Homebrew Phoenix Species Details

Sequestered in high desert mountains or deep mountain canyons or in the hollows of volcanoes, the phoenixes, sometimes called firebirdfolk or sunbirdfolk, evoke envy and wonder. Many phoenixes aren’t even native to the Material Plane. They hail from a world beyond — from the endless flames of the Elemental Plane of Fire.

They are settlers, scholars, scouts, and explorers, their outposts functioning as save havens in a world both strange and alien.

Beak and Feather

From below, phoenixes look much like large birds. Only when they descend to roost or walk across the ground does their humanoid appearance reveal itself. Standing upright, phoenixes usually reach 7 feet tall, and they have long, narrower legs that taper to sharp talons.

Feathers cover their bodies. Their plumage typically denotes membership in a tribe. Males are vivid colored, with feathers of reds, oranges, yellows, coppers and deep purples. Females have more iridescent silver, golds, whites, blues, purples and pinks. Their heads complete the avian appearance,  with males having more beaks like vultures, hawks, eagles. osprey and owls, with females having beaks like parrots, finches, hummingbirds or woodpeckers with distinct tribal variations.

Sky Wardens

Nowhere are the phoenixes more comfortable than in the sky. They can spend hours in the air, and some go as long as days, locking their wings in place and letting the thermals hold them aloft. In battle, they prove dynamic and acrobatic fliers, moving with remarkable speed and grace, diving to lash opponents with weapons or talons before turning and flying away.

Once airborne, an phoenixes leaves the sky with reluctance. On their native plane, they can fly for days or months, landing only to lay their eggs and feed their young before launching themselves back into the air. Those that make it to a world in the Material Plane find it a strange place. They feel great sympathy for the earthbound species fated to live and toil on the ground without ever experiencing true freedom.

Avian Mannerisms

The resemblance of phoenixes to birds isn’t limited to physical features. Phoenixes display many of the same mannerisms as ordinary birds. They are fastidious about their plumage, frequently tending their feathers, cleaning and scratching away any tiny passengers they might have picked up. When they deign to descend from the sky, they often do so near pools where bathe themselves albeit in pools or river of lava instead of water, or near glades, pastures or lakes to catch fish, deer or sheep if male or land in crop fields, orchard, vineyard or spice glades to eat fruits, vegetables, spices or nuts.

Many male phoenixes punctuate their speech with chirps, screeches and caws while many females use chirps, hoots, and trills. These sounds are use to convey emphasis and to shade meaning, much as a human might through facial expressions and gestures. A phoenix might become perplexed or stressed with people who fail to pick up on the nuances; a phoenix’s greeting might be a warning or it's joke might be an answer to a question.

While ownership is a foreign idea to phoenixes they do understand the implications of it that other species use it. That fail to understand the finer or even most of the broader aspects of it. Since no one can truly own the clouds, sun or sky, how can someone truly own the animals, land, or waters. As such they are often target of anger and contempt when they take sheep from pastures if male or large parts of crop fields if female. Relics and artifacts form the past or other planes catch the eyes 

They find it hard not to pluck these treasures and bring it back to their settlement to study them and decorate their nest with them. A phoenix who spends years among other races can learn to inhibit these impulses, or it can make the impulses worse, though rare phoenixes have been know to become thieves with one even leading a guild of them.

Confinement is lethal to phoenixes. To be grounded, trapped underground, imprisoned by the cold, unyielding earth, or confined in a cage or chained down is something few phoenixs can live through for than 2-3 days. However while walking the surface is uncomfortable, its not terrifying as long as they have a way to take off again as a result very few phoeixes have seen the inside of home, shops, castles or dungeons.  

Homelands

Most phoenixes live on the Elemental Plane of Fire. Phoenixes can be drawn into the Material Plane, sometimes to pursue enemies or to collect lore or history for their great library/museum which is so massive that it exists in own subspace within the Elemental Plane of Fire. Accidents might also send a nest of phoenixes tumbling into a world on that plane. A few find their way to such a world through portals on their own plane and establish nests in high desert mountains, deep mountain canyons or volcanic hollows.

Once tribes of phoenixes settle in an area, they share a hunting territory that extends across an area up to 300 miles on a side, with each tribe hunting in the lands nearest to their colony, ranging farther should game become scarce. 

A typical colony consists of one large, open-roofed nest made of obsidian with smaller personal nest made of woven pele's hair if they're in a volcano. If they live in desert mountains their nest is instead made of sandstone or limestone with smaller personal nests made of shale and filled with soft, silky sand. If they live in mountain canyons they often live in caves that have many hole in the roof and nest made of granite or marble and also filled with smooth, silky sand.

Great Purpose

Phoenixes enjoy peace and solidarity. Many of them have little interest in dealing with other peoples and less interest in spending time on the ground. For this reason, it takes an exceptional circumstance for a phoenix to leave his or her tribe and undertake the adventurer’s life. Neither treasure nor glory is enough to lure them from their tribes; a dire threat to their people, a mission of vengeance, being an outcast or a catastrophe typically lies at the heart of the phoenix's chosen path of being an adventurer.

Phoenixes are sworn foes of the efreeti, griffins and red dragons and are some of the few creatures that insight bloodlust in these generally peacefully beings. They wary are hippogiffs and are always ready if they attack

Phoenix Names

As with much of their speech, aarakocra names include clicks, trills, and whistles to the point that other peoples have a difficult time pronouncing them. Typically, a name has two to four syllables with the sounds acting as connectors. When interacting with other races, phoenixes will often use nicknames gained from people they meet or shortened forms of their full names.

Common names for either gender are: Ash, Cinder, Ember, Feather, Eterna, Kindel, Plume, Pyre, Sol and Zenith

Common male names are:  Alaunus, Amun, Helios, Hunahpu, Malakbel, Nahundi, Pharos, Ra, Shamash, Surya and Tamanuiterā

Common female names are: Aetna, Akycha, Áine, Aurora, Ch'aska, Dawn, Marici, Päivätär, Pele and Radiance 

PHOENIX BACKGROUNDS

Backgrounds that are most appropriate for phoenixes include the outlander, the sage, the archaeologist and the cloistered scholar

The colonies of phoenixes are welcoming but remote, and few phoenixes live away from their roosts.

Phoenix Traits

As a phoenix, you have certain traits in common with your people. Being able to fly at high speed starting at 1st level is exceptionally effective in certain circumstances and exceedingly dangerous in others. Being immune to fire and wind/air magic damage (if your world has them). Being immune to lava and fire. Being able to heal yourself while walking or bathing in lava, or by being hit by fire magic. You are weak to earth (50%) ice (20%) and lightning (10%) (if they exist in your world). You are also weak to piercing (30%) and bludgeoning (20%)

Phoenix

As a phoenix, you have certain traits in common with your people. Being able to fly at high speed starting at 1st level is exceptionally effective in certain circumstances and exceedingly dangerous in others. Being immune to fire and wind/air magic damage (if your world has them). Being immune to lava and fire. Being able to heal yourself while walking or bathing in lava, or by being hit by fire magic. You are weak to earth (50%) ice (20%) and lightning (10%) (if they exist in your world). You are also weak to piercing (30%) and bludgeoning (20%). You gain access to one mid tier fire spell or wind/air spell at LV 3 and one High tier wind/air spell at Lv 13 and one High tier fire spell at LV 10.

Ability Score Increase

Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and your Wisdom score increases by 1.

Age

Phoenixes reach maturity by age 500. Compared to humans, phoenixes live up 2,500 years 

Alignment

Most phoenixes are good and rarely choose sides when it comes to law and chaos. Tribal leaders and warriors might be lawful, while explorers and adventurers might tend toward chaotic or neutral.

Size

Phoenixes are about 7 feet tall. They have average, midweight bodies that weigh between 150 and 300 pounds. Your size is medium. With a wingspan of 7-10 ft though ones with bigger wings have been seen with the largest being 13ft wingspan and the shortest being a 5ft wingspan

Speed

Your base walking speed is 20 feet.

Flight

You have a flying speed of 70 feet. To use this speed, you can’t be wearing medium or heavy armor.

Talons

You are proficient with your unarmed strikes, which deal 1d4 slashing damage on a hit.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common, Aarakocra, and Auran. You can read Celestial and Sylvan.