Homebrew Starling Species Details

PLANEGEA’S STARS SOAR AND WHEEL OVERhead in a great dance, gossiping and arranging themselves according to a complicated, political cosmology. As every night ends, they enter combat in a struggle called the Dawn Duel, attempting to knock each other into the Sea of Stars, claiming each other’s light in order to become that day’s great light, the Day-Star. Very rarely, however, the defeated stars don’t fall into the sea, but rather to a far more alien and frightening place—Planegea!

SHINING ONES
Starlings are humanoids with glowing skin, eyes, and hair. They are strange and glamorous to behold; beautiful,
ageless, and otherworldly. When starlings first fall to earth, they are wrapped in star-silk spun by the finest lightworms, but this quickly tatters in the rough and raw-edged primordial world in which they find themselves.

STRANGERS IN A STRANGE LAND

No starling falls to the mortal world by choice. To be thrown from the great dance of the heavens after millennia of performing is shocking. Most starlings are initially terrified and aggrieved at their sudden and strange situation, and each adapts in their own way. Some find their feet by joining the life of mortals, while others remain aloof, unwilling to find companionship with such lowly creatures

THE SKY’S CASTAWAYS
Like shipwreck survivors, starlings have to build new lives from nothing in an unfamiliar place. Many prefer to remain in isolation, spending their time watching the sky and participating in the great dance in their own lonely way. Others join nearby clans, finding roles as sorcerers, chanters, or gatherers. A select few starlings have even portrayed themselves as gods, using their heavenly light to dazzle others into worship—at least until another starling comes along to break the illusion.

THE QUEST TO ASCEND
Most starlings, upon finding themselves fallen from heaven, do everything that they can to return to the great dance. It is almost unheard of for a starling not to spend the first few
years of their fall as a wanderer, searching for any rumor or means of returning to their high abode. This search—called the star-quest by those who are familiar with it—is believed to be hopeless, and every one of the starlings who has embarked on it has eventually given up.

MEMORIES OF THE DANCE
It is hard to explain the great dance to mortals, or to communicate to the crude folk around a clanfire what it is to be among the company of the stars. But your character remembers the courts of heaven. Use this table to inspire your recollections as you gaze up at your brethren in the night sky above.

Starling Traits

Your starling character has a number of qualities in common with other starlings.

Creature Type

You are a Humanoid.

Size

Your size is Medium.

Glow

Choose a color. Your body and your hair (if any) sheds dim light of that color, in a 5 to 20-foot radius. You can alter the radius as a bonus action. This light is permanent as long as you are alive, but a layer of clothing is sufficient to block it

Light-footed.

Whenever you make a Charisma (Performance) check to dance, you are considered proficient in the Performance skill and add double your proficiency bonus to the check, instead of your normal proficiency bonus.

Speed

Your walking speed is 30 feet.

Starry Vigil

On a night where you can see the stars, you do not need to sleep to gain the benefits of a long rest. Instead, you can watch the stars all night, gaining the benefit of a long rest after 8 hours. You remain alert and aware of your surroundings during this time. After finishing this long rest, you have advantage on your next Intelligence (Arcana or Nature) check related to the stars, constellations, or weather.

Pure Energy

Due to your stellar nature, you are able to briefly phase out of material existence and pass through obstacles. As a bonus action, using up to 10 feet of your movement, you can become immaterial and pass through all creatures or objects in your path. You may not end these 10 feet of movement inside another creature’s space or inside of a solid object. If you attempt to do so, you are pushed back the way you came until you reach an area large enough for your body, and take 1d10 force damage for each 5 feet you were pushed. You cannot use this trait again until after a short or long rest.

Dazzling Touch

Once as an action, you can attempt to blind a creature you can touch with a focused burst of brilliant light. The target must make a Constitution saving throw. The DC is 8 + your Charisma modifier + your proficiency bonus. On a failed save, the target is blinded until the end of your next turn. You cannot use this trait again until after a short or long rest.