Homebrew Dødelig Species Details

These small stone skeletons caper about the Underworld, living immortal lives of abandon and casual investigation wherever they go.The only known locale that dødelig are sure to be found is the corpse of the Dracoprime—a mountainous subterranean expanse made from the draconic idol’s dead body, buried far below the surface of Aventyr. The only things they take seriously are the uncovering of more of their kin and avoiding the colloid, an alien entity intent on the destruction of all undead.

History

Dødelig are a race that were never intended by the gods of Aventyr—their creator was the lich Udødelig, a mad wizard intent on preserving the legacy of undeath. Their existence is still something of an anomaly to the Underworld; the truth is that their entire species’ animation owes as much to the Great Schism as it does The Confluence. When the body of the Dracoprime fell upon the islands of the halflings during the Great Schism, countless small folk were instantly crushed to death under its mountainous corpse. The very marrow
of their bones was forced into the stones under the draconic idol, simultaneously immersed in the potent and arcane energies of its passing. For centuries afterward their lifeless, crushed bodies remained, mystically ingrained within the very rock.

Ddødelig was once a simple man, but came to be one of the first to successfully master the workings of magic before his mortal coil ran short. His distinction as the first lich of Aventyr did not at all go unnoticed by upperworlders and in his haste, he fled to the Underworld sometime after the Great Schism. For several decades he enjoyed exploring the subterranean seas, jungles and emergingrealms, eventually settling not far from the First Hive of the hoyrall, keen to see how their obvious plans for martial domination would play out. The Confluence changed his demeanor considerably as the colloid arrived and threw the insectoids into disarray. It didn’t take long for Udødelig to realize the alien entity’s intent to destroy all undead it encountered and he fled to the far reaches of the Underworld to plot, scheme and develop a means to combat the otherworldly threat or preserve his legacy. While he managed to enact one scheme that still puzzles the colloid to this day, the lich would never know the success or failure of his most vital contribution to the Underworld. Unfortunately the colloid is as persistent as it is pernicious and the lich was ill-prepared for the alien’s attack, left encased entirely within its form and fighting a losing battle against its endless minions.

In the farthest reaches of the mad wizard’s undertower, Udødelig’s skeletal familiar made a surprising discovery: the skeletons of halflings were magically fossilized within the very bedrock. Without recourse, the lich played at a gambit that ultimately cost him his very existence, but forever changed subterranean Aventyr. Expending his own being in an arcane ritual of a potency unseen since the Progenitors, Udødelig spread his spark of undeath to each and every one of the halfling skeletons fossilized by the Great Schism, binding it to the very magics that infuse their calcified bodies. The colloid was largely confused by this final tactic employed by Udødelig, but as the most powerful undead foe the alien had ever seen, the unusual strategy did not seem so impossible. Besides, it instantly found hundreds of undead souls to destroy, created as a byproduct of the lich’s desperate attempt to escape.The otherworldly creature continues on through the Underworld, undaunted by the few dødelig it encounters (if it notices them at all; the clever skeletons are able to fool it briefly, often just long enough to hide and escape).

While dødelig only very rarely remember any part of their life before transforming into undead, they are much like the mortal halflings they once were. Jovial, adventurous and well-suited for traveling the Underworld, these small, intelligent skeletons have become increasingly common across subterranean Aventyr not too long after The Confluence. They are reckless, fearless, and durable despite their size, but penultimately concerned with entertaining themselves. Their settlements are likely to sprout anywhere— literally; it is said that the Dracoprime’s fall and the energies dispersed by its destruction flung debris (and settlements) all across Aventyr, each imbedded deep within the earth by the gargantuan inertia that carried them through the sky. The chief concern of the dødelig is the preservation of their kind, leaving them to be surprisingly martial when there is a demand for it and encouraging them to search for their kin with regularity as they wander the Underworld.

 

Physical Description

Dødelig are identical to halfling skeletons, save that they are not made of bone. Their bodies are composed of variously colored stone writhing with a dark blue hue of the magical energies that sustain them. A dødelig’s body is made of whatever stone its skeleton was once encased within, a byproduct of the marrow they once had centuries before and the mystical powers enacted upon it.

Society

Loyal to one another without exception, dødelig value the life of each and every member of their race as if it were their own. The devotion dødelig show to one another creates tightly-knit social groups that ensure the safety of their settlements. Despite their light-hearted natures, they are instinctively aware of the massive danger the colloid poses to them all and are woe to ever drop their guard lest it destroy them and their kin. Once halflings, their love of surprise, pranks, and merriment surprises none, but upperworlders often find them off-putting. Nonetheless, musicians and artists from both Upper- and Underworld show particular reverence for their much sought after talents.

Relations

Initially it is hard for members of any race to befriend the dødelig—save the enlightened and the necromancers, most of the peoples in Aventyr react poorly to undead, intelligent or not, but the dødelig themselves are often quite amicable, even if their appearance does engender fear.

Alignment and Religion

Dødelig take after the essence of the soul that granted them a second chance at existence and are Chaotic in the main. The dødelig are not sure how they came to be or what they ought to worship, and pay tributes to deities determined by whim more than anything else. Still, some find a kinship in the Dark Governess, Nearru, becoming clerics or warlocks in her name.

Adventurers

Becoming an explorer is a required obligation placed upon every dødelig as soon as they are freed from entombment. The remains of the traveler’s blood still haunts their stone bones, but more importantly, all dødelig are charged with uncovering more of their kin in the Underworld. Once one is found, more are certain to be nearby and every undead settlement carries the name of its founder and savior in respect. While they might not excel as warriors or barbarians, dødelig are suited for any spellcasting class and are exceptional rogues or—very rarely—monks.

Names

Dødelig don’t really identify very strongly with gender, and both “sexes” use the same names; Cain, Dack, Gazz, Herbet, Irk, Jurgen, Kynt, Lim, Xot, Ziz.

Age

Dødelig are undead and effectively immortal; they do
not accrue age bonuses or penalties.

Dødelig Communes

The free spirited, boisterous nature the dødelig once knew as living beings persists with them still. While it might be an initially disturbing experience, once an upperworlder has spent a little time around dødelig, their frightening undead appearance becomes less noticeable. What their settlements do and how they run, however, often leave travelers mystified for quite some time after their departure. All dødelig societies have a militaristic bent and artistic drive to entertain; sometimes these two qualities are in balance, but often times one overtakes the other. Some dødelig communes are rampant parties that last all day, night, week and month (if they ever stop at all) while others are like massive thespian colleges, far unlike their highly codified, strictly artistically segregated counterparts. These latter settlements have become obsessed with uncovering the complete origins of their race and seeing the dødelig propagate across Aventyr, sometimes at the cost of their living kin. Halflings and gnomes must remain wary of some dødelig communes; a successful Intelligence (Religion) check (DC 20) is enough for them to realize whether or not they too might soon lose their lively qualities.

Dødelig Traits

Your dødelig character counts as a halfling for purposes of race, with the obvious difference of also being undead.

Ability Score Increases.

Your Charisma and Wisdom scores increase by 1 and your Dexterity score increases by 2.

Condition Immunity.

As an undead skeleton, you are immune to the poisoned and exhausted conditions.

Age

Dødelig do not really age, due to their undead nature. The product of powerful magics, they are effectively immortal and do not age or die due to natural causes.

Alignment

Much like their living kin, dødelig are cheerful and generally kind. Dødelig gravitate towards the chaotic alignment and, surprisingly for undead, most tend to be either neutral or good.

Size

Dødelig stand between 2 feet, 7 inches and 3 feet, 8 inches. They weigh about 16 – 20 pounds on average. Your size is Small.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet – dødelig are surprisingly agile for their size.

Harmed by Running Fresh Water

Fresh water dissolves some essential salt involved in keeping your body together. You take 20 acid damage if you end your turn in running fresh water. Exposure to rain or similar weather usually does not have this effect, unless it’s really pouring, and neither are you harmed by submersion in an ocean or salt water. (Subject to GM’s discretion. )

Light Blindness

Abrupt exposure to bright light blinds you for 1 round.

Radiance Vulnerability

Due to your undead nature, you suffer from vulnerability to radiance damage.

Skeletal Resistance

You are an ossified halfling skeleton. You gain resistance to necrotic, piercing and slashing damage.

Skeletal Vulnerability

Due to your skeletal body and the lack of cushioning flesh, you are vulnerable to impacts. You suffer vulnerability to bludgeoning damage.

Stone Body

Unlike other skeletons, dødelig consist of ossified bone – whenever you are subject to a spell or effect that affects stone, it compromises the magics that keep you alive. Whenever you are subject to such a spell, you take force damage equal to the spell’s level or HD of the creature generating the effect times d6.

Sunlight Hypersensitivity

A dødelig takes 20 radiant damage when it starts its turn in sunlight. Your radiance vulnerability does not apply to this damage, though. While in sunlight, you have disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks.

Superior Darkvision

Seeing the world through ossified eye-sockets, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 120 ft. 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 grey.

Undead Immunity

As an undead halfling, you lack the physiology to be affected by poison. You are immune to poison damage and the poisoned condition, unless the poisons or effects explicitly state that they affect undead as well. Additionally, you have resistance to necrotic damage.

Undead Nature

As a skeleton, a dødelig doesn’t require air, food, drink, or sleep.

Languages

You can speak, write and read Common, Halfling and Undercommon.