Changeling

Shifty, adaptable thieves of identity. A warped mirror of appearance and perspective. A culture of parasites, attempting to accept themselves. The Changelings were born from a lie, and continue to struggle against that perspective everyday.

Origin

The Origin of the Changeling is a story as old as time, and is a common bedtime story for children in the Letuma or Viderium Regions for milenia. As the story goes, Zanu, God of Creation, created the first Changeling by accident. He took a mirror and wrapped his hands around it, applying pressure until he was left with a person. This person could not take on a unique shape, only the shape of others. It tried, at first, to replicate Zanu, but eventually settled on an early design of the Human. Zanu was taken with this new model - though the blind god could not see the changing, he was nonetheless charmed by its antics. But eventually, he grew tired. He refused to release the mirror child, telling it that he would never create it. It went against all he knew. But the mirror child was crafty.
As Zanu crafted his newest creation, the Cognethel, the mirror child snuck onto the operating table. When he placed the finishing touch, he went to feel his new creation, as Zanu was unable to see. To his hands, it felt exactly the same. He brought it out of the laboratory and went to display it to the Divine Quartet. But when he brought it out, it was gone. The mirror child had escaped onto the Mortal Plane - and Zanu wouldn’t find out for hundreds of years. When he finally did, they had spread across the Mortal Plane.

Description

The Changelings of Tetraverium are inconsistent, ever-changing creatures. They live for roughly a century. It is impossible to explain their appearance, as they can change it to whatever they want. Height, weight, shape, size, color, and attributes are all theirs to toy with. Their skin warps like rubber to accommodate this. They are always the same weight, and simply stretch themselves to accommodate.
No Changeling has a “base appearance”. They are born resembling one of their parents, and shift from there. There is no default.

Socialization

Changelings quickly found themselves as infamous for their deceptions. In the early days of Tetraverium, they were viewed with fear and distaste. They quickly gained a reputation for tricking others into thinking they were something they were not. This became especially pervasive in marriage, with often-fabricated reports of Changelings impersonating other species in order to get married, impregnate women with their children, and then flee, became common. This is what generated the conception of Changelings being “parasites.” In a strange way, these stories of Changelings inspired them to do exactly what the common folk were afraid of.
Changelings struggle heavily with identity. Due to their lack of a ‘base appearance’, they often don’t know who they are. This is strengthened by the lack of a unified Changeling culture, due to the absentee nature of many Changeling parents. Changelings are rarely raised by other Changelings, instead raised by single parents or foster homes. Thus, it is much more common for a Changeling to become what the world tells them they are. If they are told they are parasites, they become parasites.
Almost all Changelings are gender-fluid. When they are men, they are men. When they are women, they are women. The entire concept of gender is warped in Changeling. However, many Changelings struggle with their gender roles. In Changeling culture, it is dangerous to be a woman: a partner will rarely stay with a Changeling once they have children and discover the baby is a Changeling. Being a woman limits one’s ability to escape. Thus, it is better to be a man, and avoid the conundrum altogether by leaving after getting a woman pregnant.

Living in Tetraverium

Today, modern cultures have worked to become more tolerant of Changelings. The Holy Kingdom has made conscious efforts to lessen the impact of common myths and stereotypes regarding Changelings. Places like Nerukudo and Zinshali make active efforts to accommodate their kind with specialized foster care, Changeling mentorship programs, and other social aid. However, these efforts have not had the large-scale success many hoped for. Changelings have adapted to being callous loners for so long, it is difficult to see their very nature change so quickly. Thus, it has been a slow, often-painful transition.
In some more closed-minded parts of the world, like the Ashen Empire or the Arzukan Empire, unfortunate stories about Changelings remain common. These stereotypes are in full-force. It is unfortunate that these areas also see an excess in the Changeling population. They go where they feel recognized.

Subraces

There are no Changeling subraces.

Mechanics

If you choose Changeling as your species, you gain the following traits:

Ability Score Increase: You can increase one Ability Score by 2 and another Ability Score by 1.
Creature Type: You are a Humanoid.
Size: You are Medium or Small. You choose the size when you select this race.
Speed: Your walking speed is 30 feet.
Changeling Instincts: Thanks to your connection to the fey realm, you gain proficiency with two of the following skills of your choice: Deception, Insight, Intimidation, Performance, or Persuasion.
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 and can change your size between Medium and Small. 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 an individual 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.
Defensive Mask. When a creature that can see you hits you with an Attack, you can use your Reaction to take on a horrific visage. Target creature must make a Wisdom Saving Throw (DC = 8 + proficiency bonus + Charisma). On a failure, they must redirect their attack to another creature in range, or lose the attack.
Once you have successfully used this trait, you cannot use it again until you finish a long rest. Starting from 11th level and onward, you can use this trait twice per Long Rest.
Languages. Your character can speak, read, and write Common and one other language.