Angiospate (5e Race)

Angiospates

“	That which was born later rather than still is what attracts them. I'm not sure what demonic or divine bundles they bring, but I have heard laughter and seen tears after they leave. So are they devils or saviors?	”
—Erasthmus, village chief

Physical Description

The angiospate are humanoid beings with grotesque allusions seemingly carved naturally into their bodies. Their form is humanoid, with the torso and arms of a human-like shape, with fingers and such that grasp, albeit a bit thin or emaciated looking. However, the lower abdominal area of an angiospate is described as disturbing due to what looks to be their entrails that cave inward to their cavity below the ribs, allowing people to glimpse the fleshy, blood-colored innards that pulsate underneath the thin skin and veins. Despite this bloody appearance, angiospate are known to leave no scent. An angiospate's legs are bent backwards, like that of a deer, and their feet are actually balanced on the balls of their soles, where the tarsals meet the toes, like that of a wolf. The head of an angiospate is a rare sight, as their form is sometimes too scary to look upon that they now always cover it. Their faces are somewhat humanoid, with the skeletal form of a moose's head, with long snouts, caved-in nose, and a broad head shape. Angiospates often are seen sprouting horn-like growths on their heads that can appear like antlers. The eyes of an angiospate range from gold, to grey, to blank, and they are known to have a slight lack of lips, giving them a constant horrific smile.

Due to their horrifying features that would scare the pants off most humanoids, angiospates take great care to cover up their bodies. Most wear masks to cover their faces, and heavy cloaks that obscure their body and legs. These masks and cloaks tend to appear spiritual or mysterious. Angiospates are known to decorate even ratty clothing with straw and trinkets to give off a ritualistic aura. Those who cannot afford masks make their own from wood or bones and decorate them with paints and precious stones they find. Save for a mask and cloak, angiospates generally wear nothing else, so they often go about barefoot.

History

According to legend, when premature births end in death, the remains of the birth, both spiritual and material, are sorted on some cosmic counter that is like a cesspool of strange and eldritch things. At least, that is what the angiospate say. The race name is a mix of the word for blood vessel (angio) and tardiness (spate). It's not exactly clear why. According to the angiospate, when the cosmic counter reaches a certain point undefined in our own world, a number of these failed births that were premature now get pushed into a "late" category and birthed as an angiospate into the world. It is indeed true that angiospate seem to appear without parents or natural births. Their creation is said to be rather grotesque, like watching a meatball with bones and innards painfully twist and gnarl into a body from a single origin point in space. However, these births are spontaneous and unpredictable in location, even to the angiospate. People who give eye-witness accounts were often just lucky to be there at the time and lucky enough not to go crazy seeing something like that.

Attitudes and Beliefs

The bizarre births of the angiospate resulted in a fragmented existence. Born in rashes of time without rhyme or reason, the angiospate are often wandering and isolated from one another. Their birthing is too erratic to gather sufficient numbers of them to form their own society. Often times, angiospate wander the land, drawn to the unheard or nonexistent cries when children are born. While their appearance is great cause for alarm, they have a benevolent streak of getting still babies to cry. It is said this is an effect of their "late born blood." However, sometimes they are also seen as heretic necromancers of sorts and are treated as pariahs. Angiospates retain an emotional range that veers towards that of sadness, so they often do cry about their status in the world and can feel lonely wandering alone. Some angiospates become twisted by their sorrow and mistreatment, causing them to desire to bring judgment and pain on others.

Despite their strange birth, appearance, and the world's rejections, angiospates are also strangely romantic. Their beliefs are very spiritual, but unlike anything like that of organized religions. For one, they believe in the cosmic abacus that counts the deaths of babies and creates them as byproducts of negative numbers, converting nothingness into matter and breathing flesh onto their bodies and filling them with blood. Another popular belief of theirs is that they are fated to ultimately find happiness through their suffering. Some believe this means they should live and do as they were meant to, bringing life into the world, while others believe that they can attain happiness by stepping on others. Angiospates thus have a human-like quality in that, at the end of the day, they just want to be happy.

Angiospate Names

While they speak Common, angiospates are often seen crooning in a forlorn tone. This is a song in an unknown language they say they sing to the cosmic abacus in hopes that more of their kind will be born to keep their loneliness at bay. This crooning is evident in some of their names, where the vowels are long and dragged out aspirations. Their croons are believed to carry an ideal of sadness, such that weaker-willed creatures begin crying around them just hearing it.

Male: Sholooom, Haaaal, Aaando

Female: Zeeeeti, Hoooora, Melfaaaa

Angiospate Traits

Creatures coming from a cosmic cycle of birth and death coinciding
Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 2 and one other score of your choice increases by 1.
Age. Angiospates are born full mature, though their mental states are a bit naïve. They are not known to die of age, nor is aging known to affect them.
Alignment. Like humans, angiospates sport a wide variety of temperaments. Due to their less-than-friendly interactions with others in the past, they have learned to be more controlling of what they say and do. This does not mean they don't get fed up and turn chaotic or even evil, though.
Size. Angiospates are tall and rarely go below seven feet in height. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 35 feet. Angiospates have the height and legs to go strides faster than normal humans.
Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 60 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.
Bloody Visage. Your appearance is gory and unsettling. You are proficient with the Intimidation skill.
Birth Omen. You are known to bring about life that was stilled from being late. You know the spare the dying cantrip.
Sorrow's Song. As an action, you can emit a croon so full of sorrow that it blinds creatures nearby with their own tears. Creatures within 30 feet of you must make a Wisdom saving throw (DC = 8 + your Charisma modifier + your proficiency bonus) or be blinded until the end of their next turn. You can use this trait a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, regaining all use when you finish a long rest.
Scentless. You do not emit any smells despite how gory your body appears. Checks to track you based on scent have disadvantage.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language of your choice.

Random Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier*	Base Weight	Weight Modifier**
6′ 10''	+1d6	180 lb.	× (1d6) lb.
*Height = base height + height modifier **Weight = base weight + (height modifier × weight modifier)

Suggested Characteristics

When creating an angiospate character, you can use the following table of traits, ideals, bonds and flaws to help flesh out your character. Use these tables in addition to or in place of your background's characteristics.

Angiospates are highly emotional creatures and generally want the same sort of happiness they see others have. However, they can thus also be twisted by their desires to harm others, much like humans can be. For angiospates, it is a spiritual matter of being born a lonely creature under the millstone of the cosmic forces that created them alone. Such isolation leads them to sometimes be emotional swingers.

d8	Personality Trait
1	I experience bursts of depression without explanation.
2	I always gravitate towards whatever catches my eye.
3	I get nervous very easily around crowds.
4	I like to try new things more than once, even if they're bad.
5	Sleep never comes easy to me, so I am often cranky.
6	My loneliness is my most constant companion.
7	I find myself feeling at peace around children.
8	I believe I can get somewhere with just hard work and believing.

d6	Ideal
1	Companionship. I just want someone to stand with me, by my side. (Any)
2	Ravager. I can't stand being looked down on and treated as an outcast anymore... I'm just going to burn everything and everyone. (Evil)
3	Desperation. I want something so bad that I will do anything to get it. (Chaotic)
4	Resigned. Our lives are all grains that spiral with the great cosmic will. I am just an extension of that. (Neutral)
5	Second Chance. It brings a smile to my horrid face when I can bring the joy of life to another, however late it may be. (Good)
6	Cosmic Will. We all have a purpose to fulfill, people to meet. I intend to follow that will. (Lawful)

d6	Bond
1	I kept in touch with a grateful family whose stillborn I saved.
2	A group of people who spurned me are the subjects of my abject hatred.
3	I was shown a bit of kindness by someone who I now seek.
4	I never had anyone and I have made peace with the fact that I will probably never find anyone.
5	I cut myself off from my desires so I can live without thinking or hurting.
6	I committed a mistake in naivete once, early after my creation, that I still run from.

d6	Flaw
1	I am a superior being at the end of the day... to all of you!!
2	My meekness prevents me from interfering in many situations.
3	I am too trusting of even the smallest gesture of kindness.
4	I will literally break into tears if even a glare is thrown my way.
5	My suspicions of others run deep and prevent me from interacting with people.
6	I have grown to just ignore the plights of others.

5.00

(one vote)

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