#nuar

Absalom Station is named after one of the biggest metropolises that ever existed on Lost Golarion, and it’s only slightly over the top to have called it the City at the Center of the World. It certainly was in the Inner Sea Region.

However, the space station doesn’t simply share a name with it for nothing. It too is a hub of trade and cultural exchange thanks to the natural perfect drift beacon created by the Starstone, as well as it’s many mysteries and intrigues.

It does, however, seem to have some direct links to the Absalom of old, particularly in the case of the Nuar. Seemingly descended from the minotaurs of old and named for a great leader of their kind back in Golarion’s ancient past, these figures are an ever-present sight on the station and the Pact Worlds in general, where their keen minds make for great feats of engineering.

However, the Nuar are, like many species, victims of the Gap, and they in particular have it bad since much of the history of how they went from being minotaurs to nuar have been muddled by that cosmic fugue, leaving them a people without a history, in deep need of some source of spirituality.

While Minotaurs were definitely large creatures, nuar are noticeably shorter, though still massive compared to your average human, being about seven to eight feet tall. They resembled white or off-white bovine figures with horns that can range in number from two up to eight, making for quite elaborate displays. Much like their minotaur ancestors, they retain cloven hooves, and most have bovine tails, though not all, curiously. Perhaps evidence of genetic alteration? In any case, their brains also sport an impressive capacity for analyzing patterns and arrangement of forms, making them spectacular engineers and very spatially aware.

With no history to call upon to guide them, nuar have had to develop their own philosophies from scratch. Many references are made to the concept of the “Maze of Life”, referring to the complex interplay between desire and duty. Additionally, nuar have developed a curious tradition called “personal legends”. As the name suggests, individual nuar will concoct stories and parables, either wholesale or more often taking inspiration from other stories and myths they have heard or read to concoct narratives on anything from their species origins to life lessons. The fact that these stories are “made up” or have no backing of history or tradition is of no consequence, since the entire point of them is to fill the void left by a lack of history. Every Nuar crafts their own personal legends, sometimes borrowing elements passed to them by their parents, but often adding parts that make sense to themselves personally.

Nuar engineering is something to behold as well, and they are particularly famous for their “mazecore” items: transforming devices that can shift between two forms and functions as needed, such as a plasma rifle that can unfold into a plasma doshko with a flick of the wrist, for example.

Nuar have the strength to match their bulky bodies, and keen minds, but being bigger does mean that they aren’t quite as precise in terms of hand-eye coordination.

Those horns aren’t for show though, and their durable keratin and enamel construction can really do some damage. What’s more, they’re quite adept at charging foes with both their horns and other weapons, not leaving themselves open.

Their analytical minds and spacial awareness prove very useful in orienting themselves while travelling overland, as well as keeping track of their surroundings when piloting vehicles of any size.

Despite their bulk, they are actually quite fast on their feet. Additionally, their eyes are adapted for night vision.

Strength and intelligence are a fun combination, the former paired with their charging makes melee classes and builds, anything from vanguards, evolutionists, as well as melee nanocytes, solarians, soldiers, and the like. Their intellect also makes skilled classes like envoy, operative, biohacker, and mechanic very viable (especially if the latter makes neat mazecore toys for the party), as well as technomancers. Other spellcasters, such as mystics seeking to understand their greater unity to precogs seeking to understand their future and witchwarpers exploring possibilities are all very viable as well. The only place they struggle is their dexterity, making ranged builds and the sneaky side of most operatives difficult, but not impossible.

Polina Shaman • "Dark Phoenix"

3D Character Artist/a little Hair artist

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