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I have the pdf already and reading through it I have a question about the PC race Borias. Under Racial Traits there is the trait "Old Talents" which allows you to retain a racial trait from your "former" life. Example (and where my question comes in) Android (upgrade slot), but if I pick Android do I also get the benefits of not breathing etc?
Yeah, as undead, I kind of expected them to have the basic undead traits (darkvision, arrested metabolism, being a walking corpse, et cetera). Do they not have that sort of thing? (Still waiting in Pending Purgatory, so I can't check.)
Yeah, as undead, I kind of expected them to have the basic undead traits (darkvision, arrested metabolism, being a walking corpse, et cetera). Do they not have that sort of thing? (Still waiting in Pending Purgatory, so I can't check.)
Borais aren't all dead as they retain a bit of their soul. Due to this they do not gain undead immunities.
What? Since when do undead not have souls? That's all a ghost is, isn't it?
I see from the product thread though that Borais have constitution scores, which means that they have some kind of metabolism. Still seems odd to me that they'd need to breath, though (androids have con and don't).
Androids have metabolisms of some sort, although it is a setting mystery how they digest anything, since they don't breathe in any chemicals to react with their food - they need to eat, and they regenerate slowly, just like a human does. Spoiler from Dead Suns 3.
I haven't read the PDF yet, but I'd assume Borais are to undead as Androids are to constructs - i.e. fundamentally NOT that, but rather humanoids with an exotic subtype and weird rules reflecting how strange they are.
Anyway, Androids have 4 racial traits; I would assume Old Talents lets you pick exactly one, based on your description, but what the hell do I know? They are:
Constructed
Exceptional Vision
Flat Affect
Upgrade Slot
Constructed is the trait letting them not breathe, while Upgrade Slot is the trait granting them an upgrade slot.
Wow, so both undead and androids in canon refer to 'normal' humanoids as "breathers" as a derogatory term, but somehow an android that becomes undead suddenly has to start breathing? WTW? That can't be right.
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What? Since when do undead not have souls? That's all a ghost is, isn't it?
I see from the product thread though that Borais have constitution scores, which means that they have some kind of metabolism. Still seems odd to me that they'd need to breath, though (androids have con and don't).
How it works is that mindless undead don't have souls as far as I know?
(that said, isn't ghost a ectoplasm body animated by remnant of the soul?)
They retain a bit of their soul so they have to eat, breath, and sleep. But if their past life was an android that didn't breath then does the new form need to breath. Or is that all over written as the only aspect of being an android being carried over is the additional upgrade slot? In other words, while "alive" you where an android, human, or whatever; but now in your undead state you are Borais which is a separate "organism"?
I still can't fathom how "retaining your soul"="Need to eat, breath, and sleep." One of these things is not like the other. These two things have never been tied to one another in any other monster or race.
I checked the pathfinder wiki to be sure, and intelligent undead in PF have always "retained a bit of their souls" and according to the SRD they don't need to eat, breath, or sleep. So I'm not sure where this idea is even coming from.
Is that the explanation in the PW book, or is that just everyone's head-canon for why? If that's the book explanation, I know exactly what the first thing I'm changing is.
The description specifically calls out that they are a unique form of undead, who didn't actually die but are in fact "mostly dead" (I can imagine all the Princess Bride jokes already) and their soul never left the Material Plane but is still clinging to their original body, hence the need to breathe, eat, etc. Socially this makes them a bit like half-elves; they don't quite fit in among either the living or the undead. It sounds interesting to me.
But I agree that the breathing bit doesn't make much sense in the case of androids.
I have a player who thinks he's playing an anroid borai, according to the concept of a very old android "roughly brought back to life" after being discovered in an old junkyard (inspired by Gunm, Battle Angel Alita). But according to the description a borai is supposed to breathe. Which does not fit either with an android (which does not breathe), nor with life on Eox (in the description it is said that a majority of Borai live on Eox, which has no more atmosphere and is irradiated). Isn't there something wrong with this? A Borai should not breathe and not suffer the normal environmental effects of vacuum. Right?
I still can't fathom how "retaining your soul"="Need to eat, breath, and sleep." One of these things is not like the other. These two things have never been tied to one another in any other monster or race.
I checked the pathfinder wiki to be sure, and intelligent undead in PF have always "retained a bit of their souls" and according to the SRD they don't need to eat, breath, or sleep. So I'm not sure where this idea is even coming from.
Is that the explanation in the PW book, or is that just everyone's head-canon for why? If that's the book explanation, I know exactly what the first thing I'm changing is.
The borais remind me of the dhampirs from Pathfinder 1, the half-undead Special Subtype from the Advanced Race Guide and the revenant from the films and comics "The Crow" : that is to say a half-undead more alive than dead. But due to the fact that a borai can be an ancient android and the fact that borais mostly live on Eox, a Borai should not need to breathe, nor fear radiation or other environmental effects.
Androids have metabolisms of some sort, although it is a setting mystery how they digest anything, since they don't breathe in any chemicals to react with their food - they need to eat, and they regenerate slowly, just like a human does. Spoiler from Dead Suns 3. ** spoiler omitted **
It's probably nanites in their digestive system whose function is only to digest/transform food into an energy source. This is to allow an android to survive in a place without electricity. These same nanites allow them to “heal” like a human being would. The androids in Starfinder remind me of the androids from the "Alien" film series, but also the cylons from Battlestar Galactica who could easily pass for humans.