Homebrew Devil's Advocates Species Details
Devil's Advocates, according to myth, were created by the Elder God Atax during his quest for the souls of the newly dead. His first creation, known to most as Melody (her ancient name has been lost to time), was the sole leader, but soon the growing army became too much for her to handle. With that, Atax sought souls that would be apt leaders of his soldiers, and thus the seven deadly sins became their godly patrons.
All the Better for Tricking You
Devil's Advocates have two forms which they can switch between at will: their humanoid form and their catlike "feral form". Feral forms are often much bigger in terms of height, ranging from 6 to 8 feet tall, while humanoid forms range from 4 to 6 feet. Devil's Advocates look extremely similar to humans in anatomy and skin color, but have catlike ears and eyes, conspicuous horns, and clawlike nails. Many Devil's Advocates are young adults, with some looking like young children and very few as older adults. While they can (and do) age at will, many choose to stay young to lure more humans and Fainn in to take their souls.
There are a few coded traits all DAs share. Hair/fur color determines the type of elemental magic a DA uses (white = air, gray/blue = water/ice, brown/red = earth, and black = fire), and the primary color of the ears, horns, and eyes shows which sin the Devil's Advocate has chosen to follow (green = envy, yellow = greed, purple = pride, red = wrath, pink = lust, orange = gluttony, and blue = sloth). Fur and hair is a solid color (although many DAs dye or tattoo themselves), while horns are brightly patterned. In the case of feral forms, Devil's Advocates also have a sentient snakelike tail (in the same pattern as the horns) that can attack opponents.
Reincarnation Station
Devil's Advocates do not die unless killed in battle, poisoned, or otherwise severely injured. Even in severe cases like these, their patron sin allows them to heal what should have been fatal injuries, and it usually takes another Devil's Advocate, someone with holy power, or an Alpha Ombrann/Tainn to truly kill one. Therefore, there are many Devil's Advocates that have lived for hundreds of thousands of years. These DAs usually use what is known as their "apparent age", otherwise described as the current physical and mental age of the body. This deters any possible creeps as well as gives a human-compliant gage of a DA's age. Because of their considerable resistance to the world, they have lots of constitution to spare.
While DAs have many different alignments, most are evil aligned, and almost all are chaotic, if not both at once. Most have blinding loyalty to their sin, and the ones that do not are often hunted down and killed. This is because DAs are contractually bound to serve their sin, and any disobedience has a potential for punishment. This contract stems from a DA's origin as a reincarnated soul. At death, if a member of any species catches the attention of one (or more!) of the seven deadly sins, that sin will attempt to recruit the newly deceased soul as a Devil's Advocate. Each soul has the choice of refusal, they will simply pass on to their respective afterlife if they do not choose to be reincarnated. There are serious cons to becoming a DA--you must obey all orders from your sin(as stated above), your soul must be forfeited to Atax for eternity, and when you die you will remain as a ghost, stuck alone and invisible in the surface world forever. However, the power, immortality, and teammates that come with the choice of being a DA sways many who are offered this opportunity.
Seven Deadly Realms
Devil's Advocates home realm is Raol, which is a form of the underworld (although not entirely comparable to places like Hell or Hades, as it is not only for punishment but residential life). Devil's Advocates can live here freely with other realm dwellers (not DAs but other followers of the sins, usually born in the realm), and there are many cities and districts in each realm, making them almost another world in and of themselves. Each realm has a certain theme, for example, Envy's realm is a massive forest filled with gardens of flowers and fruits orchards, Pride's realm is a beautiful crystal city, and Wrath's realm is a hellscape of volcanic rock that is both intimidating and awe-inspiring.
DAs can travel between realms at will, and can bring one non-DA with them at a time. They can also travel through portals at the sins' shrines or in Echem, which allows them to bring multiple people with them at a time since they are not using their own magic. DAs can only travel to their respective realm--it is frowned upon to visit another sin's realm without being invited. Non-DAs that find themselves in Raol will most likely be attacked and killed, unless you have fallen into Envy's realm, because Envy's realm is so close to the surface that rifts in space appear and non-DAs accidentally find themselves there. The residents of Envy's realm, therefore, have become relatively kinder and more open to bringing non-DAs to Envy to be returned home rather than killing them outright.
Devils Advocate Names
Devil's Advocates usually keep the name they had in their past life. However, for those that do not remember most or all of their past life, sometimes they will ask to be named by their sin or another DA they look up to. If they cannot find a suitable name, it is common for DAs to take the temporary title of "Inno", which means "unnamed". This will often be combined with the name of the sin to mark who they are allegiant to in writing, such as "Diavie-Inno" (title for an unnamed DA who follows Envy)
Devil's Advocates Traits
As a Devil's Advocate, you have these traits:Ability Score Increase
Your Constitution score increases by 2, and your Charisma score increases by 1.
Age
Devil's Advocates begin at the age they died and can age at will. They are functionally immortal until killed by artificial means and usually live for upwards of thousands of years.
Alignment
Devil's Advocates are usually chaotic or evil, if not a mix of both.
Size
Devil's Advocates have a range of sizes, but all fall under Medium.
Speed
Your speed in both forms is 25 feet.
Darkvision
Using your cat-like vision, you can see better in low light than most creatures. You can see in dim light within 60 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.
Soulsight
Devil's Advocates can use soulsight once per short rest. You can detect all sapient creatures within a 60 foot radius.