Geminus (5e Race)

Geminus

“	When dark and light collides there are only two ways it will end. Either they annihilate each other, or they form something completely new. I don't know which one scares people the most. Me? I am fascinated by both.	”
—Fragment of "Hidden tales of darkness" by Dhovhos, the geminus Grand Wizard. Page 163

Tieflings and aasimar are considered the pinnacle of both their worlds, good and evil. Born in the misunderstanding of both worlds, rejected by humanoids and creatures in general, from time to time they find someone that understands them. In exceptional times it is the race that means the exact opposite. Even when wanting to they rarely give offspring, and even when such a miraculous thing happens it is exceptional that the descendants ditch every human aspect and becomes a geminus: the incarnation of good and evil coexisting.

Physical Description

Although they are not human, geminus are hard to differentiate from tall humans unless paying attention. Marks that may distinguish them as either tiefling or aasimar are commonly lacking: they may not have tail, horns, wings or either; their constitution is usually slender, their eyes have no special shine and they tend to be very reclusive.

Their main feature is their skin. The soft appearance hides beneath it a rough sensation when it is touched. It also changes color constantly, depending on the angle the light hits them with, going from human skin tones at direct light to metallic colors like silver or brass when it goes tangentially.

The hair tends to be short, with colors like pink, red, purple, gray, and black in half the head, while the other half has blue, gold, green, silver or even clear. When the hair is only one colored, it is grey.

Heterochromic eyes give away their mixed heritage, with one eye tending to be metallic in appearance, while the other is not. Each geminus has a personal mark in their body that shines either silver or gold depending on the time of the day. It is completely unique and irrepetible. It can be from a small freckle to a full body sized tatoo. No one knows why they have it or what it means, but some of them give it a deep meaning or that they are destined for something more than what they are doing.

Source: http://erionmakuo.com/ Property of Erion Makuo

History

Unlike the races that gave them birth, geminus are not rejected, nor enthroned, and are rarely abandoned, with a nuclear family being the rule; although it is rare that both their biological parents stay with them after they reach maturity. They are appreciated members of society as they are considered beautiful and smart. Even then geminus rarely have families of their own, as they reject anyone without a true balance of morals, ethics, mind and body; just like them.

Geminus are so rare that they don't have a history or a country that they may call theirs. The few geminus that have been recorded in history are powerful magic users, seldom trying to construct empires or to destroy them, but mostly becoming preservers of balance and creators or curators of knowledge. Warlocks, wizards, sorcerers and druids get their power from their mixed blood directly to their spells.

In some cultures, seeing a geminus is considered bad or good luck, depending on the time of the day, the gender of the geminus and even the size of their body marks. In such cultures, a geminus is always seen with respect and suspicion in equal parts.

Society

Being as sensitive to magic and as scarce as they are, they have little to no choice but to give their services as artisans or magic users. Many of them work as divinators, potion makers, healers, bookkeepers, librarians or even smithers, jobs that assure them that their magic and knowledge can be accessed by anyone. Although their craftsmanship is always exceptional, they will never accept any claim that theirs is not the best.

In rare occasions, they are powerful and wise magic scholars, although they only teach to those students that they consider worthy of their knowledge, most of it too dangerous or too ancient to be safely handed. There are reports of extraordinary geminus diplomats, but being as reclusive as they are it is hard for them to even attempt this route.

Adventuring is rarely their first choice, but many take it as an opportunity to redeem their heritage, search for mysteries of the world or to simply find a new place where they can learn or create new magic. As allies, they are known to be strategists to the point of perfection and excellent warriors or supporters, but they do not adapt easily once their plan has been busted. Their abilities as detectors of magic are invaluable when traveling through old ruins, but the magic that they have never met before or that interests them too much may deviate their attention.

Because they are the perfect mixture of good and evil, they tend to have a special focus on both sides of the moral code before taking a desition that is just in the middle. Religion is an important part of their life, but they rarely have any religious affiliation. They pray and ask for help for both heavens and hells with no distinction. They may have a prefered god and demon, but they will rarely tend to prefer one over the other. This rejectors may choose to honor their divine or demonic heritage by becoming priests or cultists, but most of them will never reject the other part of their ancestry completely. This geminus life end usually in tragedy, looking for ways to stop having tiefling blood or to stop feeling tied to the heavens. Some may even try to become gods or demons themselves in an attempt to stop being what they reject, becoming powerful and dangerous grunts to plans that promise to release them from these ties.

Geminus Names

Geminus usually get names from the combination of their parent's names, with no distinction between sex. The first particle is usually of the parent of the sex of the recently born geminus. From time to time they choose a name from old tales or from important people in their lives.

Male: Belseis, Cermaia, Cronkaria, Okrin, Parant, Phelamin, Riedril.

Female: Aktian, Amojena, Barasozi, Ekedrea, Kaityra, Nimakos, Niramour.

Geminus Traits

The sons and daughters of aasimar and tieflings
Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma scores each increase by 1.
Age. This race mature faster and live more than humans, reaching maturity at 10 years old, and living around 200 years, although some geminus living almost 300 years have been reported.
Alignment. Because of their mixed heritage, geminus tend to be true neutral. If they start tending to evil, they become lawful and when they are good they tend to be chaotic. Variations outside of these rules are seldom seen.
Size. They have a height of between 6 and 7 feet and weight from 190 to 240 pounds. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
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.
Resistant Blood. Your mixed blood gives you resistance to radiant and necrotic damage.
Innate Magic Detection. You can cast the detect magic spell once with this trait, requiring no material components, and you regain the ability to cast it this way when you finish a short or long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for this spell.
Ancestral Endowment. You have proficiency in two of the following skills of your choice: Persuasion, Religion, Intimidation, or Deception.
Balanced Luck. When you roll a 1 on an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw, you can instead roll a 20. The next time you roll a 20 on an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw, you instead roll a 1. You can't use this trait again until you finish a long rest.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common, Celestial and Infernal.

Random Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier*	Base Weight	Weight Modifier**
6′ 0''	+1d12	190 lb.	× (1d4) lb.
*Height = base height + height modifier **Weight = base weight + (height modifier × weight modifier)

Suggested Characteristics

When creating a geminus 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 will make every step of the plan perfect before following it.
2	I will create new spells as long as I live.
3	Magic spells are for the dull. Creating and using magic equipment on the other hand...
4	I want to meet someone that can teach me how to superseed myself.
5	Okay, I will help them... but only if they can pay the prize.
6	Preserving the knowledge is as important as creating it.
7	Being good is boring. Maybe some chaos will spice it up.
8	No one should know about my origins

d6	Ideal
1	Knowledge: I will know everything! (Neutral)
2	Redemption: Someone in my family is considered ominous. I must reverse that. (Lawful)
3	Glory: I will become a supreme being, whatever it takes (Chaotic)
4	Purity: I don't want part of my heritage. Why can't I be pure? (Chaotic)
5	Master: Whatever I am destined to do, I will do it perfectly. (Lawful)
6	Perfection: The world is imperfect. I can correct that. (Neutral)

d6	Bond
1	Every spell is sacred. I must find them all.
2	My nation expects greatness from me.
3	My family will be honored.
4	My craftmanship will be considered divine.
5	I will restore forgotten history
6	I am sure this bodymark means something. I will know what.

d6	Flaw
1	Books are more important than my life
2	If there is a way to stop being a mixed-blood, I will take it.
3	That object wasn't crafted by me. I will fight to show it isn't superior.
4	Any hint on my family's past will deviate me.
5	People say I plan too much on every step.
6	I won't fight for good. Nor will I fight for evil. I will just fight.

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