Barathu: The Architects of Empathy in Starfall

  Adapted from Barathu - Starfinder Wiki 

The Barathu are an ancient and enigmatic sentient species, their very existence a testament to the boundless forms life can take in the Starfall Galaxy. Emerging from the uncharted depths of Frontier space, their unique communal and empathetic nature led them to forge a pragmatic armistice with the warring Khyran Tyrants, an alliance that laid the foundation for the sprawling and unsettling Khi'Myr Bio-Commune. Unlike the solid forms of most species, the Barathu embody fluidity and connection, believing true societal strength lies in absolute, shared understanding.

Core Identity: Empathy Incarnate

Barathu are defined by their profound, intrinsic empathy and a drive towards collective consciousness. Their biological processes are inherently communal, allowing them to exist as individuals while contributing seamlessly to a greater whole. This innate empathetic connection is not merely a philosophical ideal, but a tangible biological force, one they discovered how to harness to bind other species into their unique societal structure. They see the Rift not just as a source of energy, but as the ultimate expression of cosmic interconnectedness, a vast, psychoreactive network that mirrors their own collective being. The concept of the Yom and Dei is understood not as individual survival, but as the raw energetic biomass required to sustain the greater communal organism.

Societies Across the Spheres

Barathu society is decentralized yet unified, governed by a fluid, collective will rather than rigid hierarchies. Their communities are often sprawling, amorphous constructs that adapt to their environment through bio-engineering and symbiotic relationships.

• Frontier (Origin & Crucible): The Barathu originated in the Frontier, where their unique biology allowed them to adapt to extreme and varied environments. It was here that their early conflicts with the Khyran Tyrants forged the armistice that birthed the Bio-Commune, teaching them the pragmatic value of integrating diverse life forms through empathy rather than conquest alone.

• Outer Sphere (Expansion & Integration): As core architects of the Khi'Myr Bio-Commune, Barathu are actively expanding into the chaotic Outer Sphere. They serve as the central nervous system of the Commune, guiding its growth and assimilation efforts. While some Barathu strains favor diplomatic integration, others adopt more aggressive strategies to "embrace" new species into the collective. Their presence here is marked by their living starships and bio-engineered outposts, gradually reshaping regions of space into extensions of the Commune.

• Inner Sphere (Rare Contacts): Direct Barathu presence in the Inner Sphere is exceptionally rare. Their organic nature and methods clash fundamentally with the Inner Sphere's reliance on rigid mechanical infrastructure and corporate-driven social order. Any Barathu found here are likely diplomats from the Khi'Myr Bio-Commune, attempting to negotiate resource access or assimilation treaties, or perhaps rogue elements pursuing individual (and to their kind, unusual) agendas.

Connection to the Rift and Bio-Engineering

The Barathu have an unparalleled mastery of bioengineering, understanding life at a fundamental, genetic level. They perceive technology not as metal and circuits but as an extension of living systems. Their starships are gargantuan sentient client species, and their tools and weapons are smaller bioengineered creatures, all functioning in perfect, empathetic synchronicity.

Their understanding of the Rift is deeply biological; they manipulate its energies not through arcane formulae but through organic processes, often integrating Rift-touched biomass into their creations. The crucial Barathu RNA, embedded into assimilated species, acts as a powerful empathy conduit, rewiring neurological pathways to ensure unwavering loyalty and eliminate internal conflict within the Bio-Commune. This genetic key is the ultimate expression of their philosophy: unity through biological connection. The Rift-Storm Cataclysm was not just a destructive event for the Barathu; it provided a chaotic crucible where their unique bio-engineering adapted to harness raw, untamed energies, further deepening their understanding of life's resilience in the face of cosmic upheaval.

Unique Barathu Traits

Barathu society prioritizes the collective, with individual desires often superseded by the needs of the Commune. Their unique form and empathetic abilities make them formidable in both diplomacy and, when necessary, silent, bio-engineered warfare. They possess a patient, long-term perspective, accustomed to the slow growth and adaptation of biological systems. Stories of the Barathu often revolve around their unsettling methods of "peaceful" assimilation, their strange living technologies, and their relentless, empathetic expansion.

Barathu Mechanics

Aberration

Barathu

• Hit Points: 8

• Size: Medium (often amorphous or fluid, but typically occupies a Medium space)

• Speed: 25 feet

• Ability Boosts: Wisdom, Constitution, and one Free Ability Boost.

• Ability Flaw: Strength.

• Languages: Common, Barathu. 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.

Barathu Heritages

At 1st level, choose one of the following Barathu heritages.

• Dreamers: The Dreamers of Hrefna are descendants of Barathu colonists who lost their intelligence and ability to merge while their psychic powers improved. Barathus regard their cousins with reverence and protectiveness, leading to their insistence on administering Hrefna as a protectorate.

   They also agree that the Dreamers must be left to their own devices; meddling with them is one of the few criminal offenses among barathus. A small but vocal group opposes this view and argues for more unrestrained contact with the Dreamers.

• Early Stage:They possess a thorough understanding of their biology and its functions. They can merge with other barathu to form a new, larger barathu from their combined biomass and gestalt personality. Similarly, barathu reproduce by splitting off portions of their biomass as early-stage barathu.

• Manufacturer : The Manufacturer Barathu have adopted internal mechanisms to produce pharmaceuticals.

• Merged: Barathu, formed from the constant union of two or more barathus who enjoy the act of combination so much that they chose not to return to isolation as their former selves.

Barathu Ancestry Feats

You can select Barathu ancestry feats from the following options.

• 1st Level Feats

  • Adaptable Limbs (General): Your malleable body allows you to move with surprising grace. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to Acrobatics checks.

  • Barathu Lore (General): You are well-versed in the history and traditions of your people. You gain training in Barathu Lore. If you were already trained in Barathu Lore, you instead become an expert.

  • Dermal Spikes (General): You can extrude sharp, chitinous spikes from your skin. You gain a piercing unarmed attack that deals 1d4 piercing damage. This attack is an agile, finesse, unarmed Strike.

  • Grasping Tendrils (General): You can extend short, prehensile tendrils. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to checks to Grab an Edge, and you can perform Interact actions with your tendrils (though you cannot wield weapons or shields with them).

  • Metabolic Manipulation (General): You can subtly alter your internal processes. You can go 2 additional days without food or water before suffering negative effects, and you gain a +1 circumstance bonus to Fortitude saves against ingested poisons.

  • Synthesize Medicinal (General): Your biological systems can produce basic healing compounds. Once per day, you can spend 10 minutes to produce a single dose of a minor healing stim-tab (or equivalent basic healing item as determined by the GM) with the biological trait, which lasts for 24 hours before decaying.

  • Tentacle Whip (General): You can extend a specialized tentacle for combat. You gain a bludgeoning unarmed attack that deals 1d6 bludgeoning damage. This attack has the reach and unarmed traits.

• 5th Level Feats

  • Collective Connection (General): Your connection to other Barathu deepens. When you are within 10 feet of another Barathu, you gain a +1 status bonus to attack rolls.

  • Fluid Anatomy (General): Your amorphous body is difficult to pin down. When you use the Escape action, you gain a +2 circumstance bonus to the check.

  • Molecular Modification (General): You can subtly alter your own cellular structure. Once per day, you can choose one physical damage type (bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing). You gain resistance 2 to that damage type for 1 minute.

• 9th Level Feats

  • Convergent Evolution (General): You have an uncanny ability to mimic certain physical traits of other species. Once per day, you can spend 1 minute to temporarily gain one physical trait from another humanoid ancestry (e.g., darkvision, a climb speed of 10 feet, resistance 1 to fire) for 1 hour. This must be a trait that the other ancestry gains from its heritage, not an ancestry feat.

  • Expansive Verse (General): Your understanding of the collective allows you to broadcast your thoughts. You gain limited telepathy out to 30 feet. This telepathy allows you to communicate simple ideas and emotions.

• 13th Level Feats

  • Ascendant Empathy (General): Your empathic abilities are profound. Once per day, when an ally within 30 feet fails a Will save against an emotion effect, you can use your reaction to allow them to reroll the save, using your Will save modifier instead of their own.

  • Living Warship Affinity (General): You are exceptionally skilled at interacting with the Khi'Myr's living starships. You gain a +2 circumstance bonus to Piloting (Space) checks when operating a living starship, and you can sense its "mood" or state with precision.

• 17th Level Feats

  • Communal Ascension (General): Your body is a perfect conduit for the Khi'Myr collective. You gain resistance 5 to mental damage, and you can spend 1 minute to regain 1 Hit Point for every 3 Hit Points lost by a willing ally within 30 feet (up to your own maximum Hit Points).

  • True Bio-Architect (General): Your mastery of bio-engineering reaches its peak. When you use a Crafting check to create a biological item or creature (if allowed by GM), you reduce the time required by 75% and the raw material cost by 25%.