Excerpts from GM Posts

Just so you know, these are excerpts taken from certain posts in response to certain issues. Nothing has been taken out of context. Only relevant s'kra information has been included.

GameMaster Posts
By: GameMaster Ellerina, S'kra Mur Race Guru

Miscellaneous Information

S'kra Mur Heritage, Descent and History

S'kra Mur Descent
(Eleven Races category, S'kra Mur Musings - 1119 archives)
For the record-- S'Kra are not descendants of dragons. I think I have the message board title strictly for the purpose of harassing Shakahn. :) S'Kra are also not snakekind, or lizardkind. They're S'Krakind. :)

Elanthian Heaven: The S'kra and the Egg
(Eleven Races category, S'kra Mur Musings - 1866 archives)
A post questioned the meaning of this line from a book about Fostramor:
"For the Skra Mur, it's Fostra's Nest and is a place where the Skra return to childhood and the egg to be reborn into a perfect life."

Take care when trying to interpret these things... from what I understand Fostramor shouldn't be taken literally. S'Kra "return to the egg" figuratively -- they're reborn "into perfect life" -- think enlightenment. This is a figurative rebirth that coincides with death, symbolized by the egg.

Mehath bracelet history
(Eleven Races category, S'kra Mur Musings - 109 )
The bracelets are indeed meant to remember Sraan Mehath, and all S'Kra who die honorably, or in a manner distinguished for their valor, are said to join that clan, which is also said to be led by the spirit of Sarkhhl. If I remember correctly, there was a note in the shop that sells those bracelets, either with translations or some reference to what each means. ;)

As far as mourning traditions -- will put some thought to this, and any suggestions would be welcome. Aside from the Mehath tradition, S'Kra don't focus too much on death -- though some of this would depend upon the individual clan, kingdom, or family involved.

S'kra Mur Biology

Snout vs Flat faces
(Eleven Races category, S'Kra Mur Musings - 343)
Basically, though, the flat-faced-vs-snouted-faced feature is genetic. It is entirely possible for two mainland S'Kra to birth an island S'Kra if they have island blood mixed in with theirs. This is unusual, however in the same way that two brown-eyed people would only very rarely have children with blue or green eyes.
There are degrees in snout length, but these are more due to individual variation and possibly stunted growth (say if a young S'Kra whacked themselves on the head when very young and thus banged up some of the flesh associated with growing the snout) than with mixed blood -- the two snouts don't really mix together.

More Snout Issues
(Eleven Races category, S'Kra Mur Musings - 358)
Both mainland and island S'Kra do have snouts -- one is just much more truncated than the other. The primary reason to replace 'nose' with 'snout' in all of these cases is actually exactly what you mention -- a S'Kra's nose isn't malleable like a mammal's. It couldn't be wrinkled in distaste. It has a small degree of flexibility, and could certainly be pointed in the air -- and S'Kra can sniff things with their noses -- but to indicate distaste, a S'Kra would be more likely to quickly flick the air with their tongue. These are the kinds of adjustments I'm intending -- ones that are more in line with a S'Kra's physical makeup. Snout won't replace nose indefinitely (I'm putting a little more work into this than find -> replace ;) ), but in some places it's more appropriate.

Cold-Blooded?
(Eleven Races category, S'Kra Mur Musings - 85)
No, S'Kra are *not* cold-blooded. If anything, they're... cool-blooded. Heh. Susceptible to extreme cold, but the blood is most definitely warm.

Silly S'kra! Ears are for mammals
(Eleven Races category, S'kra Mur Musings - 1150 archives [regarding the use of ear hooks])
No, S'Kra don't have ears. They do have ear holes in the sides of their heads, however, like a bird or reptile, and it's possible that the hook hangs from that.

(Eleven Races category, S'kra Mur Musings - 2070 archives [regarding the possibility of wearing ear hooks..and a response about earrings])
It might be possible to do so, but the kind of earrings that the other races can wear would not be wearable by S'Kra. Because of the way S'Kra hearing works a piercing would also have a highly negative impact on that sense, which isn't so great to begin with. So most likely things will stay as they are, with S'Kra unable to wear earrings but being alright with the ear hooks that don't actually poke through flesh.

S'kra Mur Lifestyle

Making a Smozh out of you!
(Eleven Races category, S'kra Mur Musings - 148)
... it's the rapid loss of blood, and shock, that causes a S'Kra to die when they get their entire tail lopped off. The smozh ceremony is very specific, which is also why a gang of S'Kra couldn't just walk up on an unsuspecting victim and make them smozh -- it requires a lot of preparation, both to keep the S'Kra from dying and to keep their tail from growing back. The whole ceremony will be documented in an upcoming book.

Bedding Preferences
(Eleven Races category, S'kra Mur Musings - 1508 archives [regarding the use of cushions, and sandpits for S'kra])
I believe this would be a personal preference thing for the most part. I know that 'traditionally' S'Kra do use cushions, and one of the reasons that sandpit sand is so expensive is that it is certainly *not* dirty and theoretically of such a grain that it doesn't blow all over the place. Certainly Srenhaar from Muspar'i doesn't hand-pick each grain of sand, but he'd like you to think he does. :)

At any rate, I'd think something like a sheepskin blanket would be a bad idea for the same reasons that being a Prydaen in a sandpit would be a bad idea, but silk cushions are slippery enough that sand wouldn't irrevocably stick to them. They're also pretty. Blankets in general would probably be on the rarer side of accessory usage... though if your character has a penchant for silk sheets, it wouldn't be beyond the bounds of the race. ;) I have some other ideas for means of heating one's bed, if I can ever get through my current queue to them...

(Eleven Races category, S'kra Mur Musings - 1508 archives [a response to a question regarding sleeping preferences that accomodate both s'kra and non-s'kra tastes])
I must be a strange person. The idea of sleeping on sand is rather nice to me. ;) Then again, I'm from a sunnier side of the country.

At any rate -- here are a couple of options for you. One -- get a featherbed. S'Kra like to sleep on sand because it has enough "give" that they can sleep on their backs and not kink their tails. Featherbeds share this softness. Sand is also very comfortable on scales, but certainly that preference isn't universal, and some do prefer a pile of cushions to a bed of sand. Second option -- get your sandpit, but also get a collection of cushions and blankets. If you covered a sandpit over with cushions, or even just one large cushion or comforter, it'd probably feel like a normal bed. Note, though, that the new sandpits are liable to be uncomfortable to scaleless races regardless...

Me, I'd probably get a sandpit just because I wouldn't be likely to share my own bed with somebody else. ;)

No Inter-Racial Births Allowed (boo!)
(Eleven Races category, S'kra Mur Musings - 1738 archives)
Given the stir that this subject created on the Prydaen board, I really hate to do this, but I've heard far too many folk saying "The GMs never made it clear one way or the other" regarding interracial pairings and the possibility of offspring. While I disagree with this statement, I'm going to go ahead and give the benefit of the doubt and make it as clear as I possibly can right now. Call it 'future damage control' if you will.

I realize that this subject sparking a debate is probably inevitable, but on this particular topic I am not taking suggestions. Please don't be offended if you post something and I don't respond to it; most, I probably won't. If you really, really, really MUST have an answer or you'll just die, email me and I will respond individually.

Previously, it was stated that offspring between S'Kra and other races were "extremely rare." It goes (I hope) without saying that any such thing would be completely unnatural. What follows is an explanation of why it would NEVER HAPPEN. Not "extremely rare", not "in certain circumstances," -- Never.

The gift of life is exclusive to the powers of the gods. No mage, however powerful, can bring about the impregnation of a female -- not even if they're that Aether Master Hoo-Ha guy who leads the Warrior Mages, or the Biggest Bestest Moon Mage, Ever. The most common, then, explanation of how there can be an interracial S'Kra baby born is "my god gave me this gift and now I have a baby." Nah-uh. Wouldn't happen. The gods could do it, yes -- but they won't. Not ever. Here's why.

Going back to S'Kra creation, Ushnish engineered the race with the single specific purpose of harassing Humans. Ushnish is an aspect of Hav'roth -- his mean, angry, some would say 'worse' ;) side. So you can bet that there would never be a S'Kra-Human crossbreed -- not in a zillion years. It would have to be sanctioned by Hav'roth, and that's not something that Hav'roth would ever do. As for the other races, they, too, are "pets" of the gods so to speak.

Gods, because they're so powerful, exist under certain mutual codes. If they didn't, we'd have constant interdeital wars -- and one can imagine that such a thing is highly unhealthy for mortals. Fire raining down, mountains exploding, that kind of thing. Very bad. So gods don't step on each others' toes -- meaning, in one instance, that they don't go and make hybrids of other gods' "children."

So you and your halfling husband have a kid? And it looks like a S'Kra? Well, your husband is probably a little feeble-minded... you know how those halflings are... ()... and there are whispers around about how you were messing around with that S'Kra friend of yours shortly before the wedding. This is how such a thing would be seen. It looks like a halfling? Yeah, you probably stole it from somewhere, and hid the mother's body really well... for the first while after it happened, you probably knew the truth, but live a lie for long enough and you eventually convince yourself that it's true. (Plus you have to be at least minorly psychotic to do such a thing in the first place.) If you want to look at it in a better light -- you adopted the kid, but don't want him to know that he's adopted, for whatever reason, until he's "old enough." This is how such a situation would be seen -- with a little bit of contempt, probably a good deal of sadness, and sympathy for the kid. Some would believe you, sure -- but look at all the people who buy the National Enquirer.

As you can see, carrying around one of the 'products' of an interracial coupling would be viewed something along the lines of how a woman in our world would be viewed walking around with a parrot and claiming that she gave birth to it. Either she's the victim of a very elaborate hallucination, or she's trying to put one over on people. And no matter how many times she told you the parrot was a gift from God, (even, maybe, presenting as evidence her husband the Hyacinth Macaw) would you believe her?

I hope this clarifies the issue. As I said, I'm only doing this for the sake of laying it all down so it can't be said I never did so. I realize that it's not going to be liked by some, and I apologize for that, but it's not up for contestation.


Miscellaneous S'kra Information

Regarding S'kra Mur bracelets
(Thanks to information provided by Valloa - from a merchant)

A jewelry sign reads:
Ru'at bracelets are given in close and esteemed friendship to the S'Kra Mur's ru'ati.
Mehath bracelets are worn in remembrance of a dead S'Kra Mur ru'ati.
Ama'hhrsk bracelets are given as a sign of love to a spouse during anniversaries.

S'Kra Mur Procreation
I can't find the exact post that confirmed this, but S'kra Mur DO NOT lay eggs! They give birth.

Last updated: October 8, 2002