Homebrew Singer Species Details

The singers are a sapient species on Roshar, which humans called the parsh or parshmen. One such group of singers are the listeners.

Singers communicate through special Rhythms--hence them being called singers. Singers can bond various spren which change their forms.

Singers predate humanity on Roshar. Around the time of the Recreance, many of the singers had their Connection and Identity stolen, pieces of their souls ripped away. This made those singers docile and subservient, which humans called parshmen and used as slaves for millennia later. With the advent of the Everstorm, these singers were healed and restored. Singers grow faster compared to humans but have slightly shorter lifespans.

Singers are humanoid, but not entirely human-like. The most apparent sign of their alien nature is their skin; it's covered in marblings, swirls of various colors - red, black or white. Most singers have two-colored skin; the marblings can appear in various way, both as delicate swirls and large, wind-swept patterns.There are singers whose skin has all three colors, but they are extremely rare. Their hair is typically orange or red -- colors that don't seem to naturally occur for Rosharan humans.

Apart from their multicolored skin, singers have other features that differentiate them from humans. Their bodies have carapace growing over some parts of them; where and how much depends on what form the singer is currently in, but they typically cover the head and the arms. In addition, their teeth are built differently than human ones; their molars allow them to chew through shells, and their metabolism is geared towards metabolizing it, allowing them to make better use of the local fauna. Their eyes are also inhuman - all black, with no whites in the corners and no visible iris.

Like many local species, singers possess gemhearts, though theirs are clouded white, and fused to their sternum. Those gemhearts allow them to bond with spren letting them change their forms, leading to a change in both appearance and some mental faculty.

Singer Traits

Singers have the unique ability to change their subrace.

Languages

You learn Common and Parshendi

Spren

As a singer, you are able to see spren, which are spirits that live in Shadesmar (or the Ethereal plane). There are different types of spren that personify ideals, concepts and emotions. Spren can be used for singers to change form. Spren are incorporeal, and non-singer characters cannot see them (unless the campaign is set on Roshar).

Changing Forms

Singers have the ability to change their form during a storm. To do this, you need to capture a spren in a gemstone, which requires 1d6 - your wisdom modifier hours, to a minimum of 1. Once you have captured a spren, you need to take a short rest with the captured outside during a thunderstorm. After that, you are able to pick a singer subrace to change to.