Barraki, Mahri-Nui - ART ART ART! [Worldbuilding] [Pitch] [Art] [Character]

I thought the elemental gods were created to “help” create the island and all the life that lives on it, kind of like the Valar from Tolkien’s Silmarillion.
If Matoran were created first, what is the point of the elemental gods? To just keep the Matoran in check seems, to me, a very weak concept as that role could be easily filled by beings that don’t have god like powers.

Like the elemental gods being like the Valar, I was thinking of the Colossi as the Maiar. After the War of the Brothers, only about a dozen survive.

2 Likes

Yeah, I thought the Elemental Gods were there to balance the elemental energies of the newly created island. When Makuta and Ekimu later clashed due to the formation of Matoran, the Gods saw the balance of the island being thrown off and the new inhabitants being put in danger. So they rebel against the brothers to regain balance and protect this new sentient race.


If the Gods are made after the Matoran, it doesn’t make sense for the Ekimu/Makuta fight. The brothers start fighting because Ekimu made sentient creatures (Matoran). When they clash, he makes more sentient beings (Gods) to protect the Matoran. These new creations instantly turn on their creator by using Toa, since the clash is already happening.

It makes more sense to say that both brothers make the Gods to preserve the new island they made. By being gods, they are already at a much higher rank/plane of existence than the Matoran would be, so having sentience wouldn’t be much of an issue for them. But when Ekimu makes a noticeably lesser species and gives them the same sentience, then Makuta disagrees. They are relatively powerless compared to the Gods, so sentience is wasted on them and is more of a curse (like you’ve said in past episodes).

2 Likes

UPDATE

Hello!

I am sorry for lack of posts in this thread, it is by no means dead!

I am simply on vacation now, so I have been more or less unable to do updates frequently, but I’m back!

Now for the update:

I have written a full short story for Kalmah. It will be up on the boards in few hours, maybe less.
It is a second short story about the seven barraki warlords, the first one being Pride, that I’ve written few weeks back, it is dark, but please, enjoy!

Now for the project itself:

With the story bible on it’s way, this thread will get completely revamped to fit the lore written in it.
I will do best of my abilities to try to fit the warlords into the timeline smoothly.

I have also thought about a change to Mantax.

He is the most mysterious one, but apart from that, he is not as interesting as the other warlords.

I have thought about making Mantax a sorcerer, a warlock delving into dark rituals and taking advantage of the mask powers to amass black, sorcerous powers.


Let me know what you think about this!

The more ambitious thing (wink wink) I have thought about is this:

Stripping the warlords of their most valued ideals during their mutation.

Yep. Make the warlords pay for what they did by humiliating them.

This was touched by G1 a bit with Pridak, as he was transformed from a beautiful being into an ugly underwater creature, but on in such extent.

What do you mean? How would this be good for the plot?

Good question. It would create a struggle for the characters, making them go around their old ways and try to figure out new options on how to solve their problems.
Let me give you an example, well, seven of them.

Strip Pridak of his beauty. Make him realize that pride is not as good trait as he knew, let him try to be less hostile to other warlords.

Strip Kalmah of his power over armies. Kalmah had always relied on his armies and was cruel to his subjects. His ambition made him a successful conqueror, but without his matoran legions, these wars have come to an end.
Kalmah would have to be more content without these, and try to rely on himself rather than his forces.

Strip Takadox of his spies and plots. He’s always been a liar and manipulator. With no more spies, Takadox will have to rely on strenght more than his intelligence.

Strip Carapar of his strenght. The brute, cruel and uncompromising one. Without these traits, Carapar would have to try to use his intelligence more, learning the art of persuation and manipulation, rather than brute strenght.

Strip Ehlek of his… Building skills? Knowledge of poisons? Not really sure on Ehlek, yet. Maybe instead of trying to poison people he diasgreed with, he would try the route of diplomacy.

Strip Mantax of his secrecy and dark powers. Being all secritive and nothing else is as bad as talking everything out. Mantax has to learn this, this and the ballance between these two things.

Nocturn is the only one I have no idea what to do with. Maybe he could be given intelligence, since he was stupid before the mutation, but I have no idea what to strip him of…


Alright, you’ve got it pitched out, why do it at all?

Well, all of this would have the purpose to point out that: Relying so much on only one aspect of your character is a bad thing.

Yes, there is a moral to all this. A twisted, dark moral.


Please, tell me what do you think of this! I will be glad for any feedback that will keep this thread alive and going!

Thank you for reading this update!

3 Likes

I like how you connected the Barraki and Karzahni together. In G1 they were released during the same year, were villains during the same year, and both the Pit and the Karzahni realm were hellish prisons. Always thought Karzahni should’ve been more integral to the 2007 story. This is why I’m so interested in following G3’s development, it’s such a good chance to take what is good about G1/G2 while weeding out the stuff that never made much sense.

I also like how you made them Matoran instead of opening a can of worms with each being from a different species. Just simple and clean stuff.

Now though, there’s one thing I never liked about the G1 Barraki and most post 2005 characters: the names. The names are just butchered English words (Mantax the manta? Vamprah the vampire? Seriously?) and they just sound too different from the traditional Maori-esque names scheme early G1, G2 used and G3 is following so far.
It’s also weird for a Matoran to be called Mantax or Ehlek and the like- it’s not that his parents knew his son would be turned into a manta-like or eel-like monster later in his life.
You could argue that “Manta” doesn’t mean “manta ray” in Matoran language, but it still breaks the reader’s immersion since G3 is being written in English language and, well, people who are following this regularly speak and think in English even if it’s not their first language (which includes a lot of fans, myself included). In my humble opinion, they should be still called Barraki, but their names should be tweaked. Just my two cents.

2 Likes

While I understand where you’re coming from, I’m not sure that’s something we’re allowed to do. If I remember correctly, TTV has stated that we’re only using approved names from G1 canon, meaning that we can’t tweak them to sound a bit better.

2 Likes

That makes sense, I’m not a huge fan of doing that either. What about using different names then, regardless of their G1 roles? They’ve reused the Rahaga names for something completely different from G1 and it worked brilliantly.

2 Likes

The reason they gave the Rahkshi new names was because the Rahkshi have Matoran identities in this story. Though I guess it could be said that the Barraki didn’t have Matoran identities before, either…

2 Likes

I mean yeah, you couldn’t have 6 random Matoran whose names all happened to end in -rahk so changing that was more needed than what I’m suggesting for the Barraki. You could say it boils down to personal taste, but I still think that it’s odd that the same region is home to people like Onua, Nuparu and Bomonga and then someone called Mantax. It really breaks it for me, especially since G3 is putting so much effort in giving each region its very own culture.

3 Likes

When you say it that way it bothers me a lot more. Maybe they take up new names after becoming warlords, to separate themselves from their ‘inferior’ kin?

2 Likes

That could work, actually, to show that they are “different” from the folk, in an almost alien way. This was very common practice in ancient times but it’s still prevalent in some cultures. Think European royals, who dressed (and still dress) in odd and colourful ways so show that they aren’t like “normal people”. Or the flamboyant and colourful rulers of Ancient China.
For the ones with a poor background like Kalmah and Takadox, this could be especially powerful, as if it implied that “I’m not like that anymore. I’m not weak, I’m not poor, I’m a ruler now”.

4 Likes

Maybe Nocturn could be made feral and uncontrollable, making him the most dangerous of the Barraki?

2 Likes

Thanks everyone for this amaizing discussion!
I agree with the names, Jayzor’s solution being the Best in my opinion.

3 Likes

Huge new update!

  • Edited some of the Mahri Nui history
  • Edited Geography (Previously Structure) to be better loooking+more informations added
  • Added 2 new locations
  • Revamped Culture and Religion section
  • Added Sports and Events section
  • Added Organizations section
  • Added Matorans section
  • Added 13 completely new Matorans!

Please, check it out! If you want to know the exact changes, look to the edits (The pencil on the top right of the thread)

I will upload these matorans to the Matoran Ideas thread, so they might eventually get their own pictures. :3

Thanks for reading this!

EDIT:

New update!

  • Shortened and simplified the Barraki section
  • This was made to make it simpler to read
  • removed the Barraki minifigure pictures
  • done to make the thread simpler and more organized
  • Changed the backstory a bit for Takadox, and very much for Mantax! Check it out!

WHAT IS TO COME

  • Rahi section with sevelar brainstorming Ideas!
  • Planned set Ideas (though they will most likely come out later rather than sooner)
  • Inclusion of the Toa Kanohi into the pitch

I would like to know your opinion on the idea of the Barraki losing what they value the most, which was purposed above in post 83

Please, continue this discussion!

3 Likes

This thread is really fleshing out well! Nice addition of the Toa Kanohi :wink:

2 Likes

I was thinking about one huge change.

Excluding Karzahni out of this storyline.

I am more and more starting to think that having Karzahni himself on the ocean floor near Mahri Nui works less and less. I was instead thinking of moving him to a completely separate island, somewhere else.

This could work much better with this pitch, where we could see the introduction of Skakdi and Vortixx to the story. Aswell as having the nightmarish and horrorous landscape that was the island of Karzahni in G1. (I mean, ground that changes you into a statue if you sit down, ice volcanoes… That’s some dark stuff…)

We still could have some danger around, like the Zyglak or some of Karzahni’s mad creations, with the Barraki aswell.

That could also make Karzahni much more accessible for Voriki in her story, just go on an island of nightmares, not dive underwater and swim sevelar kilometres to the ocean floor.

_

I feel we truly need an official, canon map. Some of the threads have died down, we will be soon getting the story bible, with it, hopefully a canon map of the island, (at least the different regions and where they are located, please.) so we can start adding these little areas.

One thing that G1 had problem with was that almost every year (or second year) we got a new island to explore, and we did not get enough time to see it whole. That is why Mata Nui had such great spots and everything named on it but sadly, it wasn’t enough, as there were a dozen other islands with some ritch lore to explore, and we did not get to care about them as much.

We could have different islands like Karzahni, Daxia or Odina, but please, make them only little islands around Artakha, a part of an island chain or something, so we are enritching the island we know and (will) love- Artakha.

Alright. I have two completely unrelated pitches in my head right now, and I’d like to write them down soon. Also, I was thinking of one more thing:

Changing Mahri Nui to a simpler name, Mahria?

TTV complained that Mata Nui was too weird of a name, made of two words. So I wanted to know your opinion on shortening the name of this location aswell. Mahria? Mahraia?

Tell me!

_

Thank you for reading this update, I sure want to hear your opinions!

4 Likes

Maybe just the island of Mahri? I think the name restriction applies to islands, too, so it would be better to use the first part of the name than to come up with something new.

3 Likes

I thought it was pretty cool.

3 Likes

@jayzor17 Excellent suggestion!

@Ace I did not say it wasn’t. I thought it was fascinating!

3 Likes

When drawing the barraki, are they in their present forms or are they unmutated?

2 Likes

There could be a comparison between the original and mutated forms

3 Likes