Skathári

Skathári

The Dwarven Bargain

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 needn't 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.

Rugged Existence

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 is 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 that 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.

Anti-social Arthropods

Easily the most primitive of the space-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.