Samsaran

Timeless and mysterious, samsarans are humanoids for who are known for the cyclic nature of their lives. Unlike most living creatures, who are born, mature, grow old, and die, samsarans are ancient even when they are young—their lives not a linear progression, but a cycle of birth and reincarnation. Young samsarans spontaneously appear near locations strongly attuned to magic or the planes, roughly equivalent to a human raging from 5 to 15 years of age.

Physical Description

Samsarans largely appear like humans, save for their pointed ears, transparent blood, and blue flesh that ranges in shade from a pale periwinkle to a flushed royal. Most samsarans have dark hair with similar tones and white eyes that lack pupils, and their frames are long and wiry, sometimes incorrectly giving the impression of malnutrition. Perhaps more striking then their physical bodies, however, is the manner in which they move. Every gesture and every motion carried out by a samsaran is methodical and precise even in youth, as if the samsaran had carried out that motion a million times before.

Home World

Samsarans, like so many races native to the galaxy, are a people without a home world. Before the great disaster, samsarans primarily settled on a major world for the simple reason that when they died, the planet’s intricate array of ley lines acted as a beacon for samsaran souls, causing them to reincarnate there. When the world was destroyed, not only did the samsaran people find themselves without a home, but their souls found no beacons to guide their metaphysical journey back to the Material Plane.

Samsaran souls began to spontaneously reappear, clad in youthful flesh, in dangerous locations throughout the galaxy. These misguided souls quickly manifested on these worlds, only to die slow and traumatic deaths. In the wake of this crisis, samsaran mystics and mechanics toiled to build a series of satellite beacons. These beacons simulated ley line currents throughout the galaxy and directed them to samsaran-controlled star sanctuaries for safe reincarnation. While the majority of samsarans manifest and subsequently live on these two-dozen star sanctuaries today, the system isn’t perfect, and sometimes samsarans manifest on dangerous worlds despite all precautions.

Society And Alignment

Samsaran society is ordered and traditionalist, its ways having been set for countless millennia and likely to persevere for millennia more. As a result, samsarans are somewhat old-fashioned in their ways, and slow to adapt to the ever-evolving technological and societal landscapes of the galaxy. Samsarans are last to adapt to every new technology, every new vehicle, and every new weapon. To a samsaran, something is only worth replacing when the replacement is proven superior in every possible way, and as a result they prefer to wait for later renditions and iterations on new ideas before fully incorporating them into their society. That most of their temples and sanctuaries are now found out in space aboard star ships is proof that the samsarans are willing to change however, given time.

Relations

Despite their patient demeanors and compassionate, understanding attitudes, samsarans often find that other races often treat them with suspicion and general discomfort. In many cases, this occurs because to some, samsarans seem to defy the natural order of the universe with their timelessness and their ability to reincarnate. Perhaps the only races unphased by the awe that a samsaran inspires are lashuntas and shirrens, both viewing the samsaran’s abilities with curiosity and respect. Humans and kathasa are generally left unsettled by samsarans, kathasa because of the samsaran’s ability to defy the natural order and humans because of samsaran’s uncanny-yet-distinctively-alien likeness to their race. Vesk often find themselves in turmoil with emotions of jealousy and disgust over the fact that beings as fragile as samsarans would be allotted multiple opportunities at life.

Adventurers

Historically, samsarans were not often moved to adventure, but much of this has changed following the disasters of the past. Left with only fleeting recollections of the lives they once lived, samsarans often feel the urge to travel across systems and stars to make sense of their jumbled thoughts and memories. By visiting ancient sites and haunts that correspond to their shattered memories, samsarans hope to slowly rebuild their understanding of themselves, an essential component to their final ascension to the afterlife. Samsarans are often mystics, as they claim to possess an innate connection to the very fabric of the universe. They just as often become envoys, as their pragmatism combined with lifetimes of experience help them to understand and appreciate many different walks of life.

Names

Although samsaran names are often distinctively human in origin, their names are seldom modern, often drawing upon millennia old naming conventions that humanity itself has long-since abandoned. Although many cannot remember their original meanings, samsarans instinctively understand these names to be the final, vestigial remnants of heroes long since forgotten and lives long since extinguished.

As a result, samsarans often feel that when they bear these ancient names, they are giving new life to the individuals whose legacies were lost in the past, assuring that they can carried forward alongside the samsarans into the stars. Some examples of samsaran names are Agyen, Bakji, Banik, Chimi, Dakash, Ekram, Henar, Kitesh, Lusila, Nalita, Puran, Ranjan, Rema, Sonan, Sonitri, Thukten, Treeni, Vrishni, Walu, Yeshing, and Zonja.

Racial Traits

+2 Int, +2 Wis, –2 Con

Hit Points: 4

Size and Type

Samsarans are humanoids with the samsaran subtype and are Medium. They have a base speed of 30 feet.

Special Abilities

Lifebound: Samsarans gain a +2 racial bonus on saving throws on saving throws made against death effects and negative energy effects, and on all saves made to remove negative levels. In addition, they gain a +2 racial bonus on Constitution checks made to stabilize if reduced to negative hit points.

Low-Light Vision: Samsarans can see in dim light as if it were normal light. For more details, see low-light vision.

Psychic Magic (Su): Samsarans may select any one 0-level mystic spell, which they can cast as a spell-like ability at will. Additionally, a samsaran does not need to meet the Charisma prerequisite for the Minor Psychic Power feat, or any feat that has that feat as a prerequisite.

Shards of the Past: Samsarans live countless lives, and each remembers faint recollections of their prior existences. Samsarans choose two skills—they gain a +2 racial bonus on checks made with both of those skills, and they add those skills to their list of class skills.