Derketo, Set's ♥♥♥♥♥

[houseplant]

With the introduction of Derketo, goddess of death and fertility, comes a great many issues in terms of the representation of women within the Conan universe. In Conan RPG lore, Derketo, Set's ♥♥♥♥♥, the Sable Queen, was granted to Set as a war concession along with another ♥♥♥♥♥, and the two over time coalesced into one deity, further describing Derketo's dual nature. "She is a deity of life, sexual power, birth and war" (aoc.wikia.com/wiki/Derketo). It is tradition in her religion that girls the age of fifteen are taken to her temples and shown the ways of eroticism and prostitution. It is my hope that her introduction into Conan Exiles will not be as objectifying as its face value alludes. While the goal may be to celebrate women and their ability to create life, it seems that the religion diminishes women solely to their sexual appeal to men. There are many ways to celebrate fertility including harvest festivals, fishing expeditions (taking note that the depiction of Derketo in Greek mythology is half woman, half fish), or courting rituals in which people find either one, or many partners and retire to enjoy their sexual ecstasy in private.

Using a harvest and fishing festival to worship Derketo is a great way to pay hommage to the dual deity. The game has already introduced a gardening system that could be expanded into full agriculture, with farm plots that can be tilled and planted with crops. The introduction of new foods would allow for more cooking options, further expanding the gluttony of a harvest festival with many new alcohols and meals. In addition to adding more farming options, the introduction of farm animals could help round out the agricultural experience. Cows and chickens could provide milk and eggs and open more meal options. Fishing is already a game mechanic but can also be expanded to include more types of fishing rather than just cage fishing. All of these tweaks combined create an immersive and plentiful celebration of fertility without depicting women as prostitutes used for sex.

If the goal is to remain true to Derketo's seductress nature, there are even still more options to unobjectively portray her worship. For this, I use her background in Greek mythology and her depiction as a mermaid. Mermaids lure men to their death by seducing and drowning them. As a parallel introduction into Conan Exiles, their rituals of worship could include a civilization of women who put on elaborate dancing festivals that lure men from far and wide who want to join in the celebration. The women of the town later choose a few young men (Derketo's preference) and sacrifice them to her.

If focusing on the fertility of women and motherhood is the goal, any of the festivals I have suggested could include courting rituals that later lead to the orgies originally suggested in the game. These rituals would involve mingling and drinking and dancing, but would equally involve both men and women of any sexual orientation, not solely male-female couples. I love the concept of sex-positivity and inclusivity, and while I think fifteen years of age is too young to become a prostitute (as is the tradition in Derketo's religion), I believe that the concept of starting sex-positive education for women at that age is a good direction. With this dynamic then in place, there could be an option for singles, couples, or groups to either make a ton of babies or adopt children, since the focus is on fertility and child-bearing. This way, people who cannot have children due to infertility, a solo person, same-sex couples, or a group of lovers could participate in the wonder of life.

Another aspect of motherhood that could be utilized in the rounding-out of Derketo's religious following is the possibility of some of the exiled women being taken from their children. Before being exiled, these women had families and now mourn their loss by becoming fearsome and beautiful war-maidens who strategize battles, their sole focus being to conquer the undying lands and return to the children they have lost. This opens an opportunity for a civilization built entirely by women that is not only self-sufficient, but also inpenetrable to incoming attacks. This fortress opens its walls to the public for its harvest festivals that include a plentiful harvest and a plethora of fish and meats and cheeses, with ever-flowing wines and ales, dancing and courting, the celebration of new mothers, and the sacrificing of young men lured into the glamor of the festivities.

These suggestions I have compiled reframe Derketo to furthur develop a deity who is worshipped as a conquerer and life-giver as opposed to her previous depiction as a woman who was given false independence through her sexuality. This eliminates her use as an object for men and turns the tables slightly to allow her following to use men as pawns while still remaining unobjectified. The religion of Derketo then becomes a celebration of all that women have to offer in addition to their sexuality: mothers, nurturers, warriors, farmers, providers and protectors. It is my hope that in the future, the worship of Derketo is not merely a sex exposition but an hommage to all women for their many attributes, because it is too often that women's representation in video games is diminished to their sexual appeal to men. Right now you have the opportunity to change the perspective of this deity's representation, and in turn your representation of all women. I only have 65 or so hours in the game, but I enjoy it and its new mechanics and features recently released... and that the women currently in the game have body hair. It would be a shame to be excluded from the target audience because men want more naked women to look at.

[Jiala]

Originally posted by A Good Dad Joke:

It's an all-too-common theme in so many video games and if a company has the opportunity to change that image slightly, I don't understand why people would be against it.

Its not so much that we're against it, its that it doesn't need to change because it doesn't matter in the slightest to us, and you're making a mountain out of a molehill here to use an old phrase. And to change it would simply be lore breaking for the sake of political correctness, a pointless cause.

This is fiction, this is a game. It doesn't affect real life. To claim otherwise pushes you into the 'video games cause violence' crowd from another angle.

And much like someone above posted, the sexualization is pretty equal in the game, theres an endowment slider for men and I can force men to wear skimpy sexual armors too. That Derketo priest outfit is just as revealing on a guy as it is a woman in the game.

[Erianthor]

Just some introduction...my favourite classes in many game titles are necromancers and the religion of Derketo with it's fertility-death theme appeals to me although I do not really think highly of the rituals and of her priests' ways. I much more prefer Mitra/Crom in this regard and I would find those two much more "moral" in a sense, even though I didn't bother checking the lore about them too much.
Secondly - I find many female characters in video-games rather hollow. Propbably my most favoured RPG character ever is Kreya (a.k.a Darth Traya) of KOTOR 2 and I really pity that we didn't get to see more of her and/or we were not blessed with more characters like her, at least in terms of...presentation, eh?
But finally, and most importantly...

GET YOUR DAMN CORRUPTING WAYS OUT OF THIS GREAT GAME!!!

There is no title, that I know of, which hasn't been RUINED by the constant meddling of SJWs wanting to "de-objectify" women et cetera! Your ideology ruins all fun, so please do NOT interfere this time.

I've clocked over 180 hours into this game already, bought EA version, Collector's edition+the DLC and plan on buying the Aquilonian DLC.
So it is one fan's word against another one's, eh?

EDIT: To add - I support your right to speak your mind and state you opinions and you right to make a game based on those viewpoints of yours. So please, if you want, make a game that will solve this problem you are having; and do not demand OTHER titles to change so that you and your sort of concerned people are satisfied...I am not saying this out of malevolence, I just want people other than you (like myself) to have fun, too. And I like the game as it is. Except for the bugs, that is!

[Dagungus]

If you are looking for Political discussion, Tumblr is that way. The Mods are not going to allow this topic to stay up.

[Lucien]

Hi, I'm looking for 3 mods.... Conan Sexiles, Shaved and Oiled and female only wheel of pain (max nudity).

Someone told me this was the thread to ask in.

[PopulationControl]

Moderator, please sanitize this thread out of existance.

[Rachelium]

Sexualisation aside, Conan provides the lady at the start with a weapon, she offers it back, she saves him from a monster chomping at his face. She isn't naked on an island playing damsel in distress... skimpy outfits aside, look at the quality of the character. As someone previously mentioned after me, the skimpy outfits are equal on the men and the women. This game is based on the world of Conan the Barbarian, BARBARIAN. I'm saying pick your battles bud as you'd think you'd acknowledge the positive steps of having endowment sliders on both the genders, it's not the women only. I'm against people crying about SJW stuff in games such as this as then where it's really needed, it isn't taken seriously.

[Rachelium]

If they wanna dress female characters skimpily, but have them be high quality powerful characters, I'd prefer that to the pathetic "Oh I'm kidnapped again come save me *giggles*" b.s of characters like Princess Peach. If the guys playing this wanna stare at some boobs, who cares man. Plus Hello there is a nudity option to have it turned off for the sake of the special snowflakes out there. The women in this are grown women, I'm more disturbed by the sexualisation of almost child looking females in other games man.