Egyphim (5e Race)

Egyphim

“	And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; so that many people of Israel died.	”
—Numbers 21:6

Physical Description

A depiction of egyphim in their serpentine form, photo credit to Mary Harrsch

Egyphim were former celestials. They have a human form which is usually a bit tan or darker in skin color than the normal idea of angels. A pale egyphim is nearly unheard of, and is considered a bad omen. Their wings were lost, along with their angelic immortality, when they fell from grace. However, they retained their serpentine form, which is usually used to find and hunt mice.

History

The egyphim were rebels against the order of heaven and celestial power. They were not cast down as the fallen angels were to Hell, but their wings were struck off and they were thrown to earth. Their sins were not as grievous as the traitors who would then become princes of the infernos below. Instead, egyphim would live meager lives among the living races, and turn into snakes to help mitigate the filth (that is, rats) which infested the earth. At the end of their lives, this meager usefulness would be weighed against their crime against angelkind. Those who passed the trials in earnest would regain their place among celestials, with their wings.

Society

Egyphim society is very much superstitious. They believe to be born anything other than a dark color is to bring about an omen of death, due to the fact they found themselves a prey species to many larger creatures, especially those creatures that hunt snakes. Many mothers will discard pale babies to be eaten, if only to keep death out of their households. Egyphims are fairly religious and often pray to the same god as they had before, though there are ample defectors who view their exile as a wake-up call to spurn god. They are a fastidious people who believe in their duties first, whether divined or personal.

Egyphim Names

Egyphim generally pass down Celestial names with history.

Male: Auriel, Micheal, Gabriel, Azazel, Balthazar

Female: Castiel, Maria, Lilith, Ariel

Egyphim Traits

A unique, fallen angelic shifter that turns into a winged snake.
Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 2 and your Dexterity increases by 1.
Age. Egyphim have lost their immortality and only live as old as humans do.
Alignment. Egyphim are, by nature, good people. But exile has opened them to alignments of the opposite.
Size. Egyphim are of average height, spanning from 4'9" to 5'9" at full maturity. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Snake Form. As an action, you may polymorph into a flying snake as per the polymorph spell and back into your true form as a bonus action. If you are reduced to 0 hit points in this form you revert back into your true form. Any damage you take in your changed form is transferred over to your own hit points.
Angelic Heritage. Your fall from grace has not forsaken you of your heritage completely. You are resistance to radiant damage.
Heaven's Servant. You are a being who understands the meaning behind mystical symbols and their ties to the divine. You are proficient in the Arcana and Religion skills.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Celestial.

Random Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier*	Base Weight	Weight Modifier**
4′ 9''	+1d12	150 lb.	× (1d4) lb.
*Height = base height + height modifier **Weight = base weight + (height modifier × weight modifier)

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