Homebrew Blind Shink Species Details

Blind Shinks are a species of creatures born in deep, often times volcanic, caves completely hidden from the under dark and the surface of the material plane. It is said that this species of creature were descendants of either elves or humans that became lost in great deep tunnels. This change in environment forced evolution, and much more extreme than Darkvision. The creatures have lost the ability to see and in most cases are not even born with eyes and in return are given adept hearing and smell. Also, due to their living under the material plane's surface they have gained sharpened nails able to burrow into the earth although most Blind Shink cave systems are already premade from existing cave networks, so these sharp talons are often underutilized. Blind Shinks often live in tight nit family clusters and are very dependent on each other and often don't trust or understand many other races due to their isolation. This isolation often leads to the few Blind Shinks that try to venture outside of their cave systems to be Neutral in behavior.

Age. Blind Skinks mature at 15 and often live till 80

Languages. You have remnants of language from your ancestry, so you speak, read, and write Common and one other language of your choice

Keen Hearing and Smell. You have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or smell.

Blindness. You have lost the ability to see but make up for it in other ways. Using your adept hearing and smell you have blindsight of up to 120 ft but past that range you are completely blind to what happens. You are also normally immune to the Blinded condition and have advantage on attempting to sense any hidden or hiding creatures in your 120 ft radius. This blindsight may act up according to DM's discretion in a way whenever either your sense of hearing or smell is distorted such as if an enemy inflicts the deafened condition on you or if you are within the radius of an intense smell effect such as the spell Nathair's Mischief. The effect of this distortion is also up to DM discretion and can be effects such as disadvantage on attack rolls or momentarily taking away your Keen Hearing and Smell and Blindness feature and giving you the Blinded condition until the distortion is over.

Burrowing. Due to your adaptations, you have sharp claws at the ends of your hands and feet that can be used to burrow with a 10 ft burrowing speed or can be used as melee weapons each dealing 1d6+ your Strength modifier worth of slashing damage.

Keen Hearing and Smell, Blindness, Burrowing.