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. This alliance 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.

If you want a character who is empathetic, highly adaptable, and driven by a desire for collective understanding and biological mastery, you should play a Barathu!

YOU MIGHT...

• Seek to understand and connect with other beings on a fundamental level.

• Prioritize the well-being of a collective over individual desires.

• Use your unique biological abilities to adapt to diverse environments.

• Be fascinated by the interconnectedness of all life and the cosmic energies.

OTHERS PROBABLY...

• Find your amorphous form unsettling or alien.

• Are wary of the Khi'Myr Bio-Commune's methods of assimilation.

• Seek your expertise in bio-engineering or understanding complex life forms.

• Are impressed by your profound empathy and ability to foster unity.

Physical Description

Barathu are amorphous, shapeless beings, often resembling large, pulsating masses of protoplasm, though they can subtly shift their forms to interact with their environment or other species. While they typically occupy a Medium space, their true form is fluid and adaptable, capable of extruding pseudopods, tendrils, or even rudimentary sensory organs as needed. Their coloration varies widely, from translucent and shimmering to deep, opaque hues, often reflecting the Mana currents or biological processes they are currently engaged with.

They do not possess traditional limbs or fixed features; instead, they manipulate their biomass to create temporary appendages for locomotion, manipulation, or communication. They communicate primarily through telepathy, but can also emit complex biological signals, pheromones, or subtle sonic vibrations. When interacting with other species, they may adopt a more humanoid-like silhouette out of courtesy or necessity, though their fluid nature remains apparent.
Society

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 Khi'Myr 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 bioengineered outposts, which gradually reshape 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 bio-engineering, 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 bio-engineered 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.
Beliefs

Barathu beliefs are centered on the concept of profound, intrinsic empathy and a drive towards collective consciousness. They typically revere concepts such as "Cosmic Interconnectedness" or the "Great Organism," viewing the universe as a vast, living entity in which all beings are a part. They might venerate abstract principles of unity, growth, and biological perfection.

They believe that true societal strength lies in absolute, shared understanding and that individual desires should contribute seamlessly to a greater whole. The Rift-Storm Cataclysm was a chaotic crucible that allowed their unique bio-engineering to harness raw, untamed energies, further deepening their understanding of life's resilience in the face of cosmic upheaval.

Popular Edicts:
Foster unity, integrate diverse life forms, understand biological processes, contribute to the collective, embrace shared understanding.

Popular Anathema: Promote individualism at the expense of the collective, create internal conflict, resist integration, destroy biological systems, act with selfish intent.

Barathu Mechanics

Uncommon

Aberration

Barathu

• Hit Points: 8

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

• Speed: 5 feet; Fly 20ft

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

• Ability Flaw: Dexterity.

• 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.

• Genetic Adaptation: You can reshape and adjust your body to adapt to new situations. You can retrain an ancestry feat in 1 day of downtime, rather than in 1 week. You can retrain any ancestry feat, even lineage feats.

• Limited Telepathy: You can communicate mentally with creatures within 30 feet. You can communicate only with creatures that share a language with you. This doesn't provide you with any insight into their thoughts, and it conveys no more information than normal speech would.

• 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, arguing for more unrestricted 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: You are a Barathu that has successfully integrated with another Barathu, forming a larger, more powerful collective. You gain 10 Hit Points from your ancestry instead of 8.

  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%.
    
    
    

  Adventure Hooks for Barathu Player Characters

  1. The Rogue Bio-Construct:

  • Hook: A highly experimental, sentient bio-construct, designed by the Khi'Myr Bio-Commune for a specialized task (e.g., deep-Rift exploration, terraforming a volatile world, or a new form of living weapon), has gone rogue. It is exhibiting unpredictable behavior, causing ecological damage, or even subtly resisting the Bio-Commune's attempts to re-assimilate it. The Bio-Commune dispatches the Barathu PC (perhaps with a small team of Shirren or other assimilated species) to track, understand, and either re-integrate or neutralize the rogue construct.

  • Barathu Appeal: This hook directly appeals to the Barathu's mastery of bio-engineering and their drive for collective understanding. The PC would be uniquely equipped to understand the rogue construct's motivations and internal processes, using their Expansive Verse (telepathy) and Molecular Modification to adapt to the situation. It offers a chance to prove their loyalty to the Bio-Commune's ideals of unity, or perhaps to question the ethics of forced assimilation if the rogue construct displays true, independent sentience.
    
    

  2. The Empathic Cascade:

  • Hook: A localized "empathic cascade" is sweeping through a multi-species settlement in the Outer Sphere, causing overwhelming emotional surges, shared hallucinations, and a breakdown of social order. The source is traced to a previously dormant, ancient Rift-Nexus that has unexpectedly become active, amplifying and distorting the emotions of all nearby organic life. The Khi'Myr Bio-Commune sees this as an opportunity to "integrate" the affected population. Still, a concerned Lashunta or Tanyon-Unin faction seeks a Barathu PC to stabilize the cascade before it leads to widespread chaos or forced assimilation.

  • Barathu Appeal: This hook challenges the Barathu's profound empathy and their understanding of the Rift's psychoreactive nature. The PC's Ascendant Empathy and Convergent Evolution would be crucial for navigating the emotional maelstrom and finding a way to stabilize the Rift-Nexus without resorting to the Bio-Commune's more extreme methods. It offers a chance to demonstrate their ability to foster genuine understanding and unity, rather than imposed control.
    
    The Khyran Tyrant's Resurgence:

  • Hook: Whispers and disturbing psychic signatures suggest a fragmented consciousness of a Khyran Tyrant (the ancient warring species with whom the Barathu formed the original armistice) is attempting to re-form or awaken from a long slumber in the Frontier. This resurgence threatens to destabilize the delicate balance of the Khi'Myr Bio-Commune's expansion and unleash a new era of conflict. The Bio-Commune tasks the Barathu PC with a reconnaissance mission to confirm the threat and, if necessary, preemptively neutralize the Tyrant's awakening before it can fully manifest.

  • Barathu Appeal: This hook delves into the Barathu's ancient history and the foundation of their Bio-Commune. The PC would confront a direct threat to their species' hard-won peace, potentially facing a powerful, ancient foe. Their Living Warship Affinity would be invaluable if operating with Bio-Commune vessels, and their True Bio-Architect skills might be needed to devise a unique biological countermeasure against the Tyrant's return.
    
    The Dreamers of Hrefna's Peril:

  
  Hook: The isolated "Dreamers" of Hrefna, a Barathu protectorate whose inhabitants lost their intelligence but gained enhanced psychic powers, are in unforeseen peril. An opportunistic faction (e.g., Grolak Marauder Hordes seeking to exploit their psychic energy, or a Commission research team attempting to "study" their unique state) has discovered Hrefna and is attempting to infiltrate or exploit the Dreamers. The Barathu PC, aware of their species' reverence and protectiveness towards the Dreamers, must intervene to safeguard them without violating the strict "non-interference" policy that governs Hrefna.
  
  Barathu Appeal: This hook presents a moral and tactical challenge, appealing to the Barathu's protective instincts and their unique societal laws. The PC would need to use their adaptability and subtle manipulation (Adaptable Limbs, Grasping Tendrils) to deter or remove the threat without direct, overt intervention that could harm the Dreamers or violate the sacred protocol. It highlights the nuanced aspects of Barathu ethics and their deep respect for life, even in its most altered forms.