Skavara

Skavara 

The skavara are inhabitants of the binary star system of Amedo, travelling in large tribal groupings across the open plains of their home planet Ekharan by others. They rely on scent and pheromone-based communication and have complex interpersonal relationships based on these senses. They have good eyesight, but limited ability to communicate orally, creating what should be an impossible barrier for communication with Humans, especially when undertaking complex trade negotiations. Skavara have a sense of smell to rival that of an African Pouch Rat or a Bloodhound, able to detect minute changes in human stress chemicals. This sense of smell is the hidden genius of Skavaran society. For a skavara, the world is one comprised of an endless set of complex smells, each one telling a unique and individual story. The skavara do not care what you look like, how you sound or how you feel, but an angry Skavara will scream through its scent glands and pheromones at everyone in its vicinity, blinding and confusing its opponents.

The open plains of Ekharan throng with skavara tribal groups, following the seasonal changes allowing them to survive a sometimes harsh environment. Skavara can walk and even run great distances, travelling together in large family units. Food is scarce on the open plains, and the skavara, as a result, are scavengers of incredible skill, finding kills days old with their sense of smell.

Society

For skavara each encounter is a chance to negotiate, each individual will position for dominance within the interaction, ignoring all past interactions.  Skavaran society is fluid; the relative status of an individual is continuously re-evaluated depending on the latest success, kill find or trade deal undertaken by each of them.  To an outsider, Skavaran Society is confusing and chaotic as the leader of a tribal group changes on an almost daily basis.  Human attempts to find order in this chaos have almost been universally unsuccessful, the inability of humans to understand this hierarchy has led to significant confusion in relation to trade deals and land agreements on Ekharan.  

A tribal group within Skavaran Society is a loosely coupled unit; individuals within the group will happily move into other groups, using scent markings to commit to the new tribal unit.  Relationships are established quickly, skavara are loyal in the moment, like the Ronin of old their loyalty is absolute to the tribal unit as long as they are a member of it.  Fostering of pups by Skavaran families is commonplace, the idea of a single parental figure or even tribal unit is unheard of, pups and younglings are traded amongst tribal units when they encounter each other.  

Skavara do not value violence as a standard way of resolving conflicts. However, they will happily engage in combat if it serves a purpose.  They are not pacifists, nor are they inherently driven to physical conflict.  They prefer to negotiate their way around an issue.

Skavaran technology was originally dark ages level. Spears, Swords and Bows making up the standard weapons of the culture.  However regular encounters with the Human colonists of Amedo have given Skavara access to a plethora of advanced technologies, which they have adopted with gusto.  It is not uncommon to find a skavaran tribe carrying a motley collection of modern firearms and iron swords.  

Beliefs

The skavara follow the wind, the sky and the winking eye of god. The Eye of Ekharan, occludes the secondary sun in their binary system, the wind carries the scents of the finest kills and the sky sits overhead every day. These gods are immutable and far too high to be bothered with the day to day concerns of individual skavara, instead, the Skavara follow predator based totems.

The large predators whose kills the Skavara harvest have a significant spiritual dimension. A skavaran will follow the correct rituals before approaching the kill, thanking the predator for its efforts before taking a just amount of the food.  A skavaran knows that each kill find is critical for its wellbeing and that of the tribe and so it gives thanks.  The same logic applies to the skavaran love of the deal.  For a skvaran a good deal is a beautiful thing, granted to them by the spirits of the hunt.  Skavara totems are based on the first kill they find, the predator who made the kill will mark them for life.  Upon returning to the tribe with the kill, a skavara will be taken away by followers of its totem and taught the totem’s sacred rituals.  

Human Interactions

For skavara, humans make perfect trading partners, they are unable to mask their scent and tells, giving skavara an undue advantage in the making of a deal.  What annoys skavara is the human habit of just ignoring the terms of the deal and pretending it never happened.  To a skavara once sealed a deal is a sacred thing and a human’s willingness to ignore that is unacceptable.  However, despite this fundamental misunderstanding skavara continue to make deals, trading goods and services for access to greater wealth and physical baubles to one day attract a mate.  Skavara are more technically savvy than either the Nekatra or the Ekilibri working in more technically complex roles than either of the other semi-intelligences. 

Totems

For Skavaran characters, Totem replaces Icons for the purposes of talents.  The following totems are available for use by a skarvaran player:

• The Burrower: An ambush predator who always strikes from below, attacking their prey and leaving the choicest bits for others to eat. Yournegoations will be full of hidden clauses.
• The Stalker:  A hunter who is stealthy and stalks its prey, slowly approaching them from the shadows and striking quickly to kill in the last moment.  Your negotiations will place an emphasis on one last surprise.
• The Runner:  A hunter who is in it for the long haul, running down its prey and tiring them out until they finally expire.  Your negotiations will be long, an endurance test.
• The Wounder:  This hunter aims to strike quickly and cause a would which slowly kills its prey.  You will use hidden clauses and arrangements to win the prize
• The Scavenger:  A pack hunter, reliant on the strength of others, who steals the kill of others by making the final strike after all the work is done.  You will try and take over others' almost completed deals.
• Apex Predator:  The lord of hunters and the killer of all, slow and powerful who hunts only the largest of prey.  Your deals will be ambitious and significant, but also transparent and readily understood.