Liminal

SizeMedium

At some point in the distant past, the ancestors of the liminal crossed over from the First World to Limina, a planet in the Vast, through one of the many naturally-occurring blooms— gateways between the First World and Material Plane—endemic to that planet.

At some point in Limina’s development, it gained a strange relationship with the incorporeal world. Whether a product of its relationship to the First World, the fallout of a weapon of mass destruction, a ritual gone wrong, or simply a peculiar natural phenomenon, the living organisms native to that planet developed a unique relationship to incorporeality. Some scholars believe the first creatures to develop the ability to render themselves incorporeal did so as a defense mechanism, but that only meant that predators soon followed in evolving to hunt incorporeal prey. The liminal is one such creature, capable of seeing invisible creatures and effectively striking incorporeal ones. It’s also capable of rendering itself incorporeal for short bursts, causing the row of spines along its back to glow.

Ever since an intrepid starfarer brought a mated pair of liminals to Absalom Station, the creatures have been bred and exported across the galaxy to serve as hunting and guard animals. Intelligent and quick to imprint on a single individual, the liminal’s primary pitfall as a guard animal is its need for enrichment and companionship. If those needs are met, they make lifelong loyal companions. Since liminals are somehow able to get sustenance from the consumption of incorporeal creatures, they’re favored as companions for those that actively hunt ghosts or other incorporeal undead. It’s not uncommon to see a Pharasmin exorcist with a liminal at heel.