Mariel (Mermaids/Merfolk)

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Mariel (Mermaids/Merfolk) (Revised)

Post by J. M. Vincent » Tue Apr 07, 2009 1:04 pm

Zuku Ari-Ari Kika wrote:Stats
Mariel stats are held against human standards. Their best stats generally apply to their movement in water, compared to humans. On land, however, they will be severely crippled--except for on their 20th year.
  • Strength: 8
  • Agility: 17
  • Dexterity: 11
  • Stamina: 13
  • Intelligence: 14
  • Wisdom: 15
  • Willpower: 13
  • Charisma: 10
  • Luck: 10
  • Physical Beauty: 13
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Discussion for Mariel

Post by J. M. Vincent » Sun May 01, 2011 10:19 am

Any questions, comments, or corrections regarding the Mariel race should be posted here.
World of Aserra

Mariel (Mermaids/Merfolk)

Post by World of Aserra » Fri Mar 09, 2012 7:37 pm

Mariel
Pronunciation: MAH-ree-EHL. Grammatically, they should be referred to as Mariel in the singular, plural, and collective.

Created by Maris, the Goddess of Water, the Mariel are a combination of man and fish that seems to defy the laws of nature. Incarnated with the souls of Undine, they have mastery over the element of water. Though the majority of their life is spent under sea, each Mariel has the opportunity to come ashore for one year of their life.
Locations and Abodes
The Mariel exclusively inhabit the tropical seas of the Tonult Ocean. They live in city-states scattered throughout the tropics, formed of stone and coral shaped by their Water Elementalism.

Appearance and Garb
The Mariel are most notably half-fish from the waist down. The Mariel upper body is the same basic form as the other elemental races; typically lean and lithe with long, tapered ears. The lower body is a fish-like tail in place of legs that taper down to a pair of fins. Mariel survive underwater by breathing through gills along their ribs. They can also breathe air on the surface through their mouth and nose. Their skin comes in a variety of shades, varying between fairer on those in the north and darker on those near the equator. Light scaling matching their fins often appears on the bonier protrusions of their bodies such as the cheekbones and jawline, collarbone and sternum, shoulders, around the elbow and forearms, backs of the hands, around the gills and ribs, and along the hips where their two forms meet.

Many Mariel have vibrant colors of hair, eyes, and scales, which are unique to their region and/or city. A few of the northern and southernmost settlements may have drabber features. Tails can come in various colorful shades, including blues, greens, violets, reds, oranges, and shades in between, as well as being patterned along the back and sides. Hair color often reflects the color of the tail. Eye colors vary between the similar shades, colors like brown, hazel, and drabber colors that are natural to many land-bound races are unheard of amongst the Mariel.

Mariel don’t have much skin to cover and aren’t very modest, but they do cloth themselves in fabrics woven of fibers from sea plants, and jewelry of bone, scale, and shells.

Lifespan and Reproduction
Mariel have a lifespan of three hundred years. Like other elemental races, they do not appear to age through the majority of their lives. They mature at a similar rate to humans until the age of twenty-five, and then cease apparent signs of aging. Over time, they begin to take on a more ageless appearance. Around the age of 250, apparent aging will begin again. At the age of twenty, all Mariel undergo a forced transformation that will make them a biped for a single year of their life so that they can visit land as an envoy of their people.

Mariel women are fertile for one month of every season and may bear upwards of five children throughout their lives. They are socially monogamous, and some individuals are entirely monogamous. Different cities have different definitions of proper relationships and some may frown upon extra-marital affairs, while others are open about them, and others even go so far as to allow rare cases of bigamy. Most Mariel are content with only one partner, though many couples may have at least one affair outside of marriage throughout their lives. Premarital sex is common in many cities, though sometimes frowned upon, and it isn’t uncommon for young Mariel to have affairs during their year on land.

Mariel can reproduce with bipedal races only during their year on land. While it can be quite easy for a Mariel man to leave a woman pregnant, female Mariel encounter greater complications. If a female Mariel becomes pregnant very early into her time on land, she may have enough time to bear the child and return to the ocean, but that means abandoning her offspring, which may not come so easily. If a Mariel is pregnant when her time to return comes, she can risk miscarriage if she enters the ocean and transforms, or she can opt to remain on land and miss the transformation period to protect the life of her child. This, however, carries a risk to her own happiness and long-term satisfaction with her life. Mariel who refuse to return to the ocean are stripped of their Undine souls by Maris and thus lose the power for elementalism. However, they still feel the drive to return to the ocean. Usually, they lead shortened lives due to feelings of emptiness and deep depression. An early term pregnancy may survive the transformation, but once born, the baby would not be able to survive in the ocean, and must be abandoned on land or die.

Diet, Agriculture, and Hunting
The Mariel have a varied diet of raw foods from the sea, including fish, some invertebrates, and vegetation. They do not eat the flesh of sea mammals or birds. There is cultivation of many of their favored plants and stationary invertebrates, and they keep certain fishes and other creatures much as races on land keep poultry or small livestock species. There is often a bit of fishing (using nets for small prey, spears for larger prey), and sometimes gathering.

Religion
Followers of Maris, the Goddess of the Ocean who is their patron goddess. Their worship includes honoring her teachings and the duties she has charged them with, honing their Water Elementalism to serve the community, and commune with their inner Undine.

Magic and Abilities
Mariel have the ability of Water Elementalism through their Undine souls, which allows for the manipulation of the water around them through spiritual exertion. As their life-path is determined, their abilities are focused in appropriate directions.

Mariel on land still have control over the element of Water, but most young Mariel lack the knowledge to use Water Elementalism to its full potential. Those that chose to remain on land after their twenty-first birthday are striped of the Undine in their souls and lose their ability for Water Elementalism as punishment from Maris for not fulfilling their duties to their people. Half-Mariel could potentially master Water Elementalism on land.

The Mariel have a number of other unique traits that make their aquatic lives easier, but many of these disappear during their year on land. They do, however, have the heightened sense of hearing that the other elemental races share. Telepathy and precognition also occur with some frequency amongst them.

Most unique is their ability to transform for a single year of their lives. This is unavoidable for all young Mariel, and serves as an opportunity for cultural exchange between the Mariel and their cousins on land. Near the end of their nineteenth year, young Mariel see the first signs of their impending transformation and are often moved to a location nearer to a coastline where they can safely come ashore. Around their twentieth birthday, the transformation begins and is unstoppable. Their fins become legs, their gills close, and scales disappear, making them appear similar to the elemental races’ base form, but with the same exotic colors of hair and eyes. Once ashore, they have a year to gather news of the surface world before their twenty-first birthday. At which point they will feel an overwhelming draw back to the ocean. Once immersed in salt water, they will transform back into their true form and can return home.

However, some Mariel refuse to return home, often due to falling in love with someone on land, or perhaps being held up in their travels one way or another. While they are well informed of the risks (losing their Undine soul and Water Elementalism, feeling incompletely, the life-shortening depression, etc.) some chose to remain. When they do not enter the water around their twenty-first birthday, the transformation will not occur, and Maris will strip them of their Undine soul, leaving them land-bound for the rest of their life.

Personality
A pleasant people for the most part, Mariel tend to reflect many traits assigned to the water element in their personalities. Though there are underlying uniformities, there is still room for individuality amongst them. They tend toward intellectual and wise mindsets. They are patient and calm, not quick to anger, but when anger is justified they are a force to be reckoned with.

Relations
The Mariel have few constant relations with other races. They have occasional encounters with their elusive Marfod neighbors. Human villages in coastal regions of the tropics have built relationships with the Mariel and are relied upon to help young Mariel adjust to their year on land. Otherwise, most other races are encountered in passing during their year on land.

Play-ability
Rare on land except for the occasional youth, Mariel shouldn’t be common characters in the open world (and must be 20 to have command of Water Elementalism in such settings). However, they are the default race for any RPs set in the ocean.
Last edited by J. M. Vincent on Mon Feb 13, 2012 10:05 pm, edited 3 times in total.
Reason: Revised from Adun to Aserra
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Re: Discussion for Mariel

Post by J. M. Vincent » Sun May 19, 2013 10:15 am

Something cool I found on tumblr. :3
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