Standardized Ancestry Feats
Source Galactic Ancestries pg. 6
E very expression ancestry of both in Starfinder your character's serves as themes a unique and the setting's rich diversity and provides a slew of unique feats and features to mechanically reflect these aspects in your game. Many ancestries have similar cultural and physiological features, which in mechanical terms means they also share similar feats. Standardized ancestry feats serve as a universal template for shared abilities that can be taken by any character using the ancestries in this book. These ancestries can use feats from other products that work best across multiple ancestries instead of being tied to one. In some cases, these feats consolidate similar ancestry feats together.
When a character gains an ancestry feat, they can choose a feat from the standardized ancestry feats available to their ancestry instead of one of the feats that are regularly available to their ancestry. Each ancestry lists the standardized ancestry feats available to that ancestry prior to listing the specific feats available to the ancestry. Many of these feats have specific options listed in parenthesis, such as “Creature Speech (rat),” which indicates what options you can select from when you take the feat. If a feat has multiple options in parentheses, you can only choose one of the options each time you take the ancestry feat, and not all feats can be taken multiple times. Some of the feats have additional prerequisites that might be impossible to fulfill if you select certain lineages or heritages that remove default features from your ancestry.
When a character gains an ancestry feat, they can choose a feat from the standardized ancestry feats available to their ancestry instead of one of the feats that are regularly available to their ancestry. Each ancestry lists the standardized ancestry feats available to that ancestry prior to listing the specific feats available to the ancestry. Many of these feats have specific options listed in parenthesis, such as “Creature Speech (rat),” which indicates what options you can select from when you take the feat. If a feat has multiple options in parentheses, you can only choose one of the options each time you take the ancestry feat, and not all feats can be taken multiple times. Some of the feats have additional prerequisites that might be impossible to fulfill if you select certain lineages or heritages that remove default features from your ancestry.
Standardized Ancestry Feats in Your Campaign
Source Galactic Ancestries pg. 6
GMs might want to customize their campaign even further by using standardized ancestry feats for other ancestries, or by modifying the scope of the standardized ancestry feats. These are optional suggestions for how GMs might adjust their games to include standardized ancestry feats in ways beyond their intended use. Players should always consult their GMs before making changes to their character options.
Standardizing Other Ancestries
Source Galactic Ancestries pg. 6
You might want to use standardized ancestry feats for characters who select ancestries and heritages from other sources, including Pathfinder Second Edition. The easiest way to apply these feats to other sources is to examine those ancestries for similar feats and replace them with these standardized options. Comparing physiologically and thematically similar ancestries in this book to those found in other sources can also help you analyze which feats are most compatible. This is especially helpful if you use the ancestry paragon variant rule with a party that includes members of ancestries from sources that have fewer feat options than those in Galactic Ancestries.
Alien Ancestries
Source Galactic Ancestries pg. 6
The selection of standardized ancestry feats and their specific options represent the ancestries and cultures of the Starfinder setting. With your GM's permission, you can adjust the feats and options for other settings or situations. For example, gnomes can normally select any burrowing animal for Ancestral Pest, but a settlement of gnomes on a forested moon who magically bond with squoxes could select Ancestral Pest (squox) instead; such gnomes would be unable to select a burrowing creature like a mole for Ancestral Pest.
Standardized Ancestry Feats
Source Galactic Ancestries pg. 6
You can select a standardized ancestry feat in place of an ancestry feat whenever you gain an ancestry feat if you meet its prerequisites and if it's listed among the standardized ancestry feat options for your ancestry. The ancestry trait represents whatever ancestry your character is; if your novian character takes the Ancestral Skills feat, then the feat has the novian trait.
Standardized Ancestry Feats
| Feat | Level | Prerequisites | Benefits |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Hands on Deck | 9 | Three or more hands | You can use all your limbs at once. |
| Ancestral Cantrip | 1 | - | You know a bit of your ancestry's traditional magic. |
| Ancestral Darkvision | 1 | Low-light vision | You gain darkvision. |
| Ancestral Magic | 5 | - | You can cast one of your ancestry's innate spells. |
| Ancestral Pest | 5 | - | You assume the form of a specific tiny creature. |
| Ancestral Resistance | 9 | - | You gain resistance to a damage type. |
| Ancestral Skills | 1 | - | You become trained in your ancestry's traditional skills. |
| Ancestral Unarmed Attack | 1 | - | You gain a specific natural attack. |
| Ancestral Weapon Familiarity | 1 | - | You are trained in the weapons of your people. |
| Basic Flight | 1 | - | You can Fly once a minute. |
| Burrowing Specialist | 9 | - | You gain a burrow speed. |
| Climbing Specialist | 5 | - | You gain a climb speed. |
| Creature Ally | 13 | - | You can summon a specific type of creature. |
| Creature Shape | 17 | - | You can transform into a specific type of creature. |
| Creature Speech | 1 | - | You can talk to a specific type of creature. |
| Distant Telepath | 1 | Limited telepathy | Increase the range of your telepathy by 15 feet. |
| Double Draw | 5 | Three or more hands | You draw, stow, or swap items up to twice. |
| Enhanced Senses | 1 | A sense with a listed range | Increase the range of one of your senses by 10 feet. |
| Flight Specialist | 9 | Basic Flight | You gain a fly speed. |
| Internal Compartment | 1 | - | You can hide objects inside your body. |
| Linguistic Prodigy | 1 | Trained in Society | Gain additional languages. |
| Mount | 5 | Large size or larger | Your allies can ride you. |
| Overcrowd | 9 | Small size or smaller | You can share spaces with your allies. |
| Prehensile Limbs | 5 | - | One of your limbs functions like an extra hand. |
| Stretching Reach | 5 | Large size or larger | You can temporarily extend your reach. |
| Swimming Specialist | 1 | - | You gain a swim speed. |
| Unconventional Weaponry | 1 | - | You are trained in the weapons of another culture. |
| Wind Walker | 5 | Fly Speed granted by your ancestry, or Basic Flight | You can Fly as easily as you walk. |
Theming Standardized Ancestry Feats
Source Galactic Ancestries pg. 11
The standardized ancestry feats presented above are a baseline mechanical representation of abilities shared across several species. Due to the general nature of these feats, the specific way that each standardized ancestry feat is presented doesn't give an exact method for how they operate for a particular species. This is intentional, as the system is designed to be modular, and it provides players with an opportunity to add their own spin on how some ancestral options work in-game.
When applying these feats to an existing ancestry that allows them, you should consider how they operate, both mentally and physically. For example, a brenneri PC who takes Swimming Specialist might do so via a natural skill and through the use of their forelimbs, while a g'folian PC who takes the same feat might do so by using their legs to propel and maneuver underwater. A goblin with Overcrowd might have a different approach to moving in tight environments as an ysoki with the same feat. In any case, always consider the expression you want to use to represent how your character achieves the mechanical result of the feat.
Some ancestry feats might have less obvious definitions. Ancestral Cantrip and Ancestral Magic manifest differently, with some species having innate psychic powers to represent occult spells. Conversely, a madrosarai might have magical abilities that stem from the powers within their blood.
When determining how different ancestry feats might function, it's important to confer with your GM and determine if these choices have an in-game effect. Unless you both agree, these should be cosmetic choices that have no additional mechanical effect beyond what is listed in the feat.
When applying these feats to an existing ancestry that allows them, you should consider how they operate, both mentally and physically. For example, a brenneri PC who takes Swimming Specialist might do so via a natural skill and through the use of their forelimbs, while a g'folian PC who takes the same feat might do so by using their legs to propel and maneuver underwater. A goblin with Overcrowd might have a different approach to moving in tight environments as an ysoki with the same feat. In any case, always consider the expression you want to use to represent how your character achieves the mechanical result of the feat.
Some ancestry feats might have less obvious definitions. Ancestral Cantrip and Ancestral Magic manifest differently, with some species having innate psychic powers to represent occult spells. Conversely, a madrosarai might have magical abilities that stem from the powers within their blood.
When determining how different ancestry feats might function, it's important to confer with your GM and determine if these choices have an in-game effect. Unless you both agree, these should be cosmetic choices that have no additional mechanical effect beyond what is listed in the feat.