Homebrew Zern Species Details

ECOLOGY
The vast majority of zerns live in small enclaves hidden in the dark corners of the world. They prefer to dig hideouts within deep forests, in a city’s sewer systems, and even within relatively peaceful corners of the underground realm. Zerns prey on all creatures, including humans, wild animals, and even drow and giants. A zern enclave must be far enough from potential victims to remain safe, but close enough to plan and execute raids easily. All zerns begin life as male. At around age forty, they undergo a process that turns them female. Once a zern has given birth to a child (gestation takes a full year), it reverts to a sterile neutral gender, although parents are still responsible for the care and education of their young.

SOCIETY
Zern society is predicated on the concept that only the zerns are truly sentient. To them, all other living things are mere playthings for experimentation. A zern sees itself as the pinnacle of biological development. Other creatures—those too primitive to control their bodies and alter their forms to suit their needs—are obviously evolutionary dead ends. Zerns seek to discover the perfect biological form by altering creatures to produce new races. By discovering this final form, they believe they can finally achieve true transcendence and bodily perfection. Unfortunately for other creatures, zerns experiment only on the strongest, smartest, and most successful subjects. They also believe in practicing their art as often as possible, learning from the process of trial and error.

Zerns sculpt creatures into twisted, deformed beings that usually die on the operating table. Sometimes they use mystic processes to turn a subject into one of a variety of horrors, including arcanovores , blade thralls , chokers, ettercaps, gibbering mouthers, gricks, and otyughs. Such monsters are normally found guarding zerns’ lairs or helping them capture test subjects. Although zerns consider all other creatures to be inferior beings, they sometimes sell their bizarre creations as living weapons. A zern community in need of money to hire mercenaries or buy a fresh crop of slaves might trade a gibbering mouther, a few blade thralls, or even an arcanovore to a drow outpost, a temple of the Elder Elemental Eye, or a gang of demons.

 

Zern Traits

Zern are master hunters who transmute their bodies to adapt to their surroundings and situation.

Ability Score Improvements

Choose one of: (a) Choose any +2; choose any other +1 (b) Choose any +1; choose any other +1; choose any other +1

Age

All zerns begin life as male. At around age forty, they undergo a process that turns them female. Once a zern has given birth to a child (gestation takes a full year), it reverts to a sterile neutral gender, although parents are still responsible for the care and education of their young. Zern usually die around the age of 80-90.

Alignment

Although Zern are usually neutral evil, some have been known to leave their clan and be more chaotic.

Size

Zern stand between 6 and 7 feet tall. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walk speed is 30ft

Zern Enhancement

Zerns are masters of transmutation, to help themselves on the hunt they enhance their own body. Morphing it to their surroundings. After you complete a short or long rest you choose one of these options. You can only use that option until you switch it after another short or long rest. You can use this trait a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

• Adrenaline Rush: You send a controlled surge of adrenaline to your muscles. When you move on your turn in combat, you can double your speed until the end of the turn.

• Strengthen Hide: Your skin quickly callouses in hopes of warding off an attack. As a reaction, you can gain a bonus to your AC equal to your proficiency bonus until the end of the turn.

• Camouflage Skin: Your skin changes color adapting to it's environment. As a bonus action, you have advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks. This effect lasts for 1 minute.

• Morph Shape: As an action, you change your appearance and your voice. You determine the specifics of the changes, including your coloration, and hair length. Though, your sex remains as it's current. You can make yourself appear as a human or elf, though none of your game statistics change. You can't duplicate the appearance of an individual you've never seen, and you must adopt a form that has the same basic arrangement of limbs that you have. Your clothing and equipment aren't changed by this trait. 

  You stay in the new form until you take a long rest, use an action to revert to your true form, or until you die.

Darkvision

Accustomed to hunting in the underdark, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. 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.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language that you and your DM agree is appropriate for your character. It would be appropriate for zern to know either Undercommon, because they live in the Underdark, or Draconic, because it is thought to be one of the oldest languages and is often used in the study of magic.