Khizar have no eyes, but I'm looking into Augmentations that grant it normal vision (not blindsense or blindsight).
Reading the description for Augmentations say the item becomes a PART of the PCs body, so I'd take that to mean the Khizar can be granted normal vision (and a range beyond 30 foot for perception) via techno eyes.
Especially considering that the Khizars can at least detect light and dark, which is super primitive "eye cells" that were never evolved because of the vibration/life senses.
Thanks!
Mmm... The biologist in me says no. It's a hard thing to imagine, but I'll try to describe it.
The Khizar don't know what sight is, their brains would lack the necessary functions to process visual information. Light when you consider plants, they react to when light touches them. Whether directly from the sun, or bounced off of another object they're reacting to the rays and heat, not the light itself like the human eye does. Our eyes focus the light that hits them and translates that through our rods and cones into a form our brain can understand and then give us a (very slightly delayed) visual representation.
However, magic. Starfinder is a setting with magic and hybridized technology, and for all the science one can throw at a matter, magic gives it a big ol' middle finger and calls it a day. So where their brains lack the parts, there's nothing anyone can really say to prevent magic from sharing the concept of a sense with something that lacks it.
Mmm... The biologist in me says no. It's a hard thing to imagine, but I'll try to describe it.
The Khizar don't know what sight is, their brains would lack the necessary functions to process visual information. Light when you consider plants, they react to when light touches them. Whether directly from the sun, or bounced off of another object they're reacting to the rays and heat, not the light itself like the human eye does. Our eyes focus the light that hits them and translates that through our rods and cones into a form our brain can understand and then give us a (very slightly delayed) visual representation.
The simple rebuttal would be to build-in an occipital lobe into the augmentation. Sure, normally a species without the brain part dedicated to the sense would be unable to process a new sense, but just give them a brain part dedicated for the processing and perception of that sense and you fixed the problem without relying on magic.
I love this game. Hand waving stuff because 'we can just give them a new brain part' is the best.
I mean ok, but i don't see it as being really handwavey. We're already starting to figure out prosthesis for damaged retinal and occipital tissue, so why couldn't we, in a few hundred years worth of technological advancement, figure out how to supply whole bionic occipital "lobe" to a person who never had a (working) one?
I love this game. Hand waving stuff because 'we can just give them a new brain part' is the best.I mean ok, but i don't see it as being really handwavey. We're already starting to figure out prosthesis for damaged retinal and occipital tissue, so why couldn't we, in a few hundred years worth of technological advancement, figure out how to supply whole bionic occipital "lobe" to a person who never had a (working) one?
Remember though the additional part of this equation. Khizars are plants. They don't have brains in the same context as we do, if they have such an organ at all.
Their heads are a seed pod and they taste through touch. They are enormous naturalists and have no care for appearances, judging creatures solely on action. To develop the tech to give such a creature sight would mean long testing periods among other things. Volunteers, trials, so on. It's not as simple as making a brain part, you need to understand how the thing functions at its core and build from the ground up.
If we pretend the Khizar were around and willing to socialize since the Gap that gives 317 potential years for such a research project with basically nothing prior to build off of due to the nature of the Gap. Though it would be trying to install tech in a naturalistic race, and forcing a human sense on them. They do have a penchant for curiosity but it's highly unlikely that enough of them would give themselves over to such a study.
Again though, magic is a thing in this universe. Technically things like a data jack can be installed on them and from there use it to plug into a drone. An eccentric Khizar could find a way. Hell, by definition biochains might do it, being biotech that emulates any cybernetic. Problem: they don't have eyes to begin with to have an "eye-slot" cybernetic at all. Same as you couldn't give a nose cybernetic to something without a sense of smell. At least to look at it from the rules perspective.
I do, remember the additional part of the equation, but it's not relevant. Plants or not, to operate the way that they do, the Khizar have to have some kind of analogous organ to a nervous system (probably not located in the "head"). 300 years is more than enough time to study an analogous system and adapt an established bionic/biotech implant to it (or for a Khizar to reverse engineer from the analogous meatbag system).
Especially since people were able to technologically advance from existing technology during the Gap (like pre-Drift starships) rather than starting entirely over. The Gap is described as affecting records and memories of events, not skills or abilities or what advancements exist. It's more like the universe got amnesia - the prosthetist still knows how to build a prosthesis invented during the Gap but she forgot who invented the prosthesis and when. There's definitely more than 300 years of tech to work from.
While magic easily works as an acceptable solution because it's a fact of setting, this is still not outside the realm of technological possibility. We don't always have to give up and say "a wizard did it." There's still the science part of the science-fantasy and that's applicable to this hypothesis.
Khizars are described as living in harmony with nature, so that doesn't necessarily mean they're purist naturalist that would never "stoop" to technology - and if some of the equally naturalist Xenowardens accept biological augmentations and modifications (and they do), so too would some individual Khizars. In fact, since Khizars are "eager to learn about other cultures and their ways," a particularly dedicated Xenoseeker type Khizar might definitely try to understand how to live with "sight" as the fleshlings do by bionically implanting the ability within themself.
Since the stat block does specify they have no eyes, you're right, they probably can't take advantage of 'Eye-slot' augments. But this would probably be a 'Brain-slot' Augment, since I'm suggesting implanting a whole analogous brain "lobe" for the function.
This is an easy one:
CRB page 208
Common Systems: Although exceptions do exist, most
augmentations require installation into one of the following
body systems: arm (or all arms), brain, ears, eyes, foot (or all
feet), hand (or all hands), heart, leg (or all legs), lungs, spinal
column, skin, and throat.
PW page 212
Khizars have no eyes
or visual senses, other than
the ability to perceive the presence
or absence of light.
Being blind in exchange for both blindsense (vibration) and blindsight (life) seems pretty balanced.
And there's no such thing as a regular prosthetic eye... yet.
Since the stat block does specify they have no eyes, you're right, they probably can't take advantage of 'Eye-slot' augments. But this would probably be a 'Brain-slot' Augment, since I'm suggesting implanting a whole analogous brain "lobe" for the function.
The Data Jack is brain-slot, thus I support the concept. It would allow their "brain" to perceive the digital input from anything connected, which could include visual data from a source. Imagining it from the Khizar's perspective could be anything from horror, to fascination, to carelessness.
In my research, when it does go into the realms of alternate-life theory, I attempt to take an objective approach. We assume everything to be like ourselves, as it is easier. It's hard to put yourself in the shoes of something that has no frame of reference for what you're describing to it. Things of value to us are not necessarily of value to something else. This is why I used the terminology of "forcing a human sense". I also did not mean to imply they were entirely anti-technology, I was simply taking loose inspiration from the following passage:
With space travel becoming more common, some khizars have relocated to the Ice Wells of Aballon to protect those natural spaces from the native robots’ encroaching megaplexes.
As it is one of the few parts of their single page entry with any evidence to their universal agenda.
The Khizar cannot feasibly work towards something they cannot understand. As humans, we know the mantis shrimp has has 16 colour receptors compared to our 3, but it is impossible to grasp what that looks like to a brain that only knows three colours. We can't work to see thirteen more colours than we know exist, and as an entire species there are too few who would want to in order to move forward on it. This is why, for as much as the Khizar wish to understand others, there would be too few overall to forward such research (though my saying so in hypocritical of my prior statement of trying to not compare foreign species to ourselves). Which means a member of another species with would need to front such a project, which would need willing Khizar, funding, testing, etc. though the Khizar are only stated as having two major homes. Castrovel, and the above quoted Aballon, so their numbers can be assumed to be significantly smaller than the 7 core races.
Either way, mine is a hypothesis based on what we are able to know, and perceived information we have. As a science-fantasy setting, Starfinder, though it uses many Earth analogs, does not necessarily apply by the same rules (multiple habitable planets in the same solar system being an enormous scientific loophole), thus my hypothesis, though it has basis in reality cannot really be proven or tested.
From the perspective of the game, and the available resources, as the Khizar do not have eyes, they cannot be given eyes. No one in the universe would likely try to force eyes on them, though an eccentric Khizar (namely a PC, as they represent a break from the norm in many cases) may wish to experience vision. Such a Khizar could attempt a work around such as a brain augmentation like a data jack, or some other means to connect to something else that could provide visual input, however such a thing would not allow you to grant them normal vision like the other races, as I cannot find a technological item that can be put in another system which grants vision. My best bet on it was the Ocucloak, however it does not actually grant vision, only make you unflankable.
Which is to say: yes, Starfinder has prosthetic replacement eyes.
Homebrew away!
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Unless specifically stated, all playable races can use all forms of gear statted for PCs.
Not only do I believe that to be the underlying assumption of the game, it's just plain easier to manage that way. Otherwise, threads like this would come up every two microns and GMs everywhere would drown under the needless minutiae and corner cases.
Besides, if the technology level of the Pact Worlds can already make armor, implants, and weapons for humans, undead, mechanical souls, giant lizards, mini-hug beasts, mega-bug beasts, crystalline rock snails, flying meat sack balloons, and alien jellyfish and slimes, then I see absolutely no reason why khizar should get excluded from all the fun.
That being said, I do agree that they have no eye slot and are thus ineligible in this specific instance (it is specifically stated in this case).
mini-hug beasts, mega-bug beasts...
I assume that a skittermander is a mini-hug beast.
mini-hug beasts, mega-bug beasts...I assume that a skittermander is a mini-hug beast.
Assume whatever you want, but I like your way of thinking. ;)