Shirren choice bars

[Don Hastily]

I know I read somewhere about Shirren choice bars. I can find where I read it. Where is the 411 on choice bars?

[Asurasan]

They are mentioned in dead suns 1. I don't have my book in front of me so I can't give you a page, but I think it is in the write up about the Spike.

[Don Hastily]

Oh, okay maybe that's where I read it. It was driving me crazy, I was looking through Pact Worlds and couldn't find anything.

thanks

[Hmm]

Option bars were mentioned in the first Paizo blogs about Shirren and the iconic Shirren mystic, Keskodai.

Shirren Blog wrote:

Shirrens define themselves by their individualism. When they left the Swarm, they assumed partial control over the neurological pleasure and pain systems by which they were formerly directed, and even generations later, making choices for themselves can literally flood them with pleasurable neurotransmitters. While this ability is not always beneficial—some shirrens deliberately drug themselves this way, becoming “option junkies” blissed out on sequences of trivial decisions—freedom of choice is crucial to shirren identity. At the same time, shirrens remain highly communal, and are valued as collaborators by other races due to their ability to foster teamwork and put the goals of the group first.

Keskodai Blog wrote:

Though quite fond of option bars and other artificial means of stimulating his choice centers, he's careful not to let himself overindulge... usually. More often he satisfies his need for independence by customizing his gear—though he doesn't consider himself vain, Keskodai is intensely proud of the aesthetics of his gear, his collection of trophies, and his mustache (which he thinks lends him an air of gravitas).

[Hmm]

I liked Option Bars so much, they became a centrai concept for my own Shirren character, Cosmo. I also referenced them in a song I wrote about Keskodai.

Keskodai’s Song

♫ Traveling with my child side by side
The stars arrayed before us in some grand design
You, my son, will see the wonders of the galaxy

Spreading the Lady’s gospel out in space
Meeting denizens of new worlds face to face
Life and death and their tangled destiny

I cannot tell you who you are --
Can't find answers in an option bar
Chk-Chk, my sweet love

Do you see the worlds beyond your jar?
Are you dazzled by their many revelations?
Our sacred individuality
When we face out we discover what’s within
Emerging from your bottle like a djinn
Then once more begin

And I see colors in a different way
Where once there was only dark and grey
Perhaps that’s why we both need this journey

Oh what am I to do-o-o?
You’ve expanded my point of view
Chk-Chk, my sweet love

I think of your mothers late at night
They gave me their trust without hesitation
Our beloved reciprocity
When will I ever be in their sweet arms again?
Watch you escape the bottle like a djinn
Then once more begin

How do we ever know if our path is right?
How do we balance life’s many equations?
I guess we just have to trust and see
When you escape your bottle like a djinn
When you discover what lies within
Travelling the edges of the outer rim
Then you’ll take flight
In the starry night
Chk-Chk, no other will shine so bright ♫

___
*Source: “Bright” by Echosmith

[Hmm]

To the O.P: Your question intrigued me so much that I wrote an article for Wayfinder 19 describing a specific Shirren Option Bar. If you want me share my text with you, let me know.

Hmm