Homebrew Geminus Species Details

Physical Description

Although they are not human, geminus are hard to differentiate from tall humans unless paying attention. Marks that may distinguish them as either tiefling or aasimar are commonly lacking: they may not have tail, horns, wings or either; their constitution is usually slender, their eyes have no special shine and they tend to be very reclusive.

Their main feature is their skin. The soft appearance hides beneath it a rough sensation when it is touched. It also changes color constantly, depending on the angle the light hits them with, going from human skin tones at direct light to metallic colors like silver or brass when it goes tangentially.

The hair tends to be short, with colors like pink, red, purple, gray, and black in half the head, while the other half has blue, gold, green, silver or even clear. When the hair is only one colored, it is grey or blonde.

Heterochromic eyes give away their mixed heritage, with one eye tending to be metallic in appearance, while the other is not. Each geminus has a personal mark in their body that shines either silver or gold depending on the time of the day. It is completely unique and exclusive. It can be from a small freckle to a full body sized tattoo. No one knows why they have it or what it means, but some of them give it a deep meaning or that they are destined for something more than what they are doing.

History

Unlike the races that gave them birth, geminus are not rejected, nor enthroned, and are rarely abandoned, with a nuclear family being the rule; although it is rare that both their biological parents stay with them after they reach maturity. They are appreciated members of society as they are considered beautiful and smart. Even then, geminus rarely have families of their own, as they reject anyone without a true balance of morals, ethics, mind and body; just like them.

Geminus are so rare that they don't have a history or a country that they may call theirs. The few geminus that have been recorded in history are powerful magic users, seldom trying to construct empires or to destroy them, but mostly becoming preservers of balance and creators or curators of knowledge. Warlocks, wizards, sorcerers and druids get their power from their mixed blood directly to their spells.

In some cultures, seeing a geminus is considered bad or good luck, depending on the time of the day, the gender of the geminus and even the size of their body marks. In such cultures, a geminus is always seen with respect and suspicion in equal parts.

Society

Being as sensitive to magic and as scarce as they are, they have little to no choice but to give their services as artisans or magic users. Many of them work as diviners, potion makers, healers, bookkeepers, librarians or even smithies, jobs that assure them that their magic and knowledge can be accessed by anyone. Although their craftsmanship is always exceptional, they will never accept any claim that theirs is not the best.

In rare occasions, they are powerful and wise magic scholars, although they only teach to those students that they consider worthy of their knowledge, most of it too dangerous or too ancient to be safely handed. There are reports of extraordinary geminus diplomats, but being as reclusive as they are it is hard for them to even attempt this route.

Adventuring is rarely their first choice, but many take it as an opportunity to redeem their heritage, search for mysteries of the world or to simply find a new place where they can learn or create new magic. As allies, they are known to be strategists to the point of perfection and excellent warriors or supporters, but they do not adapt easily once their plan has been busted. Their abilities as detectors of magic are invaluable when traveling through old ruins, but the magic that they have never met before or that interests them too much may deviate their attention.

Because they are the perfect mixture of good and evil, they tend to have a special focus on both sides of the moral code before taking a desition that is just in the middle. Religion is an important part of their life, but they rarely have any religious affiliation. They pray and ask for help for both heavens and hells with no distinction. They may have a prefered god and demon, but they will rarely tend to prefer one over the other. This rejectors may choose to honor their divine or demonic heritage by becoming priests or cultists, but most of them will never reject the other part of their ancestry completely. This geminus life end usually in tragedy, looking for ways to stop having tiefling blood or to stop feeling tied to the heavens. Some may even try to become gods or demons themselves in an attempt to stop being what they reject, becoming powerful and dangerous grunts to plans that promise to release them from these ties.

Geminus Traits

"When dark and light collides there are only two ways it will end. Either they annihilate each other, or they form something completely new. I don't know which one scares people the most. Me? I am fascinated by both." —Fragment of "Hidden tales of darkness" by Dhovhos, the geminus Grand Wizard. Page 163

Ability Score Increase

Your Charisma score increases by two, and your Constitution score increases by one.

Age

This race matures faster and lives longer than humans, reaching maturity at 15 years old, and living around 200 years, although some geminus have been documented living almost 300 years.

Alignment

Because of their mixed heritage, geminus tend to be true neutral. If they start tending to evil, they become lawful and when they are good they tend to be chaotic. Variations outside of these rules are seldom seen.

Size

They have a height of between 6 and 7 feet and weight from 190 to 240 pounds. Your size is medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 35 feet.

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.

Resistant Blood

Your balanced blood gives you resistance to radiant and necrotic damage.

Angelic Ancestry

You have proficiency in the Persuasion or Religion skills.

Fiendish Ancestry

You have proficiency in the Intimidation or Deception skills.

Tempt Me Not

Your mind is shielded from effects that seek to corrupt or influence it. You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed and your alignment cannot be shifted by magical means.

Roughened Skin

Due to your roughened skin, you are ill-suited to wearing normal armor. Your top layer of petrified dermis provides ample protection instead. It gives you a base AC of 16 (your Dexterity modifier doesn't affect this number). You gain no benefit from wearing armor, but if you are using a shield, you can apply the shield's bonus as normal.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common, Celestial and Infernal.

Not of this World

You have Disadvantage on all medicine and animal handling checks made on creatures native to the material plane, as you are not familiar with the body structure or behaviors of creatures here.

Sensitive Mind

Vulnerability to Psychic Damage