I'd long held reservations about the caste system in this game, and I need to highlight some issues I have, particularly on the 'outcaste', which seem roughly equal to the dalits or 'untouchables' of past Indian society.
Outcastes do the jobs nobody else will do, mucking about in the sewers, handling corpses, or gutting animals. In India, these tasks were thought to be self-polluting, and thus the people who do these things are 'unclean'. So it would seem to apply to the outcastes, as it says in the book on pg 117 that members of the higher castes consdier mingling with outcastes as distasteful. Despite this, it also says on that page that charity toward outcastes by the higher-ups is considered good karma. How is this possible if a higher-castes is not even supposed to go near them? It also says most outcaste are born into that state. It says there is mobility between the castes, but I find it hard to believe that they would give the time of day to an outcaste even if he was a hero.
The Devah seem to be the ones who set all this up, as it says on pg 143 of a holy caste chef that:
"...a discerning lord of a house can be assured of the comfort(and favor) of any visiting mangai, and, of course, the lack of any offense to the devah."
What kind of god gets angry when one of his priests eats food not prepared by someone of a specific social class?
The suffering of the dalits in India was real and terrible, with discrimination continuing against them even today(although less then it was). This game seems like it's romanticizing a terrible social structure.
And what about this cycle of reincarnation? Only after 'countless cycles' can the souls finally rest in heaven. How long do the souls have to wait to see their families again? And then, they accumulate more loved ones in each incarnation.
I wish there was a different belief system, but the only one is Dar and he seems to be evil.
I'm not trying to be argumentative or angry, it's just these things really bother me and I wanted to know if they were as bad as I read. As it is, it's pushed me away from this game.
Outcastes do the jobs nobody else will do, mucking about in the sewers, handling corpses, or gutting animals. In India, these tasks were thought to be self-polluting, and thus the people who do these things are 'unclean'. So it would seem to apply to the outcastes, as it says in the book on pg 117 that members of the higher castes consdier mingling with outcastes as distasteful. Despite this, it also says on that page that charity toward outcastes by the higher-ups is considered good karma. How is this possible if a higher-castes is not even supposed to go near them? It also says most outcaste are born into that state. It says there is mobility between the castes, but I find it hard to believe that they would give the time of day to an outcaste even if he was a hero.
The Devah seem to be the ones who set all this up, as it says on pg 143 of a holy caste chef that:
"...a discerning lord of a house can be assured of the comfort(and favor) of any visiting mangai, and, of course, the lack of any offense to the devah."
What kind of god gets angry when one of his priests eats food not prepared by someone of a specific social class?
The suffering of the dalits in India was real and terrible, with discrimination continuing against them even today(although less then it was). This game seems like it's romanticizing a terrible social structure.
And what about this cycle of reincarnation? Only after 'countless cycles' can the souls finally rest in heaven. How long do the souls have to wait to see their families again? And then, they accumulate more loved ones in each incarnation.
I wish there was a different belief system, but the only one is Dar and he seems to be evil.
I'm not trying to be argumentative or angry, it's just these things really bother me and I wanted to know if they were as bad as I read. As it is, it's pushed me away from this game.