Homebrew Forsaken Species Details

Those who do not stand with the Forsaken stand against them. And those who stand against the Forsaken will not stand long.

— Sylvanas Windrunner, Banshee Queen of the Forsaken

When the Death Knight Arthas menethil razed the Kingdom of Lordaeron, he also raised the people as undead zombies under his command. However, even Froustmoure's power is not infinite, and some Forsaken began splitting away from the Scourge. Those that could think for themselves tried to reconnect with loved ones from their past lives, but all they found was hatred. Some tried to realign with the Scourge, but Arthas had no interest in a force he could not completely control. Forsaken. Forsaken by friends and family. Forsaken by kith and kin. Forsaken. Forsaken. 

Loderon and Silvermoon

Nearly all forsaken draw from the once-citizens of these two kingdoms. Lordaeron was a breadbasket nation of mostly humans, and Silvermoon, still active, is an elven nation, still reeling from the Scourge's attack. Forsaken have rotten skintones, ranging from the pale immaculate corpses of elves, to the rotten yellows greens and blues of human decay. Forsaken eyes glow, the typical Forsaken has a yellow glow to their eyes, but some have red eyes, or simple empty sockets. Drawing from Elven and human communities, forsaken match their original height, but rot and decay reduce their weight, usually by a little less than half. Some Forsaken are too damage to operate their own bodies, so the Val'kyr, or skilled Forsaken physicians attach the limbs and parts of mundane corpses to these crippled Forsaken.

Dark Lady Watch Over You

Forsaken by their living counterparts, the Forsaken have made their own society in the ruins of Lordaeron. They live in the former crypts of the capital, renaming the fortress to the Undercity. they have even created a new language for themselves, a combination of Common, Elven, and pidgen learned form the Horde. Gutterspeak, as it is called, tends to avoid sounds that require lips to make it easier for the rotten Forsaken to speak it. Nearly all Forsaken are loyal to their Queen, the first of the Scourge to break free of the Lich king's grasp, Sylvanas Windrunner. However the Forsaken prize their free will above all, and will not force on of their own to submit.

Echos of Might, Dreams of Blight

Some forsaken keep the professions they had in life. An excellent example being the Dark Rangers, risen from the ranks of the farstriders of Silvermoon. Others however, embrace the, unique, advantages of undeath, the production of chemical weapons that the Forsaken tend to be immune to is one such example. Institutions of the Horde have forbidden such chemical weapons after the Wrathgate incident, only for it to be reinstituted when Sylvanas became warchief. Other common forsaken professions include physicians, alchemists, and biological or magical researchers. Some forsaken search for a way to cure the curse of undeath, while others seek to embrace it.

Uneasy Alliance

While officially part of the Horde, many of its members don't trust the Forsaken. Sylvanus is still loyal to her home city and sends aid constantly to Silvermoon, but otherwise, political relations are strained, even with Sylvanus as the new Warchief.

Forsaken Names

Some Forsaken keep the names they had in life, examples of this are the banshee Queen Sylvanas Windrunner, and archpriest Alonsus Faol. Others change part of their names to reflect their new nature, such as Nathanos Blightcaller who was born Nathanos Marris. Further still some Forsaken have forgotten their past names, or have chosen to leave those names behind. Those who replace their names either keep with the conventions of their previous culture, or focus on names and titles of death and disease.

 

Forsaken Traits

The Forsaken are unique in that their disconnection from the Lich King technically makes them no longer undead, but humanoid. Here are some of the traits of this unusual situation

Cannibalize

Even though you threw off the shackles of the Scourge, humanoid flesh still calls to you. When you spend 1 minute eating a corpse of a humanoid, or an undead that was once a humanoid, you gain a number of temporary hit points equal to twice your level. These temporary hit points last until you receive magical healing, complete a short rest, or use this feature again

Will of the Forsaken

You fought for your own will and refuse to give it up lightly. You have advantage on saves against being frightened, charmed, or put to sleep. 

Shadow Resistence

Negative energy returned life to your limbs, and even if the mark of death is long gone from you, you still have a slight affinity for the chill of the grave. You are resistant to necrotic damage.

Touch of the Grave

The only current use for your lungs is speech, you can hold your breath indefinitely, but still need to exhale some kind of air to speak, the passages to and from your lungs still work, allowing pathogens and poisons through. Additionally, you can occasionally leech life from a damaged target. Whenever you critically strike, you gain a number of hit points equal to your proficiency bonus.

Ability Score Increase

Your Dexterity increases by 1, your Charisma increases by 2.

Age

Forsaken do not age, the Val'kyr do not raise human or elven corpses who had not reached maturity.

Alignment

Forsaken care little for laws or institutions and tend towards chaos, they do however move the entire spectrum of good and evil.

Size

Forsaken remain within the height range of elves and humans, your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Orcish and Gutterspeak. In non-Warcraft settings you may want to replace Orish with Common, and Gutterspeak with Undercommon.