Homebrew Niffin Species Details

" There are certain energies, certain spells, that are far too powerful for one magician alone. If you lose control, it will turn against you. It will kill you. It will consume you. Change you into something else. ”
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            —Dean Henry Fogg, The Magicians

 

Spellcasters who have been consumed by magic are reborn as niffins. Their bodies are destroyed and replaced by wild magic that forms a new body. The newly created niffin looks nearly identical to the original person, but their eyes flicker with arcane light which gives them an ethereal appearance. In daylight, a person would easily be fooled into thinking that a niffin is a normal person, but in the dark, an eerie blue glow can be seen beneath their skin.

Niffins are powerful beings of magical energy that are created when a spellcaster fails to maintain control over a powerful spell or performs a spell that is much too powerful and they become consumed by it. The caster is then enveloped by a blue fire that takes over their body. They have existed since mortals discovered how to first control magic. Many niffins were created when formal magic was in its infancy as they reached their upper limits. Little is known about historical niffins, as they don't keep written history and they remain mostly elusive to those who might keep records of them.

Niffins lack an organized or controlled society. Because niffins are reduced to pure magic when transformed, they lose their "shade" in the process (the part of one's soul that makes them human) and their ability to think, feel and behave like the thoughtful and emotional beings they once were is lost as a result. Their primary desire is to feed their magical nature and essentially become all-knowing, god-like entities. The violent energy of their preternatural makeup is inherently chaotic and virtually impossible to control or dominate. They are self-indulgent, power-hungry and unwilling to compromise, and therefore do not abide by social, moral or authoritative constructs and typically do not play well with others. Niffins have been known to work with one another, albeit out of self-interest, to expand individual power or achieve a shared goal.

 

Niffin Traits

Made out of magic itself, niffins are cruel creatures that don't feel empathy

Innate Casting

As a niffin, you have an innate knowledge of magic. You know the shocking grasp cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the magic missile spell once and need to finish a long rest before you can cast it again. When you reach 5th level, you can also cast the misty step spell once and need to finish a long rest before you can cast it again. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

Arcana Proficiency

You gain proficiency in the Arcana skill.

Ability Score Increase

Your Intelligence score increases by 2, and your Charisma score by 1.

Age

Niffins do not age, and they cannot die of old age.

Alignment

Niffins will almost always lean toward being chaotic neutral, despite what their alignment may have been as a human.

Size

Humans vary widely in height and build, 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.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and one extra language of your choice. 

Trance

Niffins don't need to sleep. Instead, they meditate deeply, remaining semiconscious, for 4 hours a day. (The Common word for such meditation is “trance.”) While meditating, you can dream after a fashion; such dreams are actually mental exercises that have become reflexive through years of practice. After resting in this way, you gain the same benefit that a human does from 8 hours of sleep.