Homebrew Cham-elf Species Details

Cham-Elf

Cham-Elves blend the grace and agility of elves with the adaptability and camouflage of chameleons. This unique hybrid race is known for its ability to seamlessly blend into their surroundings and move with stealth and precision.

Ability Score Increase

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

Age

• Cham-Elves mature at the same rate as regular elves, around 100 years, and can live up to 700 years.

Alignment

• Cham-Elves are as varied as other elves, but their adaptability often leads them to a more neutral alignment, valuing personal freedom and balance.

Size

• Cham-Elves are similar in build to other elves, standing between 5 and 6 feet tall. Your size is Medium.

Speed

• Your base walking speed is 35 feet.

Darkvision

• Accustomed to life in the shadows, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of yourself 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.

Camouflage

• You can use your action to blend into your surroundings. You gain advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made to hide in natural environments. This ability lasts until you move or take a reaction.

Cham-Elf Skin

• Your skin has a natural ability to change color to match your surroundings. As a bonus action, you can use this ability to gain temporary advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks in situations where you can conceal yourself.

Keen Senses

• You have proficiency in the Perception skill.

Elven Trance

• As an elf, you don’t need to sleep. Instead, you meditate deeply for 4 hours a day, remaining semi-conscious. After resting in this way, you gain the same benefits that a human does from 8 hours of sleep.

Languages

• You can speak, read, and write Common and Elvish.

Subraces

• Cham-Elves have two subraces, each with unique traits.

Forest Cham-Elf

• Nature’s Camouflage: You have proficiency with the Nature skill. Additionally, you can cast the Pass without Trace spell once per long rest, without expending a spell slot. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for this spell.
• Woodland Stride: You can move through nonmagical difficult terrain created by plants and foliage without being slowed down.

Shadow Cham-Elf

• Shadow Blend: You have proficiency with the Stealth skill. Additionally, you can cast the Darkness spell once per long rest, without expending a spell slot. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for this spell.
• Elusive Step: As a bonus action, you can use your reaction to become invisible until the start of your next turn. Once you use this feature, you cannot use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Cham-elf Traits

Your elf character has a variety of natural abilities, the result of thousands of years of elven, and genetic refinement.

Ability Score Increase

Your Dexterity score increases by 2.

Age

Although elves reach physical maturity at about the same age as humans, the elven understanding of adulthood goes beyond physical growth to encompass worldly experience. An elf typically claims adulthood and an adult name around the age of 100 and can live to be 750 years old.

Camoflage

As a chameleon-elf, you possess an extraordinary ability to blend into your surroundings, a gift inherited from your chameleon ancestry. When you are in natural terrain such as forests, jungles, or any environment with abundant natural cover, you can use your action to blend seamlessly with your surroundings. This grants you advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made to hide. While camouflaged in this way, you can remain perfectly still and become nearly invisible to the untrained eye. This effect lasts until you move, take an action, or are detected by a creature's successful Wisdom (Perception) check contested by your Dexterity (Stealth) check.

Additionally, your skin can change color to match your environment, allowing you to gain a +2 bonus to Dexterity (Stealth) checks even when you are not stationary, as long as you are in natural terrain.

This innate camouflage ability is a testament to your unique heritage, making you an unparalleled scout and infiltrator in the wild.

Size

Elves range from under 5 to over 6 feet tall and have slender builds. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision

Accustomed to twilit forests and the night sky, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 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.

Keen Senses

You have proficiency in the Perception skill.

Fey Ancestry

You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can’t put you to sleep.

Trance

Elves don’t need to sleep. Instead, they meditate deeply, remaining semiconscious, for 4 hours a day. (The Common word for such meditation is “trance.”) While meditating, you can dream after a fashion; such dreams are actually mental exercises that have become reflexive through years of practice. After resting in this way, you gain the same benefit that a human does from 8 hours of sleep.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and Elvish. Elvish is fluid, with subtle intonations and intricate grammar. Elven literature is rich and varied, and their songs and poems are famous among other races. Many bards learn their language so they can add Elvish ballads to their repertoires.