A Feda-Lide of an unspecified Tirrdaka-bloodline, having a pleasant conversation with a soul they just collected, and a Feda-Lide with an Aarakocra-based Tirrdaka-bloodline making a crafty disguise.
(Art credits: Gillybun, MaroTovara)
(Note to players: You better have a very good reason to play one, because these are super rare, and a bit complicated! Give me a good backstory and I might consider it, but they may be mostly a NPC-race that is sometimes playable if you just have some luck while playing a Tirrdaka! ;) )
Feda-Lide, which is short for "Fedarechia Lideadi" (Standard Illiadian for "Soul Eater" or, more literally, "Essence Thieves") are undead Tirrdaka, created by an intense emotional reaction upon death. They're rare, but are infamous within Illiadian mythology as savage soul-stealers and powerful monsters. Quite a few of them however aren't mindless beasts, but civilized and intelligent, and sometimes even good-hearted, prefering to live hidden among the local living population, or far away from any humanoid that their presence might threaten. A small number of cases even were said to live openly within their communities, most notably in the Illiadian Aisepa Island-Republic, and a handful of cases in Liwilai have been noted. Nonetheless, Feda-Lide need to feed on other peoples' soul-energy, similar to liches, due to the instability of their own souls, that constantly bleed their own essences into their surroundings. This feeding may be done either lethally, but also non-lethally, unlike Liches, by either returning souls to their catatonic bodies once the Feda-Lide had their fill, by passively feeding on the soul-energy that people give off from their sorroundings, or by feeding on willing souls of the dead, which they then may store within their own souls.
Unlike Liches, the process of becoming an intelligent Feda-Lide is entirely accidental. Also unlike Liches, who also need to sustain themselves on souls, a Feda-Lide's method of consuming souls is much less destructive, as they only feed on the energy that souls naturally radiate by capturing souls inside of them, instead of consuming and destroying them thoroughly, which can for example be done in the form of imprisonment, or as a symbiotic relationship between Feda-Lide and Soul. Basically, rather than "Soul Eaters" as their name may imply, Feda-Lide leech off of souls rather than truly consume or destroy them.
There have been a few cases on Sancstoryl where a Feda-Lide that has existed in undeath for centuries, wether good or evil, has taken in several tens, in not hundreds of lost souls. These Feda-Lide are extremely rare and barely even need to feed on soul-energy anymore. Such Feda-Lide can also act as Warlock Patrons.
Mindless beasts or tortured souls
Feda-Lide can be classified in 3 Types based on behavior, which is a direct result of their body's and their soul's transformation: Type Alphas, Type Betas and Type Gammas.
Type Alphas are the most common and most basic type of Feda-Lide, and are mentally barely above mindless beasts. Their minds are only set to feed on souls and they tend to avoid being seen anywhere populated in public. Rarely, they end up in so-called "requiems", which are packs of Type Alpha Feda-Lide that hunt together.
Type Betas and Type Gammas meanwhile are different, as they retain their minds. While the odds of becoming any type of Feda-Lide is equal and depends on the dying Tirrdaka's emotional state, there's fewer Type Betas and Gammas in practice, since they oftentimes seek out and eventually find ways to let themselves have their true final rest; much unlike Type Alphas who, due to their bestial nature or madness, sometimes go on for centuries or even millenia.
Type Gammas retain their entire personality and aren't particularly prone to violent outbursts. Due to the accidental nature of becoming a Feda-Lide, most Type Gammas are not happy with their predicament, but try to "live on" despite their circumstances, often only feeding on the willing souls of the dead who still remain on the material plane, consensually sapping energy from friends and family who know of their predicament, or simply secretly siphooning a bit of energy from the people around them, while living undercover in normal society due to their ability to blend in. It is said that Vith, Grand Countess of Life in the Illiadian Pantheon, has a handful of Feda-Lide servants that are Type Gammas, who serve her by hunting more dangerous undead threats and safeguarding souls.
Type Betas, who are considered in-between Type Alphas and Type Gammas, are not mindless and retain most of their memories and personality, just like Type Gammas, but they tend to be unstable, can only disguise themselves for a limited time and are prone to uncontrolled anger and violence, similarly to Type Alphas. Also similarly to Type Gammas, it's very common that Type Betas aren't happy about their current state of being. Due to their inherently more violent nature, Type Betas tend to be antisocial and often will hide away in secluded areas, feeding on the occasional passerby, returning their souls to their bodies afterwards and putting them in a save place before they return to conciousness, often making the victims of a Type Betas' feedings feel like they merely had a bad dream. Prethao, the Illiadian Grand Count of Death, sometimes employs Type Betas due to their willingness to engage in combat.
An ancient pact between the Illiadian deities of Life and Death, Prethao and Vith, with The Raven Queen, the Sancstorylian goddess of death, allows Type Betas and Type Gammas to exist outside the usual rules against undead creatures, as their creation isn't through forbidden magics or any connection to the Negative Energy Plane, but rather an accident, and even the Raven Queen has started realizing their potential as guardians for souls.
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Racial Traits
Ability Scores: 1+ CON
Age: Feda-Lide don't age and remain the age they were upon their death; though they always show signs of decomposition at different levels, that seem to slow down as they gather more souls.
Alignment: Due to their exposure to Shadow-Ena, Civilized Feda-Lide tend to lean slightly towards chaotic alignments, even though lawful Feda-Lide are definitely not unheard of. Feda-Lide with an intact mind often retain their alignment from their previous life, though, Type Betas lean heavily towards Chaotic alignments.
Size: Medium
Creature Type: You are Undead.
Speed: Walking: 30ft
Languages: Common, Standard Illiadian or Draconic Illiadian (or another language that fits you)
Tirrdaka Origin Feature: You may chose a feature from another race, which you either were before becoming a Tirrdaka, or is the origin of your Tirrdaka bloodline. Your physical appearance is based on the race that this feature is from. This feature can be a type of movement (flight, swim speed etc.).
Feda-Lide Nature: A Feda-Lide doesn’t require air, food, drink, or sleep and is immune to poison, though it still needs at least 4 hours of rest with no strenuous activity. If you roll above a 18 on a death saving throw, you gain 1 Hit Point and snap back to consciousness. You have two types of the trait "Heart of Illiad", with your primary chosen by you. "Heart of Obsidian" is your secondary Ena-Trait. Resurrection spells always return you to the state of a Feda-Lide.
Superior Darkvision: Your vision can easily cut through darkness. You can see in dim light within 120 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Soul-Food: To stay lucid, you have to feed on soul energy at least once a month (every 6 months, if you have 20 or more souls bound) or suffer a point of exhaustion, once per feeding-period, that can't be removed besides by feeding. Feeding removes all of these exhaustion-points, no matter what. After 6 points, you don't die, but instead go berserk and relinquish control of your character to your DM. Control is returned to you once you have fed. You always know how much time until you need to feed have.
If you are currently sated with no points of exhaustion, you can be affected by all forms of healing, and any detrimental effects that usually affect undead (i.E. Turn Undead) don't affect you. Only a Paladin's Divine Sense can detect your undead nature when you are sated. You also can detect and pinpoint souls of all creatures with an Intelligence of at least 6 that understand a language, besides of the types Celestial, Fiend, Construct or Aberration, within 120ft of you. Shadow/Light-Walkers can be detected and fed on, due to their Illiadian nature.
-Binding a Soul: You can use an action to consume a soul of a living or dead creature you can detect, and bind it to your own, to leech off of its energy. If the soul is unwilling, its or its creature has to roll a Charisma saving-throw with a DC of 12+Your Charisma-Modifier. On a failure, you bind its soul to your own and heal for 1d10 HP. If it's body is still alive, it goes catatonic and will eventually die unless sustained. You can do this a number of times equal to your Proficiency Modifer per long rest. Creatures with legendary resistance automatically succeed, unless willing. You can have a telepathic conversation with any souls you have bound to yours.
As an action, you can dismiss any soul currently bound to you. If it's body is still alive, it will return to its body and snap to consciousness.
-Passive Soul-Sapping: If you are within a radius 120 ft of a creature with a soul that you can detect, you may concentrate for 1 hour to sap some it of it's energy, as long as it doesn't leave your 120ft radius. After the duration, you are sated and the creature you fed on loses one of its lowest level spell slots, or an Ena-Point if any are available. Otherwise, it just feels oddly tired.
If you are currently sated with no points of exhaustion, you can be affected by all forms of healing, and any detrimental effects that usually affect undead (i.E. Turn Undead) don't affect you. Only a Paladin's Divine Sense can detect your undead nature when you are sated. You also can detect and pinpoint souls of all creatures with an Intelligence of at least 6 that understand a language, besides of the types Celestial, Fiend, Construct or Aberration, within 120ft of you. Shadow/Light-Walkers can be detected and fed on, due to their Illiadian nature.
-Binding a Soul: You can use an action to consume a soul of a living or dead creature you can detect, and bind it to your own, to leech off of its energy. If the soul is unwilling, its or its creature has to roll a Charisma saving-throw with a DC of 12+Your Charisma-Modifier. On a failure, you bind its soul to your own and heal for 1d10 HP. If it's body is still alive, it goes catatonic and will eventually die unless sustained. You can do this a number of times equal to your Proficiency Modifer per long rest. Creatures with legendary resistance automatically succeed, unless willing. You can have a telepathic conversation with any souls you have bound to yours.
As an action, you can dismiss any soul currently bound to you. If it's body is still alive, it will return to its body and snap to consciousness.
-Passive Soul-Sapping: If you are within a radius 120 ft of a creature with a soul that you can detect, you may concentrate for 1 hour to sap some it of it's energy, as long as it doesn't leave your 120ft radius. After the duration, you are sated and the creature you fed on loses one of its lowest level spell slots, or an Ena-Point if any are available. Otherwise, it just feels oddly tired.
---Illiadian Trait (Only works on Sancstoryl, Illiad, or if two other Ena-Users are within 300ft from you ---
Ena Mastery: You still have access to the lost art of Ena and can use Ena-Techniques worth up to 3 Ena-Points after each short or long rest. You gain two additional points at Level 4, 8, 12 and 16, and three at Level 19. Your Ena-ability is either Charisma, Intelligence or Wisdom and chosen by you.
Subraces
-Type Gamma-
Ability Scores: +2 CHA
Blend In (Gamma) : As an action, you can take on the form of how you looked before your death, allowing you to take on either your Tirrdaka-form, or the form of the race you were before turning into a Tirrdaka, if applicable, making it easier for you to blend into the masses. This form lasts until you fall unconscious or until you dismiss it as an action. This disguise is a physical manifestation of your Ena rather than an Illusion and can't be dispelled or seen through with True Sight.
Shield of Souls (Gamma): Starting at 3rd Level, you can use your reaction to gather the souls you collected and have them help you shield yourself or an ally from an enemy attack, allowing you to add a +3 to the AC of you or or an ally within 30ft of you, a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus. You regain all expended uses upon a long rest.
-Type Beta-
Ability Scores: +2 STR
Blend In (Beta) : As an action, you can take on the form of how you looked before your death,allowing you to take on either your Tirrdaka-form, or the form of the race you were before turning into a Tirrdaka, if applicable, making it easier for you to blend into the masses making it easier for you to blend into the masses. This form lasts 12 hours, until you dismiss it as an action or until you fall unconscious, and, if you lose HP due to an enemy attack, drips away as black shadow-ena before reforming itself, sometimes giving people glimpses of your true form. This disguise is a physical manifestation of your Ena rather than an Illusion and can't be dispelled or seen through with True Sight.
Rage of Souls (Beta): You have proficiency in Athletics and Intimidation, but due to your abrasive nature, you have a permanent -4 penalty to Persuation. You can't be proficient in this ability. Also, you can, for a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, add an extra d8 of Shadow-Ena damage (Necrotic, if in a world without Ena) to any any weapon attack you make, which becomes 2d8 at 5th level, 3d8 at 11th level and 4d8 at 17th level. On your next attack after using this ability you can't differentiate between friend or foe, and have to attack the nearest creature to you. If you can't reach the nearest creature from where your standing, you have to move towards if with your movement. If multiple creatures are the same distance away from you, that creature is chosen randomly.