NAGGIN' MINBARI QUESTION:

[AURIKALKO]

hi!

All right: The Minbari are famous for their convoluted & enigmatic ways of dealing with other races, right? They are aloof, cerebral, >mysterious<...

But, how can they be this way when their biggest shame is telling lies? How can the GM reconcile the Minbari on one side always striving to be truthful & honest & being mysterious & enigmatic on the other hand?

Help!


Aurik
of the Kalko
System

 

[mthomason]

Ah, but being mysterious and enigmatic does not make one a liar.

If a Minbari gives an answer, they will tell the truth (except of course when they do not). Plus, there's an art to giving a reply that sounds full of answers but once you think about it doesn't really doesn't have any

One way to handle this in-game is that when a Minbari "needs" to lie (in other words they don't want to tell the truth about something), have them come up with an answer that sounds incredibly wise but doesn't actually answer the question that was asked in the first place - effectively, confuse the person who asked the question so much that they don't realise the answer to their original question wasn't actually in the reply

Thus, no untruths are told and honour is preserved.

The above is more a religious caste thing (and is probably the source of the mysteriousness/enigmatic thing about Minbari as a whole). Warrior caste Minbari who don't want to answer a question are more likely to be more direct about it and just tell you that they don't owe you any answers, possibly while making a condescending comment towards you and your entire species.

Bear in mind I'm being very stereotypical here

 

[ShadowScout]

But, how can they be this way when their biggest shame is telling lies? How can the GM reconcile the Minbari on one side always striving to be truthful & honest & being mysterious & enigmatic on the other hand?

Let me cite a little quote from StarWars one should always keep in mind when pondering such questions: "...I have told you the truth - from a certain point of view..."
Minbari don't tell lies (except when they do it to help another save face of course).
But they often do not say things that are true.
But they often say things that are true, but not the whole truth.
But they often say things that are true, but not an answer.
But they often say things that are true, but will be misinterpreted.
But they often say things that are true, but worded in a way that makes then difficult to understand ("hanging upside down while looking at it in a mirror").
THAT is how you get to be mysterious and enigmatic while avoiding lies. And of course the Minbari are amateurs compared to the Vorlons...

The above is more a religious caste thing...

True. Workers seldom have any secrets to hide, and if they do (technical information) they will just say they are very sorry that the are unable to answer that question / give out that information (which does not mean they don't know, but many will assume it does). Warriors are more likely to launcha verbal (or even physical, depending on the situation) counterattack - or refuse to enter in conversation entirely (and Will get agressive if pressed)

 

[James McMurray]

It always seemed to me that Minbari subterfuge would be something that, at the end of the day, you'd slap yourself on the forehead and say "she was saying that all along!"

 

[Shadow Queen]

Unless they help another to save face

 

[lastbesthope]

There is a difference between lying and not volunteering the truth.

The Minbari play in the grey areas :lol:

LBH

 

[sigma957]

Human : Where is Zha'ha'dum

Minbari : Beyond the realm and power of any of the younger races to visit and return to tell of its location

Result human walks off and says the minbari dosnt know,
This is false,
The minbari does know but didnt say, they simply said that you couldnt go there and come back to tell, ALL TECHNICALLY TRUE the minbari made no reference to the fact that the coordinates of Zha'ha'dum are recorded and available to high enough minbari

Centauri : What is the code to this Minbari Weapons cashe

Minbari Warrior : You are not permitted inside scum leave or i kill you for daring to try and enter

again the Minbari hasnt lied, he just has chosen not to answer at all


(thought some examples would help)
if anyone else would like to pose questions im sure the people here can think up minbari answers that dont answer to kill the time while bored at work

 

[thedarkelf007]

there is also the introspective answers that are basically questions not really related to the question you asked...

Such as an answer
- look inside and you will known
- when the time is right, ask again, now is not that time
- first you must seek enlightenment
- ahhh, I could tell you the answer, but you asked the wrong question and its answer would be meaningless, think more on the question and come back later

Other things like that work well, though on the Vorlon side we could be more crytic...