Actually about the Zuma...
On at least three separate group RP events I got characters to come to Nightmarch to check out the Zuma culture.
This was back in autumn of 2009. Basically during those times, the GM took a backseat and let me take the floor in presenting the Zuma natives, their buildings, architecture, what they look like (Yeah, I actually did tell a bunch of people. Glaumring: Your ambassador was among those people even. He got a souvenir from his trip too, an obsidian statue.)
I further explained their general "caste" system, what their clothing more or less denoted in relation to that, their recreational activities. I also mentioned that they eat what normal people eat.
I don't remember every name, but I do know that Graeth, who was a priest of Verdis Elementum back then (Was it Graeth? It was some priest from Asylon whose name started with a G and got an obsidian statue), Dasha (A freeman who did a lot of service to the Zuma as someone who hunted monsters and undead for them), Coturnix (Business contact who also got to find out stuff about Zuma history and culture), and I guess a few more.
Ah, but here's the thing: The Zuma are people, like all the other humans on Dwilight. One of the points I was trying to hint at in doing my independent RP parties where the daimons were only referred to in passing and never in the course of those roleplays intervened, was that the Zuma were, in fact, human like you and me. And what your characters should have somewhat figured out from that was that such a fact was probably pretty significant.
But instead, the general trend as I see now is that people more or less completely ignored the actual NPCs (NPC: Defined as non-player character, by definition, not played by any player...) and wanted to know about the daimons. In those cases, Garret knows the bad things that could happen if a mistake is made, so he basically decided, "You know what? They want to know about daimons so much they can do it on their own. I like being alive and healthy."
I don't know what the GM has done in the past regarding the actual Zuma, but I do know that I've put in the effort to explain as many aspects as I could think of to make those native humans seem more than some name. Whether anyone cared isn't my problem. But you might pause to wonder whether you might have been going about the Zuma Coalition entirely in the wrong order. Because, you know...Most of the time even you never actually meet a real daimon. The only daimon Garret has ever spoken to in person was Vates, and he was a special case. Even Haktoo he has only regarded from a distance.
So now that I've calmed down a little, I'll say what I probably should have said from the start.
There is a reason why there are daimons and a reason why there are humans living in such close proximity. You play humans, and while it's natural to be curious about the unknown, humans are also notoriously fearful of what they cannot understand, and instinctively seek something to ground themselves. I think that a very convenient "anchor" to give yourself some orientation in this alien "Netherworld" is to look at what you can understand. And usually, when humans see other humans that are managing relatively well in extraordinary circumstances, then regardless of what the humans look like or act, they are often seen as comrades and inspire hope. After all, if those humans have managed, why can't we?
And I will make a HUGE DISCLAIMER right now in case I inadvertently said too much: I am not involved in the GM's plans for the Zuma. What I just said was mainly conjecture (But I might add carefully thought out conjecture based on 1.5 years of careful observation and paying attention to what was going on in the Zuma Coalition). It does not necessarily reflect the views or intentions of the Zuma GM.
But should that really matter? Read what I suggested, and you decide for yourself whether what I say is true: That in a strange, terrifying world, humans first seek out what they are familiar with. If they see other humans, while they may be at first cautious, those native humans are nevertheless human. Sometimes our instinctive bonds that ties our species together overrules the complex thoughts born of our rational minds.
Might I add, by the way, that the above is certainly not obvious. If it were, then more people would be doing it. As it is...very few are.
Poll