Homebrew Changeling of Serevont Species Details

"A Changeling is a wonderfully dangerous friend to have. They work on all levels of society, and those fancy noble fellows too lazy to learn magic sometimes turn to them for protection. Sometimes, with a Changeling around, a bitter priest may suddenly find the errors of their ways after being visited by a visage of their god, or an upstanding member of society may find themselves in a rather scandalous predicament that tarnishes their name. Some claim how they may have fallen from grace, but I know that a rogue Changeling had in fact played their role as a splendid force of chaos."

—Ser Telspit, Ser Telspit's Guide to Serevont

Changelings can shift their forms with a thought. Many changelings use this gift as a form of artistic and emotional expression. It’s also an invaluable tool for grifters, spies, and others who wish to deceive. This leads many people to treat changelings with suspicion, however others may use their gifts for the benefit of society- becoming great actors, bodyguards, diplomats, and attaining other roles to make use of their abilities.

A Hidden People

Wherever humans live, changelings reside also; the question is whether their presence is known.

Changelings are said to be created by the god of trickery, Aseryn, while others denote that their heritage is derived from Doppelgangers intermingling with humanoids. Some even claim both statements to be true, and that both the Doppelgangers and Changelings were divinely created by Aseryn as a means to sow mischief, mistrust, and discord for his own amusement. However, in Serevont, many of the upper castes of society value Changelings heavy and often use them as body doubles, spies, or messengers. In some facets of societies, Changelings make wonderful actors while con artists use them to impersonate a deceased friend of the grieving, often as a means to provide genuine closure, or in some cases, swindle a few more pieces of gold. 

In creating a changeling adventurer, consider the character’s relationships with people around them and their internal relationship with their powers. Does the character conceal their true changeling nature? Do they embrace it? Do they have connections to other changelings or are they alone and in search of companions? For what purpose to they use their powers?

Masks and Personas

In their true form, changelings are pale, with colorless eyes and silver-white hair. It is rare to see a changeling in that form, for a typical changeling changes their shape the way others might change clothes. A casual shape — one created on the spur of the moment, with no depth or history — is called a mask. A mask can be used to express a mood or to serve a specific purpose and then might never be used again. However, many changelings develop identities that have more depth. They build an identity over time, crafting a persona with a history and beliefs. This focused identity helps a changeling pinpoint a particular skill or emotion. A changeling adventurer might have personas for many situations, including negotiation, investigation, and combat.

Personas can be shared by multiple changelings; there might be three healers in a community, but whoever is on duty will adopt the persona of Tek, the kindly old medic. Personas can even be passed down through a family, allowing a younger changeling to take advantage of contacts established by the persona’s previous users.

Changeling Names

A changeling might use a different name for each mask and persona and adopt new names as easily as they change faces. The true name of a changeling tends to be simple and monosyllabic; however, there are often accents to a changeling’s name that are expressed through shapeshifting, something single-skins will likely miss. So, two changelings might have the name Jin, but one is Jin-with-vivid-blue-eyes and one is Jin-with-golden-nails.

Changelings have a fluid relationship with gender, seeing it as one characteristic to change among many.

Changeling Names: Aunn, Bin, Cas, Dox, Fie, Hars, Jin, Lam, Mas, Nix, Ot, Paik, Ruz, Sim, Toox, Vil, Yug

Changeling of Serevont Traits

Your changeling character has the following traits.

Ability Score Increase (+2)

Your Charisma, Wisdom, or Dexterity score increases by 2. Because of their innate abilities, most Changelings prefer to hone their skills to a specific discipline.

Ability Score Increase (+1)

One ability score of your choice increases by 1. Changelings may choose to either balance out their skills and versatility while others may decide to continue honing a specific ability for their goals. Some denote their adaptability is a sign of their humanoid heritage or divine touch.

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, much like their ancestors the Doppelgangers, lean towards pragmatic neutralism. A few, especially those serving the higher ups of society, may lean towards a may Lawful or even an Evil alignment. Their inclination largely depends on their relationship to their attitude towards their innate powers; and their inner desires on how to best benefit from it. Whispers echo along shadowed alleyways where some trade rumors- a mighty lord disappearing for a day before returning, changed- a rude shopkeeper suddenly with a change of heart...

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.

Primary Features (Choose 1)

Changelings are a humanoid race believed to be divinely created by the god Aseryn as well as rumored to be born from Doppelgangers. As a result, some Changelings may exhibit inherent traits found among their ancestors. Choose 1 Primary Feature that best reflect your Changeling character. These options include:

• Changeling Instincts, which grants you proficiency with two of the following skills of your choice: Deception, Insight, Intimidation, and Persuasion. (Needs to be done manually on the character sheet page, due to coding issues.)
• Darkvision, which allows you to see 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.
• Surprise Attack, If you surprise a creature and hit it with an attack on your first turn in combat, the attack deals an extra 2d6 damage to it. You can use this trait only once per combat encounter.
• Read Thoughts, which allows you as an action, once per long rest, to magically reads the surface thoughts of one creature within 60 feet of you. The effect can penetrate barriers, but 3 feet of wood or dirt, 2 feet of stone, 2 inches of metal, or a thin sheet of lead blocks it. While the target is in range, you can continue reading their thoughts, as long as your concentration isn't broken (as if concentrating on a spell). While reading the target's mind, you have advantage on Wisdom (Insight) and Charisma (Deception, Intimidation, and Persuasion) checks against the target.

Languages

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