A NewOutcast Crew

[zFiend]

Well said Dirial. 

[turtleclub13]

I agree with Nighthater. Wyrd minis is not stupid. If they decided to do something like Native Americans they would be twisted in some awesome way as to be thier own. Even the sterioyypical characters like Joss, Ironsides, and the 10 thunders are all tweeked to be unique to Malifaux. I trust Wyrd to do something right is they are going to do something at all. I just would like to see the Native American included because they were a central part of the wild west setting.

[Loveless]

Even the sterioyypical characters like Joss, Ironsides, and the 10 thunders are all tweeked to be unique to Malifaux.

 

So, I can see some stereotypes in the Ten Thunders - you've got the master monk (Shenlong), the ninja assassin (Misaki), the ancient mystic (Yan Lo), and maybe a weak sort of stereotype in the street fighter-ishness of Mei Feng...but what the heck is stereotypical about the Native American cyborg or the female Union enforcer?

[Jimbobovalsocks]

You guys are really...really...really going overboard on this stereotypical indian thing. Wyrd PROBABLY didn't get arrows or tomahawks launched at them when they brought out "Joss" the "blasphemous" indian using technology. Lets step back into reality for a second and I'll help people understand things. The indians don't care about models in a table top game unless you go way out on a limb and out of your way to disrespect them. The indians possess real lives outside of worrying about their image in a table top game. I'm reading these comments and I can't even understand why people are so caught up on the fact they would even take time out of there lives to care about something so insignificant. Other game companies have used indian models and they haven't been scalped yet. 

 

Dude, are you guys kidding me?

 

 

 

Rwwin,

 

Dam you beat me to the punch.

 

Is everyone saying dam the ten-thunders use asian type weapons how stereotypical?

 

Oh ninjas that throw smoke bombs and shurikens how stereotypical?

 

Mei-Feng asian and does martial arts how stereotypical?

 

*Smart Moneys on if indians get/got made and were arrow using, spear and tomahawk throwing, feather and headdresses wearing, scalping, knife weilding, spirit using guys I'd be seeing them in the Miniature Showcase and not talking about them is this "sensative" debate.

 

Nighthater

 

P.S. to prove I'm right you can go talk to asians to see if you can get them to EVEN CARE about the fact they are being "protrayed" as martial artists, ninjas, and samurias, in Malifaux, or movies, or stories, or legends.

 

OR....I can save you the time.....THEY DON'T CARE.

Alright. Don't have a cow mate! I'm no 'PC brigade softhead' but the whole Indian thing bothers me. I suppose it does fit in with the Wild West theme but feels a little close to the bone given the history between European Americans and Native Americans. Asian stereotyping is slightly different in that our ancestors (although they might not always have been very nice to Asians) didn't bring about the virtual extinction of all Asians through a programme of deliberate genocide whereas, y'know....well we did with the Indians. I reckon in about 50 generations  time we can stop hanging our heads in shame over that one but for the time being, let's let it lie!

Anyway, it is only a game (and a very good one at that) and our friend the Original Poster was only putting his ideas out there which he's obviously free to do. We could talk about race until the cows come home but at the end of the day, we're just people that enjoy playing a game. I agree there's no need to get too deep about the whole thing really! Peace! 

[Tzarcastic]

I don't mean to re-open a can of worms here, but looking back on this conversation from seven months in the future, it's interesting to see it in light of a few new models.

 

It seems to me that the Pathfinder and the standing-up Austringer are both clearly meant to be Native American characters (culturally, at least, since the Pathfinder has facial hair).  The use of feathers, fringe, and long black hair seems distinctive to me.  Notably, the Austringer is bringing this aesthetic all the way to a book cover, which is a pretty prominent part of how the game gets represented.

 

This does, indeed, mean that they're some more non-white models outside the Arcanists.  Moreover, it gives of view of how Wyrd portrays Native Americans: they're certainly both more typical views of Native Americans than Joss (as a wilderness tracking expert and a dude who communicates with animals) - but they're not in loincloths and headdresses, either.  The Trapper, like the Ten Thunders forces he sometimes works with, mixes a fairly-standard idea of "what these forgeigners do" with the best technology available (moving clockwork traps, which are admittedly not as sublimely silly as gattling gun samurai).  And the Austringer might be lower-tech, but he still defies cliches, simply by being dressed like every other Guild agent from the shoulders down.  He looks like a boss paying heed to traditions (facial paint and all) whilst not turning into a walking cliche.  Perhaps most notably, the other animal-talkey guy doing the same job (crouching-down Austringer) appears to be white, so we're not being told that Austringing is set aside for only Magical Natives.

 

Working from that perspective, I think I would like to see a Native American-themed Outcast Crew.  I think the evidence indicates that Wyrd can navigate the minefield better than most - and if everybody concerned with sensitive portrayals of minority groups just opts out, only insensitive ones remain.