Homebrew Alba Race Details

At a glance, Alba resemble humans, save for one main facet: Their skin, hair and teeth are ghostly white while their razor sharp nails, bones and irises are jet black. The only true colour present on them is their eyes, which can vary from purple to pale blue or even white. Upon investigation, an alba’s aberrant metabolism becomes apparent very quickly; the wounds from which their near-transparent bluish blood and organs flow seal rapidly and without trace, their agility and dexterity is near inhuman as they dash gracefully throughout the underground, and their hair and nails often grow to massive lengths due to the surplus cells in their body becoming keratin. Often, Alba women cut their hair short and strap their chests, making the initial distinction between genders difficult

Such a metabolism is as much a blessing as it is a curse, however; one third of all alba mothers die in childbirth, making them incredibly rare in the underground. To add to this, having descended from Quoliths, an artificial race of aberrations designed by reckless mages centuries ago in a bid to conquer the Underworld, they are still prone to throwbacks to that past, and one in a hundred Alba children are born as the psychotic beasts, often destroying entire tribes upon revelation.

 

Due to their rarity, Alba often form close knit tribes and villages around glowing crystals and bioluminescent fungi. Such tribes are often content with their hunter gatherer lifestyle, and avoid battle as much as possible. Fortunately, most underground denizens avoid them in turn; Alba are remorseless when provoked, while morality and mercy are seen purely as obstacles to achieving a task. Despite their, Alba aren’t sociopathic, such individuals are often marked by their tribes as potential Quoliths, rather, when an alba chooses to express emotion, you can trust they are genuine.

This hasn’t stopped all underground dwellers however. Alba are incredibly intelligent and dextrous, making them ideal food for Mind Flayers and slaves for Drow. Their abundant, silken hair is often sought after for use in exclusive textiles, such as the ones used in the traditional garb of their enslaved owners. Alba blood is a potent alchemical reagent for mages and their obsidian bones are viewed as extraordinary trophies by more savage races- usually due to the danger involved acquiring them.

 

Almost every Alba is seemingly born with an innate curiosity with the surface world. When they meet adventurers from the surface, they are often filled with questions about their homeland.

Some Alba will take this desire one step further, donning a unique full body suit and the title of Surface Runners, they embark on perilous adventures to witness the surface, sometimes to stay.

Such adventurers are held in high regard among Alba society, revered as heroes that represent their desire for freedom; an axiom that they claimed after being freed from their design as a slave race in ages past.

 

Vicious utilitarians, Alba view names merely as tokens for identification. Through a cultural tradition, perhaps given to them by their former masters, Alba only ever give themselves a single syllable for a name. By divine coincidence, this policy and their appearance often causes other races to mistake Alba for Eberronian Changelings, a mistake they often regret.

Alba almost never have any name beyond their singular syllable. This however changes for Surface Runners who return from their dangerous adventures, in person or in story, often gaining numerous other syllables depending on the number of tales they create.

Male names: Ao, Gam, Ko, Leu, Ram, Zom, Xor, Tal.

Female names: Ain, Dif, Lin, Nyr, Xen, Tur, Sil.

Hero Names: Eo-rza, Fen-dreza-sor, Ail-Houn,  Lio-Merea, Ozen-Zugurath-Aranth-Sothorl

Alba concept is based on the Pathfinder Homebrew Race by Wojciech Holody

Art by Callarin on Pixiv

Alba Traits

Alba have a series of base Racial Traits and subraces. Each Alba can select one subrace. Some subraces replace or alter base traits.

Ability Score Increase

Your Dexterity score increases by 2

Size

Alba are generally between 5-6 feet in height. Your Size is Medium.

Age

Alba reach adulthood at 18, and live between 60 and 80 years. If you choose to roll for a character's maximum age, roll [roll]2d10+60[/roll].

Alignment

The tribal nature and emotional inhibition of Alba often makes them ruthless utilitarians. Alba with more self control tend toward more lawful alignments. Alba Are typically Chaotic Neutral

Speed

Your base walking speed is 50 feet.

Darkvision

Natives of the Underworld, Alba have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 90 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Skill Proficiencies

Alba are accustomed to a subsistence lifestyle. You have proficiency with the Survival skill.

Sunlight Sensitivity

You have disadvantage on attack rolls and on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight when you, the target of your attack, or whatever you are trying to perceive is in direct sunlight. You also have disadvantage on saves against the blinded condition.

Languages

You begin play speaking Deep Speech, Undercommon and one Extra Language of your choice.

Regeneration

You have the ability to regenerate lost tissue and body parts. You have permanent regeneration as if you were wearing an attuned Ring of Regeneration. This effect halts if you're under the negative effects of the Sunlight Weakness trait, or upon taking cold damage. The effect restarts after 10 minutes if you are cured of these conditions.

Negative Energy Affinity

A result of Illithid meddling, the effects of healing  effects and necrotic damage are inverted on you. Effects that restore ability scores, negative levels, conditions or resurrect an alba are otherwise unaffected (resurrection heals as normal). Strangely, Alba do not take extra damage from holy effects.

Sunlight Weakness

Alba skin is weak to sunlight, spending 10 minutes with any part of their skin exposed to the sun temporarily reduces their con score by 1. further time spent travelling in sunlight will continue to reduce con until the Alba is dead or takes steps to cure this. this reduction can be cured by spending one full day(plus long rest) away from sunlight. Spells that restore ability score damage do not restore Constitution damage taken this way.  Supernatural sunlight does not trigger this effect unless the Alba is exposed for longer than 10 minutes. Other types of bright light and indirect light such as a shadowed or shuttered room does not trigger this effect.

An Alba need only a square inch of skin exposed to trigger this effect (Gm Discretion, a mere scratch in clothing may be enough). Alba have several ways to combat this lethal drawback, ranging from a special soap to heavy clothing all the way up to arcane magic. most resources that deal with Sunlight Weakness do not affect Sunlight Sensitivity and vice versa.