Shantidas's page

Shantidas Stellananda began life on Castrovel, born in Qabarat to well-to-do priests of Saranrae. His parents had spent some years of their early married life on missions of mercy for the Saranrae church. His parents were also outspoken advocates of non-violence, even in situations where most would justify it. This led them to get into some challenging situations, but the stories of how their refusal to use violence resulted in surprising redemptions of ne'er-do-wells inspired young Shantidas to embrace the same doctrines. They later settled down to serve the local community, his father as a scholar and his mother as a doctor. Shantidas was drawn to both professions growing up but developed a strong desire to understand how everything works. This included physical reality, magical reality, spiritual reality, and any other realities might yet be discovered. He studied physics and medicine in college but also studied religion, culture, and philsophy. To complete his graduate studies, he did a research project on Triaxus studying the effects of strange auroras on the climate and on some of the native flora and fauna.

Idealized by many other humanoid races and gifted with innate psychic abilities, lashuntas are at once consummate scholars and enlightened warriors, naturally divided into two specialized subraces with different abilities and societal roles.

Ability Adjustments See Below
Hit Points: 4
RACIAL TRAITS
Size and Type
Lashuntas are Medium humanoids with the lashunta subtype.
Dimorphic
All lashuntas gain +2 Charisma at character creation.
Korasha lashuntas are muscular (+2 Strength at character creation) but often brash and unobservant (–2 Wisdom at character creation).
Damaya lashuntas are typically clever and well-spoken (+2 Intelligence at character creation) but somewhat delicate (–2 Constitution at character creation).
Lashunta Magic
Lashuntas gain the following Spell-Like abilities:
At will: daze, psychokinetic hand 1/day: detect thoughts
See Spell-Like Abilities on page 262. The caster level for these effects is equal to the lashunta’s level.

Limited Telepathy
Lashuntas can mentally communicate with any creatures within 30 feet with whom they share a language. Conversing telepathically with multiple creatures simultaneously is just as difficult as listening to multiple people speaking.

Student
Lashuntas love to learn, and they receive a +2 racial bonus to any two skills of their choice.
[Medicine, Life science]

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
The telepathic humanoids called lashuntas evolved adaptive genetics that allow children to develop into one of two subspecies, depending on the stresses they endure at puberty: either the tall, intellectual, and adaptable damaya—who make up most of their race’s political leaders and ambassadors—or the short, burly, headstrong korasha, who excel as warriors and explorers. Both feature short forehead antennae that Focus their natural telepathy, as well as colorful swirls and raised markings on their faces unique to each individual. Due to natural pheromones and lashuntas’ almost perfect physical symmetry, most humanoid races find lashuntas of both subspecies subconsciously (and sometimes unnervingly) attractive.

Both clades of the species bear the same genetics, allowing them to intermarry and have children. While all lashunta children inherit complexions and certain distinguishing features from their parents, their subspecies is not one of them. Through psychic ritual and force of will techniques applied at puberty, Modern lashuntas have mastered the ability to determine what subspecies a child will grow into, activating certain epigenetics and shutting down others. While some lashunta city-states attempt to steer children in particular directions, such as via government-run aptitude tests, most lashuntas believe passionately in a child’s right to choose. In ancient lashunta history, their starkly divided gender roles led to subspecies almost universally correlated with gender, but as lashunta culture has grown more egalitarian, gender balance between the two subspecies has become roughly equal.

HOMEWORLD
Lashuntas form the most prominent race on Castrovel, and have long been organized into independent city-states for protection against the planet’s many apex predators. At the same time, thanks to their large number of magical portals, lashuntas regularly ventured to other worlds even before the advent of space travel, and they have developed particularly close bonds with societies on Akiton.

SOCIETY AND ALIGNMENT
Though lashunta societies usually characterize themselves as meritocracies, their leaders have traditionally been women and are usually damaya except in times of war. Both damaya and korasha lashuntas see education as one of the highest callings, making lashunta scholars renowned across the solar system. Military service is also valued, since their homeworld’s dangerous ecosystem and lack of overarching governments mean that settlements need warriors to protect them from jungle monsters. of these soldiers, the most iconic are the cavalry, lightly armored riders who form telepathic bonds with and take their name from their saurian mounts.

On the whole, lashuntas’ Focus on self-improvement, honor, and communal defense leads them toward good alignments, with damaya tending to be more lawful and korasha more chaotic.

RELATIONS
Lashuntas believe that every culture has something to teach, and thanks to the legendary prowess of lashunta diplomats, most other races respect them and consider them allies, or at least reasonable associates. Vesk admire their warriors, androids and kasathas value their logic and learning, and humans respect their scholarship but risk embarrassing themselves trying to deal with lashuntas’ disconcerting attractiveness. Shirrens are the main exception to this pattern of mutual respect—though lashuntas’ millennia of warfare with the insectile formians has finally ended, many lashuntas are still uncomfortable interacting with similar races and worry that “the bugs” may one day unite against them.

ADVENTURERS
When a lashunta leaves home, it’s often to grow—in knowledge, prowess, or simple enlightenment. Experience is the best teacher, and the thrill of discovery means that a lashunta adventurer is as likely to be drawn to a new world by a rumor of lost lore as by the promise of wealth. of course, this quest for wisdom sounds less noble once it’s understood that the prestige associated with bringing significant new knowledge home to Castrovel all but assures a lashunta the finest creature comforts for the rest of his life as a corporate consultant or professor at a university. Lashunta adventurers are most frequently envoys, technomancers, and mechanics, but soldiers and operatives are also common, the latter being trained and employed by the numerous powerful lashunta-owned corporations that have surpassed many city-states as the primary political powers on Castrovel and beyond.

NAMES
Lashunta naming conventions vary widely among city-states, but often tend toward soft sounds with tonal elements that make them sound musical and elegant to other races. Some sample lashunta names are Domash, Hesori, Kima, Kopalo, Maenala, Nomae, Oraeus, Raia, Shess, Soryn, Taeon, and Varikuara.

Spell-like abilities are magical abilities that function very much like spells do (see Casting Spells starting on page 330). The main difference is that you gained the ability through a different means than normal spellcasters gain spells. A spell-like ability has a casting time of a standard action unless noted otherwise in the ability or spell description. Usually, a spell-like ability either can be used a specific number of times per day, can be used at will, or can affect a creature constantly. If a spell requires an expenditure of credits or Resolve Points as part of its casting, a creature that can cast the spell as a spell-like ability does not need to pay such costs. Creatures with spell-like abilities that can be made permanent still must pay any costs and take the listed amount of time to do so. In all other ways, a spell-like ability functions just like a spell.

Because it functions like a spell, using a spell-like ability in a threatened square usually provokes attacks of opportunity (see page 248) unless the text of the ability or the spell it emulates specifically says otherwise.

Spell-like abilities are subject to spell resistance and dispel magic. They do not function in areas where magic is suppressed or negated.

Just as for spells, a spell-like ability’s caster level determines the ability’s power (see Caster Level on page 331). If no caster level is specified in the ability’s description, the caster level is equal to the creature’s character level or CR. The DC of a spell-like ability is typically equal to 10 + the spell’s level + the Charisma

SCHOLAR +1 INT
As an academic, you have a broad knowledge base and a thirst to expand it.

You are an erudite intellectual, pitting your brain against problems and puzzles that others would find daunting. You might be an instructor of a specific topic at a large university or a dabbler in a number of fields of study. You could be exploring the galaxy in search of ancient artifacts or new scientific phenomena. Whatever your motivation, you are sure that the answers you seek are out there.

Theme Knowledge (1st)
You are an expert in one particular field of study, and your passion for the subject shows. Choose either Life Science or Physical Science and then choose a field of specialization. If you pick Life Science, you can specialize in bioEngineering, biology, botany, ecology, genetics, xenobiology, zoology, or another field of biological science. If you pick Physical Science, you can specialize in astronomy, chemistry, climatology, geography, geology, meteorology, oceanography, physics, or another field of physical science. The DC of skill checks to recall knowledge about your specialty is reduced by 5. Your chosen skill is a class skill for you, though if it is a class skill from the class you take at 1st level, you instead gain a +1 bonus to checks with your chosen skill. In addition, you gain an ability adjustment of +1 to Intelligence at character creation.

To the uninitiated, magic and technology are completely unrelated, but you know there are more correlations between the two than most suspect. Magic and technology are just tools, and when combined into one discipline, called technomancy, they can be far more powerful than one or the other on its own. You utilize tech to empower, harness, and manipulate magic, and you wield magic to augment, control, and modify technology. You are an expert at hacking the underlying structure of the universe itself, bending the laws of science and nature to your will. Your technomancy—which is gained from scientific study and experimentation—manipulates the physical world, weaves illusions, allows you to peer through time and space, and if necessary, can blast a foe into atoms.
Hit Points: 5
Stamina Points: 5 + Constitution modifier
Key Ability Score: Your Intelligence determines your spellcasting ability, the saving throw DCs of your spells, and the number of bonus spells you can cast per day, so Intelligence is your key ability score. Also, a high Dexterity score can help you fire your weapons more accurately and dodge incoming attacks.
Class Skills: Computers (Int), Engineering (Int), Life Science (Int), Mysticism (Wis), Physical Science (Int), Piloting (Dex), Profession (Cha, Int, or Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex)
Skill Ranks per Level: 4 + Intelligence Modifier
Proficiencies: Armor-light; Weapons-basic melee weapons, small arms

BAB 0
Fort 0
Ref 0
Will 2

Spells
You cast spells drawn from the technomancer spell list. To learn or cast a spell, you must have an Intelligence score equal to at least 10 + the spell’s level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against your spell is 10 + the spell’s level + your Intelligence modifier.

You can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. Your number of spells per day is given on Table 4–10: Technomancer. In addition, you receive bonus spells per day if you have an Intelligence modifier of +1 or higher, as shown on Table 4–11: Technomancer Bonus Spells—note that you only receive these bonus spells once you can cast spells of that level normally. You can also cast 0-level spells. These spells are cast like any other spell, but there is no limit to how many 0-level spells you can cast each day.

Your selection of spells is limited. You begin play knowing four 0-level spells and two 1st-level spells of your choice. At each new technomancer level, you learn one or more new spells, as indicated on Table 4–12: Technomancer Spells Known. Unlike spells per day, the number of spells you know isn’t affected by your Intelligence modifier.

Every time you gain a level, you can swap out one spell you already know and learn a single new spell of the same level in its place. In effect, you lose the old spell in exchange for the new one. You must choose whether or not to swap the spell at the same time you gain new spells known for the level.

You can cast any technomancer spell you know at any time, assuming you have not yet used up your allotment of spells per day for the spell’s level. You can also cast a spell using a higher-level spell slot. For instance, if you want to cast a 1st-level spell but have used up all your 1st-level spells for the day, you can use a spell from a 2nd-level slot instead if you have one.

You can also decipher magical inscriptions that would otherwise be unintelligible or, as a full action, identify any spells encoded in a spell gem. This does not normally invoke the magic contained within, although it may do so in the case of a Cursed or trapped spell gem.

Spells Known
0th: 4, 1st: 2
Spells per day
1st: 3

Spell Cache (Su) 1st level [Holy symbol of Sarenrae Pendant]
As the culmination of your early study of the fundamental forces of the galaxy, you have created a spell cache that allows you to store and access spells. Your spell cache could be a device such as a handheld computer or technological implant; an item such as a ring or staff; or a symbol such as a brand, tattoo, or other permanent modification to your body. While you don’t need your spell cache to cast your spells, once per day, you can activate your spell cache to cast any one spell you know and are capable of casting, even if you’ve expended all your spell slots for that spell’s level.

If your spell cache is damaged, it is restored to full Hit Points the next time you prepare spells. If the spell cache is lost or destroyed, you can replace it after 1 week with a special ritual that takes 8 hours to complete.

Kasatha Microcord
These suits of ribbed protective fabric are slightly less advanced than comparable light armor but still provide good-quality protection at an affordable price. Kasatha-made microcord suits are typically one-piece outfits of dark colors, sometimes with glowing trim, but other manufacturers produce such suits in a variety of colors and styles.

PULSECASTER PISTOL
A smaller version of an arc pistol, the pulsecaster sends a low-energy blast at its target. This blast stuns the target without dealing serious damage.

Comm Unit
A personal comm unit is pocket-sized device that combines a minor portable computer (treat as a tier-0 computer with no upgrades or modules) and a cellular communication device, allowing wireless communication with other comm units in both audio- and text-based formats at planetary range. A personal comm unit also includes a calculator, a flashlight (increases the light level one step in a 15-foot cone), and several entertainment options (including games and access to any local infospheres).

Basic Medkit
The basic medkit has spray antiseptic, bandages, and handheld instruments designed to examine, explore, and treat common ailments. The basic medkit allows you to attempt DC 25 Medicine checks to treat deadly wounds.

Tool Kit
A tool kit is a set of specialized tools and devices not worth purchasing individually, but which as a collection are required for a given task or provide a circumstance bonus to certain skill checks. The types of tool kits are: Engineering kit (Engineering checks without one take a –2 penalty).

Medpatch
A medpatch is a simple, all-in-one, disposable medical device designed to be slapped onto a wound or area of concern (such as a clearly diseased or poisoned section of the body) with little skill required. A medpatch allows you to attempt a Medicine check untrained with a +10 circumstance bonus, but only for the first aid, long-term stability, treat disease, and treat drugs or poison tasks.

SARENRAE
The Dawnflower
NG goddess of healing, redemption, the sun
Centers of Worship: Aballon, Absalom Station, the Sun, Verces
Symbol: An angel with flaming wings

Eons ago, Sarenrae was an angel who brought the light of the sun to Golarion and its sister worlds, and with it truth and honesty. She warred with evil beings that sought to plunge the newborn planets into eternal darkness, and emerged victorious—yet some of those who had turned to evil saw their wickedness revealed by Sarenrae’s glory, and in repentance they were forgiven. Sarenrae is kind and loving—a figure of healing, guidance, and light. Yet for all her compassion, Sarenrae is also a powerful force against evil and strikes down the irredeemable without mercy.

Sarenrae is generally seen as the goddess of the Pact Worlds’ sun, which her faithful sometimes call the Dawnflower’s Star in her honor, but she draws power from suns across the universe. She is a deity of boundless love—a caring mother, sister, and protector of all in need. She delights in healing the sick, lifting up the fallen, and shining a guiding light into the darkest hearts and worlds. Sarenrae brushes off insults but responds to violence and predations upon the innocent with cleansing fire and scorching light. Ancient and timeless, Sarenrae stands fearlessly against the tide of darkness, promising that the dawn will always come, and when it does, hope, kindness, and truth will triumph.

The Dawnflower’s faithful come from all walks of life: everyday folk who rejoice in the light of the sun, take comfort in love and compassion, and believe strongly in redemption and righteous action. Though humans often describe Sarenrae as one of “their” gods, the tradition of sun worship is common in societies that rely on the sun’s light for energy and nourishment, and thus most cultures within the Pact Worlds and beyond have worshiped Sarenrae to a significant extent at some point. After humans, shirrens are perhaps the race most attracted to Sarenrae’s faith and her message of redemption and empathy. Many of her priests are envoys, mystics, solarians, or soldiers—those who espouse peace and kindness until stirred to action by evil that cannot be redeemed. When possible, Sarenrae’s temples are open to the sky, but they always have at least a window or skylight where the faithful can bask in the natural light of the sun.

In the Pact Worlds, the spiritual heart of Sarenrae’s church is within the sun itself, in the Burning Archipelago’s central city of Dawnshore. Many Pact Worlds Sarenites feel an instinctive drive to make pilgrimages to this holy site, even though her faith is often individualistic, with the church serving as an organizing and training force for priests and followers who then wander the galaxy doing the goddess’s work.