I suggest adding a few more tidbits of information to help roleplayers researching lore in the game:

Names

Matis names are much like latin names. With personal names like Liccio, Sergio, Lini, and Chiaro one might think they were in the Mediterranean rather than a world-sized tree. Family names also ring with a latin flavor; Chialdo, Chiacco, Antori, Lildo, and Sinia are a few examples.

Housing, crafting, and general lifestyle of the Matis may bring up visions of elves. Their height and fair skin contribute, and their attitude is very similar to haughty elves. They don't have pointy ears, nor are they highly inclined toward magic (though they are quite capable with it, as they are in all of their endeavors), but a definite elven flavor exists among them.

On the names, I would rather say it is Italian than Latin, Latin names mostly ended in -a, -us or a stem that ended in a consonant (and males usually had three names, distinguishing them by a personal name, their clan name and family name), eg Quintus Horatius Flaccus (masc name) or Cornelia Cinna (fem name). Another reason why I say Italian rather than Latin, is because classical Latin pronunciation didnt really have the [ʃ] and [tʃ] sounds in it where Italian is rife with these sounds. Nonetheless, it is a good observation, but remember we're talking about the game here, so mentions within the page should relate to that. Though it is never a bad idea to have a trivia or RL related section explaining and pointing out real world instances and/or inspirations for such things. An example of such a trivia section would be M.O.X page on GW wiki. Also check the Mateis page if you havent already :)

Ok now, for the elves references, Im guessing they can be reminiscent to elves, but we already stated that they are more tech inclined than elves and then dont have pointy ears, also in most of the books Ive read elves are usually described as fair and not as pale as vamps :P At most the Matis archetype mightve been based on the elven archetype, but there are as many similarities as there are differences. At the very least the Matis might be a reference to traditional Tolkien Elves, but I dont think there are any strong enough or concrete connections or references that it warrants explicit mentioning.

Anyway, these are just my opinions :) its probably been mentioned a million times before, but i'll just say it here too, this isnt our wiki, this is everyone's. If you feel something needs adding just add it and we'll all help trim it, jumble it about or just let grow from there :) --Deadelf 17:06, 7 November 2010 (UTC)

PS. dont forget to sign your comments with ~~~~

Elfy is right; Matis names are definitely Italian. In fact, Fyros names are the ones that are more Latin-sounding, though with a bit of Greek in too.

As for adding a pointer about Matis names to the page as a help for roleplayers making their first Matis character, I think it's a great idea, go for it :)

But as for comparing them to elves, I'd have to fight you to the death on that. As someone who plays a Matis, I find them only superficially like elves and not at all once you get a bit deeper. I'll not get into detailed argument but sufficient to say that "Matis are like elves" is not something we can all agree on and thus not something we want to teach a new roleplayer, let them read the actual Matis lore and make their own decision whether they think Matis are just like elves. (I also have a friend who thinks Matis aren't like elves but Tryker are just like halflings, whereas I find as many differences as similarities in that comparison too, just saying, it depends a lot on what you personally see in them.)

Sidusar 01:58, 8 November 2010 (UTC)

Actually, here's a good example - a lot of RPG settings have some kind of nature vs technology theme. Elves vs dwarves traditionally. In FE it's Vistas vs Techs. In Ryzom it's represented in the Kami vs Karavan.

Elves are almost always solidly on the nature side. Many Ryzom newbies (and oldies who just never get into the lore) assume Matis to also be on the nature side. They live in trees! But get a bit deeper into it, and you see the Matis actually fill the role of the dangerously crazy & unethical scientists on Atys.

It's just that technology on Atys looks like trees instead of machines. Sidusar 05:32, 16 November 2010 (UTC)