Tahora Whai: Difference between revisions

 

Whai merchants who buy and sell wares with outside groups are the few who will accept foreign currencies. However, these traders prefer direct barter as a more reliable and concrete system. The few vendors in the [[Kikorangi o te Tahora Whai|Rangi]] who exchange currencies offer some of the least competitive rates in the sector, not to mention their exorbitant handling fees.

==[[Technologies of the Whai]]==

While classically scavengers and raiders, Whai are also have a knack for creating their own gadgets.Dynaean technologies (and thus many Whai technologies influenced by them) by-and-large are bespoke, custom made, artisan and heirloom products. Mass-production is rare unless there is ready access to automation and abundant materials. The bones and other body parts of Tahora are typically integrated into tools, armor, and vehicles for their unique properties or to evoke the power and spirit of the great beasts. Whale bone is commonly used in spacecraft as it requires less refining and is often superior to conventional metals for use in the void. Whai tech is, however, often not made from scratch. Instead equipment is often salvaged, reclaimed, raided, stolen, and sometimes traded. A jury-rigged and scavenged ethos derived from a time of necessity pervades almost all that is found among the Whai.

While regarded as either fearsome raiders or prolific and protective whalers in much of Beacon Space, the Tahora Whai are more than a pair of professions. Even within the groups that tend to predominantly hunt whales or pirate space, few individuals are defined by any one field. Ships and their crews are usually equipped to engage in both industries with many modifications and tools serving dual purposes. Beyond these ships a diverse network of professions consisting of shipwrights, mechanics, salvagers, gunsmiths, armorers, butchers, merchants, traders, cybernetics manufacturers, tattooists, researchers, etc. support what is commonly seen as the ‘average’ Tahora Whai. The popular image of scruffy void-borne menaces of trade falls flat when observing Whai society as a whole, but this image is cultivated to maintain a fearsome reputation.

===[[Tahora Whai Piracy and Raiding|Raiding]]===

 

Whai ships often disguise themselves as humble traders or whalers to catch their victims unaware and with their guard down. But the ruse was much more effective if they were in fact utilizing their ships as a whaler when no dupes could be found. Dual- or multi-use ships became commonplace for the Whai. Tools like [[Technologies_of_the_Whai#Ship_Weapons_and_Equipment|harpoons and trackers]] could likewise be utilized in both situations.