Cataegis Tiefling (Winged) (5e Subrace)

Cataegis Tiefling (Winged)

"I heard about Cataegis, it's supposed to be a city in the sky. Bodies fall down from there."

Physical Description

Mixed with white dragon blood, Cataegis Tieflings have evolved differently form their infernal cousins. Sprouting large, leathery wings, scaly blue skin, a tail and thin, spiky horns, they live out their entire life in the skies. Their black, grey or white hair tends to be scaly in nature as well, with a pine-needle like appearance, covering their head, neck and sometimes shoulders.

Society & Culture

An isolated race:Cataegis Tieflings tend to be isolationist, shunning other races. They live on Cataegis, their migrating sky city that is held aloft and hidden by powerful magic. It is a bright place, warmed by the sun and filled with ornate statuary and polished marble with fractal designs. Agriculture and production is almost closed and self sufficient. Although they will know the world well from above, these Tieflings don't venture out to the ground except for hunting or if they are on a special quest. As they tend to avoid the other races, they have poor knowledge about any of the ground societies, might make cultural mistakes and might have been thought incorrect history.
Origin:For example, Cataegis history teaches that they were cast out from the Nine Hells due to their perceived impure, cold-focused bloodline - a slight that Cataegis Tieflings are always quick to remember - but it is far more likely that the addition of white dragonblood to Tieflings initially suppressed essential survival traits (like resistance to fire) and the weaker subrace was forced to migrate to survive. It is thought by heretical scholars that beneficial traits appeared much later, due to the constant proximity to a spell infused environment.
Magic influences culture: Due to the high altitude, high-magic environment of their home and draconic bloodline, Cataegis Tieflings have physical adaptations and display an affinity to elemental magic quite early in their lives and will typically focus towards engaging with the spirits or controlling the elemental magic of Storm and Wind. Art in Cataegis is strongly influenced by maps and a birds-eye view, sometimes including fractals or map-within-a-map designs.
Political structure:Rules tend to be strict and society is strongly stratified. Cataegis is ruled by a Council of Tempests - a combination of Clerics and Druids that decide laws, external policy and morality, but most internal affairs are handled through various voting processes. A Cataegian's social caste determines what political power they can wield, who they can marry and the weight of their vote. Social standing can be improved through service to the city, according to the laws set by the Tempests.
Morality:One is forgiven to think that Cataegis Tieflings are lawful. They are certainly forced to be law-abiding inside of the city - penalties are often quite high. But Cataegian society will make a stark distinction between inside and outside. When venturing outside to hunt, Cataegians can overcompensate by being cruel and chaotic. Any creature they hurt are not "part" of the city and does not have the same value, would not be subject to the same moral laws.
Hunting parties may even include their own kind as targets - seen as traitors who chose to leave the city and betray the way of life. Ironically, some Cataegian Tieflings are obsessed with purity the same way they claim the Devils, that cast them out, were. These factions are balanced out by more moderate groups.
Religion:Cataegiss allows multiple, previously vetted, religions and belief systems to exist within the city as long as they don't contradict or try to impose upon the core rules: (1) Should there be any conflict, Categian way of life has priority. (2) No worshippers of the enemies of Cataegis (Devils).
Alliances:Cataegis is not necessarily keeping itself a secret, but would want to reduce external influences as much as possible. Every 100 years or so, an attempt is made at diplomacy with ground races. When other races are on a diplomatic visit to Cataegis, they need to be vouched for and chaperoned by a Tempest priest - that is, unless they have draconic ancestry. People with draconic ancestry are seen as brothers and treated in a friendly manner. Cataegis may have standing alliances with White, Blue, Brass and Silver Dragons, as well as with Air Elementals. Ambassadors are often exchanged in cases where a religion or worshippers of an entity are also present on the ground. In all cases, guests are expected not to overstay their welcome.
Quests: Cataegis might send people to the ground on different types of quests:

• fighters and mages to support in conflicts with common enemies
• fighters, scouts and mages to retrieve artifacts or technologies
• researchers, scouts and mapmakers to investigate ground plants and animals
• spies and diplomats to update knowledge on ground societies and their technologies, sometimes to kidnap craftsmen

Elemental Powerhouse: Especially when working as a group, Cataegian Tempests can be quite powerful: They can create massive storms, tornadoes, lightning storms and cyclones that cause massive destruction in the world below. This is often used in negotiations but, aside from a demonstration in the open sea, it is very seldom a threat enacted, for fear of provoking actual conflict or retaliation.
Notable Traditions:

• Moilliana: Tempests tend to move the city in the path of solar eclipses, which they use to harvest energy for the floating city. The day is marked with a festival, Moilliana, in which masks are worn and societal castes and rules don't matter (within reason).
• Harvesting: Youths that finish an apprenticeship go on a "Harvesting" as part of their coming-of-age ritual. They and chosen friends spend a week celebrating on the ground however they want, after which the youth is left alone to complete the ritual tasks that represent the Cataegian people's challenges during their exodus form the Nine Hells. Only after all are completed, the youth may return. The trials are more symbolic though and should be completed mostly during one year, unless one wanted to raise suspicions. This is the likely reason Cataegians learn a bit of Common.
• Crowning: Infrequent though it may be, a standing alliance states that a Dragon may appoint a King or Queen who will serve until his/her natural death, after which the Council will resume rule. The city is moved to high latitudes for this event. If Northern Lights grace the crowning, it is considered lucky for the reign. On a more inebriated note, there is a raucous tavern song about this topic, best not repeated in hearing distance of a Tempest. From that song, the term "crowning" has taken on the slang meaning of "dead/eaten/killed" or "undeserving/nepotism".
• Faeria: Spring festival marked by flowers blooming on the underside of the city and picnics being arranged under them, using walkable cloud blankets. At night, the area is lit by lanterns and faerie lights. A popular time to propose.
• Burials: Death is marked by burning and scattering to the wind. One might be denied proper burial customs depending on the crime - in this case, the offender is executed and thrown down to earth, their corpse shattering upon impact.

Timekeeping: Cataegis can move through the sky and might not have regular day-night cycles. Sometimes it will change altitude and might receive direct or only indirect sunlight (through clouds). For this reason, an internal magical clock exists in the middle of the city. Tieflings will attune to it daily or weekly by meditating upon the gong of a specific, chosen hour. Not attuning for a while will lead to a jet-lag effect.

Cataegis Tiefling (Winged) Traits

Winged with an affinity for Sky & Storm

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2 and one other score increases by 1.
Age. Tieflings mature at the same rate as humans but live a few years longer.
Alignment. This subrace tends towards non-evil
Size. Medium
Speed. Your base walking & flying speed is 30 feet.
Altitude Adaptation: Keen Sight. You've lost the racial trait Darkvision, but have Keen Sight: You have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.
Altitude Adaptation: Breath. Your blood is more efficient at consuming oxygen. You can make due with low levels of oxygen and can hold your breath up to 1h.
Draconic Resistance. You have resistance to cold damage
Winged. You have bat-like wings sprouting from your shoulder blades. You have a flying speed equal to your walking speed while you aren't wearing heavy armor.
Large wings disadvantage. Due to their large size, you have disadvantage when making Dexterity checks in narrow spaces on the ground (width 5ft or less) and are not able to squeeze.
Wing Armor. You can use your reaction to negate any damage to yourself or a creature within 5ft, by using your wings as a shield. If you do this, you cannot use this feature again until the end of your next long rest. In addition, your wings are injured and your flying speed becomes 0 until the end of your next long rest. It is commonly taught that this ability evolved as a protection from falling.
Claustrophobic. You have disadvantage to attack rolls and Wisdom checks when underground.
Cataegis Cantrips. You have access to Innate Spellcasting. Cataegis Magic has evolved differently: based on draconic magic and in communion with the spirits of storm and sky.
You get access to 2 of out 4 special cantrips and the rest are added to your expanded spell list. Wisdom, Charisma or Intelligence (your choice) is your spellcasting ability for them.

• Stormcraft
• Speak with Wind
• Eye of the Storm
• Cloudbed

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Draconic and Auran. You can get by in broken Common, but it is not taught in Cataegis, unless you are upper caste or a diplomat.

Cataegis Cantrips

Stormcraft
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 30 feet
Components: V, S
Duration: Instantaneous

Whispering to the spirits of the sky, you create one of the following effects within range:

• Weather orb: create a tiny, harmless sensory effect that predicts what the weather will be at your location for the next 24 hours. The effect might manifest as a golden orb for clear skies, a cloud for rain, falling snowflakes for snow, and so on. This effect persists for 1 round.
  
• Raindance: You control the water within a 5ft cube or smaller. You instantaneously cause the water or rain to change state - freeze/unfreeze/turn into mist (provided that there are no creatures in it), change course or flow differently, move it 5 ft, or form into simple shapes and animate at your direction. This change lasts for 1 hour and does not do damage to creatures.
  
• Thunder: You create an instantaneous effect of ominous thunder rumbling within range. If in an open area, the thunder can be heard 300ft away.
  
• Charged: You can make your eyes glow with the force of lightning for 1 minute. This sheds dim light within 5ft in front of you.
  
• Thunder voice: Your voice booms up to three times as loud as normal for 1 minute.
  
• Breeze: You create a harmless sensory effect using air, such as causing leaves to rustle, wind to slam unlocked shutters/windows/doors closed or open, or your clothing to ripple in a breeze. A light breeze is capable of pushing 5 cubic feet of air/mist/gas/smoke another 5ft in one round.
  

You can have a number of such effects active at the same time up to your spellcasting modifier.

Speak with Wind
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 1 mile
Components: V, S
Duration: 10 min
Concentration

Choose 1 effect:

• Message: You speak a message of up to 10 words to the air and convince the wind spirits to whisper your message to a target you can fixate in your mind. If the wind can reach your target within 10 minutes, it will whisper your message to them without your voice being recognizable. The target and anyone within 5ft of the target must succeed on a DC10 passive perception check to hear the message. The message cannot be delivered if the target remains in an enclosure where wind cannot reach for the entire duration of the spell. You are not aware if the message was successfully delivered.
  
• Knowledge: You ask the wind spirits where a target is. You can be specific or general (where is the nearest enemy?""). The wind will move in the direction of the target or cease to blow if there is no target. You may also ask the wind spirits to bring you smells of a desired direction from up to 1 mile away. You can use a bonus action on your turn to request a new effect.
  

You can choose to end the spell early.

Eye of the Storm
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 30ft
Components: V, S, M (a small, unattached object, acting as seed, that the spell will break)
Duration: until the end of your next round
Concentration

You create a whirlwind cylinder around a small, unattached object within range. Any mist, wind, smoke, rain, snow clear from inside the cylinder and the temperature is pleasant.
A large or smaller creature that enters or starts its turn in the whirlwind must make a Strength saving throw or be pushed 10ft in the direction that the whirlwind is spinning. Any gases, smoke or objects not held or carried up to 5lbs, are also pushed this way.
If a creature fails a weapon attack roll that passes through the whirlwind or while in the whirlwind, the weapon/projectile is yanked and thrown 10ft in the direction that the whirlwind is spinning.
The effect can be temporarily suppressed by covering the object completely. The effect lasts until the end of your next round, upon which the seed object breaks with a loud crack, and can't be used again for this spell.
At 5th level you can choose expand the safe area radius by 5ft (surrounded at 10ft distance by the whirlwind), at 11th by 10 and at 17th by 15ft.

Cloudbed
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (a down feather)
Duration: 8h

You touch a cloud or mist with a radius greater than 10ft and transform a horizontal disk of radius 10ft into a soft cloud bed that remains in place, floating, for the duration. The space can hold as many as eight Medium or smaller creatures. Creatures can climb from below, and stay/walk on the cloudbed. They will feel weightless, but wet from the cloud and they will be exposed to any other elements.
When viewed form below, the inhabitants are heavily obscured, though weapon/spell attacks can pass through as normal. Dropped objects will pass through the cloud and the edges are fuzzy and might cause a creature to fall through (50% chance). Fire will dissipate 1ft of the disc and the caster can use his action to fill up the hole. A wind marked with the strong attribute can end the spell early.

0.00

(0 votes)

---

Back to Main Page → 5e Homebrew → Character Options → Subraces