Homebrew Sylph Species Details

Many Forms

Though sylphs share their speed and size, otherwise they are remarkably diverse. Sylphs’ plumage can be any color imaginable. Many have iridescent feathers that shine two or more colors from different angles. Some have long trailing tails, while others have short ones. They tend to have slender beaks, but these can vary in length considerably.

On the Move

Traditionally, sylphs don’t make their home in one place. Instead, they migrate between two locations, following the seasonal changes in Everden. A sylph might have one home in the city of Halara in the Tanglewilds, and another one far to the north in the Rimewood of Firnveldt. After childhood, sylphs make these continent-spanning journeys alone or with loose groups of friends, including non-sylph travelers. Although they are wanderers, sylphs tend to be proud of both of their homes and form strong bonds in both communities. Sometimes, older sylphs will suspend their continental travels to spend multiple seasons in one location. However, even these sylphs will find themselves overtaken by wanderlust after staying still for too long. Many sylph adventurers take up the questing life simply for the joy of travel and seeing new places.

Sudden Stillness

“The only time you’ll catch me staying still is when I’m hovering,” is an old sylph boast. Unlike their birdfolk cousins who can glide, sylphs can hold themselves in place in the air by rapidly beating their feathered arms. This expends a great deal of energy. Therefore, sylphs tend to have exceptionally large appetites despite their diminutive size. Many traditional sylph delicacies are remarkably sweet. A well-fed sylph also has a remarkable ability to overcome injuries. While sylphs on the move can be a blur, when they eventually do rest, these tiny folk do so with such intensity that others may think they’ve died.

Full Hearts

The energetic and boisterous nature of sylphs might at first seem to contrast their silent patron Amaranthine, Ostelo the Sacrifice. However, sylphs who follow Ostelo see their liveliness as a way of honoring her. Because Ostelo died sacrificing herself to save her nestmates and can no longer experience all of life’s joys, sylphs try to make the most of their lives on her behalf. The wanderlust they experience is said to be Ostelo encouraging them to listen to their own hearts. Many sylphs also instinctively leap into the fray to help others, no matter the danger to themselves, following Ostelo’s example.

Sylph Names

When naming their chicks, sylph parents often pick names that give a feeling of action, motion, or speed. Traditional family names are either drawn from notable characteristics of an ancestor or a pair of locations the family once migrated between. Example sylph names

First Names: Chase, Clipper, Fleet, Quest, Ram, Sojourn, Snapper, Sway, Swift, Tilt, Trecker, Zip

Family Names: Alderheart-Rivergate, Clearwing, Cleave, Underwell, Hoppoff, Nectarneck, Petalscuff, Quickpeck, Rimebaar, Axxin, Tailtrailer, Tarnmire, Cavernhearth

Sylph Traits

The sylph species is inspired by hummingbirds. They also are a good fit for characters based on other small birds, such as finches, flowerpeckers, and swifts.

Ability Score Increase

 Increase one ability score by 2 and another ability score by 1. To play a typical sylph, choose Dexterity and Constitution. Alternatively, increase three ability scores by 1.

Creature Type

You are a humanoid.

Size

 Most sylphs are under 2-and-a-half feet tall. Your size is Small.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 35 feet.

Determined

 You have advantage on saving throws against being frightened and against effects that would give you exhaustion.

Healing Stillness

 When you take a short rest, you can choose to enter a deep slumber that lasts at least 1 hour to preserve your energy. During this slumber, you are unconscious. If you spend any Hit Dice while resting in this way, roll each Hit Die twice and use the higher roll. If you wake early from your slumber, you do not gain this benefit, but you can still spend Hit Dice as normal and gain the normal benefits of a short rest if you complete it.

Hover

 By beating your feathered forearms rapidly, you can hold yourself steady in the air for a brief period. When falling or jumping, you can use your reaction to halt your descent and hover in place. On subsequent turns, you must use a bonus action to continue hovering. When you stop hovering, you glide straight down at a rate of 30 feet per round, and you don’t take any damage from the fall or land prone. You cannot glide while carrying heavy weapons or wielding a shield (though you may drop any held items as part of your reaction to spread your arms). You cannot hover while wearing heavy armor, while encumbered, or incapacitated.

Quick Reflexes

 You can take an extra reaction. You can’t use this trait again until you finish a short or long rest.

Moving Target

 When you take the Dash action, the next attack made against you before the start of your next turn is made with disadvantage as long as you are not incapacitated.

Wing Flap

 As a bonus action, you can use your feathered arms to propel yourself upward a distance equal to half your movement speed. You can use it in conjunction with a regular jump, and can use your hover trait following a wing flap.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Birdfolk and one other language of your choice. You can also understand Auran, though you can’t speak it.