Homebrew Darkling Species Details

Long ago, a Seelie fey whose name is lost to time betrayed the Summer Queen, leading to his entire house being cursed by her. These descendants are known as Darklings ("dubh sith" in Sylvan). The curse causes darklings' skin to absorb light and cause a rapid form of aging that can easily kill a darkling who does not cover their entire body or spend their lives in the dark.

A Darkling's body, due to their curse, absorbs and contains all light that touches their skin, slowly ageing the Darkling the longer they are exposed. While this does not cause the darkling physical pain, it does take a physical toll on their body, and continuous exposure to light could strain a Darkling's body to the brink of death. Only by allowing the body time to process the light in a dark environment, does the Darkling recover, similar to a human allowing themselves time to digest a meal. At the time of a Darkling's death, the light stored in their bodies is released, violently, in a blast of white light. There are cautionary tales in Darkling societies where a single death, caused a chain reaction throughout a Darkling settlement, leaving only ash and empty houses left.

Respected members of Darkling society undergo a ritual that restores the beauty of their race by siphoning the light in their bodies into glowing tattoos. In their Elder form, Darklings are medium-sized fair humanoids that resemble well-built elves, though their grey complexion remains.

Darklings live in close-knit tribes dwelling in caves or under cities of other races, due to their curse. They are known to enjoy art and music, perhaps as a vague recollection of their ancestors' home with the Summer Queen, even risking their vulnerability to light in order to light a candle for a quick glimpse at a priceless work of art, or a glimmering sunset. Mostly, however, this longing for art represents itself in music, and Darkling bards are held in high esteem in their tribes for the beautiful but melancholic melodies they play.

Darklings have a given name, but if they become an elder, their name is extended into a longer form to match their new status in Darkling society. All Darklings use the family name "Dubh Catha" in memory of their first kin that fell from grace.

Male Names: Bran, Cor, Dòm, Fal, Fin

Female Names: Eimir, Mor, Gran, Cea, Bree

Elder Male Names: Brandubh, Coireall, Dòmhnallan, Failbhe, Fionghan

Elder Female Names: Eamhhair, Mòrag, Gràinne, Ceanag, Brianag

 

Darkling Traits

Your Darkling character has the following racial traits.

Ability Score Increase

When determining your character’s ability scores, increase one of those scores by 2 and a different score by 1, or increase three different scores by 1. Follow this rule regardless of the method you use to determine the scores, such as rolling or point buy.

The “Quick Build” section for your character’s class offers suggestions on which scores to increase. You’re free to follow those suggestions or to ignore them. Whichever scores you decide to increase, none of the scores can be raised above 20.

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.

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. 

You are a Fey.

Size

You are Small.

Speed

Your walking speed is 30 feet.

Fairy Magic

You know the druidcraft, darkness and faerie fire spells. You can cast faerie fire without expending a spell slot, and you must finish a long rest before you can cast it this way again. You can also cast this spell using any spell slots you have. Your spellcasting ability for these spells is your choice of Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma.

Fey Passage

You can squeeze through a space as narrow as 1 inch wide.

Fey Ancestry

You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can’t put you to sleep.

Superior 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. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Death Flash

When the darkling dies, nonmagical light flashes out from it in a 10-foot radius as its 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 10 Constitution saving throw or be blinded until the end of the creature's next turn.

Light Sensetivity

While in bright light, the darkling has disadvantage on attack rolls, as well as on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.