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Ijtikri Commando

Ijtikri Commando CR 4

XP 1,200
Ijtikri soldier
N Medium aberration
Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +10

DEFENSE

HP 50
EAC 16; KAC 18
Fort +6; Ref +4; Will +5; +4 vs. critical hit effects Defensive Abilities hardened mantle

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft. (crawl at half this speed), swim 30 ft.
Melee hook sword +11 (1d8+6 S; critical bleed 1d4)
Ranged thunderstrike sonic rifle +12 (1d10+2 So; critical deafen [DC 13])
Offensive Abilities fighting style (sharpshoot), sniper’s aim
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 4th)

1/daykeen senses

STATISTICS

Str+2; Dex +3; Con +3; Int +0; Wis +2; Cha +0
Skills Acrobatics +10, Athletics +10, Stealth +15
Feats Kip Up
Languages Common, Iji, Vesk
Gear defrex hide, hook sword, thunderstrike sonic rifle with 2 high-capacity batteries (40 charges each)

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Hardened Mantle (Ex)

An ijtikri reduces the damage they take from any critical hit by 7, to a minimum of 1 (unless reduced by other means).

ECOLOGY

Environment any
Organization solitary or squad (2–7)

Ijtikris are sapient beings that resemble squids, though they are terrestrial upon reaching adulthood. Each has an oblong body that they hold roughly vertically atop the muscular arms that surround their mouth.

An ijtikri has two long and dexterous feeding tentacles that are tipped with pads that serve as manipulators and allow the ijtikri to use tools. An ijtikri’s head is close to the ground and covered with an array of visual sensors: an eye on each side of the head, three simple dorsal eyespots, and a pair of complex eyes on the upper trunk. This last pair allows an ijtikri to see without exposing much of their body.

An ijtikri has a shell that covers the head and lower mantle, with a lighter exoskeletal lattice protecting the upper mantle. This facial plating gives rise to the vesk nickname for the species: stone-faced squids. Many genes in ijtikris activate only in response to certain environmental stimuli, so an ijtikri’s shell shape and instinctive skills develop in predictable ways according to external influences.

As a result, ijtikris from a particular region have a similar appearance. The common varieties include gray, indigo, and crimson ijtikris.

An ijtikri hatches in water from a free-floating egg. Though these eggs get consumed by a variety of marine life, those that survive hatch into larvae that in turn feed on zooplankton. Once large enough to risk being prey to larger creatures, ijtikri larvae migrate into coastal waters and anchor to hollows in rocks or reefs. During this phase, the anchored ijtikri filter feeds and grows. By the latter part of their second year of life, a juvenile has built up a large enough reserve of fat and minerals that they cease feeding, break down the anchor, and undergo a metamorphosis into their adult form, including air-breathing lungs, before rising to the surface and swimming for land.

Because they reach physical maturity without social interaction, ijtikris emerge from the water with only instinctive skills. However, each ijtikri has a cluster of ganglia known as a skenoseen organ, which helps the ijtikri smell and locate the nearest group of mature ijtikris. These groups incorporate any newcomer, whose adoptive cousins teach them language, culture, and the skills necessary to survive.

Adult ijtikris mate numerous times over the course of their life, with each partner taking some gametes to store in specialized organs; however, fertilization doesn’t occur during adulthood. Instead, an adult ijtikri can begin a final metamorphosis at any point. Over several weeks, the ijtikri’s body fills with gas, splits its shell, and grows to up to 20 feet in length. The body achieves aerial buoyancy and rises into the air, gently propelling itself toward the open sea. Once far from land, the ijtikri fertilizes stored eggs and disperses them. Then, the ijtikri dies and descends into the water, where various life forms consume the remains. Modern ijtikris view this metamorphosis as a worthy sacrifice once one’s legacy is secure. However, advanced medical techniques allow ijtikris to fertilize eggs in small batches without such a transformation.

Ijtikris started as nomadic hunter-gatherers. Adoption of stone tools 6,000 years ago allowed them to implement agriculture, build villages, and fend off predators. Resistance to vesk rule was brief. Ijtikris who have just emerged from the sea readily adopt almost any accepting group as surrogate families, so they are natural recruits. Modern ijtikris have largely adopted vesk culture. Those who remain contribute to local industries, such as fish farming, salt production, and defrex ranching.

Ijtikris clashed with the vesk most strongly over ancient ruins that predate ijtikri stone-age culture.

Most are little more than foundations among paved plazas. Nevertheless, ijtikris avoided these places.

Racial Traits

Ability Adjustments: +2 Con, +2 Wis, –2 Int

Hit Points: 6

Movement

An ijtikri has a swim speed of 30 feet, and when crawling, an ijtikri can move at half their land speed. An ijtikri gains Kip Up as a bonus feat without meeting that feat’s prerequisites.

Size and Type

Ijtikris are Medium aberrations.

Senses

Ijtikris have darkvision with a range of 60 feet.

Hardened Mantle

Ijtikris have a +4 racial bonus on saving throws against critical hit effects. In addition, they reduce the damage they take from a critical hit by an amount equal to their character level or CR + their Constitution bonus to a minimum of 1 unless reduced by other means.

Mineral Signature

Ijtikri traits vary based on where the individual developed, granting a +2 racial bonus to a skill, as well as a spell-like ability usable once per day. Caster level equals the ijtikri’s level or CR.

The skill and spell-like ability are as follows:

Indigo: Stealth, keen senses

Crimson: Diplomacy, share language

Gray: Survival, wisp ally

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Starfinder Alien Archive 3 © 2019, Paizo Inc.; Authors: Saif Ansari, Kate Baker, John Compton, Adam Daigle, Katina Davis, Eleanor Ferron, Crystal Frasier, Leo Glass, Sasha Lindley Hall, Amanda Hamon, Thurston Hillman, James Jacobs, Jenny Jarzabski, Virginia Jordan, Jason Keeley, Natalie Kertzner, Luis Loza, Lyz Liddell, Ron Lundeen, Crystal Malarsky, Robert G. McCreary, Hilary Moon Murphy, Adrian Ng, Joe Pasini, Lacy Pellazar, Samantha Phelan, Jessica Redekop, Simone D. Sallé, Michael Sayre, Owen K.C. Stephens, James L. Sutter, Jason Tondro, Diego Valdez, and Linda Zayas-Palmer.