About Shasta QuicksilverBackground:
New Hire: Life is hard, and you’ve been down on your luck for a long time. However, you still have a few friends from the old days when you had credits to burn. One of those friends is a brenneri named Tarika; you and she had a lot of good times together, but she dropped out of your social scene to raise her daughter. Things went downhill for you after that. A few weeks ago, you were squatting in Downside when you ran into Tarika and she recognized you. She put in a good word with the Company and got you this job as a result. Theme:
Ace Pilot: You are most comfortable at the controls of a vehicle, whether it’s a starship racing through the inky void of space or a ground vehicle zooming between trees, around boulders, and across dusty badlands. You might be a member of an elite military force, the recipient of intense courses of training. Alternatively, you might be a total amateur with innate skills that make you a much-admired hotshot. Race/Planet:
Pahtra The catlike pahtras are one of the most prominent species of the Veskarium, natives of a lush world they call Pulonis but that the Veskarium designates as Vesk-6. Their home planet’s relatively low gravity and fast predatory species resulted in the pahtras evolving into a lean race with elongated humanoid bodies and limbs. Pahtras’ fur ranges in color from tawny brown to shades of black and gray, while their eyes can be virtually any color of the visible spectrum. According to ancient traditions, a pahtra’s unique facial pattern indicates her character and potential for achievement. Some pahtra societies still assign adolescent pahtras to a specific social role after a reading of her face patterns by a pahtra mystic. However, the most recent generations of pahtras have begun to resist this often-superficial classification, especially as news reaches Vesk-6 of prominent offworld pahtras who break their supposed type.
While the tradition of assigning status based on facial fur patterns is fading, similarly ancient rites requiring all pahtras, regardless of status, to participate in a dangerous, weeks-long competition in their 15th year are still very common. Such competitions involve dividing the adolescents into groups of a dozen each and sending them into the jungle. There, they face both natural threats and their peers in survival challenges and war games that result in more than a few casualties each year. The performance of a pahtra in this rite often dictates the trajectory of their social standing thereafter. Most pahtras are asexual, and a relatively small number of breeding couples bolster the population with litters of six to eight kits at a time. While pahtras frequently form lifelong, loving relationships with a single partner or small set of partners, they cherish individualism above all else. From their first steps, they strive to distinguish themselves from their siblings by developing and perfecting a unique ability. This inclination also makes pahtras highly suspicious of conformism—including that demanded by their vesk overseers—and while they can be deeply distrustful of strangers, they are also very protective of those they consider friends. Pahtra culture sees music and battle as the two greatest possible career paths, defining all other activities by how they relate to these callings. They also see strong synergies in the two pursuits, using music not just for artistic expression but also to coordinate battles and intimidate their enemies. Pahtras have perfect pitch and are natural musicians, and their music plays a central role in their society. They use arias, ballads, and elaborate musicals to tell the stories of their most legendary warriors, and they play bass- and percussion-heavy music to bolster their morale on the battlefield. When the first wave of vesk forces arrived on Vesk-6, pahtras were much less advanced technologically, and though their many nations had significant similarities in culture, they were in no way united or uniform. They were ultimately unable to resist the vesk’s advanced weapons, starships, and interplanetary empire, but their warrior traditions, knowledge of local terrain, and willingness to fight for their homelands ensured the vesk conquest was neither swift nor easy. Their bold resistance won the pahtras no small amount of respect from the lizard-like race. While some smaller pahtra collectives were destroyed in the war, others formed coalitions and grew into larger and more varied nation-states. In time, all these major pahtra nations signed treaties with the Veskarium, accepting vesk rule and a host of Veskarium regulations in return for largely maintaining self-rule in local matters. Only the enormous Command 6 military base that serves as the capital of Vesk-6 and base of operations for the planet’s vesk high despot is ruled entirely by vesk officers and officials; more remote regions are generally overseen by a consul who works with local pahtra governments. While most such consuls are retired vesk officers, a few pahtra consuls also exist. Vesk-6 and its people are now unquestionably part of the Veskarium, but most pahtra uphold their cultural traditions, trusting in their ancient ways of life to keep them distinct (and often far away) from the vesk ruling class. Some groups seek to punish the vesk for their conquest, even seeking to expel their conquerors and reclaim Pulonis as their own, but such efforts rarely do more than draw the ire of legions of Veskarium peacekeepers. Most pahtras who refuse to live under vesk rule instead take advantage of the opportunities presented by the Veskarium’s alliance with the Pact Worlds, and travel far from their home planet to try their luck as explorers, mercenaries, musicians, or seers. Vital Stats
Pulonis/Vesk-6: A lush, low gravity world inhabited by many fast predators. Story:
Shasta Quicksilver came from a race, the Pahtra, who encouraged those coming of age at around 14, to distinguish themselves by becoming the best at whatever passionate goal they choose. Shasta excelled at two things: hunting and piloting. She was particularly skilled at stealth, learning how to blend into the environment and become nearly invisible. She then would use a sniper rifle or pistol to take advantage of her hiding place and take down prey. She won an important and dangerous competition for young pathra coming of age by stalking those on other teams and taking them out, one at a time. She earned herself the nickname of the Ghost.
But her real passion was piloting. Whatever vehicle she took control of was immediately pushed to the limit and often beyond. She learned quickly and distinguished herself at piloting craft of all descriptions. She soon got offers to pilot starships. The Vesk tried to impress her into the military, but on the day she was supposed to report for training, she stole a vesk starship and raced and fought her way out of the Vesk space, into the Drift, and never looked back. She headed for the Pact Worlds, curious to see new worlds. She got jobs flying starships for various corporations, living fast, spending her pay as quickly as she earned it at bars and night clubs. She particular enjoyed dancing and drumming at the clubs, as both activities were part of her culture, integrated into all physical activity, particularly warfare. She made friends with a brenneri female at these clubs and they became club-mates. Then Tarika became pregnant and stopped going to clubs to raise her kit. Shasta worked for several years, saving little, but enjoying her freedom. But her work was getting boring. There was rarely a need to push her piloting skills. She was only attacked by space pirates once. The rest of the time, there was little value in hot-shot piloting. Companies valued pilots who kept to a schedule. She liked to gamble and eventually discovered the fast and furious world of starship racing. Rich kids who could afford fast ships that they then enhanced for speed, met at star ports and strutted around their vessels. Racers would challenge each other and place bets on who would win. Spectators got in on the betting too. Once the bets were placed, the racers would set a course and set out, followed by a third ship that scanned the vessels and sent videos of the racers, along with their relative positions. These reports were put together with AI holograms that gave spectators a vivid simulation of the race. This inspired Shasta to try to find a way to afford a starship so she could enter one of these competitions. She got a lucrative job on Akiton, which was convenient because the best races started from the Ari star port. Races were often illegal in more civilized star ports, but were just another piece of Akiton's gladiatorial culture. The dangers of the Akiton wilds forced land travelers to form convoys, finding safety in numbers. They were willing to pay top cred for skilled pilots. After a year or two of these gigs, Shasta earned enough money to buy a stolen racer on the black market. She flew it to get to know what it could do, invested in a few enhancements, and took it to a race. Most of the more experienced racers sneered at her unimpressive racer, which led her to target the most overconfident racer, one she had observed in enough races to learn his weaknesses. She challenged him and when bets were laid down, she challenged the racer to bet his own ship against hers. She had to also put down the rest of her convoy earnings to make up for the fact that her ship was not as valuable as his. The race was on and she was winning until a mechanical breakdown hobbled her craft and she lost everything. She found herself broke and for a time eked out a living driving a taxi in Ari. Then she heard a familiar voice call her name in a bar, where she was working on her third strong drink. It was Tarika, in town working for EJ Corporation as a dispatcher. She hooked Shasta up with a recruiter and soon she had a job flying a freighter for The Company. Shasta was not thrilled to be piloting a nearly worthless tub for wages barely better than her taxi job, but it got her out of Akiton and three squares a day doing what she loved. She hoped it was the start of a rise back to a lifestyle that could satisfy her lust for adventure and danger. Description:
Age: 20 (four years past maturity)
Height: 6'5" Weight: 165 lb Appearance: Tall and lean, with tawny fur spotted with black rosettes. Her eyes are cyan-green. Female Pathra Ace Pilot Operative (Ghost) 3 NG Medium Humanoid (Pathra) Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 feet, low-light vision Perception +7 ------------------------------ DEFENSE ... SP 18 HP 22 RP 4 ------------------------------ EAC 16; KAC 17 Fort +1, Ref +5, Will +2 +2 racial bonus against charm and compulsion effects Evasion If you succeed at a Reflex save against an effect that normally has a partial effect on a successful save, you instead suffer no effect. Save Dice:
[dice=Fortitude]1d20 + 1[/dice] [dice=Fortitude, Wary]1d20 + 2[/dice] [dice=Reflex]1d20 + 5[/dice] [dice=Reflex, Wary]1d20 + 5 + 2[/dice] [dice=Will]1d20 + 2[/dice] [dice=Will, Wary]1d20 + 2 + 2[/dice] ------------------------------ OFFENSE ------------------------------ Speed 30 ft. Melee Survival Knife +6 (1d4 + 1 S) +Trick Ranged Tactical Semi-Auto Pistol +6 (1d6 + 1 P)(Range 30) + Trick or Tactical Diasporan Rifle (laser) +6 (1d8 + 3 F)(Range 70/250) Offensive Abilities Trick Attack (Stealth +14 vs 20 + CR, +1d8 damage, target flat-footed against operative's attacks) Combat Dice:
[dice=Stealth, Trick Attack]1d20 + 14[/dice] DC 20 + target's CR [dice=Trick Attack Damage]1d8[/dice] [dice=Survival Knife]1d20 + 6[/dice] [dice=damage, S]1d4 + 1[/dice] [dice=Tactical Semi-Auto Pistol]1d20 + 6[/dice] [dice=Damage, P]1d6 + 1[/dice] [dice=Tactical Diasporan Laser Rifle]1d20 + 6[/dice] [dice=Damage, F]1d8 + 3[/dice] ------------------------------ STATISTICS ------------------------------ Str +0; Dex +3; Con +0; Int +1; Wis +0; Cha +5 Base Atk +2 Feats Weapon Focus (Small Arms), Verstile Focus Skills Acrobatics +13, Athletics +7, Bluff +10, Computers +8 (ranks 2), Culture +8, Diplomacy +4, Disguise +8, Engineering +7 (ranks 1), Intimidate +8, Life Science +5, Medicine +7, Perception +7, Piloting +11 (ranks 3), Profession (Singer/Dancer) +11, Sense Motive +6, Sleight of Hand +8, Stealth +13, Survival +6 ACP -1 Theme Knowledge: You are obsessed with starships and vehicles, and have committed to memory almost every related tidbit of knowledge you’ve ever come across. Reduce the DC of Culture checks to recall knowledge about starship and vehicle models and parts as well as famous hotshot pilots by 5. Languages Common, Vercite, Vesk, Castrovelian, Ysoki Skills Dicebot:
[dice=Acrobatics]1d20 + 13[/dice]
[dice=Athletics]1d20 + 7[/dice] [dice=Bluff]1d20 + 10[/dice] [dice=Computers]1d20 + 8[/dice] [dice=Culture]1d20 + 8[/dice] [dice=Diplomacy]1d20 + 4[/dice] [dice=Disguise]1d20 + 8[/dice] [dice=Engineering]1d20 + 7[/dice] [dice=Intimidate]1d20 + 8[/dice] [dice=Life Science]1d20 + 8[/dice] [dice=Medicine]1d20 + 7[/dice] [dice=Perception]1d20 + 7[/dice] [dice=Piloting]1d20 + 11[/dice] [dice=Piloting, Astrogator Tool kit]1d20 + 11 + 4[/dice] [dice=Profession (Singer/Dancer)]1d20 + 11[/dice] [dice=Sense Motive]1d20 + 6[/dice] [dice=Sleight of Hand]1d20 + 8[/dice] [dice=Stealth]1d20 + 13[/dice] [dice=Stealth, trick attack]1d20 + 14[/dice] [dice=Survival]1d20 + 6[/dice] ------------------------------
Money 213 Credits
Wary: Pahtras gain a +2 racial bonus against charm and compulsion effects. Operative’s Edge (Ex) - 1st Level Your diverse training as an operative grants you a +1 insight bonus to initiative checks and to skill checks. This bonus increases by 1 at 3rd level and every 4 levels thereafter. Specialization - 1st Level Your specialization represents your primary area of expertise. Your specialization grants you the Skill Focus feat in your specialization’s associated skills (Acrobatics and Stealth, +3 insight bonus), and you gain a free skill rank in each of those skills at each operative level (this does not allow you to exceed the maximum number of skill ranks in a single skill). Operative Specialization
Uncanny Pilot When you attack while you’re driving a vehicle, you halve the vehicle’s penalty to your attack roll (to a minimum of no penalty if the vehicle normally imposes a –1 penalty). When you’re in a chase, you gain a +2 bonus to skill checks you attempt when taking the evade or trick pilot actions. Weapon Specialization (Ex) - 3rd Level You gain the Weapon Specialization feat as a bonus feat for each weapon type with which this class grants you proficiency. Gear Descriptions:
Semi-Auto Pistol, Tactical
Source Starfinder Core Rulebook pg. 173 Level 1; Price 260 Hands 1; Proficiency Small Arms Damage 1d6 P; Range 30 ft.; Critical — Capacity 9 rounds; Usage 1 Bulk L; Special analog Description The semiautomatic mechanism of this pistol discharges spent cartridges and reloads fresh ones in the barrel, provided a cartridge remains in the magazine. Diasporan Rifle, Tactical
Starstone Compass
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