Project Phenotype

Luce

Wherein Luce collects raw data for a phenotypical project.

Project summary: We're assembling a list of all known variations for Tae'dae, Furrikin, Aslaran, and Loboshigaru phenotypes (subrace, subspecies, species, etc.) as well as the strength of the variation's canon-status. 

As a corollary, whether there is evidence that NON-PORTAL phenotypes are known to be inherited, or known to occur without a strong genetic correlation. 

Definitions:

Race - Aslaran, Furrikin, Loboshigaru, and Tae'Dae. While there is some variation in other races, these are either cosmetic only (eg: fur colour and thickness in Igasho, hair colour, eye colour, male-pattern baldness in humans, or the length of an elfen ear.) or the race is so variegated that the differences cannot be categorised with any regularity (eg: viscanti, dracnari scale colours, presence, horns, frills, or ridges, or the shape and patterns of Faeling wings.) Arguments will be considered with regard to additional races being added.

Specimen - A specific member of a race, identifiable through a) the Honours system; b) the Library system (eg: Celest 1234, p3; Tosha Monastery, v5678, page 3 of tome1234 on bookshelf) c) a mobile ID (eg: hoopa1234, taedae9198, statue78, etc.), whose shortdesc, longdesc, description, or text mentions a given variant.

Phenotype - The outward appearance of a given member of the Races in question that is categorical in nature (eg: Furrikin who are shaped like foxes, Tae'Dae who are built like mountain bears, Aslaran who look like leopards) 

Type - The levels of canon occupied by a phenotype. The options are Impossibe, Lore, Player, Confirmed, and NPC. 

Impossible - This phenotype cannot present. Please provide a reason and cite a source. (eg: Furrikin cannot present as deer - Bollikin did not create deer, Charune did.) If an entry is Impossible, it shouldn't exist in any other Types

Lore - Lore suggests this phenotype can present, but no non-anecdotal evidence exists. (eg: Bollikin created rockeaters, but I've never seen a player playing one.)

Player - An established player exists with this phenotype, but the character has not been vetted or confirmed by an administrator [this will ideally be an empty category if an admin gets bored and/or cooperative enough] (eg: I've played a collie Loboshigaru for x years)

Confirmed - A specimen exists with a given phenotype, and an admin has acknowledged it without asking it to be changed - or- an administrator has stated that the phenotype can present, but no specimen exists. (eg: Lisaera said on the forums she'd love to see someone play an opossum shaped Furrikin, or Viravain confirmed panther Aslaran by making a rug of someone's pelt.)

NPC - There is an NPC explicitly of a given phenotype. (eg: Weeky is a badger-kin, Master Quettle is a jackal-lobo, the official art shows a polar Tae'Dae)

(Soft) - The specimen is a given phenotype, but it's not made explicit that they are the real-world equivalent. (eg: my Aslaran is described as having slate-grey fur with black rosettes, but she's not explicitly called a snow-leopard; this Furrikin over here is described as having long ears, brown fur, and buck-teeth, but he could be either a hare or a rabbit; This book makes a reference to cropping tails and dark brown/black fur, but never outright calls the Lobo a doberman.) Note that in cases where it's quite clear what the specimen is meant to be, this can be upgraded to remove the soft descriptor. (eg: Sammy Pewpew never outright states he's a skunk, but he lives off by himself because of his musk, he's described as having black fur with long white back stripes that extend through a large, fluffy tail. Skunks would still be classified as NPC, not NPC(Soft))

Progress: https://docs.zoho.com/file/yroyr18a49257a7d24a9a88e49c8f08a8f175

Luce

Progress and highest strength

Aslaran: 

bobcat
cheetah - soft NPC; Jyoath
cougar - soft NPC; female Dawnburst wiccan
housecat - soft NPC; Ujana, Rahrah, others
lion - NPC; most Grey Moors aslaran;
leopard - soft NPC; Morachi
lynx
panther - soft NPC; Chiku Swiftpad
snow leopard
tiger - soft NPC; Bheion, Zareb Boldleaper

Furrikin:

Badger - soft player: Nejii, NPC: Arfur Barrell, Weeky (confirmed by his shortdesc)
Bat - Impossible: Viravain created bluebirds, which became corrupted into bats
Bear - NPC: Runcy Balspoon, many, MANY others
Beaver - NPC: Sandy Sawtooth
Chipmonk - soft NPC: Teenie Springle
Coyote - Player: Jelaludin
Dog - Confirmed: Mentioned explicitly by the helpfile. NPC Simo Tubinsio may be a furrikin or a Loboshigaru, but resembles a Neapolitan Mastiff
Ferret - Player: Tikki
Fox - NPC: red-furred furrikin in Tolborolla are Fairfoxes
Goat - Soft Impossible. It's likely goats were a creation of Silenus
Hamster - soft lore: I can't think of Anyone else that would be so diabolical as to make hamsters. Maybe Fininkora
Hare - soft player: Usa
Hedgehog - Player Rika (plus, come ON of course Bollikin created Hedgehogs)
Jackalope -
Mink -
Mongoose - Player Shaddai
Mouse - NPC: Binky Snaptail
Opossum - Player Corinthian
Otter - Player Maellio
Platypus - soft impossible: Manteekan? Blooredi?
Porcupine - soft NPC: Quillion and Harrison Jones
Rabbit - NPC: Nia Peedia, many, MANY more
Raccoon - player: Pesukaru; NPC: Tofdelly Barrel
Rat - soft impossible: Fininkora
Rockeater - Lore (created by Bollikin)
Sheep - possibly also Silenus? otherwise player: Kievi
Skunk - player: Ongaku; NPC: Sammy Pewpew
Sloth - NPC: Yojimbo Buntz
Squirrel - NPC: Rickatee Talltail
Tortoise - NPC: Tomtom Hardshell
Weasel - NPC: Nookie Longpaws
Wolf - soft NPC: Kiakoda is described in a statue as lupine. Soft because it's an NPC statue (as opposed to a player made one which need subjects to capture), and because as a goddess She could likely change Her appearance as needed. It is worth noting though, since if She was in fact a wolf-kin, that's at least 2 creations of other Elders that Bollikin's shards adopted the shapes of.

Tae'Dae:

Black Bear - soft NPC: Nevio Blackpaw
Brown Bear - soft NPC
Grizzly Bear - soft NPC
Kodiak Bear -
Panda - player: Alarin
Polar Bear - soft NPC: Bulstrode Whitlock
(There is another type of bear as well. I don't know what it is. I HAVE NPCs in mind for Kodiak, Grizzly, and Brown bears, but I don't know which is which)

Lobo:

Dogs: (no specific breeds yet encountered that I care to put a name to yet. I will do so when I can match a specimen to the breed. The Enlightened Masters ARE dogs, but I couldn't pin the breeds down.)
Dog, Neapolitan Mastiff - NPC Simo Tubinsio (see Furrikin - Dog)
Dingo - Player Daraius
Jackal - NPC: Master Quettle (golden jackal)
'mutt' - NPC: Tosha Disciples
Wolves: (I can't accurately name the breed, but pilgrims are a black-furred type of wolf.)

Luce

Today I learned Sammy Pewpew is explicitly a skunk, but Weeky Pedia is not explicitly a badger.

From what I've seen so far, Furrikin don't give no flocks about genetics, either.

Kiradawea

I've heard that bats are Viravain's birds transformed by the wyrd. Don't remember the exact source, but until I see a mob-bat-kin I'm gonna go with them being impossible.

Vivet

Kiradawea said:

I've heard that bats are Viravain's birds transformed by the wyrd. Don't remember the exact source, but until I see a mob-bat-kin I'm gonna go with them being impossible.

Correct. They were bluebirds before, specifically.

Luce

Noted in the file. Could someone with bear expertise go through the various Tae'Dae for me? I apparently don't know my Grizzly bear from Winnie the Pooh.

Cen

Aw man. This thread scares me because I play an unconventional furrikin... I came into Lusternia without knowing any lore whatsoever and went with what I felt would best suit my desired RP.

Cen's appearance and traits are based on a nightingale. I figured this may be pushing the limits of believability when I made her, as a furrikin with feathers instead of fur was plainly contradictory. But I didn't want to roll a trill because I wanted her to be flightless and foresty.

Okay lay on the smackdown. Tell me my RP is bad and I should feel bad. I'm braced for it.

Luce

I'm more doing this as a "This is what we've seen" kind of thing. If an admin wants to step in and ask you to change your description that's their call, but even if every possible phenotype was documented, you shouldn't take it as a concrete list of every option you can play like this is WoW or something.

As an example, I didn't include Luce in that list, even though I'm making a special effort to include a player when I have one. Why? Because he looks like this:

He is a bouncing furrikin and has a coat of silky white fur with a hint of jade tinting to it. His snout is thin and narrow, with tufts of snowy white fur along its underside. These extend out from his cheeks as well, and connect with a small mane that tops his head and begins to run down his spine before disappearing into his clothing. His triangular ears poke out from this mane with well over half their length exposed, the pale jade emphasised by contrast to the pure white. He's slight and often visibly tense, with most of his motions quick and his powder-blue eyes darting from spot to spot. The base of his spine extends outward in a furred tail, with the same groove of white fur running along its top until the end, where both the underside and the top share ridges that combine. It tends to rest just above his ankles. Each finger is tipped with a dull black claw, which look as if they've been filed shorter rather than clipped.

EDIT: How do you do spoilers?

Daraius

I found a gold mine of player furrikin testimonials I'll add when I get home. Still not sure on the dog issue, since both HELP FURRIKIN and HELP LOBOSHIGARU mention dog appearance. Could it be that small breeds are Bollikin's work and large breeds are Volkh's?

Luce

I'm honestly filing it under the same principal that I'm filing bearkin under. Bollikin got around.

Allyrianne

Maybe dogs in general were a collaborative effort between both Volkh and Bollikin? Or maybe Volkh made some cute tiny dogs as a present for Bollikin. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm

Kiradawea

If it's a non-avian animal from the real world, Bollikin proooobably had something to do with it. )

Hoaracle

(PS, Auseklis didn't make deer, friend. That was the original horndog, Charune.)

Tarkenton

Tark is based off of Ursus arctos gobiensis.

Luce

Hoaracle said:

(PS, Auseklis didn't make deer, friend. That was the original horndog, Charune.)

I'm sure I don't know about what you're talking. @kira I don't know that that's 100% accurate, but it's close. I think Platypi and crocodiles, for instance, are Manteekan's

Xenthos

I thought Manteekan played with spirits, not making creatures. Are you thinking of Blooredi? (Is this even the right name? Been a while since I read these).

Luce

Yes. Yes I am

Daraius

Here's something from Eventru: 'Bat' furrikin would never work - bats were a product of the Taint, or so has been suspected (Viravain would kiss them and remake them into bluejays, when she was attempting to recreate Gloriana - and Viravain made a lot of the animals there). Remember that generally furrikin are based off of animals that Bollikin probably created (generally believed because he couldn't focus on just one form, or so HELP FURRIKIN says) - foxes, rabbits, little forest fuzzy critters sorts. So you won't see, say, cow furrikin, eagle furrikin, sparrow furrikin, deer furrikin, etc. The exception is bear furrikin (even though Tae created bears). And I've never seen a rockeater furrikin NPC - not to say there aren't or couldn't be rockeater furrikin, but I, personally, would be skeptical (late creations, probably not really on Bollikin's list of creatures he made that he liked, etc). And my favourite are, by far, turtle furrikin. Tomtom made me laugh when I first saw him.

Hoaracle

Broadly speaking, Eventru is right. The lore has suggests that furrikin embody the different types of critters that Bollikin created; however, save for those creatures that were outright created by someone else - deer, cow, moose (Charune); raven/crow and some insects (Viravain); lions (Lorella) - there has not been a list produced that states what exactly were the creatures that Bollikin made. We have wide parameters. I do not think any admin would quash a player's portrayal of a rockeater furrikin (and frankly, I disagree with Eventru's idea that they are "not on Bollikin's liked list," I think you can read that Bollikin loved all his creations) or a more unusual furrikin. We aren't here to ruin your fun. 

(Another PS, @Xenthos is right - @Manteekan doesn't touch animals, you are thinking of Blooredi.)

Luce

In that skein, horses are out due to Centaubi having made them, but did Trillillial, Isune, and Viravain create birds, or just paint them? Or both?

Kiradawea

Luce said:

Hoaracle said:

(PS, Auseklis didn't make deer, friend. That was the original horndog, Charune.)

I'm sure I don't know about what you're talking. @kira I don't know that that's 100% accurate, but it's close. I think Platypi and crocodiles, for instance, are Manteekan's

C'mon. Wasn't the bunch of o's and ) hint enough that I was being facetious?

That said, I'm pretty sure that platypi are Bollikin. Blooredi only managed to create one creature with a collective Great Spirit, and that's the scorpion. And I recall talking with an admin a platypus spirit.

Maybe I should change into a platypus-kin. Platypi are adorable.

Hoaracle

Generally, Artists like Trillillial and Isune painted or embellished those things that were created but did not make birds themselves. Viravain created birds, but she is more of a wildcard in that she did not simply make avian creatures; in the Book of Tauro and Tae, we have reference to her making insects of some sort.

Edit: In agreement with @Sylandra's post, I do not want to suggest that Viravain created all birds. Different folks made different creatures, wherein some are similar in nature.

Sylandra

To my understanding, Trillillial and Isune definitely painted birds, and Viravain definitely created some. Lyreth also taught song to lots of birds. There is a very old helpfile that suggests Isune helped give birds flight but it's pre-Viravain's arrival in Lusternia so I wouldn't be surprised if that's not actually a thing anymore. I'm not sure about absolutes--like whether or not Viravain created ALL birds or Isune/Trillillial painted ALL birds or Lyreth taught song to ALL birds, etc, but they definitely did it often enough that they made names for themselves doing it.

edit: ninja'd

Daraius

I would believe it if you told me Bollikin made penguins.

Kiradawea

Also, looking at the project page, there are a few things I want to mention.

First. You know Ongaku?! That is really cool. I miss the guy. He was one of the people that made Lusternia worth playing while I was just a little novice.

Second. Kira is a ferret. Not that anyone ever notices, but there you go.

Third. The Fairfoxes in Tolborolla Valley are foxes.

Luce

The red furred furrikin? I was seeing them as red squirrels more than foxes, the description doesn't mention any patterns, white spots, or anything like that.

Kiradawea

You're arguing that the fairfox are not, in fact, foxes?

Xenthos

Kiradawea said:

You're arguing that the fairfox are not, in fact, foxes?

Well, I guess if the Stormcrows are not actually all crows, and the Nightshades are not all shades, and the Shee-slaugh are not all slaughs...

That said, it seems likely the Fairfox clan are foxkin.

Kiradawea

Xenthos said:

Kiradawea said:

You're arguing that the fairfox are not, in fact, foxes?

Well, I guess if the Stormcrows are not actually all crows, and the Nightshades are not all shades, and the Shee-slaugh are not all slaughs...

That said, it seems likely the Fairfox clan are foxkin.

That's a completely different cultural context though.

Luce

Fair point. For some reason I always read that as Fairfellow. 0.o

Daraius

@Luce here's what I've distilled from player self-identifications. Shame on those bats.

Furrikin - bat - Danna

Furrikin - bat, Kialkarkea

Furrikin - beaver - Vendetta

Furrikin - coyote - Jelaludin

Furrikin - ferret - Arix

Furrikin - fox - Shiri

Furrikin - fox - Dallym

Furrikin - fox, fennec - Arimisia

Furrikin - fox, arctic - Aerotan

Furrikin - fox, red - Diamondais

Furrikin - hedgehog - Rika

Furrikin - mongoose - Shaddai

Furrikin - otter - Maellio

Furrikin - otter - Vix

Furrikin - possum - Corinthian

Furrikin - raccoon - Renthur

Furrikin - red panda - Aiyana

Furrikin - squirrel - Sylphas

Loboshigaru - dingo - Daraius