I find this section of the kasatha description very interesting from a roleplay perspective:
Each kasatha follows a unique set of traditions, combining common rituals with new ones she creates. She gains more and more traditions over a lifetime, so that the oldest kasathas spend much of their time honoring the past.
I like the idea of a character gradually building up a set of personal rituals and traditions based on what they’ve experienced. Unfortunately, my creativity has been failing me and I haven’t been able to come up with many good ideas.
Has anyone been playing out this aspect of the kasatha race, and have interesting stories to share?
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If I were playing a Kasatha character, I'd probably start with some (or all) of the following, and go from there:
1. Ritual to greet the day. Some set of tasks I do in a specific order at the start of every day. It may be as simple as wash my face and sharpen my sword, or it could be an elaborate dance or set of morning prayers.
2. Ritual to start a meal. Probably a short prayer or mantra before I began eating.
3. Ritual at the start of combat. One of the first things I thought of when I read this section of the book was that I would write down my first line of quippy combat banter in my very first in-play combat, and I'd repeat that line as my very first action in every combat for the character.
4. Ritual of victory. If combat completes successfully, something akin to saying a prayer for the souls of the fallen.
5. Ritual to end the day. Similar to greeting the day.
That's how I'd play it from the start, and then I'd add to each or add new ones based on what the character experiences through play. If the character dies at some point and gets resurrected, I'd probably add a prayer/ritual at the time of death and rebirth.
Hope that helps.
Those are some good ideas for a starting point! Thanks.
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The Kasatha, if I recall, were native to a desert/ wasteland kind of place before most of them packed up and flew off to the Pact Worlds. A Kasatha might have a ritualistic way of cleaning or maintaining her gear. Maybe look at the Fremen in Herbert's Dune books for similar inspirations.
Ooh, yeah. I totally forgot about the desert background. The fremen have a LOT of minor little traditions/rituals (especially around combat and water) and would add a lot of cool flavor.
With their listed taboo about face covering, I could easily imagine a Kasatha sealing an important deal by removing their mask and ritually spitting on the ground. "The gift of water."
Never put away a blade drawn in anger or defense without first letting it taste blood.
Whenever someone mentions the name of a sacred beast/angel/demon/deity, repeat it in reverence, or speak a mantra in defense when you see one.
mmmm...Shai Halud
Now I want to play a Kasatha and re-read Dune.
Preserving water is important to desert people.
There should be some sort of ritual to be done before deliberately or after accidentally spilling water.
The most solemn occasions (such as the death of a friend or relative) might include a ritual of deliberately spilling a small amount of water on that person's behalf.
I was going to have my PCs attend a ceremony that involved sharing a meal with a kasatha with an uncovered face, but then I decided to hold back on doing that because I suspect that the Pact Worlds book may have at least a throwaway line that totally contradicts what I have in mind for it.
Well the bodies on the Idari are still fed to the recyclers for re-use. That's very similar to fremen death practices.
Moreover, you're right about the trip affecting them. Space, heat, and air would all be at a premium on a long colony ship voyage. So I think you could expand the ritual reverence for water (desert) to also include the other elements (earth, fire, air) and a complete dedication to fixing or re-using old things.