Changeling Species in Tales of Cevantia | World Anvil

Changeling

Every kingdom has changelings living within its confines, whether the public knows of them or not. Wherever changelings are, deceit follows, as they are hired to manipulate all sorts of politics, spreading false information and spying on the truth. Changelings know that others use them for ill-intentions, but changelings seldom care as they see this business as the most pragmatic approach to life, also understanding that they're truly outsiders to society, no matter how seamlessly they can blend in.  

Appearance

  Changelings in their true form appear almost like humans, except their skin and hair are ghostly white. A changeling's eyes are also completely white, except for their irises, which have pale blue or pink undertones. Changelings are rarely seen in their true forms, which they may leave mostly unkempt, and instead choose to adopt a persona, which might end up being someone they formerly knew such as a mentor or friend, or it might even be someone whose appearance they enjoyed and wish to mimic.   Some changelings, especially those who are at odds with the reality of who they are, will adopt multiple personas and use them as "masks", developing multiple personalities, names, and mannerisms for each one. These masks can help a changeling feel more comfortable about themselves, and it can even become beneficial for one who needs to conceal themselves from those who would wish to do them harm.

Features

  • Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 2. In addition, one other ability score of your choice increases by 1.
  • Age. Changelings mature slightly faster than humans but share a similar lifespan — typically a century or less. While a changeling can transform to conceal their age, the effects of aging affect them similarly to humans.
  • Alignment. Changelings tend toward pragmatic neutrality, and few changelings embrace evil.
  • Size. In their natural forms, changelings average between 5 to 6 feet in height, with a slender build. Your size is Medium.
  • Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
  • Shapechanger. As an action, you can change your appearance and your voice. You determine the specifics of the changes, including your coloration, hair length, and sex. You can also adjust your height and weight, but not so much that your size changes. You can make yourself appear as a member of another race, though none of your game statistics change. You can't duplicate the appearance of a creature you've never seen, and you must adopt a form that has the same basic arrangement of limbs that you have. Your clothing and equipment aren't changed by this trait. You stay in the new form until you use an action to revert to your true form or until you die.
  • Changeling Instincts. You gain proficiency with two of the following skills of your choice: Deception, Insight, Intimidation, and Persuasion.
  • Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and two other languages of your choice.