Cathartes (5e Race)

Cathartes

“	Stay away from me! It's not that I don't like you, it's just... My curse... Please, just spend the night somewhere away from me! I don't wanna talk about it... It's all my fault...	”
—A fearful cathartes trying to save a loved one

Physical Description

Cathartei are slender, vulture-like humanoids with unpleasant features. They have long, winding necks with pinkish skin, wrinkly as a hag's, even in youth. They have beaks for mouths, which are very pointy and sharp, with a white waddle that hangs off their chin. They have gaping holes in the sides of their head for ears. Their arms and legs are gray and scaly, with long, razor-sharp talons for fingers and toes. The rest of their bodies is covered in brown-black feathers. A pair of great wings sprout from their backs, poking out at an angle. They have milky yellow eyes with pupils like a raptor's, which are somehow the only hospitable part of their appearance.

History

The cathartei came about as a result of a terrible curse, created ages ago by a vengeful wizard of unknown status or origin. With the proper incantation, the curse takes effect. A spellcaster can utter the following rhyme to unleash the curse, with the proper magic:

“

For thou who hast terribly wronged me, This curse I do place upon thee. With sinful tastes and wings of dread, Thy spawn shall feast upon the dead.

”

The curse of the cathartes can be inflicted in 1 of 3 ways: It can affect a woman who is pregnant, it can impregnate a woman instantly with a cathartes child, or it can cause a man to impregnate the next woman he touches with a cathartes. Either way, after a particularly painful labor or egg-laying, a fluffy-down-covered cathartes will emerge into the world, ugly but seemingly innocent. When the child reaches their early teenage years, however, their curse will begin to take hold on them. A primal hunger for flesh of the deceased surfaces them, and dead creatures, even rotten ones, will tantalize them. This sinful desire grows stronger with age, until only the most in-control cathartei deny a chance to devour the dead. Additionally, every night at midnight, the cathartei enter a terrible cursed state, in which their eyes turn black and they loose all sense of humanity. Until they kill and eat, or until the coming dawn, the cathartes will attack and kill anything that it encounters with blinding slashes and pecks, except for others of its kind. Only meat can sate them in this state, but prepared meat won't do.

Though the majority of cathartei are born through curse, in recent years, they have come together and formed small communities at the edges of civilization, where they try their best to live out normal lives. They are capable of interbreeding with each other as well as other avian races, such as kenkus and aarakocra, though the resulting child will always be a cathartes, and will always bear the curse of their parent.

Society

The life of a cathartes is wrought with tragedy, right down to their own births. Even before their curse surfaces, their horrid bodies make it hard for them to make friends. Most everyone shuns the cathartei, for fear that they may attack and eat them. This reputation isn't undeserved, however, and the cathartei are well aware of it. They can be as fearful for others as others are for them, and many have a deep guild complex, seeing everything as their fault. Yet the cathartei prize companionship, perhaps because of their lack of it. They are loyal friends and romantic partners, and will do anything for an ally in need. To those who don't know the nature of their curse, cathartei are loaf to divulge it.

Cathartes Names

Cathartei take gothic names that reflect their cursed natures. Some may take the names of their parents' cultures instead.

Male: Azrael, Caedmon, Grimbald, Keine, Thorne, Ydran

Female: Blair, Eelvie, Kalonice, Mortica, Onyx, Ulva

Cathartes Traits

Born of a terrible curse, these vulture-like humanoids are doomed to kill and eat their peers out of feral instincts.
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2 and your Constitution score increases by 1.
Age. Cathartei reach maturity at age 19 and live 400-450 years on average.
Alignment. Cathartei tend toward Lawful alignment, for they love companionship.
Size. Cathartei stand 5 to 6 ft. tall, though their snakelike necks hang low. They weigh anywhere from 80 to 120 lbs. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet.
Wings. You have a flying speed of 35 ft. You must not be wearing medium or heavy armor in order to fly.
Natural Weapons. Your beak and talons are natural weapons, and you can use them to make unarmed strikes. You can use your Dexterity in place of your Strength for attack and damage rolls with them. On a hit, you deal 1d4 + your Strength/Dexterity modifier piercing or slashing damage. You are proficient with your natural weapons.
Keen Senses. Your senses are heightened as a result of your birdlike body. You are proficient in the Perception skill, and you can add double your proficiency bonus when making checks that rely on smell.
Horrid Appearance. Your ugly features, akin to the vultures you embody, make it hard for you to positively influence others. You have disadvantage on Charisma checks made against humanoids, unless those humanoids are themselves cathartei.
Poison Resistance. You have advantage on saving throws against being poisoned, and you are resistant to poison damage. You cannot be diseased or poisoned in regards to food and drink.
Curse of the Cathartes. The curse of all cathartei becomes apparent in the dark of night. Every night at midnight, you must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw. On a failure, you enter your cursed state. While in this state, you awaken from any nonmagical sleep, cannot speak, and must attack the closest creature you can see with your natural weapons, using all of your movement as necessary to move within range. You aren't compelled to attack another cathartes, however. This state lasts until dawn, or until you kill 1 creature and consume its flesh. If this curse interrupts a short or long rest, you still receive the benefits, unless you take 1 or more damage while in your cursed state.
Vile Scavenger. Death tantalizes you unnaturally, and it is very hard to resist feasting on the dead. Whenever a creature within 30 ft. of you dies, or if you start your turn within 30 ft. of a dead creature, you must make a DC 16 Constitution saving throw. If you are in your cursed state, you automatically fail this saving throw. On a failure, you must use each your actions to consume the corpse's flesh. It takes 1 minute to eat a Large or smaller creature, 2 minutes to eat a Huge creature, and 3 minutes to eat a Gargantuan creature. This counts as 2 days of rations for you. You aren't compelled to eat the dead body of another cathartes. Once you eat a corpse in this way, you don't have to make this saving throw until next dawn. Note that feasting on the fallen is an evil act, and people that watch you do this will likely regard you as evil.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language of your choice.

Suggested Characteristics

When creating a cathartes 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.

d8	Personality Trait
1	I apologize for everything.
2	I enjoy taking long flights alone.
3	I'm always introducing people to myself, even though everyone is repulsed by me.
4	I like to crack jokes to lighten the mood.
5	I wish I could un-eat the deceased. I make myself vomit almost every morning; it's close enough.
6	Even I don't like the way I look. I'm always collecting trinkets and apparel to mask myself.
7	My mind is a steel trap. It has to be, to keep myself in check.
8	I just love people in general. I wish everyone well.

d6	Ideal
1	Overcoming. I've got to push past my curse. I can't let it get in my way all the time. (Neutral)
2	Romance. All I really want is the warm embrace of someone who accepts me for who I am. Surely, there's someone out there! (Lawful)
3	Loner. I've got to seclude myself from everyone. I can't bear to let anything happen to anyone. (Chaotic)
4	Religion. I must prove myself to my god(s), for they shall free me from my misery! (Good)
5	Peace. I need to keep myself under control. I must find my inner calm and maintain it. (Lawful)
6	Cowardice. The best way to avoid my problems is simply to run away from them. (Chaotic)

d6	Bond
1	I've only had one true friend my entire life. I'll protect him/her to the end.
2	I killed and ate my own parents. I still haven't forgiven myself for it; it's just so awful!
3	I lived among a small group of cathartei. At least we can be lonely together.
4	I have a romantic partner who truly loves me. He/she is the most sincere form of happiness I've ever felt.
5	I've eaten so many people before. I don't wanna talk about it...
6	Not even my parents deserved the fate they got when they had me. I've tried to be supportive from my earliest days.

d6	Flaw
1	I cry a lot. It's just how I cope with things.
2	I've got so many crosses to bear. I just want to be happy...
3	I always feel like everything is my fault.
4	No matter how many lives I save by pushing people away, I feel like I'll end a thousand more.
5	I see myself as a monster. No matter what anyone tells me, it's the truth.
6	I'm filled to the brim with pent-up emotions, and they sometimes come spilling out.

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