Osharu

• Feel pulled between a sense of caution and scientific curiosity.
• See science and religion as two complementary methods to understanding the universe better.
• Devote yourself to deep academic knowledge in your field of study.

• Treat you like you're scared of everything you encounter.
• Come to you for scientific or religious advice.
• Expect you to be an expert on any scholarly matter.

Osharus stand around 4 feet tall and weigh around 140 pounds. As invertebrates, they're physically frail. Most osharus act with caution and are risk-averse in physical situations. Their sensitive soft tissues desiccate quickly in extreme heat or direct sunlight, so their cities contain many precautionary amenities, such as shaded canopies and street misters. They vary in their responses to salt; inland osharus frequently have some degree of withering salt allergy, but ocean-dwelling gengen osharus are completely immune to it.

Genetically, osharus are thousands of different species that are capable of fully hybridizing. Due to incredibly dense genetic drift over time, the color and adornment of osharu parents have no seeming connection to their children's appearance. Many osharus become fascinated with other species' hereditarily predictable traits, making xenogenetics and biotechnology some of the most popular courses of study for osharus. While their bioaugmentation practices are galaxy-renowned for their cleanliness and ethicality, osharus hesitate when considering implants themselves, taking exceptional time to investigate all potential side effects before coming to a decision.

Osharu culture is steeped in the tension between their physical fragility and life on an unforgiving planet. Osharus initially evolved to survive the jungles of Jenikar, or in the case of the gengen osharus, the seawaters and beaches of the island continent of Zhast. Their pious university-cities dot these main continents and their coasts, each with its own academic departments and specialties. Much of their technological and thaumaturgical work directly supports the defense and support of these campus communities, such as developing upgrades to pacification drone fleets or optimizing the ubiquitous technomagical force bubbles surrounding most osharu cities. New development on the planet has primarily occurred on Rawara's rolling plains. There, small outposts monitor the migratory herds of burrowing reptiles indigenous to the area and support expeditions into the jagged peaks of the continent's interior. Such expeditions require heavy arms and armor to defend against the gigantic raptors that nest in the peaks and the swarms of hive scavengers that live off their scraps. The northern and southern ice caps, Nalfant and Avar, are home to small far-flung stations researching the polar environment and the deep networks of underwater caves that riddle the ocean floor. The arid deserts of Demwiq have been largely unexplored due to the dry heat's particularly deadly effect on osharus, but the city of Oasis has seen steady growth as archaeologists recruit less heat-averse species to undertake expeditions of discovery into the wind-blasted sands and the mysteries buried beneath.

Archaeological academics posit that ancient osharus survived their planet's dangerous environs through communal cooperation that allowed for advanced magical and scientific breakthroughs. According to pre-Gap records, the capital city of Jhavom was founded after a hermit traveled from the Deepmarsh to the jungles to deliver an experimental proposal given by Yaraesa to him in a vision: the unification of local clans into a community, with each clan's specialty shoring up another clan's weakness. The resulting city has remained the undisputed center of osharu academics and religion for millennia, its modern skyscrapers and spaceports rising between the stone temples and ancient aqueducts of yore.

Jhavom, and thus osharu culture, is currently experiencing both a renaissance and a culture shock after the arrival of Drift lanes over Pabaq. The Drift lane also brought newfound proximity to Swarm space, and the constant background threat of war has been thrown over the normally peaceful planet as warships gather and soldiers enlist.

For all the cosmopolitan charms of osharus' mystically scientific hubs of learning and culture, they're surprisingly divisive in terms of cuisine. The hermits of the deepest marshes subsist by eating nearly any organic matter they find, and even the most urbane city osharu has tastes to make most species nauseous. Offworlders often comment on the lack of salt and deeply fermented flavors, and a rare gourmand might be brave enough to try the highly nutritious but deeply unappetizing mold mix that most osharu households grow on kitchen scraps. Osharus don't hunt for meat, but have no compunctions about eating found carrion or raising small insect and vermin swarms as livestock. Pabaq's vegetarian cuisine has shown more success on the intergalactic stage, for the lush jungles and fertile seas provide agribusiness researchers a bounty of fresh fruit and vegetable options to innovate with and export. Many osharus traveling offworld find the process of discovering new edible flora to be a delight for both the senses and the mind.

Osharu culture is deeply intertwined with the Yaraesan faith, with many osharus perforating the line between ecclesiastics and academics. Osharus view the sharing of knowledge as a moral and spiritual imperative and send explorers, scholars, and emissaries out into the wider universe to conduct fieldwork and exchange knowledge, though their cautious nature causes them to constantly be on guard against exploitation or danger when dealing with other species. Osharus are valued across the Pact Worlds and beyond as diplomats and negotiators; many peace talks have found surprising fire emerge from osharu speakers when they sense an opportunity to protect innovative or historical discoveries from the depravities of war.

The osharu deity Jalvari, goddess of disproved hypotheses and experiments, accidentally apotheosized through an experiment she can't replicate and is an unofficial herald of Yaraesa. Her faith provides a complementary viewpoint that even the most thoroughly believed hypothesis can be proven wrong but still enlighten and uplift the scholar who's prepared to be surprised. While worship of Jalvari remains limited to faith-minded scientists, many osharus incorporate elements of her teachings to help them overcome their fear of failure's consequences and instead embrace failure's role in progress. The secret knowledge of Eloritu attracts some osharus, but they might find their communal nature at odds with the burdens of secrecy. Those who do delve too far into dangerous knowledge could find themselves subject to investigation by the Informational Security Bureau, a branch of Jhavom's Yaraesan Glory In Knowledge Museum and Pabaq's highest intelligence organization.
Popular Edicts cooperate for mutual benefit, discover the galaxy's knowledge, understand things to their fullest
Popular Anathema jump to uninformed conclusions, pursue an unexamined life

Aburna, Bolvuro, Jom Yare, Narna Basse, Omsa Degum, Naspatu, Regumo

6

Medium

Intelligence, Wisdom, Free

Constitution

Additional languages equal to your Intelligence modifier (if it's 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).

• Osharu

You can see in darkness and dim light just as well as you can see in bright light, though your vision in darkness is in black and white.

Frequency once per minute; Effect You can excrete a slick slime that hampers others' movements. One adjacent square within 5 feet becomes difficult terrain for non-osharu creatures for 1 minute.