Spirithost

Hers was a kind of unearthly beauty that resisted the very confines of reality—her hair so airy that it flowed in defiance of gravity, her skin so fair that it could be seen right through. I knew not if she was alive—or if I was, given the circumstances— but very little of that mattered for the first few moments, which seemed to stretch on for eons. ~Jethro Meddlitt, gnome wizard, meeting a spirithost

Lore

Lore

Half immaterial and half flesh, spirithosts are the eerie, spectral, humanlike residents of the Border Ethereal. Though often confused for specters, ghosts, and other incorporeal undead, spirithosts are very much alive—as much as their shifting, partly material bodies allow

Spectral Sons and Daughters

The Ethereal Plane is generally thought to be lifeless; exclusively the domain of restless, incorporeal undead and other transient souls. While it is true that there are no creatures native to that plane, the Border Ethereal has its fair share of adopted inhabitants, such as the blink dog and phase spider. Spirithosts are the only humanoids to have adopted this desolate plane, and might be considered its only true descendants. Though most spirithosts reside on the Material Plane, they can both step sideways into the Etheral Plane naturally, allowing them to bypass physical obstacles, and see into it effortlessly, allowing them to navigate both planes at once. They can even communicate with the dead directly, a feat few mediums take lightly.

Branded Undead

Though their bodies resemble those of ghosts— slightly translucent and glowing from inside with a pale, white light—spirithosts are not undead. Far from it: they are born, grow old, die, and can even raise children. Despite this, most spirithosts are wrongfully believed to be undead, as their eerie, spectral forms are too similar to ghosts for the layman to differentiate. Many a well-meaning but ignorant cleric has tried to turn or banish a spirithost to no avail. To avoid such conflict, spirithosts often avoid large, unfamiliar towns, or disguise their ethereality from others.

Spirithost Names

Spirithost names are gentle and sibilant, sounding as if they are whispered. They sound strange in most tongues, for they originate in an old, now forgotten dialect of Common, practiced by the spirithost in days long past. Male Names: Astras, Boreas, Cin’nilas, Cusnon, Fesim, Mesaron, Senvas, Servalas, Sesirops, Yalsin Female Names: Amias, Belias, Heathimis, Lethreas, Nix’silia, Priscilla, Sayu, Shavaras, Sunda, Wishnas

Features

Ethereal Vision

Your supernatural nature grants you superior vision. While you are on the Material Plane, you can see 60 feet into the Ethereal Plane

Incorporeal Movement

You can move through other creatures as if they were difficult terrain. You can also move through solid objects, but your partially material form can’t pass through more than one foot of stone, one inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt. If you end your movement occupying the same spot as a solid object or creature, you are immediately shunted to the nearest unoccupied space that you can occupy and take force damage equal to twice the number of feet you are moved.

Ethereal Nature

You can go twice as long without eating, drinking, or breathing, without penalty

Spirit Speech

You can cast the spell speak with dead, without using spell slots or material components. You can only ask one question of a corpse when you cast this spell in this way. Once you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.

Translucence

As a bonus action, you can magically turn invisible until the start of your next turn or until you attack, make a damage roll, or force someone to make a saving throw. Creatures which can see into the Ethereal Plane can see you normally. Once you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language of your choice

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Ability Score: Dex+1, any other ability score of your choice increases by 2
Size: medium
Speed: 30 ft.
Age: Hundreds of years