 January 11, 2013 - 7:13am | Refer to: Sathar - Expanding Alpha Dawn. While I was reading up on invertebrates it occurred to me that I couldn't recall any mentions of how the sathar eat. A circular mouth ringed with teeth? Not to mention that the art usually shows them having tubular tongues. I thought about seeing, thinking, and speaking, but not eating. Eating wise are the sathar like leeches? Blood suckers, so to speak? It could add a new level of danger to anyone who falls into their clutches. Or even under their spell... Would they consider prisoners, a delicacy? If they like their food "warm," then walking into a satharian "chow" hall could be a pretty gruesome experience. |
 January 11, 2013 - 2:13pm | Damnit! that is a sick thought but I like it. prisoner rescued with strange circular marks on their body Not only have they been fed on they are hypnotized and willing servents- very dangerous very vampiric- I'm entertaining images from vampire movies with the beautiful woman giving herself over to the vampire but in this case its a sathar. "The Sathar's Embrace" that is a picture's title, I'll have to draw it I think I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
January 11, 2013 - 6:20pm | Hehe... Vampires... I immediately pictured the twilight movie with the girl and a sathar instead of the guy.  Now their eating habits could also help keep the S'sessu minimized in Frontier society. Even the yazirians might be grossed out seeing the worms "chow down," so to speak. |
January 11, 2013 - 7:31pm | OK this is vmnjn 's fault because he asked the obvious question that immediately put this image in my head and I just had to put it on paper. Warning this image is a little disturbing. Embrace of the Sathar  I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
January 12, 2013 - 12:13am | Oh that is awesome! Thank you, that made my night, lol. |
January 12, 2013 - 5:07am | So with the sathar mouth arrangement they must feed like a leech or blood sucker, putting aside the question of whether they would actually be able to digest bodily fluids or blood from alien biologies lets talk about the mechanics of this. Did the proto sathar feed on the Great Worms in this way? Now with the Great Worm being the subject of their religion and being the original subject of their feeding habits you get a weird analog to "communion" in Christian theologies possibly something we should explore. There are the Trans-substantiation, Consubstantiation and symbol interpretations of the communion rite and I think that there would be room for similar variations of belief on the part of the sathar except I would not call it communion but give it a name like "the feeding" or something. This would explain a lot about the sathar society you have worked up- villages that traveled with a great worm felt a oneness with that worm. This of course works when there is one worm per one village but what happens when the worms start dying and there are not enough Great Worms to go around. Also is there a sect out there with samples of worm DNA trying to go Jurasic Park? With the death of the Great Worms who or what do they feed on now? EDIT: I have to wonder just where might the sathar "suck" on a body- if they hit the jugular vein they will get a mouthful and kill the host. Perhaps this sort of thing: hiting a vein that will drain the host to death and glut the worm is considered bad form because of the waste (killing the host) but its a rush and sometimes a socially aberant worm gets addicted to it. clearly, with sapient species they must use the hypnotism ability perhaps this is why it developed? I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
January 12, 2013 - 9:56am | I figure biologies are similar enough that sticking a straw in an alien would usually have some nutritional value. Though that is another area that I don't recall star Frontiers going into very much. I don't recall much about yazirians not being able to eat human food as an example. Or dralasite food being inedible, or toxic, to vrusk. Unappetizing perhaps, but usually edible. Now the taste of us, to sathar, might be atrocious of course. Just got a mental image of armored sathar soldiers carrying their laser rifles, and salt-n-pepper shakers, into battle. Hehe... Maybe a satharian version of tabasco or mio? I do see the proto-satha probably feeding on the great worms while they were alive. A bit gross perhaps but I'm not positive they could feed on the great worm carcasses. Maybe if their "teeth" were more beak-like, as with octopi, they would be more suited to tearing strips off carcasses but I don't get that impression from any of the art. Maybe they made pudding out of them? I imagine the great worms were a huge part of proto-satha religious beliefs. Even more than the buffalo were to some native american tribes. When the reptilians put the ecosystem in a death spiral, those gentle giants were probably among the first to sicken and die. It must have truly felt like the apocalypse to the proto-satha. Might even explain where the s'sessu's amorality came from. The only way they could culturally handle it was to turn inward. Focus on the "I" instead of the "us." Which could have made the Messenger's call to return to the "us," all the more appealing to many sathar. Sort of a silent-majority cultural counter-revolution kind of thing. I have pondered the sathar resurrecting the great worms. They can manage those cyber-beast things after all. So I would not be surprised if something "like" the great worms roams the satharian birth world once more. However, I would think the sathar could not manage to make them as large or as sapient as the Great Worms were. Still big enough to fill the role of exposing tender roots, easier to eat and digest, and being a major "food" source themselves. Not sure about big enough to live on though. As far as what they feed on now? I imagine lesser creatures, maybe a worm version of our cow? Something bloated like the shaak?  Maybe not necessarily feeding on their "blood," but something more milk-like is "milked" from them? While I do picture the sathar evolved into "omnivores," I could easily see some sathar getting "hooked" on blood. Some sects even glorifying it perhaps. Though more "civilized" sathar may find it distasteful. Hemophiles being considered similar to alcoholics in ours? Or drug addicts? Hypnosis could definitely be a part of their feeding habits. Pondering the mental angle I figure the four pupils helps a lot. Lock eyes and start doing the mind thing. Maybe circling their two extra pupils while the other two lock on or something. Actually I think sathar psychics probably have quite an advantage over other races. They are used to looking into satharian dual minds. Races with just one train of thought might seem rather simple to them. |
January 13, 2013 - 6:23pm | Question: Why do you never see any fat humans in SF art? Because the sathar love to abduct them to suck out all the juiciness!!!!!!!  I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 January 14, 2013 - 5:05am | Love the picture. Thinking someone tried to get away and didn't quite make it. The basic mention of the Sathar is that they have no bones and are hydrostatically supported. They must maintain an extremely high fluid intake or not be able to move. Think part of the reason for the round mouth is so they can slurp up alot of water. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
January 15, 2013 - 3:31pm | So do sathar eating, sometimes at least, like leeches jive with everyone? Of course they are not cavemen so they have developed an extensive variety of other recipes and ingredients. However most of the recipes are soups, stews, puddings, creams, etc, etc... Maybe a "you are what you slurp" thing? I could see "solid foods" being a rarity in their diet? How about the "blood-sucking" just be a religious ritualistic thing? Frowned upon by society at large. However in "some" sects the practice is accepted or even encouraged. Especially among warriors who consider it purifying. Performing it on captives as part of "absorbing their power" type superstitions. Can even become addictive? |
January 15, 2013 - 6:56pm | I would say yes. They must drink alot so their diet is much more liquid based. The straight blood drinking is considered uncivilized but in some circles it is accepted such as warriors, religious sects and "fine dining" fans. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
January 15, 2013 - 7:14pm | Sathar Dining a sathar cafe: fluids slurped from vessels with tender yet firm tidbits on the side that are speared with a skewer and sucked off the end of the skewer Sathar "fine" dining: a hypnotized captive reclines nake on a table like Japanese Nyotaimori (body sushi- female presentation) and the guest sit around the table and suck the life out of the victim. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
January 15, 2013 - 10:11pm | Okay, updated the article. Trying to keep it a little, vague since I don't want to tie it directly to my Satharian Sects stuff. Want to make it easier for others to use it for whatever their own take on the sathar might be. |
January 16, 2013 - 5:52am | Okay, updated the article. Trying to keep it a little, vague since I don't want to tie it directly to my Satharian Sects stuff. Want to make it easier for others to use it for whatever their own take on the sathar might be. Wow and you even worded that so delicately. Personally, I find my description of sathar fine dining more than a little bit creepy and disturbing. There might be a picture there. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
January 16, 2013 - 7:05am | I probably should have left out the most sathar look down on part. I'm sure there is a better way to phrase that to fit in with anyone who wants their sathar to be full on soul slurpers. |
January 16, 2013 - 7:41am | That is a great turn of phrase: "soul slurper" I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
January 16, 2013 - 9:01am |  Maybe word it like this? V: You are what you slurp The satharian diet is mostly lacking in "solid foods." Their mouths being far more suited to drinking, or even slurping, than chewing. Nutritional needs are met through a variety of juices, creams, soups, stews, and puddings. However, those are not the only options for a sathar. With a ring of sharp teeth and a powerful tongue, they can "drink" directly from their... "meal." Usually placing their victim in a hypnotic state first, to keep them docile. Sathar can latch on with their mouths, cut through even tough hide with their teeth, insert their tongues, and drink their prey's precious bodily fluids. Now depending on the species involved? This essence may not be digestible. Might even be toxic, in fact. However, the blood of some species actually has a narcotic effect on sathar, and can become very addictive. How does that look? |
January 16, 2013 - 9:28am | Maybe word it like this? V: You are what you slurp The satharian diet is mostly lacking in "solid foods." Their mouths being far more suited to drinking, or even slurping, than chewing. Nutritional needs are met through a variety of juices, creams, soups, stews, and puddings. However, those are not the only options for a sathar. With a ring of sharp teeth and a powerful tongue, they can "drink" directly from their... "meal." Usually placing their victim in a hypnotic state first, to keep them docile. Sathar can latch on with their mouths, cut through even tough hide with their teeth, insert their tongues, and drink their prey's precious bodily fluids. Now depending on the species involved? This essence may not be digestible. Might even be toxic, in fact. However, the blood of some species actually has a narcotic effect on sathar, and can become very addictive. How does that look? fine, I did liked it before but with this new statement which goes into greater detail lose the word precious. That way is sounds more analytical. precious makes it sound like a sermon or something else. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
