KothamaSource Alien Archive 3 pg. 64
Kothamas are massive, shaggy creatures with thick, trunk-like legs and two muscled arms. An average kothama is 18 feet tall and weighs 24 tons. Their flat faces have four glassy eyes, each one inky black and speckled with silver spots, and are perpetually facing skyward. Kothamas are agender; they breed by pairing up to fertilize one another, then go their separate ways to give birth alone.
Kothamas are peaceful and solitary natives of the Veskarium’s icy outermost planets, Vesk–7 and Vesk–8. The nocturnal species has a fascination with the starry sky, and most spend their nights alone, meditating on the cosmos from their simple homes at extremely high altitudes. The furry beasts prefer the extreme cold and thin air of the highest reaches of their planets, stemming from their origins on the frozen plains of Vesk-8. While kothamas can tolerate somewhat warmer temperatures, such as those in the equatorial regions of Vesk-7, they never feel truly comfortable unless approaching the heatless perfection of deep space.
Twice a year, the orbits of Vesk-7 and Vesk-8 come close enough that one of the planets hands their shared moon, Traverse, off to the other. The moon orbits each planet for half a year before being transferred to the other. During these brief windows, a small percentage of kothamas from each planet make a traditional, deeply sacred journey from planet to moon to planet, using magic gates that are active only at such time. It is in this way alone that the normally detached and individual kothamas share information between planets, and they have yet to adopt faster communication technologies. Despite this, the cultures of both planets are remarkably consistent.
When interacting with other species, kothamas tend to rely on their calming aura to keep things pleasant, resorting to violence only in rare instances of self-defense, or even incidentally as they trample smaller creatures while attempting to escape. When vesk invasion forces first arrived on their planets, kothamas’ calming presence unnerved the bellicose vesk, who had expected fierce resistance from the intimidatingly large creatures. A lack of natural resources (with the notable exception of shimmerstone) and centralized government—along with the extensive effort required to exert control over a large, diffuse population—has led to a minimal vesk presence on the kothamas’ home planets. In fact, an assignment to a post in this frigid, conflict-free frontier has become a form of punishment for vesk who have dishonored themselves in combat or become politically problematic.
The majority of kothamas worship Ibra, god of the cosmos, though kothama temples to the Inscrutable are few and far between, as most maintain simple, personal shrines. Most kothamas spend much of their centuries-long lifespans deepening their connection with the stars, and after years of mystical contemplation, many become star shaman mystics. It is relatively common for older and more powerful kothamas, inured against the effects of vacuum, to fling themselves out into space so as to continue their meditation from within the void. When they do so, they enter a euphoric state of hibernation, becoming uncharacteristically angry and aggressive should something wake them.
It is rare to see kothamas away from their home worlds of Vesk-7 and Vesk-8, but some kothamas occasionally decide to leave home and travel to other worlds, hoping to investigate the secrets of the cosmos from a different vantage. Without access to interplanetary spaceflight on their own, these kothamas must rely on other species to ferry them from world to world in starships. A rare few of these adventurous travelers even share their knowledge and theories of the cosmos with members of other species, founding observatories, temples to Ibra or other cosmic entities, or cosmonasteries where solarians who seek an alternative philosophy to the Cycle may train and improve their abilities.
Other kothamas have the misfortune of being conscripted into military service by the Veskarium. The kothamas’ deep understanding of the stars and the void of space makes them peerless navigators, but their size and pacifist nature makes them ill-suited to serve onboard starships. As such, conscripted kothamas are usually put to work on Vesk Prime creating or updating complex star maps and navigational charts for the use of the Veskarium’s military forces. Unfortunately, these conscripted kothamas do not usually survive for long. The dissonance between their peaceful philosophy and their military service often becomes more than these kothamas can bear, and if not allowed to return to their solitary existences on their icy native worlds, such kothamas usually waste away and die in only a few years.Aliens in the "Kothama" FamilySource Alien Archive 3 pg. 64Kothama CR 10 XP 9,600
N Huge magical beast (cold)
Init +1; Senses darkvision 120 ft., low-light vision; Perception +24
Aura calming presence (30 ft., Will DC 19)DefenseHP 155
EAC 23; KAC 24
Fort +7; Ref +11; Will +17
Immunities cold
Weaknesses vulnerable to fireOffenseSpeed 40 ft.
Melee stomp +19 (2d8+13 B)
Space 15 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Offensive Abilities trample (2d8+13 B)StatisticsSTR +3; DEX +1; CON +5; INT +2; WIS +8; CHA +1
Skills Diplomacy +19, Mysticism +24, Sense Motive +24
Languages Kothama, Vesk
Other Abilities stellar alignment (graviton), stellar revelations (gravity hold [DC 19], gravity surge, starquake, stealth warp)EcologyEnvironment any (Vesk-7 or Vesk-8)
Organization solitary, pair, or observatory (3–6)Special AbilitiesCalming Presence (Su) Kothamas exude an aura of calm. Non-kothama creatures within 30 feet of a kothama must succeed at a Will saving throw to be able to attack, cast a spell on an unwilling target, or use an offensive ability. A creature that succeeds at the saving throw is immune to the same kothama’s calming presence for 24 hours.
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