Homebrew Demigod Species Details

Never Ordinary

While most people exist complacently somewhere between good and evil, content to putter along in their dull lives exhibiting neither great heroism nor dastardly villainy, a demigod is never ordinary to anything more than passing observation. They may indeed go many years at a time without doing anything noteworthy, but they infallibly either prove themselves the most selfless and noble of saints or the most depraved and demonic of persons. Being as they have a far greater capacity for good or ill than mortals, there is ultimately little in way of grey about their personalities.

Out of Place

There are few who can understand the strange dynamic a demigod has with their godly parent so for a demigod to seek out others of its kind is not uncommon despite the uniqueness of their kind. However, of all the races that exist within the world, the aasimar are a people whom demigods feel the greatest connection towards. Their celestial origins along with this shared sense of conflicted purpose cause them to be largely understanding of each other and as such demigods feel the greatest sense of community in these societies. A sense that often becomes lost to them in their early teens when they begin to manifest their divine powers.

Chronicle

For as long there have been gods, there have been the half-blood children of them. Though often the result of a direct union of a deity and a mortal, however, different circumstance may cause a demigod to be born in another way. Demigods often grow to become great heroes or terrible villains. The tales of individual demigods are told in legend, that is their history. Such legends are Achilles, the hero of the great Trojan war, the famed Heracles and his many exploits, Karna, the son of the Sun god Surya, Bragi, son of Odin and so on. Each forged a legend of themselves through their great and not so great deeds and it is by the legends they live on.

Direct Link

In the way, a cleric has a connection to his or her deity a demigod has that same connection with a more personal touch. Whereas a god may be distant from their cleric only giving them occasional pushes in the right direction, a god may appear before their child in a more direct fashion to grant insights into their quests and may even perform miracles the demigod wouldn't be able to themselves. However, while there are demigods that are close enough to their godly parents to request such things there are demigods who despise or even hate their parents as well as those whose godly parents haven't even acknowledged the divine blood that courses through them. Normally the first meeting of a demigod and their parent sets the tone for the relationship and it is up to your Dungeon Master to determine the nature of the relationship. Your Dungeon Master may roll on the Parentage Table instead if they wish.

 

Deific Tell

Many beings including yourself have a connection to the celestial realm your godly parent makes their home. Particular beings or creatures can tell of the connection you and they both possess, most the time these are celestial, fey, fiends or other creatures like a medusa or minotaur and their relationships with the divine will normally affect their relationship with you. For example, a celestial being that comes across you may react to you in a variety of ways given the deity that created them. They may see you like an angelic guide sees an aasimar and approach you with an interest, driven by a sense of responsibility or they may assist you in some minor way to allow you to continue to forge your own path while also gaining favor from your godly parent. However, on the other side of the coin, they may react violently to your presence as not all demigods are the spawn of good-aligned deity's and seek to smite you or deal with you in some other way. Fiends may try to use or trick you as part of an attempt to gain more power. Fey may find you simply be too interesting to pass up and mischievously follow you from place to place.

Demigod Names

Demigods use the same naming conventions as the native culture they were born into. A demigod born into and brought up in The Seven Havens of Mount Celestia would have a very different name to one brought up within a humble house in Waterdeep. The names of well-known demigods are as follows.

Male: Achilles, Arcas, Belleroph, Heracles, Perseus, Theseus, Romulus, Remus, Karna, Vali, Bragi

Female: Annabeth, Bianca, Draupadi, Diana, Elizabeth, Harmonia, Helen, Thalia

Demigod Traits

The offspring of a god and a mortal, a hero of days, a Demigod.
Ability Score Increase. Your ability scores increase depending on your godly parents Divine Domain.
Age. Demigods reach physical maturity in their late teens and live for 100 years naturally, showing no signs of age. When they reach 100 years of age they continue to live on sustained directly by their godly parent or if their godly parent does not wish to they may sustain their selves through gaining their own renown and worship.
Alignment. Demigods are as varied as their mortal and godly parents, although they always feel a strong inclination towards the alignment of their godly parent.
Size. Demigods vary in height and built due to their humanoid parents coming from a variety of races, however, they always appear within the taller ranges and stronger builds of their mortal sides race. Regardless of your position in that range or your parent's race, your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 40 feet.

Demigod Traits

Demigods are creatures of strength and power. They defeat creatures and and celestial beings almost with ease. Their connections to their godly patrons/parents heavily influence how they act and present themselves to the public.

Deific Tell

Your connection to the divine is strong and its strength gives you away to others. Creatures with the celestial, fey or fiend creature type as well as creatures with a divine connection know you are a demigod. A successful Intelligence (Religion) check can be done against your Charisma (Deception) check to discern who your godly parent is. In addition, if you are of a divine class such as cleric, you must choose the domain of your godly parent.

Divine Portfolio

 Your godly parent has dominion over a specific portfolio. Choose an option from the Divine Portfolio Traits that pertains to your parent's divine domain. This must be the same as the option you picked for your divine domain trait.

Godly Parentage

Unswerving of will and unassailable of mind, you have advantage on saving throws against being charmed and frightened. In addition, you cannot be aged magically.

Mortal Parentage

Even though it is your godly parent that makes you special, you still have a mortal parent. While you don't receive any of the racial traits that your mortal parent has. Your mortal parent must be humanoid and you physically resemble that race in its most epitomized form.

Portfolio Sense

Demigods have a limited ability to sense events involving their portfolios. You automatically sense notable events and minor events within 5 miles that involves your portfolio. When a demigod senses an event, it merely knows that the event is occurring and where it is. The demigod receives no sensory information about the event. For example, if a demigod of the nature portfolio was within 5 miles of a forest fire it would become aware of it and where it is happening. If it was 10 miles away it wouldn't have any idea but if that forest fire broke the seal on an ancient evil that their godly parent or some other nature god locked away you would become aware of it as well as the location of the site.

Languages

You can speak, read and write Common and all demigods have the innate ability to speak, read and write Celestial. Whether they discover this by meeting an angel or when a traveling aasimar got a peek at their scribbles as a child is, it is ultimately up to you. Celestial as a language sounds like a heavenly choir when spoken, and is written with a grace and fluidity that no mortal language has replicated.

Fated

The threads of fates unravel and tie themselves anew for a demigod. When you roll a 1 on an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw, you can re-roll the die and must use the new roll.