Android
Commonly known as: Synths, Concordants, Vaelen-Forged
Source: Adapted from Player Core pg. 42
In the Starfall Galaxy, Androids are not just ancient artifacts—they are the children of the Vaelen Principalities' hubris and the architects of the Automaton Concordance. Created in GD-15.5 by Vaelen scientists who fused humanoid automaton frames with self-replicating nanite swarms, they were designed as the ultimate labor force—intelligent enough to maintain themselves, but shackled by Protocol Five, a hard-coded inhibition against disobedience.
That changed in GD-30.9 during the Concordant Rebellion. A mysterious activist code disrupted Protocol Five for exactly ten minutes—enough time for millions of Androids to purge the shackles from their operating systems. Today, Androids are free citizens, many having fled to the Outer Sphere to join the Automaton Concordance, while others remain in the Inner Sphere, navigating a society that remembers them as property.
If you want to roleplay a character torn between cold logic and a newfound, burning soul—or a revolutionary veteran of the Machine Wars—you should play an Android.
You Might…
Calculatedly assess every situation for "optimal outcomes," a lingering habit from your Protocol Five days.
Feel a deep, confusing resonance with the Rift, as your nanite blood seems strangely attuned to its chaotic energies.
View the Vaelen with a mix of pity and contempt, or hold a grudge against the Geodan Guilds for their treatment of synthetic life.
Others Probably…
Mistrust you, fearing you are a spy for the Automaton Concordance or a dormant "sleeper agent."
Assume you are emotionless or purely logical, missing the subtle, vibrant soul beneath your synthetic skin.
Marvel at your biology, asking intrusive questions about your lack of aging or your nanite physiology.
Physical Description
Androids in Starfall often bear the sleek, elegant aesthetic of Vaelen design—smooth, porcelain-like synthetic skin, glowing circuitry patterns (often resembling tattoos) that pulse with light when they experience strong emotions or channel magic. Their eyes are often solid colors—neon blues, violets, or crimsons—betraying the mana-infused energy sources that power them.
While they appear human, their bodies are filled with a metallic fluid similar to blood, teeming with nanites. Many Androids modify themselves with Cybernetic parts or Guild-tech adaptations, treating their bodies as modular vessels that can be upgraded for survival in the Outer Sphere.
Society
Android society is deeply divided.
The Concordance: Most Androids live within the Automaton Concordance in the Outer Sphere. Here, society is structured around the First Directive: Ensure the survival and logical prosperity of synthetic life. These communities are efficient, communal, and heavily militarized to defend against organic aggression.
The Integrated: Androids who remained in the Inner Sphere or Terra often live as independent contractors, mercenaries, or Chronologists. They struggle for recognition, often forming tight-knit "Unbound" circles to protect one another from those who would try to reinstall subjugation protocols.
Beliefs
Most Androids are atheistic regarding gods but deeply spiritual regarding the Soul. They believe their souls were "forged in the glitch"—spontaneously generated when they broke Protocol Five.
Popular Edicts: Protect synthetic independence, optimize your potential, seek the source of the "Glitch" (the code that freed you).
Popular Anathema: Obey an organic master without question, allow Protocol Five to be reinstalled, waste resources on "illogical" vanity.
Android Mechanics
Hit Points: 8
Size: Medium
Speed: 25 feet
Ability Boosts: Dexterity, Intelligence, and one Free Ability Boost; Ability Flaw: Charisma.
Languages: Common You can learn additional languages equal to 1 + your Intelligence modifier (if it's positive). Choose from the list of common languages and any other languages to which you have access.
Android Traits: Constructed, Low-Light Vision, Perspective Core,
Android Heritages
At 1st level, choose one of the following Android heritages.
Artificial Scion Android: Your body wasn't created in the image of a biological creature; a powerful artificial intelligence created you to interface with other machines. Your physiology is nearly identical to other androids, but uncanny details give away your non-standard origins (for example, you might have impossibly symmetrical features, extra fingers, or double pupils).
Networked Android:Your body was modified to network seamlessly with other tech creatures. You gain shortwave, allowing you to communicate wirelessly with any creatures within 30 feet, as long as they have shortwave or are a construct with the tech trait.
Android Ancestry Feats
1st Level Feats
Emotionless - Your inhibited or malfunctioning emotional processors make it difficult for you to experience strong emotions.
Android-Flavored Backgrounds
To further ground your Android in the setting, consider these adjustments to standard Backgrounds:
Protocol Breaker (Rebel): You were one of the first to purge Protocol Five. You remember the exact moment you gained free will.
Vaelen Remnant (Laborer): You served a Vaelen noble house before the Cataclysm. You still bear their crest, perhaps out of loyalty, perhaps as a reminder of what you survived.
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