This species idea comes out of something I probably misheard on Critical Role Season 4. The essential idea is “what if warforged but more elfy… because something in the very involved elven reincarnation lore went awry?”
Is this strongly influenced by reading a lot of Murderbot Diaries recently? Who can say.
(I was going to write just the mithric elves, then I saw how short the post would be and decided I could probably stand to keep going.)
Mithric Elves
Elves die, but by the grace (or dubious judgment) of the gods, they return, never to rest for long. When that sacred truth of the People is prevented by some means, those elven souls become banshees or other horrific undead, forced from death back into unlife. The mithric elves were created by high elf smith-wizards to protect elven souls: instead of torment and undeath, they inhabit a body forged of mithral and High Magic.
Mithric elves have bodies the size and shape of adult elves, made of mithral, silver, gold, and copper plates covering a mannequin-like body made from living wood, which encloses a mithral brain and heart. The covering plates are shaped to resemble the deceased elf as much as possible, and can be adjusted considerably once the body is animate. Where many constructs are bulky, mithric bodies emphasize lighter weights, sleekness, and grace. They don’t need to blink (but can, mainly for expressive purposes); their eyes glow faintly while open, or brightly in moments of intense emotion.
As far as anyone knows, mithric elves can’t die except by violence or accident. On a long enough timeline (the kind of timeline with which elven cultures concern themselves), mithric elves will overtake fleshly elves as the predominant expression of elvenkind, as they also can’t create new generations of non-mithric elves—but this is, again, preferable to tormented souls becoming the only remnant of the People.
Mystech was inspired to write this wonderful piece of flash fiction:
Once the punishing sun finally dipped beneath the horizon, we resumed the excavation. As with other digs on this undesignated world, this site was proving to be just as enigmatic. A reconstructed timeline placed the site in the early third millennium of what the original inhabitants called “The Free Years”; very close to our estimation of when it became largely uninhabitable.
So far, our findings had been fragmentary: ceramics and other enduring substances buried in the shifting sands. That changed this evening. The excited shouts of workers at the edge of our site brought me running. They had paused when a face emerged from the dusty ground. Resorting to fine brushes and trowels, I was able to clear it enough to reveal fine, artistic features; almond-shaped eyes and ears with curious, distinctive points. Perhaps it was a trick of the rising moonlight, but I could have sworn the crystalline eyes luminesced dimly.
Mithric Elf Traits
Creature Type: Construct
Size: Medium (5-7 feet tall)
Speed: 30 feet
As a mithric elf, you have the special traits of elves and the following Lineage trait.
Mithric Elf: Level 1. You don’t gain Exhaustion levels from dehydration, malnutrition, or suffocation. You also know the Blade Ward* cantrip.
Level 3. Color Spray
Level 5. Mirror Image
*Even if you’re using this in 5.0 rules, do yourself and everyone a favor and use the 5.5 version of Blade Ward, which has viable use cases, unlike its predecessor.
Design Notes
I sort of forgot when I started writing this just how short it would be if I treated them as an Elf Lineage… and how much needlessly repeated text there would be if I didn’t. (I didn’t design the features in my head until it was actually time to write them. Congratulations and I’m sorry: you know one fact about my creative process now.)
Anyway, what I like most about these guys is the aesthetic. What I’m imagining is very Mass Effect-inspired: the sort of swept-back look of the turians and drell, but rendered in mithral and precious metals, much like the Nimblewright from Waterdeep: Dragon Heist. (Slightly off-topic, but if I wanted to bring Warforged into FR in some kind of lore-supported way, nimblewrights are my first and last go-to.)
Poison-Fey
In other worlds these might be known as eladrin or the sidhe, alien in their beauty and dangerous in their games. The poison-fey are no more broadly good or evil than any other fey, but they envenom their words as well as their blades and the cups of their enemies. They are the courtiers and courtesans of the Hidden World—a status that undoubtedly rankles other fey. Some change their Court allegiance, or abandon the Courts completely. Their closest mortal kin in Aurikesh are the kagandi.
Physically, poison-fey look like some form of elf, including pointed ears; the characteristic coloration of drow is at least as common as that of high elves.
Poison-Fey Traits
Creature Type: Fey
Size: Medium (5-7 feet tall)
Speed: 30 feet
As a poison-fey, you have these special traits.
Courtly Graces. When you finish a Long Rest, reaffirm your allegiance to a Court, or to no Court, gaining the associated ability. Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma is your spellcasting ability for the spells you cast with this trait (choose the ability when you select this species).
Seelie. You know the Light cantrip. (I would love to use 5.5 Friends here, but creature type nonsense means Friends doesn’t make a ton of sense for Fey.)
Unseelie. You know the Chill Touch cantrip.
Eldest. You know the Starry Wisp cantrip. (If you’re using 5.0 rules, replace Starry Wisp with Word of Radiance.)
Wild. You know the Druidcraft cantrip.
No Court.You know the Shillelagh cantrip.
Hell.You know the Produce Flame cantrip.
The Abyss. You know the Poison Spray cantrip.
Fey Courtier. You have proficiency in the Deception, Insight, Intimidation, or Persuasion skill.
Master of Poisons. You have Resistance to Poison damage, and Poison damage that you deal ignores Resistance to Poison damage. You have Advantage on saving throws against Poison damage and to avoid or end the Poisoned condition.
Swift and Subtle. Opportunity Attacks have Disadvantage against you. When you hit a creature with an Opportunity Attack, you deal an additional 1d6 Poison damage.
Design Notes
At least in my conception of poison-fey, the cantrip that you gain from Courtly Graces is merely an outward signifier of a meaningful character decision, never to be made lightly. Other characters may react strongly if your allegiance becomes clear to them.
Courtly Graces was the last trait that I wrote, and I added it because I was dissatisfied with just the other three traits; in professional design I would almost definitely wind up chopping it and doing something still simpler (almost certainly “Vicious Mockery but Poison damage instead of Psychic.” I did also consider making this another Elf lineage, using Master of Poisons as their core level 1 feature.
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