The Mysterious Steef *Warning, spoilers*
 

All of us who have beat the game know that Stranger is actually one of the rare Steef (or is it Steefs). My question is what are your guys' opinions about what happened to all the Steefs? They are the guardians of the Grubbs, but how many of them are there and where are they?

I assume they were all hunted down. You know, trophy prizes.

As far as I can tell, they've always sort of guarded the Grubbs. Kinda mutual relationship. Stranger things have happened (no pun intended).

I have no idea how they would reproduce.

I figured they began to die out after Sekto cut off the water and then he hunted them all down. During the end fightscene he makes some comment like "now, like your ancestors, you will die at my hand" implying he was personally responsible for killing them. It would be kind of cool if some of them had fled to other parts of Oddworld and a future Stranger game would involve him trying to find them...

I'm sure there are others, just not around the Mongo River. They already did the last of their race game with MO, and steefs are too cool of a character to only have one of them.

Another topic here states that Steef heads are worth a high price, and people will probably jump at the chance to bring one in.
Sekto had an abundant supply of Steef heads mounted on his wall, so we can assume he had a part in their decline. Also, he has a bounty out for a "Fresh Steef Head" that Stranger was informed about.
Man, Sekto really doesn't like Steef. Or he really does, like, in a sick way.

I think they're still around, outside of the valley. Fragmented and lesser in number but still there.

I also wanted to say, it's possible that Stranger isn't fully grown. Some of the grubs made a comment that he was "scrawny for a steef." And I also noticed that the mounted heads seem to be from larger Steefs then Stranger. Maybe he's just a teenager?

That could also explain the difference in size between documentary Stranger and game Stranger. Could be that they were using models of a more developed and adult Stranger from... dare I say it... Stranger II. :D

I thought he was scrawny because he had been trying to hide his whole life, ashamed of who and what he was...

He was willing to get surgery...

I wonder about his horns though... what was the line in the cutscene? "he's been hiding his legs, got no horns."

He didnt say that Stranger cut his horns off, he just said he didn't have any... could that imply that he is still young?


Did Sekto just kill off the Steef because they were protecting the Grubbs and their water and land? What was Sekto's real goal? Profit? When he said "Sekto Springs", I immediately thought of bottled water for some reason.

I do think that the brink-of-extinction concept should be reserved for Munch's species only, as it gives his dilemma a uniqueness. While I'm not saying that I demand an over-abundance of the Steef, I would hope that OWI wouldn't use that as a driving force behind Stranger's character [assuming he will be in a future game].

They didn't say he was the only Steef left in all of Oddworld, so I think it's safe to assume that there are a few more out there.

true, I dont remember anyone saying there were no steef left, just none around here.

It's not about them being nearly extict, it's about him being ashamed of who and what he was. He hated himself, he hated what he was, he spent his life (I'm assuming) hiding, lying, and pretending to be someone he's not.

Seeing him able to stand proudly near the end was a big moment for me. I invested a lot in this character emotionally as I was playing, and I was rewarded.

I actually thought of that as well when I first watched it. I suppose it would have been easy enough to change "got no horns" to "cut his horns" if that were the case. So I suppose it must be accurate. Stranger had no horns.

The other thing that leads me to think Stranger must have been a youngish Steef are questions the surgery raises. Why did Stranger say "I need this to survive" when he seemed to be passing as... well, not-steef? There must have been something more behind it then just "since I'm *trying* to look something like a wolvark, I might as well go all the way." I got a sense of urgency off of the whole thing, like Stranger was under the gun for some reason. After all, going through the trouble of getting all that moolah puts him at a greater risk of being found out then just lying low in some out-out-back area.

Maybe that time limit was biological? Wonder if it had anything to do with that unseen fourth page of his surgery?

Fie upon OWI for hiding it from us! :D

I also agree about the last-of-the-species thing. That was one of the reasons I felt for Munch so much, I already feel for Stranger for *different* reasons. Making him the last of his species doesn't really fit the issues he's dealing with, and it detracts from Munch's story.

The reason I felt for Stranger more than Munch is because in Munches story, there was a lot of "telling" and not a lot of "showing". Stranger was very good at showing his emotions rather than telling you the story like Munch. Plus, Stranger's more dramatic then Munch and Abe, two wacky characters, so his situation makes it more serious in a way. You felt Stranger's desperation "I need this... to survive" it just felt so much more emotional then Abe's or Munche's story.

I disagree. He never stated or implied that he hated himself. I never gleaned that from his character. In fact it seemed like he knew he was more powerful as a steef than he was as the Stranger in the depantsing scene. "Well now you know... but you won't live long enough to tell the tale!" He was already proud to be a steef but in order to be accepted into society, he had to conform to the standard (and also to not be hunted by Sekto, which I'm sure now that was the reason he said "to survive" as he was running away from him. Also, the scene "where do I go to find you?" was like "ok, I know who's doing all this steef head collecting, now to go to his home base and strike him there!")

I think it's possible that Stranger is still young, when you see him without his bounty hunter garb his facial features look (to my mind) almost boyish. Also, in the original concept sketches of Stranger he was a lot bigger. I kind of expected him to grow horns as the game progressed and was a little dissapointed when he didn't...would have been cool to see him taking guys down with those things. :p

I thought that was a case of rather clever script writing, since it causes one to think that the surgery is meant to save Stranger's life so one doesn't realize its true intention. I think by "survive" he is just saying that sooner or later he's going to get found out and he needs to get the surgery as quickly as possible to decrease the risk of that happening.

Sekto is very vindictive regarding the Steef...perhaps the Steef are the only race strong enough to threaten him and the Glukkons so he eliminated them. This raises the interesting question: are the Octigi allied with the Glukkons? Considering that they are "related" could it be that they are also children of Margaret?

I was a little confused by that bit on the phone myself. Its obvious when he first asked about how much it payed he wasn't expecting to do anything about it. But when he asks for 20 grand for a steef head, it seems like he might be considering getting him one. I thought he might know where other steef where, and that he was so concerned with himself he was contemplating killing one of his kind in order to escape detection. That wasn't my first thought, but I couldn't understand why he was asking for 20 grand unless he thought he might do it.

because Sekto Springs is a bottled water company.


I think that there are more Steef, just not around the general area of the game. BUT! I think Stranger may know something that he hasn't shared yet.... I think he knows where more Steef are.

When he was talking to Sekto, he said he could get a Steef head. This wouldn't be Stranger, of course, cause you can't do much with money when you're dead. This makes me believe that Stranger knows where more Steef are hiding out- has family, perhaps?

I get the feeling that Stranger is a bit of a loner so I don't think he has any family to speak of....and even if he did wouldn't that provide enough acceptance for him not to have to have the surgery?

watching that movie of the phone call again, I get the feeling that he had no intention of finding a Steef head for Sekto, that he really just wanted to get to him.

as for why he said he might know where to find one for 20 grand... I'm not sure. Maybe he was trying to find an amount that seemed high, but somewhat reasonable?

I believe Stranger was trying to play the role of the bounty hunter, and he really wanted to be the bounty hunter going after a steef. He did not want to be that steef, he wanted to be "normal", so he lied, hoping he would believe it himself. Then you see him take another look at the poster, and reality hits him, I think the expression he makes displays this. The operation he wants is not just so he can survive, but so he can also feel normal for once in his life.

If you look closely, in the caves before you reach the dam and go through that old village in the caverns, you can see paintins of steef fighting octogi(Sekto's species?). Maybe there was a war between the two and the Steef lost.

The Steef Protect the Grubs the grubs hunt the fish and probably make the waters an unsafe place for the Octogi to reproduce. I imagine that behind the dam is a place where Secto can reproduce.

I don't really ever see any one as a villian. Ever. No matter how nefarious. Every one including heroes are just looking out for self interests. Which is where Stranger starts out at the begining. It's only after he can no longer intergrate into society that he starts thinking of others who are also overlooked and oppressed.

yes, but HOW weould he get the money for the operation!?

Sure, he could wrangle up outlaws until he's raised enough, but that could take a while.

He says he can get a Steef for Sekto for 20k.

But since Stranger IS the Steef, and Sekto would simply kill Stranger right then and there, it wouldn't make much sense for Stranger to reveal that he's a Steef, and then not get the money and be dead on top of that.

Thats why I think Stranger knows where more Steef are, so he can get one and turn it in to Sekto, get the money, and then get the operation.

here's a diagram...

STEP 1: TALK ON PHONE, AGREE FOR 20K IF STRANGER GETS A STEEF HEAD

STEP 2: ???

STEP 3: PROFIT!