I think therefore I am food

Siafu789 wrote:

I pose the question: is striking fear even necessary, or even desirable? I mean, think about it: if they didn't merely think we were insignificant, but dangerous, the Guardians would come down faster than a plane going Mach 5. Plus, what's the purpose? To intimidate?

Staying out of sight, and not looking for trouble seems to be the smartest approach.

Striking fear is not necessary to be dangerous, the guardians would come if we tend to conquer this world or become a serious threat. A predator don't like take too more risk, if you succed to intimidate it you can survive. By exemple we tend to avoid small creatures like venomous spiders, scorpions due to their poisons. I think it can be the same case for creature like naga

Staying out of sight is a smart approach, it's one of the possibility to survive but each things have this advantages and drawbacks, this approach is the same for many neko tribes and we know how it ended
I don't say humans must choose the path of the war to survive but they need to have many approach in order to survive.

Siafu789 wrote:

I pose the question: is striking fear even necessary, or even desirable? I mean, think about it: if they didn't merely think we were insignificant, but dangerous, the Guardians would come down faster than a plane going Mach 5. Plus, what's the purpose? To intimidate?

Staying out of sight, and not looking for trouble seems to be the smartest approach.

I'm not sure that would work. Certain voracious predators can smell humans for miles. It isn't safe anywhere unless you are in some protected area, which is hard to get to in the first place.

I say if we're being hunted, we take the fight to them. Even with sticks and rocks, you can never be too dangerous.

On another note, why is it these "guardians" don't help out when we're in trouble, yet when we stick up for ourselves, they sudden;y want to put us to death?

No offense, but that is messed up.

ehhhhhhhh

Pendragon it depends on the guardian... its not a stretch to say that at least one protects a city (as far as i know) but for the rest, they are themselves predator types... so it makes sense they would emphasis with other predators. still i think if a predator was being a scotch to greedy and wiping out all the local prey to the detriment of the area a guardian would likely also intervene. there are a force for stability in a chaotic (thats an understatement) wold.

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On another note, why is it these "guardians" don't help out when we're in trouble, yet when we stick up for ourselves, they sudden;y want to put us to death?

No offense, but that is messed up.

I never got that impression.
The guardians are intended to keep any one force from amassing too much power. It's just that non-native humans have a habit of trying to do just that.

Here's my view...

Sentients are off-limits, food-wise. That is why I, as a human, only eat animals that exhibit zero signs of sentience, or feelings. (This is true for me in real-life, I actually do not eat pig products anymore... I kinda miss bacon...) Even still, I respect all things, and never kill without reason.

gwadahunter2222 wrote:

I don't think it's necessary to be the bigger or the stronger to survive, if we compare us next to the natural abilities of many animals we are very weak physically by example a lion run faster and has a better reaction. But the main weapon of a human is his ability with his both hands, as it had been said we developped many things like weapons and traps to survive. I think is possible to humans to strike fear into predator if they succeed to oppose a solid resistance. I mean strategy and teamwork.

I'm sorry, I worded it wrong. It's impossible to strike fear into a Pred through such simple things. When something is just as smart as you (Or smarter), size is usually the best bet for intimidation.

Siafu789 wrote:

I pose the question: is striking fear even necessary, or even desirable? I mean, think about it: if they didn't merely think we were insignificant, but dangerous, the Guardians would come down faster than a plane going Mach 5. Plus, what's the purpose? To intimidate?

Staying out of sight, and not looking for trouble seems to be the smartest approach.

Staying out of sight and not looking for trouble are the main things, yes. However, fear will keep something in line better than any other tool. If they feel that no matter where they go, no matter what they do, you could end it all at a fingersnap, make their life a hell, etc, they will grow hesitant.

Of course, we do have your lil' "Guardians pimp-smack the upity person" dilema.

Cypress wrote:

agreed out of sight means out of mind means out of stomach.... however, I believe the number one method of survival of a smaller species is to build up interdependency that is beneficial to both a pred and human *cough the bowl cough* symbiosis is a powerful law of nature, rivaling that of 'big thing eat small thing" XD this is not to be confused with a parasitic relationship... which is one sided.

Again, agreed on survival. I chose Catachan over Death Korp for a reason (Even though the Death Korp MAN! chart would likely ensure just as much survival).

Pendragon wrote:

I'm not sure that would work. Certain voracious predators can smell humans for miles. It isn't safe anywhere unless you are in some protected area, which is hard to get to in the first place.

Cover your scent. Not many predators go "I smell dirt, JACK POT!" Similarly, if you cover yourself in the blood / ichor of a normally non-edible plant or animal, you might trick the pred into thinking you're something not worth hunting.

Sorry for ze many quotes, but at least it isn't chained.

Malahite wrote:

I'm sorry, I worded it wrong. It's impossible to strike fear into a Pred through such simple things. When something is just as smart as you (Or smarter), size is usually the best bet for intimidation.

I see your point of view so I will try to explain myself better. I don't say it will be simple but it's not impossible, when you deal with a creature like naga is not when you deal with a mindless beast. You should be more strategic
You know I don't think humans are so weak.
When they want to fly, they create the airplane.
When they want to move faster they create the car.

If a human wants really to survive in Felarya he or she will find it, maybe to become stealthy, by the strenght or befriend a predator.

And another point a humans can be really scaring

Gwada, I wholeheartedly agree with you on that point. Some may argue that nagas, fairies, etc. are as intelligent as humans because they have language and feelings, but one must indeed realize that there are multiple types of intelligence. While they are indeed sentient, and as such should be respected, it is obvious that humans are more technical and creative. That is our greatest weapon. Not our size, our strength, or our magic... it is our minds. This is not to say we are the only ones with this... but I'd say that we, as a race, employ it more effectively and more often than others.

It may seem like we have a disadvantage. And sometimes, we may be outsmarted in a hunt, if a predator uses the human's fear against them. They have predator-knowledge. In such a situation, or even a battle against a less intelligent predator, such as a beast, it becomes obvious that physically, we seem to be made to be prey. Surely our physical frailties assure us a place within the stomach of a predator! However, we defy this. We defy nature with our ways. This is why nature seems so against us, for we are against it. This is not to say we must stay physically weak, for humans who have trained in martial arts and the wyrding ways can surely defeat a seemingly greater foe, for they perform fantastic feats. But some foes also train in such arts...

Malahite, never underestimate strategy and teamwork. Both are valuable, and both are deadly, especially when employed by a competent leader. I myself can attest to that.

gwadahunter2222 wrote:

I see your point of view so I will try to explain myself better. I don't say it will be simple but it\'s not impossible, when you deal with a creature like naga is not when you deal with a mindless beast. You should be more strategic

"How are you going to scare it?" is the problem.

Jumping out and going "Boo!" Is a good way to get a chuckle and quickly turn into lunch.

Ripping apart another Pred and using it as an example is just a big impossibility without excessive Magic / Psionics, and if such is within your power mental domination would be a better use of your energy.

Torture, yeah, not happening.

Intimidate its friends? They tend to be predators too, so that won\'t work.

Guessing the best way to 'scare' a predator would be something like "You know that person you just ate? He had roughly two megatons of explosives on his person. All I need to do is think it, and the mechanism will trigger to detonate them." And considering that this right here would involve a MAD scenario, odds are you won't try it.

wrote:

You know I don\'t think humans are so weak.
When they want to fly, they create the airplane.
When they want to move faster they create the car.

I agree that humans aren\'t weak... in most scenarios. In Felarya, a human only has the advantage of 'intelligence', and that isn't even a sure-known thing. Could there be a Dridder out there that could match Hawkings without trouble? Could there be a whole Nest of Harpies like such?

wrote:

If a human wants really to survive in Felarya he or she will find it, maybe to become stealthy, by the strenght or befriend a predator.

For baseline human, first and last are the only two options. Things like LoZ Gauntlet Link, potion Guzzlin' Nerevarine, Final Fantasy characters, etc, they're needed to be a rough match in HtH with a Felaryan Predator (Well, the larger ones. A good deal of smaller things could likely match a Narlyxian Dridder, but that leads to "Off topic" land). Of the above two, Camouflage is still the best bet. With stealth, you can have a fallback plan.

With "Hi, I'm _____, please don't eat me. By the way, I think we should be friends.", you tend not to be able to come up with a better back-up plan than "Feth Teleport TELEPORT!"

wrote:

And another point a humans can be really scaring

Agreed.

Mr. Kurze put one manner of scaring down quite well:

"Kill a thousand men, and they will hate you. Kill a million men, and they will queue to face you. But kill a single man, and they will see monsters and devils in every shadow. Kill a dozen men, and they will scream and wail in the night."

ZionAtriedes wrote:

Malahite, never underestimate strategy and teamwork. Both are valuable, and both are deadly, especially when employed by a competent leader. I myself can attest to that.

Er, a few pages back, I pointed out I'm a 40Ker and a rabid Pro-Humanist.

And yeah, these are great skills. Alexander was well known for a reason. In fact, he's so well known for such reasons, that I didn't have to give anything more than a part of his name / title.

But yeah, I'm really a Pro-Human guy for the most part. Not quite on the "PURGE THE UNCLEAN!" level of some people, but Pro enough.

Ah, same here. However, sometimes I do get unhealthy impulses to blow stuff up. Just because I can. It doesn't help that I dedicated years of my life to studying ways of doing that, without technology... I personally blame my pride. Forever has it been both a hindrance, and a source of motivation, at the same time...

(Out of character, since people seem to talk in-character here, I really do hate how many fantasy stories and such tend to portray humanity as weak compared to others... have a little respect for your real-life race, y'know?)

I don't have all the answers to all your questions malahite, even me I don't know but I know one think the limit of a human is his/her mind
I think there are solution to solve the problem, one of the drawbacks of the many human civilisations who comes in Felarya is the fact, they are not prepare to face their special fauna and flora but if they gather enough knowledges and thinks about a better way to survive they will but even if it's not perfect

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(Out of character, since people seem to talk in-character here, I really do hate how many fantasy stories and such tend to portray humanity as weak compared to others... have a little respect for your real-life race, y'know?)

THANKYOU.

I've often found it annoying how humans are invariably scum or idiots in Felarya fiction. I know it's human instinct to consider everyone else an idiot, but it AINT true.
Felaryan fae, whether or not they choose to accept it, are every bit as human as we are, but they continuously look down their noses at humanity. Prettymuch ALL nonhuman fictional races are the same.

It's sickening, really.
It's almost as if we're in need of writing stories that prove to us humans, that we humans aren't so bad...

Is that even remotely realistic?

(Why do you think I like Dune so much? The whole point of Dune, especially the "Legends of Dune" prequels were all about exploring the human mind and learning its strengths and weaknesses and capabilities. I see Felarya as a similar system to the Butlerian Jihad, but instead of battling against thinking machines, it's predators. Which isn't to say that when I write my story, my characters are gonna be killing everything in sight for humanity's sake. But they won't be incompetent idiots, in fact, I'd already planned on enacting a scenario like the one Gwada mentioned: scouting the area and, once they learn of the predators, possibly by losing a man or two, Zion will come up with the awesome idea of making them less appetizing by creating pads and plates with sharpened sticks and pieces of metal to strap onto them, like a porcupine or hedgehog, thus making them less much pleasant to swallow.

However, part of me is still a voraphile, and does enjoy the idea of people being eaten. This conflicts with the side of me that wrote the paragraph above.)

ZionAtriedes wrote:

(Why do you think I like Dune so much? The whole point of Dune, especially the "Legends of Dune" prequels were all about exploring the human mind and learning its strengths and weaknesses and capabilities. I see Felarya as a similar system to the Butlerian Jihad, but instead of battling against thinking machines, it's predators. Which isn't to say that when I write my story, my characters are gonna be killing everything in sight for humanity's sake. But they won't be incompetent idiots, in fact, I'd already planned on enacting a scenario like the one Gwada mentioned: scouting the area and, once they learn of the predators, possibly by losing a man or two, Zion will come up with the awesome idea of making them less appetizing by creating pads and plates with sharpened sticks and pieces of metal to strap onto them, like a porcupine or hedgehog, thus making them less much pleasant to swallow.

However, part of me is still a voraphile, and does enjoy the idea of people being eaten. This conflicts with the side of me that wrote the paragraph above.)

Glad to see my point help you
But I understand you, but your solution will not be perfect due the fact predators are sentient beings so some of them will be more strategic. In clear both predators and prey are equal, in clear it will be the smartest who will win:D

I think about the point about it's very annoying the fact in most stories humans are mostly scum or idiots, but the most annoying is when you meet this kind of person:(

I admit all the humans are not stupid but the problem is a human can be both stupid and intelligent but some of them underestimate Felarya and are not prepare to face the dangers of Felarya most of time.

Actually, I had that idea before you said it, but, whatever...

You must also remember that the Gaeans who end up in Felarya are part of a scientific research team for the military, led by Zion Atriedes, one of the most scientifically and strategically brilliant people on Gaea. Not to mention they were half-expecting to end up on a foreign world of some sort.

And yeah, there are some real idiots in the real world. But it's only because we have it easy. In a world like, say, Felarya, I'm sure that people would be a bit more tough. It's a form of Darwinism, but instead of weeding out weak genes, it's more like the added responsibility of just surviving makes one stronger. That's why the Jurdean nomads I created are so tough and rugged.

ZionAtriedes wrote:

And yeah, there are some real idiots in the real world. But it's only because we have it easy. In a world like, say, Felarya, I'm sure that people would be a bit more tough. It's a form of Darwinism, but instead of weeding out weak genes, it's more like the added responsibility of just surviving makes one stronger. That's why the Jurdean nomads I created are so tough and rugged.

I guess you're right about the fact people would become tough if they tend to not underestimate the place and think it will be easy:D
This concept of the Jurdean nomad is similar to a human race I started to developp

Well, I beat you to it. Just make them different enough to pass, mmkay?

It's a basic part of human nature. In fact, it says it in the Felarya wiki: humans react well to adversity. Our natural instinct is to overcome challenges in creative ways.

Another interesting question, if a native Felaryan human escaped to normal modern-day earth (assuming their immune system holds up, that is) how difficult would it be for them to get used to being back at the top of the food chain?

What I should say is, would a person like that really be better off with going from that small prey mentality to a confident predator mentality.

Feign wrote:

Another interesting question, if a native Felaryan human escaped to normal modern-day earth (assuming their immune system holds up, that is) how difficult would it be for them to get used to being back at the top of the food chain?

What I should say is, would a person like that really be better off with going from that small prey mentality to a confident predator mentality.

I'd say it'd be pretty easy. Provided the human wasn't something like a High Fantasy character (Lookit me, I can shoot fireballs and cut through cars!), the shift would mostly be a problem only in language and learning about the new world.

The problem would be putting them BACK into Felarya, considering that odds are their skills would drop horrendously in a world such as ours.

Precisely. Humanity has "tamed" most of Earth, so we've become complacent. However, one accustomed to Felarya would probably be like a Jurdean: aggressive, strong, untrusting, and have a powerful pack mentality.

Feign brings up a good question, though. How do people survive the transfer between worlds? It'd be like War of the Worlds, the newcomers would die due to lack of antibodies against the microorganisms.

I suppose we do need to accept that Felarya is fantasy, and therefore isn't real. However, you can bet that like the fanboys we are, we'll make some kinda explanation. (However, that's another topic).

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I suppose we do need to accept that Felarya is fantasy, and therefore isn't real. However, you can bet that like the fanboys we are, we'll make some kinda explanation. (However, that's another topic).

So you're trying to find a realistic sequence of events based on wha we know about Felarya?
That's not fanboyism. Fanboys try to explain away the problems in a series they're a fan of.

We actually have a hand in how Felarya turns out. What does that inherently make trying to explain the phenomina?

Good writing!

well said GREGOLE ^^

ZionAtriedes wrote:

Precisely. Humanity has "tamed" most of Earth, so we've become complacent. However, one accustomed to Felarya would probably be like a Jurdean: aggressive, strong, untrusting, and have a powerful pack mentality.

It's only your point of view maybe someone will developp a human civilisation very different

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I suppose we do need to accept that Felarya is fantasy, and therefore isn't real. However, you can bet that like the fanboys we are, we'll make some kinda explanation. (However, that's another topic).

Don't give up too early or you will be eaten by a naga