Homebrew Anireth (Nightfell) Species Details

Forged by Darkness: Once human, corrupted by the Secondary World and its icy power after the fall of Xivanis. All that remains are a small number of them, often unseen by other populations.

Rise and Fall off the Anireth: About three centuries after the truths were revealed, Thurinthian survived only in memory, mainly because of the fragmentation that mankind suffered throughout their ancient history, characterized by political conflicts, geographical expansions, and religious schisms. The two main causes behind the city's abandonment were the disastrous earthquake of the year 275 a.L. and the civil wars that followed. The new capital, Xivanis, was built above the ruins of the previous one. This city, far from the honour and prestige of the previous one, was the capital of what remained of the old province of men, who had now proclaimed themselves Anireth, or "elders" in the First Language. Their society had remained faithful to the previous legislature, with the Sages in command and a social order divided into castes, but the greatness of their ancestors was now lost. The continuous wars and secessions of the First Men had thinned out their aristocracy, as only the nobles had the right to form armies and could lay claim to new lands . The need to form new social castes had already upset Thurinthian society, and this instability persisted in the disastrous new capital. This led the Seven Sages of Xivanis to endorse new social roles and, at the same time, to lose sight of the warnings imposed by the doctrine of Truth, focusing exclusively on politics. The Anireth's mistake was to abandon the Ancient Tradition after three centuries in order to seek new power in the underground city where Lagoran's secrets were hidden. The warnings from neighboring cities were useless, as the humans craved the splendours of old and were convinced that the ruins of Thurinthian held the key to the power of the First Age. Soon, their remaining morals and intellectual values were diminished. They could not see the blasphemous threat that awaited them at the end of their search, or that the memory of the ancestors was bound to a cursed place, for in Thurinthian laid the shroud of the Dark Mirror, and the stone was rife with evil. It was in that forgotten place, where the Anireth sought bygone glory and hid from their depressing day to day life, that evil infiltrated the world from an open door left ajar centuries earlier. Dark clouds in the sky obfuscated the celestial vault, while the dead came back to life and grieving ghosts came to haunt the eternal night. Thus, the men of Xivanis fulfilled the Fourth Truth, and every inhabitant of Iùrmen experienced death and terror. That day, and for every day to come, the hours were punctuated by the only glow that still lit up the sky: the Moon, renamed Mirithlen in honor of the one who alone escaped the horror of the otherworld.

The Ancient Sin: The lust of the First Men, the lineage of the "elders" or Anireth, was such as to lead the world into darkness. This sin has cost the descendants of this noble lineage dearly , relegating them to a life of outcasts and exiles. The remaining Anireths were forever blamed as the cause of the Last Sun and often live alone or are clustered in the Underground Enclave of Ervenrun, the only place they can call home after the fall of Xivanis. In that dark and unhealthy slum , hidden from other ethnic groups, many of them accept their destiny and the responsibility for the sin of their ancestors, striving to prove their worth. Others yearn for vengeance and are still lured to the dark power that hides beneath Thurinthian, in their distant homeland. The Anireth characters will come to terms with the prejudices of other peoples and the burden imposed on them by the choices of the past. Although they maintain an austere and bleak appearance in the eyes of many, some Anireth have become important members of society, such as Masters of Tradition or Lunar Cultists, or become wanderers and adventurers in order to redeem themselves by facing the darkness.

Anireth (Nightfell) Traits

The Anireth have the following traits:

Ability Score Increase

Your Intelligence score increases by 2, and another ability of your choice increases by 1.

Age

Anireth live longer than humans and can live up to 150 years of age, despite having a similar aging process.

Alignment

Anireth tend to struggle against their dark side, although many of them remain neutral or act to help the community; some, however, allow themselves to be easily charmed by darkness.

Size

As a human, your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision

Due to your familiarity with life in the darkness, you have Darkvision up to a range of 60 feet.

Spectral Translation

At 1st level, as an action you can phase halfway through to the ethereal plane and move your speed; during this movement, opportunity attacks against you have Disadvantage, you ignore difficult terrain, and can traverse the space occupied by other creatures or solid objects (but cannot end your movement in a occupied space); this feature can be used once, then you regain its use when you complete a short or long rest.

Dark Legacy

You possess a special predisposition to darkness that has contaminated your lineage; starting at 1st level, add your Intelligence Modifier to Soul Points earned at each level; starting at 5th level; you can cast the detect magic spell once, then you regain its use after you complete a long rest (your spellcasting ability for this feature is Intelligence).

Spectral Presence

You have Proficiency in Intimidation.

Sensitivity to Grim Weapons

Your connection to Ènferun makes you susceptible to blows from Grim Weapons, as if you were a Fiend (attacks dealt to you are to be considered magical and have Advantage); this, however, does not prevent you from wielding them in combat.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write in Common; you can also understand and speak the Whisper of Echoes.