Most shardminds are logical and emotionally distant, viewing the world from the alien perspective of an interdimensional traveler. Even mundane things such as clouds in the sky, the flight of birds, or creatures growing old are usually fascinating to a shardmind when first encountered.

Because they do not age and come from a nearly timeless realm, shardminds also tend to adopt a long-term perspective on things. The day-to-day concerns of creatures that must eat and worry of aging are often mysterious to shardminds, even after spending much time with the other races. Some are eager to learn more of the strange world they find themselves in, yet others are more aloof, never forgetting the alien realm they call home and their quest for purpose.

The coloration of a shardmind's crystal body comes from their position as part of the Mother Crystal. Because most of the Mother Crystal is a reddish-pink color resembling ruby or rose quartz, most shardminds are made of similar crystal. But the Mother Crystal is made of all colors of opaque crystal, and thus so is the population of shardminds.

When a shardmind dies, their mind and soul are pulled back to the Mother Crystal, once again becoming one with the whole from which they separated. Most shardminds view this as a process that should not be rushed, since they were likely split off for a reason. But there are exceptions who seek to return their fellow shardminds to the Mother Crystal (by deadly force if necessary) in order to empower it with their life force. Those shardminds typically have an evil alignment.

Shardmind Traits

Ability Score Increase

Your Intelligence score increases by 2.

Aberrant Nature

You have two creature types: humanoid and aberration. You can be affected by a game effect if it works on either of your creature types.

Astral Repose

You don't need to sleep, and magic can't put you to sleep. Instead of sleeping, you must spend at least four hours in a meditative state. Your consciousness becomes divided between your body and the distant Mother Crystal that you split from, which some part of your mind never truly left. Though distracted, you remain aware of your surroundings while doing so. After resting in this way, you gain the same benefit that a human does from 8 hours of sleep.

Crystalline Mind

You have resistance to psychic damage.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common, Deep Speech, and one other language of your choice.