The Ysoki are a vibrant and tenacious species of sentient rodents, renowned throughout the Starfall Galaxy for their incredible ingenuity, lightning-fast reflexes, and an insatiable curiosity that often leads them into (and, crucially, out of) the most intricate of troubles. Small in stature but colossal in spirit, Ysoki possess an unparalleled knack for technology, a love for tinkering, and an uncanny ability to turn seemingly useless scrap into vital survival tools. Their origins are shrouded in various theories, but many believe they ascended from the sprawling underbellies of early Inner Sphere megacities, where their resourcefulness was a key to survival amidst the towering machinery.
Core Identity: Ingenuity, Resourcefulness, and Unbound Curiosity
Ysoki are driven by an innate desire to understand how things work and, more importantly, to make them work better. They are natural engineers, scavengers, and problem-solvers, with a keen eye for overlooked details and a boundless capacity for improvisation. Their quick wits and nimble paws allow them to navigate complex mechanical systems, dense urban environments, or the chaotic pathways of the Rift with equal ease. The Yom is seen as a collection of parts and opportunities, while the Dei is the clever application of those resources to create something new or overcome an obstacle. For a Ysoki, every broken machine is a puzzle, every disaster a challenge, and every discarded piece of tech a potential masterpiece.
Societies Across the Spheres
Ysoki society is typically highly communal and pragmatic. People often form tight-knit crews or "clans" that specialize in specific trades, often involving technology, scavenging, or information brokering. Their communities, even within larger settlements, often have a distinct, bustling, and somewhat cluttered character.
Inner Sphere (Technician Guilds & Information Networks): In the Inner Sphere, Ysoki are indispensable members of the vast technological and informational infrastructure. They often form specialized technician guilds, working closely with Geodan Industrial Guilds on construction projects or becoming vital, if sometimes illicit, figures in the maintenance of Commission starships and data networks. Their small size allows them to navigate ventilation shafts and forgotten conduits, making them excellent scouts, saboteurs, or information couriers. They are particularly adept at understanding and repurposing older, pre-Cataclysm technology.
Outer Sphere (Resource Scavengers & Rogue Engineers): Many Ysoki thrive in the more chaotic Outer Sphere, where their scavenging skills and engineering prowess are invaluable. They often operate as independent crews, salvaging derelict starships, mining hazardous asteroids, or establishing rogue workshops in hidden enclaves. They might trade with the Free Worlds Union for advanced parts or offer their services to various factions in the Resource Wars, always prioritizing their own independence and the acquisition of fascinating technology.
Frontier (Rift-Tech Tinkers & Anomaly Explorers): The Frontier is a veritable playground for the most adventurous Ysoki. Here, they meticulously explore Rift-Burgs, fascinated by the strange physics and temporal distortions. They are often the first to attempt to salvage or repurpose Rift-Tainted technology, understanding its inherent dangers but also its unique potential. Some Ysoki crews specialize in navigating unpredictable Rift-currents, using their intuition and modified ships to chart pathways others would deem impossible.
Connection to the Rift and Technological Adaptability
The Ysoki have a curious and often opportunistic relationship with the Rift. While they don't possess innate psychic abilities, their highly adaptable minds and their focus on practical solutions make them surprisingly resilient to its more subtle mental effects. They view the Rift-Storm Cataclysm as a galaxy-wide technological failure, an ultimate challenge to their engineering skills, and are driven to understand its mechanics as much as its cosmic impact.
They are known for their ability to modify and stabilize even Rift-Tainted technology, often developing unique, if sometimes unstable, devices that harness the Maelstrom's energies. Their small size and agility make them excellent at navigating the chaotic, shifting landscapes created by Rift-Taint. While they don't necessarily channel Mana directly, their tinkering with advanced, almost magical, devices often blurs the line between technology and arcana, viewing the universe's energies as another form of resource to be cleverly utilized.
Unique Ysoki Traits
Ysoki are characterized by their constantly twitching noses, keen senses, and their prehensile tails, which are often used as an extra limb for balance or manipulation. They speak with rapid-fire chatter, often accompanied by excited squeaks and chitters. They are fiercely loyal to their friends and kin, fiercely independent, and possess an almost boundless optimism even in the face of daunting challenges. Their ingenuity is often underestimated due to their size, a mistake their enemies rarely get to repeat. Stories of Ysoki in Starfall frequently involve daring heists, ingenious escapes, and their knack for fixing (or breaking) anything mechanical.
Ysoki Mechanics
Ysoki are a Humanoid, Ysoki ancestry.
Hit Points: 6
Size: Small
Speed: 25 feet
Ability Boosts: Dexterity, Intelligence, and one Free Ability Boost.
Ability Flaw: Strength.
Languages: Common, Ysoki. 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.
Traits: Humanoid, Ysoki, Low-Light Vision.
Ysoki Heritages
At 1st level, choose one of the following Ysoki heritages.
Cheek Pouch Ysoki: You have particularly capacious cheek pouches. You can store up to 1 cubic foot or 1 Bulk of items in your cheek pouches. Retrieving an item from your pouches is a single action. You can also eat and drink from your pouches as a free action.
Scrappy Ysoki: You are accustomed to making the most of limited resources and getting out of tight spots. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to Acrobatics checks to Squeeze.
Tinkerer Ysoki: Your knack for technology is exceptional. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to Crafting checks when working with technological devices.
Urban Ysoki: You are a product of dense, complex urban environments. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to Stealth checks in urban terrain.
Wired Ysoki: Your senses are keenly attuned to electrical and mechanical signals. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to Perception checks to locate hidden technological devices or to identify malfunctions in machinery.
Ysoki Ancestry Feats
You can select Ysoki ancestry feats from the following options.
1st Level Feats
Acquire Technology (General): You have a knack for finding useful tech. You gain training in one Lore skill of your choice related to technology (e.g., Computer Lore, Engineering Lore).
Hyper Focus (General): You can concentrate intensely on a single task. Once per day, you can gain a +2 circumstance bonus to a single skill check.
Mischievous (General): Your playful nature makes you adept at distracting others. You gain training in Deception. If you were already trained in Deception, you instead become an expert.
Ysoki Lore (General): You are well-versed in the history, slang, and hidden paths of your people. You gain training in Ysoki Lore. If you were already trained in Ysoki Lore, you instead become an expert.
Scuttle (General): Your small size and quick movements make you difficult to pin down. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to your AC against reactions that would be triggered by your movement.
5th Level Feats
Advanced Cheek Pouches (General): Prerequisites Cheek Pouch Ysoki. Your cheek pouches are even more spacious. You can now store up to 2 cubic feet or 2 Bulk of items. Additionally, you can draw or stow an item from your pouches as a free action.
Quick Tinker (General): You can perform minor repairs or modifications rapidly. You can use the Repair action as a single action instead of two actions.
Rift-Resourceful (General): Your knack for improvisation helps you in chaotic environments. You gain a +1 status bonus to saves against Rift-Taint and temporal distortion effects.
9th Level Feats
Clever Fix (General): You can improvise solutions to complex mechanical problems. Once per day, you can attempt an Engineering check to Repair a broken device or bypass a simple security system with a +2 circumstance bonus.
Tunnel Rat (General): You are extremely adept at navigating tight spaces. You can move through spaces as small as 1 foot without Squeezing.
13th Level Feats
Mechanical Empathy (General): You have an almost intuitive understanding of machines. You can spend 1 minute to attune to a single technological device of up to 10th level. For the next hour, you gain a +2 circumstance bonus to checks made to operate, repair, or disable that device.
Master Scavenger (General): You can find useful components anywhere. When you use the Earn Income activity by scavenging, you gain an additional 10% of the normal earnings.
17th Level Feats
Gadgeteer (General): You are a master of creating wondrous devices. You can Craft any common technological item up to level 10, even if you do not have the formula, though it takes twice as long.
Uncontainable Spirit (General): Your drive for freedom and ingenuity cannot be suppressed. You gain a +2 circumstance bonus to saves against effects that would restrain or imprison you, and you can attempt an escape check against a DC 5 higher than normal once per day as a free action.
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