Homebrew Changeling (Regalan) Species Details

"What?" Zeo's unvarnished voice squeaked with disbelief. "You've never heard the legend of ol' Nine Face Nina? They say she was the daughter of a noblewoman, a cruel-spirited widow who toyed with the hearts of the sailors who fell for her. One day, a man she scorned sought out an old hag to curse the widow, and from that day on, every child she birthed was nothing but brine, sand, and seafoam. She cast them all out into the sea—but one lived! That was Nina—a changeling. She took the faces of the sailors she bested and wore them like trophies."

For ages untold, superstitious humans have whispered stories about fey children swapped into their cribs, of cruel curses laid on mothers by the eerie magic of hags, of strange and alien creatures that seem to have replaced their children. In truth, these children are changelings, the result of doppelganger descent bred into human bloodlines. Mysterious and malleable, changelings are natural shapeshifters who can quietly assimilate into their native cultures, or weave their way through social strata with alien cunning.

Persons Unknown

Changelings descend from the doppelgangers, a race of monstrous shapeshifting outsiders from beyond the planes. Although the human influence in their bloodlines makes them quite distinct from their otherworldly ancestry, they share a common trait: they are excessively talented shapeshifters. A changeling can alter its appearance at will, transforming from an unassuming hill dwarf to a proud and phenomenal sun elf with little more than a single thought. Some changelings bear no one persona of their own, changing their appearance and identity from one day to the next. Others settle into an identity, creating their own unique appearance pieced together from features of other people they've met.

A changeling's disguise is completely without flaw. Even another changeling will find it impossible to see through such a disguise. While some changelings choose to use their gifts as infiltrators, impersonators, and spies, many simply choose to assimilate with the culture into which they were born. A changeling may use their fine control of their appearance to express their emotions, amplifying their features to better indicate their ever-changing moods. Or they may never let their facade drop, choosing to keep a low profile for fear of the myths surrounding their mysterious race.

Earthbound Aliens

Descendants of creatures far beyond this plane of existence, a changeling's physiology is as unlikely as it is fascinating. In their natural forms, changelings are white-skinned creatures with long limbs, blurred features, and massive empty eyes. Their noses are faint suggestions on their faces, and their ears are sharp and thin, molding along the edges of their heads. A changeling may occasionally have fair, wispy hair, but most are entirely bald. Their eyes are typically almond-shaped and take up much of the face, a deep and fathomless black in color.  It is often difficult to focus directly on a changeling's natural appearance, as it seems to blur and melt and shift with every slight motion.

Reflecting their nature as shapeshifting creatures, a changeling's natural body often has the texture of an amorphous material that can be molded and reshaped. A changeling cleric may have the texture of a string of prayer beads, while a changeling bard's form may feel more like a vat of gelatin. These alien consistencies appear to be unique to each changeling, although similar textures may be inherited. When a changeling shapeshifts, its flesh moves about in a similar fashion—a changeling rogue's features shift as if a thousand ball bearings are rolling beneath their skin.

Identity Bereft

As descendants of the doppelgangers, changelings have a unique relationship to thoughts and minds. They are experts at reading a room and another's intentions, although they do not possess their ancestor's ability to read thoughts. However, this open psychic nature has a double edge—a changeling is far more susceptible to mind-altering magic. Moreover, a changeling is often sensitive to the perceptions of others. Intelligent and insightful, a changeling knows when they're not wanted, and often take it to heart. Some changelings are so affected by their loved ones' disdain that they entirely abandon a disliked persona and create a new identity for themselves.

Changelings have no culture of their own. They are exceedingly rare, and their origins are so shrouded in myth that few understand their true heritage. Even the myths themselves are inconsistent. A changeling born of human parentage may have no idea what they are. One changeling meeting another is an exceptionally uncommon event, and being entirely undetectable in their disguised form means that two changelings who cross paths may not even know it. For this reason, a changeling often feels lost and isolated among members of other races—all the more reason to disappear within their ranks.

Changeling Names

Most changelings are born into human (or mostly human) families, and they use the same naming conventions as their native culture. However, in the rare occurrence of a changeling family, their names instinctively tend toward the conventions of doppelgangers—simple and monosyllabic, universally unisex, and often with harsh and precise sounds.

Changeling Names: Ban, Cal, Dox, Em, Fet, Ges, Hol, Isk, Jin, Kie, Mel, Nav, Pon, Quo, Rae, Sor, Tok, Ves, Wan, Zed

 

Changeling (Regalan) Traits

Your changeling character has a number of traits inherited from their doppelganger ancestry, inalienable from their alien nature.

Ability Score Increase

Your Charisma score increases by 2. In addition, one ability score of your choice increases by 1.

Age

Changelings mature slightly faster than humans, but share a similar lifespan—typically a century or less. While a changeling can transform to conceal their age, the effects of aging affect them similarly to humans.

Alignment

Changelings are often driven by an intense need for personal freedom, tending toward chaotic and neutral alignments.

Size

Your size is Medium. In your natural form, your height ranges from 5'3" to around 5'9", and your weight ranges from around 120lbs to around 180lbs.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Shapechanger

As an action, you can change your appearance and your voice. You determine the specifics of the changes, including facial features, the sound of your voice, coloration, hair length, sex, and any other distinguishing characteristics. You can also adjust your height and weight, but not below 4' and 70lbs, and not above 8'2" and 500lbs (remaining within the Medium size category). You can make yourself appear as a member of another race, though none of your game statistics change. For instance, if you adopt the form of an elf, you don't gain darkvision; in the form of an aarakocra, the wings you manifest are non-functional. You can't duplicate the appearance of a type of creature you've never seen, and you must adopt a form that has the same basic arrangement of limbs that you have. Your clothing and equipment aren't changed by this trait.

You stay in the new form until you use an action to revert to your true form or until you die.

Even to the most astute observers, your ruse is usually indiscernible. If you rouse suspicion, or if a wary creature suspects something is amiss, you have advantage on any Charisma (Deception) check you make to avoid detection.

Changeling Instincts

You gain proficiency with two of the following skills of your choice: Deception, Insight, Intimidation, and Persuasion.

Unsettling Visage

When a creature that you can see and that can see you makes an attack roll against you, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the roll. Using this trait reveals your shapeshifting nature to any creature within 30 feet that can see you.
Such a sudden and drastic use of your shapeshifting exhausts you. Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Open Mind

You have advantage on Insight checks. However, you have disadvantage on all Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws against mind-altering effects.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and two other languages of your choice.