Astrazoan

• Revel in experiencing new cultures.
• Enjoy shifting between identities to suit different situations.
• Only reveal your natural form to your closest friends.

• Envy your shapeshifting and believe it's effortless.
• Are surprised by your knowledge of other cultures.
• Struggle to recognize you in all your different shapes.

An astrazoan's most iconic physical feature is their ability to mold their own hyper-flexible body into many different forms. Contorting their limbs, redistributing their jellylike flesh, and shifting their organs with long, muscular tendons allows astrazoans to assume new appearances that can be maintained unconsciously once locked into place. The transformation is swift and fluid but accompanied by visceral pops and cracks, the pain of which is quickly offset by a rush of endorphins that help the astrazoan cope with their new form.

In their natural form, an astrazoan resembles a radially symmetrical starfish with five to seven limbs and spiny crevices in their soft underbelly that protect their delicate cilia, eyes, and other organs. Covered in dermal papillae, their leathery skin can shift color and texture, which newborn astrazoans use to mimic their surroundings. A fleshy sack forms a hump at the center of astrazoan's body, containing extra tissue astrazoans can redistribute as desired to transform into larger shapes. Some astrazoans implant cybernetics into their bodies, which they can shift to take on even more varied forms.

Everything about astrazoans is malleable, even their intestines. In their natural form, astrazoans eject their stomachs from their mouths to externally digest food before slurping it back into their bodies. Astrazoans have learned to eat in a manner consistent with whatever shape they take without sacrificing the flavor or nutrient quality of their meal, and most astrazoans figure out early on in adapting to a new culture that their species' primary method of ingestion can be unsettling or even repulsive in front of others.

Young astrazoans and those who have remained in the same form for many years might struggle when it's time to adopt a new “skin,” the word astrazoans tend to use for a borrowed shape. They often struggle with the same details regardless of which species they mimic, perhaps adding extra fingers to the same hand or always growing an eyeball on the same kneecap. Even after mastering their new form, it can take months before an astrazoan stops double-checking the same part of their body to make sure that the skin has kicked that troublesome habit. As they age, most astrazoans develop and compartmentalize up to seven selves, stored in each of their arm's neural networks. While each self has a distinct appearance, personality, and experiences, an astrazoan's true self is a blended plurality encompassing the many facets of their alternate personas. Mature astrazoans can try out new skins at will but spend most of their time wearing skins associated with their arms' neural networks, living as a fully realized identity related to their gestalt personality while in that form. The same kind of flexibility of self extends to their gender identity and gender expression, resulting in a dominant personality that's often extremely genderfluid.

When an astrazoan changes to a different form, it's difficult to tell them apart from another member of the species they're mimicking. A thorough medical examination usually reveals idiosyncrasies leading to discovery of an astrazoan's true nature, but practiced astrazoans conceal their natures so well that sometimes, even their closest loved ones don't discover the truth.

What astrazoans lack in a unified ancestral identity, they make up for with an uncanny ability to adapt to the cultures and habits of nearly any other species. Astrazoan mimicry extends beyond physical shape to copying behaviors, mannerisms, dietary preferences, language and speech tics, and sometimes even the innate abilities of the species with whom they assimilate. Astrazoans infrequently encounter one another, so many start families with members of their host species or reproduce by budding. Most astrazoans eventually reproduce in some way, seeing it as their responsibility to continue the species.

Traditionally, astrazoans keep their natural form hidden to avoid unsettling others. A few astrazoans love to show off their natural forms and minimize their time wearing other skins. An astrazoan performing a dance routine that incorporates fluid shape changes is a breathtaking sight, though historically, it's a spectacle relatively few other people get to witness.

Astrazoans are painfully aware of how rare they are and often go to great lengths to avoid killing or exposing one another, even when they stand on opposite sides of a conflict. Their experiences living in other skins help many astrazoans understand enemy perspectives and successfully negotiate peaceful solutions, and some avoid fighting whenever possible. In rare cases when a host community has multiple astrazoans at risk of exposure, an astrazoan might volunteer to conduct an Eighth Arm Break (see the sidebar on page 135), publicly exposing themself to the paranoid host culture to take the heat as the sole suspected shapeshifter before abandoning the settlement and their former identity.

Absalom Station has the most astrazoans of any settlement in the Pact Worlds, including some who openly display their natural forms. Adventurous astrazoans rely on their malleable bodies to explore the tight maintenance tunnels of Absalom Station, while more charismatic astrazoans might work as ambassadors who use their shapeshifting to make alien visitors feel more comfortable visiting the metropolitan environment. With their ability to assimilate, it wouldn't be a stretch to assume at least one astrazoan lives in almost every major settlement in the Pact Worlds, from the known community on Verces to the rumored Sovyrian spies planted among azrinaran corporations on Apostae.

Astrazoans often worship personal pantheons, typically assigning a different deity to each limb. Astrazoans are attracted to faiths and philosophies involving social gatherings, and even atheist astrazoans enjoy the pageantry of religious services.

Many worship Oras and Hylax, or assimilate to their host culture's faith. Some Lambatuin-worshipping astrazoans on Verces host a secure chat where they help one another juggle dozens of identities both on the infosphere and in the real world. A notorious group of astrazoan spies and assassins learned to revere Lao Shu Po while spending time in ysoki shapes. Divine pluralities like Triune and Zon-Shelyn are also revered by many astrazoans.

Popular Edicts find yourself, respect other cultures, value your identities
Popular Anathema hurt another astrazoan, judge someone's appearance, reveal a hidden identity

Adrogall, Azusha, Cee, Ciribaan, Farahan, Leileeka, Miyleen, Sunikai, Xenelei, and Zanilee

8

Medium

Dexterity, Charisma, Free

Constitution

One regional language of your choice
Additional languages equal to your Intelligence modifier (if positive). Choose from the list of common languages and any other languages to which you have access (such as the languages prevalent on your home world).

You can see in dim light as though it were bright light, and you ignore the concealed condition due to dim light.

• Astrazoan
• Concentrate
• Polymorph

You can transform into a Small, Medium, or Large ancestry you know with any features you choose; for example, you choose your body type, gender, and other details within the normal range for that ancestry. This shape might resemble a specific individual or be completely unique to you. Using Change Shape counts as creating a disguise for the Impersonate use of Deception. You can remain in this shape indefinitely, and you can shift back to your true astrazoan form or another shape by using this action again. If you die while using an alternate shape, your body slowly shifts back to its natural form.