing a wide range of cultures on Tian Xia, there's numerous Azlanti ethnicities representing a wide range of cultures on Azlant back in the pre-Earthfall days. AKA there's a lot of diversity among them.

[Erk Ander]

Rysky wrote:

He literally said as such a few posts before the one you quoted.

James Jacobs wrote:

One SIGNIFICANT thing we'll be more obvious and clear about when and if we do more rules for Azlantis is to treat them more responsibly. Just as how there are numerous Tien ethnicities representing a wide range of cultures on Tian Xia, there's numerous Azlanti ethnicities representing a wide range of cultures on Azlant back in the pre-Earthfall days. AKA there's a lot of diversity among them.

I can't remember writing to you, but sure feel free to chime in wherever. I wanted elaborate than there have rarely been any Azlanti that look differently than those described in 1e, hence this is pretty much a retcon. Not that it matters greatly. It is however interesting.

[Rysky]

If the Azlanti shown thus far have recently undergone drastic skin tone changes, that would be a retcon.

Saying they have more than one skin tone is not.