[Race] Uber-Morlock

by ganelon

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Uber-Morlock by ganelon

"Skin a white as snow, eyes as black as the abyss.
I had indeed never seen a creature of such a hue. His blood that pooled in his elbows, on his cheeks, and on his exposed knees, was silvery like the moon. It occurred to me then that his blood must be black."
–Caldor Kaas,

The Diary of Caldor Kaas


Uber-Morlocks are a people of monstrous origin. It is said that the original Morlocks were once humans who were trapped in the Underdark and devolved into a monsterous race, but the Uber-Morlock has departed even further. Uber-Morlocks, now simply called Morlocks, are a shadowy group of people who practice blood magic.

There was a time when they were all considered monsters and savages, but some Morlocks have recently popped up in human civilization, trying to live among them. This is the result of a civil war between Uber-Morlocks, in which the younger generation revolted against tradition and tried to put an end to the savage practices. In the end, tradition won out, and the revolutionaries were displaced or executed.

Darkness and Light

The Uber-Morlock’s skin is white like snow, but their blood and eyes are an inky black. They are about the same height as humans, but some can grow to be up to 8 feet tall. They are more slender than humans, weighing a mere 110-140 pounds (m) and 90-140 pounds (f). Uber-Morlocks have a snow-white hue to their skin, but because their blood is black, some Morlocks with thinner skin have pronounced grey areas where blood pools (knuckles, elbows, nose).

Their hair can be either white or black, and with age it grows silver if it is black. As such, silver-haired Morlocks are rare and respected among Uber-Morlock communities.

Evolving Peoples

The Uber-Morlocks live as long as humans (80 years avg.), and much like humans they are always evolving. However, Uber-Morlocks are closely aligned to chaos, and they find themselves often evolving in the wrong direction. This has caused their society to be, while sophisticated in some areas, brutal and savage in others. Morlock villages have sewage, sophisticated courts, and magic practices to rival the most advanced societies, but they have an oligarchical tribal government, practice vile blood magic (of which they cannot use their own blood) and can often be found owning slaves.

Tribes and Communities

Most Morlocks live in large tribal communities that build complex and surprisingly structurally-sound huts out of flora and baked mud. They often build complex caverns beneath their cities that function as either sewers or extra residential space.

They tend to dislike outsiders, but some smaller Morlock tribes have recently been united under a xenophillic movement that seeks to take on a better understanding of the world to better Morlock society. Morlocks encountered outside of their tribes are Morlocks who fled the last war and decided to live among humans, or alone in the woods. These Morlocks can be good or bad but have a reputation of causing trouble.

Blood Magic

Morlock societies practice a dark blood magic. Rituals to bring good luck, wealth, harmony, love, and other things often occur in Morlock households. Some Morlocks have learned blood magic to gain endless life. Morlocks must capture members of other races in order to practice blood magic, for their own blood cannot be used in their rituals. This has given them a fearsome reputation.

They are feared by many of the humanoids that they feed on, and are sometimes persecuted even when they pose no threat.

Uber-Morlock Names

Morlocks name themselves based on common words found in their language. Typically, Males are given a name with an adjective that describes a noun, and females are given a longer name from Morlock poetry that can describe nature, beauty, or fertility.

Morlocks are also not given a name until they are 14, and until then they are called by a ‘warding name.’ It is said that giving your child a nasty name will keep the demons from making your child fall ill, for they are tricked into believing that the child is already sick. As such, child names are typically bad words, and there is no distinction between male and female child names. Morlocks do not take family names, instead taking the name of their clan if they choose to leave that clan behind.

Morlock clans take names from all sorts of sources, favoring elven names for their classical value.

Child Names: Borma, Eki, Explar, Kaka, Nasa, Pikro, Pormak, Shalk, Srila, Vaer

Male Names: Ára Fele, Haka Bala, Nalá Mar, Nolar Mel, Patár Maná, Sor Adri, Tzeechi Kor, Zazák Neench

Female Names: Aelenmynnie, Akalanwynne, Arlynwelle, Helwynne, Jesamynnie, Krynneska, Manaarlynne, Uwoldrowelle, Wendowlynne

Clan Names: Aklāra, Aktō, Dalath, Elenā, Kantaya, Kawāk, Magiti, Mǭri, Rass, Weda, Yuyuñal

Uber-Morlock Traits

Your Uber-Morlock character has a number of natural abilities borne of its monster origins.

Ability Score Increase: Your Wisdom Score increases by 2, and one other score of your choice increase by 1.

Age: Uber-Morlocks mature slightly faster than humans, reaching adulthood around the age of 14. They live on average about the same length (80 years) as humans do.

Alignment: Uber-Morlocks tend towards extremes, favoring either law or chaos. Neutral Morlocks who grew up in war-times do exist, however.

Size: Uber-Morlocks are about the same size as humans, but can be up to 8 feet tall.

Speed: Your base walking speed is 30 ft.

Superior Darkvision: As your ancestors lived in caves and never came out in the sun, you have darkvision for 120 ft.

Sunlight Sensitivity: Because your race is derivative of cave monsters, you have disadvantage on perception checks and attack rolls that rely on sight while in direct sunlight.

Blood Arts: You can gain one of the following features of your choice:

  • Blood Battery: If you kill a creature, you can spend a bonus action to absorb its blood into a floating sphere above you. You can have up to 4 blood-spheres floating around you at once. You control what form these spheres can take. You can spend an action to “fire” the sphere at a target as if you casted a spell. Make a Ranged Spell Attack, using both your proficiency bonus and wisdom modifier. On a hit, the target takes 1d10 piercing damage. You can fire 2 of these at once at 5th level, 3 at 11th, and 4 at 17th. Make a separate attack roll for each projectile.
  • Blood Gate: If there is a creature you have slain within 30 ft of you, you may spend a reaction or bonus action to move to its square by rising from its corpse.
  • Vampire Armor: If you crit against a creature, you use the blood from its wound to create a temporary shield. For the next hour, you have +5 AC, but the shield dissipates if a creature succeeds an attack against you.
  • Vampire Strike When you kill a creature, you absorb its blood into your life-force. Any excess HP dealt to the creature after it has been reduced to 0 HP instead replenishes your own HP.

Languages: You can speak, read, and write Common, Morlock, and one extra language of your choice.

Uber-Morlock Feats

Practitioner of Blood Arts

Prerequisite: Uber-Morlock.

You have superior knowledge of blood magic. Each time you take this feat, you can gain another blood magic feature listed above.

Blood Drive

Prerequisite: Uber-Morlock, Blood Battery feature.

You can use the Blood Battery feature to heal a friendly creature. You can heal a creature other than yourself within 60ft of you by expending one of your blood-spheres. A blood sphere heals 1d8 HP. You can heal creatures further than 60 feet away from you at a maximum of 120 feet away by succeeding an attack roll against your target, otherwise you automatically succeed. You can expend two at once at 5th level, 3 at 11th, and 4 at 17th.

Vorpal Vampire Strike

Prerequisite: Uber-Morlock, Vampire Strike.

You can choose to deal the HP dealt in excess to a creature after it's been reduced to 0 HP to other creatures instead within 10 ft. You can split the damage up as you choose, and you can even choose to heal creatures other than yourself within 10 ft.