Gap-Touched

For most people, the Gap is a hole in history, but the Gap-touched have lived through or studied the secrets of that mysterious era—if only they could remember everything! Most believe that the Gap, the history-erasing cataclysmic mystery, ended over 300 years ago and simply erased historic records. Gap-touched individuals live a strange truth that even they struggle to understand: .m.¢ª¡ÂWD#©ªud$WpE©¬¢ªa¥ÄlP¡ò.SmQ¡òa¢«©¬¨Ïoelfc¨Ï¢ª©¬lGNky. Many Gap-touched try to spread this fact to the wider Galaxy, but they inexplicably fail to communicate it and often forget about it themselves for long stretches of time. The harder they try to explain it to people, write it down, illustrate it, or understand it, the more confusion is inflicted on those who would try to perceive it. For a Gap-touched, the Gap isn't just ancient history or missing time; it's their present and their future, even if no one else notices or believes their struggle against it. Gap-touched individuals are a cosmic anomaly who raise unsettling questions about the nature of the Gap. Scholars once believed the Gap to be a physiologically harmless but informationally disastrous cataclysm, but Gap-touched show symptoms related to Gap activity. Very few scientists have given Gap-touched individuals' claims any credence; those who have find an insurmountable wall standing in front of their research, as their notes constantly get lost, their memories of experiments become muddled, or they simply forget about their research project. A few Gap-touched have claimed to understand the cause of their affliction, but they've failed each and every time they tried to communicate that knowledge to anyone. No two Gap-touched are alike, but all share an absence or a loss in themselves-in their past, their memory, or their very existence. Many are born with the affliction, while some might become Gap-touched upon returning from an expedition into pre- Gap ruins. Others might wake up one random day on Absalom Station and feel an overwhelming dread as they're filled with an unfamiliar sense of yearning for something they lost but can't remember, suddenly able to read the names written on ancient statues in the Arcanamirium and the previously empty sign posts on street corners. Many Gap-touched struggle with the isolating and alienating difficulties that the Gap inflicts upon them, but their proximity to the mysterious cataclysm can give them strange powers and very specific skills. Unbound by their pasts, many Gap-touched find themselves undertaking adventures they never could've imagined in any remembered past life. Whether a Gap-touched views their abilities as a feature or a bug, most find themselves searching for a cure before the Gap takes something they can't afford to lose. If you want to play a character with a mysterious affliction concealing their past, erasing their memory, or weakening their connection to reality, you should play a Gap-touched. You Might... Have various memories that don't belong to you. See or hear things that no one else notices or everyone else ignores. Struggle to remember details about yourself or your past. Others Probably... Forget details about you, no matter how long you've known them. Sometimes don't notice you even when you've been standing there this whole time. Disbelieve you when you talk about the Gap's influence on you. Physical Description Gap-touched can be difficult to identify, as their personal details and pictures are prone to vanishing. At first glance, a Gap-touched resembles any representative member of their species, but close inspection might reveal disquieting differences. They can appear wan or washed out, with muted or less vibrant tones, or have never-before-seen adaptations or mutations like their ancestors evolved along some unobserved divergent path. Gap-touched might wear anachronistic outfits or strange fashion like nothing seen on the infosphere but be unable to recall where they found their clothing. Some Gap-touched might have more unique traits, such as pitch black spots on parts of their bodies that can only be perceived in their true colors by other Gap-touched. Others might have articles of clothing or pieces of jewelry on them with symbols, text, or photos on them that neither people nor machines can discern, notice, or focus on. Society Gap-touched have emerged all across the galaxy in the three centuries since the Gap, from the natives of Golarion left on Absalom Station to first-contact species discovered on the edge of the Vast. While Gap-touched support groups regularly emerge to provide symptom comparison or understanding company, they often vanish before long. Whether they forget their membership or some technological aspect of the community suffers a catastrophic data loss, most Gap-touched find themselves suffering their ailment in solitude. Some explorers have claimed to have found evidence of large Gap-touched communities, but any alleged evidence supporting such possibilities mysteriously disappear or are simply nonsensical to most people who see them. Gap-touched don't have any specific naming conventions, and most retain their original name for as long as they can remember it. Some Gap-touched wind up adopting names that they find easier to remember, and many begin to carry mnemonic trinkets to help them remember the name they call themselves by. Beliefs Becoming a Gap-touched often marks a foundational shift in the belief system of even the most devout followers of gods. Some such Gap-touched find themselves forgetting popular holidays or the most elementary initiate rites. Others flock to new religions as they cope with the process they're undergoing. Those who seek solace or comfort turning to gods like Cayden Cailean or the Lost Prince, while those who seek hidden answers to their condition might turn to Eloritu or even Nyarlathotep. Most Gap-touched, including those who might not have been particularly religious before, find themselves at least intrigued by the Gap Recollective, the fringe cult dedicated to understanding and eventually reversing the Gap, and many actively support the Recollective in the hopes that it can give them back the life that threatens to slip away from them. In some rare cases, more adventurous Gap-touched might see their affliction as a blessing or as a way to explore a reality they were previously unaware of, unraveling the mysteries of the galaxy. Popular Edicts decipher mysteries of the Gap, preserve your memories, prevent your fading at all costs Popular Anathema leave your business unfinished, let yourself fade into obscurity Sample Names Blank, DedPix, Dew, Mnesar, Null, Rasa, Stranger, Whatwasyournameagain, Zero Other Information Playing a Gap-Touched The player controlling a Gap-touched character will almost always know less about the Gap than their character, but that shouldn't hamper the player's ability to roleplay as a Gap-touched at all. Any efforts from a Gap-touched to communicate such information fails, through one way or another and no matter how elaborate the method is. The Isolating Gap Gap-touched have a truly unique ability to perceive truths about the Gap, but this ability often leaves them isolated. Most people that know of them view them as liars, grifters, and con-artists. Many an academic has left a meeting with a Gap-touched greatly disappointed, claiming that Gap-touched played some magical trick on them to daze and confuse them. Whenever a Gap-touched speaks some truth they've discovered about the Gap, anyone who hears them often becomes confused, mishears, or completely glosses over what they said. This isolation is especially pronounced for long-lived species such as the elves. A Gap-touched elf might remember their life before the Gap, though they are often wracked with shame, guilt, ennui, and sorrow. Forgotten by their closest friends, family, and lovers, they are dismissed by these same people as a stranger wh...