Changelings are commonly harmless, passive people and are uninterested in politics and social affairs. Due to their capricious ways of life, however, many people have come to distrust changelings, which has led to them becoming social recluses or more commonly has pushed them to create fake identities to escape persecution.
Having no culture of their own, changelings slip into other's societies and blend in. Rather than creating their own art and achievements, changelings are happy with claiming other societies' as their own. This nomadic lifestyle has led changelings to become exceptionally adaptable people. Changelings will not simply shapeshift into a new person but rather create a new whole one. Most changelings will set up a handful of personas so if one is compromised they can disappear and switch to one of their others. Their personas are incredibly realistic and have their own personality traits, backgrounds, and a network of friends. Changelings can be evasive and will often try to avoid confrontation or anything that will draw attention to themselves
Blank canvas.
While changelings can look like anyone, they do have a true form. Their natural look can be scary to some due to their lack of detail and distinctive features. Their skin tone is always pale, either white or light gray, and they tend to have slender bodies with limbs slightly longer in proportion to other humanoids. They have large colorless eyes circled by thick black rings. Their hair color is most commonly a light shade of silver followed by platinum and blonde. In rarer cases, their hair can be pale shades of green, pink, and blue. Similar to elves, changelings lack body and facial hair.
However, most changelings are rarely seen in their true form and prefer to adopt all kinds of humanoid shapes, treating their appearance like others treat clothes. This includes gender. Changelings reach maturity slightly faster than humans and live as long as humans do, typically about 100 years.
Everywhere is home.
Changelings live among humans, goblinoids, and other races, blending in among them and living in their shadow. They are commonly found in large cities, where their talents can be used as entertainers, government agents, or adventurers, but also for more criminal purposes. Some changelings live in stable communities where they are open about their true nature, while others live in nomadic communities that hide their ability to shapeshift from outsiders.
Many changelings take up one of three philosophical beliefs when it comes to their mutable forms and these philosophies guide many aspects of a changeling's day-to-day life:
- Passers are changelings who wish to fit in with conventional society and live life in only one form or at the least suppress their shape-changing abilities to better fit in with those around them. Other changelings will often view passers with contempt and use slang words such as "pretender" or "actor" to mock them.
- Becomers believe that to be a changeling is to possess many different shapes and often different identities and lives altogether. A becomer takes the concept of a dual life to a whole new degree and some will successfully live as several "different people" for many years.
- Seekers or "reality seekers" are convinced that a great truth exists that only the changelings can discover; they suppress their shapechanging abilities even more than passers and prefer to live or socialize with other changelings.
Hiding in plain sight.
They often are wizards, rogues, and sometimes bards. They tend to be the face of any adventuring group they get into. They adventure out always looking for a place to be and build a community up around them that helps protect themselves. The others tend to not stay in one place for very long being quite well suited to changing situations, having to constantly adapt.
Changling traits.
Changling traits.
Ability Scores.
You can increase any ability score by 2 and any other score by 1.
You can increase any ability score by 2 and any other score by 1.
Size.
Your size is Medium
Your size is Medium
Speed.
You're speed is 30 ft.
You're speed is 30 ft.
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.
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.
Changelings tend toward pragmatic neutrality, and few changelings embrace evil.
Size.
Your size is Medium.
Your size is Medium.
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.
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.
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.
You can speak, read, and write Common and two other languages of your choice.