Homebrew Brightmaid Species Details

Creating a Brightmaid

Unlike most races, a brightmaid is a "mutated" form of a normal race, which serves as the brightmaid's mother race. As your mother race, choose one race from dragonborn, dwarf, elf, halfling, human, gnome, orc, or another humanoid race subject to your DM's discretion. This choice affects your appearance, size, weight, and the languages you know.

Physiology

Due to this blessing, they are graced with great beauty but also cursed with numerous 'birth defects'. The most common of which is a horn between 1-5 inches long on the upper middle portion of the forehead. But this can also include a unicorn tail (similar to a lion's tail), hooves for feet, an equine pelt, or an equine version of satyr legs, as well as numerous others.

There are unicorns of all colors and patterns. Brightmaids usually display the color schemes of whatever unicorn blessed them. For example, a white unicorn with silver mane and golden hooves would likely result in a pale humanoid with silver hair and golden hooves. By contrast, a brown-and-white unicorn with a black mane and tail would probably result in a brightmaid with patchy brown-and-white skin with black hair and tail.

Brightmaids will superficially appear similar to whatever race their mother was, regardless of biological father, though their physiology is more unique to brightmaids than their mother race. Despite their name, brightmaids can be either male or female.

Due to their strange appearance, Brightmaids are often either revered or hated. Viewed with jealousy because if their beauty and blessed state or disdain and dislike because they are different. This social ostracizing can lead many Brightmaids to darker things and many can be subject to drastic alignment shifts, especially if their Unicorn was of a questionable or Evil alignment to begin with. Brightmaids that give into their darker nature completely are called Blightmaids.

Society

The perception of brightmaids varies widely from one society to another, but they always stand out among their peers. Open-minded and creative societies like those of gnomes tend to treat them with acceptance and interest, while the opposite is true of lawful or evil societies with an adherence to tradition or an elimination of the unusual.

Brightmaids are largely shaped by the races and societies into which they are born, and how they are received. It isn't uncommon for jealousy or ostracization to render a brightmaid with a cold and hateful heart.

Brightmaids often have a lifelong desire to find and meet their 'parent' unicorn. Seemingly as a result of being the result of a celestial and magical creature, brightmaids are particularly like to be sorcerers, druids, or other spellcasters.

Brightmaid Names

Brightmaid names usually conform to their mother race, but sometimes stand out due to the unusual nature of their birth—for better or worse.

Brightmaid Traits

Although a brightmaid physically appears to be member of his or her mother race, their racial features are quite different.

Gallop

You can gain the benefits of the Dash action when you take another action. Once you use this feature once, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Unicorn's Gift

You know the druidcraft cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the calm emotions spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

Ability Score Increase

Your Charisma and Wisdom scores both increase by 1, and one other ability score of your choice increase by 1.

Age

Brightmaids usually live about a century more than other members of their race, and ages more slowly in adulthood. A human brightmaid, for example, reaches adulthood around 18 and can live to be 200.

Alignment

Elves love freedom, variety, and self-expression, so they lean strongly toward the gentler aspects of chaos. They value and protect others’ freedom as well as their own, and they are more often good than not. The drow are an exception; their exile into the Underdark has made them vicious and dangerous. Drow are more often evil than not.

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.

Ethereal Appearance

Your appearance and natural charisma benefit you in social situations.You have proficiency in the Persuasion skill.

Horn

Your horn is a natural weapon, which you can use to make a melee weapon attack. A hit deals piercing damage equal to 1d4 plus your Strength modifier. You are proficient with this weapon.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and Sylvan, unless your mother race decrees otherwise