Homebrew Cursed Swarm Species Details
The Swarm used to be something else, but a curse has transformed their physical body into a sentient swarm of smaller animals. These may be insects or birds, fish or reptiles, but they clump together to control a suit in an imitation of a true body. Some pursue a cure to their state, while others resign themselves to their lot, but overall these individuals stay hidden. The magic that makes them this way is strong and rare and everyday people are much quicker to fear them than do anything to help or understand.
People with the Curse of the Swarm stand unnaturally still and move with disturbing purpose and smoothness. No movement is frivolous or unconscious, only carefully executed motions filled with intent. They often come across to strangers as creatures out of time, they speak strangely, many will refer to themselves in the plural, and time doesn't always mean much to them. These swarms don't age in the traditional sense, but they seldom remember more than 100 years back.
Cursed Swarm Traits
Your swarm has a collection of traits that accompany their new nature, though whether they are gifts or curses depends on the individual.Ability Score Increase
Your Dexterity score increases by 2.
Age
Cursed Swarms do not age, only wander until they are cured or destroyed. Many don't even know how old they are, having lost the memories long ago.
Alignment
Swarms tend toward no particular alignment. They often retain the alignment they had in their previous life, but some grow bitter or angry at their lot in life and fall into evil.
Size
While Swarms hold a modicum of control over the shape they take, they most often retain the same general shape from their previous life. They typically range from barely 5 feet to well over 6 feet tall. Regardless of your position in that range, your size is Medium.
Speed
Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision
Through the animal eyes of your swarm, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. 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. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Trance
To protect themselves, swarms don’t sleep all at once. Instead, certain portions will rest at a time, leaving the swarm semiconscious, for 4 hours a day. (The Common word for such meditation is “trance.”) While in this state, you can dream after a fashion; such dreams might be an old habit from your previous life or the wandering of the imagination. After resting in this way, you gain the same benefit that a human does from 8 hours of sleep.
Language
You can speak, read, and write Common and one extra language of your choice. Swarms wander the world for centuries, sometimes living in a place long enough to pick up dialects and languages before moving on again.