Starfinder Tech Core: Something Blue

Starfinder Tech Core introduces 3 new tech-focused ancestries, one of the most anticipated being the living hologram!

From carefully curated digital idols to mass-produced weapons of war, living holograms come in literally all shapes and sizes, from small to large. While most people will encounter a living hologram’s projected body, the ancestry’s true body is a floating “core” that functions both as a central data processing unit and projector for the character’s hardlight body. These central processing cores come in all shapes and sizes. For example, aeonheart living holograms were originally Azlanti who transferred their souls into aeon stones that function as magitech cores. A living hologram’s core also contains their gear, transformed into digital data to be projected into the physical world when needed.

Despite the name of the blog post, living holograms are not always blue. Most in fact appear unrecognizable from whatever form they were originally designed to imitate, at least until a creature observes them for some time and notices a tell-tale flicker. Since most living holograms were designed as digital assistants, their original and often preferred appearances tend to reflect that original purpose. For example: Wacky living holograms were intended to imitate vidgame and cartoon characters and can stretch their limbs like elastic. Likewise, hover ad living holograms were developed to function as three-dimensional advertising kiosks and float off the ground so consumers won’t miss them in the hustle and bustle of a busy spaceport. That said, while these features from their days as mere tools provide convenient abilities, we expect living holograms who awakened or evolved into true artificial intelligence to readily reject their original names and appearances in search of an identity and purpose they’ve chosen for themselves. A task made easier with abilities like the 1st level feat Reprogram Appearance.

While many of a living hologram’s feats like Reprogram Appearance and Realistic Appearance will help a living hologram blend in with the rest of their party, just as many let them stand out and highlight the unique attributes of being a hardlight lifeform. 2D in a 3D World allows a living hologram to flatten their body to reroll a Reflex save. Zoom In, Zoom Out let’s them change size on the go. And a host of feats like Blinding Light and Trick of the Light allow them to focus their hardlight to blind their enemies! And as long as are we mentioning offensive options, the Hardlight Weapon feat allows a living hologram to project a unique custom-made weapon with the unarmed trait, ranging from a bladed arm or shoulder-mounted cannon to a “kiss attack that fires sparkling cartoon hearts”.

The Starfinder team can’t wait to see and hear about all the out of this world directions our players take this this incredibly flexible ancestry. If you want to be the first to try the living hologram, or any of the other amazing ancestries in Tech Core, pick up the Starfinder Rulebook Subscription today to so you can be among the first to dazzle the galaxy with your next PC! And, as a personal favor, don’t forget to tag your PC with their ancestry when you post them on social media so a certain snoopy Starfinder Designer will be sure to spot it on his feed!

Dustin Knight (he/him)
Lead Designer

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