Homebrew Andalite v2 Species Details

Personality

Andalites are highly intelligent beings who can be arrogant and aloof. They would like to think of themselves as perfectly logical and rational, and while many of them are most of the time, there are times when they can give into irrational fits, usually when their plans fail. Andalite society divides males and females by tradition more than law; the traditional male occupations are the crafts (including magic) and the military; female occupations are the sciences (except for the most advanced ones) and arts. The Andalite military is almost entirely male.

In order to conserve resources, the Andalites practice zero population growth except for times of war. Typically, no more than two children are allowed, and only in serious times of population decline will three or four children per family be allowed.

Physical Description

Andalites possess four, deer-like legs, a humanoid upper body (like a deer-sized centaur, although some adult males can be as large as horses), four eyes (including two on movable stalks on the top of their head and two on their human-like face), no mouth (they eat crushed grass through their hooves and communicate using telepathy), and a sharp blade at the end of their long, prehensile, scorpionlike tail. The males have a large, scythe-like blade; the females have a much smaller, scalpel-like blade. Males are larger and stronger than females, but are less agile. Andalites have pink skin obscured by their fur; males have blue fur, females are colored violet. As an Andalite ages, his or her hair fades to tan on their face and chest. They have eyes of varying colors, usually different shades of green. An Andalite has seven fingers on each hand and generally has less upper-body strength than a human.

Relations and Alignments

Andalites tend to be arrogant and aloof, but they have respect for races of similar intellect and power, though they try to avoid interspecies mingling by law. They particularly hate parasitic creatures as well as any sluglike animals. Andalites tend to be lawful neutral, with a strong (yet very dry) sense of honor. The Andalites are an odd case; they have no settlements (save for three areas around inter-dimensional magical portals), and yet, they have some of the greatest minds of any sentient race. 

Religion and Language

The Andalites have no organized religion, but venerate vaguely-established energy-beings which they believe control events in the universe, known as Ellimists. It is said by some Andalites that Ellimists gave them Telepathy by taking the forms of ancient Andalites and breeding with them. All Andalites perform rituals that honor nature. These rituals include The Morning Ritual and the Evening Ritual. A mated pair may also perform the Wish Ritual if they desire a child.

While Andalites do not have mouths with which to speak, they do have the ability to communicate using telepathy. This telepathic communication sounds like whatever language the recipient is most capable of communicating in. Archaic Andalites used their many-fingered hands to speak in sign language, and also used their tail blades to carve into rock walls. Some words are unique to the Andalite "thought-speak" language, such as shorm which is the word for tail blade and also the word for one's best friend, because if they held their tail blade to your neck you would not be afraid.

Names

Andalites have complex, three part names joined with hyphens. The exact naming conventions are mysterious, but it is known that both the mother and the father pass name parts down to both sons and daughters alike. The first-born child shares their middle name with their father and the second-born child will take their mother's middle name. Andalite names are not necessarily gender specific. Sometimes a name that one Andalite has as a first name will be another's middle or last names. Andalites do not adopt nicknames and go by their first name.

A list of typical Andalite names:

Full Names: Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill, Elfangor-Sirinal-Shamtul, Aldrea-Iskillion-Fallan, Alloran-Semitur-Corrass.

First Names: Jahal, Ajaht, Arbat, Arbron

Titles: A military cadet has the title Aristh and is referred to by others as aristh or aristh followed by their first name. A Warrior is called a warrior. All warriors and arisths, by definition, serve a Prince or a War Prince. If an Andalite is separated from his or her people and still wishes to be a warrior or aristh, they may pledge themselves to a "prince" of a different race. Prince is not a royal title, but a military one, and most warriors hope to be elevated to Princes and later to War Princes. Ship captains are usually War Princes.

This version is based on the homebrew Andalite race from TheSaltmarshGhost 

Andalite v2 Traits

The following traits are common among all Andalites.

Ability Score Increase

You are a race that are smart and fast

+2 Intelligence +2 Dexterity

Size

Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your walking speed is 40 feet.

Tail Blade

Andalites have strong, lightning fast tails with scythe-like blades at the end.

Using an action, make a melee attack on a target in front of or behind you. When you hit with it, the strike deals 1d8 + your Dexterity modifier slashing damage, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.

This attack scales with level. Add an additional 1d8 upon reaching the following levels: 6, 12, 18.

Telepathy

Andalite's have no mouths, and so they communicate telepathically. They can choose who can hear them. Anyone with the Andalite based 'Morph' Ability can also use this telepathy when morphed into creatures that cannot communicate via language. They can understand any language they happen to be speaking too, leading to the theory that they more or less communicate their ideas, no matter the language.

On the Lookout

Andalites' extra eyes on the top of their head, combined with their good hearing and sense of smell, are impossible to flank. Andalites enjoy a +4 racial bonus on Investigation and Perception checks. These stalk eyes also make it impossible to surprise an Andalite, even when sleeping. You also make these roles with advantage. Enemies that get a surprise round do not get a surprise round on an Andalite, and they cannot sneak up on a sleeping Andalite.

Acquire

When near an animal, creature, or being, you can touch it and roll to acquire its DNA within you. To do so, you must make an Animal Handling check (DC=10+ Target's INT mod). On a successful roll, the target becomes docile for 20 seconds and you gain to the ability to morph into this creature using the "Morph" ability. On a failed check, the creature knows what is happening, and unless it is a friend, will turn hostile.

Morph

Once per combat as an action, or up to 4 times per long rest, you may morph into the form of a creature which you have acquired. Once morphed, you gain all of its modifiers (except for its INT and WIS if they are lower than your own), you learn all spells, gain all abilities, and learn all languages. You essentially BECOME that creature.

When you morph into a creature for the FIRST TIME, roll a Wisdom Saving Throw (DC=10). On a successful save, nothing happens. On a failed save, you lose yourself, becoming that creature. When this happens, if in combat you may make a Wisdom Saving Throw on each of your turns, if out of combat roll a Percentile Die, with that number being how many minutes you lose control.

The Andalite Morphing ability has one major drawback. Should you stay in a form for more than two hours, you become a Nothlit. A Nothlit is one who has remained morphed for over two hours, becoming trapped in the morphed form, unable to morph back. The one exception is if the form undergoes a natural metamorphosis, such as a caterpillar into a butterfly. If this occurs, the two-hour limit is reset, giving them the chance to return to their natural form.

When in a morph, even as a Nothlit, you can communicate via Andalite Telepathy. The longer one is in a Nothlit form, the more difficult it is for one to maintain their true identity. The best way to prevent this is by incorporating aspects of your new life into who you are.

YOU MUST RETURN TO YOUR NATURAL FORM BEFORE MORPHING INTO ANOTHER CREATURE!

Innate Sense of Time

Developed after centuries of Andalite's becoming victim to their morphing ability, they developed an innate sense of time. Andalite's theorize this developed so that they would innately know when their two hours in a morph was nearly up, allowing them to know when they had to return to their natural form.

Equine Build

You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push or drag.

Languages

You can speak all languages but read and write only a few