Metalarcher
2018-06-12, 06:22 PM
Below are physical, psychological, social, and statistical descriptions of the race, modeled after the format used in the PHB in conjunction with formats I've seen used elsewhere. This race has gone through quite a few iterations, but I think it's finally ready for more rigorous, external feedback and criticism. I'm well aware it might be in an overpowered state currently, but I really wanted to try to integrate multiple traits that sell the idea of a truly alien player character race, as well as drawbacks that offset the advantages. Ideally, I'd like to keep all of the traits listed in some form or another and simply add more drawbacks to balance the race, rather than cutting content, even if that compromises the concision of it. But regardless of that, any feedback at all is very much appreciated!
Luminary
WITH THEM TRAVELED A MAN IN ARMOR WHOSE EYES BURNED WITH YELLOW FIRE. WITHOUT a word he took a couple of steps to the side and sat on the ground, hanging his head and appearing to meditate. I thought little of it at the time—some strange curse or enchantment or the like; you see them every now and again, ducking through the crowds and trying to blend in as best as they can. But afterwards, I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something else about him. The subtle differences in the way he moved seemed to belie something much more essential.
—Theodore Cavendish, Liar's Folly
Luminaries are, in essence, spells given will. They are creatures composed entirely of self-sustaining, adaptive magic. In many ways they are like animate constructs or magical sentient objects, but luminaries are unbound by the confines of the material. Luminaries can be created deliberately by the efforts of a magically-skilled individual or other luminary, or accidentally as a result of a particularly unstable spell or freak magical event.
Ethereal Anima
As creatures of pure magic, luminaries are some of the most bizarre humanoids to exist. Despite their strange fundamentals, they behave in ways that are basically similar to most organic creatures. Though they lack any intrinsic mass, they are still pulled upon by gravity, and they manifest a field of force around their bodies that functions much like an organic creature's skin which allows them to wear clothing and manipulate objects. A luminary can alter the permeability of this field to be able to move through solid objects, but doing so causes a luminary to drop everything it is holding and wearing, rendering its fragile magical shell vulnerable and weak.
Stripped of protective armor and clothing, a luminary looks like a humanoid cloud of light surrounding a brighter interior cloud that looks like a minimalistic human skeleton, though this "skeleton" lacks a rib cage and cranium. A luminary's glow is superficial and insufficient to significantly illuminate something more than a few inches away from the body, but nonetheless makes one stand out in a crowd. Luminaries each appear to emit a particular color of light, and though a luminary cannot change the hue of the light it emanates, it can change the intensity of it, making certain areas of the body appear lighter in contrast to the surrounding area. Many luminaries use this ability to visibly emote.
Luminaries have the sensory range of humans, but make no distinction between taste and smell. They are able to perceive with these senses, with the exception of sight, from all points on their bodies. A luminary sees through an invisible, horizontally-oriented, marquise-shaped area on the front of its head. This means of sight grants it a field of vision comparable to a human's.
Unlikely Beginnings
Though luminaries can be created by wizards and other knowledgeable magic-users, they are nonetheless rare. The creation of a luminary is comparable to that of a conventional construct, but few mages know the way and simultaneously see the merit in creating a free-willed creature as opposed to a perfectly obedient one. A luminary can also result of a botched attempt at the creation of a magical servant like animated armor or a helmed horror. Luminaries can even be created through freak magical accidents, during which the chaotic miasma of arcane energy might coalesce in just the right way that one is formed, though this is exceedingly rare given the frequency of such events. In addition, luminaries instinctively know how to produce more of their own kind, though they feel no innate urge to do so.
Whatever the case, a luminary is born with a fully-developed mind, though it knows nothing of the world around it. Willing or merely responsible creators of luminaries find that they are easily taught and attentive to new sources of information, though more unscrupulous types are eager to cast aside their failed attempt at a more obedient servant. Even in this case, or in the case of a luminary that has no creator to look to, luminaries find information wherever they look, and so teach themselves in a fashion over time, even without a mentor to look to. Some have postulated that a luminary's intelligence is too pronounced for the relative ease of synthesizing it, and that it might indeed come from somewhere else, though where that might be none can say for certain.
On the occasion that a luminary is formed through the concerted efforts of a dedicated spellcaster or the random chaos of infinity, they don't linger if they can help it. Luminaries have widely varying personalities, but are all possessed of a free spirit and a yearning for new circumstances to adapt to. This may, in turn, explain why luminaries spend little thought on the creation of new individuals of their own kind; luminaries are always looking for the next thing to add to themselves—to learn, overcome, or adapt to—and spend little time considering producing new individuals for the world.
As expected, luminaries have no societies of their own. Even the name "luminary" is a term that only a select few use to describe them, and others may have their own names for the strange race. Despite their isolation from others of their kind, they are nonetheless eager to learn, adapt, grow, and give their all to whatever they set their sights on.
Interest and Devotion
Luminaries have widely varying personalities, but they tend to come off as oddballs due to their strange arcane minds. Despite this, luminaries tend to have good reasons for the things they do, and meaningful relationships can easily be formed by those willing to put in the effort.
Luminaries are interested by a wide variety of things, and other individuals are no exception. Luminaries typically show a great deal of respect and courtesy to those who fascinate them for whatever reason, and if those individuals are amenable to a luminary's strange behavior, they will undoubtedly develop a friendship that lasts a lifetime.
Luminaries who meet with one another tend to become friends or lovers, since it is so rare for two individuals to meet, and when they do they invariably have a lot to share with one another.
Luminary Names
Luminaries take their names from anywhere they can find them, but they tend to be picky about given ones. One may adopt a name given to it by its creator, but may also discard such a name later on in favor of one it picks itself. Likewise, a luminary that is discovered by intelligent creatures may at first take on the name they call it by, but may later reject the name if it realizes the name is unsavory or unbefitting.
Given Names: Brighteyes, Fireman, Lightwalker, Sunspear, Lightning, Blinder, Starchild, Gleaming One, Darkshine, Sparky, Outsider
Chosen Names: Arc, Windfall, Silence, Blindless, Neverstill, Overcast, Snow, Ideal, Purpose, Constant, Freedom, Summit, Bluestrike
Luminary Traits
Your magical nature manifests itself in these traits, which you share with other luminaries.
Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 2.
Age. Luminaries are born with fully-developed minds and learn quickly. They gain the ability to function normally in society by about four years. They do not die unless killed, and so can be any age, though they are rarely ancient.
Alignment. Luminaries are most often good. They tend to have few selfish desires because they need so little to survive, and so have a tendency to focus on helping others or furthering a selfless cause.
Size. Luminaries tend to be about the same size as humans, but with somewhat more unpredictable heights and builds. Your size is medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Arcane Psychology. Luminaries necessarily have an innate understanding of magic, which they use to voluntarily regulate their bodily processes. As a result, you have proficiency in Arcana.
Incorporeal Movement. You can move through other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. Anything you are wearing or carrying is dropped when you use this feature. You take 1d10 force damage if you end your turn inside an object.
Exposure Susceptibility. Your temperamental body requires protection from the elements during strenuous activity. While wearing neither clothing nor armor, you are incapacitated. In this state, if you end your turn in the space of clothing or armor that isn't being worn or carried, you may don it on the start of your next turn without expending your action as long as you are still in its space.
Antimagic Susceptibility. You temporarily wink out of existence within the area of an antimagic field. You instantly reappear once the space you occupied is no longer within the area of an antimagic field. If targeted by dispel magic, you must succeed on a Constitution saving throw against the caster's spell save DC or temporarily wink out of existence, reappearing after 1 minute.
Damage Immunities. You are immune to nonmagical acid and nonmagical poison damage.
Condition Immunities. You are immune to nonmagical disease, nonmagical paralysis, and nonmagical poisons.
Ethereal Nature. You have two creature types: humanoid and construct. You can be affected by a game effect if it works on either of your creature types. You don't require air, food, drink, or sleep. You can still benefit from the effects of consumable spells and magic items, such as potions.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write common and a language of your choice.
Luminary
WITH THEM TRAVELED A MAN IN ARMOR WHOSE EYES BURNED WITH YELLOW FIRE. WITHOUT a word he took a couple of steps to the side and sat on the ground, hanging his head and appearing to meditate. I thought little of it at the time—some strange curse or enchantment or the like; you see them every now and again, ducking through the crowds and trying to blend in as best as they can. But afterwards, I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something else about him. The subtle differences in the way he moved seemed to belie something much more essential.
—Theodore Cavendish, Liar's Folly
Luminaries are, in essence, spells given will. They are creatures composed entirely of self-sustaining, adaptive magic. In many ways they are like animate constructs or magical sentient objects, but luminaries are unbound by the confines of the material. Luminaries can be created deliberately by the efforts of a magically-skilled individual or other luminary, or accidentally as a result of a particularly unstable spell or freak magical event.
Ethereal Anima
As creatures of pure magic, luminaries are some of the most bizarre humanoids to exist. Despite their strange fundamentals, they behave in ways that are basically similar to most organic creatures. Though they lack any intrinsic mass, they are still pulled upon by gravity, and they manifest a field of force around their bodies that functions much like an organic creature's skin which allows them to wear clothing and manipulate objects. A luminary can alter the permeability of this field to be able to move through solid objects, but doing so causes a luminary to drop everything it is holding and wearing, rendering its fragile magical shell vulnerable and weak.
Stripped of protective armor and clothing, a luminary looks like a humanoid cloud of light surrounding a brighter interior cloud that looks like a minimalistic human skeleton, though this "skeleton" lacks a rib cage and cranium. A luminary's glow is superficial and insufficient to significantly illuminate something more than a few inches away from the body, but nonetheless makes one stand out in a crowd. Luminaries each appear to emit a particular color of light, and though a luminary cannot change the hue of the light it emanates, it can change the intensity of it, making certain areas of the body appear lighter in contrast to the surrounding area. Many luminaries use this ability to visibly emote.
Luminaries have the sensory range of humans, but make no distinction between taste and smell. They are able to perceive with these senses, with the exception of sight, from all points on their bodies. A luminary sees through an invisible, horizontally-oriented, marquise-shaped area on the front of its head. This means of sight grants it a field of vision comparable to a human's.
Unlikely Beginnings
Though luminaries can be created by wizards and other knowledgeable magic-users, they are nonetheless rare. The creation of a luminary is comparable to that of a conventional construct, but few mages know the way and simultaneously see the merit in creating a free-willed creature as opposed to a perfectly obedient one. A luminary can also result of a botched attempt at the creation of a magical servant like animated armor or a helmed horror. Luminaries can even be created through freak magical accidents, during which the chaotic miasma of arcane energy might coalesce in just the right way that one is formed, though this is exceedingly rare given the frequency of such events. In addition, luminaries instinctively know how to produce more of their own kind, though they feel no innate urge to do so.
Whatever the case, a luminary is born with a fully-developed mind, though it knows nothing of the world around it. Willing or merely responsible creators of luminaries find that they are easily taught and attentive to new sources of information, though more unscrupulous types are eager to cast aside their failed attempt at a more obedient servant. Even in this case, or in the case of a luminary that has no creator to look to, luminaries find information wherever they look, and so teach themselves in a fashion over time, even without a mentor to look to. Some have postulated that a luminary's intelligence is too pronounced for the relative ease of synthesizing it, and that it might indeed come from somewhere else, though where that might be none can say for certain.
On the occasion that a luminary is formed through the concerted efforts of a dedicated spellcaster or the random chaos of infinity, they don't linger if they can help it. Luminaries have widely varying personalities, but are all possessed of a free spirit and a yearning for new circumstances to adapt to. This may, in turn, explain why luminaries spend little thought on the creation of new individuals of their own kind; luminaries are always looking for the next thing to add to themselves—to learn, overcome, or adapt to—and spend little time considering producing new individuals for the world.
As expected, luminaries have no societies of their own. Even the name "luminary" is a term that only a select few use to describe them, and others may have their own names for the strange race. Despite their isolation from others of their kind, they are nonetheless eager to learn, adapt, grow, and give their all to whatever they set their sights on.
Interest and Devotion
Luminaries have widely varying personalities, but they tend to come off as oddballs due to their strange arcane minds. Despite this, luminaries tend to have good reasons for the things they do, and meaningful relationships can easily be formed by those willing to put in the effort.
Luminaries are interested by a wide variety of things, and other individuals are no exception. Luminaries typically show a great deal of respect and courtesy to those who fascinate them for whatever reason, and if those individuals are amenable to a luminary's strange behavior, they will undoubtedly develop a friendship that lasts a lifetime.
Luminaries who meet with one another tend to become friends or lovers, since it is so rare for two individuals to meet, and when they do they invariably have a lot to share with one another.
Luminary Names
Luminaries take their names from anywhere they can find them, but they tend to be picky about given ones. One may adopt a name given to it by its creator, but may also discard such a name later on in favor of one it picks itself. Likewise, a luminary that is discovered by intelligent creatures may at first take on the name they call it by, but may later reject the name if it realizes the name is unsavory or unbefitting.
Given Names: Brighteyes, Fireman, Lightwalker, Sunspear, Lightning, Blinder, Starchild, Gleaming One, Darkshine, Sparky, Outsider
Chosen Names: Arc, Windfall, Silence, Blindless, Neverstill, Overcast, Snow, Ideal, Purpose, Constant, Freedom, Summit, Bluestrike
Luminary Traits
Your magical nature manifests itself in these traits, which you share with other luminaries.
Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 2.
Age. Luminaries are born with fully-developed minds and learn quickly. They gain the ability to function normally in society by about four years. They do not die unless killed, and so can be any age, though they are rarely ancient.
Alignment. Luminaries are most often good. They tend to have few selfish desires because they need so little to survive, and so have a tendency to focus on helping others or furthering a selfless cause.
Size. Luminaries tend to be about the same size as humans, but with somewhat more unpredictable heights and builds. Your size is medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Arcane Psychology. Luminaries necessarily have an innate understanding of magic, which they use to voluntarily regulate their bodily processes. As a result, you have proficiency in Arcana.
Incorporeal Movement. You can move through other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. Anything you are wearing or carrying is dropped when you use this feature. You take 1d10 force damage if you end your turn inside an object.
Exposure Susceptibility. Your temperamental body requires protection from the elements during strenuous activity. While wearing neither clothing nor armor, you are incapacitated. In this state, if you end your turn in the space of clothing or armor that isn't being worn or carried, you may don it on the start of your next turn without expending your action as long as you are still in its space.
Antimagic Susceptibility. You temporarily wink out of existence within the area of an antimagic field. You instantly reappear once the space you occupied is no longer within the area of an antimagic field. If targeted by dispel magic, you must succeed on a Constitution saving throw against the caster's spell save DC or temporarily wink out of existence, reappearing after 1 minute.
Damage Immunities. You are immune to nonmagical acid and nonmagical poison damage.
Condition Immunities. You are immune to nonmagical disease, nonmagical paralysis, and nonmagical poisons.
Ethereal Nature. You have two creature types: humanoid and construct. You can be affected by a game effect if it works on either of your creature types. You don't require air, food, drink, or sleep. You can still benefit from the effects of consumable spells and magic items, such as potions.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write common and a language of your choice.