Homebrew Dvati Species Details

credit to u/scarlettspider, u/swiftstart, & u/tomebrew. This is my version based on their work with my own flare.

 

It was like looking at two sides of a coin. The brothers moved in sync with each other in and out of battle. Supposedly they share a soul, although I’m not entirely certain that I find that likely. I asked them if they knew where one brother ended and the other one began, to which they laughed. The one in chainmail, Thomen, spoke alone. "Can you tell me which are your arms and which are your legs? How do you know for sure? After all, they are part of the same body.” I must say, I was quite taken aback. 

— Brigga Floss, Cleric of Pelor

 

The Dvati are a race completely composed of identical twins. The soul of a Dvati is said to have been so powerful that a single mortal coil could not contain it, and thus, the gods split them in twain so they could survive.

Twilight Children

Each pair of Dvati twins share one soul between them, as they are one being split into two bodies. Despite this, twins can have different personality traits from one another, sometimes resulting in twins that are opposites. Regardless of their personalities, Dvati twins are two sides of the same coin and they never disagree for long. A debate or rivalry between a set of twins is always in the pursuit of balance and understanding.

The Dvati resemble Elves in some ways, often being mistaken for children of Drow or Shadar-Kai. They are slender in body with large pointed ears, dark eyes that lack irises, and four-fingered hands. Their skin tones typically mimic those of Human and Elven races, with the rarer, more reclusive enclaves producing unnaturally pale or dark complexions. Though each set of twins varies in appearance, all twins are utterly identical, sharing the same voice, facial features, exact hair and skin tone, accent, and so forth.

A Bond At Any Cost

The special bond between Dvati twins is far beyond that of siblings from other races. They share skills, knowledge, feelings, memories, and all other aspects of a soul's experience in life. When one twin is separated from the other for too long, the other twin is overcome with worry and longing for their other half. These feelings are so powerful that if one twin dies, the other's connection to their soul begins to slip away, until it too perishes. Dvati twins suffer in separation. A Dvati that has a deceased twin will either long to join them in death or desperately seek any possible way to revive their other half.

Scattered Colonies

Dvati are too few in number to claim their own sprawling kingdoms and empires. Instead, they build small settlements in out-of-the-way areas where few trouble them. In rare cases, a small Dvati colony arises in a city controlled by another race. These colonies are usually separated from the rest of the city by walls or carefully arranged buildings that leave only one or two entrances to a Dvati neighborhood. While Dvati appreciates other folk, they prefer peace, quiet, and solitude when they attend to their works.

Wanderlust and Curiosity

Dvati adventurers are rare, as most of them prefer simple lives of contemplation, honest work, and fellowship. Sometimes a Dvati feels a deep sense of wanderlust. Bored with the often repetitive existence of their colonies and settlements, young Dvati strike out in search of new adventures. Some of these Dvati are fascinated by other folk and wish to learn more about them. Others study philosophies that require the Dvati to seek out new experiences. Dvati rarely adventure for material wealth or accolades, as such things have little value to a Dvati aside from their pragmatic uses.

UNNERVING DUALITY

Dvati get along well with most other races, as their ability to understand and appreciate different perspectives leads them to accept the differences in others with open minds; However, this is not always returned. Most humanoids find Dvati's appearance — particularly their unwavering eyes — slightly unnerving. Dvati are acutely aware of this, and many of them wear hooded cloaks around strangers. Outcast Half-Orcs and Half-Elves sometimes find homes in Dvati communities.

Of all the races, Elves mingle best with Dvati. Dvati respects the Elves' long-term view of history, their art, and their culture. Elves see Dvati as fascinating creatures with a welcome appreciation of intellectual and artistic concerns.

Dvati Names

A Dvati's name in its native tongue is almost impossible for a non-Dvati to speak or clearly understand, as both twins in the pair must speak at the same time to properly pronounce it. Thus, most Dvati that work with other folk adopt names that they either make up or take from other languages. The Dvati usually takes two names, one for each twin, although sometimes the Dvati forgets which twin has which name. A Dvati sees themselves as an undivided pair, but they understand that other races may find that confusing. Dvati twins tend to prefer similar names with distinct sounds.

Male Names: Olon and Alax, Targren and Talon, Xephon and Xephar.

Female Names: Esmerra and Esandra, Lia and Kira, Poldra and Eldra.

Dvati Traits

Your Dvati character has the following racial traits that they share in common with other Dvati.

Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 2 and 2 ability scores of your choice by 1.

Age. Dvati age slowly compared to most other humanoids, not reaching adulthood until they are around 40 years Old. A Dvati younger than 40 may appear like a teenager or child. They have long lifespans, living for up to 250 years.

Alignment. Dvati tend to view the world through a balanced lens. They are almost exclusively neutral, with the small remainder leaning towards lawfulness.

Size. The Dvati are short and slight people, between 2-4 feet tall. Your size is small.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 35 feet.

Darkvision. Creatures of a twilight state between light and dark, Dvati can see where others cannot. You can see in dim light within 30 ft 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.

Co-independence.

Twins can move, speak, and act independently of each other. Each twin has their own movement speed. If a twin takes the dash action, you may split the extra movement speed between them. Though twins are capable of independence, they favor shared tasks and movement. For each additional 100ft after 50ft of separation, add one level of exhaustion to your twins.

HANDLING TWO ADVENTURERS

The Dvati race puts two characters into the hands of one player. Keep in mind, Dvati twins should be treated as one creature unless a specific racial feature says otherwise. They share their Statistics, Skills, turn in Initiative, Actions, and Class Abilities. Hit Die and Hit Points are not divided between twins, they share those resources as one creature. Twins use separate equipment like weapons and armor. They may even use separate magic items, but they share attunement slots.

Actions: You choose which one of them takes an action, bonus action, or reaction. If you gain any additional actions, you may split those actions up between them. Only one action between the two can be a spell.

Spellcasting: Your twins share their spell slots but they do have the ability to focus on two concentration spells at a time. When casting a concentration spell you may choose which twin is focusing on it. When casting a spell, either Dvati can provide the spell components, and the spell can originate from the twin of your choice.

Mind of One

While twins are on the same plane of existence, they incur the following effects.

Twins have advantage on saving throws against effects that would cause them to become Charmed, Frightened, or Unconscious. If a twin becomes Charmed, Frightened, or Unconscious, the other twin is affected as well.

In the case of magical buffs and debuffs, the Dvati twins count as one creature. For example; if a Dispel Magic or Enhance Ability spell is cast upon one twin, or if a twin is affected by a magical trap or an area of antimagic, the other twin is also affected. If a twin casts a spell that requires material components, the other twin can provide those components for them.

Twin Fate

Your twins have a common pool of Hit Points. When one twin takes damage or is healed, that amount is taken or added to the pool. If the common Hit Point pool reaches 0, both twins fall Unconscious, but proceed to make death saving throws independently. If one twin is stabilized, the other is also stabilized.

If a twin dies, the surviving twin loses their racial traits unique to their dual nature until the deceased twin is returned to life. After each long rest thereafter, the surviving twin must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or suffer one level of Exhaustion. These Exhaustion levels cannot be removed by anything except for a Wish spell or until the deceased twin is returned to life, at which point all Exhaustion levels are immediately lost.

Most Dvati prefer to commit ritual suicide if one twin dies without hope of return, as the pain of losing the close bond drives a Dvati to the brink of madness. 

No, I'm Kate! When a Dvati twin attempts a Deception check to impersonate their other, they are considered to have expertise even if they don't possess Proficiency in the Deception skill, and they gain Advantage on the check.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common. You can also speak Dvati, which has no written language. Dvati is impossible to speak without a twin, as the polyphonic contour of Dvati's dual-voice speech conveys emotion, meaning, and intent. While Dvati twins predominantly use Common to communicate with other races, the habit of speaking together as one is difficult to break and functions as a thick and highly off-putting accent.

Mind Link. You can speak telepathically to any creature you can see within 60 feet of you. You don’t need to share a language with the creature for it to understand your telepathic messages, but the creature must be able to understand at least one language or be telepathic itself.

As a bonus action when you’re speaking telepathically to a creature, you can give that creature the ability to speak telepathically to you until the start of your next turn. To use this ability, the creature must be within 60 feet of you and be able to see you.

Minor Psionics. You know the Mage Hand cantrip, and the hand is invisible when you cast the cantrip with this trait.

Dvati Traits

Your Dvati character has the following racial traits that they share in common with other Dvati.

Ability Score Increases

Your Wisdom score increases by 2 and 2 ability scores of your choice by 1.

Darkvision

Creatures of a twilight state between light and dark, Dvati can see where others cannot. You can see in dim light within 30 ft 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.

Co-independence

Twins can move, speak, and act independently of each other. Each twin has their own movement speed. If a twin takes the dash action, you may split the extra movement speed between them. Though twins are capable of independence, they favor shared tasks and movement. For each additional 100ft after 50ft of separation, add one level of exhaustion to your twins.

Mind of One

While twins are on the same plane of existence, they incur the following effects.

Twins have advantage on saving throws against effects that would cause them to become Charmed, Frightened, or Unconscious. If a twin becomes Charmed, Frightened, or Unconscious, the other twin is affected as well.

In the case of magical buffs and debuffs, the Dvati twins count as one creature. For example; if a Dispel Magic or Enhance Ability spell is cast upon one twin, or if a twin is affected by a magical trap or an area of antimagic, the other twin is also affected. If a twin casts a spell that requires material components, the other twin can provide those components for them.

Twin Fate

Your twins have a common pool of Hit Points. When one twin takes damage or is healed, that amount is taken or added to the pool. If the common Hit Point pool reaches 0, both twins fall Unconscious, but proceed to make death saving throws independently. If one twin is stabilized, the other is also stabilized.

If a twin dies, the surviving twin loses their racial traits unique to their dual nature until the deceased twin is returned to life. After each long rest thereafter, the surviving twin must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or suffer one level of Exhaustion. These Exhaustion levels cannot be removed by anything except for a Wish spell or until the deceased twin is returned to life, at which point all Exhaustion levels are immediately lost.

Most Dvati prefer to commit ritual suicide if one twin dies without hope of return, as the pain of losing the close bond drives a Dvati to the brink of madness.

No, I'm Kate!

When a Dvati twin attempts a Deception check to impersonate their other, they are considered to have expertise even if they don't possess Proficiency in the Deception skill, and they gain Advantage on the check.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common. You can also speak Dvati, which has no written language. Dvati is impossible to speak without a twin, as the polyphonic contour of Dvati's dual-voice speech conveys emotion, meaning, and intent. While Dvati twins predominantly use Common to communicate with other races, the habit of speaking together as one is difficult to break and functions as a thick and highly off-putting accent.

Mind Link

You can speak telepathically to any creature you can see within 60 feet of you. You don’t need to share a language with the creature for it to understand your telepathic messages, but the creature must be able to understand at least one language or be telepathic itself.

As a bonus action when you’re speaking telepathically to a creature, you can give that creature the ability to speak telepathically to you until the start of your next turn. To use this ability, the creature must be within 60 feet of you and be able to see you.

Minor Psionics

You know the Mage Hand cantrip, and the hand is invisible when you cast the cantrip with this trait.

Empathic Connection

You can feel others emotions strongly, you have proficiency in Insight.