Homebrew Nightwalker Species Details

The Negative Plane is a place of darkness and death, anathema to all living things. Yet there are those who would tap into its fell power, to use its energy for sinister ends. Most often, when such individuals approach the midnight realm, they find they are unequal to the task. Those not destroyed outright are sometimes drawn inside the plane and replaced by nightwalkers, terrifying undead creatures that devour all life they encounter.

Mighty Spawn. One can reach the Negative Plane from the Shadowfell, much in the same way that it is possible to step from the Material Plane into the Shadowfell in a place where the barrier between the planes is thin.

Stepping into the Negative Plane is tantamount to suicide since the plane sucks the life and soul from such audacious creatures and annihilates them at once. Those few who survive the effort do so by sheer luck or by harnessing some rare form of magic that protects them against the hostile atmosphere. They soon discover, however, that they can’t leave as easily as they arrived. For each creature that enters the plane, a nightwalker is released to take its place. In order for a trapped creature to escape, the released nightwalker must be lured back to the Negative Plane by offerings of life for it to devour. If the nightwalker is destroyed, the trapped creature has no hope of escape.

Nightwalkers are different depending on what created them.  Creatures from the Material Plane are the only things that create nightwalkers.  The nightwalkers created from evil beings are made into perfect reflections including belongings but their personality is flipped into the chaotic to lawful to evil to good.  The nightwalkers created from good beings are made into reflections that are twisted and corrupt with their personalities being lawful to chaotic to good to evil.  Nightwalkers can change into a shadowy ethereal form and a monstrous form.  The nightwalkers of Neutral beings create nightwalkers whose only form is the monstrous form.  The nightwalkers possess the memories of their reflections but they are aware that they are nightwalkers.  Nightwalkers can change and have very fluid personalities and can change over time.  They know that they aren't real but artificial.

Beings of Anti-Life. One can discern the nature of creatures trapped in the Negative Plane from the sites that nightwalkers frequent. Generally, a nightwalker on the Material Plane is attracted to elements of the world associated with the creature responsible for its creation. Such interest doesn’t indicate a willingness to engage with the world; nightwalkers exist to make life extinct and never to serve living things.  They are independent beings with an intact mind but will hunger for souls and life similar to a vampire's craving for blood.

Undead Nature. A nightwalker doesn’t require air, food, drink, or sleep.

None Other: Every Nightwalker is a mirror version of an entity entering the Negative Realm.  Their appearance is exactly the same all the way to the base elements.  They appear as the same race and will carry the same gear that the originals were carrying.  Personalities are mirrored and the changes will be physically reflected in the nightmare form.

Option: Players may start with unusual or extraordinary items in their inventory.  DMs discretion

Nightwalker Traits

Beings born to the Negative Plane imbalance.

Ability Score Increase

Your Intelligence score increases by 1.  Your Charisma increases by 1.  Any ability score increases by 2.

Age

Nightwalkers do not die from the passage of time.  Additionally, they can change the way their bodies age appears by shifting their body to appear at any age their physical form can look when humanoid.

Alignment

Nightwalker alighnments are originally chaotic evil but are more easily influenced by factors to change over time.  They can adopt any moral compass depending on their experiences.

Size

Nightwalkers' humanoid form is the same as whatever they were before.  Their monstrous form is typically well over 7 feet tall to 20 feet tall.

Speed

Your base speed is 30 feet.

Superior Darkvision

 You can see in dim light within 120 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.

Soul Eater

If a creature with a soul dies near you you can devour their soul effectively destroying it.  This takes an action and you can recover 2d8 health or recover from any condition.  If this is done the creature is unable to be revived by any means short of a wish spell.

Dark Flare

You can summon the darkness emanating from yourself and move them like your own limbs. You can cast the "arms of hadar "spell once, as a 1st level spell. You must finish a long rest to use this trait again.

Shadow Dash

In your element, you draw from your surroundings to move smoothly and quickly. When you take the Dash action while in darkness on your turn, your movement is doubled.  This can be used once per short rest.

Eyes for Darkness

Whenever you make a Perception check while in darkness, you are considered proficient in the Perception skill and add double your proficiency bonus to the check, instead of your normal proficiency bonus.

Nightmarish Change

Nightwalkers have another form.  When in this form the nightwalker gains claws, horns and skin turn into a blackened leathery skin.  In this form, you gain many benefits.  Your Ac increases by 2.  You gain proficiency on Stealth and if you already have proficiency you have expertise in Stealth.  Your height increases to double your height plus 2 feet.  Your claws are considered Dexterity weapons with a 1d10 plus Dex modifier.  This form lasts for either an hour of combat or until no one attacks you for more than 3 minutes.  The nightwalker can only attack creatures that have attacked it.  When this attacked by a second assailant your attention instantly shifts and you dash or attack the last person to hit you.  This form can be used once per long rest.

Appearance 

The appearance of the nightwalker can vary having the flesh have the appearance of anything from muscle, oil, translucent slime, shadows, etc.  The bones are always dark black.  The skull of the monster shift is always the same as the original form.  The body changes to have extended limbs and bone.  If the Nightwalker was wearing something on their head they will be wearing it and if its ever lost it will randomly reappear 1d4 days of losing it on the head of the owner.  The headwear retains any properties it once had.

Damage Defenses

Nightwalker's have resistance to physical damage of nonmagical attacks. Nightwalkers have immunities to necrotic and poison damage.