Homebrew Bright Elf Species Details

A bright elf is a group of several mortal souls who were felled in battle by the gods. The strong residual energy on the battlefield pulled in the lost souls and stopped them from passing on, and pulled them into a point where they fused together. The energy of the fusion creates the sapling of a tree called a Bright tree. A bright tree has a slender gray trunk that has the appearance of being made of several fat vines coiling around each other, and its canopy is wide and flat, typically about 40 feet high when mature and 30 feet wide, beautifully composed of large, reflective white leaves that twinkle like stars in the sunlight. As more soldiers fighting with bright energy die, their souls are sucked into the sapling, allowing it to grow larger. After it collects enough souls, usually around 80, it becomes mature enough to begin bearing fruit. This new fruit is called Bright fruit and it looks like a rough, mango-shaped hunk of glowing quartz. The tree funnels the souls it has collected into the fruits, causing them to grow larger, and it of course continues to collect souls all the time. The tree usually grows around 8 - 12 fruits at a time, and each fruit takes around a year to mature. The fruits vary greatly in size, from the size of a mango to the size of a watermelon, because they are quite heavy and they tend to fall off of the tree at random points in time as it grows, depending on how strong the spot on the branch is where it is growing. The larger the fruit is, the more souls are inside it, with the smallest only having 3 and the largest having as many as 12, although most usually only have between 3 and 6. When the fruit falls from the tree, it cracks open and the souls emerge in a new body, a baby Bright elf. The souls all are forced to share this body and learn to coexist, and most of their memories are fractured or missing so they will need to start fresh. A bright elf is very pale and shares various features from the old bodies of all the different souls inside of it.

Bright elves usually have between 3 and 6 souls but can have as many as 12, though the fewer numbers of souls usually have an easier time working together, so they are more common. They differ from Shade elves because their souls, unlike the souls inside of the Shade elves, were able to befriend each other and work together, becoming a powerful team that makes their new body better than any single soul was on its own. The souls of a Bright elf can usually manage to coordinate their efforts, deciding who is in charge of various tasks like controlling the body, keeping an eye out for danger, and planning combat strategies. This makes it easier for others to interact with them, because you are usually always talking to the same soul, who relays the thoughts of all the others in an organized manner.

The Bright elves' spiritual undead nature gives them a lifespan much longer than other races, enabling them to live well past 1000 years, and they have the special ability to protect other races from the corruption of the great battlefield of the gods by sucking the corruption from their bodies and consuming it for energy.

Bright Elf Traits

Your bright elf has the following racial traits.

Size

Bright Elves are usually between 5 and 7 feet tall, and are normally quite skinny, averaging around 130-160 pounds. You are size Medium.

Speed

You have a 30 ft. walking speed.

Languages

The souls are able to read, write, and speak two of the languages they knew in life. Choose two languages; we suggest that one of those languages is Common.

Alignment

The souls of bright elves are typically quite good at getting along with others because they have a lot of practice trying to work together. As such, they are often empathetic and are good aligned. The chaotic nature of having multiple souls in one body, however, will often result in some strange motivations and actions, causing them to lean towards chaotic.

Names

Bright Elves often struggle to agree on a name for themselves, they might choose one of the souls' names that they like, they might choose a new name based on the traditions of the races they came from when they were alive, or they might go by all of the different names depending on which soul is in "charge" at the given moment.

Age

Bright Elves take a long time to figure out how to handle themselves after starting their new lives, especially since their memories usually are not intact. It typically takes about 20-24 years for a new Bright Elf to be able to reliably take care of themselves. They typically live to be around 1000 years old, give or take a couple decades.

Experience of Many

Bright Elves have the souls of many people inside of them, and even if their memories are fragmented and missing, they don't completely loose everything. The souls are usually able to retain at least a couple of skills they used to have; choose two from Acrobatics, Athletics, History, Insight, Religion, and Stealth.

Fueled by Death

You are fueled by the energy corrupting the battlefield of the gods. You are resistant to Necrotic damage, and whenever it is dealt to you, you may immediately roll one of your unspent hit dice and regain hit points equal to the amount rolled, plus your Constitution modifier.

In addition, you are able to suck the corruption out of other creatures. a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, you may touch a creature whose hit point maximum has been decreased, and cause them to roll one of their unspent hit dice. Their hit point maximum increases by the amount rolled, plus your proficiency modifier, up to their original maximum, and you are healed by the same amount. Expended uses are replenished at the end of a long rest.

Ethereal Power

Your magical existence grants you access to certain spells. Choose one Cantrip from the sorcerer spell list to be able to cast. Regardless of your class, Charisma is your spellcasting ability for this spell. When you reach level 5, choose another cantrip from the Sorcerer spell list. When you reach level 8, choose a 1st level spell from the Sorcerer spell list. You are able to cast the 1st level spell a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier without using a spell slot, and expended charges are replenished at the end of a long rest.