Homebrew Crooked One Species Details

A very rare, strange race of beings, rumored to be the offspring of a celestial being and an eldritch one, Crooked ones are rarely seen outside of their usual home of the Astral Planes. In their normal forms, they are nothing more than vaguely humanoid shuffling masses of various unspeakable materials. However, they have the natural ability to shapeshift for an indefinite amount of time.

Being ( supposedly ) spawn of celestials and eldritch beings, Crooked Ones tend to fall on the scale of neutrality, although like any race, there are bad and good seeds. They tend to hover above societies amongst the realms and tend not to understand them, or care for it, depending. Those that the life on the material plane are aware of tend to be the more curious of the bunch.

These curious crooked ones find their way to other planes, although, due to their monstrous and horrifying nature, they were usually killed, or at the very least, severely wounded and left with a lesson that humanoids tend to be afraid of them. So, as time went on, they adapted to learn how to shapeshift to best fit into communities they wished to integrate into.

However, being alien beings from the far realms, they tend to misjudge how they’re supposed to look. Many come down to the material plane looking like highly mutated humans, with extra limbs, eyes, or other body parts. Others who are slightly better at it tend to only have one, somewhat un-noticeable extra limb or part, like fingers or toes, and some manage to pass as a human who just seems slightly Off in a way you wouldn’t be able to describe. The most common mistake they make is the general size of the being they try to imitate, having to contain their usually large sizes into small human forms, and end up sit elongated and crooked limbs, in which they famously got their name.

Crooked Ones are naturally alienated, subject to whispers and rumors about them due to their just slightly Wrong nature. Even amongst themselves, they are isolated, as the astral plane they rest upon is endlessly expansive, and they rarely meet. The most common bonds in-between Crooked Ones are those of siblings born in the same brood, although this within itself is rare.

Crooked One adventurers can play as any class, but due to their very nature of their birth, tend to prefer classes in which they can tap into their natural magical abilities, such as clerics, warlocks, or sorcerers.

When playing a Crooked one, there are a few things to consider:

• You are an entity from the far realms, and a stranger in a strange land. 
• Your character may find common practices and laws alien to them, depending on how long they have been in their chosen realm.

Crooked Ones always name themselves, as, the second they awake in consciousness, there is usually no-one else there to gift them a name. They will develop it themselves over their life, and these names tend to vary wildly. Some chose names rooted in their eldritch culture, while many chose to name themselves the titles given by other residents of the realms they visit, or even random words they are fond of.

Crooked One Traits

As a child of two strange and alien beings, you gain the following traits:

Ability Score Increase

Your Constitution ability score is increases by 2, and your Wisdom ability score increases by 1.

Age

Crooked Ones often outlive their mundane kin by centuries or millennia, due to their otherworldly nature of their being. Every Crooked One is different, depending on their spawn— some are even known to not die from old age at all, but rather go into an endless sleep only to re-awaken ages later.

Alignment

Most Crooked Ones can be considered unaligned entities, however, by comparison they are usually viewed as Chaotic within the material realm due to the difference in culture and understanding between there and the Far Realms. 

Size

Crooked ones, in their humanoid forms, tend to range from 5 to almost 10 feet depending on how they have chosen to present themselves. Almost all of them are 100 pounds or lighter, having a distinct lack of organs that most living beings would usually have. You are considered Medium.

In your true form, you are considered Large.

Aberrant Nature

While some Crooked ones are more human looking than others, they carry the otherness of the Far Realms with them. Your creature type is Aberration.

Language

You can speak, read, and write Common and Deep Speech. 

Darkvision

Accustomed to the dark empty skies of the Far Realm, 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.   

Sensitive Skin

You have blindsight in a 10 foot radius, as long as you are not submerged in fluid or a vacuum.

True Form

As an action, you shed your humanoid form, suddenly becoming a mass of writhing horrors appropriate of a race originating from the Far Realms. All creatures that can see you within a 30-foot radius must make a Wisdom saving throw or be frightened. The DC for this saving throw is 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier. You gain temporary hit points equal to your level + your Constitution modifier, and your unarmed strikes cause bludgeoning damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier. You regain use of this trait once you complete a long rest.