Homebrew Ghost Species Details
Death isn’t always the end. The ghost is a perfect example of one who has died, but remains in the material plane as a specter. Some ghosts exhibit the scars of fatal fates, their ashen flesh, missing limbs, or bloodless veins making it clear that they’ve been touched by death. Some are malevolent, seeking destruction and revenge. Others are peaceful, wishing only to be put to rest. Whatever their purpose, reborn know a new life and seek experiences and answers all their own.
Faded Memories
Reborn suffer from some manner of discontinuity, an interruption of their lives or physical state that their minds are ill equipped to deal with. Their memories of events before this interruption are often vague or absent. Occasionally, the most unexpected experiences might cause sensations or visions of the past to come rushing back.
Rather than sleeping, reborn regularly sit and dwell on the past, hoping for some revelation of what came before. Most of the time, these are dark, silent stretches. Occasionally, though, in a moment of peace, stress, or excitement, a reborn gains a glimpse of what came before. When you desire to have such a dreamlike vision, roll on the Lost Memories table to inspire its details.
Malevolent ghosts tend to only remember painful memories, unable to latch onto whatever peaceful or happy memories they had in life. Peaceful ghosts are the opposite, unable to remember memories other than ones that they had considered as 'happy'. While often, peaceful ghosts cannot remember their deaths, malevolent ghosts almost always remember theirs.
Lost Memories
| d8 | Memory |
|---|---|
| 1 | You recall a physically painful moment. What mark or scar on your body does it relate to? |
| 2 | A memory causes you to shed a tear. Is it a bitter or cheerful memory? Does recalling it make you feel the same way? |
| 3 | You recall a childhood memory. What about that event or who you were still influences you? |
| 4 | A memory brings with it the voice of someone once close to you. How do they advise you? |
| 5 | You recall enjoying something that you can’t stand doing now. What is it? Why don’t you like it now? |
| 6 | A memory carries a vivid smell or sensation. What are you going to do to recreate that experience? |
| 7 | You faintly remember a place that couldn’t possibly exist. What is this vision? How does it make you feel? |
| 8 | You experience a memory you’re certain isn’t your own. How does it seem unnatural? Could it be a glimpse of a past nightmare or something worse? |
Ghost Traits
Your ghost character has the following racial traits.Speed
Your base flying speed is 30 feet.
Ability Score Increase
When you determine your ability scores, increase one of those scores by 2, and increase a different one by 1. These increases can’t raise a score above 20. You follow this rule regardless of the method you use to determine the scores, such as rolling or point buy. If you are replacing your race with a lineage, replace any Ability Score Increases you previously had with these.
Languages
Your character can speak, read, and write Common and one other language that you and your DM agree is appropriate for the character. The Player’s Handbook offers a list of widespread languages to choose from. The DM is free to add or remove languages from that list for a particular campaign. If you are replacing your race with a lineage, you retain any languages you had and gain no new languages.
Creature Type
Every creature in D&D, including every player character, has a special tag in the rules that identifies the type of creature they are. Most player characters are of the Humanoid type. A race option presented here tells you what your character’s creature type is.
Your creature type is Humanoid, as well as Undead.
Size
Your size is Medium or Small (choose when you gain this lineage).
Darkvision
You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light and in darkness as if it were dim light.
Deathless Nature
You have escaped death, a fact represented by the following benefits:
- You have advantage on saving throws against disease and being poisoned, and you have resistance to poison damage.
- You have advantage on death saving throws.
- You don’t need to eat, drink, or breathe.
- You don’t need to sleep, and magic can’t put you to sleep. You can finish a long rest in 4 hours if you spend those hours in an inactive, motionless state, during which you retain consciousness.
There are also disadvantages:
- Rain melts you. Every 5ft movement in rain causes 1d4 acid damage.
- You have vulnerability towards radiant damage.
- As an incorporeal being, holding onto physical objects takes concentration.
- Make concentration checks to see if you manage to hold onto physical objects when you are attacked.
- You cannot enter holy ground without taking radiant damage, and weapons covered in holy water do critical damage if they hit.
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