niholat races

Blood - The Dread
***Ability Score Increase.*** Your Constitution score increases by 2, and your Charisma score increases by 1.

***Age.*** The dread naturally have a lower lifespan than most other races, becoming mature after two years, and only living to be about twenty years old. However, through bloodletting rituals, the consumption of the bodily fluids of other creatures, and other methods, most of the dread are able to live to be thirty to sixty years older than their maximum lifespan, with those associated with the clergy living to be over one hundred years of age.

***Alignment.*** Many of the dread tend to view other races as being nothing more than unintelligent beasts whose blood is valuable for extending their own lifespans, with a select few even thinking the same about their own race, making them tend towards chaotic neutral to evil alignments.

***Size.*** The dread have bodies that are thin as wisps, with exceptionally long legs that seem to make up about sixty percent of their height, giving them an imposing stature of about seven feet tall, though some of the dread are only about five feet tall or shorter. Your size is Medium.

***Speed.*** Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

***Type Affinity.*** You are attuned to the blood type.

***Superior Darkvision.*** You are used to dwelling in the darkest corners of the world. You can see in dim light within 120 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 red.

***Blood Drain.*** Whenever you hit a creature with a melee attack, you gain temporary hit points equal to your proficiency bonus. Also, if you consume the blood of a corpse of a Medium sized or larger creature during a short rest, you regain additional hit points equal to your level + your Constitution modifier. Constructs, oozes, and undead corpses cannot be consumed by this trait.

***Leeches.*** Your hair is made of leeches, and the inside of your mouth has a secondary leech-like mouth which you can extend, all of which are natural weapons you can use to make unarmed strikes with. If you do so, you deal 1d4 piercing damage, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.

***Alluring Bite.*** Your leeches can inject a humanoid with a powerful pheromone when you hit it with an unarmed strike, casting the *charm person* spell as part of the attack. Your spellcasting ability for this spell is your Charisma, and after casting this spell in this way, you must take a long rest before doing so, again.

***Languages.*** You can read, write, and speak Common and Bloodtongue. Bloodtongue is a language that is written entirely in the blood of the writer, and when spoken, it sounds like the sounds of teeth gnashing together in odd ways.

##### Variant: Holy Mutilation
The culture of the dread leads some of the most devout of their kind mutilating themselves to achieve a form of purity. When creating your dread character, you can choose one of the following mutilations, and if you do so, you gain one feat of your choice that has the dread race as a prerequisite. If this mutilation is either healed, either willingly or not, you lose the benefits of the feat until you gain the mutilation again.

***Blind.*** You have either torn out both of your eyes, or otherwise damaged both of them in a way in which you cannot see out of them, permanently affecting you with the blinded condition.

***One-Armed.*** You have either removed one of your arms, or damaged one of your arms in such a way that it permanently cannot function. You cannot attack with two-handed weapons, use two-weapon fighting, or wield a shield and a weapon at the same time. You also have disadvantage on ability checks made to make a grapple, or climb.

***One-Legged.*** You have either removed one of your legs, or damaged one of your legs in such a way that it permanently cannot function. Your movement speed is 20 feet, you have disadvantage on ability checks and saving throws made to resist being forcibly moved or knocked prone, and it costs all of your movement to stand up from being prone.

Null - The Null
***Ability Score Increase.*** Three scores of your choice increase by 1.

***Age.*** The null do not age, and are created mature.

***Alignment.*** Many of the null find themselves in a world that blames their kin and type for the ruin the world currently experiences, bringing most of them to believe that the world is not worth their kindness, however a select few are able to show compassion, even for the people who wrong them.

***Size.*** The null have no true corporeal form of their own, and instead inhabit a single suit of armor or clothing for their entire existence. Your size is Medium or Small, though most null are Medium.

***Speed.*** Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

***Type Affinity.*** You are attuned to the null type.

***Armor Form.*** You are proficient in all armor. Choose one piece of armor; your body is permanently bound to that suit of armor. You cannot ever remove this suit of armor, and do not suffer any penalties for taking a long rest in your armor. During the course of a long rest, you can transfer the magical properties of a piece of armor that is within 5 feet of you for the whole rest to your armor, or you can transfer your own armor's magical properties to a nonmagical piece of armor. The armor doesn't need to be the same type to transfer magical properties; for example, you could have studded leather and transfer the properties of dragon scale mail to your armor. Your armor cannot have the magical properties of more than one piece of armor at once.

***Inorganic Form.*** You are immune to disease, are resistant to blood damage, and are immune to the poisoned condition. Additionally, whenever you would magically restore hit points from a spell of 5th-level or lower that cannot affect constructs, you restore half as many hit points as you normally would (rounded up). Finally, magic cannot put you to sleep, and you cannot pay the bonus hit point costs for any blood spells.

***Gift of the Nothingness.*** Whenever you would take damage or fail a saving throw, you can use your reaction to temporarily fade out of existence, negating the damage and any effects of the trigger. Until the start of your next turn, you cease to exist, and as such, cannot be targeted by any effects, and are incapacitated. After using this trait, you must take a short or long rest before doing so, again.

***Languages.*** You can read, write, and speak Common and one language of your choice. The voices of the null often sound exceptionally hollow, and echo around inside of their armor when they speak.

Obsidian - The Gemwraiths
***Ability Score Increase.*** Your Strength, Intelligence, and Wisdom scores increase by 1.

***Age.*** Gemwraiths are made from burning magical embers, surrounding an obsidian-infused gemstone. Before they reach ten or so years of age, their flames are nothing more than a few sputtering sparks, and over time, they grow more powerful and bright, finally maturing fully at around ten years. The fires then slowly die down after fifty years, with most dying out entirely by the age of eighty.

***Alignment.*** Almost all gemwraiths are of lawful natures, though a few break their oaths and ties, becoming neutral or chaotic alignments.

Rust - The Cogborn
***Ability Score Increase.*** Your Constitution and Strength scores increase by 1.

***Age.*** The cogborn are created with mature bodies, however they often take about a decade of teaching before their kin treat them as adults. Due to their connection with rust, as well as their inorganic bodies, cogborn can live theoretically forever without rusting into uselessness, though most of them are destroyed before a century or two.

***Alignment.*** Due to being constructed, cogborn innately have lawful natures of all kinds.

***Size.*** Cogborn can be constructed to be any height and build, from imp-like spindly creatures, to great behemoths. However, their overall weight and gears make their size stay relatively similar on average. Your size is Medium.

***Speed.*** Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

***Type Affinity.*** You are attuned to the rust type.

***Inorganic Form.*** You are immune to disease, are resistant to blood damage, and are immune to the poisoned condition. Additionally, whenever you would magically restore hit points from a spell of 5th-level or lower that cannot affect constructs, you restore half as many hit points as you normally would (rounded up). Finally, magic cannot put you to sleep, and you cannot pay the bonus hit point costs for any blood spells.

***Arms Builders.*** You have advantage on all checks made to train with exotic arms, and are proficient with three rust exotic arms of your choice. Also, you are proficient in smith's tools and tinker's kits.

***Languages.*** You can read, write, and speak Common and Rustalk. Rustalk sounds like the sizzling of acid on metal, as well as clanking and turning noises of gears, with a very metallic and square-like script.

***Interchangeable Parts.*** At the end of a long rest, you can pick two traits from any of the ones listed below; you have those traits until your next long rest.

***Ability Score Increase.*** One score of your choice increases by 1.

***Armored Body.*** Your AC increases by 1.

***Darkvision.*** Your eyes are enhanced to see in the dark. 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 green.

***Firewall.*** Your body has defensive implements to dissuade various elements. Pick one damage type other than blood, null, bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing; you have resistance to that damage type.

***Integrated Tool.*** You have a tool you are proficient with integrated into your body, and your proficiency bonus is doubled for checks using that tool.

***Integrated Weapon.*** You have a weapon you are proficient with integrated into your body, taking up one of your arms. You cannot be disarmed of the weapon.

***Regenerative Servos.*** As a bonus action, you can regain hit points equal to your Constitution modifier + your level. Each time you use this trait after the first use, you gain a level of exhaustion. After a long rest, your number of uses resets back to 0.

Storm - The Shockful
***Ability Score Increase.*** Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and your Intelligence score increases by 1.

***Age.*** The shockful have artificially extended their race's lifespan through the use of technology, making their lifespan four times what it normally would be; they become mature at the age of five, and the males can live to be between the ages of forty to sixty, with females usually living to be between sixty to ninety.

***Alignment.*** The shockful are constantly focused on creating new technology, and testing out current technology, both for the betterment of themselves and the others of their kind, making many of them tend towards lawful good or neutral alignments.

***Size.*** Most of the shockful tend to be between six to eight feet in length, though since their lower half curls around their technology to give them a more upright form, they often only appear to be between four to five feet in height. Your size is Medium.

***Speed.*** Your base walking speed is 25 feet, and you have a swim speed of 40 feet.

***Type Affinity.*** You are attuned to the storm type.

***Darkvision.*** Your kind once prowled the depths of the darkest oceans, allowing you to see in the dark. 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 blue.

***Water-Breather.*** You can breathe water. Using tanks filled with water connected to your body, you can survive on land, however you must be fully submerged in water for at least one hour each day, or you suffer one level of exhaustion. Any levels of exhaustion gained from this trait are immediately lost once you have submerged yourself in water for a number of hours equal to the levels of exhaustion, and cannot otherwise be removed.

***Tail-Handed.*** You have no arms, but instead have a long tail you can use like a single hand. Your tail can hold anything that would require a creature of the same size and strength to wield in two hands, though it has disadvantage on attack rolls using the object if it is a weapon with the *two-handed* property. If the weapon is a ranged weapon you would require another hand to load, such as a longbow or crossbow, you are unable to do so while holding the weapon, though you can still fire it if it is loaded.

***Electric Body.*** Your body conducts electricity. When a creature starts its turn being grappled by you, or grappling you, it takes storm damage equal to your Constitution modifier (a minimum of 1).

***Tech Creator.*** You have proficiency in alchemist's supplies and tinker's tools. Also, whenever you make an Intelligence (History) check related to technology, you are considered proficient in the History skill and add double your proficiency bonus to the check, instead of your normal proficiency bonus.

***Languages.*** You can read, write, and speak Common and Stormspeak. Stormspeak sounds like the crackle of lightning and the booming sounds emitted by thunder, with a written script appearing to be like many bolts and scratches.

Water - The Striders
***Ability Score Increase.*** Your Wisdom score increases by 1.

***Physical Influence.*** You either embody the superior strength of arachnids, increasing your Strength score by 2, or the flowing nature of the water, increasing your Dexterity score by 2.

***Age.*** Soon after a collection of striders hatch, they each live for about 8 weeks before becoming adolescent, after which point all of them will fight to the death for the next month in a death game, with any survivors becoming fully mature. Some will die out over the next few years due to injuries, however striders can live to be around sixty to seventy years old.

***Alignment.*** The striders believe that only those who are capable enough to hold their own deserve to live in this hostile world, making many of them tend towards neutral alignments.

***Size.*** The striders have upper bodies that are about five to six feet tall, and lower bodies that are the bottom half of a giant spider, making them an imposing nine to eleven feet tall, and weighing hundreds of pounds. Your size is Medium.

***Speed.*** Your base walking speed is 35 feet.

***Arachnid Anatomy.*** Due to your lower half being that of a spider's, you have advantage on ability checks and saving throws against being forcibly moved or knocked prone, and you count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift. Armor also costs 50% more for you, as it must be custom designed for your form.

***Water Strider.*** You may choose to stand on or move across any liquid surface as if it were solid ground, however this ability does not prevent you from being forcibly moved into the liquid.

***Mask.*** Your kin usually wear masks over their hideous horrifying faces. While your mask is on, creatures have disadvantage on Wisdom (Insight) to tell your emotional state or if you are lying. While your mask is off, you have advantage on Charisma (Intimidation) checks made against creatures that are not striders.

***Watery Warmonger.*** You gain proficiency in the spear, trident, net, and have advantage on ability checks made to train with water exotic arms. You also treat the spear and trident as having the *finesse* property.

***Languages.*** You can read, write, and speak Common and Waterword. Waterword mimics the crashing of waves and the gentle sea breeze, and has a rich, flowing script.