Homebrew Cyclopian Species Details

From Heliana's Guide

Monocular and Myopic

A cyclopian’s singular eye is the perfect metaphor for this race’s almost-myopic tendency to focus on one thing to the exclusion of all others. When a cyclopian finds a topic that interests them, little can stop their manic and feverish efforts to acquire any relevant documents, information, or answers. Indeed, the famed cyclopian researcher Roza “Thanks” Thanklinds is rumored to have forgone sleep for more than two months while analyzing the crystallized mut-x from the former laboratory of Dr. Frank. N. Stein. Of course, this feat was made all the easier thanks to cyclopians’ ability to metabolize knowledge into actual, physical, nutritional value.

Arcanists Analogue

When a powerful and evil lich placed wards on his darkest research, he chose the humble cyclopian as the template for the transmutative traps he sequestered. Other wizards who studied this evil lich’s work too closely were transformed into monstrous cyclopian facsimiles by the hidden curses. These skulking creatures are often mistaken for cyclopians; both share a hulking monocular physiology and a hunger for knowledge. However, a brief observation can yield one significant difference: the skulking simulacra leave a trail of rot and necrosis wherever they travel while no true cyclopian would ever risk damaging a book in this way.

Pilgrimage of Huge Discovery

Cyclopians of a certain age often embark on a Pilgrimage of Huge Discovery, or PHD. During this time, they venture out into the world, seeking to bring new and significant knowledge back to their library. For some individuals, the natural compulsion to explore is all the impetus they need to leave the comfort of their home. On the other hand, more reticent cyclopians might have to be forced out by their family, fulfilling this rite of passage based on a sense of duty. Cyclopians who fixate on the acquisition of artifacts, rather than the joy of studying them, are regarded as rare and valuable assets to any family; cyclopian adventurers are always warmly welcomed back to their library.

Sharing is Caring

Cyclopians have an unusual lifecycle. Though they can reproduce sexually, cyclopians are also capable of a form of asexual budding. When a cyclopian is beyond inundated by the volume of knowledge awaiting their analysis (such as after it gains entry into an abandoned, book-filled wizard’s tower), it can spontaneously and unexpectedly undergo an entire body mitosis. This produces a similar, though genetically distinct, individual—an assistant with whom the research can be more manageably catalogued.

Cyclopian Traits

You're a strange one..

Ability Score Increase

Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and either your Intelligence score or Wisdom score increases by 1 (your choice)

Darkvision

Accustomed to life in dimly-lit  libraries, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feetof 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 grey

Knowledge Seeker

Learning is an almost irresistible compulsion amongst cyclopians. You have proficiency in your choice of one of the following skills: Arcana, History, Investigation, Medicine, and Religion.

Savant of Secrets

You can tap into your ancestral ability to spot the telltale signs of hidden traps, passages, and secrets. As an action, you can enter a cyclotrance for 1 minute. For the duration, you have advantage on Perception, Investigation, or Insight checks. Once you activate this trait, you can’t do so again until you finish a long rest.

Shadow Watcher

.You are proficient in moving and observing from the shadows. You have proficiency in your choice of one of the following skills: Insight, Perception, and Stealth.

Thought for Food

Information is nourishing for cyclopians, in the truest sense of the word. Each day that you discover significant new information (GM’s discretion), you need only half as much food and water as normal and you have advantage on Constitution saving throws made to avoid exhaustion. These benefits last until you finish a long rest.

Top Shelf

Generations spent climbing to the top shelves of tall libraries has led to a selective pressure in the ability to climb within cyclopians. 

Languages

You can speak, read, write Common and Undercommon.