Homebrew Awakened Hat Species Details

Through some arcane magic, a ritual gone wrong, or deliberate magical interference, you have gained sentience. You can now understand things that living creatures can, learn and grow. The only problem is that you are a hat. A hat with no eyes, mouth, or limbs of any sort. But wait- what's this? A sentient being has put you on their head, and now you can see through their eyes... hear through their ears... walk with their feet. You have possessed them. And with them, you will further either the goals of your creator, or yourself.

You Are A Hat

Awakened hats look just like regular hats. They can come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, colors and styles, and can appeal to many different people, or nobody at all. An Awakened Hats, in their normal form, have no limbs, nor senses, and can only think to themselves. They cannot see, smell, hear, taste, or touch anything. Nor can they physically speak. All they can do is hope to find a vessel that can give them these abilities. However, they can very faintly telepathically link to nearby creatures to sway them into putting the Awakened Hat on, to speed up the process.

Arcane Life

Awakened Hats, like many awakened animals or items, can be given life in a variety of ways. Sometimes through a blessing or curse by a deity, sometimes through the work of a powerful mage, or even originally being a sentient creature forced to possess an inanimate object, through magic-based death or some magical ritual. No matter how you managed to be given life as a sentient hat, you have some innate magical abilities. When creatures cast “detect magic” with you in range, they will be able to sense your magic.

Possession

Without senses, life can be quite hard. However, Awakened Hats have a trick to let them access senses- possession of a different sentient being. If a sentient creatures puts on an Awakened hat, they must make a Wisdom Saving Throw (DC of 12 plus your WIS modifier) or else be completely possessed by the hat, surrendering their body. The original host of the body will be completely incapacitated, and will be put into a thoughtless, memoryless coma. The Awakened Hat can control this vessel, and use its senses, within a 100 ft radius if it leaves the hosts head and succeeds a Wisdom Saving Throw (same DC). Each round the hat is not in contact with the host, it must roll to keep control. If it fails its control, or if it is picked up and worn by a different sentient being, the original body's host will regain control with no recollection of the hat, nor their time being possessed.

Names?

Awakened Hats typically do not have names when first created, but will often give themselves names after possessing a new creature. These names can have a wide variety, ranging from just Common words to actual names that the hat has heard on its travels with its vessel.

Awakened Hat Traits

Awakened hats typically have these traits:

Ability Score Increase

You gain 2 Wisdom and 1 Intelligence.

Speed

When you are just a hat, you cannot walk. However, in a different form, you always have a walking speed of 30, no matter what race.

Size

As a hat, you are built to fit on a creature's head. The head size can vary, but you are typically less than a foot tall, or a foot long. Your size is tiny.

Trait Stealing

When you possess a sentient being, you get all that comes with them. You gain all racial abilities of the creature you possess, and any race-based proficiencies. However, your ability scores do not change to reflect the new race, they remain the same. You can also access this specific creature's memories.

Senseless Form

If an Awakened Hat is not possessing a host (that is either currently wearing it or is under its control), they will be stuck in a senseless state where they cannot hear, see, speak, or touch anything, and are unaware of their surroundings. This leaves the hat essentially Incapacitated.

Telepathic Communication

You can use your magical abilities to communicate telepathically, no spell required, with creatures around you in a 20 ft radius. You can choose who to communicate with and stop other creatures from hearing you.