Skathári

Easily the most primitive of the pace-bound races, the hulking, insectoid skathári are at best reluctant participants in the galactic community, and at worst, isolated Luddite tribes. They have spread further than dwarves  and elves, occupying as many planets as humans; despite this, it's rare to catch sight of a skathári on a Hearthstation, spaceport, or maw, and it's even rarer to strike up a conversation with one.

Basic Information

Anatomy

They have six limbs--four legs and two arms--each of them thin, lined with spins, and ending in a quartet of small hooked claws, suitable for deterring predators or climbing sheer cliff faces. Their bodies stand mostly upright, centered in a wide squat above their four legs. Their chitinous shells can be a myriad of colors, from jet black, to speckled yellow, to s scintillating emerald green. On their backs, usually folded beneath their shells, they conceal a pair of broad, membranous wings, used to glide short distances. Some skathári have stronger wings that allow them short bursts of flight, but most are too heavy to remain airborne for long. A skathári's face appears small, framed by its hulking, hunched shell. Its iridescent compound eyes, mandible-lined mouth, and feathery antennae complete its alien appearance.

Biological Traits

Skathári reach maturity around 15 years of age.

Ecology and Habitats

The inhospitable conditions of skathári worlds don't bother them in the least. Their ability to comfortably survive in extreme temperatures, thin or poisonous atmospheres, and rough terrain allow them to thrive, just as they did on their home planet. If there was a way to survive on any planet, skathári find it and adapt.
Though most skathári are loath to ride in spacecraft for any reason, a few grin and bear it (generally clinging to the floor for the duration of the flight). Commonly, traveling skathári try to ignore most technology, and even pretend constructs, including vect, simply aren't there. And with these occasional hops across the inky blackness of space, skathári have steadily expanded on the margins of the galaxy.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

A skathári has a given name, usually passed down from a prominent ancestor. Throughout their lives, skathári also accumulate titles based on their deeds and accomplishments, which they append at the end of their names as honorifics. The oldest and most well-respected skathári typically have gathered a long list which must be recited to greet them with respect.
Skathári Names. Bmarks, Drikt, Fraxas, Ruzkor, Skrath, Turur, Xast, Xebraks
Skathári Titles. Bearer of Scars, Dragon-Slayer, Far-Glider, Faster than the Rest, Lifter of Boulders, Master of Swords, Rider of Beasts, Spear-Thrower, Wood-Carver

Major Language Groups and Dialects

Speak, read, and write Common and Skathári. 
Skathári is a choppy, syllabic language that uses many idioms and metaphors. This carries into other languages a skathári might speak; therefore, speaking to a skathári in any language is often a chore if one doesn't know much about skathári culture.

Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals

Sometimes, a skathári might abandon their tribe for a life of adventure. In rare cases, this course of action comes from an uncharacteristic case of wanderlust or a longing for excitement. More often than not, however, a skathári takes up adventuring involuntarily, after being exiled or otherwise separated from their tribe.

Common Taboos

A strict set of rules and customs governs skathári society and guide their everyday lives. Though traditions vary, each skathári tribe holds two or more taboos, that, when broken, are grounds for severe punishment, including exile from the tribe.
The only universal taboo held by skathári is a deep and unabiding mistrust of all technology, both magical and nonmagical. Many skathári warriors would fight unarmed with their claws and mandibles, rather than raise a blaster or laser sword in their defense. Even technology as simple as windmills earns their ire. This taboo seems to stem from a general skathári skepticism of anything too complicated to understand at a glance, and extends to most forms of magic. Skathári especially regard conjuration, illusion, and enchantment magic as they do most technology: with skepticism and occasional fear.
Since the skathári joined the galactic community, exceptions to this taboo have been made out of necessity: journeys on spacefaring vessels are tolerated, as long as they are no longer than necessary, and some skathári will wield blasters in dire straits. Generally, however, the skathári place their trust in straightforward things, like the strength of their tribes and the heft of their clubs.

History

When a dwarven mining expedition set foot on the mountainous, inhospitable world of Kopriá, they expected to find rich veins of adamantine ore, and if they were extremely fortunate, a small Roach population to sell on the side. To their utter delight, they found both, along with a third surprise, the skathári: a sprawling population of hardy insectoid creatures, rugged enough to bear the planet's harsh gravity, sulfurous atmosphere, and rocky soil. The stout insectoids impressed the dwarven visitors, who marveled over their durability and brawn, along with their uncanny regenerative abilities.
Enterprising as ever, the dwarves offered the tribe a deal: for a year's supply of food, they could leave their planet and work in a dwarven mining operation. At the year's end, they would return with another year's supply of food for their families. Most skathári were skeptical of the offer, but a few were intrigued enough by the prospect to volunteer.
On the equally harsh dwarven mining world, the skathári made stout, hard workers, exemplary at moving rocks and scaling cliff sides, but refused to make use of any technology. Dwarven engineers made many attempts to teach them how to use simple devices, such as plasma cutters and thermal lances, but to no lasting avail. Most skathári resorted to crafting clubs to chisel away at ore, or simply bashed rocks together.
After a long year of poor yields and frustrated dwarven miners, the dwarves armed a scrap golem (retrofitted for mining) to collect their itinerant skathári workers. But when they arrived, the skathári were missing, having fled into the barren mountains. The dwarves convinced themselves that the skathári workers would eventually starve or freeze to death on the barren world, and that they need not concern themselves with correcting their mistake, but to their surprise and grievance, the skathári were there to stay. This was the first of many harsh, nearly lifeless worlds to become a skathári home.

Lifespan

150 years

Average Height

6 to 7 feet

Average Weight

200 pounds

Average Length

Medium