Welcome back to Card Catalog’s look at Starfinder. As previously mentioned, the resulting characters are getting advanced all the way to Seventh Level and if you have not checked out the overview for this series the link is right here! Also, a reminder that I ignored the suggested wealth table to have more fun with the characters. This week, we are taking a look at Besu Pratili Vin Atrides of Clan Hadard, House Locklin, of the line of Zye, the Kasathas Spacefaring Soldier that is the muscle of the Troublemaker Beta.
Design Notes
The Kasathas, along with the Vesk, are the two most striking unique species in Starfinder. The four armed and veiled Kasathas appealed to me and their cultural setup where they are making new traditions to follow later in life was really intriguing. I realized that we still needed some muscle in the Troublemaker Beta crew so I went with a Soldier and Besu’s concept started to form in my head. The curious but reserved fighter who appears stoic but is absorbing all of the reactions of her friends and crewmates with the battle staff or pike became my target. Starfinder provides quick start Ability Score options where instead of rolling for your Ability Scores, you can start with a preset list of rolls to assign as you wish. If you recall from the overview, no Ability Score can start over 18, but we will get well past them later. With a spread of 16, 16, 11, 10,10, and 10, I am starting our leader character with STR 16, DEX 16, CON 11, INT 10, WIS 10, and CHA 10. Besu is a Kasathas Spacefaring Soldier, so we will start by unpacking those choices.
Species – Kasathas. The Kasathas are a new addition to the Pact Worlds having arrived by generation ship The Idari fleeing a dying star and carry with them a tradition bound culture but with traditions that are constantly being created. They came from a desert world and cover their mouth at all times having four arms. This means that for Ability Score modifiers, Besu takes the +2 STR, a +2 WIS but a -2 INT. Additionally, the Kasathas are evolved from a desert race allowing unencumbered movement in difficult desert, hill, or mountain terrain. The four arms mean that the Jasathas can hold four arms of equipment, which we will make use of later. Finally, they receive a +2 bonus on Culture, Acrobatics, and Athletics checks.
Theme – Spacefarer. Besus is a Kasathas who is seeking out her truth and her reality. To do so means leaving the Idari behind and so she is constantly looking over the horizon and looking for new experiences so that she can find her own traditions to marry with her family traditions. Besu has a bonus on Physical Science rolls to recall information or deduce information about the new and strange places she goes. and has Physical Science as a class skill. Finally, a Spacefarer Theme provides a +1 CON
Class – Soldier. The Soldier is the future form of the Fighter, but Starfinder has certainly made the Soldier a deep and engaging class. Each Soldier selects a Primary Fighting Style that provides techniques that fit that overall theme of the character. The CRB has 7 different Fighting Styles and for Besu’s preference for melee combat I selected the Blitz Style. This style allows for quickly getting into melee combat and begins with a +10’ Speed increase and a +4 Initiative bonus.
For her starting Feat, I am going with Cleave so that Besu can attack two different melee opponents even if it means an AC penalty. Besu does not start with a lot of skills, in fact the 4 per level is reduced to three per level because she is not particularly bright. I started with her having Acrobatics, Athletics, and Survival with the Spacefarer theme providing a rank in Physical Science. Soldiers unsurprisingly have proficiency with nearly every weapon but otherwise start out fairly straightforward with the good saves and BAB we are used to from a long time gaming.
Hit Points are a set amount based on your species and class (11), while Stamina points are a set amount from your class plus your CON modifier(7+1). Finally, Resolve Points start as half your level, rounded up plus your class chief ability score modifier, STR for Besu(5). Finally, thinking about Besu and her unsettled nature unsure of what or who she will be, I settle on a Chaotic Neutral alignment. This isn’t a selfish or random alignment choice, but more reflective of Besu not yet knowing where her traditions will take her.
Advancement
While the Operative shows you a lot of the potential at first level, the Soldier explodes as they advance in levels. Just as a reminder, check the link below for the character sheet since we won’t discuss all of the advancements.
First, on the Ability Score increases, I don’t go after the STR but focus on the DEX, CON, INT, and WIS increases for Besu. This increases her AC and Initiative, Hit Points, removes the skill penalty, and I like to think shows how she grows a little less impetuous by 7th level. On the personal upgrades, though, I went straight for her main requirement of STR and provided a Mk. II upgrade in the form of a Fast Twitch Biochemical Enhancement Gland that changes the Kasathan blood composition to increase the efficiency of their fast twitch muscle fibers leaving ehr with a STR of 22. .
On skills, I add Culture and Intimidate at moderate levels, but that does mean stepping off a perfect limit on the original three. That’s okay because a Soldier isn’t going to be made or broken by their skill selection. As a Spacefarer, Besu now can make any untrained skill roll as an Eager Dabbler with a +2 bonus.
For augmentations, since Besu keeps getting into the thick of melee combat, I added some Dermal Plating to provide a Damage Resistance 1/- on all attacks that is going to stack with the Golem Forged Plate Armor and the Deflective Reinforcement (5/-). Besu also has a magical ring of Resistance, Mk. II which provides a bonus to her weakest Saving Throw, which as a Soldier is Reflex.
Soldiers come stacked, though with abilities and bonus feats. We have three Feas, three Bonus Feats, two Gear Boosts, and a Fighting Style ability that have shown up! Enhancing the general theme of the Blitz style, the Feats and Combat Feats from the class support it with choices like Step Up, Step Up and Strike, Stand Still, Improved Stand Still, Mobility, and Great Cleave. These work well with the Blitz Ability of Charge Attack that allows Besu to make a charge without the penalties as well as put a bull rush on the end of the charge for board control purposes. The selection of Feats is about allowing movement without provoking attacks and keeping Besu able to keep attacking her opponents in Melee. Check the Starfinder CRB for full details on those feats.
One aspect of the Soldier Class I also like is the Gear Boost abilities where the soldiers are able to make better use of certain types of gear further allowing for variation in what has evolved from the most basic of classes. The obvious first one is Melee Striker that adds additional damage on Melee Weapons but the second is Sonic Resonance enhancing the ability to make foes flat footed when hit. Since Besu has four arms and can carry and use both the Pike and a Sonic Rifle at the same time, this is a truly significant combination.
As with other d20 based systems, the Base Attack Bonus and Saving throws also increased. Check out the character sheet linked below for the full write up. The gear and armour have also been upgraded to reflect the character advancement which Besu kept pretty slim instead going big for the upgraded Pike and the Golem Forged Armor.
Character Notes
Besu Pratili Vin Atrides of Clan Hadard, House Locklin, of the line of Zye is a woman in search of herself. For all that the honor bound and traditionalist Kasathas are viewed in public as such, their culture is coming from the new rituals and traditions each generation and indeed each Kasathan finds on their own. The Idari’s generation ship travel may have slowed that process, but in the Pact Worlds it has resumed.
According to family legend, Zye was an ancient Kasathan who struck out on his own across the windswept desert landscape to forge a new path forward. His line has grown over the centuries to include many Houses such as House Locklin. Besu Pratili Vin Atrides came into the world after the Idari had come to rest in the Pact Worlds, abandoning the desire to settle on the actually occupied Akiton. House Locklin had followed Zye’s lead of being outward facing and outward looking as much as could be done on board the Idari and Clan Hadard took the opportunity to push out of the Idari into the Pact Worlds. This meant a chance to see and a chance to learn. This was a chance to bring back the exploration to the Kasathan and continue to legend of Zye’s contributions to the Sholar Adat, great world bank of memories still held aboard, though the spectre of being recalled as the Doyen of Exploration to governmental service may slow the footsteps on a few members of Clan Hadard.
Besu stepped into the role of ordained by tradition for her easily. She was unsettled and anxious as a child. Easily distracted and always wanting to run through the different sectors of the Idari. Often board studying the traditions of the past, but grudgingly accepting the stories of her heroes, Besu could do little but wait for her Tempering where she could strike out on her own with the chains of tradition. And it did come to pass.
With a blessing from her parents, her family, and her clan, Besu’s Tempering would take her first to Akiton where the Kasathas had originally intended to settle. There she ahd her first experience that may set her path through the Temepring to be a traditional Kasathan. The impertinent and chaotic way these being lived on a planet so choked with debris was shocking. The beautiful desert that Akiton could be was wasted on these profane and short sighted inhabitants. When Besu saw a gang of street toughs trying to take the last few credits of an old woman, it was too much. Even they should venerate their elders and know not to steal from the past that gave them their present.
In making short work of them, a Ysoki showed up and just started … talking. This “Chitter” seemed friendly enough and truth be told a guide through whatever traditions these strange Pact Worlders have would be helpful. She begrudgingly joined Chitter on the way to Absalom Station, perhaps there to find something more …. Understandable. Besu was already beginning to miss home. Valaeyo’s sharing of the cabin with them was interesting, but the Lashunta Mystic was only the first of many redeeming events of the Tempering. There was a sense of honor and tradition in Valaeyo’s ways that convinced Besu to stick around. Even when Vaelayo volunteered her to help them investigate a bit of a theft on the Station. While Chitter seemed intrigued by this Hiroko Benandetti, Besu was more interested in Clausweld-7’s own traditions. Androids were creating their own traditions but in ways that didn’t always follow the Kasathan ways and watching C-7 became a hobby for Besu.
Boarding pirate ships and hitting them with her pike was much more to Besu’s liking once the Ulrikka Clanholding contract got underway. Investigations and mysteries were all well and good, but the best truth in life was found on the battlefield against an opponent. While the Troublemaker was lost in that battle with the pirates, teh Troublemaker Beta came with a new clanmate … err … crewmember. The dwarf Stoli Kilaim may have a dishonorable tendency to shoot grenades first and rifles later, but he did provide cover to her friends. To be honest, some of the dwarven traditions now that Stoli found the Quest for the Sky complete strike Besu as similar to her own place. How to find a new way that still respects the old.
Renegade elves and undead minions have left Besu more firmly convicned of the Kasathan way to let the elders die and retain their knowledge. Long lived elves and undying Bone Sages have lost though with the traditions themselves and instead see themselves as tradition. This is a dangerous thing in the eyes of the scion of the line of Zye.
Besu Kasathan Spacefarer Soldier
Starfinder & Troublemaker Beta Crew Overview
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