Raitohorudā (5e Race)

Raitohorudā

"It was one of the most amazing things Ryiko had ever seen. The entire village was full of smiles, happiness, and life. No one seemed to have any sadness or anger in their hearts, and everyone got along. Ryiko had people asking him if he was hungry, or if he needed a place to rest, all without inquiry. Ryiko eventually agreed to the housing offered by one of the villagers. She was an elderly woman who lived on her own. When Ryiko and the woman sat, they began eating a dish she called feng min chao. Ryiko decided to ask her why everyone here was so kind and happy. She told him it was because of the raitohorudā, a mythical spirit that lives in the village. She told him that it held a lantern that while under its light, there would be no conflict. No fighting. This fascinated him. Ryiko would continue to look into the raitohorudā when he returned."- An excerpt from the Trials of Ryiko, Volume 7.

Physical Description

The raitohorudā appear to be wearing hooded cloaks at all times and are always holding a lantern out in front of them. When looking into the hood, there appears to be nothing. No head or face. Some don on masks to wear as to not scare children when they approach. They stand similar to that of male humans, but no one knows what lies within their shadowy cloaks. And those who have witnessed the true form of the raitohorudā have always gone mad, rambling about the "shadows with no face". Those who do know the true form of the raitohorudā have described them as humanoids made purely of shadow, with a face devoid of any features whatsoever.

History

The raitohorudā are known to be spiritual beings, meaning only to bring peace and light where they go. They are guides for the souls of the lost, who are lost among the living. While their bodies are mortal, their souls are stuck, ready to leave onto a new existence. And those who have found themselves, and know that they are to move onto the next life. They never take the life of another unless their soul is ready to move on. If the soul was ready, they would then take the creature by the hand and wander into the woods, until they both disappeared. The raitohorudā would then live among the living while the other creature would never be seen again. They originally appeared after a shao village was discovered to be completely devoid of life, while the moment before seemed to be preserved. Fires burnt, food cooked, and lanterns glowed. But in the village, only a single raitohorudā was discovered, standing in the center of the town, holding a lantern. This was the first noted apparition of the raitohorudā, and since have been revered to by the shao people as guides to the afterlife. Legend tells that the first raitohorudā came to be after a fire had destroyed an entire village and left no survivors. It is said that the souls of those who died to the flame became raitohorudā as to guide the souls of the dead along peacefully and at ease, and to prevent their fates from being the same for someone else's.

Society

There is never more than one raitohorudā to be seen in an area. They get along kindly with any race they encounter due to their calming aura. They also have been known to be caretakers for children as well as the elderly. There has never been a negative report about the Raitohorudā, or their presence among people, as they are believed to bring nothing but calm and peace to a community and its people.

Raitohorudā Names

The raitohorudā are given names by the community that reflect their positive outlooks on them. These names can range from the Spirit, to the Peacekeeper, to the Holy One. A raitohorudā could have many names, or be renowned to have only one.

Raitohorudā Traits

The bringers of light and peace.
Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom and Charisma scores each increases by 2.
Age. The raitohorudā do not appear to age but seem to simply exist. They tend to disappear however after a civilization lives peacefully for 4,000 years, as they are no longer needed to keep the peace and friendliness among the people.
Alignment. Most would describe the raitohorudā as being lawful good, for never acting upon their own will, and only wanting peace in a community.
Size. The raitohorudā always stand at exactly 6 feet tall. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Guiding Lights. On your back, you have two warm glowing lights appearing to be attached to a bone structure similar to wings. The lights look similar to that of oriental paper lanterns. These lanterns are forever lit. They emit a dim light in a 20-foot radius around you, which is reduced to 5 feet even in magical darkness.
Keeper of the Light. If your lanterns are extinguished by any magical means, such as by the control flame cantrip, you immediately fall unconscious and drop to 0 hit points. If you are healed or stabilized, you are no longer unconscious and your lanterns are relit. However, if you fail, then you are lost to the darkness until someone re-lights your lanterns. The lanterns can be put out and lit only by magical means such as by the produce flame cantrip.
Calming Glow. As a bonus action, while a creature is within the radius of light emitted from your lantern, you can force the creature to make a Charisma saving throw or fall under the effect of the calm emotions spell. The DC for this saving throw is equal to 8 + your Charisma modifier + your proficiency bonus. You can do this a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1). You regain all expanded uses when you complete a long rest.
Unspoken Knowledge. You can communicate mentally with another creature that knows at least one of your known languages 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.
Watching Soul. You do not sleep as most creatures do, but instead, go into a meditative state for 6 hours. Upon completion, you gain the benefits a human would from 8 hours of rest. However, while in this state, you are in a deep inner trance, and thus are unaware of your surroundings.
Languages. You can speak, read and write Common and one other language of your choice. You can communicate these languages as mentioned in the Unspoken Knowledge.

Additional Downtime Activity: Guide to the Afterlife

As a raitohorudā you can take the following downtime activity in addition to the ones prescribed by the Dungeon Master.

"It is said that the raitohorudā are the guiding lights to the bridges between what we discern as life, and death." - Ming Lao of the Cherīāchi village.

Resource. Typically, a character needs to spend most the week in meditation finding and then guiding a willing soul to the afterlife. Assuming such access is available, guiding a spirit requires one workweek of effort.

Resolution. Upon completion, you may gain a benefit in the form of a favor and or a gift from the spirit you guided before they move on. The Dungeon Master rolls or chooses a gift of choice if it is a magic item it is usually on the common or uncommon magic item tables. A favor, in broad terms, is a promise of future assistance from the spirit if called upon. It can be expended to ask the spirit for help in dealing with a specific problem, for general support, or a minor miracle provided at a key moment. Favors earned need not be expended immediately, but only a certain number can be stored up. A character can have a maximum number of unused favors equal to 1 + the character‘s Charisma modifier (minimum of one unused favor). At the end of the workweek, the character makes a Charisma (Persuasion) check with a +1 bonus for every workweek spent beyond the initial workweek, to a maximum of +5. Determine the outcome on the Guide to the Afterlife Outcomes table.

Guide to the Afterlife Outcomes

Check Total	Outcome
0-5	Unable to deliver the soul.
6-10	Success.
11-20	Success. Trinket gifted.
21-25	Success. Favor gifted.
26+	Success. Magical item gifted.

Guide to the Afterlife Complications

d6	Complications
1	The soul decided it was not ready to move on from life yet.
2	The soul cries to be avenged, and asks you to kill someone who has done them wrong as a final wish.
3	The soul promises to bring their vengeance upon someone still living.
4	The soul asks you to bring their family to the afterlife with them as a final wish.
5	A soul followed you back from the afterlife onto the living plane.
6	The soul you guided to the afterlife was actually a yōkai in the guise of a soul.

Random Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier*	Base Weight	Weight Modifier**
6′ 0''	+0	150 lb.	× (0) lb.
*Height = base height + height modifier **Weight = base weight + (height modifier × weight modifier)

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