Reapers (race)

by astrarche

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Reapers

By @homebrewlesbian, made for @liddelkid

Birthed from coils of darkness, deep in the Shadowfell, Reapers are entities granted life by the Raven Queen to transport souls from the planes at their time of death to the underworld, or wherever their soul will reside after death.

Tenebrous Origin

Reapers are formed by shadow and moil, and come into existence in an adult body. Their skin is black, with an almost slippery and elastic texture. What hair they have, if any, is wisp-like and more akin to smoke than anything substantial. They often have sharp, black teeth and long, clawed nails.

Despite their wicked and fearsome design, Reapers are curious, if not monotone. They begin to develop individual thoughts and their personality as they age, and thus, the younger a Reaper is, the more unadjusted to typical customs and culture they may be. They tend to be quite intelligent and further develop a sense of identity after their first decade of life.

Reapers possess no gender when they are born, and instead choose their own identity as they come of age.

Bound to Duty

Reapers were born into the Shadowfell for the purpose of being ferrymen for souls, ensuring their departure from the planes and their arrival to the underworld after their death.

Most Reapers find themselves in service to the Raven Queen as Soul Carriers, however, others become her messengers, or are unbound from her service to carry out lives in other planes.

Author's Note

When making a Reaper, consider how they came to the life or adventuring? Maybe they were unbound for their years of service and began a journey of their own. Or maybe, after beginning to discover their own sense of identity, fled to uphold an ideal of their own. Perhaps, they were never bound to her service at all.

Reaper Names

Reapers are born without a name and choose their own as soon as they are ready. Some reapers choose a the first word that enters their head as soon as their birthed, while others go through several names before discovering the name that resonates with them.

Racial Traits

Reapers possess the following characteristics:

Ability Score Increase. You may increase your Constitution score by 2 and your Intelligence score by 1.

Size. Reapers tend to model the physique of humanoids; your size is Medium.

Speed. You have a base movement speed of 30 ft.

Age. Reapers are born in an adult body and can live into their fourth century before the shadows comprising their body begin to unravel and dissipate.

Alignment. Reapers possess no inherent alignment when they are born, and tend to stay Neutral through their lifespan unless they encounter something that greatly shifts their beliefs.

Languages. You know Common and Shadetongue; the language of the Shadowfell, which has a soft and raspy dialect.

Superior Darkvision. You have darkvision to a range of 120 ft.

Semicorporeal Body. You have resistance to necrotic damage. Additionally, as a reaction, before you take damage, you may elect to become translucent and gain resistance to all damage types, besides psychic, until the start of your next turn. You regain this ability after a long rest.

Shadowcasting. You know the Chill Touch cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the Shadow Blade spell with this trait, and you regain the ability to cast it this way when you finish a long rest. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

Sunlight Sensitivity You have disadvantage on attack rolls and on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight when you, the target of your attack, or whatever you are trying to perceive is in direct sunlight.