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Archives of Nethys

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Mindscape

Notable Mindscapes

Source Starfinder #23: Hive of Minds pg. 43
Though most mindscapes are temporary endeavors, fashioned and then disappearing at the whims of their creators, some mindscapes exist in a more permanent state. The following are examples of well‑known mindscapes that have survived the test of time and can be visited by any creature that finds a suitable means of entry.

The Endless Forest: Sometimes, an entire species can subconsciously create a mindscape without ever realizing it. The Endless Forest, an infinite immersive mindscape with no formal title beyond its descriptor, is one such place. Many believe it was forged by the combined subconscious, primeval yearning of every uplifted bear in existence. Though few uplifted bears ever fully enter the mindscape, those who manage to enter do so by daydreaming, which manifests a new bear who temporarily wanders the woods in a lifestyle that forgoes all the needs and stress of modern‑day living. While it remains something of a safe space for the wandering psyches of uplifted bears across the galaxy, others who find themselves within quickly realize that a forest filled with bears may not be the best place to trespass.

Hive Akarax: Created by a powerful formian queen during her species’ ongoing conflict with the lashuntas, the mindscape of Hive Akarax is a finite mindscape that takes the form of a continent‑sized formian hive. Due to the hive’s inability to grow on the Material Plane, the queen instead chose to expand her territory through a mindscape, intentionally creating offspring with the psychic potential to join her within her mental construct. While this unimpeded and idyllic—for a formian, at least—life means the real‑world formians of Hive Akarax don’t occupy much territory, it also means that the hive is more reliant on outside assistance to acquire food and resources. The hive queen’s adjutants occasionally wake from their mental sojourns within the mindscape to retrieve donated items or supplies.

Hospice of the Unfettered Mind: First created by lashunta and shirren followers of Weydan, this self‑contained immersive mindscape takes the form of a bucolic farmstead on an open plain. Various buildings stand across the mindscape’s terrain, though a wall of light fog keeps everything contained within a fixed area, looping wanderers around should they try to leave the confines of the farmstead. Weydanite psychic healers pass down knowledge of this mindscape to one another, each supporting it with a fraction of their own mental energies. These healers then travel the cosmos in search of creatures dying of untreatable illnesses, offering those without any options access to this mindscape, where they can live out their remaining days in psychic freedom instead of imprisoned within a failing physical body. Many medical professionals protest the nature of such actions, however, claiming it’s a prison of the mind no different than a prison of the body.

The Spire of Transcendence: This permanent immersive mindscape can be accessed through a myriad of magical gateways throughout the galaxy. Each such gate is marked by the holy symbol of Yaraesa, though little else provides information regarding their creation or full function. Creatures walking through one of these gates find their minds transported into a self‑contained mindscape that appears as a skyscraper standing on a rocky cliffside with a view over a churning sea. Training rooms and libraries in a multitude of architectural styles fill each floor of the tower, and floating nuclei of energy buzz throughout the edifice on predetermined paths.