Well I take offense at the usage of real Romulan. As if they by default were a species locked by predetermination to follow a single path. They are no more so than Humans who freely choose which religion to follow, which career to engage in, which army to join why should Humans be allowed such diversity and none others in the universe allowed this luxury?
In regard to lore they are actually even less likely to ally with the Klingons.
Allying with either side in this game was simply a lazy means to add a new faction since they would not need to build ALL the elements of the faction. Only half the Romulan leveling experience is Romulan specific, the rest belongs to your chosen faction. Only one Romulan ship at each tier below T5, instead granting access for Fed/KDF ships from T2-T4.
That's what I never understood! The borders in STO are a little... all over the place.
Think of it as the difference between "modern" world borders and "borderlands" as they existed in medieval Europe:
In the modern world, we have highly sophisticated cartography techniques that allow us to determine national borders with "pinpoint accuracy". As a result, we think of a 'border' as a very distinct, almost tangible line on a map with "ours" on one side and "theirs" on the other. Disputes over that line are never "where" the line is, but rather where the line "should be".
In medieval Europe, the thinking was not about lines, because these didn't really exist. Instead, there were spheres of influence about how far one Kingdom's authority and ability to maintain order were, and where the next was. In between were in effect "lawless" or at the very least, "Disputed" lands where you couldn't rely on particular Kingdoms to settle problems even though there would be various claims (although they could arrive, claim it, then leave again). Borders could exist, but they weren't as settled as they are now.
STO borders are more like medieval borders. If you look at the STO Galaxy Map, it even shows areas clearly in control of one faction, but that the colour fades so you can't really definitively say if for example, Drozana is in Federation or Klingon territory. Rather than "ours" and "theirs", it's more like "Definitely ours", "We have a claim", "Definitely theirs", and "nobody knows".
Well I take offense at the usage of real Romulan. As if they by default were a species locked by predetermination to follow a single path. They are no more so than Humans who freely choose which religion to follow, which career to engage in, which army to join why should Humans be allowed such diversity and none others in the universe allowed this luxury?
Considering how their Vulcan ancestors all chose to follow a "single path" away from their homeworld...
Anyhow, no one is saying they ALL fit a certain mold, but there certainly has been a GENERALIZED depiction of how they are portrayed which they should. Much like most Klingons are about battle, personal honor and glory, so Romulans are passionate about anger and vengeance towards anyone who does them wrong, and enacting it in a covert manner with arrogance and extreme prejudice.
They are my favorite Trek race because of this and more. They are Vulcans evolved and unbridled by emotional control, and have created an Empire based on all the qualities I mentioned above. They are quite the antithesis of the Federation, and that's exactly why I like them as much as I do.
Considering how their Vulcan ancestors all chose to follow a "single path" away from their homeworld...
Anyhow, no one is saying they ALL fit a certain mold, but there certainly has been a GENERALIZED depiction of how they are portrayed which they should. Much like most Klingons are about battle, personal honor and glory, so Romulans are passionate about anger and vengeance towards anyone who does them wrong, and enacting it in a covert manner with arrogance and extreme prejudice.
They are my favorite Trek race because of this and more. They are Vulcans evolved and unbridled by emotional control, and have created an Empire based on all the qualities I mentioned above. They are quite the antithesis of the Federation, and that's exactly why I like them as much as I do.
Oh we could get into a serious debate centered around Surak and the Raptor Star LOL
But yes, all in all I agree with you. Romulans are passionate. It is that passion which drives them to greatness and, ultimately, that which leads them to their ruin.
Romulans definatly follow a few 'cultural trends'. It doesn't mean that all Romulans have to be sneaky deceptive backstabbers, but there's' a definite cultural trend going on there. We know Vulcans have their outliers too, but I think there are a few basic cultural trends most people would expect.
Really It's a shame the Republic doesn't really show much in the way of iconic Romulan behavior outside of trying to TRIBBLE the federation and Klingon Empire out of the two spheres.
Comments
Allying with either side in this game was simply a lazy means to add a new faction since they would not need to build ALL the elements of the faction. Only half the Romulan leveling experience is Romulan specific, the rest belongs to your chosen faction. Only one Romulan ship at each tier below T5, instead granting access for Fed/KDF ships from T2-T4.
Think of it as the difference between "modern" world borders and "borderlands" as they existed in medieval Europe:
In the modern world, we have highly sophisticated cartography techniques that allow us to determine national borders with "pinpoint accuracy". As a result, we think of a 'border' as a very distinct, almost tangible line on a map with "ours" on one side and "theirs" on the other. Disputes over that line are never "where" the line is, but rather where the line "should be".
In medieval Europe, the thinking was not about lines, because these didn't really exist. Instead, there were spheres of influence about how far one Kingdom's authority and ability to maintain order were, and where the next was. In between were in effect "lawless" or at the very least, "Disputed" lands where you couldn't rely on particular Kingdoms to settle problems even though there would be various claims (although they could arrive, claim it, then leave again). Borders could exist, but they weren't as settled as they are now.
STO borders are more like medieval borders. If you look at the STO Galaxy Map, it even shows areas clearly in control of one faction, but that the colour fades so you can't really definitively say if for example, Drozana is in Federation or Klingon territory. Rather than "ours" and "theirs", it's more like "Definitely ours", "We have a claim", "Definitely theirs", and "nobody knows".
Anyhow, no one is saying they ALL fit a certain mold, but there certainly has been a GENERALIZED depiction of how they are portrayed which they should. Much like most Klingons are about battle, personal honor and glory, so Romulans are passionate about anger and vengeance towards anyone who does them wrong, and enacting it in a covert manner with arrogance and extreme prejudice.
They are my favorite Trek race because of this and more. They are Vulcans evolved and unbridled by emotional control, and have created an Empire based on all the qualities I mentioned above. They are quite the antithesis of the Federation, and that's exactly why I like them as much as I do.
Oh we could get into a serious debate centered around Surak and the Raptor Star LOL
But yes, all in all I agree with you. Romulans are passionate. It is that passion which drives them to greatness and, ultimately, that which leads them to their ruin.
Really It's a shame the Republic doesn't really show much in the way of iconic Romulan behavior outside of trying to TRIBBLE the federation and Klingon Empire out of the two spheres.
They're either Romulan or they're not.
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