 November 19, 2007 - 7:48pm | I have always preferred a simple campaign... So I enjoy the simplicity of the Sathar and their pure evil. I don't have Zebulon's, but I have read it. I like the new equipment and skills, but I am not too hot on the new races and certainly DO NOT like the way that the Second Sathar War came out, so I have taken a somewhat different path. Anyway - some thoughts about the Sathar. After the capture of the obsolescent Assault Carrier by heroic Boarding Party actions of a joint UPF/Clarion Militia operation, research has revealed some fascinating details of the Frontier's great nemesis: The Sathar. The Sathar are an ancient race, somewhat older even than the Yazirians. There was no contact with anyone, no Cliks or Klooks or anything else. Their history, much like Earth's, has been one of extreme violence. However, tragically, any Sathar clans that renounced violence or anything other than development of the Universal Empire were annhilliated by the clans which now rule it. The remnants of these ancestors are mere lower caste slaves. The Empire is divided into three distinct castes: Upper 1% of the Sathar population are the ruling caste. They, linked now to a Supercomputer, make all of the decisions in the Empire. Their control is total - from the Middle Castes by will, and the Lower Castes by force. The key biological trait of Sathar are their vast reproductive rate: an average female can have 10 to 20 offspring. In the struggles for power through the centuries, the Sathar have become thoroughly brutalized, and life means very, very little to them. Alien life means absolutely nothing to them (more on this later). To maintain their grasp on power, the Upper Caste grants great privileges and opportunities for the Middle Caste Sathar, which are about 9% - 15% of the population, as determined by the Upper Castes and the SuperComputer. The vagaries of disease and battle necessitate a flexibility towards the maintenance of a solid Middle Caste. Middle Caste Sathar perform all technical duties in the Empire. All of the scientists, administrators, military officers, and ship crews are populated by Middle Caste Sathar. They are not subjected to the same amount of mental and chemical interference as the Lower Caste Sathar. Plus, they are driven through centuries of conditioning that their place in the Empire is vital and they must perform it until death. Lower Caste Sathar are a sad bunch. They are the vast majority of the 30 Billion Sathar population. Everything is strictly controlled by the Upper and Middle Castes. Reproduction is closely monitored, with all Lower Caste newborns taken for "Processing" at the numerous Processing Centers around the Empire. Not all newborns survive. All never see their parents again. From evidence gathered in the historical archives in the captured Sathar computer, all manual labor tasks are handled by these slave-Sathar. They come out of the Processing Centers totally brain-washed. This then gets reinforced by culture, brutalization, propaganda, subliminal messages, and drugs. Newly processed Lower Caste Sathar are delivered into Labor Units. Raw labor backs up machines and robots to construct and maintain the infrastructure necessary to create and maintain an interstellar Empire. Some Labor Units are taught simple skills with certain machinery. Many millions are drafted into the Army, to be used in wave attacks. They are given laser rifles, a clip or two, and are sent charging into battle. Lower Caste foot soldiers are totally expendable. Their Middle Caste officers attack accordingly. Lower Caste Sathar are little better than cattle. Their slaughter is sometimes regarded by the Upper Castes and the Supercomputer as positive population control! The only thing lower than a Lower Caste Sathar is an alien. All aliens are viewed in one of two ways - either they are primitive, and thus will be used as slaves, or they are advanced, and must be killed. There is no negotiation. Slaves are taken and put into the most dangerous work - usually the mining of radioactive materials. Others grow the insects that the Sathar use as food on huge biofarms. Leadership, soldiers, scientists, and anyone else in the captured society that might be a threat are all killed. In their explorations, the Sathar have only encountered the Frontier as a society with improved technology to their own, and only slightly. Plus, the Sathar have superior Astrogational ability, as they have been able to mask their comings and goings through the Void to attack UPF planets. They feel that the Frontier is just an obstacle to their continued expansion. Hydrogen and Neutron bombs are all that await for the Federation Planets. H-bombs on cities, and Neutron bombs near valuable resources so they can be later exploited. That is the model from the First Sathar War and Sathar goals in terms of the Frontier remain the same. Total destruction. The Sathar worship a war god which is used to give the Middle Caste and Upper Caste Sathar a sense of purpose. The war god also is used to convey messages to the Lower Caste, who are so brain washed and drugged out that they completely obey, believing that their great God is commanding them. The message of their God is very simple - Conquer the Universe! The Clan X and Clan Y rivalry is very real. In the old days, these two super-clans were the two coalitions that came out on top of the centuries of warfare on the Sathar home planet. With the help of the Supercomputer, these two senior clans developed a universal Empire to govern their race, with a negotiated power-sharing agreement. The Supercomputer was constructed by both Sathar clans to help negotiate the final power-sharing agreement. This enlightened moment allowed a settlement of the Great Wars. The Upper Castes of Clan X and Y then put in place their system for collective scientific, industrial, and military power. Upper Castes Command (aided by the SuperComputer, not influenced by Clan loyalties or rivalries). Middle Castes execute the commands of the Upper Caste. Lower Caste Sathar obey. My campaign takes place between the two wars, so that lets us dodge a lot of the weird stuff in Zeb's. Four PC races is enough for me. Plus I like to throw in the Memhne (sp?) and the Eorna because those guys are pretty cool - but only as NPC races. I think this Sathar template is a decent base upon which to build, and I can always have various UPF research "breakthroughs" reveal information about the Sathar as I figure it all out. My dream is to have some sort of Final Campaign that includes the invasion and destruction of the Sathar Empire... |
November 19, 2007 - 7:49pm | The
Sathar have pretty much genetically "maxed-out" themselves. That is to
say, they do not really benefit any more from improvements to their DNA
and genome. They continue to try on Lower Caste Sathar, but every
attempt has led to horrible deaths among the wretches taken for these
gruesome experiments. However, as anyone who has played this game knows - the Sathar have done VERY well in the manipulation of OTHER species DNA. Hence, you have such legendary monsters as Cybodragons, QuickDeaths, Slithers, and many other nasty critters. They are subject to diseases as any other species is. In fact, they are rather more susceptible than others. Again, this is not really viewed as a *bad* thing, as long as Middle and Upper Caste Sathar have the best medical care possible. Old age among Lower Caste Sathar does not happen. When they lose about 20-30% efficiency due to older age, they are killed by the State. Only Middle Caste and Upper Caste Sathar have the priviledge of long, natural life and death. |
November 19, 2007 - 7:49pm | more on the Castes... Lower Caste Sathar are strictly grunts - maybe some experienced survivors are promoted to Corporal. Of course, in Sathar society place in the military is identical to place outside the military so their crappy rank would serve to mirror their crappy status in general. Totally expendable. Middle Caste Sathar are the senior noncoms and officers except the Captaincy and Admiralty. All starship Captains, Generals, and Admirals are Upper Caste Sathar. The Middle Caste are toadies, but they have a great deal of pride due to their programming, brutalization, training, religion and culture. Service to the Empire is very much "in their blood" and they serve proudly until death. The Upper Caste Sathar give the Middle Caste many privileges and opportunities. They do their best to keep the Middle Castes happy, which only increases their already fantatical loyalty. Thus, the Middle Castes get the Imperial indocrinations from the same brainwashing and drugs as the Lower Castes, but then they get it from a whole ADDITIONAL direction in terms of the pride that they feel for their status within the Empire! The Upper Caste does an all out assault on their minds (positive and negative forces in play) to assure their loyalty. They are totally locked in. But, of course, the Middle Castes have a "glass ceiling" which they totally accept as "the way it is". There are plenty of Middle Caste First Officers in the Sathar Fleet, for example - but never a Captain, and there never will be. But again, this is compensated by the mega-high status that a Sathar gets in society for even being the lowest crewmember on a Sathar vessel! (Every single crewmember on a Sathar ship is at least Middle Caste - these hugely expensive tools of the Empire are not to be entrusted to Lower Caste morons!) Once again this is mirrored in the civilian sector. Middle Caste Senior Researcher? Sure - after many years of dedicated work. But Middle Caste Research Director? NEVER. Middle Caste Labor Overseer? - always. Middle Caste member of the Supreme Industrial Council? Not even close. This is, of course, totally accepted without question by all Sathar that survive Processing. The vast vast majority of Middle and Upper Caste Sathar have no problem with Processing. I don't know if I am fully with you on everything coming "from the bottom" with the Upper and Middle Castes. I prefer to look at them as the willing exploiters of the underclasses, combined with the other brainwashing forces to make them ruthless tools of the State. I would imagine that the Upper and Middle Castes maintain the old traditions and customs of the Sathar culture prior to the Unification by the SuperComputer. Therefore, many of the natural mating rituals and family units and stuff like that would probably be preserved in at least some form for the Upper and Middle castes. The X and Y mega-clan rivalry I think requires a separate track for the Upper and Middle Caste Sathar. I don't think an Upper or Middle Caste Sathar, for example, would want to be found dead in a Lower Caste Processing Center, unless he was dropping the Lower Caste Larvals into the chemical vats (Middle Caste work only!). They have special schools, medicinal and biomechanical enhancements, high-speed weapons and equipment all waiting for them in their chosen role for the State. Upper Caste Sathar even have something of a choice (imagine that!!) when it comes to the paths that their lives take. |
November 19, 2007 - 7:50pm | In
other words, the Sathar are beings that, to a great extent, make a FREE
CHOICE (at least on the Middle and Upper Caste levels) to behave in
their ruthless and murderous manner. The "system" serves to solidify
and reinforce this free choice. The SuperComputer is actually NOT some Tron-like control mechanism. The purpose of the SuperComputer is to arbitrate between the Upper Castes of Clan X and Y who emerged from the Great Wars on top. The SuperComputer acts as an impartial player in Sathar politics. It makes decisions and recommendations without Clan prejudice. The primary role of the SuperComputer is the selection of the Magistrates and Military Commands. The SuperComputer maintains a sort of "affirmative action" system which always strikes a balance between the numbers of senior government posts doled out between the two clans. The SuperComputer gives policy advice as well. However, this advice is neither perfect nor always followed by the Sathar Supreme Council (kind of a Politburo along Soviet lines). Advice and policy is of secondary importance to the SuperComputer - arbitrating neutrally between Clans X and Y is its main function. The key here is to understand the roots of the emergent Sathar state from the Great Wars. Clans X and Y seized total power. Through this total power, they were able to preserve their own culture and traditions. There are, essentially, two different Sathar species. There are the Lower Castes, and everyone else. The Lower Castes live in a miserable drugged-out, brain washed dream world. The Middle and Upper Castes are the "real" Sathar. They have remained essentially the same since before the Unification. Rebellion among the Middle Caste is prevented in many ways. First of all, Sathar are naturally submissive and fit into their role. Culture is a very powerful force here. Tradition is another. Religion is another loyalty-engendering force. Then you have the privledges, honors, and benefits that the Upper Caste maintains for the Middle. The SuperComputer keeps the Upper Caste honest - it assures that all of the goodies are delivered to the Middle Caste. If all of that stuff fails then you have the drugs, brain washing and propaganda. Any remnant of rebelliousness after all of that is hunted down and killed by the secret police. Think of a giant Nazi-like State. During the Nazi period in Germany there was a VERY compliant middle class who served the State. Take that and project it out massively and you get the Sathar Empire. If you draw away a thousand curtains and layers of authority you get to the inner sanctum of Sathar power. Here is where the top Sathar from Clans X and Y vie with each other and the SuperComputer for the top Offices and Military Commands in the Empire. Vast numbers of Councils and Boards dominate all aspects of Sathar society, military and economy. The SuperComputer watches for cheating and maintains a power balance between the two Clans - who would go right back to war again without this neutral arbiter. In terms of the cyclical approach of the Sathar invasions, I think this could just be a the completion of a buildup phase. In other words, the Sathar take the time to pile up all of the necessary bells and whistles to their military campaigns before they launch them. I understand your population growth angle, and I appreciate it. However, don't you think such an authoritarian and controlled State would manage the population situation well enough? After all, any excess Lower Castes can always be sent charging into enemy Heavy Lasers, or worked to death in uranium mines. Rather than looking at Sathar invasions as these kind of spasmodic events, I would prefer to see them as part of their master plan. |
November 19, 2007 - 7:52pm | The
SuperComputer was built by both Clan X and Clan Y technicians and is
maintained equally by both clans. Like everything else important in the
Sathar State, Clan X and Y Upper Castes divide responsibilities for the
SuperComputer as evenly as possible. Incidentally, this is one of their great weaknesses, and they know it. There are NO exceptions in Imperial appointments. If there are more talented Clan X Upper and/or Middle Castes for a particular task and the "numbers" - or balance between clan employment - calls for Clan Y appointments then Clan Y Sathar MUST be selected, regardless of their ability. Many Sathar projects and campaigns fall foul of this problem. Nevertheless, because the Sathar believe that they are destined to conquer the galaxy, and that ultimate victory is assured, then they tolerate this inefficiency and work around it as best they can. Better deal with it then have any kind of "creeping dominance" in ANY positions within the vast State apparatus by one clan or the other. When something is not able to be split 50-50 between the two Clans, then the SuperComputer arbitrates. Otherwise it conducts analysis and gives advice to the Supreme Council. It also provides research and intelligence benefits (helping to break UPF codes, for example). There is some horsetrading at the very top, but the Sathar tend to make Imperial Policy decisions relatively rapidly, and then deal with the consequences later. There is some "elasticity" in the system to not allow a critical weakness in the Empire because of the Clan problem. But those kinds of decisions are incredibly rare (treating an outbreak of plague might be an example), as they would have to be of the direst nature for the Sathar to break the 50-50 pattern. The SuperComputer would be virtually impossible to destroy since it is made up of billions of NanoWeb transmitters throughout the Empire. To destroy it, you might as well just kill all the Sathar themselves. It cannot be knocked out physically. Can it be hacked? Well, consider this computer system the most heavily secured in the galaxy. It could be done, perhaps, but for how long and to what purpose? It is monitored by thousands of dedicated Middle and Upper Caste technicians constantly watching it for threats. Again, the SuperComputer does not rule. It arbitrates. Hacking it would certainly reveal tons of juicy intelligence info - no doubt. It might be worth it to try just for that. But it cannot "take over" all of the Sathar communication and command systems. You could not take it over and order Sathar Heavy Cruisers to ram each other or blow themselves up. It's not designed to do that. Maybe hack the SuperComputer and then try to hack the C2 computers? Ok, go for it. But I think that would be as difficult as hacking the UPF SpaceFleet computer command system - TWICE. Could the SuperComputer wind up being the Sathar's Achilles Heel? Sounds like a good module to include in the Final Clash as the UPF invades the Sathar Empire to finish them once and for all. But for now, it is a critical component in keeping the peace between the Top Upper Castes (Elders? - ok, sounds good) of Clans X and Y. In terms of warring every so often, the Sathar are always at it in terms of conquest. However, their spanking by Morgaine's Fleet at Prenglar stung them really badly. Like a bratty little kid finally getting his first ass-whoopin' - they were deeply affected by what was their first major tactical and strategic defeat in Starship combat. They freaked out - at least at the top. But when they calmed down and picked up the pieces they dusted themselves off and proceeded to put together a huge bad-ass fleet. 8 Heavy Crusiers, 8 Light Cruisers, 15 Destroyers? Damn! Plus the Frigates, Fighters and Carriers. Devastating. Firepower like that takes years to build. Also, the Sathar are plenty busy with terror operations and intelligence gathering. They are ALWAYS out there - among the citizens of the Frontier... |
November 19, 2007 - 7:52pm |
I think religion is a HUGE component of the Sathar Empire. Great way to
keep the Castes in line, when combined with drugs, brainwashing,
propaganda, brutality and Processing during the formative years. The reason that you think religion is disgusting, Aethulwullfe, is exactly WHY I use it for the Sathar! What better enemy for the PCs to fight than a warped church? What more incentive to strike back with furious vengeance than a group of evil beings that believe God told them to kill you and everyone on your planet. Because that is kinda what the Sathar are... a warped church of the sickest fanatics. |
 November 20, 2007 - 5:49pm | Have you looked over SFKH3 "Face of the Enemy"? Clan X is in charge, Clan Y has been dishonored and desperate to reestablish its influence in Sathar affairs. |
November 23, 2007 - 11:12am | I think it's a little deeper than that, Larry. In their kind of society, it would seem to me that if Clan X really got the jump on Clan Y, they would just eliminate them completely. But, "that's what the module says..." Once again, the "canon" is all over the place. This is part of the annoying contradiction amid all of the material out there. Art's view is even more different than mine. He has no clans, a tiny elite of secretive Elders, and a mass produced, bio-engineered generation of Lower Caste Sathar. No Middle Caste at all. And the Elders murder the generation of Lower Caste when (or if) their mission is complete. So there is an example of another ref who just go fed up with the canon contradictions and went off on his own - in this case throwing off all of the cobwebs of the material. As much as I have a different view, I respect that. |
 November 23, 2007 - 4:07pm | By the way IL ... this is very good and thorough work you have done with your description of the Sathar ... kudos! For reasons I mentioned elsewhere, though, to me it seems to be just a little too limiting for a referee to make use of. Perhaps some sort of a balance could be reached? @}-,-`- "It is a joyful thing indeed to hold intimate converse with a man after one’s own heart, chatting without reserve about things of interest or the fleeting topics of the world; but such, alas, are few and far between." – Yoshida Kenko (1283-1350), [i]Tsurezure-Gusa (1340) |
November 27, 2007 - 10:00am | I posted all your stuff in the Documents. :-) |
November 27, 2007 - 1:43pm | Mycanid - I am a big believer in the "Salad Bar" style of reffing and background, especially in regards to the Sathar. Thanks for the kudos. Take what you want and leave the rest and fill in the holes yourself to suit your campaign. |
 November 27, 2007 - 2:41pm | I posted all your stuff in the Documents. If this is to be a viable project, inclusive of all possible interpretations regarding the Sathar, I think some kind of campaign information needs to be appended to these documents that acknowledge that this is homebrew material. For example, perhaps this take on the Sathar could be called "Sathar (Imperial Campaign)" named for the person who put it together... or, even better, perhaps it should be named for the underlying doctrine that holds the interpretation together and makes it unique. Hopefully, given time, more interpretations will come along and people who are looking for detailed reference documents regarding the Sathar will be able to easily access one that best suits the direction they'd like to move their campaigns. |
November 27, 2007 - 10:54pm | I posted all your stuff in the Documents. If this is to be a viable project, inclusive of all possible interpretations regarding the Sathar, I think some kind of campaign information needs to be appended to these documents that acknowledge that this is homebrew material. For example, perhaps this take on the Sathar could be called "Sathar (Imperial Campaign)" named for the person who put it together... or, even better, perhaps it should be named for the underlying doctrine that holds the interpretation together and makes it unique. Hopefully, given time, more interpretations will come along and people who are looking for detailed reference documents regarding the Sathar will be able to easily access one that best suits the direction they'd like to move their campaigns. Excellent suggestions. In fact, Imp's doc could be broken down farther as well. I'll get to that in the future. :-) |
November 29, 2007 - 3:03pm | I'm cool with the labelling. I'll take the Imperial Sathar with 3 castes and balanced Clans. |
 April 14, 2008 - 8:43am | I really like the detail and thought you have put into your concept on Sathar Society. In the campaigns I have run in the past I have taken another direction that I would like to share with the SF community. In the past I have maintained a deep veil of mystery around the Sathar, keeping all but their most obvious motivations very clandestin and "alien". I still fore-shadow or reference many of the commonly used reference materials/modules created for the SF universe about this race. However I adopted a concept often used in Hollywood that is used to make movie monsters more terrifying or suspenseful (if thats' really a word) by never revealing to much too quickly about the alien nemesis. I think one of the most terrifying attributes that made the whole "Aliens" movie franchise so compelling was that the true agenda. motivation, origins, etc. were never entirely ellaborated on in the films. While the Sathar are too complex a race to completely leave the players in the dark about their greater role in the SF universe however I always found that game play was far more interesting when players had to figure out what this nemesis was about and what their savage acts of conquests sought to accomplish. |
April 14, 2008 - 9:23am | I really like the detail and thought you have put into your concept on Sathar Society. In the campaigns I have run in the past I have taken another direction that I would like to share with the SF community. In the past I have maintained a deep veil of mystery around the Sathar, keeping all but their most obvious motivations very clandestin and "alien". I still fore-shadow or reference many of the commonly used reference materials/modules created for the SF universe about this race. However I adopted a concept often used in Hollywood that is used to make movie monsters more terrifying or suspenseful (if thats' really a word) by never revealing to much too quickly about the alien nemesis. I think one of the most terrifying attributes that made the whole "Aliens" movie franchise so compelling was that the true agenda. motivation, origins, etc. were never entirely ellaborated on in the films. While the Sathar are too complex a race to completely leave the players in the dark about their greater role in the SF universe however I always found that game play was far more interesting when players had to figure out what this nemesis was about and what their savage acts of conquests sought to accomplish. In order to build more Sathar campaigns I think it's good to have a balance between "total mystery" and "very well defined". Most scenarios present the Sathar as wanting to take over the UPF, nothing more. Perhaps a roughly defined background (as Imperial suggested) might pave the way for more adventures/campaigns? I really enjoyed reading (but have not played) The War Machine and the presentation that there was rival Sathar clan.  |
April 14, 2008 - 11:30am | AZ_Gamer - You are correct in wanting to maintain that mystery. But - I think many refs (and TSR themselves!) used this as an excuse not to answer the fundamental questions about the Sathar. From the perspective of a gaming campaign, mystery is great. But the question was posed : what are the Sathar all about? That is what this project intends to answer. Or at least provide elements for refs to pick from to form their own answer. |
April 15, 2008 - 7:34am | great comments, I agree with you and am very interested in seeing what more you guys come up with about the Sathar and their society. I am also interested in developing some new Sathar constructs. |
April 15, 2008 - 8:20am | Art (Aeuthelwullfe) has one at SF.com that is very different from anything here. In a very small nutshell, his idea is that there are only two castes - one Elder Caste and a teeming mass of Lower Castes. The Elders number only about 300,000 or so. They rule millions of the Lower Castes who are bred for particular missions and duties. If the missions get completed, they are all murdered. Those that are allowed to live (because of the nature of their duties) are totally brainwashed and controlled by the Elders. Or something like that... lol Check out the "Theory of Origins" thread for more details. Art and I debated the matter thoroughly and we basically agreed to disagree. Actually we agreed on the "Salad Bar" concept of the Sathar - in that refs need to blaze their own trail here. There is no "canon" Sathar: they were never completed by TSR. Some of the canon information, especially when you throw in magazine articles, is actually contradictory. |
April 16, 2008 - 3:04am | I do like the "salad bar" concept but it does help to have standard ingredients so that everyone can recognize whats on their plate even if their tastes or choices of dressing or spices are different. Ok, that was entirely too metaphorical..lol, I hope folks understand were talking about the Sathar and not Super Salad buffet...lol |
April 16, 2008 - 3:15am | I would like to know more about this concept of the top caste being linked to a super computer, was this a concept like a hive or the Borg collective (trying to get a grasp here by using some pop culture sci-fi references) or something like the machine world of the matrix (that could be an entirely unique scenario idea, getting stuck in a cyber-vr world created by the Sathar as a means of controlling the other races...hmmm...if you, the Sathar that is, cant beat em in a shooting war conquer them throught their own technology) But i digress. Would this caste system and inter connection with a super computer suggest that Sathar act as individuals who are unified by common interest/motivation, as part of a collective society, or both. If Sathar function as social independents it would be interesting to consider what it is that has encouraged them to form their society or act with the malcious evil that they are reknowned for. |
April 16, 2008 - 3:33am | Here's a conspiracy concept to consider, what if the Sathar super computer (I think it needs a name or acronymn at least) hacked the UPF network? Or if Sathar agents within the UPF had contributed to the design of the UPF systems and built back doors and control features into the UPF systems. (Much evil Sathar laughter or hissing or whatever it is that they do when sinisterly inspired and amused). Too elaborate of sabotage would be easliy found such as hacks to gain control of UPF ship systems or automated controls, but more subtle ones like data mining and intelligence gathering, maybe the occassional logic bomb or sabotage program, may go un detected for a while if it were stealthy or engineered into the system itself. |
April 16, 2008 - 5:59am | I'd like to know why there aren't any *good* Sathar defectors. We see UPF defectors for various reasons (pressure, we will kill your family if you don't do what we say, save my home world, money, greed, etc....) |
April 16, 2008 - 6:01am | Hey good point, I was going to ask it but had already posted alot. Is there any info in the game materials about a Sathar fifth column movement? |
April 16, 2008 - 6:30am | Here's a conspiracy concept to consider, what if the Sathar super computer (I think it needs a name or acronymn at least) hacked the UPF network? Or if Sathar agents within the UPF had contributed to the design of the UPF systems and built back doors and control features into the UPF systems. (Much evil Sathar laughter or hissing or whatever it is that they do when sinisterly inspired and amused). Too elaborate of sabotage would be easliy found such as hacks to gain control of UPF ship systems or automated controls, but more subtle ones like data mining and intelligence gathering, maybe the occassional logic bomb or sabotage program, may go un detected for a while if it were stealthy or engineered into the system itself. Interesting. Everyone loves haxxers! The Frontier Universe I envision is disperse and unlikely to be linked in such a way that this threat is possible to completly halt UPF systems. I can see planet wide hax or even the UPF itself.... Wow, lot's of possiblities. I hack you. You hack me. Were a happy family. With a knick-knack overflow stack, Give your Sathar a bone. This ole hacker is going Home. |
April 16, 2008 - 6:33am | Hey good point, I was going to ask it but had already posted alot. Is there any info in the game materials about a Sathar fifth column movement? Not that I know of. I think this would be a good write up idea for Issue 9. Some ideas SsssDecker knows anyone in the UPF will kill him (or report him) upon site. He can't talk to the UPF scum working for his group (they will report him to his own people). He decides to meddle with one of the Dralasite's - bending his mind is such a way that he assists him is getting of this rock and into UPF space.... |
April 16, 2008 - 6:45am | First AZ's question, then Larry's... The first thing to understand about the SuperComputer is that it does NOT control anything: To quote from the post: The SuperComputer is actually NOT some Tron-like control mechanism. The purpose of the SuperComputer is to arbitrate between the Upper Castes of Clan X and Y who emerged from the Great Wars on top. The SuperComputer acts as an impartial player in Sathar politics. It makes decisions and recommendations without Clan prejudice. The primary role of the SuperComputer is the selection of the Magistrates and Military Commands. The SuperComputer maintains a sort of "affirmative action" system which always strikes a balance between the numbers of senior government posts doled out between the two clans. The SuperComputer gives policy advice as well. However, this advice is neither perfect nor always followed by the Sathar Supreme Council (kind of a Politburo along Soviet lines). Advice and policy is of secondary importance to the SuperComputer - arbitrating neutrally between Clans X and Y is its main function. The SuperComputer facilitates the lasting peace between Clans X and Y. It is important in that it holds the Empire together, but that is about all that it does. Without it, they would annhiliate each other (again). Why are the Sathar so savage? Why are there no good Sathar? We can take the example of ancient history on our own world to be our guide. These are beings who long ago embraced a savage and vicious demeanor. As opposed to humanity, who had the emergence of Christ and the Church Fathers, the humanists, the Enlightenment, the Stoics/Epicureans of ancient Greece, Plato, Artistotle, Zoroaster, Confucius/Tao and Buddha and many others. All of these thinkers, philosophers and religious figures had one great concept in common : pursuit of Good. They changed humanity. But what if you had a race that actively sought to kill these people? A wicked race of realists whose only goal was power. Centuries of genocidal warfare. Murder without hesitation or pity. All of the above killed, and not after being able to perform a ministry, as Christ did. I mean killed IMMEDIATELY. As I said, there were good Sathar once. But they are long dead and forgotten. Their clans and nations were exterminated. All that the Top Caste care about is maintenance of power. The Imperial truce between X and Y is tolerated because the Sathar realized that they had to share, otherwise they would be too weak. Note that it took them hundreds of years of war to figure this out. The unifying enemy is, well, everyone else. |
April 16, 2008 - 6:57am | As to AZ's other question: Motivation |
April 16, 2008 - 7:42am | If any Sathar live in a "Matrix", it is the Middle and Lower Caste Sathar. However, the two differentiate along two broad lines: the Middle Caste are "bribed" (privileges) and the Lower Caste are beaten. Religion plays a huge factor here along with brainwashing, propaganda and drugs. And, at the end of all that, if anyone is still not with the program - instant death. New Topic: Sathar Drugs. |
May 15, 2008 - 1:41am | This is really good stuff by the way ... sorry to have been gone so long. :) I am still somewhat of a mind that this should represent a large group of the sathar and that there be one or two OTHER large groups of sathar that have an entirely different ... err ... setup. But I must bow to IL's detail and articulation in this matter for his presentation of the group. Another thing that I have seen posited some years back(and which I think is actually a REALLY interesting "twist" on things) was a group of sathar that were like the reavers from the Firefly/Serenity story line ... the game master used this line to bring forth all kinds of interesting narratives and play, and very effectively too, I might add. What do you think? @}-,-`- "It is a joyful thing indeed to hold intimate converse with a man after one’s own heart, chatting without reserve about things of interest or the fleeting topics of the world; but such, alas, are few and far between." – Yoshida Kenko (1283-1350), [i]Tsurezure-Gusa (1340) |
May 15, 2008 - 1:49am | Perhaps, rather than having a situation where there are 2 or 3 super powers vying for control with IL's conception being ONE of these, we could rather have IL's conception as the most powerful, with other splinter sathar groups ... of different sorts, maybe one beinglike the reavers, for example. And perhaps there could be a separate section dedicated to this ... call them something like "Other types of Sathar encountered and rumored to exist". This might also be a good "inside" in the rules for GM's to encourage development for the 'verse and their games. How's this sound? @}-,-`- "It is a joyful thing indeed to hold intimate converse with a man after one’s own heart, chatting without reserve about things of interest or the fleeting topics of the world; but such, alas, are few and far between." – Yoshida Kenko (1283-1350), [i]Tsurezure-Gusa (1340) |
