Homebrew Yharnamite Species Details
These were the stories of a restless people who long ago took to the seas and rivers in longboats, first to pillage and terrorize, then to settle. Yet there was an energy, a love of adventure, that sang from every page. Long into the night Liriel read, lighting candle after precious candle.
She’d never given much thought to humans, but these stories fascinated her. In these yellowed pages were tales of bold heroes, strange and fierce animals, mighty primitive gods, and a magic that was part and fabric of that distant land.
In the reckonings of most worlds, humans are the youngest of the common races, late to arrive on the world scene and short-lived in comparison to dwarves, elves, and dragons. Perhaps it is because of their shorter lives that they strive to achieve as much as they can in the years they are given. Or maybe they feel they have something to prove to the elder races, and that’s why they build their mighty empires on the foundation of conquest and trade. Whatever drives them, humans are the innovators, the achievers, and the pioneers of the worlds.
A Broad Spectrum
With their penchant for migration and conquest, humans are more physically diverse than other common races. There is no typical human. An individual can stand from 5 feet to a little over 6 feet tall and weigh from 125 to 250 pounds. Human skin shades range from nearly black to very pale, and hair colors from black to blond (curly, kinky, or straight); males might sport facial hair that is sparse or thick. A lot of humans have a dash of nonhuman blood, revealing hints of elf, orc, or other lineages. Humans reach adulthood in their late teens and rarely live even a single century.
Variety in All Things
Humans are the most adaptable and ambitious people among the common races. They have widely varying tastes, morals, and customs in the many different lands where they have settled. When they settle, though, they stay: they build cities to last for the ages, and great kingdoms that can persist for long centuries. An individual human might have a relatively short life span, but a human nation or culture preserves traditions with origins far beyond the reach of any single human’s memory. They live fully in the present—making them well suited to the adventuring life—but also plan for the future, striving to leave a lasting legacy. Individually and as a group, humans are adaptable opportunists, and they stay alert to changing political and social dynamics.
EVERYONE’S SECOND-BEST FRIENDS
Just as readily as they mix with each other, humans mingle with members of other races. They get along with almost everyone, though they might not be close to many. Humans serve as ambassadors, diplomats, magistrates, merchants, and functionaries of all kinds.
Dwarves. “They’re stout folk, stalwart friends, and true to their word. Their greed for gold is their downfall, though.”
Elves. “It’s best not to wander into elven woods. They don’t like intruders, and you’ll as likely be bewitched as peppered with arrows. Still, if an elf can get past that damned racial pride and actually treat you like an equal, you can learn a lot from them.”
Halflings. “It’s hard to beat a meal in a halfling home, as long as you don’t crack your head on the ceiling—good food and good stories in front of a nice, warm fire. If halflings had a shred of ambition, they might really amount to something.”
Lasting Institutions
Where a single elf or dwarf might take on the responsibility of guarding a special location or a powerful secret, humans found sacred orders and institutions for such purposes. While dwarf clans and halfling elders pass on the ancient traditions to each new generation, human temples, governments, libraries, and codes of law fix their traditions in the bedrock of history. Humans dream of immortality, but (except for those few who seek undeath or divine ascension to escape death’s clutches) they achieve it by ensuring that they will be remembered when they are gone.
Although some humans can be xenophobic, in general their societies are inclusive. Human lands welcome large numbers of nonhumans compared to the proportion of humans who live in nonhuman lands.
Yharnamite
The Yharnamites are a unique race hailing from a city steeped in gothic mystique and cursed by eldritch horrors. Known for their deep connection to the otherworldly, Yharnamites possess a heightened sense of wisdom and eldritch awareness that sets them apart from other races.
With an innate resistance to fear and charm, Yharnamites have learned to navigate the treacherous streets of their city, where eldritch entities and nightmarish creatures roam. This resilience comes not from physical prowess but from their ability to confront the darkest aspects of existence with unyielding resolve.
One of the most remarkable traits of Yharnamites is their uncanny ability to sense the presence of aberrations, fiends, and undead. Their intuition, guided by wisdom rather than charisma, allows them to detect the subtlest influences of the supernatural, a skill essential for survival in their nightmarish homeland.
Many Yharnamites develop a hunter's instinct, choosing paths that help them confront and combat the eldritch terrors that threaten their city. Whether as skilled trackers, healers, or guardians, they rely on their heightened wisdom to navigate the perils of their world.
The race's darkvision is a testament to their adaptation to the dimly lit streets and nightmarish environments that define Yharnam. It allows them to see in the shadows, revealing the eerie beauty and the lurking dangers hidden within the gloom.
Though Yharnamites primarily speak Common, their encounters with strange languages, often Abyssal or Infernal, have shaped their linguistic diversity, reflecting the unsettling and arcane nature of their world.
Yharnamite names: Male: Emeric, Wilhelm, Alistair, Lucius, Gideon, Leopold, Thaddeus, Ambrose, Octavius, Casimir, Ignatius, Ulric, Horatio, Constantine, Remus; Female: Isolde, Seraphina, Evangeline, Isadora, Marcella, Lysandra, Valentina, Calliope, Arabella, Celestia, Seraphine, Vespera, Cordelia, Ophelia, Eulalia
Yharnamite Traits
Eldritch Awareness You have an innate connection to the eldritch forces that surround your homeland. You gain the following benefits: You have advantage on Wisdom (Insight) checks made to detect deception or hidden motives when dealing with creatures of the aberration, fiend, or undead type. You can cast the Detect Magic spell once per day without expending a spell slot. When you use this feature, you can detect magical auras within 30 feet of you, as well as the school of magic, if any.Eldritch Awareness
You have an innate connection to the eldritch forces that surround your homeland. You gain the following benefits:
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You have advantage on Wisdom (Insight) checks made to detect deception or hidden motives when dealing with creatures of the aberration, fiend, or undead type.
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You can cast the Detect Magic spell once per day without expending a spell slot. When you use this feature, you can detect magical auras within 30 feet of you, as well as the school of magic, if any.
Ability Score Increase
Your ability scores each increase by 1.
Age
Humans reach adulthood in their late teens and live less than a century.
Size
Humans vary widely in height and build, from barely 5 feet to well over 6 feet tall. Regardless of your position in that range, your size is Medium.
Speed
Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Languages
You can speak, read, and write Common and one extra language of your choice. Humans typically learn the languages of other peoples they deal with, including obscure dialects. They are fond of sprinkling their speech with words borrowed from other tongues: Orc curses, Elvish musical expressions, Dwarvish military phrases, and so on.
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