What should my Swarm PC be made of (Non-Bug Spathinae)


General Discussion


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Hey all, my home group is finishing up Devastation Ark which we started w/ the same characters we finished Fly Free or Die with. Next up is going to be Horizons of the Vast (Space Kingmaker on unexplored world) and I'll be playing a Neurochemist Biohacker1/Medic Empath Mystic11.

I REALLY like the idea of playing a sentient swarm but bugs freak me out so my DM is letting me have it made out of something else, off the top of my head i was thinking birds since i was going to have my characters voice be melodic like a choir in perfect harmony, but at normal human "inside voice" volume. My other thought was a variety of plants.

That said I'd like to hear some suggestions of what might be interesting but not too bug like (butterflies included :P)

Oh if it matters were going with Xenni-labs and i'm a sort of scientist/doctor and only the fluff is changing nothing mechanically. Here's the race: (each creature in the swarm fits roughly in a 1 inch cube)

https://aonsrd.com/Races.aspx?ItemName=Spathinae


Very tiny humans.


(1) Micro-machines (as opposed to nannites)

(2) a sapient collective of plankton or phytoplankton

(3) an accumulation of sentient motes of dust, sand, and soil

(4) something like a bacterial culture or viral mass, in line with an ooze or what have you

(5) a psychically extradimensional interlocking avatar of crystalline particulate

(6)...a Voltron of Doc Suess's Who's


Umbra-Arcturus wrote:

(1) Micro-machines (as opposed to nannites)

(2) a sapient collective of plankton or phytoplankton

(3) an accumulation of sentient motes of dust, sand, and soil

(4) something like a bacterial culture or viral mass, in line with an ooze or what have you

(5) a psychically extradimensional interlocking avatar of crystalline particulate

(6)...a Voltron of Doc Suess's Who's

3, 4 and 5 are definitely getting added to list :)

1) is too similar to my current character who is an SRO Power armor mechanic so i want to avoid robot/tech stuff

6) i a little too silly but it DID make me smile so bonus points for that

2) doesnt interest me for some reason, think i want to avoid something to similar to the fish swarm that inspired me


(7) Living ashes, still possessed by the spirit and will of a former life form.

(8) Atomic ghost like Dr. Manhattan from Watchmen.


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A spirit inhabiting their old rock collection, basically a swarm of pretty rocks and crystals and such.


here's what i have so far thanks to many peoples suggestions :)

Swarm Creatures: Ferrets, Dragons, Various Plants, Frogs, Owlcats, Bears, Monkeys, Birds, Giant extremely miniature space Hamsters (We are Boo!), Ashes/Dust/Sand/Dirt/Earth, Crystals, Gems, Oozes, Living Pixel Art, Beholders

Please keep em' coming you all are really helping my imagination run wild :)

Wayfinders Contributor

I'd go with tiny birds or bats.

Dark Archive

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Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

If you play a Ferret you'll have to attack vacuum cleaners on sight, and have no concept that you don't have as many HP as a creature 30 times your size.

but since Spathinae fly I agree that tiny birds or bats might work best.


A sentient meme war. Scholars still debate if it went horribly horibly right or wrong.

Harmonic superstrings

chinese medicine balls with the chimes

Radiant Oath

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Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

Maybe take a page from the shakalta's book and be a collection of tiny motes of light? Sentient stardust, if you will.

Second Seekers (Jadnura)

Pathfinder Starfinder Society Subscriber

I had a dumb concept for a spathinae that was made up of hyper-motile bacterial enzymes and mammalian milk proteins bound into a quasi-coagulated, semi-congealed form, aka a sapient cheese person :D Concept works best if paired with a bantrid in the party, for hilarious smelly cheese shenanigans.

Radiant Oath

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

How would that work? Bantrids don't have noses!


Well yeah, that's why the two wonder how their infiltration missions always get busted by a cleaning crew.


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Kishmo wrote:
I had a dumb concept for a spathinae that was made up of hyper-motile bacterial enzymes and mammalian milk proteins bound into a quasi-coagulated, semi-congealed form, aka a sapient cheese person.

"Tremble and despair, puny Pactlings, for thy hour is come! I am Camembert the Destructor, scourge of the myriad stars, runner of noses, and bringer of a thousand-thousand tears!"

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