Hardlight Scamps and Hespers Explained
Hardlight Scamps and Hespers Explained
56
d8 Mutation
HESPER
1 Extra eyes Target is dazzled in bright light and gains +2 status
Hespers are fey attuned to radiation. They bond with starship bonus to sight-based Perception checks.
power cores, space station reactors, and other types of
2 Bioelectric cells Tech items and batteries held by the target
machinery. Some hespers are skittish and prefer to live out automatically regain all spent charges at the end of the
their lives in solitude, but others seek the company of non- creature’s turn. Tech items are glitching 1 for as long as the PLAYTESTING
fey, even becoming friendly with the crews who coexist with target holds them. If the target is a creature with the tech trait,
them on starships and space stations. it becomes glitching 1, and its melee attacks deal an additional INTRODUCTION
Hespers appear as ethereal, odd humanoids, usually 1d6 electricity damage. CHAPTER 1:
androgynous or male in form, with green or bluish skin, elegant 3 Extra claws, spines, or teeth Target gains an unarmed melee attack Into the Ghost
limbs, and long hair. Hespers sometimes tryst with mortals. that deals 1d4 piercing damage, but it takes a –2 status penalty Levels
A hesper can magically assist individuals of any ancestry or to attacks with two-handed weapons. CHAPTER 2:
gender to carry their children with the help of transformative 4 Glowing tumors Target sheds light as a lantern and takes a –2 Big Trouble in
radiation. Such children are born as new hespers or fey-touched Little Akiton
status penalty to Stealth checks.
individuals of their other parent’s ancestry. CHAPTER 3:
5 Gills Target gains the amphibious trait and takes a –1 status penalty
Happy Birthday
to Fortitude saves.
HESPER CREATURE 2
6 Musk gland Target gains a 30-foot aura that nauseates living
MEDIUM FEY
creatures within it, making them sickened 1 unless they succeed ALIEN ARCHIVE
Perception +8; low-light vision, radiation sense
at a Fortitude save against the target’s class DC. Hardlight
Languages Aklo, Common, Fey
7 Protective growths Target gains a +1 status bonus to AC and takes Scamp
Skills Diplomacy +8, Crafting +7,
a –2 status penalty to Charisma-based checks. Hesper
Physical Science Lore +7
8 Wracking pain Radiation temporarily alters the target’s body at a Midwife
Str +0, Dex +3, Con +1, Int +0, Wis
(Amnieka)
+1, Cha +4 cellular level. The target is sickened for the duration and gains
fast healing with a value equal to half its level (rounded up). Space Station
Radiation Sense The hesper Gremlin
can sense radiation sources,
NPCs
such as ships’ power cores acid, cold, electricity, or fire (see energy ray)
or reactors, from up to 1 Primal Innate Spells DC 18, attack +8; 1st
mile away. charm, thunderstrike; Cantrips (1st) light,
AC 17; Fort +8, Ref +11, Will +5 prestidigitation
HP 34; Weaknesses cold iron 2 Energy Ray A hesper’s ranged attacks
Reactor Sprite If a hesper can deal any of the damage types listed
spends 1 hour in close contact in its entry. A hesper can change the
with a starship’s power core or type of damage it deals with its energy
other large power source (such as ray Strikes as a free action.
a fusion reactor), it can form a long- Mutating Touch A hesper can deliver
term bond. A hesper can merge an enormous dose of radiation with a
with its bonded reactor, gaining touch, triggering sudden mutations in
regeneration 5 while it remains living creatures. With a successful
merged. A merged hesper is attack, a hesper causes the target
aware of what happens in the to sprout tumors that erupt at the
reactor’s immediate vicinity, beginning of its next turn, causing
but if the reactor is broken, a random mutation (roll 1d8 on
the hesper is immediately the table above). The target
expelled and takes 3d6 damage. must attempt a DC 18 Fortitude
If the reactor is destroyed while the save.
hesper is merged with it, the hesper is Critical Success The creature
slain instantly (DC 15 Fortitude negates). is unaffected. The creature is
A hesper can bond with only one reactor immune to the hesper’s mutating touch
at a time, and forming a new bond severs for 24 hours.
its previous bond. Success The creature is unaffected.
Speed 25 feet Failure The creature gains a random mutation from the
Melee [one-action] fist +7 (agile), Damage 1d6+2 bludgeoning plus table above. Its effects last for 1 hour.
mutating touch Critical Failure The creature gains a random mutation
Ranged [one-action] energy ray +10 (range 90 feet), Damage 1d10+2 from the table above. Its effects last for 24 hours.
57
Static Sense Amnieka can sense the presence of any creature
MIDWIFE (AMNIEKA) with a mind inside mental static’s area (see below). This
Amnieka is one of thirteen mortal Midwives who attended the functions as an imprecise sense. Amnieka treats creatures
Newborn’s birth and were transformed into eldritch entities that fail their save against mental static as though it can
by the nascent outer god’s awakening. A Midwife always always see them, ignoring the effects of any cover or
regenerates an identical new form so long as even a single speck invisibility effects.
of aucturnite—the name for the frozen chunks of planetcenta AC 23; Fort +8, Ref +11, Will +17
that once surrounded the Newborn—exists on this plane. HP 82, regeneration 12 (deactivated by mental or holy)
Amnieka is one of the thirteen types of Midwives, though Mental Static (aura, divine, mental) 100 feet. Amnieka’s
whether there is only one Midwife of each type, or many, presence increases stress for creatures able to perceive
is unknown. Whether their names come from the mortal its static psychic emanations. Creatures can attempt a DC
servants whose souls were the kindling for the Midwives’ 19 Will save to clear their minds as their central nervous
creation, or if they have some other significance to the system experiences a heightened anxiety response. On a
Newborn, is a mystery. The only resemblance Amnieka bears failure, a creature is frightened 2 for 1 round; on a critical
to the humanoid body it may have once inhabited is the hood failure, it’s confused for 1 round.
of writhing tentacles around its visage. Reactive Tentacles [reaction] Trigger A creature within Amnieka’s
Each Midwife identifies itself by how it cared for the reach makes an attack; Effect Amnieka’s tentacles flare
Newborn. Amnieka swaddled the Newborn, but others fed, out from its hood, exposing a misshapen skull pink with
carried, held, watched, warded, blessed, or performed other living blood. Amnieka makes a tentacle sting Strike against
acts of nurturing for the outer god. the triggering creature. This Strike doesn’t count toward
Amnieka’s multiple attack penalty, and its multiple attack
AMNIEKA MIDWIFE CREATURE 6 penalty doesn’t apply to this Strike.
UNIQUE MEDIUM ABERRATION COSMIC MIDWIFE UNHOLY Return to Aucturn [one-action] (concentrate, divine) Amnieka teleports
Perception +17; static sense (imprecise) 100 feet to the location of any Aucturnite fragment within a
Languages Aklo, Pact Common; telepathy 100 feet planetary range. If Amnieka is reduced to 0 Hit Points,
Skills Acrobatics +11, Athletics +9, Aucturn Lore +13, Newborn it reforms 24 hours later unless every piece of Aucturn’s
Lore +13, Occultism +13, Religion +15 shattered mass is destroyed.
Str +5, Dex +7, Con +2, Int +3, Wis +4, Cha +1 Speed fly 30 feet
Melee [one-action] tentacle sting +15 (agile, finesse, reach 10 feet),
Damage 2d8+5 piercing plus 1d4 persistent poison
Ranged [one-action] eldritch ray +15 (range 120 feet), Damage 3d10
mental
Divine Innate Spells DC 24, attack +16; 4th eldritch wrath; 3rd
entropy strike, void whispers; 2nd telekinetic maneuver;
1st mind thrust, sonic scream; Cantrips detect thoughts
(constant), eldritch lance
Psychic Doula [free-action] Trigger Amnieka’s turn begins; Effect
Amnieka constantly shepherds fragments of unknowable
entities into its current reality. A translucent, fleshy
bubble appears in Amnieka’s space each round. The
bubble floats toward the nearest creature at a Speed of
10 feet per round on Amnieka’s turn. A bubble bursts when
it enters the same square as a creature, exploding in a 10-
foot burst centered on the creature that deals 2d6 poison
damage (DC 21 basic Fortitude save). Creatures can target
and attack a bubble before it enters a creature’s square. A
bubble uses the following statistics: AC 12, HP 6; Fort +2,
Ref +8. Amnieka can only have a number of active bubbles
equal to the number of enemies it’s fighting at one time.
Supercharged Eldritch Ray [two-actions] (attack, automatic) Amnieka
supercharges its eldritch ray and fires, dealing 3d10
damage to each creature in a 20-foot cone (DC 21 basic
Reflex save). Roll 1d4 to randomly determine whether the
supercharged eldritch ray deals cold, fire, electricity, or
void damage.
58
SPACE STATION GREMLIN GREMLIN COMPANIONS
Like their glitch gremlin cousins, space station gremlins are Occasionally, a space station gremlin might befriend a
obsessed with technology and prone to tinkering that causes mechanic or crew member aboard a space station and
chaos for people living on space stations with them. Space teach them fey secrets of engineering, or even deign
station gremlins know everything about the inner workings to help them with their work. Befriending a space
PLAYTESTING
of their home stations and enjoy punishing or pranking the station gremlin is incredibly difficult, and getting their
station’s larger inhabitants who know less than they do. attention might backfire, with the creature becoming INTRODUCTION
“Haunted” space stations and ships with mysterious power a target for more pranks and deadlier accidents. The CHAPTER 1:
flickers, doors that randomly open and shut, equipment process begins with leaving out morsels of the gremlin’s Into the Ghost
that malfunctions at just the wrong time, and frequent favorite foods and portions of intoxicants. Each gremlin Levels
unexplainable accidents are probably the home of one or is different, but many prefer aged cheeses, meats, and CHAPTER 2:
more space station gremlins. fruits ripe to the point of rotting—the more pungent the Big Trouble in
When they’re not playing pranks, some gremlins monitor better. Loudly praising the gremlin’s masterful work Little Akiton
and repair the sensitive machinery keeping many older space and expressing appreciation for their pranks also help CHAPTER 3:
stations afloat—a fact that has probably saved them from win most gremlins over. Happy Birthday
eradication on larger settlements like Absalom Station.
Most space station gremlins stand about 2 feet tall and
ALIEN ARCHIVE
weigh around 7 pounds—the perfect size for slipping through
vents and squeezing down maintenance tunnels. Gremlins Hardlight
Scamp
sometimes steal clothing from larger space station crew and
Hesper
fashion coveralls or flight suits for themselves. They’re also
Midwife
fascinated by tools; some space station gremlins name their
(Amnieka)
favorite tools like one would name a pet, collect dozens of a
Space Station
certain type of tool, or display them like trophies. Gremlin
NPCs
SPACE STATION GREMLIN CREATURE –1
TINY FEY GREMLIN TECH
Perception +5; low-light vision
Languages Aklo, Common
Skills Computers +8, Crafting +5, Stealth +4
Str +0, Dex +2, Con +1, Int +3, Wis +1, Cha +0
AC 14; Fort +5, Ref +8, Will +6
HP 8; Weaknesses cold iron 1, fire 1; Resistances cold
1, electricity 1
Speed 20 feet, fly 20 feet
Melee [one-action] bite +7 (agile, finesse, magical), Damage 1d4+2
piercing
Ranged [one-action] unstable spark +7 (agile, electricity, magical, range
20 feet), Damage 1d4+1 electricity
Primal Innate Spells DC 16, attack +7; 2nd invisibility; 1st
holographic object, overheat; Cantrips (1st) adhere, electric
arc, figment, recharge weapon
Mechanical Trickery [one-action] When a space station gremlin has
spent at least 1 hour exploring a ship or space station,
the gremlin gains an innate sense of its inner workings
and can remotely control mechanical infrastructure
within 60 feet, performing simple actions such as
opening and shutting airlocks and doors, opening heat
vents, activating alarms, turning lights on and off, or
tampering with gravity controls.
Tech Travel [two-actions] (primal, teleportation) The space station
gremlin enters adjacent mechanical infrastructure
such as a control panel or pipe network and instantly
emerges from another within 100 feet.
59
NPCs
JOIA MOLLEN
Joia Mollen is a female human, the daughter of second-
generation Akitonian immigrants who did their best to
scrape by on Absalom Station. Joia was born and raised in
Little Akiton. Her parents hoped her studies would carry
her far away from poverty, but as Joia experienced the
luxuries afforded to her as an achieving student and young
professional, she became even more determined to help her
friends and neighbors back in Little Akiton. Joia worked as
a licensed social worker for 35 years, living in an apartment
down the street from the tenement she grew up in.
COURIER LOTUS Joia has been involved with countless other community
efforts, from parades to pickets to protests, and brings her
nerves of steel and fiery spirit to every cause she supports.
Joia never settled down, but has a string of old flames who
drift in and out of her busy life—including Sunny-6, the
wholesome android diner cook, and (rumor has it) she’s even
dated a former primex.
But Joia’s accomplishments outshine her personal drama.
Joia founded the community center that serves hundreds
of people in the Little Akiton neighborhood. Now that she’s
retired from her longtime career, she can usually be found at
60
the center working, training other workers, or entertaining Manee rented a rundown flat in Little Akiton, got to know
important visitors—anyone from a labor unionist to the queen some of the folks handling imports at the docks, and used her
of a planet. connections to get a cut of business when she wasn’t stacking
crates and hauling cargo. After some shady but lucrative
SUNNY-6 business deals, Manee had enough creds to purchase a
Sunny-6 is a male android who’s lived on Absalom Station all tiny piece of real estate in a prime location and opened her
PLAYTESTING
his life—that he can remember. One day he woke up with no own corner bodega. In the handful of years since the grand
memory except for the fuzzy impression of a traumatic death opening, Manee has stuffed her storefront and basement INTRODUCTION
in battle. Somehow, his soul had reincarnated into a synthetic full of every imaginable type of goods, with a handful of CHAPTER 1:
body. This mysterious past life as a soldier only resurfaced in potentially dangerous and powerful artifacts of dubious origin Into the Ghost
dreams, leaving him with a whole new world to explore. He sprinkled in. Levels
acclimated to his new life slowly, exploring the corrugated Manee’s bodega is known for two things: a friendly but CHAPTER 2:
storage container where he’d awoken. For the first few days, haughty silver squox, Rasputin, who lounges among the fruit Big Trouble in
those four walls contained his world as he sifted through the bins and shelves, and the special dumplings Manee makes Little Akiton
items around him for clues about his past—or his body’s past, as using her great-grandfather’s original recipe. Manee is almost CHAPTER 3:
he suspected those might have been entirely different things. always calm and collected, but her temper can be nasty—old Happy Birthday
The items proved to be a seemingly random collection man Ozdabaki won’t let anyone forget about the time she
of junk—a crate of ammunition, a suitcase full of dresses powered up her solar mote and punched out the jingle-singing
ALIEN ARCHIVE
and suits, a box of old leathery tomes, a case of electronic holographic moon that once hung in Little Akiton’s sky-ceiling.
detritus. He cleaned and organized his storage container into Hardlight
Scamp
something resembling a home. Then, he ventured into the
Hesper
artificial sunlight to take a walk around the neighborhood.
Midwife
At first meeting people felt awkward, but the android
(Amnieka)
realized he enjoyed hearing the old kasatha next door
Space Station
complain about her wife’s cooking, or watching the children Gremlin
play skip-rope and climb irrigation pipes. He couldn’t suppress
NPCs
a grin whenever he passed someone in a corridor. “Well, aren’t
you sunny,” was the old kasatha’s proclamation. The android
liked that, and combined her words with the number on his
storage container—6—to create his very own name.
Sunny-6 wasn’t satisfied just being a neighbor; he wanted
a career. He learned everything he could about cooking on
the infosphere and found himself an apprenticeship at a
greasetrap diner in the Vesk Quarter. He loved serving people,
especially when they seemed to like the food. A year later,
Sunny-6 had the knowledge he needed to open his own diner.
He turned his storage container into the retro eatery of his
dreams and began serving his neighbors. It never occurred to
him to charge until the old kasatha offered to pay credits for
his cooking!
But that was a long time ago. The Sunny-6 of today is
savvier, and has even purchased a holographic sun to brighten
the days of everyone in Little Akiton—and remind them to
come eat at his diner. Sunny-6 is just as gregarious and caring
as ever. He loves his life in Little Akiton and wouldn’t trade it
for all the adventure in the galaxy.
MANEE MOONPUNCHER
Manee Moonpuncher is a female shobhad solarian who grew
up on Akiton with a traveling trader family. She was always MANEE MOONPUNCHER
fascinated by the shops and trading posts they stopped at,
and even as a child she dreamed of how she’d set up her very
own shop. After a brief tour with the Stewards that didn’t go
perfectly for a headstrong young buck like her, Manee ended
up working at the docks on Absalom Station.
61
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62
PLAYTESTING
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1:
Into the Ghost
Levels
CHAPTER 2:
Big Trouble in
Little Akiton
CHAPTER 3:
Happy Birthday
ALIEN ARCHIVE
Hardlight
Scamp
Hesper
Midwife
(Amnieka)
Space Station
Gremlin
NPCs
[Link]/starfinder
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63
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