Homebrew Faceless Species Details

Freakish creatures, Faceless are the byproduct of bad news. They're the children of whores or criminals, parents who'd obviously wronged the gods, and were cursed for their parents crimes. Their only salvation is their own demise, and any who consort with them are obsiously meddled in the head. They freak me out, they do. They wait just on the fringes of society, waiting to kidnap children or pets that stray too far. I once saw one holding the corpse of a cat, just standing there. A few of us in the village chased it off, but it came back a few days later to do gods know what. We later found the cat burried in an alley, like the freak had some sort of concept of death and burial. 

—Anonymous trader.

Faceless are devoid of both expression and voice, marring any attempts to be understood. Most do not outlive infancy, cast to the side to either starve to death or drown in a river,  but some manage to survive long enough to grasp the notion that society does not want them. To be Faceless is to be homeless.

Cursed Children (biological differences)

The offspring of any race, Faceless are created of curses and wild magic surges. Lacking any facial features, they are incapable of taste, smell, or sight; their only surviving senses are touch and hearing. Due to this lack of features, Faceless neither need nutrition nor hydration and can survive more extended periods without air. Naturally more gangly, Faceless suffer several unnatural proportions:  their hands reach their knees when standing, they hunch slightly, and their heels are elongated, much like the legs of a dog. Their skin tones are mostly comparable to those of other races but sometimes manifest unnaturally pale, and some Faceless are born with rat-like tails, while others are born with natural claws, very few are born with body hair. Often, to look more humanoid, Faceless will wear masks and baggy clothing or cloaks, doing their best to hide any unnatural features.

Social Outcasts (personality differences)

Always an unfortunate or malicious circumstance, a faceless child is never a boon. Most unfortunate parents will attempt to dispose of the child early on, either as a mercy to the child or as an effort to maintain their own social status. As such, most of the surviving Faceless are exiles, living in secluded areas or deserted land in order to avoid execution. Very few Faceless manage to survive within society, but those that do are often tasked as executioners, slaves, or laughingstock with little to no rights or free will.

Maturing for the most part without social contact, they are either intensely quiet and childlike, or skittish and aggressive. Very few manage to learn means of communication, often resulting in crude sign language unless otherwise taught. Attempts at telepathy are met with concepts rather than sentences, and most lack the experience to string together such concepts into an understandable pattern. 

Faceless Names

Faceless names are frequently a result of either literal or conceptual circumstances, rarely are they given culturally-accepted names. These names thus fall into two categories: objects and simple concepts. A Faceless might try to visually communicate that their name is Stick by grabbing a twig when asked, or a Faceless might cover its ears to illustrate their name as Quiet. As such, their names are often fluid and synonymous, having many variations depending on who was kind enough to attempt to figure it out. Stick might be misinterpreted as Twig or Branch, while Quiet might be misinterpreted as Ears or Loud.

Conceptual Names: Quiet, Fast, Cold, Friend, Scared, Tired, Lost, Sound, Still, Catch, Warm.

Subjective Names: Bag, Rock, Door, Stick, Tree, Flower, Dirt, Cloth, Lake, Hat, Ears.

Faceless Traits

Your Faceless character has the following traits.

Ability Score Increase

Your Dexterity score increases by 1, and your Wisdom score increases by 2.

Age

Faceless mature slightly too fast. Reaching complete physical maturity as early as 13 years. While a Faceless is quick to physically mature, this is to their detriment. Developing poor organ placement or internal deformities, their lifespan is shortened from that of their parent's race to a mere 60 years on average.

Alignment

Faceless are often neutral to their best ability, their own survival of more importance than any law or ambition. Few develop bonds strong enough to sway them good or evil. 

Size

Your size is Medium. To set your height and weight randomly, start with rolling a size modifier:

Size modifier = 2d4

Height = 5 feet + 6 inch + your size modifier in inches

Weight in pounds = 105 + (1d4 × your size modifier)

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Heightened Senses

Due to the absence of most of your senses, you have superior hearing and touch. You are permanently Blinded, but have Blindsight and Tremorsense up to 30 feet of you, as well as advantage on Investigation, Perception, and Survival checks that rely on sense of hearing or touch.

Indiscernible

Born without most forms of expression, it is very difficult for one to discern your intention through conventional means. As such, all creatures have disadvantage on Insight checks against you. Additionally, Zone of Truth has no effect on you, regardless of your save.

If an Insight check is attempted through the use of mind-reading, a modifier of minus five (-5) is added to their roll instead of disadvantage.

Survival Instincts

You gain proficiency in Stealth and Survival skills.

Languages

You can understand Common and one of the languages of your mother.