Homebrew Elder Spawn Species Details

Elder Spawn

To be feared and despised by learned members of society, and to be reviled and the subject of horror by the common rabble – that is the fate of the elder spawn. Their cursed existence happens as a result of the unnatural union of a being of the far realm and a human. Such unions are rare, but most often occur as a result of profane rituals attempted by insane cults in an attempt to summon their great old one masters to the prime material plane. Often such rituals are connected with tricksters or fertility beings, such as Yog Sothoth and Shub Niggurath. 

Aberrational Bloodline

Elder Spawn are derived from human bloodlines, and so for the most part resemble humans at least superficially. Their abhorrent heritage has still left a significant imprint on their appearance, although the huge variety of entities in the far realm mean that what effect this has is incredibly variable. Many are completely hairless, although those with hair have dark hair colours that reflect light like oil. They often have large eyes which can resemble everything from human to goat eyes, or can very occasionally be mat colours. Their skin colour varies but is usually grey or greyish red, or normal human shades.All elder spawn possess a number of physical mutations as a result of their otherworldly physiology. Roll two mutations from the table below or create new mutations with your DM based on those provided.

D8	Mutation
1	Eyes cover your body, sprouting like pustules from random locations.
2	An area of flesh on your body is replaced by a patch of wriggling, wormlike protrusions.
3	You have a blank patch of skin where your mouth would be, and feed instead through tiny maws sprouting from random locations on your body. You still speak from the area where your mouth would be
4	Your skin is covered in a slimy coating of mucus that smells faintly of rotting viscera.
5	Your skin is translucent, and dark muscle and bone is visible beneath.
6	You have a physical deformity, such as a club foot or deformed hand.
7	Teeth, spines or bone sprout from certain locations on your skin.
8	Fleshy wattles and vestigial tentacles sprout from your skin in place of hair.

Secretive and Suspicious

Because of the unnatural nature of their creation, elder spawn are rare in most worlds and it is unlikely – unless they were spawned by a particularly prolific cult – that an elder spawn will have met any others of its kind in its lifetime. Whether this is treated as a boon or a curse varies with the individual. As a rule however, this can spark one of two mindsets as a result of their upbringing.

The first occurs when an individual is raised by a cult in an environment of fear and awe, with the cult often believing that the elder spawn is a messiah of whichever being they sought to summon, or perhaps even the being itself, in humanoid form. This upbringing often leads to the elder spawn considering itself to be above other mortal races, but they are usually loath to leave the cults that they spawned in, and can have difficulty fitting back into society once they do. They will also likely be proud of their deformities and will bear them openly.

The second mindset occurs when the individual is cast out of or imprisoned by the cult upon their spawning, as they are the product of a failed ritual. These individuals often seek the wider world in an attempt to escape from their past, or even their very nature. These elder spawn often hide their nature, becoming secretive and covering their mutations to escape the abuse that comes with them in the wider world. Regardless of which mindset the elder spawn possesses, they tend to be suspicious of others and are unlikely to form friendships easily. When such a friendship is formed however, elder spawn are as loyal as they come, and can usually be relied upon for the rest of their lives.

Elder Spawn Names

Elder spawn names fall into three loose categories. Those that have been thrown out into the world usually have names reflecting whichever culture adopted them. Alternatively, those that have been rejected by both the cult that spawned them and the wider world take names based on their aspirations in life, or the virtues they wish to embody. Finally, those that are kept within the cults that spawned them are often given names based on the language of Deep Speech , often relating to the being that spawned them. These names tend to be genderless as the far realm beings that spawn them usually find gender an alien concept. 

 Deep Speech Names: Abol, Azoreth, Borakotep, Carthuun, Faugn, Gtuun, Ktuul, Quethar, Shub-Nareth, Sharn, Netch, Nul, Yan, Yib, Yolg, Xhinn.

Ideal/Virtue Names: Creed, Despair, Equality, Fear, Glory, Hope, Hunter, Live, Reverence, Torment.

Elder Spawn Traits

All Elder spawn share certain racial traits as a result of their aberrational descent.

Ability Score Increase

Your Constitution score increases by 1, and your Charisma score increases by 2.

Age

Elder Spawn mature at the same rate as humans but live a few years longer.

Alignment

Elder spawn tend to be neutral, favoring individual choice over strict creed or law. They avoid unnecessary risk and direct confrontation unless they feel the reward is worthy.

Size

Elder spawn are the same size and build as humans. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet. 

Darkvision

Thanks to your abhorrent heritage, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only black and white outlines.

Aberrational Resistance

You have Resistance to psychic damage. 

Mind Over Matter

You either know the message or mage hand cantrip, and you can cast it without material components. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the alter self 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.

Languages

You can speak, read and write Common and Deep Speech.