Homebrew Lustrous Species Details

The Lustrous are a race of living gemstones, immortal hermits that gather together in tight communities for protection. They are often hunted by various races for the gemstones that make up their bodies, and as such prefer to hide themselves from the world and find strength in numbers. They prefer to live out their lives in relative solitude, with only the companionship of their own kind. It is only a very powerful reason that can compel a Lustrous to leave their clan.

Shining Gems

Lustrous come in as many different varieties as there are gemstones. They appear roughly human, but have pale "skin" and sparkling semi-translucent "hair" in various colors, depending on the individual. They do not bleed, but rather chip like gemstones, leaving small parts of themselves behind that can later be reattached if gathered. The hardness of a Lustrous comes from the gem it is made of - some may be as hard as diamonds, while others may be as soft as talc. A Lustrous' hardness is also it's social status; while Lustrous rarely have any form of government and typically treat each other as equals, harder Lustrous are more likely to be assigned the flashier and more dangerous jobs of hunting, border defense, and so on. Softer Lustrous, however, will more often find themselves doing jobs behind the scenes, such as managing storehouses or recovering pieces of their fallen comrades once a battle is finished.

Immortal Stone

Lustrous are not born, but created, pieced together or carved from gemstones found by their comrades and given life by some unknown and well-guarded magic. They are, by nature, immortal and androgynous. Most have feminine forms, but they often refer to each other with masculine pronouns; gender in a Lustrous community is more based on perception of a member's personality than of any particular defining trait, and if a Lustrous refers to themselves as a particular gender it is entirely by choice rather than by biology. They do not age, and even if they are shattered and separated they will not die. This, however, is both a blessing and a curse: should they be shattered, they must be meticulously rebuilt, as their memories are stored throughout their entire bodies and will be lost or mangled if even the smallest piece is left separate from the main body. This leaves some older, more battle-hardened Lustrous as mere shells of themselves, wandering through life with little memory of where they came from or how their life began, and sometimes even forgetting the very existence of their closest friends due to repeated repairs using different pieces of gemstone.

Lustrous Names

Lustrous usually draw their names from the gemstone from which they are originally constructed. Even if pieces of other gemstones are used to repair them in times of material shortage, they do not change their names, to the point that some older Lustrous are made up of more other gems than the ones they are named for. Lustrous made from the same gem are rare in the same community, so this does not usually cause issues with identifying each other; however, some more energetic Lustrous have been known to take up nicknames.

Lustrous Names: Diamond, Jade, Amethyst, Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, Quartz, Topaz, Phosphophyllite, Jasper, Peridot, Opal

Lustrous Traits

Lustrous take many of their traits from the gems they are made from, including their name and appearance. This often creates large variations between different individuals.

Ability Score Increase

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

Age

Lustrous reach maturity at the instant of their animation, and do not age.

Alignment

Lustrous tend slightly towards Neutral or Lawful alignments.

Size

Lustrous are roughly the same size as average humans, though due to being made of pure gemstone are usually about twice as heavy for any given build. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language of your choice.

Gemlike Hardness

Each Lustrous has a hardness rated from 1 to 10, with 10 being the most durable. It is recommended that you choose your hardness based on the type of gem your Lustrous is made of.

You have disadvantage on melee attacks against heavily armored opponents or Lustrous with a higher hardness, and advantage on melee attacks against lightly armored/unarmored opponents or Lustrous with a lower hardness.

If your hardness is below or exactly 5, you have resistance to bludgeoning damage and vulnerability to slashing damage. If your hardness is above 5, you have resistance to slashing damage and vulnerability to bludgeoning damage.

Immortal Stone

On reaching zero hit points, instead of falling unconscious, you shatter into pieces and are immobilized. You cannot take any action while shattered. You do not make death saving throws, and are automatically considered stable. You do not recover hit points over time while stable and cannot be healed or damaged. You return to full hit points after a long rest.

If you would be instantly killed by an attack, you are considered pulverized and cannot be repaired by any means. You have, for all intents and purposes, died. You cannot be reanimated or brought back to life by anything but a Wish spell or a power of similar scale.

When repaired, make an Intelligence saving throw. On a failure, roll 1d10 to determine memory loss according to the following list:

1. You forget the entire existence of all your party members, and all your adventures up to this point.
2. You forget an important friend.
3. You forget the location of your home.
4. You forget your own name.
5. You forget a treasured childhood memory.
6. You forget your primary mission or quest.
7. You forget the fight in which you were shattered.
8. You forget a random and relatively unimportant NPC.
9. You forget a major but not life-threatening detail from the past 24 hours.
10. You forget a minor detail from the past 24 hours.

This list can be modified or tweaked depending on the preferences of the player/DM, and is primarily provided for use as an example.