> How about class distinctions?
That would certainly be possible, IMO, with the right culture, especially if your game were largely about such distinctions. It could work for the Seshnegi, for example, and I briefly considered doing something like that for /Heroes of Malkion/. In the end, I decided that, since different social classes (at least among the Malkioni) work in different occupations, it wasn't that important. But I wouldn't be /prima facie/ against it.
>
> I think that, in fact, the keywords can be forgiven, for not including
> gender, because I think you could create keywords ad infinitum.
The problem (if problem it be), is, as Jane said, not that the keywords make no reference to gender, but that they assume a particular one. For instance, all Seshnegi, be they nobles, wizards, the butcher's daughter, or whatever, know how to Assess Social Standing and Obey Superior. (The King, admittedly, doesn't have a lot of use for Obey Superior, but he will certainly have had it drummed into him *before* he became King...) This is a good example of a keyword that does manage to cover all the bases. You certainly could have a Seshnegi Commoner cultural keyword, or a Seshnegi Noblewoman cultural keyword, or a Seshnegi Beggar Raised on the South Side of Segurane cultural keyword, if such things were useful in your campaign... but you don't, IMO, *need* any of these things. And the existing cultural keyword doesn't exclude anyone except the occasional nutter.
> I mean, the Heortling keyword doesn't say that it's not for Tribal kings
> (and maybe it is, I dunno). But if it's not, then it's up to us to
> make one
> that works.
Well, not in that specific case it isn't. Cultural keywords should be about the culture in which you were raised... and since Heortling tribal kings are not hereditary, there is no such culture/subculture/subsubculture. But, to agree with your general principle, you could, if you really wanted to, have (for instance) a Seshnegi Royal Family cultural keyword.
-- Trotsky Gamer and Skeptic ------------------------------------------------------ Trotsky's RPG website: http://www.ttrotsky.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/
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