“That is not dead which can eternal lie,
and with strange aeons even death may die.”
and with strange aeons even death may die.”
Charr Culture - More Than War?
Best way to really see the sides of Charr that you’re looking for is to simply play one I think. But they all have varying personalities just like the other races. And they like more than just war. They also like meat. Meat and ale, oh yes, meat and ale. They even celebrate Meatoberfest! War is simply the core of their culture I think, much like the core of Norn culture are their animal spirits. The only race that really feels pretty one-dimensional to me would be the Sylvari. I really like the Sylvari but both the Pale Tree and Nightmare factions of Sylvari feel very “linear” as far as their personalities and beliefs go. The Charr though, they’re perhaps tied with Sylvari as my favorite races. Not sure how helpful all that is but yeah…
Charr in a sense have the honorbound culture trope like the Klingons of Star Trek.
Yes whatever they do is for the Legions, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be geared for war.
A farmer maintains and sells his cattle in order to fuel the Charr civilization. The Engineer would make a better aqueduct so the Farmer can supply his cows better.
The Scientists would work with the Engineers to clean up the water because everyone needs a clean drink! These aren’t geared to war, but the soldiers in the Black Citadel can afford to have a hot meal, good drink, and a well constructed barracks to sleep in because of these other professions.
Since the warriors of the Legions are supplied well enough due to those efforts, they can expand on the territory and defend what is theirs. Thus the civilians don’t need to fight on their own.
It is really no different than the Humans to some respects.
Elona, Land of the Golden Sun….and undead…and poison. The travel brochure lied okay?!
The military is the culture but there will be a myriad of personalities within that culture just as there is no one type of personality within our own military. Also, within the charr military culture is a rich history to pull alot of concepts from.
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/The_Movement_of_the_World#Charr
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/The_Ecology_of_the_Charr
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/The_Legions_of_the_Charr
http://ashenfold.com/ashenfold-cartel-interview-with-jeff-grubb-and-eric-flannum/
Charr society is militaristic in nature (as you pointed out, everything done in Charr society goes towards the upkeep and improvement of the Charr war machine), but when you get down to the personal level, individual Charr have just as much variation in personality and goals as any other sentient race. Some are brave, some are cowardly. Some are boisterous, some are reserved. Some are ambitious and want to achieve great things, while others are content with collecting their pay and heading to the bar after a day’s work. Thus, the daily lives of the average Charr citizen can really be almost anything you want it to be.
I suppose what I’m having a hard time seeing is what exactly a charr would do when they aren’t running around trying to bash something’s skull in. I mean, do charr even have hobbies that aren’t somehow related to creating new machines of war? Do charr even get leave, for that matter?
“That is not dead which can eternal lie,
and with strange aeons even death may die.”
and with strange aeons even death may die.”
They do much the same things as other races do. They hang out in bars, gamble, visit the cow races, spend time with their mates or cubs etc. The Charr PC in the Iron Legion background apparently spends his/her time in-between active duty designing their Ghostbore weaponry, although it’s left open-ended as to whether they did it to exercise their creative abilities or as a way to catch the attention of their superiors. I see no reason why other Charr couldn’t have hobbies on the side, whether its traditional Charr pasttimes such as hunting or fishing, or more “refined” pursuits like sculpture or painting that they picked up by spending time among non-Charr. There’s one female Charr in Diessa Plateau who talks about melting down old metal trash so she can forge them into lanterns and sell them. Kastaz Strongpaw in the same map has his own personal garden, and he looks to be growing ornamental flowers as much as vegetables/chickens for consumption.
Talking to the NPCs at Meatoberfest suggests that soldiers are indeed given time off between tours of duty (Meatoberfest was created specifically as a venue for these soldiers to blow off steam). During the Blood Legion storyline, Rytlock also gives the Charr PC an extended leave of absence from their responsibilities so they can pursue personal matters with their sire.
i would advise looking at it from a perspective of our own mi,litary. what do the individuals do in their free time? Answer; anything they want and are interested in. Just like if you were born into a military family instead of capitolist/democratic/religious/oldschool/new age/etc. then factor in that not every member is a direct soldier in the cause.
i would advise looking at it from a perspective of our own mi,litary. what do the individuals do in their free time? Answer; anything they want and are interested in. Just like if you were born into a military family instead of capitolist/democratic/religious/oldschool/new age/etc. then factor in that not every member is a direct soldier in the cause.
I suppose I have some trouble seeing what exactly they’d be doing though. If you’re raised in a society that is so wholly focused on the military, to the exclusion of any forms of art, music, etc., then how would a charr, in their formative years, develop any sort of interest that isn’t directly related somehow to the functionality of the military? Given that pretty much all that a charr is exposed to from the time they’re born is war, war, and more war. Or training for battle. It’s not so much a matter of they can’t, but more why would they?
“That is not dead which can eternal lie,
and with strange aeons even death may die.”
and with strange aeons even death may die.”
I wouldn’t say that a Charr cub is exposed to nothing but “war, war and more war”. Sure, warband mentality and loyalty to the Legions is greatly impressed upon them, but the fahrar isn’t about turning every single Charr into a soldier. Every Charr is given combat training as part of their schooling, but not every Charr that leaves the fahrar goes on to be a soldier. What the fahrar Primus does is evaluate each cub during their schooling to see what talents they possess. If a Charr cub shows aptitude for animals, for example, they might get apprenticed to a warband that specialises in raising cattle or devourers. Once they grow up and join a warband, they might get assigned to a ranch far from the front lines and never see any action as a result.
What’s more, all that training does not preclude a Charr having hobbies. They are still individuals at the end of the day, and not one-dimensional individuals that think of nothing but fighting.
I suppose I have some trouble seeing what exactly they’d be doing though. If you’re raised in a society that is so wholly focused on the military, to the exclusion of any forms of art, music, etc., then how would a charr, in their formative years, develop any sort of interest that isn’t directly related somehow to the functionality of the military? Given that pretty much all that a charr is exposed to from the time they’re born is war, war, and more war. Or training for battle. It’s not so much a matter of they can’t, but more why would they?
it’s just like the chef. They may have been introduced to it becasue they met a chef who cooks for the war effort but they may really enjoy cooking. or anything else that can vaugly be related to a militant society. really, the only thing that may suffer is the arts. But even out own society isn’t saturated with artists and musicians. And there may be stage actors/comedians/etc that do serve military pursuits by providing entertainment to stationed troops. Just like we had in Vietnam and to a lesser degree, today.
Yeah, charr life isn’t all about war. It’s about doing what’s best for your legion and community. To that end, Ash Legion has taken the perogative of making peace with the humans happen. The charr really are focused on taking care of one another.
I suppose what I’m having a hard time seeing is what exactly a charr would do when they aren’t running around trying to bash something’s skull in. I mean, do charr even have hobbies that aren’t somehow related to creating new machines of war? Do charr even get leave, for that matter?
Hang around Lion’s Arch and Diessa, just listen to the NPC conversations.
That will help you imagine things differently about Charr.
In Lion’s Arch you have a couple deciding on sending their kids to the fahrar because not sending them would help them relate to other races better when they get older. On the flip side it was how the parents were raised and they wanted their kids to keep the culture.
I have to say there are moments where this game really does work well to show the differences and similarities to each race.
Elona, Land of the Golden Sun….and undead…and poison. The travel brochure lied okay?!
To get a better feel for the Charr, it might help to look at ancient Rome. That’s what a lot of Charr society and quite a few names come from (just made my necro yesterday, named her Sempronia). Oh, and republican Rome, not imperial, which is what most people think of. Yes, it’s a martial society, but one couched in the language of civic virtue, that is, public service. I think that’s the biggest difference between Norn and Charr; Norn are heroic Germans building their personal legends, Charr are martial Romans striving for the common good.
As for what they’d do outside of war, there’s lots of options. They could be foodies. Really. They have quite an appreciation for all things meat; they like to grill; they enjoy whisky, so you could imagine a character as that guy you know (or perhaps are) who really gets into tasting the choicest single malt. Their aesthetic sense leaves something to be desired (spikes on looms and planters?), but as a technologically advanced race, they probably love tinkering, inventing, fixing stuff. So look at friends and people you know, you’ve probably got someone who can’t wait to break out the charcoal or who likes working on his/her car. Picture them as a Charr.
I think a mistake a lot of people make with Charr is that Militaristic = dull and humorless. A Wacky charr is quite possible without breaking lore. Go to Diessa plateau and see Mad Mardine, or Roj the rowdy butcher for examples of funny charr.
I think the Charr are masters of dry, ironic humor in Tyria.