Talto (5e Race)

Talto

“	Come now, my Lasher, show these poor witches the power of a great witch and her devil!	”
—Deborah Mayfair

Prim And Proper

Lasher call ritual, by John Vestivich

Taltos are aberrations who take the form of humans. Doing so, they mask an amorphous interior full of powerful, shadow tentacles. They usually appear to be rather tall and beautiful or handsome people with skin almost bleach white. Taltos get stronger through their connections to those who utilize magic, and can turn invisible. When enraged or on the offensive, they can use their myriad tentacles to bash and destroy enemies. These additional limbs are usually hidden within their form and therefore imperceptible until they are unleashed. If a taltos is not fed their mothers breast milk from birth, they grow stunted and are called little people.

Servile Shadows

Taltos are beings which have, since the beginning of witchcraft, sorcery, and magic, existed as one of the many familiars or powerful magic servants which archmages and powerful warlocks could summon as their protector or familiar. They originate from a single spirit entity who desired a flesh form. To achieve this, the spirit entered the womb of a witch and forced her to give birth from inside. The baby which came about instantly was able to grow into an adult form, becoming the first talto. From his sexual conquests, the race came to be. These enigmatic creatures are very rarely seen, being able to turn invisible from others save from those who possess the ability to use magic. They are believed to be ravenous creatures bent on conquest of the material world by means of progeny. Due to their powers and temperament, they have been thought to be devils or demons that people sell their souls to. Religious leaders, particularly of celestial orders, regard them to tempt people towards malice.

Taltos, as magical creatures, could mate with one another when wizards are not available. There were once enough taltos that they did not require external magical blood at all, and lived among themselves only on a secluded isle. However, the island climate changed and made life there uninhabitable. Many taltos died as a result, leaving only five males at the nadir of their racial history. These five survivors set out to serve and impregnate witches under the guise of servitude. Today they have become a known wild card for spellcasters to utilize. Spellcasters who call on the aid of a talto often find the creature trying to seduce them. They are only able to mate with those who can cast magic and so take on roles of subservient creatures to magic users to get closer to them.

Master Stalkers

Taltos have not abandoned their tradition of serving those with magic blood. Their numbers today are relatively murky and so it is not known whether they still require spellcasters to mate with or have numbers sufficient to rebuild their lost society. Some taltos have taken up living in human society, as their forms are usually human in appearance. In addition to seeking magic blood, they also prefer to mate with only human spellcasters, usually deferring when they are asked to serve magic users of other races. This is possibly because taltos are genetically similar to humans, as they share their appearance. Nevertheless, they cohabit in human society, usually weaving their own web of connections with other taltos through back-end communications. Due to their refined appearance and often seductive tongue, taltos can be found among the aristocracy, as well as other mid-tier positions of wealth and status in a society.

Vehemence For Magic

Taltos vary in pleasantness and temperament, though all the males are usually extremely aggressive and virile, and the females are usually demanding and vixen-like. Their main purpose is to spread taltos seed and use any spellcasters as a necessary means to an end. This usually breeds an attitude among taltos to be very indifferent and uncaring for the mundane, finding ordinary people uninteresting since they lack magic. Taltos also, seeing human spellcasters merely as possible mates, often can be abusive or unruly, even as servants. It is possible for a taltos to eventually take control in a relationship due to their seductive art. However, taltos do sometimes truly fall in love with their master, and they can be fiercely protective. Taltos also generally feel great kinship with others of their kind.

Talto Names

Taltos take human names since they usually grow up in their society and emulate their lifestyles.

Male: Lasher, Ashlar, Samuel

Female: Morrigan, Emaleth, Tessa

Talto Traits

Taltos are aberrations in human form who attach themselves to those with magic powers
Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 2, and your Wisdom score increases by 1.
Age. Taltos are born as babies and then instantly mature and take a human form in a matter of minutes. They are extremely long-lived and can age as far as 3000 years.
Alignment. While goal-oriented, taltos do have the human capacity to feel and change, making them open to other alignments.
Size. Taltos usually are taller than the average human, save the anomalies who were never fed breast milk and become stunted dwarves. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Dark Tentacles. As an action, you can send out your hidden shadow tentacles to batter opponents. Dark tendrils burst forth from you, hitting and smashing at all creatures within 10 feet of you. Each creature in that area must make a Strength saving throw. On a failed save, a target takes 2d6 necrotic damage and can't take bonus actions until its next turn. On a successful save, the creature takes half damage, but suffers no other effect. The damage increases to 3d6 at 6th level, 4d6 at 11th level, and 5d6 at 16th level. After you use your dark tentacles, you can't use it again until you complete a long rest.
Unseen Seduction. You can cast the charm person spell once at its lowest level, without material components. At 3rd level, you can cast the invisibility spell once at its lowest level, without material components. After you cast either spell, you must finish a long rest to regain use of it. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Smooth Talker. Your dashing appearance and smooth mannerisms, despite any rough edges, wins the day. You are proficient in the Persuasion skill.
Spirit Speed. You can dart with a burst of speed like the wind. When you move on your turn in combat, you can double your speed until the end of the turn. Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until you move 0 feet on one of your turns.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common.

Little People Talto Variant

Design Note: This is a talto variant that uses a Small player size instead. This variant replaces the Ability Score Increase, Size, Speed and Smooth Talker traits

Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 1, and your Wisdom score increases by 2.
Size. Hence their lack of nutrition from birth, these talto have stunted grown, rendering them dwarven in size. Your size is Small.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet.
Eye About. You have a good foothold in the world and a network of reliable informants as well as a keener sense for your surroundings. You are proficient in the Perception skill.

Random Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier*	Base Weight	Weight Modifier**
5′ 4''	+3d8	150 lb.	× (1d8) lb.
*Height = base height + height modifier **Weight = base weight + (height modifier × weight modifier)

Base Height	Height Modifier*	Base Weight	Weight Modifier**
3′ 4''	+1d4	90 lb.	× (1d6) lb.
*Height = base height + height modifier **Weight = base weight + (height modifier × weight modifier)

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