Android

Once slaves, now free

Complex technological creations crafted to resemble Humans, Androids were originally a servitor race, but they have since broken free to form their own society. Unlike ordinary robots or ship AIs, Androids do not simply respond according to their programming; rather, they have independent consciousnesses and are animated by souls - a distinction crucial to their generally accepted status as people rather than property.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Androids are biomechanical constructs created in technological crèches called foundries. While the first Androids are believed to have been mostly biological, difficult to distinguish from the Humans they lived among, modern designs are more varied, and many favour metal skeletons and processors that support synthetic organs and living flesh. Nearly all Androids feature a humanoid body shape and tattoo-like circuits that glow through their skin when operating at full power, but beyond this commonality, variations in physical appearance reflect an Android’s design, role, and personality. Some take pains to blend into Human society, while others deliberately display their mechanical nature. Though some Androids are constructed or customize themselves to look like other races, such models are relatively rare.

Genetics and Reproduction

As constructed beings they do not reproduce in the Human fashion and have no biological need for gender - some identify strongly as male or female, while others shift fluidly or ignore it altogether, and still others actively reject it on philosophical grounds as a relic of their former slavery.

Though Android bodies are assembled using tiny machines called nanites, their complex nervous systems attract and integrate souls in the same way organic creatures do. Most Androids are fully grown at the time of their birth, and can technically live forever through constant repair, though most Androids voluntarily release their bodies after a century or so to allow new souls to inhabit them - a process called 'renewal' that’s viewed more as procreation than suicide.

Ecology and Habitats

Though Androids can be found anywhere in the Pact Worlds, many gravitate toward cosmopolitan Absalom Station, the machine cities of Aballon, and the freedom of The Diaspora.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Android society tends to be insular. While Androids are treated equitably in most settlements, especially Absalom Station, many Androids have not forgotten their people’s bondage and remain keenly aware of prejudice from other races based on their “unnatural” origin or jealousy over the Androids’ freedom from ageing. This leads most Androids to feel a sense of kinship with others of their kind and to go out of their way to help each other, though they may also bond with members of other races who treat them well.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Androids have no single naming convention. Many take names from the cultures in which they first awoke, or from media they enjoy. Some accept call sign-like names based on appearance, personality, or exploits. Still others go by numbers as a deliberate reminder of their mechanical nature, or a combination of name and number denoting how many times the body their soul inhabits has been renewed.
Sample android names

Asha, Blue-17, Emene-3, Flick, Garro, Iseph, Melody, Naga, Olas, Stringer, Twenty, and Yose.

Relationship Ideals

Despite popular belief, Androids’ impressive deductive reasoning abilities do not preclude sentiment, and most Androids feel emotions keenly - they simply don’t always express them well, and different individuals may have trouble processing and communicating particular feelings.

History

Android technology in the Pact Worlds is generally believed to have developed on Golarion in the time before the Gap, though there are strong indications that the first Androids there were actually travellers from a distant star system. In the modern era, various corporations throughout the Pact Worlds system unravelled the secret to Android creation and began mass-producing Androids as cheap, skilled labour perfect for hazardous work.

Historical Figures

Serphaeus-6, who gave the legendary "Automaton's Polemic" speech.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

Often cautious around strangers, Androids have the most strained relationship with Humanity, which built them in its image and remains their most frequent oppressor. They feel closest to Shirrens, who also know what it is to be enslaved and misunderstood, and respect the Kasatha's self-sufficiency. They generally dislike Vesk, whom they see as slavers, and only grudgingly tolerate Ysoki antics.

Scientific Name

Homo Machina

Origin/Ancestry

Engineered by Humans.

Lifespan

100 years

Average Height

1.5m (5ft) to 2.1m (7ft)

Average Weight

45.4kg (100lbs) to 90kg (91lbs)

Androids as Genesys adventurers

Android

Talents

Androids start with the following Talents:

• Type: Robotic
• Low-light Vision
• Flat Effect: +b when targeted by and targeting Sense Motives.
• Upgrade Slot: May install a single 1HP armour Attachment on themselves.

Languages

Androids start with the following languages:

• Common
• Choose one: Akitonian, Arkanen, Aklo, Brethedan, Castrovelian, Draconic, Druw'th, Eoxian, Gobbilin, Kalo, Nchaki, Orcish, Sarcesian, Triaxian, Vercite, Veskit or Ysokic.

Archetype Abilities

1 1 1 1 1 1

• Starting Wound Threshold: 10 + Brawn
• Starting Strain Threshold: 10 + Willpower
• Starting Experience: 225

The average android alignment is of a practical neutrality; they are focused on their own welfare and that of their friends.

Playing as an Android

You likely:

• Are rational, quick-thinking, and a careful planner - always mindful of potential escape routes.
• Distrust authority and assume others want to take advantage of you.
• Have a natural understanding of machines and respect them.
• Judge people by how they treat animals, robots and servants.

Other races probably:

• Have trouble reading your emotions, or assume you don't have them.
• Are jealous of your constructed body and lack of aging.
• See you as somehow inferior to purely biological life-forms.
• Experience difficulty following your quick, complex logical processes.