Homebrew Cambion Species Details

Cambion

A cambion is a half-fiend. Typically the offspring of the lilu or Lillith demons and another race. A cambion inherits features from both of its sires, but usually tends to hide the hallmarks of their lower plane parentage. As with all fiends, most of their nature is evil or chaos. Only a select few can fight their inner urges to forge a new path and shake off their fiendish instincts. Many cambions are imbued with unearthly beauty that allows them to charm their way through life, or at the very least charm a person into protecting them when their heritage is discovered. Cambions are very rare, as it is unlikely for a mortal to live from the encounter let alone survive long enough to birth a child. As such, cambions are hunted for their fiendish heritage and turned away from civilization and society. Most cambions are not well trusted and outright reject the idea of predestination instead insisting on choosing their won way - though most will succumb to their fiendish tendencies. On the subject of the gods the Cambions find themselves mixed. Some reach out in a means to cleanse themselves of the demonic taint, while others reject the gods outright and sneer at their involvement in the world, claiming that they only do so in the vain hopes that mortals will fall down and worship them.

Scions of Evil

The circumstances surrounding a cambion's birth are usually gruesome, seldom pleasant, and thankfully rare. Often born of the machinations of evil fiend-worshipping cults or the dark bargains between fiends and mortals, cambions have their lot in life cut out for them as their inherent evil is either fostered or poorly repressed by their parental figures, who even in the best of scenarios struggle with the nature of their child as their unusual growth and malevolent tendencies test even the most kind-hearted of individuals and serves to isolate them from most mortals. This lack of filial bonds, friendships, or personal attachments sets cambions on a very narrow path to evil, but sometimes they can deviate from this destiny thanks to outside intervention or in rare cases by their own volition allowing them to set aside the path that was laid out for them before the moment they were born.

Unwitting Pawns

Cambions are very aware of what they are and their place in the conflict between good and evil that underlies all of creation almost as soon as they are old enough to think for themselves, however this is often leveraged by their fiendish parent in order to use the cambion as part of their schemes. This is no mere accident, as fiends are known to create plans that span centuries if not thousands of years with every step carefully calculated to advance their nefarious ambitions, making the process of siring offspring just another way in which they can influence the otherwise inaccessible Material Plane. Cambions may indeed believe themselves to be in full control of their actions when they pursue selfish and evil ambitions, but there is always the possibility that by doing so they are playing directly into the hand of their fiendish sire.

Infernal beginnings

Cambions have a base walking speed of 30, but upon mastery they are able to fly (given that they received this trait from their fiendish parent). Cambions age until they reach maturity and then become immortal, though they can still succumb to damage albeit very minimal once they reach maturity due to their innate healing ability. As a result, most cambions do not reach maturity and are killed before then. Cambions generally can speak Infernal and Common languages though this depends on their parentage. Cambions also lean towards a chaotic or evil alignment due to their nature. Cambions are medium size with a base walking speed of 30.

Cambion Traits

Cambions share certain racial traits as a result of their infernal descent.

Fiendish Flight

Tapping into your fiendish heritage you've manifest leathery wings. You gain a flying speed of 60 feet.

Sinborn

You register as a fiend for spells and effects that detect the fiend creature type.

Shape Changer

Without using an action, you can mask your fiendish qualities and they will stay masked until undone. You appear exactly as you normally do without the fiendish markers. However, while you are masked this way you lose your fly speed and as an action you may reassume your true form.

Ability Score Increase

One ability of your choice increases by 1, and your Charisma score increases by 2.

Darkvision

Thanks to your infernal heritage, 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.

Fiendish Resistance

Though you may have been born and bound to the Material Plane you possess a natural resistance to the forces that permeate it. You are resistant to two types of damage:  either cold, fire, lightning, necrotic, acid, or poison damage. Once you choose this resistance you cannot choose another.