Today’s Asura article comes from an update to the Asura race page on the official site, introducing some new wallpapers and an awesome tour video of Rata Sum, their home city. We also have another treat from VG24/7 with an interview with Ree Soesbee and Jeff Grubb talking a bit more about the Asura.

Browsing through the main page update I noticed a peculiar thing, when the Great Destroyer, a minion of the Elder Dragon Primordus awoke and started to wreak havoc, he used the Asura own technology, the Asura gates against them and it spread out its minions and drove the Asura upwards, out to the surface. What makes you great can also be your downfall.

Driven to the surface, they squatted in an ancient ruin and over time though sheer determination and resourcefulness, they built Rata Sum. Rata Sum is a giant floating city in the shape of a cube and it really reflects the ingenuity of the Asuran race.

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Asura week continues as Writer, Angel McCoy takes some time to let us know what it is like writing the Asura.

Since the Asura are very intelligent, the writers can take certain liberties when crafting their vocabulary such as, combining words, making up words or using existing words in strange and unique ways. The dialogue they create gives off that smarty-pants vibe.

Techno Babble

The Asura show off their genius whenever they get the chance, even going as far as exaggerating their accomplishments. In the book Edge of Destiny, Caithe noticed that Snaff would always exaggerate the story of how they gone about defeating minions of the Elder Dragons.

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Asura week begins with a blog post from Matt Barrett, an artist at Arena Net who spearheaded the design of the short and very intelligent Asura race.

To my surprise the initial designs the Asura, were that they were supposed to be a goblin like race that were mischievous scavengers that operated outside the skirts of society utilizing the more intelligent races’ technology wherever they could find it; a complete 180 of what they are today.

To add insult to injury the initial design reminded me a lot of Smeagle from Lord of the Rings, he has the very primitive look about him with cloth only covering the important bits with spoons and folks being used as ornaments in a necklace, prompting me to read the next few lines with his voice in my head. I’m sure the Asura wouldn’t approve of this paragraph.

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