Homebrew Gem Species Details

“Why so blue, Blue?” came a lively voice from the far corner of the tavern room. The elven man stood up to his full height, his face erupting into a wide grin as he walked over carrying a tray of drinks. Topaz let out a heavy sigh. She took a small hand mirror our of her pack, and beckoned her friend to sit with her at the table. "You know people have been using that same pun for literally thousands of years, right?" Jethan drained a tall fluted glass of sweet wine as he sat down. "Yeah, but you make it too easy Blue. Perhaps if you smile a bit more or something." There was a pause as Topaz picked up one of the drinks, examined it for a moment, and then placed it back on the tray. "How are you liking the new body?" asked Jethan, as he took a long gulp of something green and sticky. Topaz scowled at him, "I like it about as much as I like your choice of drinks." She looked into the mirror for a while before answering him, tracing her fingers around the blue crystal that protruded from the middle of her forehead. "It's not the same," she said, "but I suppose it will do."

— J. E. Hyland, Reformed

To be a gem is to know that you came from another world that you can no longer remember, to have been made for a purpose that no longer exists, you have lived for countless centuries, adapting and changing, but at your core remaining exactly the same as you always were.

Monochromatic

Gems look just like humans, with hair and human like skin, however instead of human skin tones a gem's entire body will be made of different hues of the same bright colour. Gems come in a variety of colours such as red, blue, purple and green, which seem to correspond to the colour of naturally occurring crystals. Every gem has a single gemstone that protrudes from part of their body. This gemstone is often found on the chest, forehead, or one of the gem's hands, and looks like cut stone about the size of a large coin. Gems do not usually wear real clothing, instead the outfits people see on them are formed in the same way as their bodies, and will usually match the colour of their skin.

 

Memory Lost

All gems have been alive for a long time, but no gem can remember anything from further back than a few millennia. Gems instinctively know that they are from another world, and that they were originally made to fulfill some specific purpose, but they do not know anything else about their origins. A gem's body can be injured in just the same way as a human, but once it dies, the body will disappear leaving only their gemstone behind. So long as the gemstone is not badly damaged, after a few days the gem's body will reform in a bright flash of light. When this happens, because of the concentration required, the gem will often lose hold of some of their old memories, only recalling the last few centuries of their life with any certainty.

In ages past there were thousands of gems, but now only a handful remain. Because of this gems are extremely rare. A gem will not usually know any others of their kind, and must look to other species for any kind of companionship.

 

The Power of Gems

A gem can summon a weapon from their gemstone as easily as someone else can draw a sword. This weapon is part of the gem and will fade away if it gets too far away from it's owner. Some gems can also use their gemstones to channel magic and cast spells, or to store items within their gemstone itself as if it was a magical container.

 

Monogendered

Gems all appear and act female, and use female pronouns for themselves. They appreciate beauty, make friends and fall in love, but they do not age, and always seem to outlive the other races with whom they form bonds. This can often give them a bleak or sorrowful outlook towards others, and some gems will even choose to live alone, rather than getting caught up in the tangle of other peoples lives. Other gems develop a motherly view of the younger races, taking pride in their friends and companions as they grow and succeed. A gem may go to great lengths to feel like they are part of a family, taking apprentices or adopting children when the need arises.

Gem Names

A gem’s name will be the same as the name of their gemstone. A gem may sometimes adopt a name in the style of other races in an attempt to fit in, but their true name will always be with them, and is the name they find most comfortable to use.

Examples of Gem Names: Citrine (yellow), Ruby (red), Garnet (red), Amathyst (Purple), Sapphire (blue), Topaz (various), Emerald (green), Peridot (green), Jade (green), Lapis Lazuli (blue), Rubellite (red), Opal (various), Rose Quartz (pink), Pearl (white).

 

Ancient Masters

Gems were created long ago by unknown creatures of great power. A gem would be vulnerable to the commands of it's creator if they still existed. Unfortunately there are entities among the various planes who know this, and if a fiend, god, or great old one were to successfully impersonate a gem's creator, the gem would be helpless under its command, turning on her friends, or committing terrible acts until the connection could be severed. Gems who decide to become warlocks or clerics may be particularly vulnerable to this.

Gem Traits

Your gem character has an assortment of innate abilities,

Ability Score Increase

Your Constitution increases by 2, and one other ability score of your choice increases by 1.

Age

Gems are many thousands of years old, but can only remember the last few hundred years of their lives.

Alignment

Gems are instinctively lawful, believing in structured lives and natural hierarchy. They tend be good, but can also lean towards neutral or evil deeds in their pursuit of order or as they rebel against it.

Size

Gems range from around 5 to 7 feet tall. Their size is also influenced by their physical characteristics. As such, a gem with high strength may be taller, and a gem with high dexterity may be leaner than the average human. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and one extra language of your choice. Gems typically learn the languages of other peoples they deal with, including obscure dialects.

Gem Resilience

You have immunity to disease, and cannot be poisoned.

Gems do not need to eat and cannot become exhausted from lack of food and drink.

Gem Regeneration

When a gem is killed, as long as their gemstone is not badly damaged, they do not die and can regenerate their body. Gems make death saving throws with disadvantage. When a gem fails 3 death saving throws or suffers instant death their body vanishes, leaving their gemstone and all their possessions to fall to the ground. At this point the gem must roll an extra saving throw with a DC of 5. If this saving throw is failed their gemstone shatters and the gem dies. If the saving throw succeeds the gem survives, and may regenerate their body. The gem reappears at a time of their choosing a minimum of 8 hours later, and is considered to have taken a long rest. While a gem is regenerating, they are unable to perceive anything happening around them.

Gem Storage

A gem may choose to store items within her gemstone. Only small items such as coins, jewels and trinkets may be stored in this way. Items stored in the gemstone still have mass for the purpose of encumbrance, but when they are stored they may not be stolen, lost or removed by anyone besides the gem. Removing an item or items from a gemstone requires an action.

Gem Weapons

All gems have a Gem Weapon stored within their gemstone that may be summoned as a bonus action. A gem weapon may be any simple or martial weapon that the gem has proficiency with.

A gem may choose any suitable non-magical weapon to be their starting Gem Weapon. The Gem Weapon can be replaced by another suitable weapon over the course of 1 hour, which can be done during a short or long rest. The new weapon must be within your reach throughout the process, and when completed, your previous gem weapon will appear on the ground in front of you. Gem weapons that require attunement are automatically attuned to their owner and take up an attunement slot.

Ranged Gem weapons do not require ammunition to fire, and gem weapons that are no longer being held by their owner, such as ones that have been dropped or thrown, will disappear at the end of each turn ready to be summoned again from their gemstone.

Gem Casting

Brimming with an excess of magical energy, a Gem may use their gemstone as a spellcasting focus.