Homebrew Darkling Species Details
Ancient legends speak of a seelie fey who betrayed the Summer Queen. His true name has been stricken from history, but the stories call him Dubh Catha (“Dark Crow” in Common). So great was the Summer Queen’s wrath that she cursed every member of his house. Other fey refer to the descendants of Dubh Catha’s house as the dubh sith — or, in Common, “darklings.” Darklings most often settle in secluded caverns and chambers beneath the towns of other species. From such enclaves, they quietly ply their trade as thieves and assassins.
The Killing Light. The Summer Queen’s curse causes a darkling’s body to absorb light, and doing so wizens the creature, much like the effect of rapid aging. For this reason, darklings cover every part of their body with clothing when exposure to light is a risk. The light a darkling absorbs over the course of its lifetime explodes outward when the darkling dies, incinerating the creature and much of its possessions.
Love of Art. Despite their curse, darklings retain a fondness for the beauty of art. A darkling might risk taking a peek at a sunset or lighting a tiny candle to glimpse the colors in a painting or a jewel.
Elder Transformation. A wise and respected darkling can qualify to undergo a ritual to become an elder. Other elders mark the supplicant with glowing tattoos, channeling some of the darkling’s absorbed light away from its body. If the ritual succeeds, the darkling grows into a tall and fair form, like that of a gray-skinned elf. The darkling perishes if the ritual fails.
Darkling Traits
Your darkling is a cursed fey that must avoid the light, lest they absorb too much of it and perish. Years of hiding in the shadows have allowed you to gain great deal of comfort within them, and a small amount of control over them.Ability Score Increase
Your Dexterity score increases by 2 and your Wisdom score increases by 1.
Age
A darkling reaches maturity around age 20. Darklings who never feel light on their skin can live nearly one thousand years, but most darklings don't live past two hundred.
Alignment
Darklings live in enclaves beneath other races. They most commonly ply their trades as thieves and assassins and tend toward the chaotic neutral.
Size
Darklings are between 3 and 4 feet tall. Your size is small.
Speed
Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Fey
Your creature type is fey, rather than humanoid.
Dark Sense
A lifetime of hiding in the dark has allowed you to sense your surroundings to a certain degree around you. You have blindsight out to 30 ft. and can effectively see objects and creatures that are not hidden from you within this range. Additionally, you can see in darkness as if it were dim light (shades of gray) up to a range of 120 ft.
Stalker
You have proficiency in the Stealth and Perception skills.
Light Sensitivity
While your skin is in direct contact with light, you become more wizened depending on the severity. Every round you spend in dim light increases your effective age by 1d4 months and every round in bright light increases your effective age by 1d4 years. Additionally, while in bright light, you have disadvantage on attack rolls and perception checks that involve sight. A darkling who has reached an effective age of 900 through a combination of time and exposure to light will die.
Death Flash
When you die, nonmagical light flashes out from you in a 10-foot radius as your body and possessions, other than metal or magic objects, burn to ash. Any creature in that area and able to see the bright light must succeed on a DC 11 Constitution saving throw or be blinded until the end of the creature’s next turn. When you reach 5th level, affected creatures will now take 2d6 radiant damage on a failed save and half that on a successful save.
Elder Transformation
When you reach 5th level, you undergo a transformation into a Darkling Elder. You size increases to medium and you grow to between 5 and 6 feet, gaining an appearance similar to a gray skinned elf. Additionally, you gain the ability to cast darkness once with this trait, and regain the ability to do so after a short or long rest. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for this spell.
Languages
You can speak, read, and write Common, Elvish and Sylvan.
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Posted Jan 7, 2021Didn't look at all of the previously shared homebrew Darklings, but the ones I did look at weren't as close to the original as I would like, so I made one as close to the original creatures as I could. Some of them added neat features and traits, but tended to get a little too bloated and started feeling more like a class than a race. If you want a vanilla-esque Darkling to play, well, here ya go.