Homebrew Titan Species Details

 

These huge, hulking beings are quasi-celestial elementals, created from magically rich soil and born from a celestial blessing of animation and life placed on choice lands in their windy and cold mountain homes. They grow continuously over the course of their lives, sometimes reaching upwards of 50 feet. Titans spend their early years connected to the earth from within their halls, dreaming of memories and times that only earth will remember. As a titan comes of age, they will retain their first shell into their adulthood until they shed it for their adult form. Their large forms lay down at the end of their lives and become one with the earth, returning the energy they borrowed during their lives to the Ether and the Ethereal Plane.

Few folk can claim to have met a titan, let alone befriend one. Titans hold respect only for the balanced powers of nature and the vast knowledge only time can grant, preferring peace and talks than war and bloodshed. However, their fierce familial loyalties will stir them to action if provoked.

A Titan rarely leaves their mountain homes, and fewer still dare try their hand at adventuring around the world. The circumstances that would push a titan to leave include a trial ordered to them by their clan elders, filial duty, or having been banished from the clan and Titan society as a whole.

 

The Birth of a Titan

Younglings are born from the energies of their parents, hatching from an egg of rock. As a youngling, a titan is no longer than 2 feet, and spend their early years in the Hall of Memories. As a titan grows, their form will change and shift. They will develop into a gender appearance they prefer, and slowly take on a "shell": an outer form that coalesces into who they are.

Their first shell is a young titans first form, one they develop from the time they are a youngling to their 140th birthday. Until they outgrow their shell and officially Awaken into a fully grown adult titan, is form is soft and fleshy -- less resilient than a grown titan, but still plenty strong compared to a human. They appear around 6 to 8 feet tall, with skin tones ranging from ashen grey to opalescent white, and always in some form or variant of sediment. The only presence of hair on a titan is their heads -- which can range in length but always will appear white as fallen snow. 

Most titans will venture into the world in their first shell with the goal to best assimilate with smaller folk.

Upon officially Awakening on there 140th birthday, a titan falls into a deep sleep, during which their inborn power draws the earth around them in a crysilis that binds them in their place. Over the course of two weeks, the titan sheds their first shell and emerges from the crycilis in their adult form -- completely composed of magic and the earth from which they were born, the Awakened titan has skin like stone, with fissures and cracks that spider across their bodies that glow and pulse with energy. An Awakened titan grows to 15 feet tall and becomes Huge.

 

Simple Lives for Complex Minds

Life in the harsh mountain conditions rarely phase a titan. Even titan young, when their flesh is soft and less hardened to damage and weather, are hardier than humans. Food, water, and shelter is simple to find, with many titans preferring to subsist off of the magical ley lines the clans settle around. Titan young are adept in earning their right to survive, using a combination of intuitive survival and memories older than themselves. 

Titans place a lot of stock in the cumulative wisdom and knowledge they gain from their natural connections to the earth. Trial by fire is their means of instruction, allowing their young to learn how to survive and connect with their inborn gifts. Their large, hulking bodies lay down at the end of their lives and become one with the earth, returning the energy they borrowed during their lives to the Ether. Titans hold respect only for the balanced powers of nature and the vast knowledge only time can grant, preferring peace talks and negotiation rather than war and bloodshed. However, their fierce familial loyalties will stir them to action if provoked.

As a result, war with a titan clan is rare, but the few battles that survived the addles of history were devastating in their destruction. Titans, due to their long lives and longer memories, are notorious for their grudges, and titan clans are often wary of provoking their neighboring kin lest they bring generations of conflict on their children.

 

Mind Over Matter

Titans are powerful beings due to their size and natural strength, but their true strengths lie in their strong minds and memory. Their reclusive nature has limited a lot of social and worldly knowledge, but the ability to understand new information will place a titan far above most mortal scholars. With a keen mind next to their incredible athletic strength, the few titans who decide to leave their dwellings to adventure across the lands are skilled and accomplished warriors, scholars, and druids. Few would agree to use magical items, weapons, or armor, as augmented as they are by their own semi-celestial/magical nature.

For a titan, any chance to engage in intellectual conversation on history or magic among mortal races is a treat, though the idea of one-upmanship confuses them. Knowledge and understanding should be a collective effort, and anything that adds to your knowledge and skill should be celebrated. Titans will mock the emotional and aggressive natures of other races, seeing them as folly to engage in war where a better option might be better for the future and preservation of life.

 

Survival of the Fitter and the Merciful

Titans spend their early years learning the basics of survival. Any youngling who can't survive the harsh mountain environment or the taxing coming-of-age ceremonies of their clans are left to fade and return to the earth from whence they came. Not all titan clans are so barbaric; many clans value their young highly and protect them in their Hall of Memory for a time before the younglings are capable of surviving outside of their carved stone halls. A crippled titan is cared for and respected just as well as they had been before the injury, as a titan's strength lies in their minds. 

A Titan would much rather die in peace than during bloodshed, spending their last days teaching and looking after the legacies of the clan before lying down to join their ancestors within the great expanse of the Void. A titan will not regret a death in the purpose of defending their homes and their clan, however. Old titans don't much worry about the decline in their physicality, as time is merely a natural passing of form over the increase of knowledge. Most titan elders will naturally fall into leadership roles as clan elders, instructing the younger generations in unique clan practices.

 

To Dream A Dream

One of the first things a titan will learn is of their capacity to Dream. Dreaming is a very difference experience for titans, as they do not delve into obscure imagery or visions of the future; rather, titans have a special connection to the Ether and Ethereal Plane, as well as the magic inherent within the earth itself. While titans sleep, they subconsciously reach out with their minds and power to the Ether and the ley lines they sleep upon and dream up visions -- memories -- of the past.

These dreams range in breadth and length, and often times hold no other significance beyond the importance of remembrance, but some believe this ability to Dream gives titans a responsibility to watch over the Material world, and preserve the cycle of life. These more altruistic beings may be inclined to develop this power further, or push it to its limits -- for better or worse.

 

All For The Clan

Titans can be found settled together in clans, with a single clan hall housing upwards of 50 titans at once. Titan clans are very filial, with most adults taking great pride in caring for the younglings and elderly. All clan halls will have a Hall of Memory, a dining area, a storage hall, and a Hall of Rest. Most titan clans are community-driven, and it shows in their efforts to dine together, work together, and rest together. 

Of the handful of established Titan clans, there are five major clans, each with particular propensities towards certain gifts or traits. Your character may have a mix of these individual personality talents, but a member of any of these clans will tend towards their filial  professions.

Feymark -- Known within their communities as having close relations with other planes, the Feymarks are gifted diplomats and are often fairly knowledgeable of their allies and neighbors. A Feymark tends to resort to talks and discussion if given a problem or conflict to solve, a habit formed from many years negotiating with all manner of fey creatures, and will use their extensive intelligence to the fullest.

Mythcrest -- The Mythcrests are gifted storytellers, taken from the fact that a Mythcrest often spend far more time Dreaming than their kinfolk. A member of this particular clan may more enjoy a nap in the sun than other, more rigorous activities. Their imaginations have no equal when it comes to finding entertainment, whether they be providing it or receiving it.

Delltide -- Delltides are rarely found wandering the waking world, inclined as they are to explore the vast stores of knowledge contained within the leylines that permeate the Ether, connecting all living things. This grants them wisdom that, while not uncommon among titans, is certainly a boon to all who seek the guidance of ages past.

Banebreak -- Titans as a whole are relatively peaceful folk, but that doesn't mean all are so inclined. A Banebreak is steadfast and resolute in their convictions, and has little tolerance for ill will. With strong bodies and a warrior's spirit burning in their hearts, the Banebreaks are easily the most fearsome of their kinsfolk, and with good reason.

Haleglen -- A Haleglen can be found most often tending to the forests so common in the valleys of the titans mountain homes. Haleglens have a peculiar propensity towards nature, and marvel at the simple shifting of balance between all living things. They are gifted in navigating the surface lands, and take pride in their skill to move between the trees with ease.

You do not have to choose any of these clans as the one your character might hail from, if they come from an established clan at all. 

 

A Trial

A titan may be ordered a trial by their elders for many reasons, but it remains certain that all titans must do so at some point. A trial is a test of self, meant to push a titan to the limits of their capacity and grow beyond their shell into the being they are capable of becoming.

A titan may be ordered a trial due to some severe transgression they committed against their clan, due to their coming-of-age, or perhaps in the face of stagnation or physical and mental decline.These Trials will vary in complexity and difficulty, but most often they will require a young adult titan to travel the world and bring back proof of a great discovery, a piece of knowledge or history that benefits the clan, or proof of a notable deed committed by a titan.

Work with your DM to find a proper trial that would fit your titan character.

 

Titan Names

By the end of their lives, a titan will have been given two names -- a birth name given by the father, and nickname given by clan elders at their coming-of-age ceremony. Following their Trial, their nickname is the replaced with a title followed by the clan's name, granted in celebration for completing a Trial and officially becoming a member of the clan.

The nickname given by clan elders at a titan's coming-of-age ceremony will often describe a unique skill or notable characteristic of the titan in question, a trait they will be tasked with cultivating, improving, or changing during their Trial. Following their return, the young titan will then be given a title. This title is a usually an epithet that describes a titan's greatest known accomplishment.

Titans present all three names when identifying themselves to strangers and in formal settings, in the order of birth name, title, and clan name. In casual conversation, they use their nickname.

Birth Names: Potential birth names may include -- Vegnar, Gulsig, Rasca, Felor, Uyta, Aedel, Rolloss, Merum, Banad, Zed, Calim, Daerl, Reshul, Silth, Tor

Nicknames: Nicknames are unique you your character, and depend completely on you and your DM. Work with your DM to decide on a suitable nickname that best fits your character.

Titles: Titles are unique to the character you play. Work with your DM to decide whether your character has already finished their Trial and has already been given a title, or whether they are still journeying to prove themselves. 

Titan Traits

Titans share a number of traits in common with each other.

Ability Score Increase

As you grow, you will increase in size, strength, and wisdom. Your have the choice of improving your ability scores.

Awaken

When a you spend your time drawing on the energies you connect with during your Dreams, you build it up enough to Enlarge your form and force yourself to Awaken for up to an hour. In your enlarged state, you have a +3 to your strength ability score, your walk speed increases to 50, and you gain resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from non-magical items. 

You lose your enlarged form when the duration ends or when you spend 5 minutes voluntarily ending the state. When the state comes to an end, you must succeed on a constitution saving throw or gain a point of exhaustion.

Truesight

Once a day, a titan may tap into their true power and gain temporary Truesight: they can see in normal and magical darkness, see invisible creatures and objects, automatically detect visual illusions and succeed on saving throws against them, and perceive the original form of a shapechanger or a creature that is transformed by magic all within a radius of 120 feet for up to 1 hour. Furthermore, the titan can see into the Ethereal Plane within the same range.

Once this ability is used, you cannot use it again until after a long rest.

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.

Age

Titans have far longer lifespans compared to humans. They enter adulthood in at 120 years of age, and usually live upwards of 600 to 800 years.

Alignment

The Titan belief of fairness, balanced with an emphasis on self- sufficiency and personal accountability, pushes them towards true neutrality. Titan society, with its clear emphasis on sharing and gaining knowledge with for the betterment of the future, has a strong pull to good.

Size

Titans are between 7 and 13 feet tall and weigh between 280 and 640 pounds. Your size depends on your age; the average adventuring titan ranges between Medium and Huge.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 40 feet.

Natural Athlete

You have proficiency in the Athletics skill.

Stone’s Endurance

You can focus yourself to occasionally shrug off injury. When you take damage, you can use your reaction to roll a d12. Add your Constitution modifier to the number rolled, and reduce the damage by that total. After you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Powerful Build

You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.

Mountain Born

You’re acclimated to high altitude, including elevations above 20,000 feet. You’re also naturally adapted to cold climates.

Languages

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