Your body is no longer your own.
At some point in your past, you were altered—through arcane, alchemical, technological, or otherworldly means. Whether you were a willing participant, an abductee, or a child born of unnatural methods, your body and soul have been permanently changed. Your mind is haunted by fragmented memories of procedures, whispers through dream-haze, or the cold stare of researchers calling you “Subject.”
Despite the trauma, you survived. You are the proof that the impossible is possible.
Who Performed the Experiment? (d8)
| d8 | Experimenter |
|---|---|
| 1 | A mad wizard obsessed with transmutation and immortality, who saw your body as a blank canvas. |
| 2 | A rogue mind flayer who sought to create a hybrid intellect by grafting psionic matter into mortal brains. |
| 3 | An exiled archmage attempting to distill the raw essence of magic into living subjects. |
| 4 | A warforged artificer seeking to improve flesh through steel and alchemy, viewing emotion as a flaw to erase. |
| 5 | A fallen celestial who tried to mold mortals into divine vessels through pain, purity, and fire. |
| 6 | A deranged hag whose experiments were driven by curiosity, cruelty, and prophecy. |
| 7 | A deep aberration—perhaps an aboleth or elder being—who shaped you through dreams and bio-magical rites. |
| 8 | A time-lost scholar from a future or past epoch, using forbidden knowledge to sculpt "the next evolution." |
- Ability Scores:
Increase your Constitution score by 1, and increase either Intelligence or Wisdom by 1.
- Feat:
Feat
You gain the Scion of the Lab feat.
Scion of the Lab
You possess unique insight into magical or biological manipulation due to your past as a test subject.
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You have advantage on Intelligence (Arcana) or Wisdom (Medicine) checks related to magical, technological, or biological modification.
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Once per long rest, when you fail a saving throw against a magical, chemical, or psionic effect, you can reroll the saving throw.
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You gain one Experimental Trait and one Mutation Side Effect Trait.
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- Skill Proficiencies: Arcana, Investigation
- Tool Proficiencies: One set of artisan’s tools (such as alchemist’s supplies, tinker’s tools, or herbalism kit)
- Languages: One of your choice (such as Deep Speech, Infernal, or Primordial)
- Equipment: A vial containing a sample of your pre-altered tissue or blood, a torn or scorched set of medical notes or schematics, a set of common clothes, and a pouch containing 10 gp
Experimental Trait (d20)
Your exposure to supernatural forces, arcane procedures, or invasive magic has left permanent and visible changes. Choose or roll on the table below.
| d20 | Experimental Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | Glowing Eyes. You gain darkvision to a range of 60 feet, or +30 feet if you already had it. Your eyes glow faintly in dim light. |
| 2 | Pain Receptor Shutdown. Once per long rest, when you take damage, you can use your reaction to halve the damage taken. |
| 3 | Hardened Skin. Your skin has hardened, scaled, or calcified in patches. You gain +1 AC when not wearing armor. |
| 4 | Shocking Veins. You can cast the shocking grasp cantrip once per long rest. Constitution is your spellcasting ability for it. |
| 5 | Volatile Casting. Once per long rest, you can cast one random 1st-level spell (roll a d6 or consult your DM). |
| 6 | Rapid Reflexes. You have advantage on Initiative rolls once per long rest. |
| 7 | Accelerated Healing. When you roll Hit Dice to regain hit points during a short rest, you regain +1 hit point per die. |
| 8 | Internal Glow. Your veins or scars pulse with strange light when you are excited, frightened, or angry. You shed dim light in a 5-foot radius during these times. |
| 9 | Hemoless. You no longer bleed. You are immune to effects that target or track by blood. |
| 10 | Arcane Core. You can cast detect magic once per short rest, without expending a spell slot or material components. |
| 11 | Adaptive Resistance. At the end of a long rest, choose one damage type (acid, cold, fire, lightning, or necrotic). You have resistance to that damage type until your next long rest. |
| 12 | Pulse of Fear. When you take damage, you can use your reaction to force all creatures within 5 ft. to make a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened until the end of their next turn (once per long rest). |
| 13 | Living Sensor. Once per long rest, you can gain advantage on one Wisdom (Perception) or Intelligence (Investigation) check. |
| 14 | Amorphous Flesh. You can squeeze through spaces as though you were one size smaller. |
| 15 | Elemental Surge. Once per long rest, you may deal extra lightning, fire, or necrotic damage equal to your proficiency bonus on a successful attack. |
| 16 | Phase Flicker. Once per long rest, when a creature hits you with an attack, roll a d6. On a 6, the attack misses as you briefly phase out. |
| 17 | Psionic Link. You can telepathically communicate with one creature you can see within 30 feet. You do not need to share a language. |
| 18 | Mark of the Prototype. You have a unique magical sigil or symbol that reacts to planar portals, extraplanar beings, or powerful magic. It glows when near them. |
| 19 | Cloaking Instinct. Once per long rest, you can reroll one Dexterity (Stealth) check or gain advantage on one such check before rolling. |
| 20 | Feed on Death. Once per long rest, when you reduce a creature to 0 hit points, you regain 1d4 + your Constitution modifier hit points. Doesn’t function on constructs or undead. |
Mutation Side Effects (d20)
Your unnatural changes come at a cost. Choose or roll one side effect to reflect the instability, trauma, or long-term corruption caused by your transformation.
| d20 | Mutation Side Effect |
|---|---|
| 1 | Overload. After using your Experimental Trait, make a DC 10 Constitution saving throw. On a failure, gain 1 level of exhaustion. |
| 2 | Hunger Imbalance. You require twice as much food per day or suffer 1 level of exhaustion. |
| 3 | Arcane Glitch. You emit faint magical static. Magic cast within 10 feet of you occasionally glows or fizzles unnaturally (no mechanical effect unless DM rules otherwise). |
| 4 | Unstable Voice. Your voice involuntarily distorts, echoes, or shifts tone—especially under stress. |
| 5 | Dream Instability. You experience terrifying dreams. You must sleep 2 extra hours each day or suffer disadvantage on Wisdom saving throws until your next long rest. |
| 6 | Magnetic Field. You emit minor electromagnetic pulses. Basic tools, compasses, or metallic objects within 5 feet may react unpredictably. |
| 7 | Thermic Rebound. After using your trait, your body radiates heat. You shed bright light in a 5-foot radius and have disadvantage on Stealth checks for 1 minute. |
| 8 | Hyperstartle Reflex. Sudden sounds or surprises may trigger a panic reaction. Roll disadvantage on your first Initiative roll each day. |
| 9 | Memory Echo. The procedures replay in your mind. Once per day, the DM may ask for a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw or become stunned for 1 round. |
| 10 | Trackable Signature. Your altered biology leaves behind detectable residue. You can be tracked with a DC 13 Arcana or Survival check. |
| 11 | Aberrant Scent. Aberrations and undead can sense your presence within 60 feet, even through walls. |
| 12 | Visual Distortion. Mirrors and water reflect your movements with a delay or show incorrect emotions. |
| 13 | Surge Migraine. After using your trait, take 1 psychic damage. |
| 14 | Temporal Lag. Your shadow or reflection lags 1–2 seconds behind your actions. |
| 15 | Emotional Empathy. Strong emotions from nearby creatures can affect you. When a creature within 10 ft. becomes frightened or enraged, make a DC 13 Charisma saving throw or experience the same effect. |
| 16 | Biological Instability. You cannot benefit from magical healing more than once per long rest. |
| 17 | Predator Scent. Beasts become agitated near you. You have disadvantage on Animal Handling checks unless the animal is aberrant or magical. |
| 18 | Psychic Fragmentation. After using your trait, roll a d4. On a 1, you gain a short-term madness effect for 1 minute. |
| 19 | Dream Communication. You are contacted in your dreams by something alien. These messages may include visions, symbols, or madness at DM’s discretion. |
| 20 | Reality Break. Once per day, the DM may describe how your body fails to align with reality, producing an environmental anomaly (cold spot, distorted gravity, etc.). |
Your experiences have given you an uncanny resilience and an instinctive awareness of manipulation.
You can identify signs of experimentation in creatures or places—ritual scars, magical resonance, biological grafts, etc.—that would go unnoticed by others. You also have advantage on Charisma (Persuasion or Intimidation) checks when dealing with others who have been altered or transformed in any way.
Additionally, once per long rest, you may call upon fragmented memories of your trials to gain insight. For the next minute, you have advantage on one Intelligence (Arcana), Wisdom (Medicine), or Wisdom (Survival) check of your choice.
Suggested Characteristics
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I document everything—I need to understand what they did to me. |
| 2 | I’m calm in terrifying situations. I’ve lived through worse. |
| 3 | My voice glitches or changes under stress. |
| 4 | I test myself constantly—strength, mind, control. |
| 5 | I’m fascinated by magic and science, even if I don’t trust them. |
| 6 | I don’t remember my real name, but I pretend I do. |
| 7 | I react aggressively to restraints, cages, or confinement. |
| 8 | I feel more kinship with monsters than with people. |
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Freedom. No one has the right to control another’s body. (Chaotic) |
| 2 | Knowledge. Understanding the truth justifies the cost. (Neutral) |
| 3 | Vengeance. I will find those responsible and destroy them. |
| 4 | Protection. No one should suffer what I did. (Good) |
| 5 | Evolution. This is only the beginning. (Lawful) |
| 6 | Redemption. I want to be more than a mistake. (Any) |
| d6 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | I escaped with another test subject. I must find them again. |
| 2 | I still have the collar, brand, or mark from my captivity. |
| 3 | I’ve sworn to destroy the lab or facility where I was created. |
| 4 | I protect those who are different—they are my kin. |
| 5 | I owe my freedom to someone I’ll never forget. |
| 6 | Something inside me remembers… and hungers. |
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | I don’t trust anyone. They could be part of the experiment. |
| 2 | I sometimes lose control of my body—or mind. |
| 3 | I crave sensation—pain, pleasure, anything to feel real. |
| 4 | I don’t sleep well. The dreams are… wrong. |
| 5 | I think the experiment changed more than my body. |
| 6 | I hear a voice that isn’t mine. It whispers truth. |
Your body remembers. When you or an ally within 10 feet is reduced to 0 hit points, you can unleash a blast of unstable energy. The ally regains 1d4 + your proficiency bonus hit points and gains temporary hit points equal to your level. You gain 1 level of exhaustion. Once you use this feature, you can't do so again until you finish a long rest.
Previous Versions
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