#gosclaw

Starfinder Character Drawings

Technology is influenced so much by the priorities of a civilization. Consider how many indigenous people throughout the world seem to have little need for things like cars or metalworking, but will happily accept computers and solar generators to enrich their lives and connect to the outside world.

Such was the case with the gosclaw people, a feline (though honestly they seem more like mustelids to me) people native to the volcanic planet of Duren. As volatile and ever-shifting as their world was, gosclaw engineering and invention focused primarily on surviving such upheavals, leading to the creation of mighty underground cities that could resist volcanic and tectonic activity with little fear, while their spacefaring technology was nonexistent.

That is, until the day an Azlanti scout ship crash-landed on their homeworld. The crew of the ship were all dead, but the technological treasure trove that was the ship itself was a gold mine of innovations that the gosclaw had never seen before, but were eager to examine and reverse-engineer.

Unfortunately, they didn’t get a chance to truly establish themselves in space because a few years later the Azlanti arrived in earnest, and the cunning gosclaws immediately realized that they had no hope of surviving a fight with them, so instead they welcomed the Azlanti, and showed off their own technological wonders, including the impressive great strides they had made in reverse-engineering that fist vessel.

To more proud species, what the gosclaw did may seem cowardly and foolhardy, but they have no illusions about how dangerous a fascist empire like the Azlanti are. So, to ensure the survival of their people, they work to make themselves invaluable to the Star Empire, lending their engineering expertise and nimble bodies while tacitly minimizing their involvement with Azlanti affairs whenever possible, which suits the Azlanti just fine. They get brilliant engineering innovations, repairmen that can wiggle into tight places to fix things without having to disassemble things to get at them, and they know how to make themselves scarce when the Azlanti are in an especially bigoted mood.

But if the gosclaw learned any lessons from their homeworld, is that the situation can change in an instant. A time may come when the Azlanti don’t have an metaphorical boot on their throat and gun to their temple, when the various non-human species of the Empire are free to come into their own as part of the wider galactic community, and the gosclaw will be the first to take advantage of that opportunity when it comes.

Gosclaw are a smooth-furred species of biped with long necks and ears, as well as flexible bodies as well as long-needle-like claws on the ends of their fingers, as well as short tails (which are long in the art or perhaps the artist had a very different idea of what constitutes a “long” tail). Their claws may seem unwieldy, but they demonstrate a surprising amount of grip and dexterity with them despite not being able to use them as weapons. Perhaps they function more like tweezers, picking up and holding objects between them like chopsticks while heavier objects are grasped by the actual fingers. Their limbs themselves are quite spindly compared to their necks, which has me imagining them coiling their necks to hold objects temporarily or grab ledges when climbing, but still strong enough to wield weapons and equipment.

Not much of the ink devoted to this species talks about them independent of their relationship with the Azlanti Star Empire, but what is there talks of how they are always looking forward to the next technological improvement and opportunity, which paints them as practical, opportunistic, and strategically-minded, though they seem to have little interest in their past, and don’t make as much effort to maintain cultural identity and tradition, which may come back to bite them in the future if they forget that the Azlanti are dangerous benefactors and decidedly not friends.

Gosclaw are agile and intelligent, but their focus on the future somewhat hinders their ability to see past their own blinders.

They as also good diggers , able to tunnel slowly when needed.

Evolving on a volcanic world means they have some amount of heat resistance to survive.

Their flexible bodies allows them to move in cramped areas with ease, much smaller than what their height would suggest.

Love of technology and physics is ingrained in the species from an early age, and they demonstrate plenty of skill in those areas.

As a subeterranean species, they also have strong night vision as well.

With their agility and intelligence, gosclaw make great operatives and mechanics, as well as skilled envoys. They also do well with ranged builds with most combat classes, or dodging tanks in melee. Technomancer is their pick in spellcasting, as are precogs with their foresight coming in handy on their homeworld. Their wisdom weakness makes insightful biohackers and mystics a tricky option, but one that can be overcome with effort.