You can research much faster than most other people, allowing you to collate information from databases, libraries, and other sources in one-quarter the normal time; with this ability, you can typically take 20 to recall knowledge in 5 rounds.

To you, learning and absorbing knowledge related to your field of expertise is as refreshing as drinking from a cool spring in the middle of a desert planet. Up to twice per day, when in a situation where information from your specialty field could be useful (at the GM’s discretion), you can spend 10 minutes in deep contemplation and research of your specialty field and recover 1 Resolve Point, in addition to using recall knowledge (see page 133) for the information you seek; this doesn’t count as resting to regain Stamina Points.

You are obsessed with distant worlds, and you always mentally catalog everything you learn about new and strange places so you can recall it when you need it most. Additionally, you use your knowledge of biology and topology to inure yourself to alien hazards. Reduce the DC of Physical Science checks to recall knowledge about strange new worlds or features of space by 5. Physical Science is a class skill for you, though if it is a class skill from the class you take at 1st level, you instead gain a +1 bonus to Physical Science checks. In addition, you gain an ability adjustment of +1 to Constitution at character creation.

In your journeys, you’ve picked up quite a few tricks about all sorts of things, even if you haven’t formally studied them, and you can often use this logic and intuition to your advantage. You gain a +2 bonus to skill checks if you don’t have any ranks in that skill. This ability does not allow you to attempt checks for trained-only skills (see page 134).

You can do just about anything if you put your mind to it, and you never let lack of formal instruction stand between you and a task that needs handling. You can use all skills untrained, even if you could not normally do so, and when you roll a natural 20 while attempting a skill check for a skill in which you don’t have ranks, your bonus from eager dabbler increases to +4.

Scientifically noting the even tiniest details about a new place—including everything from apparent colors and incline grades to barometric, seismic, and other delicate readings—is absolutely invigorating to you. Up to twice per day while on an unexplored planet (typically one that has had no contact with the Pact Worlds, though it doesn’t need to be one you discovered yourself), you can spend 10 minutes exploring, mapping, and documenting a new geographical feature to recover 1 Resolve Point; this doesn’t count as resting to regain Stamina Points.

You are trained to seek out, identify, and interact with alien life-forms. Reduce the DC to identify a rare creature using Life Science by 5. Life Science is a class skill for you, though if it is a class skill from the class you take at 1st level, you instead gain a +1 bonus to Life Science checks. In addition, you gain an ability adjustment of +1 to Charisma at character creation.

If you don’t share a language with creatures you encounter, you and the creatures can spend 10 minutes attempting to converse (if they are willing), after which you attempt a DC 25 Culture check. If you succeed, you formulate a simple pidgin language that allows basic communication. You can use the pidgin language with those specific creatures only, but you gain a +2 bonus to Culture checks to create a pidgin language with similar creatures that speak the same language.

You know how to make a good first impression on new races and assuage their fears of the unknown. When meeting a creature that has never seen your race or any of the races of your traveling companions, if it would normally be unfriendly to unknown races, treat it as indifferent instead. This has
no effect if the creature would be hostile, indifferent, friendly, or helpful.

Up to twice per day, when you discover and document a new species of flora or fauna, you recover 1 RP. On an unexplored planet where every species is new, this process usually takes 10 minutes at most (and doesn’t count as rest to regain SP, but even on known planets, you might be able to find a new species in 1d4 hours (or fewer) in a remote biome or one with a high variety of wildlife.