Kalashtar

The Living Dreams

The Kalashtar are a compound people, created from the union of a humanoid and the ephemeral spirits native to The Dreamscape, the Quori. Kalashtar are often seen as wise, spiritual people with great compassion for others. There is an unmistakable alien quality to the Kalashtar, though, as their partnered soul carries a permanent touch of The Dreamscape into them that leaves them changed. Most times the skin of a Kalashtar is a faint blue, pink, or purple, with a slight sparkly quality under bright light, which matches most Planeswalker descriptions of The Dreamscape's horizons.
Sometimes, incorrectly albeit, referred to as Dream Elves, the Kalashtar also have a slightly elven or fey appearance, regardless of their actual parentage. This "overwriting" of their natural appearance has led some to consider the Quori to be soul thieves, stealing their children from them.

Birth of a Kalashtar

Accidents

The majority of Kalashtar are an accident of birth, wherein a carried child, still sleeping in the womb and not yet fully sapient, comes in contact with a Quori on The Dreamscape. Sometimes these encounters are brief enough to not have major alterations to the child, save for possibly mildly prophetic dreams later in life. However, enough of them end with the Quori entangled with the developing soul of the child, merging together and birthing a new Kalashtar. The early years of these Kalashtar are often very tumultuous as their new Quori partner is suddenly pulled from The Dreamscape and struggles to adapt to a world of time and material senses.

Willing Partnership

Less common but still responsible for a meaningful number of Kalashtar, it is possible to communicate with a Quori and find a mutual agreement. In these instances, an existing sapient humanoid and a Quori spirit join their souls together into a single being, undergoing a magical ritual of many days for the transformation to complete and the Quori soul to anchor to their new home. If the ritual is completed correctly and safely, the resulting body is indistinguishable from a naturally born Kalashtar; which can often be jarring for the host as they lose their previous form and take on a new one.

Thania Asterousa

Despite Thania and Mani's bond being willing, it did not transform her into a true Kalashtar. Mani's bond with Thania was one of desperation and emergency, not willing partnership. Mani was badly wounded in an attack by a great Nightmare in The Dreamscape during a mission by The Dreamstriders. Thania found the wounded Quori barely clinging to life, and unable to heal it directly with her magic, she made a desperate offer to take the spirit into her until it could heal. Mani did not know if it was possible, or how long it could take, but agreed in the face of death otherwise.
By the time Mani believed they were starting to heal and the proper ritual could be performed to bind them, Thania was already pregnant with Alcina, and the ritual would risk not only her own life, but the life of her child. Mani knew they could not reside outside The Dreamscape without a proper host forever, and made another desperate suggestion.

Nightmare Possession

The most unfortunate origin of a Kalashtar, Nightmare Possession is the forcibly subjugation of a sapient humanoid's soul while they dream and are unprotected in The Dreamscape. In ancient times, there were more Quori and a faction of them felt that The Dreamscape was not only their home, but their domain and kingdom, to be protected from invaders, but unable to interact with the Material Plane directly, they lacked a method to stop their invaders at the source. The most powerful of them developed magics to forcibly trap a host's mind in an unending nightmare in The Dreamscape and then supplant their own spirit into the weakened soul of their target, assuming control. In doing so, they gain total control of the host body in The Material Plane.
Kalashtar born from Nightmare Possession suffer terribly for the first several days as the Quori's presence forces the physical body to change into a Kalashtar against its will. If the body survives, they look exactly as other Kalashtar save for one thing; their eyes are always a starburst of purple and red. A Nightmare Possessed Kalashtar can have the Quori soul forced back out if the body's original mind can be found in The Dreamscape.

Partnered Birth

By far the rarest method of a new Kalashtar being created is for an existing Kalashtar to transfer from one host to a new host through childbirth. This is a very rare phenomenon as the sudden shock of an aged and matured Quori soul entering a developing infant can often be too much, overloading the child's soul and scattering it. For those instances where it does work, the Quori adapts quickly to their new host and strengthens it with both wisdom and power gained from the previous host. Partnered Birth Kalashtar children are aware of their soul partner from the moment their intelligence awakens inside, sensing them not as something separate, but another facet of their true self. The visible Kalashtar traits are stronger in these Kalashtar, with the magic of The Dreamscape coursing through their very blood and soul.

Traits

Stats

• Creature Type: Humanoid
• Size: Medium (Typically)
• Speed: 30 Feet
• Age: Kalashtar slow the natural maturity of their mortal host ever so slightly, adding approximately an additional 10% longer lifespan

Species Features

Dual Mind

Kalashtar have Advantage on all Wisdom Saving Throws.

Mental Discipline

Kalashtar have Resistance on all Psychic Damage.

Mind Link

A Kalashtar can speak telepathically to any creature they can see, provided the creature is within a number of feet equal to 10 times their level. The creature does not need to share a language with the Kalashtar, but the creature must be capable of at least one language. When using this ability to speak telepathically to a creature, you may use your Action to give that creature the ability to speak telepathically with you for 1 hour or until you end this effect as an Action. To use this ability, the creature must be able to see you and must be within this trait's range. You can give this ability to only one creature at a time; giving it to one creature removes it from another creature who has it.

Severed from Dreams

Kalashtar do not properly sleep as many other species do, as they perpetually carry a fragment of The Dreamscape within them. Instead, they can enter a dream-like trance state where they focus and commune with their Quori spirit. Their mind is still active and perceptive during this time, but they must remain in this state to reconnect with their soul partner for at least 6 hours to gain the benefits of a Long Rest.
As a side effect of their unique configuration, Kalashtar are entirely immune to any spells or other magical effects that require them to dream, such as the spell Dream, and have Resistance to any effect that would explicitly put them to sleep, magical or otherwise. However, a Kalashtar is not immune to being forced unconscious, and if done so without it being a result of reaching 0 hit points, their conscious mind is forcibly driven into the deepest portion of their own psyche without the safe gradual connection to their Quori partner, potentially resulting in significant trauma if their Quori soul cannot connect with them quickly enough.

Origin/Ancestry

Varied + Quori

Lifespan

10% longer than natural host lifespan