Lashunta

la(h)-SHOON'ta(h)

Gleefully pillaged from Starfinder!

Basic Information

Anatomy

Both subtypes of lashunta have short antennae sprouting from their forehead, straight up and bending back slightly. Damaya are often lighter and more lithe than their stocky korasha counterparts. Other than lined patterns of raised dots along their face, and a pale green pigmentation to their skin, they are indistinguishable from humans.

Biological Traits

Damaya lashunta focus their energies on the development of their mind, overloading their brain time and time again during their final stage of puberty as the catalyst of their defining stressor. Their genetics restructure memory cells within their brain during this stage, sacrificing muscle density hormones in return for vastly increased rentition capabilities.

Korasha on the other hand, endure brutal physical hardship. In ancient times, each village, town or city would have a specific rite of passage - usually involving surviving in Castrovel's wilderness for a time. Korasha would often spend a year or two preparing themselves for this potentially deadly ritual, plundering the libraries of knowledge offered by the damaya. The ritual often lasted several months, during which time exhaustion left no time for creative thinking - relying instead on age-old methods and counterstrategies generations old. In modern times, however, the korasha are able to simulate this ritual with magic, heavily laced with various technology like holograms and artificial gravity.

Genetics and Reproduction

Both clades of the species bear the same genetics, allowing them to intermarry and have children.

Growth Rate & Stages

While all lashunta children inherit complexions and certain distinguishing features from their parents, their subspecies is not one of them. Through phrenic rituals and force of will techniques applied at puberty, modern lashuntas have developed adaptive genetics to determine what subspecies a child will grow into over 20 years, activating certain epigenetics, shutting down others, and depending on the stresses they endure.

• The damaya are tall, intellectual, and adaptable, and make up most of their race’s political leaders and ambassadors.
• The korasha are more short, burly and headstrong, often excelling as warriors and explorers.

Additional Information

Social Structure

On the whole, lashuntas’ focus on self-improvement, honour, and communal defence leads them toward good natures, with damaya tending to be more lawful and korasha more chaotic.

Facial characteristics

Both subtypes of lashunta feature short forehead antennae used to focus their natural telepathy, as well as colourful swirls and raised markings on their faces unique to each individual.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Homeworld of Castrovel.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Lashunta are feared by many for their natural phrenic abilities. It is safe to assume that all their species of both subtypes are capable of telekinesis, telepathic communication and the contraversial ability to read minds - a source of fear able to compete with the paranoia of The Swarm's return. In truth, their abilities are based in magic and so harmless countermeasures against this are commonplace. Additionally, their abilities are not as subtle nor as manipulative as many would think. It takes a considerable amount of effort to read the mind of a creature not actively willing to open their mind, and either way once the connection is established both parties are aware of it.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Lashunta naming conventions vary widely among city-states, but often tend toward soft sounds with tonal elements that make them sound musical and elegant to other races.
Examples of names

Some sample lashunta names are: Domash, Hesori, Kima, Kopalo, Maenala, Nomae, Oraeus, Raia, Shess, Soryn, Taeon, and Varikuara. I use the traditional lashunta name generator to provide examples for names.

Beauty Ideals

Unlike many other species, lashunta place heavy emphasis upon personal achievements.

Gender Ideals

In ancient lashuntic history, their starkly divided gender roles led to subspecies almost universally correlated with gender, but as lashunta culture has grown more egalitarian, gender balance between the two subspecies has become roughly equal.

Major Language Groups and Dialects

Castrovelian

Culture and Cultural Heritage

Though lashunta societies usually characterize themselves as meritocracies, their leaders have traditionally been women and are usually damaya except in times of war. While some lashunta city-states attempt to steer children in particular directions, such as via government-run aptitude tests, most lashuntas believe passionately in a child’s right to choose.

Both damaya and korasha lashuntas see education as one of the highest callings, making lashunta scholars renowned across the solar system. Military service is also valued, since their homeworld’s dangerous ecosystem and lack of overarching governments mean that settlements need warriors to protect them from jungle monsters. Of these soldiers, the most iconic are the 'cavalry', lightly armoured riders who form telepathic bonds with and take their name from their saurian mounts.

History

1. 287AG: War against Formians ends.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

Lashuntas believe that every culture has something to teach, and thanks to the legendary prowess of lashunta diplomats, most other races respect them and consider them allies, or at least reasonable associates. Due to natural pheromones and lashuntas’ almost perfect physical symmetry, most humanoid races find lashuntas of both subspecies subconsciously (and sometimes unnervingly) attractive.
Vesk admire their warriors, androids and kasathans value their logic and learning, and humans respect their scholarship but risk embarrassing themselves trying to deal with lashuntas’ disconcerting attractiveness. Shirren are the main exception to this pattern of mutual respect - though lashuntas’ millennia of warfare with the insectile formians has finally ended, many lashuntas are still uncomfortable interacting with similar races and worry that “the bugs” may one day unite against them.

Scientific Name

Mentis Gratissimus (graceful minds)

Lifespan

80 to 100 years

Average Height

152cm (5'0") to 213cm (7'0")

Average Weight

64kg (140lbs) to 82kg (180lbs)

Geographic Distribution

• Asana

Related Ethnicities

• Castroveli

Starfinder: Species Genesys:Species

Lashunta

Talents

Lashunta start with the following Talents:

• Dimorphic: Choose one sub-type of lashunta:
  • Korasha: -1 Cunning, +1 Brawn
  • Damaya: +1 Intellect, -1 Brawn
• Natural Phrenics: Lashunta are Type: Psychic and gain the following abilities. They can cast them without a Focus, but must use Type: Psychic to do so.
  • Telepathic 1
    If using without a wand/staff: +1 Strain per Turn
  • Stun: Gain Daze as a Tier 0 Talent.
  • Psychokinetic Hand: Telekinesis (cantrip)
    If using without a wand/staff: No modifiers allowed
  • Mind Readers: Detect Thoughts
    If using without a wand/staff: +c

Languages

Lashunta start with the following languages:

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

Archetype Abilities

2 2 2 2 2 3

• Starting Wound Threshold: 9 + Brawn
• Starting Strain Threshold: 10 + Willpower
• Starting Experience: 60

Lashunta as adventurers

When a lashunta leaves home, it’s often to grow - in knowledge, prowess, or simple enlightenment. Experience is the best teacher, and the thrill of discovery means that a lashunta adventurer is as likely to be drawn to a new world by a rumour of lost lore as by the promise of wealth. Of course, this quest for wisdom sounds less noble once it’s understood that the prestige associated with bringing significant new knowledge home to Castrovel all but assures a lashunta the finest creature comforts for the rest of his life as a corporate consultant or professor at a university. Lashunta adventurers are most frequently envoys, technomancers, and mechanics, but soldiers and operatives are also common, the latter being trained and employed by the numerous powerful lashunta-owned corporations that have surpassed many city-states as the primary political powers on Castrovel and beyond.

Playing as a Lashunta

You likely:

• Deeply value learning, self-improvement, and the practice and perfection of skills and powers.
• Are a natural leader - calm and charismatic if damaya, loud and boisterous if korasha.
• Sometimes find other races’ reliance on audible language exasperating.
• Are a good judge of character and bond deeply with those worthy of your trust.

Other races probably:

• Simultaneously admire and resent your natural charm and your force of personality.
• Expect you to know everything or see you as frustratingly posturing and patronizing.
• Fear you’ll use your telepathy to read their minds.
• Question the influence of corporate power on your supposedly enlightened meritocracies.