Homebrew T'lan Imass Species Details
"If by our sacrifice - yours and mine, the pain of one life can be ended; if , by our deaths, this one can be guided home... we will judge this a worhy cause."
-- Onos T'oolan,
The Crippled God
LIVES STRETCHING MILLENIA
Remnants of the first people that walked the grass of the mortal world, hunted the prey on its forests, and crafted tools suited for survival, T'lan Imass are now mere phantoms of what they once were, doomed by their own actions to exist for every lasting second of eternity.
Upon being pursued and enslaved by superior and more developed races, the people that were once just called Imass endured a ritual in which they bound their life force to the magic that run throught the veins of the land, to become a vengeful force of destruction that would pursue those who had thought of making slaves of them.
The ritual made them immortal, but not indestructible, and as time went by and many of their foes fell under their strenght, the losses within their own lines were massive and that new state had brought something else with them: the inabiliy to create more of their kind.
Having achieved a sour and unfulfilled vengeance, their armies scattered, some remaining together to pursue the goals for which they had been longing. Others saw no point in continuing the fight and became renegades, ostracised by their people but with a new sense of self that could last for a thousand generations of men.
DUST TO DUST
Thousands of years of fighting made of the T'lan Imass a people of strange appearance. While their minds remained unaltered except for the new countless memories, their bodies withered. Lucky were those who after so long retained some skin and flesh amongst the yellowed bones covered in cuts and cracks, hollow of any organs and exposed to the air. Their faces, now mere skulls with empty sockets and missing jawbones, were somehow still capable of transmiting emotions through an unaltered expression.
As a people they never achieved much in terms of technology, sometimes even avoiding progress on purpose to maintain their peaceful and simple lives. The weapons they carry are of flintstone and sharpened rock, and their armor of hide and fur, covered with talismans of their clans. Even after so long their old alliances and prides make them respond differently when two of separate tribes encounter each other.
T'lan Imass Traits
Your T'lan Imass character has an assortment of inborn abilities, part of the curse they bear.Age
The ritual that turned the Imass in what they are now was made with the purpose of extending their vengeance for millenia. Many of them have been lost since, their bodies turned to dust, but no T'lan Imass has been born.
Speed
Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision
Although your eyes have withered along with your flesh, you see the world as a collage of dullen colors, heat and cold often measured by an unerring sensitivity to motion. 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 grey.
Undead Resiliance
The intent of the ritual that turned you into this creature has granted you remarkable fortitude, represented by the following benefits:
- You have advantage on saving throws against being poisoned, and you have resistance to poison damage.
- You don't need to eat, drink, or breathe.
- You are immune to disease.
- You don't need to sleep, and magic can't put you to sleep. (If your class makes use of spells, you still need rest to be able to regain your slots)
Crumbled Bones
You can use your action to turn into dust an merge with the earth beneath your feet. During this time, your movement is increased to 50 feet and you can use just one action to move that distance and reform your body. This movement can also travel through water but you cannot regain your shape while in it.
In this form you are invulnerable to any attack except those that affect the soil where you are. If attacks like this make you lose Hit Points, you regain your original shape. You can use this feature once per combat encounter.
Achieving Death
Dissolution in water is the only escape possible from the eternal ritual. Some are known to have chosen that path as, even when cut to pieces, each part is still sentient. Using body parts from other T'lan Imass to 'patch oneself up' is possible, but is looked upon as the greatest abomination.
If your character falls beneath 0 Hit Points and you fail the respective death saving throws, although you are still conscious and aware of your state, your body has been damaged beyond repair. The only thing you can hope for now is that the remaining members of your party will find a good place for your remains to rest, with a good view, or maybe you prefer they carry you with them on their adventures.
Languages
You can speak, read, and write Common and Imass. The latter is known only to those of your race, a gutural only-spoken language that any other intelligent creature has great trouble pronouncing, and yet they seem to understand a word here and there.
Alignement
The T'lan Imass abhorre failure, and dishonourable behavior toward ones clann or tribe is punished by severing the head from the body and burying it so to spend an eternity of boredom. However, some renegades have risen amongst their lines, tired of serving a vengeful purpose imposed by a ritual that they endured only because of past needs, seeking now to live with free will.
Ability Score Increase
Your Constitution score increases by 2, and one other ability score of your choice increases by 1.
Comments