A belated thanks from this gassy aberration to you, Paizo!

[SITZKRIEG!]

I know I'm late to the party (obviously) but I just downloaded the playtest document to see how things were shaping up. I haven't played SF since before the pandemic as my in person group broke up but was curious just in case. I'm surprised and glad to see the barathu becoming a core race in the playtest with lots of options including sizes small to large! I can't quite tell why I'm obsessed with that ancestry but I loved it from the first time I read about them as a playable race and started making characters the same day (though I never played them as I was 8 levels deep in my Veskness at the time!).

A common complaint that I have with alot of modern scifi is the trope of aliens just being humans with an hour or two in the makeup chair each morning even in written/animated fiction. Even massive budget scifi like modern Star Trek has failed to live up to what is possible with both practical effects and CGI nowadays (even killing off my favorite Andorian and only actually even moderately alien character in Strange New Worlds during season 1!). Starfinder obviously added anthropomorphic aliens in 1st edition but I'm glad to see their going full alien in this one with multiple ancestries including my favorite aberration! This blimpy alien vents my gas in your honor (and general direction) as thanks! :)

[Justnobodyfqwl]

Barathu absolutely live up to the promises and pitch of SF2E: this is a more out-there system with weirder ancestries that break the rules of PF2E.

They're not just Distinctly Alien, their entire mechanical identity is about playing with their unique physical form to do fun stuff. You can mess around with more feats by retraining then faster. You can 100% mechanically make magic HRT to inject yourself with ever day. You can go from one Barathu to two, grow three extra sets of arms, or just outright turn into a skin suit for a teammate.

They're slam dunk, home-run, top tier showcases of everything cool and fun about SF2E. Making them core is as genius as making Skittermanders and Pahtra core- its a self contained way to get players check out specific vibes or plot hooks that the game does well.

(You actually posted this right in the middle of me theory-crafting a Barathu Magus! Aloof Firmament wants you to fly, helps you fall, and wants free hands open- it's perfect for an ancestry that can fly at will and grow MULTIPLE open hands!)

[Here4daFreeSwag]

I'm all here for the abundantly, aberrantly gassy stuff for Starfinder 2E's playtest. ;)