Raxilite

Source: Interstellar Species

Ability Modifiers +2 Dex, +2 Int, +2 Cha, -4 Str

Hit Points 2

Size and Type

Raxilites are Tiny plants.

Low-light Vision

Raxilites have Low-Light Vision.

Flowering or Seeding

Flowering raxilites gain a +2 racial bonus to Bluff and Diplomacy checks. Seeding raxilites gain a +2 racial bonus to Acrobatics checks and can attempt a DC 15 Acrobatics check to negate falling damage when in an atmosphere. A raxilite can change from flowering to seeding (or vice versa) with 1 week of rest.

LFAN

An LFAN, or Lifting Floret Activation Network, is a biotech augmentation that looks like a cluster of artificial, prehensile “vines” attached to a raxilite’s brain system (the raxilite can add one other brain augmentation to the LFAN). The LFAN is as dexterous and strong as a human hand, and the vines can extend and retract, allowing a raxilite to use one-handed items as if they were a Medium creature with a reach of 5 feet.

LFAN Symbiosis

When two or more raxilites share the same 5-foot space, they can use their LFANs together, allowing them to handle larger objects. Up to four raxilites can work together in this way, each acting as one hand.

Limited Plant Benefits

Raxilites lack the immunities of most plants. Instead, they gain a +2 racial bonus to saving throws against mind-affecting effects, paralysis, poison, polymorph, sleep, and stunning effects, unless the effect specifies that it is effective against plants.

Biotechnology defines life as a raxilite, from the composition of their bodies to the starships and flying cities that many call home. What their tiny bodies lack in physical strength, they more than make up for in ingenuity and a cultural ethos of cooperation. For some raxilites, intellectual curiosity drives them to explore and learn all they can, both to achieve personal excellence and to help their home world of Raxil reach new heights of prosperity. For others, change has come all too fast, and each raxilite must find their own balance between keeping to traditions and broadening their horizons.

Physical Description

Raxilites' bodies are comprised primarily of plant matter. Their round heads are large in proportion to the rest of their bodies and topped with either a flower or cluster of fluffy seeds depending upon the current stage in their life cycle. Their small hands are capable of delicate manipulation, and their legs end in tapered stumps. Layers of flexible woody fibers cover their bodies. This woody covering hardens over time, restricting a raxilite's movement if they don't periodically shed it—usually about once a year.
The time just after a shed is ideal for adding augmentations, of which raxilites are particularly fond. Some biomechanical augmentations have become so prevalent that raxilites consider them to be as much a part of their species as their organic bodies. Chief among these augmentations is the Internal Mobility Augmentation System (IMAS), which is installed in each raxilite's body shortly after they sprout. The IMAS serves as a system of artificial muscles that are connected directly into each raxilite's brain system. While their purely biological ancestors might have been able to slowly move around without technological assistance, modern raxilites evolved together with their technology and rely on the seamless integration with their IMAS.
Almost as central to life among adventuring raxilites is the Lifting Floret Activation Network (LFAN), an invention produced by raxilite bioengineers in response to their first contact with species from other worlds. The LFAN is a collection of tendrils that allow raxilites to manipulate objects designed for much larger creatures. Implanting LFANs is now standard practice for raxilite sprouts, and the vast majority of raxilites born before first contact have had LFANs installed.
Raxilites possess only limited photosynthetic abilities. Basking drives some starch production, but mostly sunlight helps raxilites' bodies manufacture a wide variety of vitamins, proteins, and other non-carbohydrate nutrients essential to good health. For most of their energy, raxilites need to eat. Their typical diet is predominantly vegetarian with a smattering of diverse soils ingested to secure key nutrients. Raxilites can digest meat, dairy, eggs, and related products, yet these foods are considered curiosities rather than staples. In times of nutritional stress, a raxilite can drive their legs into rich soil and take root, growing a shallow system of rhizomes and entering a state of photosynthetic torpor in which they're barely cognizant of their surroundings. However, this strategy sometimes deactivates or even destroys parts of the IMAS, and there are enough cautionary tales about this transformation being difficult to reverse that most raxilites avoid it except as an act of desperation.

Home World

Water covers most of Raxil's surface, and its land is divided into clusters of warm, volcanic islands. The planet supports countless species of plants and fungi as well as a diverse array of aquatic animals. Beyond some small pollinators, land-dwelling animals haven't evolved on Raxil, leaving its ecosystems particularly vulnerable to invasive species. As the only native sapient species, raxilites believe it's their responsibility to protect and preserve their planet from harmful external influences.
Raxil's ground settlements are typically small, dedicated to research or the sustainable collection of natural resources. The largest of these communities, Everbranch, entwines and threads throughout a colossal tree that raxilite scientists painstakingly grew and shaped into a biological skyscraper.
Yet most raxilites live in flying cities that stay aloft through a combination of gas-filled chambers, clever aerodynamics, and biotech thrusters. The largest sky city, Bloom EBS, serves as Raxil's premier trade hub and point of contact with people from other worlds. The city is named for the legendary raxilite engineer Egveric Brilliance of Stars, who designed the first flying city a millennium ago. The city also sprouts programmable biotech vines that can be shaped into anchors and bridges to vessels of all sizes. Twice during each of Raxil's years, Bloom EBS and other flying settlements convene to create a conjoined supercity with unified systems of trade and transportation.
The government of Bloom EBS subsidizes starship production and space travel to ensure they're broadly accessible to raxilites. Entering Raxil is far more challenging than leaving it, particularly for those who aren't from the planet. Starships are only permitted to dock on Bloom EBS and must undergo extensive decontamination procedures. While citizens of Raxil can freely disembark, other visitors face polite but protracted questioning about their reasons for visiting. Among those who are allowed to stay, few are permitted to travel beyond Bloom EBS.
Bloom EBS is sized for raxilites, yet the growing neighborhood of Bloom CR (short for Castrovelian Residences) accommodates larger visitors, including homes for the few authorized permanent offworld inhabitants. As the neighborhood's name suggests, these long-term residents are primarily lashuntas from Castrovel, but they also include Xenowardens from other species and planets.

Society and Alignment

Raxilites view thriving ecosystems as a model for society; every living creature and natural feature has its place. Change is inevitable and not to be feared, so long as it's akin to the natural evolution of biomes as seeds spread and currents shift, rather than the disruption and devastation that invasive species can bring. Of course, whether any given change more resembles the former or latter is a matter of perspective, and these kinds of questions undergird many of the philosophical debates that pervade life on Raxil. These discussions cover an array of topics: is research and the knowledge it provides valuable for its own sake (whether or not it will have a known future application), or should resources be directed toward causes that there's reason to believe will provide a societal benefit? With implementation of IMAS universal and LFAN widespread, are there other biotech augmentations that should be considered for mass implementation in raxilite sprouts? To what extent should customs, people, and technology from other worlds be allowed to migrate to and shape life on Raxil?
While many raxilites enjoy a good debate, their cultures places a heavy emphasis on community and cooperation. Thus, while these questions might produce political factions, they don't create rancorous divisions. All raxilites have a duty to their communities to share their knowledge and ideas. While younger raxilites are more likely to be inexperienced, raxilites hear all voices and listen to experts regardless of age. On Raxil, there's nothing unusual about a 70-year-old diplomat scheduled to meet with an emissary from another planet consulting first with a 3-year-old raxilite with firsthand experience of that planet.
Raxilites generally don't place importance on the concept of gender, and rarely identify with a single one. Some raxilites describe themselves as agender, genderfluid, or belonging to multiple genders at once. Their choice of pronouns can be guided by factors such as sound and perception; they might pick one pronoun in Common and a different one in Akitonian depending upon what sounds most pleasing to them, or they might pick the pronouns that they feel best represent their societal role.

Connections

Interconnectedness is a core value. A raxilite's social standing stems largely from the number of connections they keep. As a result, raxilites typically prioritize cultivating relationships, and while gregariousness is an asset, raxilites who lack social graces still find connections by demonstrating their skills and developing a reputation for excellence. Because of the emphasis on friendship, raxilites use the term “friend” more loosely than members of most other species. They often agree to perform favors when asked just to help deepen social connections, yet they expect the same consideration in return. Someone who regularly fails to reciprocate favors might find their connections dwindling as their social reputation sours.
Tracking connections is almost as important as forging them, as there's no greater insult to a raxilite than their name and accomplishments being forgotten. It's common for raxilites to exaggerate their number of connections or level of closeness, and people on Raxil have come to expect these enhanced reports. Exaggeration isn't the same as invention, however, and it's taboo to either claim a non-existent connection or misrepresent one's skill level to build connections under false pretenses. After all, if deception leads to a raxilite being depended upon to perform a task they aren't capable of, then the deception has inflicted unnecessary hardship on others.
The desire to build new connections is a major driving force for adventuring raxilites. Not every adventuring raxilite cares about social conventions, however; raxilites with a desire to break away from the expectations of society on Raxil are also drawn to explore the potential of life on other worlds.

Language

Raxilites tend to make heavy use of acronyms and abbreviations. According to their cultural traditions, the more important a concept or object is, the more deserving it is of having a compact means of representation, whereas obsolete concepts or technologies tend to be referred to by lengthy descriptors. The Raxi language takes this concept to the extreme, regularly cycling vocabulary to promote efficient communication. Raxi academic papers and research journals are particularly prone to introducing new acronyms, making them infamously inaccessible to unfamiliar readers.

Children

Almost all raxilites are born on Raxil. Other planets lack the resources and infrastructure to install IMAS and LFAN systems, and most raxilites consider it negligent to deprive children the initial connections of being raised within a raxilite community.
Raxilites produce about 20 seeds at a time, and once planted in a suitable soil, they take about two weeks to germinate and uproot. Newborn sprouts are raised communally, though the parents are expected to remain nearby and help provide food and guidance. Sprouts spend their brief childhood learning, growing, and beginning to discover their strengths and their interests. After just one season on Raxil (roughly 1 Pact Standard year), raxilites sprout their first flower and are recognized as full members of the community, able to vote, enter into contracts, travel the stars, and participate in all aspects of civic life.
With strong community support and a particularly short time in which children require extensive attention, most raxilites choose to have children at least once in their lives. Raxilites have both female and male reproductive systems. Flowering raxilites who want to have children convene with one or more partners and exchange pollen. As their seeds mature, they enter a seeding stage, where white puffy seeds sprout from their head. They can maintain this stage indefinitely, and mates often choose to germinate their seeds in the same community and around the same time. Even so, it's entirely acceptable to part ways and raise their respective offspring at different times and places.
While raxilites are capable of self-pollinating, they seldom choose to do so. The few raxilites who rely on such cloning to produce offspring face considerable stigma from other members of their communally minded species as well as pointed questions about why they were unable to find a suitable partner.

Relations

Interconnectedness is a core value. A raxilite's social standing stems largely from the number of connections they keep. As a result, raxilites typically prioritize cultivating relationships, and while gregariousness is an asset, raxilites who lack social graces still find connections by demonstrating their skills and developing a reputation for excellence. Because of the emphasis on friendship, raxilites use the term “friend” more loosely than members of most other species. They often agree to perform favors when asked just to help deepen social connections, yet they expect the same consideration in return. Someone who regularly fails to reciprocate favors might find their connections dwindling as their social reputation sours.
Tracking connections is almost as important as forging them, as there's no greater insult to a raxilite than their name and accomplishments being forgotten. It's common for raxilites to exaggerate their number of connections or level of closeness, and people on Raxil have come to expect these enhanced reports. Exaggeration isn't the same as invention, however, and it's taboo to either claim a non-existent connection or misrepresent one's skill level to build connections under false pretenses. After all, if deception leads to a raxilite being depended upon to perform a task they aren't capable of, then the deception has inflicted unnecessary hardship on others.
The desire to build new connections is a major driving force for adventuring raxilites. Not every adventuring raxilite cares about social conventions, however; raxilites with a desire to break away from the expectations of society on Raxil are also drawn to explore the potential of life on other worlds.

Biotech Innovation

Thanks to their shared commitment to protecting natural environments, members of the Xenowardens have had more success than most in establishing connections with Raxil. Perhaps the most prominent symbol of this collaboration is the UC Bloom, a biomechanical starship built as a joint venture between Xenowardens and Raxil's scientists. This luxury freighter is popular among raxilites heading to the Pact Worlds. Hoping to allay the passengers' homesickness, raxilite engineers named the ship after their planet's hub city so starfaring raxilites would feel a sense of connection to their origins while abroad.
The UC Bloom is equipped with a pheromone system inspired by communication behavior of species from other planets. Some bioengineers have begun experimenting with versions of these systems to be deployed in public venues throughout Bloom EBS, with the aim of promoting well-being and preventing violence. These experiments have triggered spirited ethical debates about whether and how such technologies should be used.
Other ship features pioneered by raxilites include dendritic interfaces that allow crew members to connect their nervous systems to those in a biomechanical ship's computer as well as mechanisms for ships to efficiently connect and detach from each other, as seen in ships like the UC Gowan, which is composed of a dozen smaller hive-joined vessels.

Names

Raxilites are given simple single names as sprouts, and they add more names to acknowledge their discoveries and formative experiences. Acronyms are almost as common a feature in raxilite naming conventions as in their technology. Acronyms in raxilite names aren't uniquely theirs, however; raxilites use acronyms to represent the names of other people who are particularly important to them, whether they're heroes the raxilite looks up to or someone with whom they share a close personal connection.
Sprout names always have at least two syllables; a monosyllabic name is a mark of honor that can only be bestowed upon a raxilite by their community. Among raxilites, short nicknames and acronyms are a sign of respect, while adding extraneous syllables to someone's name is a surefire way to insult them. Sample Raxilite names include Allonius Cultivator, CQ Dembril Sailspin, Fabrian TMLE, Jatri Driftweaver, Luti Vinegrasp AC, Sprix, Yorifa Enginesong KL.

Vital Stats

Average Height 1 to 1–1/2 ft.
Average Weight 1 to 6 lbs.
Age of Maturity 1 year
Maximum Age 70+3d10 years years