Homebrew Etherean Species Details
Walking the Line
Ethereans are the result of a living soul and a dead soul occupying the same living vessel. Generally speaking, the living soul remains in control of the ethearean's body. However, this duality manifests within the etherean's physical appearance. The invading soul cannot altogether free itself from the grasp of death and thus various states of decay can appear on an etherean's physical persona. Ethereans often manifest a brutal scar if their dead soul had a violent end. Their skin becomes a white or placid color. The eyes of an etherean seem distant and devoid of color, their pupils and irises often white or silver.
Some ethereans manifest an appearance that is more connected to the ethereal plane itself, rather than the dead soul that now shares their body. These such ethereans manifest traits such as light colored hair that blows even without the wind, silver or pale blue blood, or a floating aspect to their step.
In either case, ethereans often find themselves on the extremes of traditional societal perception. They are regarded by the commonfolk as creatures of eerie, awestruck beauty or unsettling, fearful visage.
Shared Host
Within the etherean remains to souls, one that is fully alive and one that has previously passed into the ethereal plane. These souls, the living and the dead, must find a balance if the etherean is to survive the merging.
In most cases, the living soul remains in control of the physical functioning and needs of the living body. It also directs the heart and fore frontal thoughts of the host, determining their inclined nature and goals. The dead soul, on the other hand, wants desperately to cling to life in any way that it can. While it finds itself too weak to take control of the host away from the living soul, it embeds itself deep into the core of the host.
From deep within, the dead soul plants ideas, goals, and seeds of personality into the host that mimic the personality that the dead soul had in life. These seeds manifest as dreams, random intrusive impulses, or nagging presence in the back of the etherean's mind. Though it has never been formally proven, it is said that an ethearean who succumbs to too many of these impulses can lose control of their person and give the dead soul true new life. Sometimes, a dead souls past and personality can fall in line with the goals of the living host. In this case, an etherean may be able to establish a mental dialogue with the sharing soul as friends.
Etherean Names
Ethereans most often keep the names they had before transformation.
Etherean Traits
Your etherean character has the following racial traits.Racial Transformation
Choose a race (and subrace if applicable) allowed by your DM prior to creating an etherean character. You lose all traits of the selected race and subrace unless otherwise stated, replacing them with the racial traits of an etherean.
Ability Score Increase
Choose a race allowed in your campaign by your DM. You gain the ability score increase of that race, representing the race you were before your transformation.
Age
Ethereans do not age after transformation. They are locked in a state of eternal life until that life is taken from them by disease or battle.
Alignment
Ethereans have no tendency towards alignment, however their isolation and duality following transformation can make them prone to malleable personal philosophy.
Size
Your size is dependent on the race you were before transformation. To determine your size randomly, use your original race's size determination factors for height and weight.
Speed
Your base walking speed is 35 feet.
Darkvision
Your connection to the ethereal plane allows you to discern your surroundings even in the dark. 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 shades of gray.
Sunlight Sensitivity
You have grown accustomed to the pale glow of the ethereal plane, direct sunlight now disrupts your focus. You have disadvantage on attack rolls and on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight when you, the target of your attack, or whatever you are trying to perceive is in direct sunlight.
Psychic Dissonance
You have vulnerability to psychic damage. You also have disadvantage on Intelligence Saving Throws versus effects that target only you.
Ethereal Shroud
Once per day, you may enter a semi-ethereal state in which you exist between the material and ethereal planes for one minute. You gain the following benefits and are subject to the following conditions.
- Ethereal Shroud requires you to make concentration checks to maintain it if you take damage while it is enacted, DC = 10 or the half the damage taken, whichever is higher. It does not take up your concentration slot for spellcasting.
- You are invisible to creatures that cannot see into the ethereal plane.
- You can see up to 60 feet into the ethereal plane.
- You may pass through solid objects as if they were difficult terrain. Ending your turn in a solid object causes you to take 1d6 force damage. You may move up or down as if you were walking, including through solid terrain.
- You can only target creatures on the ethereal plane.
- You cannot be hit by nonmagical weaponry. Area of Effect magic in the material plane will still damage you if you are in the area of effect.
- If you end your ethereal shroud inside of a solid object, you are shunted to the nearest open space and take force damage equal to double the amount of feet you were moved.
You regain your use of this feature upon a short or long rest.
Ethereal Blink
While you are in your ethereal shroud, you can use a free action to blink onto the material plane, losing the traits of your ethereal shroud while you are on the material plane. You can use a bonus action to blink back into the ethereal plane, if you do, you take force damage equal to 1d6 - your constitution modifier (minimum of 0). This damage increases by 1d6 for each blink during the ethereal shroud.
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