Homebrew Ancient Fey Species Details

A race lost to time, and long thought extinct except for their descendants be them Elven or monster. With aversion to the tendencies of walled cities and villages, they prefer to leave themselves to the wilderness, living as free as every plant and animal. Many of whatever Ancient Fey that remain in the world have learned to be self-sufficient with their great ties to the magical energy in plant-life. They do not hold any traditional taboos from a culture of their own; but, the Sylvan language that's shared among the Ancient Fey is enough to allow small nomadic groups to band together if they please. But, independent of any tribal tendencies, they are all nomadic; each Ancient Fey has come to know how to shift the structure of their environment using the plant-life to rearrange both soil and forestry as they please. This is the method they used to hide their remnants from the outside world, slipping into underground lairs, hollow trees, and other makeshift hidden homes. The Ancient Fey are thought to usually be extraordinarily intelligent, regardless of holding a more civil or animalistic lifestyle. Each Ancient Fey comes with an appearance resembling that of an Elf with refractive hair and a light tan shade of skin that's variable to slight change depending on their environment. It is rumored that some of them possess grand sets of wings; but, this is not consistent with every Ancient Fey. They may be perfectly sociable or as well-mannered as a rabid beast, with tendency to the former. However, one of the few commonly universal traits across all the Ancient Fey is that they tend to have a selfish nature; but, not a necessarily greedy or "evil" one. They care for their families with great dedication; but, most would cannibalize their own children so long as they were starving and the young are not strong enough to defend themselves (from other creatures). It is said that the majority of the Ancient Fey had abandoned the ways of the Ancients to seek to integrate into the societies of other races. It is also said that these were the original ancestors that would later form into the Elves and their sub-races. Though this original group set out to obtain the systematic pleasures and benefits of modern civilizations, it is thought that modern Elves retain the desire to maintain a free-spirited life. They can be anywhere from 4' tall to 5'5" tall come adulthood, with an unusually high rate of gigantism. An adult weighs anywhere from 86-138 pounds. Their eyes are semi-translucent, save the cornea and pupils; the coloration of their eyes can be any color, and some have the ability to this shift color at will. They are only known to speak Sylvan; but, can quickly pick up new languages. They reach adulthood at 181 years old and on average die at the age of 1685 years old. Accustomed to occasional nightly excursions in dark forests, and the recent tendency to hide away underground, the Ancient Fey have developed an odd ability. They are able to burn calories to create a thin membrane of light over top their eyeballs that catches particles of light that bounce into the membrane. The membrane then amplifies the light signatures in the perceived area to create a slightly blurry and colored visual map of the Ancient Fey's surroundings. In the absence of exterior lighting, the slight glow from the membrane itself will still create a dulled effect of the ability. They possess access to the Trance ability only under direct sunlight, and must take one and a half times as long as an Elf to accomplish a full rest; this is known as "Phototrance." But, they are able to replace 2 hours of a sleep's energy if they force themselves to ingest an extra 2 pounds of food. They naturally have +2 Intelligence and -4 Strength. Come the age of very early adolescence (at least 11 years old), they are able to inconsistently use magic in manipulating plant-life; once they grow to roughly the age of 24, they possess full control of this ability.

Ancient Fey Traits

Eyes that look through shadowed trees, a healthy diet, and tools at the base of every leaf.

Age

They reach adulthood at 181 years old and on average die at the age of 1685 years old.

Ability Score Increase and Decrease

+3 Intelligence and -2 Strength

Alignment

They are subject to any alignment and tendencies more varied than humans. They may be perfectly sociable or as well-mannered as a rabid beast, with tendency to the former. However, one of the few commonly universal traits across all the Ancient Fey is that they tend to have a selfish nature; but, not a necessarily greedy or "evil" one. They do not hold any traditional taboos from a culture of their own.

Size

They can be anywhere from 4' tall to 5'5" tall come adulthood, with an unusually high rate of gigantism. They are usually slender or even muscular; but, it is a rarity to ever see an Ancient Fey with the luxury to grow overweight.

Speed

Your walking speed is 25, swimming is 20, flying is 25, climbing is 25. You may only burrow at a speed of 20 with the assistance of magic used to control nearby plant-life, separating apart clumps of dirt with powerful roots.

Reverberation Sight

Accustomed to occasional nightly excursions in dark forests, and the recent tendency to hide away underground, the Ancient Fey have developed an odd ability. They are able to burn calories to create a thin membrane of light over top their eyeballs that catches particles of light that bounce into the membrane. The membrane then amplifies the light signatures in the perceived area to create a slightly blurry and colored visual map of the Ancient Fey's surroundings. In the absence of exterior lighting, the slight glow from the membrane itself will still create a dulled effect of the ability.

Phototrance

Rather than sleeping, an Ancient Fey may go into a semiconscious trance for 6 hours and receive a full rest as long as they are under direct sunlight.

Botanical Cohesion

Come the age of very early adolescence (at least 11 years old), they are able to inconsistently use magic to manipulate plant-life; once they grow to roughly the age of 24, they possess full control of this ability. This may be used as a tool or a weapon; but, it never is able to stretch more than 15 feet from the plant. This ability must meet a 5+ check on a d20 to work on the plant, if the plant-life has not had a week's interaction with the Ancient Fey. This is done through tapping into innate magical energy within the life-force of the plant and trying to bind it with the magic of the user to allow it to be controlled. While it is rumored that this innate energy is present in all living things, not even those Fey that have dedicated their entire lifespan to it have ever been able to control any being other than plant-life. It is speculated that this ability is partial to plant-life due to either their more sedentary and dependent nature, an evolutionary attachment to the Ancient Fey, or a weak will. Whatever the case, it does seem that the plant-life itself has some influence in whether or not it is used or not, as occasionally Ancient Fey have been seen to fail to control trees that they have not spent much time with, whereas those they've grown up with will abide to their magic with perfect consistency.

Language

They are only known to speak and write Sylvan in any majority. But, it is thought that they can learn other tongues quite fast.