Source Archives of Nethys- Shirren, StarfinderWiki- Shirren
In August, Paizo released their first playtest document for Starfinder 2e. The first taste of what is to come from this exciting game setting is the first few levels of the Soldier class, supported by a few pieces of setting-appropriate equipment and a few monsters at the end to allow playtesters to run encounters against. Nestled in with these new rules elements, developers included notes on approaching this rules update.
Not content to simply play a few encounter variants, I can’t wait to play campaigns in a science fantasy setting supported by the game design innovations from PF 2e. I will use the context clues from the Field Test document to convert elements into my derivative setting for a west marches campaign.
Shirren
Shirrens are a race of locust-like humanoids commonly found in the Foundry Confederacy. They were formerly members of a predatory, telepathic hive mind known as the Swarm, but have recently become independent and unique individuals — though they still strongly value communalism, they also seek harmonious relations with other races.
Shirren Mechanics
Hit Points 8
Size Medium
Speed 25 feet
Ability Boosts Constitution, Wisdom, Free
Ability Flaw Charisma
Languages Common, Shirren
Additional languages equal to your Intelligence modifier (if it's positive). Choose from any other languages you have access to (such as the languages prevalent in your region).
Telepathy Shirrens can communicate telepathically with any creatures within 30 feet with whom they share a language. Conversing telepathically with multiple creatures simultaneously is just as difficult as listening to multiple people speak.
Appearance
Shirrens are arthropods with chitinous exoskeletons, large compound eyes, and sensitive antennae that aid in their telepathy. Unlike many arthropodan races, they walk upright, manipulating items with three-clawed hands. In addition to their two sets of main limbs, they also have two sets of smaller limbs growing from their thoraxes. While often displayed, these “mating arms” are extremely weak and used only for ceremonial and reproductive purposes—to use them for mundane activities would be seen as grotesque and shameful.
Sexual Trimorphism
Shirrens have three sexes: male, female, and host. During reproduction, female and male shirrens provide the initial eggs and sperm, and hosts incubate the fertilized eggs while also adding their own genetic material and immunities. Shirren young spend their first 2 years in a tiny, wormlike larval form, and are often carried around in protective containers to let them safely observe the world.
Abilities
Being natives of a rocky desert planet, kasathas can traverse difficult sands, hills, and mountains on foot more quickly than other races. They can easily use all four arms and move with extraordinary natural grace.
Due to their shared experience on the Idari, kasathas of the Confederacy are also well-educated in a broad range of subjects, particularly history.
History
Shirrens were once part of the Swarm, a monstrous, locust-like race that traveled from world to world, consuming all it encountered before moving on. Sometime before the Gap, a mysterious mutation caused an entire subcolony to break from the Swarm's hive mind, with each of its members gaining a sense of self. Addicted to the new drug of individualism, these renegades rejected the Swarm's mindless consumption, forming a new race called shirrens. As the Swarm continued its consumption, the shirrens bid their time in the eventual hope of escape.
After the Gap ended, the shirrens took advantage of the ensuing confusion among the Swarm to flee from the rest of the Swarm in rudimentary biomechanical starships. Not accustomed to having its own components going rogue, the Swarm put its entire strength to chasing the shirrens. For three years, the shirrens were relentlessly pursued by the Swarm, only stopping briefly to gather resources or repair damaged ships. They tried to avoid populated areas so they would not be responsible for the extinction of others, but even when the shirrens passed close to such places, the Swarm ignored them to focus on chasing the shirrens. The shirrens lost nearly a third of their population during the hundreds of skirmishes in this time.
When the Drift was discovered, the shirrens saw a way to escape the Swarm for good, and after a year, they managed to develop a Drift engine that was installed on their starships. The shirren captain Zinkepo and her crew on the Freedom's Echo died to distract the Swarm and ensure that the rest of their species could escape into the Drift.
The shirrens' first Drift jump took them into a solar system just outside the Swarm's telepathic sensors. When gathering resources for their next jump, they found a comet with powerful energy signatures. On the comet, the goddess Hylax manifested before the gathered shirren miners. Having watched their struggle and willingness to sacrifice themselves for others, Hylax welcomed them to her fold, granting them techniques to resist the Swarm's influence and bolster their independence. Many shirrens converted to Hylax's faith and built a monastery known as the Forever Reliquary on the comet, which they consider a sacred site.
In 5 AG, the shirrens entered the Sigunn system, whose fifth planet Thorunn was inhabited by humans. Some of them were unsure if they would be accepted, others were certain that the humans would understand their peaceful intentions, and yet others wanted to settle an uninhabited system. The shirrens thus split into three groups.
The first and smallest group came to Betega, the habitable but uninhabited third planet in the Siguun system. After less than three years, they discovered that the planet's porous ground made life difficult, and left Betega to join their cousins elsewhere. The second group found themselves welcomed by the humans of Thorunn, and introduced their faith and Drift engines to their new neighbours. Since then, they have made a significant minority in Thorunn's population, and the anniversary of their arrival is celebrated in a festival called Day of First Contact.
The third group left the Sigunn system to search for an uninhabited system for themselves. After charting a large number of unsuitable planets, in 7 AG, they named and began settling Gjafla, the third planet in an uninhabited system dubbed Marre Latorra.
In 64 AG, several groups of explorers successfully petitioned Gjafla's government for permission to explore or colonise the galaxy in Drift-capable starships. Their travels spread the shirren species across the entire galaxy, in almost every place where life can survive.
In 83 AG, a group of shirrens picked up an unnaturally strong signal that turned out to be the Driftstone at the heart of Foundry Station. As they emerged into Memory system, which was still recovering from the Stardust Plague and expecting another Veskarium attack, the shirrens were surprised by how multiple species could act together for mutual defence and governance. They managed to convince the Foundry Confederation of their peaceful intention and sent a delegation to meet the Foundry Council and the Sentinels in FoundryStation, where they introduced their history and warned the Confederation about the Swarm threat. The Council welcomed the shirrens into the Confederation, and Leuthed offered them a stretch of the Temora Desert in Fullbright where they could settle
Society
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.
Religion
Shirrens worship Hylax, deity of diplomacy and peace, as the Swarm once did before they abandoned their sense of individuality
You Likely...
Cherish your independence, and while eager to help the group, you despise coercion and entrapment.
Abhor violence and act as a voice of reason, compassion, and community even when tempers flare.
Take deep emotional and physical pleasure in simple, mundane choices that establish your individuality.
Are fascinated by religion and see your choice of god as a reflection of your personality.
Other Races Probably...
Find your physiology and use of telepathy disconcerting.
Appreciate your bravery, logic, and diplomacy, even if your conclusions are not always convenient.
Don’t understand your definition of freedom or your seemingly disproportionate delight over small choices.
Worry that you might return to predatory, Swarm-dominated ways at any time.
Shirren Heritages
Remnant Shirren
Your heritage still bears ties to the Swarm. You have a telepathic link to all other Shirren within 30 feet of you, and you can communicate with them telepathically. You also have a resistance to psychic damage.
Willful Shirren
Your predecessors asserted thier independence from the Swarm. You have a +1 circumstance bonus to Will saving throws, and the bonus increases to +2 against effects of mind control.
Driftbrood Shirren
This heritage represents the Shirren's journey through the Drift. You have a bonus to Constitution saving throws, and you are resistant to the effects of radiation.
Hylaxian Shirren
Your Shirren ancestors won the blessing of Hylax. She has granted you one innate cantrip from the divine spell list.
Truebreath Shirren
Your ancestors could adapt to new environments. you can breathe in any atmosphere.
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