Homebrew Flamesoul Species Details

Most souls who die and pass from the material plane are either sent to the Abyss or to the Upper Planes, depending on their actions in life or on the god they worship. However, in very rare cases, a person might perish too early for an accurate judgment of their actions to be made. When this happens, a god will send the spirit back to the material world as a flamesoul, bound to complete a specific task so that a conclusion can be reached. This task is often great, and can take years to accomplish; both the quality of the result and the means used to achieve that result are judged. A flamesoul knows at all times what their task is, and can sometimes reach out to the deity that assigned it and ask for guidance.

Though all flamesouls are divine in origin, not all of them seek a righteous end. Evil gods can and often do create flamesouls of their own, sending them into the world to sow chaos and distress or complete some small step in a greater malevolent plan. The exact nature of a flamesoul's goal is known only to itself, and while it knows it cannot pass on until its goal is complete, it is under no compulsion to share its purposes with honesty.

Flamesouls vary greatly in appearance, because their souls return to the reanimated bodies they once used to inhabit in mortal life. They often even bear the same equipment they carried when they died, if any. The one consistency among all flamesouls is the lack of a head. Instead, an inextinguishable orb of fire hovers just above their neck, a sign of their deathless nature. This fire varies in color among flamesouls; good-aligned flamesouls often favor bright colors like gold, orange, or white, while evil flamesouls might be created red, purple, or even black. The closer a flamesoul gets to achieving its assigned goal, the brighter its flame grows, and once the task is complete, the flame spreads across its body and consumes it whole, allowing the spirit to finally pass into whatever afterlife awaits them.

Flamesoul Traits

As a flamesoul, your character has the following traits.

Ability Score Increase

Your Charisma score increases by 1, and one other ability score of your choice increases by 1.

Ageless

Flamesouls, being undead, do not age and never die naturally.

Creature Type

Your type is Undead.

Size

Your size is Medium or Small, depending on what race you were in your previous life.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Undead Nature

Flamesouls do not need to eat, drink, or breathe. They do not sleep, but must enter a trance-like state for 4 hours a day to gain the benefits of a long rest.

Eternal Fire

Rather than a head, you have an orb of inextinguishable flame hovering above your neck. This flame sheds bright light in a 10-foot radius, and dim light for an additional 10 feet. You choose the color of this flame when you choose this race; good-aligned deities often choose brighter colors for their flamesouls, while evil deities might choose a more malevolent color for you. As an action, you can dim this light so that you shed only dim light in a 10-foot radius.

You also cannot be decapitated.

Divine Guidance

You innately know the augury spell and can cast it once per day without material components and without expending a spell slot. You can also cast it normally if you have an available spell slot of the appropriate level.