Demonic

Developments - Act II

Polymorphing into a demon is very dangerous. Even the image of their chaotic form can take on a life of its own.

Dretches

Some dretches are created from people who've died, who first become manes and mutate into dretches once they're accustomed to the Abyss. But most dretches are just coagulated from abyssal mud, with nothing but a few disgruntled instincts to drive their behavior. While exploring another plane, they sometimes gain the ability to summon more dretches from the Abyss. These populations grow exponentially until they run out of food or turn against each other. Fighting a dretch infestation is an aggravating challenge, since their numbers can bounce back from near total destruction.
Developments - Act I

Dretch

Ability Score Increase -12, distributed in any way between Int, Wis, and Cha.

Size Small

Speed 20

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You have a special Dretch character sheet, which does not allow for Inspiration, Proficiency, or successful death saving throws.

Nothing Ever Works

Every ability a dretch uses, including actions like Dodge and Disengage, inevitably fails. Most dretches resort to wildly attacking with no plan. It takes an unusual creativity to make something useful of their laughable talents.
Dretches may be the key to some extremely rare skills. If a character dies, becomes a dretch, masters one of their "useless" skills, and is then resurrected, they might wake up with new ideas. See the table below.

The Worst Magic System

When a spellcaster becomes a dretch, they might attempt to cast spells, only to discover the underwhelming elements of the Dretch Spell List.
Rather than recovering their magic every day, dretches gain spell slots from eating food (for unknown reasons). This trait could be incredibly useful--if, for example, they learned how to cook--but doing so requires a difficult series of Wisdom saving throws.

Languages. Abyssal, telepathy 60 ft.

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Ability	Dretch Version	Waking Improvement
Rage	As a bonus action, you become very upset about the situation. You have disadvantage on all skill checks. You can use this ability even when charmed, frightened, or dominated.	Once per turn, you can choose to have disadvantage on any attack roll or skill check, even while charmed, frightened, or dominated.
Reckless Attack	When you make your last attack on your turn, you swipe violently, miss, and plant your face in the ground. Until the beginning of your next turn, each creature's first melee attack against you is a Reckless Attack.	If your Reckless Attack causes a melee attack to hit you when it would normally miss, that attack is considered Reckless as well.
Bardic Inspiration	You feel, as always, very pessimistic about the situation. Creatures who can hear you cannot gain Inspiration unless they pass a Charisma saving throw. If you prevent a creature from being inspired, you gain a d4 inspiration die.	If a creature uses Inspiration but they fail anyway, you can use your reaction to give them a d4 inspiration die.
Song of Rest	You fall asleep. Attempts to wake you up have disadvantage. If you take damage, you wake up only if the amount of damage exceeds your Wisdom saving throw.	Your Song of Rest also removes one level of exhaustion from a single character.
Channel Divinity	You call blindly for aid, receiving one level of exhaustion, and reach a divine power you no longer recognize. Nothing seems to happen at first, but someone assists you with the Help action for the next minute.	If you are unable to control yourself or use abilities, your patron deity might activate Channel Divinity without being asked.
Turn Undead	You must use all your movement to flee from the targeted creature, as though affected by Turn Undead. If the target creature is undead, you Dash. You ignore difficult terrain and have advantage against any conditions that impair your movement.	Fiends are also affected by Turn Undead, but they roll their saving throws with advantage.
Wild Shape	You take on a bestial nature. All your statistics are changed to that of the chosen beast, except for your Strength, Constitution, and Dexterity.	While using Wild Shape, you can choose to retain your own Strength, Constitution, and/or Dexterity scores.
Druid Circle	You belong to the Circle of the Abyss, which you might have made up. If your surroundings don't fit your delicate sensibilities (which depends on your druid circle, and happens at least 75% of the time), you have terrible allergies and your Fetid Cloud is replaced by a puff of ash that deals no damage and creates difficult terrain.	Once per day, if your surroundings appeal to your druid circle, gain 1d4 inspiration.
Second Wind	For once you decide not to give up, and you try again at a failed skill check or saving throw. The exertion causes you to immediately fail a death saving throw. Failed death saving throws are only recovered by a short rest.	You can use Second Wind to make a second attempt at a failed saving throw.
Action Surge	After your regular action and bonus action, you throw yourself 5 feet, swing, and miss. This move may provoke attacks of opportunity. This ability cannot be used again until you finish a short rest.	You can move 5 feet as part of your Action Surge.
Martial Arts	You have disadvantage on attack rolls and skill checks with weapons and tools. If you use an item for the opposite of its intended purpose, you have advantage instead. Each item can only be used once per day in this way.	You can use almost any found object as a monk weapon.
Deflect Missiles	If a projectile misses you, you can use your reaction to make it hit you. Even if the missile hits within 5 feet of you, or lands in a Fetid Cloud which you're also in, you can move to the missile's location.	The damage reduction effect of Deflect Missiles is doubled if you're behind half cover.
Divine Sense	You can sense other fiends at a distance up to 5 times your telepathy range. You also sense celestials, beings of law and chaos, and some kinds of food. You can't tell the difference between them, though fiends may shine brighter if they're capable of summoning reinforcements.	If a creature can summon allies from its home plane, those allies will be visible to your Divine Sense before they appear.
Lay On Hands	While touching another creature with at least one hand, you can negate any healing they receive. The amount of healing you prevent is deducted from your Lay On Hands pool. Similarly, you can prevent diseases and poisons from being cured.	Your Lay On Hands can be chained between multiple contiguous creatures to increase its range.
Primeval Awareness	You use your action to get distracted, gaining disadvantage on attack rolls and Perception checks, unless you pass a Wisdom saving throw which you can reattempt every minute. However, you magically have advantage when interacting with anything in a Fetid Cloud.	You have advantage on skill checks which involve searching for a creature you detected with Primeval Awareness.
Hunter's Prey	Your understanding of monsters makes you a vicious foe yourself. You might deal 1d4 extra damage while below your hit point maximum (Colossus Slayer you might gain advantage on attacks against Small or Tiny creatures (Giant Slayer or you might gain an extra attack if your target is flanked by two allies (Horde Breaker).	Your Hunter's Prey (wounded targets, large targets, or targets moving in close groups) count as Favored Enemies.
Ranger's Companion	If you and your companion have both become demons, you can sense each other from anywhere in the Abyss. Your companion is a shaggy, infernal reduction of its former self, but you share a similar bond as before. Your companion generally has the same game statistics as a Stench Kow. If it dies, it regenerates in the Abyss after 8 hours.	After returning from its existence as a demon, your companion has a natural resistance to poison.
Sneak Attack	You throw a wild haymaker. Make a Dexterity check against the target's Dexterity, with advantage if the target is being flanked. On a success, take an extra attack against the target. On a failure, the target takes an extra attack against you.	While out of combat, you can make a Sneak Attack even if you don't have advantage on the attack roll.
Cunning Action	You can use Fetid Cloud as a bonus action. While inside a cloud, you are immune to attacks of opportunity.	If an attack misses you, you can move 5 feet (avoiding attacks of opportunity) as a reaction. This ability recharges after a long rest.
Uncanny Dodge	You stubbornly weather hits while your vitals remain unscathed. When a creature that you can see hits you with an attack and you have more than 1 hit point, you can use your reaction to keep 1 hit point.	You can use Uncanny Dodge even while restrained or prone.
Metamagic	You can change the effect of Fetid Cloud using your metamagic. You can use a spell slot to make it a damaging cloud, dealing 1d4 poison damage per spell level per round, including to yourself.

Vrocks