Starborn
"I'm going to be sick, Avaalor," sighed Merrit, cautiously stepping through the dark gate while waving away a strand of errant stardust from her shoulder. "I still can't handle the difference between each world when we go so quickly, no matter how much Elder Vau'lez says we should appreciate the variety. It's only been a few days since we visited Elysium, and this place doesn't exactly compare."
Her companion looked up in response, squinting as newly acrid and poisonous-smelling air stings his eyes. "I know, my starlight, I know." he mumbled, quietly. "It has been rather rough travel lately, hasn't it? I'm not sure why we've needed to move with such haste these last weeks, but I'm sure the elders have their reasons. Do you want me to speak to one of the portalkeepers for you?"
"Oh, no, don't bother them on my account. I'm only complaining," answered Merrit, her senses adjusting to a dark gray sky and menagerie of rancid oozes emanating from the ground. "I was just looking forward to finally selling off the jewels I found for that demigod in Arborea, not taking a jaunt into the Abyss to gaze at viper trees and vrocks."
The starborn are a people of travel and exploration, produced from generations of exposure to cosmic and planar energies. Believed to be the descendants from a collection of human and genasi prisoners who broke free from their bonds within the Astral Plane long ago, this society is now a community of nomads who seek to cultivate balance and peace through the course of their long-lasting travels.
Cosmically Imbued
The starborn are a somewhat physically imposing people, commonly standing taller than 6 feet, but less dense than would be expected for creatures of their dimensions. They largely resemble humans with fine features for most of their lives, though often with airy mantles of stardust surrounding them, widely varying in density and size.
These beings have become intrinsically magical over hundreds of years, resulting from their exposure to the Astral Plane and frequent cosmic jaunts. In late maturity, starborn become less capable of keeping the magical energy they embody contained within their forms, their hair turning to a floating pale gossamer and their bodies emitting a heavier shroud of hovering dust and spectral starlight.
Ever Seeking, Ever Lasting
Starborn society places a high value on exploration and ensuring that their ancestors' legacy is eternally honored. Elders within starborn communities teach that their ancestors live on in spiritual forms in order to protect future generations, but only as long as their scions continue to view new lands, meet unfamiliar people, and gather fresh perspectives.
Core to this ancient belief, starborn consider that the greater the distance they explore makes their travels more valuable to their ancestors. Attempting to honor this practice, these people have committed their culture to a nomadic society; one focused on an ever-shifting diaspora across the worlds and planes.
Traders and Travelers
As experienced nomads who have been honing their way of life over many generations, the starborn have come to realize that their penchant for inter-planar travel opens up the possibility of being a valued set of merchants for many worlds and people. Though starborn trade caravans still maintain the value of gathering different experiences from new lands and societies, they tend to find their way back to a world they have visited before if they come upon an item they know will receive bountiful pay.
We Are All Stardust
The starborn are renowned by those they interact with as a highly welcoming community, seemingly open to as many perspectives and ways of thought as exist across the planes. The starborn do not simply desire to get along with others in order to foster their mercantile habits, but also to slowly build common ground between each world; learning how others live life and then disseminating this knowledge throughout their travels. This practice is based on a cultural tenet which claims that, on a basic level, all people and beings are made of the same eternal elements and should seek to understand each other.
Under this view of universal commonality, many starborn tend to hold the hope that differences between people can be solved through mutual acknowledgement. More than one fable exists across the multiverse about brief visits from a traveling people who resolve disputes between tense or warring lands, but are never to be seen again.
Starborn Traits
Your starborn character has qualities that reflect the determined and mystical nature of your people.
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution, Wisdom, and Charisma scores each increase by 1.
Age. Starborn mature at the same rate humans do and reach adulthood around the age of 20. They persist much longer than humans, however, often living beyond 150 years.
Alignment. Starborn culture rarely results in the development of an evil personality, much more often fostering a good or neutral disposition.
Size. Starborn are slightly taller and lighter than humans, often standing between 6 and 7 feet tall and weighing about 150 pounds. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision. As beings of stellar sight, your eyes see even in darkest night. 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 gray.
Bodies of Stardust. Whenever you finish a long rest you choose one damage type, other than bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage. You gain resistance to that damage type until you choose a different one with this trait. Damage from magical weapons weapons ignores this resistance.
Starry Steps. You know the light cantrip. When you reach 5th level, you can cast the blink spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. Constitution is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and two extra languages of your choice.
Art Credits
Lie Setiawan (Magic the Gathering) - https://www.artstation.com/liesetiawan
Jason Rainville (Magic the Gathering) - https://www.jasonrainville.com
