Homebrew Bestial Heritage | Telos Species Details

Children of Dracul

 

"Those beast folk are a marvel to behold! I tell you, in all of my travels I do not think I have seen a more varied people. I have watched in awe and amusement as tribes of cat-like folk, no taller than three feet in height, scampered across jagged clifftops in search of small prey - and yet I have also had the good fortune of encountering a rather pleasant group of crocodilians who, despite their being over seven feet tall and looking frankly terrifying, were surprisingly curteous in manners and well dressed in appearance."

- Tales of a Wandering Bard 2nd Edt., by Bartholemew Angorbar Kyrillius III

 

Created by Dracul—the God of Beasts—to blend the best aspects of humanoids and animals, mortals of the bestial heritage are a varied people in both lifestyle and appearance. In some lands, beast folk live like the animals they resemble, living nomadic lives and surviving off of the land. In other places, beast folk live as other folk do, not exhibiting this primal behavior. Both ways of life are encouraged by worshippers of Dracul, and it is believed by them that the best way to live is to strike a balance between the two. It is because of this that most beast folk settlements come in the form of sprawling encampments, nestled away amidst the natural beauty of the wilderness, where these beast folk live civilised lives in harmony with nature.

Character Appearance

The appearance of your character of bestial heritage should be based in someway on an existing animal. This could be a wolf, bear, cat, fox, snake, crocoandile or any other variety of creature (besides purely aquatic beasts such as sharks and fish, although semi-aquatic creatures are fine).

It is up to you as to how feral and beastlike your character looks. Some beast folk appear very close to humans in appearance, only displaying their animalistic traits in the forms of extra bodily hair (or scales), their natural weaponry and slightly altered sensory features. Other beast folk appear closer in appearance to the traditional forms of lycanthrophy, appearing as anthropomorphic animals. Whatever choice you make, your character must still be vaguely humanoid in appearance with two arms and two legs, as well as a roughly human bodily structure.

No one beastfolk is the same, and although they are based on existing animals, this does not mean they must be based on just one. Dracul views each one of his creations as a work of natural art, and there have been more than a few instances in which an individual of bestial heritage has been born with features taken from more than one set of animals. These beast folk are known as chimeras and are generally viewed with respect and admiration by those that worship Dracul, as it is believed that these individuals have been created as living works of natural art.

 

Creating Your Character

Ability Score Increases

When determining your character’s ability scores, increase one score by 2 and increase a different score by 1, or increase three different scores by 1. Follow this rule regardless of the method you use to determine the scores, such as rolling or point buy. The “Quick Build” section for your character’s class offers suggestions on which scores to increase. You can follow those suggestions or ignore them, but you can’t raise any of your scores above 20.

Languages

Your character can speak, read, and write Common and one other languages that you and your DM agree is appropriate for the character. When choosing your additional language, select a language from the list of in-world languages available upon request, or through World Anvil. Add this language to your character sheet by editing the languages section at the bottom left of the sheet.

Life Span

All mortal beings on Telos share a common lifespan, reaching maturity (adulthood) at the age of 25. You are considered middle aged at 100, and most folks retire and are considered old aged at 150. Most mortal beings live to approximately 200 years old.

Height

 Due to the highly varied appearance of beast folk, your height falls within the following guidelines, based upon your size class:

• Small: You are between 2 and 4 ft. (0.6 - 1.21m) tall.
• Medium: You are between 4 and 8 ft. (1.21 - 2.43m) tall.

Bestial Heritage | Telos Traits

As a mortal of the Bestial Heritage, you have the following racial traits.

Blessing of Dracul

Your kind were created by Dracul, God of Beasts.

In your creation you have been bestowed with one of two blessings. Choose from either:

• Dracul's Call: Creatures of your choice within 10 feet of you that can hear you must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or become frightened of you until the end of your next turn. The DC of the save equals 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Constitution modifier. Once you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you finish a short rest.
• Dracul's Veil: An arcane energy envelopes you, enhancing your natural camoflauge and making you lighter on your feet. For the next minute, you have a +5 bonus to Dexterity (Stealth) checks and can’t be tracked except by magical means. During this time, you also leave behind no tracks or other traces of your passage. Once you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you finish a short rest.

Creature Type

You are a Humanoid.

Size

You are Medium or Small. You choose the size when you select this race.

Speed

Your walking speed is 35 ft., and you can choose one of the following options:

• Aquatic Adaptation: Your natural form is adapted to life in water. Your swimming speed is equal to your walking speed and you are able to hold your breath underwater for up to 30 minutes.
• Sub-terranian Adaptation: Your natural form is adapted to life underground. You have a burrowing speed equal to your walking speed and you have tremorsense out to 10ft.
• Terrestrial Adapatation: Your natural form is adapted to life on land. Your climbing speed is equal to your walking speed and you are able to breathe normally even at extreme altitudes.

Natural Weaponry

You have several natural weapons that can use to make unarmed strikes. When you hit with one of these weapons, you will deal a varied type and amount of damage depending on the natural weapon you choose.

You can select whether your natural weapons draw from your Strength or Dexterity scores.

Wilderness Instincts

You have proficiency in either the Perception or Investigation skills, as well as the Survival skill.

Additionally, you have advantage on any Perception or Investigation checks that rely on either hearing or your sense of smell.

Darkvision

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 discern colors in that darkness only as shades of gray.

Bestial Agility

Your bestial nature allows you to drop into an animalistic movement stance, enabling you to move with a burst of speed. When you move on your turn in combat, you can double your speed until the end of the turn. Once you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you move 0 feet on one of your turns.