People and peoples is a term which is used in Imperial languages to convey a very particular concept in as fair and respectful a manner as possible. There are a great many different peoples in the world. Each one the product of their biology, culture, and environment. Often times there is great tension between desperate peoples due to fundamental differences in biological needs and social wants. The term peoples was born out of the imperial study of these groups as a tool to help unify them through common understanding.

What are Peoples?

The term race is a thorny one, rooted in ancient ideologies relating to superiority and inferiority. Even if one believes there are superior members of a race, they must acknowledge that when there is different underlying biology between one person and another that attempting to ascertain an overall superior or inferior status is foolish. Of course an amphibious person will swim better than a terrestrial one. Such is the nature of biology. Equally true is the fact that the ability to breath underwater is largely irrelevant to the life a terrestrial person. Thus, the term race is unsuited for use when comparing different species, whether or not one believes in its concepts.

Much like race, the term species is unsuitable for classifying groups of intelligent lifeforms. The definitive trait of intelligent life is the creation of culture. When one refers to a species, they are implying that all of that species, everywhere, is exactly the same. While there is an example of cultural homogeneity known to the Imperium, the vast majority of intelligent species posses many different cultures. Cultures change, drift, split, and merge as time passes, and each defines a group of intelligent lifeforms at a particular place and a particular time. Ignoring culture when discussing intelligent lifeforms is foolish.

For those reasons, Imperial languages use the term "Peoples" to refer to any discrete group of an intelligent species capable of creating art, making and using tools, and possessing verbal and/or non-verbal communication between one another. Both biology and culture must be represented when discussing any such group or one will fail to understand that group.

How do we Summarize Peoples?

The Ordos Scholortoria recognizes the cold and clinical nature of its work when summarizing people. We also recognize that many individuals will find these summations insulting. We assure you this work is done scientifically, and intended only to be used as a general primer. We summarize peoples descriptively and as broadly as possible. There are plenty of examples of people who act nothing like what we have described. Such is the nature of a person.

Yet, if one is to understand a group they know little to nothing about, one must start somewhere. Better to turn to a simplistic scholarly work than for each individual to turn to whatever stereotypes and popular elements of culture they know of that group. In short, our summarizations are starting points on the journey to knowledge rather than the goalposts.

What is Included in a Summery?

A standard Imperial People Summery Document includes the following elements:

1. Two images of the people in question, rendered in oil on waxed canvas.
   1. Provides a visual understanding of the People's biology.
   2. Used to capture sexual dimorphism or other notable disparate appearances.
2. A general summary of a people's history and/or importance to their home region.
   1. Very short, and very broad.
   2. Unsuited for more than contextualizing a group's communal behaviors.
   3. Occasionally used to convey key information which does not fit elsewhere.
3. A brief summary of the common behaviors seen within individuals of the people in question.
   1. All species have certain common behaviors expressed at the individual scale.
   2. These behaviors are present in at least 90% of the people in question.
4. A text description of the people's appearance and general biology.
   1. Includes quirks of biology that most of the people consider definitive.
   2. Includes anatomical or neurological details that other peoples consider definitive.
5. A general summary of the sociological relationships between the people as a whole and other peoples they routinely interact with.
   1. Intended to frame the group behaviors of the people in a broader context.
6. Notable traits commonly found within settlements created or primarily lived in by the people.
   1. General psychological trends relating to socialization can be easily found through how a people arranges their environment.
7. The general moral and ethical alignment of the people as a whole.
   1. Broadbrush statements relating to the vast majority of the people's members.
   2. Exceptions to these statements will always exist.
8. Any aditional information key to understanding the people which desrves its own category and cannot be explained in a sentence or two in the people's overview.
9. A general assessment of the average person's physical capabilities.