Originally from the First World and tangentially related to Nymphs and Dryads, Anthousas are a race of feminine plant people known for their unusually lawful nature compared to their fey cousins. Their society is a hierarchical meritocracy that puts great emphasis on individual achievement, resulting in a people with both a great respect for authority and a powerful sense of individuality.

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PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Anthousas are humanoid in shape and bear some resmblence to female elves, though they are not as lithe in shape and their eyes are virtually human in appearance. Most anthousas stand around 5 feet tall, rarely breaking 5 foot 4 inches. They tend to weigh slightly more than human females of the same general height and build would.

The top of an anthousa's head is adorned with a wild tangle of fibers similar in appearance to hair, some of which twist together into long vines, which eventually develope glowing bulbs at their tips. Despite appearing similar to hair, these filaments are actually part of the anthousa's body and are full of nerve endings and thin sap vessels.

HOMEWORLD

When their ancestors were exiled long ago from the First World, they were deposited on a "greenhouse" world now known as Hyaca. With an atmosphere rich in carbon dyoxide, the planet is a virtually inhospitable desert at the equator and a tropical paradise at the poles. For most of Anthousan history, the anthousas lived near the north pole of the planet, the scorching heat of the equator and the native lizardfolk tribes preventing them from colonizing lands too far to the south. It was only after the invention of appropriate cooling systems that they could finally reach the south pole, though it remained unsettled for over two centuries after due to the difficulties involved in reaching it.

Almost all anthousan cities are located at the poles of the planet, with the northern regions still being more populated than the southern ones to this day.

Hyaca's ocean are virtually uninhabited due to water being poor in oxygen, though over the last few centuries the anthousan people have started to artificially oxygenate it and populate it with genetically engineered aquatic life, hoping to one day turn it into a viable source of food for their growing population.

While the planet's equator is too hot for any but Sudraji to live on the surface of, it is home to a massive underground ecosystem not too disimilar from the Darklands of Golarion. While mostly unexplored, the ruins of at least two different previous civiliztions have been found below the surface.

SOCIETY & ALIGNMENT

Anthousan society puts a great emphasis on personal skill and individual achievement, as such it is filled with competition. Anthousas always struggle with each other for recognition, be it political, scientific, artistic, or military. Even when working together, anthousas do so in the knowledge that it will reflect well on their personal records.

Anthousan society is also strictly hierarchical, and every anthousan must start at the bottom and work their way up. Cheating the system is probably one of the worst crimes in anthousan society - nepotism and cronyism are punished severely, leading in a loss of status for both parties.

While anthousas might first appear quite strict due to their professional values, in their personal lives they are quite carefree and somewhat hedonistic, with a love for new experiences, especially new foods, and a rich spectrum of subcultures centered around drugs, sex, and entertainment.

The anthousas primarily worship The Green Mother, one of the Fey Eldest of the First World and goddess of carnivorous plants, intrigue, and seduction. Some believe that she created the anthousas long ago as a race of infiltrators designed to walk amongst other humanoid races, but they were too plant-like to truly fit in. Priests of The Green Mother's are invariably mystics with the xenodruid connection.

Even amongst other races anthousas are often lawful, following anthousan ideals of an ordered society. They tend toward a neutral morality, though individuals can easily skew good or evil.

RELATIONS

Their constant competitiveness makes it difficult for other species to interact with anthousas — the anthousas always try to outdo others, even in situations where it’s not necessarily appropriate.

Anthousas respect self-made individuals more than anyone, and their values cause them to judge others on a case by case basis, meaning they don't have any particular biases towards any specific races or cultures. They loathe anyone that they think hasn't rightfully earned what they have.

ADVENTURERS

Anthousan adventurers usually wish to accrue as much experience and recognition as possible, be they xenoseekers searching for new discoveries, scholars looking to improve their expertise, or mercenaries seeking accolades. Most anthousan adventurer are mechanics, envoys, and operatives, with a moderate amount being soldiers and a small minority being technomancers and mystics.

NAMES

Anthousan names are plant based and usually based on the anthousa's appearance. While normally in Sylvan, these names are translated into Common when dealing with others. Some sample anthousan names are Apple Lily, Blue Blossom, Lotus Bloom, and Briar Rose.

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Hyaca

The Beloved

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• Diameter: ×1.0
• Mass: ×1.15
• Gravity: ×1.05
• Atmosphere: Carbon Dioxide rich
• Day: 20 hours; Year: 233 days

Geography

Hyaca is the first planet from the anthousa's twin suns. Its surface is overall around 40% land and 60% water, being covered in four distint continents and four large oceans.

Aucia

Aucia is the largest continent on Hyaca. It is largely a desert populated by lizardfolk, animals acclimated to live with little to no water, and magical creatures such as dragons and elementals. Many lizardfolk settlements dot the desert, though they are not connected by any overarching infrastructure.

Where the desert ends, savannahs and plains begin, which in turn give way to tropical farmlands and fields towards the poles. Anducia's tropical reaches are heavily settled by anthousas, which have turned much of the forested areas into farmland, which are used to feed the livestock on which the anthousas rely for food.

Anducia

Anducia is a thin continent that forms a semi-circle around the north pole before dipping down towards the equator to the west of Aucia. Anducia is the "birthplace" of the Anthousan race, being where they were exiled to after leaving the First World. Anducia is home to the most densely populated districts of the planet.

Maracia

Maracia is a landmass that lies east of Aucia, across a thin ocean. It is primarily an arid continent, with its northernmost reaches being swamplands. It is also home to the largest concentration of Hyaca's native lizardfolk, the Sudraji. As with Aucia, the Sudraji settlements on Maracia are very thinned out and lack any interconnectivity.

Banacia

Banacia takes up the entirely of Hyaca's south pole and connects Aucia to Maracia. The continnet is mainly an untamed wilderness with very little Anthousan settlement. Much of this wilderness is inhabited by megafauna and wild fey creatures. Some believe a fey settlement lies at the heart of the continent, hidden by magic.

Flora & Fauna

Hyaca is home to various gigantic animals similar to the megafauna and dinosaurs of old Golarion. It is also home to fey creatures, a high concentration of beings from the elemental planes, and various magical beasts and dragons. Hyaca's native fauna is also equally large, with giant trees, mushrooms, and shrubs dominating ares of wilderness.

Cities

Anthousan cities are built in flowing, organic shapes, with curving streets, tightly packed buildings, and extensive parks. Each city is part of a district of a dozen or more cities linked under a single administration. Within individual cities corporations and syndicates hold the most sway, with many anthousan citizens being corporate workers.

The Twilight

The expansive caverns that lie under Hyaca's surface, the Twilight is named after the perpetual dim light that permeates its interior, borne from the glowing fungi that fill them. The Twilight is famous for the extensive ruins that are spread throughout its caverns, which have been identified as belong to at least two different previous civilization.

The Twilight is deeply connected to the Shadow Plane, and many creatures of Shadow can be found down there, preventing explorers from going too deep into the caverns.

Oceans

Hyaca has four main bodies of water that could be really called oceans – the Iridian Ocean, which spans from the East coast of Aucia to the West coast of Maracia, the Antiguan Ocean, which spans from the West coast of Aucia to the East coast of Maracia, and touches the southern coast of Anducia and northern coast of Banacia, the Suffaran Ocean, which separates Maracia from Anducia and links the Iridian and Antiguan oceans, and the Fulanic Sea, which spans the entire north pole of the planet and separates Aucia from Anducia.

The Fulanic Sea is the most populated of Hyaca's oceans, being home to many predatory fish, creatures from the plane of water, and various acquatic dragons. The Antiguan Ocean is, in contrast, the least populated, being mostly devoid of flora and fauna of any kind.

Sudraji

Sudraji Hunter CR 4

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• XP 1,200
• Sudraji soldier
• N Medium humanoid (sudraji)
• Init +9: Senses low-light vision: Perception +10

DEFENSE 50 HP

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• EAC 16; KAC 18
• Fort +6; Ref +4; Will +5

OFFENSE

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• Speed 40 ft.
• Melee tactical pike +9 (1d8+7 P) or claw +12 (1d3+9 S)
• Ranged neutrino boson rifle +12 (2d4+4 A & E; critical corrode 1d6) or shock grenade I +12 (explode [1d12 E, 15 ft. DC 13])
• Offensive Abilities fighting styles (blitz)

STATISTICS

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• Str +3; Dex +5; Con +1; Int -1; Wis +0; Cha +0
• Skills Athletics +10, Acrobatics +15, Survival +10
• Feats Deadly Aim, Far Shot, Opening Volley
• Languages Common, Sudraji, Sylvan
• Other Abilities desert survivor, rapid response
• Gear teraframe II, tactical pike, neutrino boson rifle with 2 standard batteries (20 charges each), shock grenade I (2).

ECOLOGY

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• Environment desert, savannah, swamp, or jungle (Hyaca)
• Organization solitary, pair, or tribe (3-18 plus 1 sudraji shaman)

SPECIAL ABILITIES

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• Desert Survivor See next page.

 

Sudraji Shaman CR 12

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• XP 19,200
• Sudraji mystic
• N Medium humanoid (sudraji)
• Init +5: Senses low-light vision: Perception +22

DEFENSE 170 HP 5 RP

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• EAC 25; KAC 26
• Fort +11; Ref +11; Will +15
• Defensive Abilities reactive resistance, share resistance

OFFENSE

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• Speed 40 ft.
• Melee sentinel staff +19 (1d10+16 B; stun) or claw +12 (1d3+22 S)
• Ranged muon boson pistol +21 (3d4+6 A & E; critical corrode 2d4)
• Offensive Abilities grasping vines
• Mystic Spell-Like Abilities (CL 12th)
  At will – mindlink, telepathic bond
• Mystic Spells Known (CL 12th)
  4th (3/day) – cosmic eddy (DC 23), hold monster
  3rd (6/day) – charm monster (DC 22), dispel magic, mystic cure
  2nd (at will) – augury, mind thrust (DC 21)

STATISTICS

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• Str +4; Dex +5; Con +1; Int +1; Wis +8; Cha +2
• Skills Life Sciences +22, Mysticism +27, Survival +22
• Feats
• Languages Common, Sudraji, Sylvan
• Other Abilities animal adaptation (elongated legs), desert survivor, speak with animals,
• Gear teraskin III, sentinel staff with 2 standard batteries (20 charges each), muon boson pistol with 2 high-capacity batteries (40 charges each)

ECOLOGY

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• Environment desert, savannah, swamp, or jungle (Hyaca)
• Organization solitary or tribe (1 plus 3-18 sudraji hunters)

SPECIAL ABILITIES

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• Desert Survivor See next page.

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The sudraji are the native intelligent life of Hyaca, they've been here since before the arrival of the Anthousas, living primarily in the inhospitably hot deserts of the planet.

Society

Sudraji are still a primarily tribal race, organized in small villages separated by expanses of wilderness. Despite the technological advances of the Anthousas, sudraji reject most comforts brought about by modern living, at most they use firearms when hunting but otherwise shun all but the most basic of electronics.

Sudraji tribes are composed of at least several dozen closely knit families, all lead by a matriarch, usually the oldest female of the family. Above the individual matriarchs rules a tribal council, lead by a shaman and comprised of the eldest of matriarchs.

Female sudraji are responsible for the administrative and political decisions within any given tribe, as well as the education of children, the arangement of marriages, and other decisions which have the potential to affect the entire tribe.

Male sudrajis are mainly responsible for physical labour and hunting. The highest ranking male sudraji is ranked below even the lowest ranking female, though children rank the lowest regardless of sex.

Religion

Sudrajis worship a plethora of tribal gods, the most noteworthy of which are the twin sun goddesses Era and Sora, each enbodying one of Hyaca's twin suns. Other gods worshipped by the Sudraji include Imbrex, the first world Eldest of endings, and Yig, the Great Old One of reproduction and cycles.

Technology

Sudrajis believe that only the bare minimum of technology should be used in day to day life, prefering to do many things by hand, even if the alternative would be much easier.

Sudrajis dig their own wells, scavenge their own food, hunt their own prey, and build everything by hand.

They have reluctantly accepted some "humanitarian" aid from Anthousas over they centuries, however, and most modern sudraji villages have at least electrical pumps for their wells and firearms for hunting.

Adventurers

Despite their deep set and traditional ways, over the last decades more and more sudrajis have left their tribes behind and ventured out as mercenaries, or have joined urban Anthousan society.

Some elders believe that if this trend continues, in a few centuries all traditional sudraji values will be lost, and with them so will their culture.

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Klar

A traditional anthousan weapon, the real name of this weapon is the Sazar, though most in the pact worlds have taken to calling it the Anthousan Klar, or just the Klar, after an ancient and primitive weapon used on Golarion before the Gap. The Klar consists of a small shield with a short blade protruding from it perpendicular to the grip, allowing one to both attack and defend with the weapon.

Boson Weapons

These devastating anthousan weapons work by weakening the bonds between the target's atoms, disintegrating them at the atomic level. While not as strong as the disintegrator weapons found within the pact worlds, the effects of boson weapons are much harder to resist, and their higher accuracy makes them prefered by a large majority of mercenaries and adventurers. The corrode effect of Boson weapons deals half its damage as acid and half as electricity.

Teraskin and Teraframe

The iconic armor of anthousas, Teraskin and Teraframe are not made, but rather grown. The plates that compose these suits are actually a naturally occuring ceramic structure created by certain clam-like plants native to Hyaca. By introducing foreign objects into the soft bits of these plants, one can trick it into growing its shell into any shape desired. Modern tera armours are padded with additional layers of high-tech fibers and metals to provide additional protection.