As this week’s post further demonstrates, the dynamics of the core Sratha-din go beyond simply “loyal to Hardin.” Each member of the group has a different relationship with one other, because each member comes from a completely different Ermehn tribe and has their own value set.

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Something we set out to do in Beyond the Western Deep was to make the different races feel unique from the other races of the world, but also to try and make sure that the characters within each race also felt distinct from the characters within their own race. So while all Ermehn may exhibit specific tendencies on a certain scale, we want to make sure we show Ermehn with characteristics that span the whole scale.

We didn’t want all Ermehn (or Polcan, or Canid, or Vulpin) all to boil down to “murderous thugs” or “opportunistic savages,” even though other races may view them as such. We all have our prejudices in the real world, and the world of the Western Deep is no different. As in the real world, there are extremes to groups of people, societies, countries, religions, organizations, etc that we come to conclusions about based on the actions of the comparative few. The truth of the matter is always more complex than we make it out to be, which is why telling this tale from two extreme viewpoints is so interesting to us.