Homebrew Chireans Species Details

The Chireans are an ancient, nocturnal offshoot of the shifter lineage, known for their bat-like features, keen senses, and elusive presence. Native to the undercity of Hephaestus, they dwell in forgotten tunnels, vaulted cisterns, and the hollow bones of old, buried machinery—remnants of a city built atop itself in layers. Above, the forges burn and the gears of progress turn endlessly. Below, the Chireans live in a world of shadow and echo, a world shaped by memory, instinct, and myth.

To most surface-dwellers, Chireans are little more than legends—"Whisperwings," "Bloodkin," or simply “the darkfolk.” Their membranous ears and flickering red eyes have long earned them comparisons to vampires, and some folklore even claims they drink blood or steal voices in the night. In truth, these stories are exaggerations spun from fear. While the Chireans have adapted to darkness and silence with eerie grace, they are no more monstrous than the city’s own rusted spires.

Hephaestus is a place of smoke, surveillance, and shadows—and the Chireans have thrived by embracing all three. As natural climbers and silent movers, they excel as rangers, scouts, and urban trackers. Some are hired by the surface elite as informants or “shadows-for-hire,” while others serve in the growing underground resistance that seeks to expose the corruption flowing through the city’s steel veins.

Their affinity for echo, song, and vibration also makes them natural bards, able to pick up on tremors in the metalwork or weave haunting melodies that echo through pipes and alleys. A Chirean bard's performance isn't just heard—it's felt, like the low hum of a distant forge or the flutter of wings at midnight.

Though they are shifters by blood, the Chireans have their own customs, names, and rites of passage. Their culture is built around sound—how it travels, how it betrays, how it heals. Despite common being a used language Chirean families communicate in layered tones and coded clicks, their language a mix of echo-location and oral tradition. They prize memory, stealth, and loyalty above all else, and value the “silent oath”—a vow taken in complete darkness that binds word to spirit.

Because of centuries of persecution and mistrust, most Chireans remain deeply wary of outsiders. However, in recent years, more of their kind have begun to rise from the deep to take roles in Hephaestus' complex society—some driven by necessity, others by a desire to reclaim the truth of their name.

Chireans Traits

As a Chireans, you have the following racial traits.

Creature Type

You are a Humanoid.

Size

You are Medium.

Speed

Your walking speed is 30 feet.

Bestial Instincts

Channeling the beast within, you have proficiency in one of the following skills of your choice: Acrobatics, Athletics, Intimidation, or Survival.

Darkvision

You can see in dim light within 90 feet of you as if it were bright light and in darkness as if it were dim light. You discern colors in that darkness only as shades of gray.

Echolocation

You have Blindsight with a range of 60 feet.

Sanguination

As a bonus action (once you are level 5) , you can assume a more bestial appearance. This transformation lasts for 1 minute, until you die, or until you revert to your normal appearance as a bonus action. When you shift, you gain temporary hit points equal to 2 × your proficiency bonus. You can shift a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Whenever you shift, you gain these additional benefits

Camazotz While shifted, you have advantage on Wisdom checks, and no creature within 30 feet of you can make an attack roll with advantage against you unless you’re incapacitated.your walking speed increases by 10 feet. Additionally, you can move up to 10 feet as a reaction when a creature ends its turn within 5 feet of you. This reactive movement doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks.  You gain 1d6 additional temporary hit points. While shifted, you have a +1 bonus to your Armor Class. When you shift your bite attack becomes more potent with your much bigger fangs. If you hit with your fangs, you can deal piercing damage equal to 3d6 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.

 

Spider Walk

You have a climbing speed equal to your walking speed. In addition, you can move up, down, and across vertical surfaces and upside down along ceilings, while leaving your hands free.

Vampiric Bite

Your fanged bite is a natural weapon, which counts as a simple melee weapon with which you are proficient. You add your Strength modifier, to the attack and damage rolls when you attack with this bite. It deals 1d6 piercing damage on a hit. While you are missing half or more of your hit points, you have advantage on attack rolls you make with this bite.
When you attack with this bite and hit a creature that isn’t a Construct or an Undead, you can empower yourself in one of the following ways of your choice:

You regain hit points equal to the piercing damage dealt by the bite.

You gain a bonus to the next ability check or attack roll you make; the bonus equals the piercing damage dealt by the bite.

You can empower yourself with this bite a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest