Gemnites (5e Race)

Gemnites

“

They don't speak to you normally. They speak through your mind. After all those years holed up down there, that's the least they learned too.

”

Physical Description

By Jonas Jerde

The gemnites are creatures made entirely of inorganic crystal. Their heads resemble a jagged fragment of faceted stone, with no indication of eyes, mouths or ears. Their body shape is roughly humanoid, having the same general orientation of limbs. While they have fingers, their legs end in stumps instead of feet. Their entire body is usually built around a single color of gemstone, with bits of rock and earth adhering to them. This earthen matter forms distinct patterns like armor or clothing on their hardened bodies. The different colors of a gemnites is merely indicative of the composition of minute elements in their form, but it does not make a red gemnites particularly unique from a blue gemnites.

History

The gemnites are creatures believed to be of similar origin to the shardminds of the Living Gate. When the gate shattered, it created the shardminds. The resulting destruction of the gate allowed an influx of the Far Realms influence into the world. Ioun's powers to hold the portal closed and prevent total mind flayer domination was not an airtight seal. Bits of the alien energies came upon shards of the Living Gate and molded it with foreign astral space materials from around the cosmos. Gemnites were thus formed of these shards and alien matter, not being of a pure shard like the shardminds. Therefore they also harbor different ideals. To them, rebuilding the gate is not something necessary, as there is much to be gained from the Far Realms.

Society

Gemnites tend to live in underground settlements, in caves of crystal and precious gems. These places make them feel at home, whereas anywhere else they would be alien. Due to their odd composition, gemnites have had historical disputes with shardminds as well as forces of the Far Realm, like giths and illithids. Their society is not driven to rebuild the gate, but they are not wholly trusting of the alien forces either. As such, they are often trying to find some middle ground amid this animosity.

Their underground settlements are almost wholly egalitarian. The idea of a hierarchy is not lost to them, but they see no need for it. A majority of them are militaristic and focused around a general army, as they have little need for things like agriculture or child-rearing. To reproduce, gemnites break off shards of themselves and implant them into a premade body of gemstone and earth. This shard takes a few years to incubate as it spreads the fragment of consciousness throughout the entire body. After the process is over, a new gemnites is risen. Smaller shards take very long to incubate. The newly risen gemnites usually display the same color as the original gemnites.

Personality

Like the shardminds, gemnites are capable of being very logical and detached. This is altered by the fact that they harbor an alien influence in them that drives up a certain degree of curiosity. They are curious about things like harnessing the power of the Far Realm rather than fearing it. Some are more opposed to the idea and insist that they aid the shardminds in rebuilding the gate. Others are skeptical and believe that once the gate is closed, the gemnites will be doomed to extinction due to the staunching of alien energies integral to their creation.

Gemnites can be overzealous in their ways, and stubborn in method. Their emotional compass rarely shows happiness. There is usually only calm or enraged poles in their behavior. They can be very destructive on the latter end, with little room in between.

Gemnites Names

Gemnites names are usually composed with some word alluding to their gem composition. The males have more halting noises accented by apostrophes. Female names flow better. However, they generally communicate through telepathy anyway, so the way names roll off the tongue do not matter to them.

Male: Amb'Qus, Em'Vid, Rubris, Saph'Lip, Vik'Artz

Female: Ambetha, Em'Reth, Laurysta, Perlain, Saph'Ra

Gemnites Traits

Gems of the Far Realm and Living Gate
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2, and your Intelligence score increases by 1.
Age. Gemnites come to being as part of an incubation process, and they rise fully mature. They do not age nor die of age.
Alignment. They are not so lawful like shardminds, having a penchant for mild curiosity and chaotic anger. Some who fraternize or are allured by the Far Realm might even turn towards evil.
Size. Gemnites are usually between 4 and 7 feet tall. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Crystalline Mind. You can communicate mentally with another creature that knows at least one language within a 60-foot radius. This creature doesn't need to share a language with you but unless they have telepathy themselves they can only receive and respond but can't initiate or terminate a telepathic conversation. You must be conscious to use this trait and cannot telepathically communicate with multiple creatures at once. In addition, your thoughts can't be read by any means.
Construct Nature. You are only living in a certain sense since you were made from the Living Gate, being inorganic in all other ways. Your creature type is construct instead of humanoid. As such, spells like cure wounds don't affect you, and you are immune to spells like crown of madness or dominate person because they specifically target humanoids. You are immune to diseases. You do not need to eat or breathe, and any food you do attempt to eat smushes against your crystal face due to the lack of a mouth. Rather than sleeping, you enter an inactive state for 6 hours each day. You do not dream in this state; you are fully aware of your surroundings and notice approaching enemies and other events as normal.
Arcane Resistance. Your origin from the Living Gate gives you some semblance of protection from forces that wish you ill. You cannot be put to sleep by magical means.
Crystal Psion. While you are not as powerful in the mind as a shardmind, you still have some of the mental prowess. You know and can cast the detect magic spell once, without material components. Starting at 3rd level, you can cast the detect thoughts spell once without material components. You must finish a long rest to use these spells again via this trait. Intelligence is your spellcasting modifier for these spells.
Militaristic. Given that their abilities mentally are lesser than the shardmind, the gemnites have therefore trained in martial arts to make up for this. You are proficient with the halberd, longsword and greatsword.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common. Additionally, you understand Shardspeak, a strange language made up of deep, resonating humming only communicated by telepaths, and very few beings other than the shardminds themselves know it. It uses the Primordial script.

Random Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier*	Base Weight	Weight Modifier**
4′ 11''	+2d12	230 lb.	× (1d10) lb.
*Height = base height + height modifier **Weight = base weight + (height modifier × weight modifier)

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