Meet the Iconics: Raia

Fanatical materialist xenophile. Neat.

What's this about subspecies?

Lashunta sexual dimorphism from Pathfinder got retconned into a metamorphic subspecies system. Damaya get what used to be female stats in Pathfinder.

Fanatical materialist xenophile. Neat.

What's this about subspecies?

http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2ubv9?Enworld-Exclusive-Planet-Castrovel-previe w#32

Mark Moreland wrote:

David knott 242 wrote:

1) A Lashunta is born male or female and then chooses to become Damaya or Korasha later on. In the distant past, males were expected to become Korasha and females were expected to become Damaya and rarely made the opposite choice, but nowadays all four combinations are relatively common. This option leaves open the possibility of families that are all Damaya or all Korasha.

It's this option, as far as I understand it (as a non-member of the Starfinder team). There would certainly be a lot of pressure in a Damaya family for all the kids to be Damaya, just like a family of doctors might pressure their kids to also be doctors. But ultimately, the kid gets to choose his or her own path when the time comes.

If we're looking at getting into specifics—and I'm happy to having helped rework this aspect of lashunta biology—the lashunta evolved two distinct types of adolescent developments as a response to the severe swings in environmental pressures of their homeworld. Depending on the pressures they faced at puberty, they would either mature as hardy, combative korasha, or they would mature as adaptable, observant damaya. When their culture later developed a tradition of strong gender roles, the kinds of pressures that triggered development as a korasha fell almost entirely on males, while the pressures that trigger damaya development fell almost wholly on women.

As lashunta have move towards leaving their sexism in the past and opening social roles, education, and careers up to everyone regardless of gender, the distribution has become much more even, and many city-states even allow a child to choose how they will develop (by way of meditation and/or medication) rather than just relying on ambient environmental pressures. There are still a few conservative city-states where the gender divide exists and the subspecies are still largely divived by gender, but these are increasingly rare.

So... what happened to the elves on Castrovel? Did they disappear with Golarion?

Also cool to see our first Iconic that's in a interspecies long distance relationship.

shes cute, I like her.

So... what happened to the elves on Castrovel? Did they disappear with Golarion?

Also cool to see our first Iconic that's in a interspecies long distance relationship.

Elves are still there. they are just xenophobic and insular.

So... what happened to the elves on Castrovel? Did they disappear with Golarion?

I believe they are still have a homeland on Castrovel but due to the disappearance of Golarion and their original homeland of Kyonin, they have become even more isolationistic and very bitter (due to having their original homeland just up and vanish).

This does not mean elves don't occasionally leave Castrovel to explore the universe but those cases are rare and isolationistic elves view those of their kind that leave their home on Castrovel with a mixture of pity and scorn.

I like her worldview. I think Raia is the iconic that best matches how I like to play.

I love the character, but I'm a little disappointed in that for a character that is a technomancer, there is hardly any tecnomancy duscussed. She clearly has the xenoseeker theme though.

...for a character that is a technomancer, there is hardly any tecnomancy duscussed.

I noticed this as well, and I'm of two minds about it. On one hand, it's refreshing to see a character that uses its class primarily to pay the bills - not everyone dedicates their life to their job, and seeing a character that exists as more than a vessel for class abilities is refreshing and relatable; Raia is possibly the most relatable iconic of the bunch.

On the other hand, she is the iconic Technomancer, and it would be nice to see how the content of her studies has impacted her personal trajectory in more areas than "college major".

Another nice write up. An interesting character concept. It leaves me wanting to see more on the technomancer

Lashunta sexual dimorphism from Pathfinder got retconned into a metamorphic subspecies system. Damaya get what used to be female stats in Pathfinder.

I truly love this change. It makes for much better role playing.

I love her. Out of all the iconics i identify the most with her and i would love to study aliens.

So standard triaxians have been retconned into ryphorians in the same way standard vercites have been retconned into verthani. Good move. It would be awkward to say "oh THIS is a triaxian from Triaxus. But THAT is not a triaxian, that's just a Dragonkin native to Triaxus--a Triaxian Dragonkin, not a Triaxian triaxian."

"Raia doesn't hold to any unrealistic expectation of non-interference in alien cultures..."

"What is this ... 'prime directive?' How ridiculous! How can you learn what they have to teach you if you never interact?"

I love it. Can't wait to see the class reveal. (That's later this week, right?)

I am noticing a pattern in regard to race names -- any race named after its planet of origin seems to be getting a new name. The "ryphorian" appears to be a winterborn Triaxian, for example.

"Raia doesn't hold to any unrealistic expectation of non-interference in alien cultures..."

"What is this ... 'prime directive?' How ridiculous! How can you learn what they have to teach you if you never interact?"

I love it. Can't wait to see the class reveal. (That's later this week, right?)

If they follow the normal pattern we should get the technomancer write up friday afternoon.

Kvantum wrote:

So... what happened to the elves on Castrovel? Did they disappear with Golarion?

I believe they are still have a homeland on Castrovel but due to the disappearance of Golarion and their original homeland of Kyonin, they have become even more isolationistic and very bitter (due to having their original homeland just up and vanish).

This does not mean elves don't occasionally leave Castrovel to explore the universe but those cases are rare and isolationistic elves view those of their kind that leave their home on Castrovel with a mixture of pity and scorn.

Um....except that Castrovel is their homeland and Golarion(Kyonin) was just a colony. So that makes no sense.

Unless they retconned that...

Kvantum wrote:

So... what happened to the elves on Castrovel? Did they disappear with Golarion?

I believe they are still have a homeland on Castrovel but due to the disappearance of Golarion and their original homeland of Kyonin, they have become even more isolationistic and very bitter (due to having their original homeland just up and vanish).

This does not mean elves don't occasionally leave Castrovel to explore the universe but those cases are rare and isolationistic elves view those of their kind that leave their home on Castrovel with a mixture of pity and scorn.

I though Elves came to Golarion from Castrovel not the other way around.

Very interesting story and potential for character development.

Really dislike the artwork, for the simple reason that the body armor has a huge weakness in the protection of the abdominal area, and that can potential by a fatal flaw in a combat situation.

Doc_Outlands wrote:

"Raia doesn't hold to any unrealistic expectation of non-interference in alien cultures..."

"What is this ... 'prime directive?' How ridiculous! How can you learn what they have to teach you if you never interact?"

I love it. Can't wait to see the class reveal. (That's later this week, right?)

If they follow the normal pattern we should get the technomancer write up friday afternoon.

I couldn't remember if it was Thursday or Friday, but was pretty sure it was *before* the weekend. Since I work 6 or 7 days a week, I can't always remember trivalities like the weekend!

Very interesting story and potential for character development.

Really dislike the artwork, for the simple reason that the body armor has a huge weakness in the protection of the abdominal area, and that can potential by a fatal flaw in a combat situation.

Mage Armor may still be a thing in the future; its ability to prevent strippy characters from being skewered should allow it to stand the test of time.

Raia will probably be my go-to pregen now because I try to talk to every creature before fighting. That will include the akatas on the cover of Incident at Absalom Station because they're too cute to shoot/stab/crush with a gravity-well sword, etc.

The only way her outfit works is if it isn't armor at all.

Hey at least it's covering her heart. ;)

I think of it more as dress armour, not meant to be used as practical armour but it can stop a bullet...to the heart. ;)

Not all adventurers wear practical clothing, sometimes it's about style. Look at Star Lord from Guardians of the Galaxy. Other than his helmet he just wears a shirt and leather jacket.

So standard triaxians have been retconned into ryphorians in the same way standard vercites have been retconned into verthani. Good move. It would be awkward to say "oh THIS is a triaxian from Triaxus. But THAT is not a triaxian, that's just a Dragonkin native to Triaxus--a Triaxian Dragonkin, not a Triaxian triaxian."

That's exactly why we did it! Names that seemed totally reasonable in Distant Worlds became clunky when doing a whole game based around them. :P

Clever ploy- paint fake skin over the strongest armor.

Aw, I was hoping it would be summer on Triaxus so we could see both seasons.

Berselius wrote:

Kvantum wrote:

So... what happened to the elves on Castrovel? Did they disappear with Golarion?

I believe they are still have a homeland on Castrovel but due to the disappearance of Golarion and their original homeland of Kyonin, they have become even more isolationistic and very bitter (due to having their original homeland just up and vanish).

This does not mean elves don't occasionally leave Castrovel to explore the universe but those cases are rare and isolationistic elves view those of their kind that leave their home on Castrovel with a mixture of pity and scorn.

Um....except that Castrovel is their homeland and Golarion(Kyonin) was just a colony. So that makes no sense.

Unless they retconned that...

Well I mean the capital of Sovyrian is called El, so You'd think the El-ves would have evolved there. Plus they and the lashunta look quite similar.

I loved her story, it was really sweet and heartwarming ^w^

Aw, I was hoping it would be summer on Triaxus so we could see both seasons.

It's funny, because I'm pretty sure they show the planet as tropical in the preview from last week.

Kind of hoping that, with advanced tech and magic, they have like a weather control thing so they can change seasons with the rest of us. Would be a fun difference so you can experience the planet either way.

I loved her story, it was really sweet and heartwarming ^w^

It's a nice change of pace from having a traumatic and dark backstory. :)

Rysky wrote:

I loved her story, it was really sweet and heartwarming ^w^

It's a nice change of pace from having a traumatic and dark backstory. :)

Ye.

The only way her outfit works is if it isn't armor at all.

From what we've seen, armor always doubles as a spacesuit (for at least a few hours), so armor may not need to even have (physical) protection to be useful.

Additionally, it may not be armor; her "armor" could be sitting in her pocket, enveloping her in a tech/magic forcefield. Shie is a tech-savvy space wizard from the future.

I'm fairly certain that she's got some type of armor, though. All classes are proficient in light armor (the spacesuit thing), and without somatic spell components, I can't really think of a reason to forgo it.

I'm a bit sad how little class talk there was for her whereas everyone else it played a larger part or was at least put into context more or less.

That said I like the background.

Yeah, "technomancer" was just her major in college. She is more defined by her theme than her class.

Not all adventurers wear practical clothing, sometimes it's about style. Look at Star Lord from Guardians of the Galaxy. Other than his helmet he just wears a shirt and leather jacket.

And occasionally pants.

I wonder how easy it is to minimize the "techno" part if one wants someone who studies just magic. But that's for another blog post.

I love Raia's optimistic worldview. There isn't a lot of "drama" in her background, but I think that has a lot to do with the way she lives her life. On one hand, it can make her seem innocent, but on the other, it points to a mature approach to challenges and change. I think she makes an excellent addition to the iconics.

For a bit of a sneak preview of what the Starfinder pre-painted miniatures will look like, here is a link to them. However, the image quality is fairly poor but in general you get a pretty good idea of what they will look like:
www.minisgallery.com/starfinder/index.html

I love her background! She's defined by optimism, hope and love, and that's such a wonderful change of pace, both in science fiction and rpg character motivation.

Jurassic Pratt wrote:

Not all adventurers wear practical clothing, sometimes it's about style. Look at Star Lord from Guardians of the Galaxy. Other than his helmet he just wears a shirt and leather jacket.

And occasionally pants.

I wonder how easy it is to minimize the "techno" part if one wants someone who studies just magic. But that's for another blog post.

For such a character, the Mystic class may be a better choice.

The only mystic connection that does not appear to have magic come from higher powers of some sort is Psychic, so I doubt it. A non-techno mage is probably a technomage who doesn't pick up any tech-related magic hacks.

Raia is the Janira Gavix of Starfinder.

Distant Scholar wrote:

Jurassic Pratt wrote:

Not all adventurers wear practical clothing, sometimes it's about style. Look at Star Lord from Guardians of the Galaxy. Other than his helmet he just wears a shirt and leather jacket.

And occasionally pants.

I wonder how easy it is to minimize the "techno" part if one wants someone who studies just magic. But that's for another blog post.

For such a character, the Mystic class may be a better choice.

True. The source of a mystic's powers isn't specified. It can be from a higher power, but can just as easily be arcane or psychic in origin.

So standard triaxians have been retconned into ryphorians in the same way standard vercites have been retconned into verthani. Good move. It would be awkward to say "oh THIS is a triaxian from Triaxus. But THAT is not a triaxian, that's just a Dragonkin native to Triaxus--a Triaxian Dragonkin, not a Triaxian triaxian."

What? I'm lost.

Berselius wrote:

Kvantum wrote:

So... what happened to the elves on Castrovel? Did they disappear with Golarion?

I believe they are still have a homeland on Castrovel but due to the disappearance of Golarion and their original homeland of Kyonin, they have become even more isolationistic and very bitter (due to having their original homeland just up and vanish).

This does not mean elves don't occasionally leave Castrovel to explore the universe but those cases are rare and isolationistic elves view those of their kind that leave their home on Castrovel with a mixture of pity and scorn.

Um....except that Castrovel is their homeland and Golarion(Kyonin) was just a colony. So that makes no sense.

Unless they retconned that...

I thought they were from Kyonin, retreated to Castrovel to avoid Starfall, then came 'home' later.

Dragoncat wrote:

Rysky wrote:

I loved her story, it was really sweet and heartwarming ^w^

It's a nice change of pace from having a traumatic and dark backstory. :)

Ye.

Gotta be honest, an adventurer with a normal, loving upbringing and a sane home life WOULD be the true oddball. What sane well-adjusted person would do it? :)

You might be surprised at home many people are driven completely around the bend by 'normal, loving upbringings'

That said, I have no idea how this 'idealistic college kid' iconic will deal with any sort of hardship.

John Kretzer wrote:

Berselius wrote:

Kvantum wrote:

So... what happened to the elves on Castrovel? Did they disappear with Golarion?

I believe they are still have a homeland on Castrovel but due to the disappearance of Golarion and their original homeland of Kyonin, they have become even more isolationistic and very bitter (due to having their original homeland just up and vanish).

This does not mean elves don't occasionally leave Castrovel to explore the universe but those cases are rare and isolationistic elves view those of their kind that leave their home on Castrovel with a mixture of pity and scorn.

Um....except that Castrovel is their homeland and Golarion(Kyonin) was just a colony. So that makes no sense.

Unless they retconned that...

I thought they were from Kyonin, retreated to Castrovel to avoid Starfall, then came 'home' later.

That was the story I remember from Inner Sea World guide, but re-reading it, Paizo has kept it intentionally vague; it's so pre-history that the answer is not clearly defined. Even the Pathfinder Wiki's references don't come down decisively, that I can see. It doesn't even matter by this point, anyway.

Castrovel has been called their homeland several times, especially in the Second Darkness adventure path and the Distant Worlds Campaign Setting.

The primary city is called El, and has several Elf-Gates that lead to colonies across the cosmos including Kyonin.