Homebrew Change ling Species Details

While changelings can look like anyone at any given time, they do have a true form. Their natural look can be scary to some due to their lack of detail and distinctive features. Their skin tone is always pale, either white or light gray, and they tend to have slender bodies with limbs slightly longer in proportion to other humanoids. They have large colorless eyes circled by thick black rings. Their hair color is most commonly a light shade of silver followed by platinum and blonde. In rarer cases, their hair can be pale shades of green, pink, and blue. Similar to elves, changelings lack body and facial hair.

However, most changelings are rarely seen in their true form and prefer to adopt all kinds of humanoid shapes, treating their appearance like others treat clothes. This includes gender.

Lifespan

Changelings reach maturity slightly faster than humans and live as long as humans do; typically about 100 years.

Alignment

Most changelings are neutral. They prefer to keep a low profile and often do not take passionate stances that would draw attention. However, changelings can be any alignment, and often readily adapt to the culture they are raised in.

Gifted or Cursed

Changelings have long been persecuted by other races, seen at best as tricksters and con-artists, at worst as thieves and assassins. Many people find it hard to trust changelings, and while their talents make them natural spies and criminals, in reality, a changeling is just as likely as any creature to turn to good or evil. Some changelings work hard to remove this stigma, but each time a changeling is caught robbing from a wealthy merchant or sneaking about where they are not welcome, it only perpetuates the stereotype.

Wary and Deliberate

In general, changelings are prudent and cautious, preferring to take risks only when they feel that their chances are good or the payoff is worth it. They appreciate the finer things in life and take great pleasure in the comforts of a wealthy lifestyle when they can obtain it. They avoid direct confrontation, preferring stealthy strikes and hasty retreats whenever possible. In conversation, they are soft-spoken but have a gift for drawing out more information than the other party usually plans to reveal.

Searchers

Without a longstanding history or home of their own, changelings have a natural curiosity about the cultures of other races. Many strike out as adventurers to learn (and adopt) as much as they can.

Changeling Names

All changeling names are unisex and are very short, usually one syllable.

Naturally Deceptive

Changelings' inborn abilities leave them uniquely suited to professions that rely on subterfuge or disguise.

Changelings live among humans, goblinoids, or other races, blending in among them and living in their shadow. They are commonly found in large cities, where their talents can be used as entertainers. government agents, or adventurers, but also for more criminal purposes. Some changelings live in stable communities where they are open about their true nature, while others live in nomadic communities that hide their ability to shapeshift from outsiders.

Many changelings take up one of three philosophical beliefs when it comes to their mutable forms and these philosophies guide many aspects of a changeling's day-to-day life.

In their natural form, changelings are slender and pale with colorless eyes and silver-white hair. A changeling can alter its physical appearance with a thought. While this can be used to deceive others, it is a natural form of expression for the changeling. A changeling shifts shapes 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 changeling mask can be used to express a mood or to serve a specific purpose and then never used again. However, many changelings develop identities that have more depth. They build an identity over time, crafting a persona, with 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 previous users of the persona.

Change ling Traits

A changeling can shift its face and form with a thought.

Ability Score Increase.

Either your Dexterity or your Intelligence increases by 1 (your choice).

Change Appearance.

As an action, you can transform your appearance or revert to your natural form. You can’t duplicate the appearance of a creature you’ve never seen, and you revert to your natural form if you die.
- You decide what you look like, including your height, weight, facial features, the sound of your voice, coloration, hair length, sex, and any other distinguishing characteristics. You can make yourself appear as a member of another race, though none of your game statistics change. You also can’t appear as a creature of a different size than you, and your basic shape stays the same; if you’re bipedal, you can’t use this trait to become quadrupedal, for instance. Your clothing and other equipment don’t change in appearance, size, or shape to match your new form, requiring you to keep a few extra outfits on hand to make the most compelling disguise possible.
- Even to the most astute observers, your ruse is usually indiscernible. If you rouse suspicion, or if a wary creature suspects something is amiss, you have advantage on any Charisma (Deception) check you make to avoid detection.

Changeling Instincts.

You gain proficiency with two of the following skills of your choice: Deception, Insight, Intimidation, or Persuasion.

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.

Divergent Persona.

You gain proficiency with one tool of your choice. Define a unique identity associated with that proficiency; establish the name, race, gender, age, and other details. While you are in the form of this persona, the related proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses that proficiency.