Homebrew Half Demon Species Details

Half Demons are creatures born from the progeny of one mortal and one demon parent. Distrust against these beings usually serves as a means of self-preservation for most people, rather than prejudice.

Monstrous At Best

While most physical characteristics differ between Half Demons depending on the nature of their demonic lineage, all share a few basic traits. Half Demons are bipedal and roughly humanoid in appearance. Their facial features are a mix of both their mundane, mortal bloodline, and the horrifying demonic visage: For example, an elven Half Demon may retain the pointed ears of their people, but also possess the blackened skin and curved forehead-mounted horn of a Babau. A human Half Demon may have fair white skin, with the compound, bug-like eyes of the Chasme. The more mundane Half Demons are sometimes mistaken for Tieflings; however, Half Demon traits tend to be much more gruesome and bizarre than their infernal cousins. Other examples of demonic traits include sharpened claws, an exterior skull, gray, black, or green skin, ram horns, boney protrusions, or a leathery tail.

Progeny of the Abyss

Half Demons are, by nature, cruel, vicious beings, with the taint of a demonic bloodline corrupting everything they do. While a Half Demon is all too happy to kill, maim, and destroy on a whim, working with a team of adventurers requires a bit more coercion.

Half Demons are highly motivated by greed, lust, and baser impulses. While a Half Demon will happily annihilate a team of Orcs attacking the village, the difficulty is in stopping the Half Demon from eliminating the village, too. Adventuring teams may find them challenging to work with unless they maintain sufficient bribes in the form of treasure and promises of future slaughters.

Society

On the mortal planes, Half Demons tend to integrate with already established communities in which their parents live. If too of an outlandish appearance, or if the natives are superstitious enough, they can be exiled. Pure Half Demon communities are few and lacking in structural economies, although they can exist.

In the Abyss, however, Alu-Demons fit in quite well with the savage nature of the realm. They tend to stick close to their parents, either in cooperation or in service. Half Demons traveling alone in the Abyss tend to naturally gravitate towards a Layer holding their own kind.

Half Demon Names

Half Demons are often proud of their heritage and will name themselves either partially or entirely after other demon species. Other Half Demons will base their names on the Abyssal root words for evil or immoral concepts—almost all Half Demons pride their names on being difficult or uncomfortable to speak and pronounce.

Male: Abraxes, Forneus, Cthugha, Valas, Kazri, Yochlo, Kastig, Maurez

Female: Kali, Zhah, Bali Raj, Nyogtha, Bebeli, Orla, Maril, Shizu

Half Demon Traits

Half-demon hybrids spawned from an Abyssal parent

Ability Score Increase

Your Strength score increases by 1, and your Charisma score increases by 2.

Age

Half Demons mature at the same rate humans do and reach adulthood at the age of 20. They live much longer than humans, however, often exceeding 180 years.

Size

Half Demons range in size, from just taller than a dwarf, to well over 8' tall. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Devil Sight

Thanks to your demonic heritage. 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. Due to their nature, some Half Demons see shades of red or green as opposed to shades of gray.

At level 3 the Range increases to 120 and you can see through magical darkness up to 60 feet.

Hellish Resistance

You have resistance to fire damage.

At level 12, as an action, you can make yourself immune to fire damage for one minute, you can use this action equal to your charisma modifier (minimum 1) per long rest.

Winged

You have bat-like wings sprouting from your shoulder blades. You have a flying speed of 30 feet while you aren’t wearing heavy armor. 

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and Infernal.