Homebrew Earthspark Race Details

At some point in history, when remains unclear, a soul emerged in the primordial chaos of the outer planes. It is not known how this soul came to be but it was powerful. Without thought or sentience this soul pulled on the elemental energies of the planes by making a body of immeasurable proportions out of the rock, crystal and soul of the Earth Plane and channeled through this body the power of the planes of Fire, Air and Water. It seemed a God was being born.

Other gods felt this and feared it. If allowed to continue this new divinity would absorb the planes and all within them. To prevent the catastrophe, or to prevent such a powerful God being made, the other gods rallied together to destroy this being. It was difficult and they succeeded in destroying it and tearing this new soul to pieces. The threat was over.

Of course, that was not the end. The pieces of the soul, fragments, were scattered amongst the planes of the universe. These pieces, over time, became souls in their own right and began to forge bodies of soil and earth thus forming new creatures. These creatures held some of the connection to the planes - enough to channel a small bit of the power into their new bodies. These souls became sentient and individual but not gods. They became known as the Earthsparks.

Appearance and Individuality.

Earthspark have a varied appearance. When their sparks change from fragment to soul they forge bodies of earth pulling soil, sand, stone and even metal out of which to form a body. From this there emerges a type of earthen-flesh that will still be partly composed of the earthen elements it was formed from. Some Earthspark may therefore feature very grainy dark brown skin as if made from compacted soil or hard, rough and jagged skin coloured the slate-grey of stone perhaps. They take on a humanoid appearance but this can be large, small, stocky and muscled or lean and thin with smooth features or angular features. They can have simple features - just about enough to form holes for ears and nose, a basic mouth, simple eyes or they can have complex features with hair (or at least a representation or close approximation using earthen materials), eyes with irises and multiple colours, ears of varying shapes, noses of varying definition and well-formed mouths.

Technically Earthspark do not have a biological sex and cannot reproduce in any traditional manner but as Earthspark form they gain knowledge about the world, at least enough to understand the concepts of humanoid identity. Some Earthspark may develop a gender identity such as male or female and may develop physical bodies to match (although most forgo forming genitalia as such adornments serve them no purpose - sex is a foreign concept since they cannot reproduce and their skin does not work the same way as normal flesh does). Others, however, may not bother with gender at all.

Earthspark souls act as conduits of elemental energies and each soul will hold some power from one of the four planes: a stronger tie to earth or a connection to fire, water or air. This essentially splits the Earthspark into four sub-races and each one will manifest aspects of their element adding to the unique nature of their physical appearance.

Earthspark greatly value individuality to seperate themselves from each other, to make their place in the world and to reconcile the uniqueness of their appearance. However, there is an underlying sense of other Earthspark, a yearning to join and merge with others of their kind. It is unknown if that is possible but some think this is just left-over from when they were all part of a single beng. A small few think they are meant to all rejoin and become the God they were meant to be.

Life and Death.

The unusual manner in which Earthspark come into being allow for them to gain some inherent knowledge of the world enough to understand language, how things work, what things are called, some systems of time-keeping and so on. This knowledge is instinctual and can still present wonder and mystery: Earthspark might understand a Dragonborn in an instinctual way, for example, but may still find it strange and amazing to see one for the first time and could become fascinated by their scales. They can understand basic society functions but be completely clueless how to actually act in society or may not understand why a law is a law. Nevertheless Earthspark are formed as an adult and do not age but while one Earthspark might be a thousand years old another might be only a few days old. The transition from 'fragment' into a unique and sentient soul can take days to millennia so Earthspark can seem to just randomly emerge into being at any time.

Earthspark can still be killed like any mortal creature but their soul is different from others and unless their soul is taken to the realm of a god it followed the soul will otherwise be scattered through the planes and will reform elsewhere - the process may take a few years, however, but unlike when they first formed they return will all the memories, knowledge, experience, appearance and identity they had before. Death is therefore seen as a significant inconvenience but not an end to be feared.

Culture and Names.

Earthspark are too few to form a culture of their own -many going centuries or longer before ever encountering another of their kind and they do not have familes. As such they lack any culture and take their names from the region they form in, a word or phrase they like from a language they know or just make up a word they like the sound of to use as a name. Some may change their name if they get bored of it or find their personality changing over their infinite lifespan and some may change it if they ever die and return.

Earthspark Traits

Your Earthspark character has certain characteristics in common with all other Earthspark.

Ability Score Increase

Your Constitution score increases by 2.

Age

Earthspark are formed as an adult and can live forever.

Alignment

Independent and self-reliant, Earthspark tend toward a neutral alignment.

Size

Earthspark vary greatly in height and build from 4 feet tall to over 7 feet tall. Regardless of your position in that range your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Formed From Earth

Forged from the Earth you retain the power to manipulate and merge with it. You have a Burrowing speed of 30 feet. You can use this Burrow speed to burrow through nonmagical, unworked earth and stone. While doing so, you do not disturb the material you move through. You can move across difficult terrain made of earth or stone without expending extra movement.

Immortal Nature

As an immortal creature that only exists in a single state of adulthood you are immune to any effects, even magical ones, of aging and cannot be aged (younger or older) by any means.

Taste of Dirt

You can nourish yourself on food and drink the same as any humanoid creature but you can also choose to instead feed on earth. To do so you spend an hour in an area up to 60 feet in radius containing enough non-magical unworked earth and stone to fill a 1-foot cube. The material is pulled to you and absorbed into your body through the mouth or skin or both. This will provide enough nourishment for a day. When doing this feed you must concentrate, as if concentrating on a spell.