Meet The Iconics: Dae

Tuesday, June 11, 2024

Happy Pride! The Starfinder team would like to introduce you to our newest iconic character, Dae!

Dae (they/them)* is a sparkly celebrity from a free planet in the Veskarium, a nearby star system ruled by a warlike empire. Dae was born on Pulonis, the pahtra** homeworld—a magical jungle world wracked by intense magnetic storms that degrade technology and bless the planet with spectacular aurora displays. Born last in a large litter from a remote agrarian village, Dae has always loved to make a dramatic entrance, and their birth was no exception.

A magnetic storm raged over Pulonis during Dae’s birth, and coils of lavender, rose, and golden light fractured the sky over their village in slow, chaotic waves, shutting down power in every household and scrambling comms as tech infrastructure suddenly failed—a disaster for a pahtra ending a long labor by delivering a runt the midwife thought might be stillborn.

Dae asked the old folks about it later, and they said the storm was Meyel tearing the sky apart as she danced for joy.Dae fought through the storm of the century alive, dragging a souvenir of the event with them: a tiny orb of starfire that blazed like a miniature sun.



full body illustration of iconic Solarian, Dae

Dae is a solarian. At the time of their birth, they miraculously manifested a stellar mote. At first, Dae’s family believed they’d imagined seeing it, as the mote was a speck and appeared for only a second; it was surely a trick of the light. Then the spark emerged when Dae cried out in hunger, or flared into being when the baby woke up alone in their cradle. Somehow, it could never be captured on video, even when everybody thought they had seen it.

Dae’s mote became more stable as they grew. Soon they learned how to command it, shaping it into armaments: a dazzling sword of starlight, a flaming ribbon, a shield made from the aurora they were born under. As Dae practiced forging their mote into new shapes, they discovered its attunement with gravitic energies. Cycling between these extremes helped them keep control of the reckless stunts they performed, using their mote as an anchor to keep balance or as a flashlight to see down dark tunnels.

Dae is a famous performer, and they have wanted to be seen from the moment they scrambled out into the world. From dancing to executing dangerous stunts and elaborate dramatic scenes, Dae has always been down for whatever it takes to draw a crowd. Showing off was always the norm for them (their aunties and littermates could tell you some wild stories), and they grew up performing at local cultural festivals and winning awards at regional talent shows.

For a long time, Dae uploaded their vids for a small but loyal following on local infospheres. Then serendipity—or Meyel herself—struck again: they met Miiyu, a pahtra celebrity pop star. Scrambling to dodge the paparazzi, Miiyu ducked into a local café, ran for the back door, and nearly smacked right into Dae, who was performing a stunt in the café’s back alley in view of their live-recording camera drone. After recovering, clocking the live feed, and seeing Dae’s dance moves, Miiyu invited them to costar in a music video. The video was a hit, and Dae later joined Miiyu as a backup dancer for her sold-out world tour.

Miiyu’s no-strings-attached endorsement boosted Dae’s career. But that was months ago, and Dae’s only just begun to shine. Next up, they want to see the galaxy outside the Veskarium. They’ve used their pay from Miiyu’s tour to book their own personal “tour” to the Pact Worlds system, starting with the space station at the center of the galaxy.

Now, Dae’s a rising star hoping to do fame their way. They’re not looking to line the pockets of some greedy exec or get tied down with fine print; they care about putting on a show and exploring the galaxy, which is why they vibe so well with Chk Chk. After meeting as interns working for the Starfinder Society, the pair became the best of friends. They’ve even traded friendship bracelets (Dae wears theirs every day) and have shared a mystical bond that lets them speak straight into each other’s minds (with permission).

Where will Dae go next? That’s up to you! Stay proud and playtest. <3

*Dae, like many pahtras*, is agender, a nonbinary gender identity that isn’t male or female. Dae uses they/them pronouns. So, when you see “they” and “them” used in place of gendered pronouns like “she” or “him” referring to Dae, that’s why.

Dae is an alien stellar knight and space pop star who doesn’t care what you think of their gender, but real people with agender and/or nonbinary identities do care if you maliciously misuse their pronouns or make fun of their gender expression, so please act in the spirit of fun and kindness when gaming with people in your community.

**Pahtras are bipedal felinoid aliens (they’re alien cat-people who walk on two legs) from Pulonis, a planet in the Veskarium whose people have been fighting a brutal war for independence from the vesk-run empire. Pulonis recently achieved freedom and joined the Pact Worlds, a federation of independent planets dedicated to maintaining peace and prosperity in the galaxy. The Veskarium is currently at war with the Azlanti Star Empire and has yet to retaliate against the former colony.

— The Starfinder Team
-Thurston Hillman, Managing Creative Director (Starfinder)
-Jenny Jarzabski, Senior Developer
-Jessica Catalan, Senior Developer (Starfinder Society)
-Dustin Knight, Developer
-Mike Kimmel, Developer

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Tags: Meet the Iconics Starfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game

I just met Dae and I already love them!
Also so grateful for agender representation, thanks!

Paizo Employee

6 people marked this as a favorite.

Dae is bae!


Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

So excited to play Dae! Solarions are my jam.

The blog post is showing the wrong year for me Tuesday, June 11, 2022.


Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Wooh, they/them REEEEEEEP


7 people marked this as a favorite.

Dae the nyanbinary influencer, neat! Also love that they're besties with Chk Chk.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

The synth-wave looking shades are pretty cool


I was wondering why Dae was holding a cigar until I realized that's their finger that's smoking. Very nice character design.


Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber
Zelduck wrote:

So excited to play Dae! Solarions are my jam.

The blog post is showing the wrong year for me Tuesday, June 11, 2022.

It's not just you - the post is indeed listed as 2022.

Paizo has cracked time travel!

Scarab Sages

Someone finally needed to replace Space Hars...er, I mean Altronus.


2 people marked this as a favorite.

The Pact claiming a planet in the core of the Veskarium definitely is gonna have some consequences regarding their diplomatic relations for *sure*.

Let’s hope the Vesk and the Azlanti keep each other occupied for a long time to come.

Second Seekers (Jadnura)

3 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Starfinder Society Subscriber

lol get rekt Vesk-6
A stellar attunement interpreted through the lens of auroras, caused by solar plasma and magnetospheres, is a really cool take, on solarians! So good - looking forwards to seeing more Dae!


2 people marked this as a favorite.

Awesome new iconic! Excited to hear more about them and the other iconics. Looking forward to Chk Chk especially.


I love the relationship and friendship bracelet exchange with Chk Chk!

Paizo Employee Organized Play Coordinator

16 people marked this as a favorite.

I followed Dae before they were popular.

Paizo Employee Marketing & Media Specialist

8 people marked this as a favorite.

Dae knows I would die for them but more importantly, Dae knows I will live for them <3

Dark Archive

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Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

I feel like agender speaks to me more than other gender identities, but I can't form an opinion on having an identity of any kind. Dunno if that in itself says something or if its just because I don't like being defined. I grew up with language where there is only single pronoun and I never had problem with surveys asking my sex until I realized one day they aren't just asking about it, but also making presumptions about what my answer means. (but I digress, agender do honestly have the best flag colors ;P)


Pathfinder Adventure, LO Special Edition, Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, PF Special Edition Subscriber; Starfinder Superscriber

Lore question: In the article, it says "many" pahtra are agender. Was this codified before (or is this a "many" just like "Many people are LGBT" and not a statement of a species trend?)?

I know that they're codified as primarily asexual and primarily reproduce through a small amount of breeding pairs in SF1 lore, but being both typically agender and asexual really presses in just how much of an important imperative that is for those breeding pairs.

rimestocke wrote:
Dae the nyanbinary influencer, neat! Also love that they're besties with Chk Chk.

I also love that bit so much. Also, as much as I don't want to make someone's identity a token for a joke, I'm disappointed in my self that I didn't think to make my nyanocyte nyanbinary.

Chk Chk having a bestie is top notch character development for the little emo baby tho.


Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

I really love their art, vibe and story, really neat!
How is their name pronounced though? I read it as if it were korean, like "The", or is it more like "Day"(like Iomedae)?


1 person marked this as a favorite.
Vice Blue wrote:

I really love their art, vibe and story, really neat!

How is their name pronounced though? I read it as if it were korean, like "The", or is it more like "Day"(like Iomedae)?

The latter, especially given their association with the sun.

Liberty's Edge

I am so looking forward to seeing the new iconics and Starfinder Second Edition. I am pleased to see that the Veskarium is having a few headaches. (Hmm, can the Veskarium reform? In the Andromeda series, the Vedran Empire became a constitutional monarchy called the Systems Commonwealth. Will the Veskarium have to make difficult choices as it battles the Azlanti Star Empire?)

Dae has a great story and it is nice to see some friendships among the iconics. (I was pleased to see that in Pathfinder Second Edition that Merisiel and Kyra finally got married_

Paizo Employee Designer

1 person marked this as a favorite.

Dae is amazing, and I would do anything for them (and their bestie Chk Chk). <3

Grand Archive

2 people marked this as a favorite.

I don't have any negative feelings toward Dae, but just because my Starfinder lore is a little lacking, is there an in-universe reason Altronus is being replaced? I don't really know anything about him, so I'm just curious.


1 person marked this as a favorite.
Ken'Thras Sunspell wrote:
I don't have any negative feelings toward Dae, but just because my Starfinder lore is a little lacking, is there an in-universe reason Altronus is being replaced? I don't really know anything about him, so I'm just curious.

I think this is more of a "A new generation!" Kind of thing.


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"Dae is a solarian. At the time of their birth, they miraculously manifested a stellar mote."

I'm not sure I like this miracle. Philosophy is not hereditary.


2 people marked this as a favorite.

Gender is complex, good to see a little of that complexity being highlighted. I personally feel agender internally, though I enjoy presenting feminine and am fine with she/her pronouns even though I prefer they/them. (Or maybe some of those dangerous neopronouns like fae/faer or ey/em.) Just making the concept of agender a little better known helps soften one of the barriers to explaining my complex identity to others. <3


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GameDemon wrote:

"Dae is a solarian. At the time of their birth, they miraculously manifested a stellar mote."

I'm not sure I like this miracle. Philosophy is not hereditary.

Magical black hole/supernova powers go a biiiiit beyond a philosophy.

Just like Wizards babies showing an aptitude for magic after they're born.

Dark Archive

2 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Congrats for making me like a celebrity character btw :D (yeah I normally have bias against icon theme characters xD Because they tend to make everything joke about livestreaming, including warzones, there isn't even mechanic for that usually considering how long it takes for messages being sent through drift)


1 person marked this as a favorite.
TheCowardlyLion wrote:
GameDemon wrote:

"Dae is a solarian. At the time of their birth, they miraculously manifested a stellar mote."

I'm not sure I like this miracle. Philosophy is not hereditary.

Magical black hole/supernova powers go a biiiiit beyond a philosophy.

Just like Wizards babies showing an aptitude for magic after they're born.

Nothing like that.

"The cycle that empowers and guides solarians is a philosophy that came to the Pact Worlds on the Idari, along with the tradition of the solarians themselves."

- from paizo's blog (https://paizo.com/community/blog/v5748dyo5ljyq?Class-Preview-The-Solarian)

"The solarian contemplates and gains power from the life cycles of stars."
"Whether you apprenticed in a temple or came to your powers through personal revelation, you recognize yourself as part of an ancient tradition — a force of preservation and annihilation."

- Core rulebook

A newborn possesses only basic cognition and doesn't have the capacity for any of these. Becoming a solarian is a personal journey, one that requires time and conviction. This has been the way to become the warrior - philosopher we know from day one.

Grand Lodge

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The writeup of Dae and replacement of Altronis, combined with some other significant changes to the makeup of the Pact Worlds make me suspect that solarians are no longer 100% tied to the kasatha philosophy.

I would hazard a guess that while you can still become a solarian the kasathan way, you can now also become one in other ways, like being born during a magnetospheric storm. Kind of like how both wizards and sorcerers can using magic, but one learns through study, and the other has an inherent gift for it.


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GameDemon wrote:

Nothing like that.

"The cycle that empowers and guides solarians is a philosophy that came to the Pact Worlds on the Idari, along with the tradition of the solarians themselves."

- from paizo's blog (https://paizo.com/community/blog/v5748dyo5ljyq?Class-Preview-The-Solarian)

The Kasatha only brought the first tradition of solarian training to the Pact Worlds aboard the Idari and SF1e solarians were interpreted through that lens. We already had solarians moving outside that framework in SF1e with the Broken Cycle, Stellar Mystic, and Electrical Attunement options.

GameDemon wrote:

"The solarian contemplates and gains power from the life cycles of stars."

"Whether you apprenticed in a temple or came to your powers through personal revelation, you recognize yourself as part of an ancient tradition — a force of preservation and annihilation."

- Core rulebook

A newborn possesses only basic cognition and doesn't have the capacity for any of these. Becoming a solarian is a personal journey, one that requires time and conviction. This has been the way to become the warrior - philosopher we know from day one.

Quote:
"Whether you apprenticed in a temple or came to your powers through personal revelation, you recognize yourself as part of an ancient tradition — a force of preservation and annihilation."

Personal revelation is listed as being on equal importance with temple training. There are a lot of stories of particularly spiritual people demonstrating remarkable enlightenment improbably early in their development. Dae is clearly meant as something of a solarian wunderkind.

-------------------------------

But of course, all of this is largely irrelevant. These were the exact same arguments that happened when PF2e came out and introduced changes or when the Remaster happened and things had to be removed or changed to ward off WotC's lawyers. Changes happen and the intent is clear. Solarians are moving away from the portrayal as being dogmatically tied to one philosophical tradition in order to open up the wider and wilder universe.

Nothing is preventing you from playing a Cycle traditionalist with ties to an ancient and proud cosmonastery but other players might want to play something else entirely. I, for one, am really looking forward to seeing how solarians change as the dogma is increasingly left behind.


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Ok I got to know is the pun intentional? Dae is a solarian. In effect they are Sun-Dae.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
Master Han Del of the Web wrote:
GameDemon wrote:

Nothing like that.

"The cycle that empowers and guides solarians is a philosophy that came to the Pact Worlds on the Idari, along with the tradition of the solarians themselves."

- from paizo's blog (https://paizo.com/community/blog/v5748dyo5ljyq?Class-Preview-The-Solarian)

The Kasatha only brought the first tradition of solarian training to the Pact Worlds aboard the Idari and SF1e solarians were interpreted through that lens. We already had solarians moving outside that framework in SF1e with the Broken Cycle, Stellar Mystic, and Electrical Attunement options.

GameDemon wrote:

"The solarian contemplates and gains power from the life cycles of stars."

"Whether you apprenticed in a temple or came to your powers through personal revelation, you recognize yourself as part of an ancient tradition — a force of preservation and annihilation."

- Core rulebook

A newborn possesses only basic cognition and doesn't have the capacity for any of these. Becoming a solarian is a personal journey, one that requires time and conviction. This has been the way to become the warrior - philosopher we know from day one.

Quote:
"Whether you apprenticed in a temple or came to your powers through personal revelation, you recognize yourself as part of an ancient tradition — a force of preservation and annihilation."

Personal revelation is listed as being on equal importance with temple training. There are a lot of stories of particularly spiritual people demonstrating remarkable enlightenment improbably early in their development. Dae is clearly meant as something of a solarian wunderkind.

-------------------------------

But of course, all of this is largely irrelevant. These were the exact same arguments that happened when PF2e came out and introduced changes or when the Remaster happened and things had to be removed or changed to ward off WotC's lawyers. Changes happen and the intent is clear. Solarians are moving away from the portrayal as being...

I'm sure that Disney lawyers had something to say about it, too.


Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber
Ezekieru wrote:
Vice Blue wrote:

I really love their art, vibe and story, really neat!

How is their name pronounced though? I read it as if it were korean, like "The", or is it more like "Day"(like Iomedae)?
The latter, especially given their association with the sun.

Oh, is that intentional? Clever! I didn't really think of that, thanks for clarifying!

Paizo Employee Director of Brand Strategy

3 people marked this as a favorite.
Kittyburger wrote:
I'm sure that Disney lawyers had something to say about it, too.

They might have a ton to say about it (I hope they all play Starfinder, after all) but immediately assuming that they were involved in this decision in any way is a huge logical leap.

Not sure what grounds they'd have to get involved in whether or not Dae could have manifested a stellar mote at birth or not, in any case.

Grand Lodge

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
Mark Moreland wrote:
Kittyburger wrote:
I'm sure that Disney lawyers had something to say about it, too.

They might have a ton to say about it (I hope they all play Starfinder, after all) but immediately assuming that they were involved in this decision in any way is a huge logical leap.

Not sure what grounds they'd have to get involved in whether or not Dae could have manifested a stellar mote at birth or not, in any case.

I did some work for Star Wars, once upon a time, and anything that looks sort of "Jedi-y" makes me imagine lawyers with red lightsabers closing in on the heroic redoubt, if you know what I mean and I think you do. ;)


I dunno, I feel like philosophical space psychics have been around for a while by this point. Not to mention soulknives. It's hard to trademark "space knights" when Star Wars was itself pretty derivative (non-judgmentally) of older sci-fi tropes.


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Master Han Del of the Web wrote:

The Kasatha only brought the first tradition of solarian training to the Pact Worlds aboard the Idari and SF1e solarians were interpreted through that lens. We already had solarians moving outside that framework in SF1e with the Broken Cycle, Stellar Mystic, and Electrical Attunement options.

Philosophies have dichotomies, but they remain philosophies, so do the solarians, they are different but they remain philosophers.

Master Han Del of the Web wrote:

Personal revelation is listed as being on equal importance with temple training. There are a lot of stories of particularly spiritual people demonstrating remarkable enlightenment improbably early in their development. Dae is clearly meant as something of a solarian wunderkind.

A toddler's revelation is in the space of "wow, is this my foot?"

Master Han Del of the Web wrote:
Solarians are moving away from the portrayal as being dogmatically tied to one philosophical tradition in order to open up the wider and wilder universe.

Philosophies don't have dogma and are open to interpretation.

In starfinder the source of someone's supernatural powers are very loosely described and is open to the players imagination and that's fine. However every source needs and has an identity. So does the solarian power, don't strip the philosophical background from this tradition, it will only make it worse. And also give it a name while you are at it. Cynics' philosophy is Cynicism, Solarians' philosophy is Solarianism?

You want a savant solarian? Excellent! but ask this: Was Bach born a composer?


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GameDemon wrote:
Stuff

Aaand... internet argument threshold reached. I've really got no interest in arguing the minutiae of things like the meaning of 'dogma', doing the work of digging up stories of saints or figures in Buddhism, or why arguing that 'realism' is a goofy thing here.

Sorry the thing you like is getting left behind by the edition change. It's not really in our hands and the writers feel more inspired by this version.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
Kobold Catgirl wrote:
I dunno, I feel like philosophical space psychics have been around for a while by this point. Not to mention soulknives. It's hard to trademark "space knights" when Star Wars was itself pretty derivative (non-judgmentally) of older sci-fi tropes.

I didn't say Sith Lawyers were rational. I just said they were a thing. ;)


2 people marked this as a favorite.
Ken'Thras Sunspell wrote:
I don't have any negative feelings toward Dae, but just because my Starfinder lore is a little lacking, is there an in-universe reason Altronus is being replaced? I don't really know anything about him, so I'm just curious.

His terrible level 1 SFS character sheet made it implausible that he was still alive in any reality that even the most skilled Witchwarper could reach.


I'm still holding out hope for a last Field Test before the playtest release featuring solarian stuff.

Dataphiles

VerBeeker wrote:

The Pact claiming a planet in the core of the Veskarium definitely is gonna have some consequences regarding their diplomatic relations for *sure*.

Let’s hope the Vesk and the Azlanti keep each other occupied for a long time to come.

I'm so glad to have confirmation that Pulonis became a Pact World myself, since the first images of a pathra solarian hinted but didn't quite guarantee this.

Pulonis was really only nominally conquered by the Veskarium, as rebellion against their empire never really stopped. The fact that tech is unreliable on the planet helped, since that is a big part of any space age warfare.

And to be honest, it's actually not all that strategically valuable to the Veskarium. The conquered it before Drift travel was a thing pretty much just because it was in their sphere of influence. That isn't to say though that it isn't a political minefield that they lost a planet to their ceasefire partner, but the Veskarium certainly does have higher priorities in the wake out the Drift Crisis ending. Kehtaria, the planet that the Veskarium and the Azlanti Empire are warring over, is likely the top of their list since it's a Drift lane hub now and it has flora just as vast and scientifically useful as the megaflora on Pulonis without the electronic interference (though Kehtaria's wildlife is by no means harmless either).


Pathfinder LO Special Edition, Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, PF Special Edition Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Starfinder Superscriber

Paizo comes up with so many interesting iconic characters.


Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

Out of curiousity, in SF1e it was stated that many pahtra were asexual. Is this also still true in addition to many being agender? Personally I hope so, but was curious if the 'predominantly agender' aspect of pahtras is an addition or a replacement
(and again, really hoping both are true as someone who is at least one and possibly both)


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Does this species have two sexes or what? If so, what gametes does Dae produce, assuming there aren't biological abnormalities that inhibit or disrupt the production thereof?


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Assuming you're asking in good faith:
Pahtra do have two biological sexes but they are frequently asexual (meaning they experience little to no sexual attraction). Dae, specifically, is agender (meaning their gender expression is outside of a binary gender model).

What gametes, if any, Dae produces is frankly none of our business.

In the spirit of good faith, I'm going to warn you that the way you asked this will come across as very rude.

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