Homebrew Nightmare Species Details
Nightmares can shift their forms with a thought. Most Nightmares use this to fit in and stay undetected until they decide to show their true nature.
A Hidden Terror
Nightmares are Creatures born in the Shadowfell. While they're not evil per se they feed of fear, terror and paranoia of other creatures and thus use their powers to spread it. Some do it on small scales, the feeling of subtle wrongness around them, accompanied by a flash of too sharp teeth and claws or looming shapes in the corner of your eye when your not looking at them. Other go completeley of the rails and won't stop until their choosen community has ripped itself apart due to mistrust and paranoia.
In creating a nightmare adventurer, consider the character’s relationships with people around them. Does the character conceal their true nature? Do they embrace it? Are they keen on sowing terror or is it just a means to an end for them?
Masks and Personas
In their true form, nightmares are tall spindly creatures with long talons and sharp shark like teeth. Their colorations varies but tends to stay on the darker spectrum. It is rare to see a nightmare in that form outside of the shadowfell. Outside of the shadowfell they tend to have so called personas they slip into to fit in with the locals. Nightmares tend to have two to three main personas they take on in various settings but can make up new faces on the spot if they have too.
Nightmare Names
A nightmare might use a different name for each mask and persona and adopt new names as easily as they change faces. Nightmares have monosyalbic Nicknames until they're old enough to decide on a name on their own.
Nightmares have a fluid relationship with gender.
Nightmare Nicknames: Ra, Io, Tee, Mai, Tin
Nightmare Adult Names: Terror, Fear, Albtraum, Insomnia
Nightmare Traits
Your nightmare character has the following traits.Ability Score Increase
Your Charisma score increases by 2. In addition, one ability score of your choice increases by 1.
Age
Nightmares mature faster than humans and reach their adult form around 15, they can live up to around 150 years old. While a nightmare can transform to conceal their age, the effects of aging affect them similarly to other humanoids.
Alignment
Nightmares tend toward chaotic alignments due to their nature, most of them staying in the neutral with a few tending towards good or evil.
Size
Your size is Medium. To set your height and weight randomly, start with rolling a size modifier:
Size modifier = 2d4
Height = 5 feet + 1 inch + your size modifier in inches
Weight in pounds = 115 + (2d4 × your size modifier)
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 your coloration, hair length, and sex. You can also adjust your height and weight, but not so much that your size changes. You can make yourself appear as a member of another race, though none of your game statistics change. You can’t duplicate the appearance of a 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.
Nightmare Instincts
You gain proficiency with two of the following skills of your choice: Deception, Insight, Intimidation, and Persuasion.
Languages
You can speak, read, and write Common and two other languages of your choice.
Unsettling Visage
When a creature you can see makes an attack roll against you, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the roll. You must use this feature before knowing whether the attack hits or misses. Using this trait reveals your shapeshifting nature to any creature within 30 feet that can see you. Once you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Claws
You have a climbing speed of 20 ft. and your claws are natural weapons that deal 1d4 {{modifier:dex}} psychic damage, instead of the normal bludgeoning damage for an unarmed strike.
You can only use this feature in your nightmare form
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