Tyl (5e Race)

Tyl

“	There are races that submit to others because of the benefits they can give. Others because of the mutual benefits. Others as parasites. The Tyl do submit to a superior being they don't even perceive because in their mind, negated of imagination and creativity, it is the only way to exist	”
—Fragment of "The book of interactions" by Selentinia, The Lonely. Page 173

Aloof in every meaning of the word, the gangly Tyl are a united race based on cruel logic and increase. Founded by and ruled-in-absense by an immensely powerful, fiendish magic user they refer to as "the Master", the Tyl live in a city in the clouds, high above the world and completely separated from them by a field of time-magic. They only ever leave their hidden paradise in search of slaves, ancient knowledge, magical artifacts, or on missions from the Master.

The Homeland

Designed to be a paradise for the Tyl and the Master, by the Master, the Homeland is a very odd place. There are few descriptions of it in books an even less beings being able to say they went there. What we know is that the base of the Homeland is an island about 4 miles across and 2 mile high at its highest point that is floating around 7,000 feet in the air above an ocean, far from the nearest landmass. In addition, the whole of the Homeland is surrounded by a permanent temporal bubble, which increase the speed at which time passes in the Homeland by about 600 times, making 6 seconds in this world be about an hour in the material plane. Because of this bubble, physically entering or leaving the Homeland is almost impossible, making most of the coming and going require teleportation circles or similar magical means. In addition to this time barrier, which extends in a perfect, 5 mile-diameter sphere around the island, the entire island is cloaked in a permanent, massive, magical storm-cloud. The storm-cloud is 15-miles across, and blocks out all light that would attempt to pass through it. Passing through the storm-cloud is difficult: extreme winds, violent lightning, and brutal rain block the path of any who dare enter it. However, as the storm passes through the Temporal Bubble, the roaring winds become an almost imperceptible breeze, and the thick, heavy rain turns to a light mist and fine drizzle. Lightning can't even get through the barrier. While inside the Homeland, each Tyl has their caste number appear as a tatoo in their forehead, and can be easily seen and read from any angle. Newcomers are given an exclamation mark and are tracked until the exclamation mark is turned into some number. These numbers follow and stay with their subject until they leave the Homeland, they die, or they magically cloak themselves. The Homeland can detect the presence of any creature, even creatures under the effect of the Nondetection or Pass Without Trace spells or similar effects, and tracks them at all times, allowing guards and overseers; usually armed castes ones, twos, threes, eights, and rarelyy nines; to track down and capture them so they can enter this society… Usually as slaves.

Physical Description

By Menaceman44.

Tyl are an odd looking people, appearing just human or elvish enough to be passable as one, but alien enough to warrant further investigation… Assuming one doesn’t see their eyes. A Tyl’s eyes are, besides their usually weirdly colored skin, the only feature that definitively separates them, visually, from an odd humanoid with some of their traits. The eye’s of a Tyl tend to be solid, opaque orbs of one color, usually purple, white, blue, green, or yellow, but red, orange, and brown are not unheard of. The pupil takes the form of some simple geometric shapes, like a square, a triangle, a kite, an oval, a star, a pin-wheel, or anything of the like; but some of them get pupils with very complex designs, so unnatural that even some practitioners can't distinguish the pupil at all. Other than these eyes, Tyl appear to be extremely gangly humans, with pure-colored, featureless skin and simply-colored hair, if they have hair at all. By wearing cloaks, masks or some other disguises, the Tyl can move without drawing too much attention due to their very human-like build, and should they be discovered as non-human, they are usually identified as a fiend, and then assumed to be some strange demon or, more likely, devil in disguise.

Tyl eating habits are an oddity to most humanoids: while the Tyl are omnivorous and can eat anything humanoids can eat, they prefer to eat fresh meat, especially that of intelligent humanoids. While the Tyl do have livestock, slaves are under constant pressure to excel and be obedient for fear of becoming their master’s next meal.

Tyl posture is notably exquisite: the vast majority of Tyl walk with straight backs, chin level, and with both arms clasped behind their back. Because of the proportions of their bodies, Tyl appear to be taller than they truly are; this illusion is further enhanced by the fact that never slouch on accident, only doing so rarely and briefly to non-verbally convey disappointment or fatigue. Tyl anatomy is very similar to humans, but with three notable exceptions: bodily fluids, including blood, mucus, bile, sweat, etc. is translucent with a faint gray tint; Tyl can regrow lost limbs or organs over the course of a few months, despite the lack of a regeneration factor; and Tyl have sharper teeth than humans, so sharp they can cut small stones with ease.

Tyls reproduction is stranger than almost anything the Tyl do. While there are male and female Tyl, and they are both needed for reproduction, they cannot reproduce on their own. When a Tyl couple decide to have a child, they put in a request to the Tyl council. When approval his been made, which requires the couple to go through multiple tests and deep scrutiny to ensure the parents are capable of raising the child appropriately, the couple picks out a slave. Once a slave is chosen, the slave is trapped in a hidden, secret pool in the Master’s palace for 3 days. The pool keeps the creature alive as it dissolves its bones, liquefies its organs, and turns the creature’s body into organic sludge with a hint of latent psychic activity that traps the creature’s soul as an organic philactery. Then, the couple is brought into the pool, which is no longer acidic, and breed. The female releases an egg into the sludge, which is fertilized by the male. Then, they leave and return 5 days later. During that time, the fertilized egg uses the residual intelligence and organic sludge to form a fully developed Tyl body with the basic intelligence of an average human, and takes the soul of the dissolved creature and overwrites it to become a Tyl. The newborn Tyl wakes up when it is first touched by its parents, and immediately imprints on its parents. A new Tyl has absolutely no memories of its body’s, mind’s, or soul’s past, and while it has a basic knowledge of the world, it still needs to be raised to better understand the world around it and learn what it means to be a Tyl. After about 5 to 10 years, a Tyl child will usually begin taking the tests necessary to enter life as an independent Tyl and begin choosing their adult name; the total process usually takes around a year or two to be complete. Every Tyl is expected to find a life-long partner to marry within a century of becoming an adult, and to create at least 2 children in its lifetime. Any humanoid used for the breeding process is destroyed so thoroughly that nothing short of divine intervention can rebuild its body or mind. The soul can't be recreated even by divine means if the Tyl that has it is not willing to give it for the rebuild, dying in the process.

History

The process of creating the Homeland and the Tyl is one that only the Master knows all the details of. The escarse recovered records of the Tyl say that the Master was once a mortal, human spell-caster from another reality. He learned powerful magic and traversed the many planes of existence, but eventually stopped in the Material Plane. Here, tired and old, he raised an island from the ocean and then raised it high into the sky. Once there, he created the structures, halls, caverns, and buildings in the Homeland, all the while creating the groundwork of the Tyl's society and their laws. Then, using a powerful artifact no one knows, he transformed himself into something the world had never seen before: The first Tyl. From there, he created the High-9, and proceeded to create 9 other Tyl couples, from some of the rocks left over from the Homeland's creation. The High-9 and the Originals helped the Master finish his creation, and together created the powerful magical artifacts that created the time-bubble and powerful storm that surround the Homeland at all times. Then, seeing that everything he had established was perfect, the Master left, his curiosity and desire for magical power driving him forward out into the world as that same desire drove his newfound people to create and study to the best of their abilities.

The Tyl are a fairly new race: The Homeland was completed, the Tyl society's rules and expectations established, and the race completely populated to its current point all happened in less than a a thousand years in our time, although this means that six thousand years has passed in the Homeland. Despite this relatively short existence, the Tyl have captured the entirety of a few small, fringe villages, especially Elven populated ones, steal a number of prominent artifacts and magic items, plunder countless lost ruins and hidden dungeons, and sneak into important centers of knowledge and memorized many of their important book's contents and stolen extra copies.

Society

The philosophy of the Tyl is important to understand if one wants to interact with them. The Tyl believe in, and strive for, nothing less than utmost efficiency and practicality in all aspects of their life. They especially despise emotional aspects, such as cultural traditions, as they view these as worthless. If something can be streamlined but remain functional, you can bet that the Tyl will begin application immediately. Tyl value many things, but the most valuable traits one can exhibit are these: loyalty, high work ethic, personal merit, safety, trustworthiness, truth, self-sufficiency, self-control, knowledge, efficiency, and magical prowess. Tyl hold themselves, and all creatures they meet, to very high standards, and grow quickly irritated when their expectations are disappointed.

The views of simplicity and practicality in all things the Tyl pride themselves on extends to their aesthetics. Buildings, tools, clothes, weapons; anything the Tyl make is designed to be straightforward and uncomplicated, but never at the expense of quality and effectiveness. Tyl creations are incredibly smooth, have rounded but well defined edges and faces, and are usually completely unadorned in any way, and are usually solid silver, white, gray, black, or blue in color. Most of the things the Tyl create are just a solid block of the desired material shaped into the necessary shape by magic, as molding or sculpting is slower, impractical and tedious.

The Tyl have no monetary system in place; every member of society has access to a set amount of resources based on their caste; the higher the caste, the more and nicer the food, furniture, books, papers, beds, slaves, or anything else they could need. Tyl view materialism as plague of lesser creatures. Should a Tyl under-expend, they are likely to be noted for their thrift and will likely increase their personal status, with their extras being stored for later use or are sold/traded by the rare Tyl merchant parties. If a Tyl over-expends, it is usually highly frowned upon and is ground for immediate demotion.

The Tyl are incredibly curious by nature, and find learning to be a very rewarding experience. Their drive to discover is kept in check only by their xenophobia and the knowledge that every second that passes outside the Homeland is 10 minutes inside of it. Because of this, most Tyl spend their entire lives trying to find new knowledge and information within the comfort of the Homeland, which can be done readily due to the vast and well equipped laboratories and arcanums that populate the Homeland. However, despite the entirety of the Homeland being self-sufficient, it is necessary every once in awhile for the Tyl to send out actual explorers, instead of viewing the world through the eyes and ears of servants, informants, and scrying magics. These missions are usually sent out with an exact, quantifiable purpose, and one that is expect to be fulfilled as quickly as possible. Tyl are always sent out in pairs, usually in groups of 3 married couples, each couple having a different and relevant specialty. Many artifacts supposedly lost to time or taken/destroyed by raiders have been secretly retrieved by these elite Tyl parties and taken to the well-defended secret vaults of the Homeland, where they will be studied, used, and recreated to further the purpose and power of the Tyl.

The Tyl’s obsession with practicality and cruel logic, along with their incredibly intellect and self-control, it would be almost natural for the onlooker to simply brand them as completely emotionless. And in a way, they would be sort of right; the Tyl experience emotions in a very different way than most creatures. Tyl experience emotions far weaker than humans do, but feel them nonetheless, separating them from other stereotypically cold and aloof races of logic, such as the Yuan-ti or the Mindflayers. However, although they feel emotions weaker than most, their satisfaction system is overloaded, such that the few things a Tyl does actually care about are far more rewarding to a Tyl, making them the perfect scientists, researchers, arcanists, artificers, law-abiders, pragmatists, and servants to the Master. The most successful Tyl are often those who follow the Master’s vision the closest, and are the happiest because the Master designed his people such that he could rule through love and satisfaction. Tyl never let their emotions control them, because they feel intense and legitimate satisfaction from being pragmatic where they just feel a little numb or guilty when they act too emotionally.

The Tyl like to keep things moderately simple, and the race’s symbol follows suit; made to represent the eye of the Master, the symbol the Tyl people, the Homeland, the Master, and all they stand for is a light blue circle with a black rhombus at its center. While not frequently used, this symbol is the universal written representation of race and their ideals.

Antimagic and Psionics

The Tyl live in a world overrun with magic; the Homeland is magically restocked and has many of its most simply conveniences derived from magic items. Not only that, all Tyl are expected to learn at least some basic knowledge of magic, but in order to be of any real consequence in Tyl society one usually has to be a very successful spellcaster. Because of the overwhelming amount of magic the Tyl live with on a regular basis, the Tyl are very susceptible to Antimagic Fields. This dependance on magic is the race’s greatest weakness, despite their widespread skill and proficiency in it being their greatest boon. Unskilled in martial combat, most Tyl are helpless in the face of Antimagic, which they fear to no end. Creating Antimagic is forbidden without direct orders and careful supervision in the Homeland, and studying ways of nullifying and preventing the use of Antimagic is a constant in Tyl research. The Tyl have found ways to shut down Antimagic Fields temporarily, but any real permanent solutions still elude the Tyl. For a race with such high intelligence and mental prowess, it’s a small wonder that the Tyl haven’t unlocked and encouraged the widespread use of psionics. Tyl are wary of psionics; it isn’t magic, and it isn’t something everyone can learn either. Whenever a Tyl exhibits psionic potential, or a slave for that matter, it is immediately promoted to -1 and brought to special psionic laboratories beneath the Master’s palace, where other psionic users tutor the new manifester while being rigorously studied and tested as the Tyl overseers and scientists try to understand and learn how to use, unlock, improve, and create psionic power as they do with magic. These psionic Tyl are trained from a young age to be incredibly powerful combatants, and are the first of 3 defensive "suprises" for any invaders of the Homeland; the second being Tyl devices that temporarily nullify Antimagic Fields; and the third being sacrificing as many Tyl as necesary to summon the Master himself to deal with the invaders with his magic, which seems to completely ignore Antimagic Fields.

Slavery

The Tyl are not a very populace race; the entire race’s population is usually somewhere around 3,000, with a slave population around 10,000. The Tyl keep their slaves in line in a variety of ways; by keeping the slaves in decent living spaces, with more than enough food and water, and by treating slaves respectfully and using them responsibly, the Tyl make only the most rebellious of slaves feel like their lot in life is not that bad. After all, despite being below the Tyl and having to work day in and day out for them, they have plenty of room in the warrens, never need to worry about starving or being hurt or killed except by their own disobedience, and the Tyl always have their eyes and ears open for ways of improving the lives of their slaves, if they can do it without compromising their own security and well being; after all, a happy worker is a hardy worker, and a man will serve a master he loves through thick and thin. Many slaves even grow somewhat fond of their masters, feeling like being subservient to such intelligent and respectable race really is their lot in life and is a calling worth doing. The Tyl have many reward systems in place for supporting good behavior, rewarding slaves with days off, additional or better food, being allowed to breed or work in better jobs, and even to be able to gain clothes, tools, games, and/or access to the vast stores of books the Tyl libraries have on hand. A slave that works hard and shows good ethics can, within the course of a year, gain access to most of the privileges and resources of some members of the lower-castes and maintain them for the rest of their lives.

While working hard for rewards is more than enough to keep most slaves passive and effective, some more rebellious or creative slaves could serve as a bit of a problem; slaves outnumber their masters over 3 to 1, but rebellions are ill-fated due to the fact that tools that could be used as weapons are almost completely unavailable, physically leaving the Homeland is almost impossible, and the Homeland has no underground or criminal elements to try to work with. Also, due to the fact that slaves are tracked at all times and could be watched at any moment, most are too cautious to even discuss escape or rebellion. Not only that, the average Tyl can cast spells as destructive as fireball, erupting earth and Evard's Black Tentacles, allowing a single unarmed Tyl to quickly overpower a large number of weak slaves. Not only that, but new and disobedient slaves are kept under close supervision and are forced to wear Slave-rings, which can allow any Tyl wearing a Master-ring to incapacitate and kill a slave with a thought. If a slave proves too rebellious to be handled, it is simply eaten.

Caste System

The society the Tyl live in is based largely on a caste system based on whole number numerical values from -1 to 10. Each member of each caste from 1 to 9 is given a number of connected Demiplanes (as per Demiplane spell) in which they live equal to their number. Members of a caste can be promoted only by one who is of a caste higher than they are and receive the approval of 2 other officials of a higher caste to approve the movement. Most Tyl become spell-casters, and, more often than not, their rank in the caste system is equal to the highest level of spell they can cast.

-1: This value is attributed to any being who is effectively outside of the caste system. Ambassadors of other races, outsiders that are friends of the Master, slaves of incredible and noteworthy abilities, and secret individuals with unique situations are all the most common minus ones. Creatures in this caste are treated with respect and are given aid, but are usually avoided; minusones are not a part of the system and are dangerous outliers in the mind of the Tyl.

0: Criminals and slaves fit into this caste, the lowest caste: 0. Members of this caste have no rights or privileges, and work as slaves to Tyl. All members of this caste are treated the same, regardless of race or previous station. The zeros work all day, building and forging for their masters until they are sent to a common area to sleep and eat. zeros are treated respectfully; they are only beaten or berated if they deserve such a punishment. However, they are expected to work quietly and to the best of their ability at all times, respecting all members of higher castes, only speaking when spoken too, not engaging in any unapproved activities, and to call any creature of a higher caste as their master (unless they are a specialized slave who is being owned at the moment). If a 0 breaks the rules too many times, they are severely punished (starvation, beatings, poorer living conditions, and being eaten are all on the table). Criminals serve as slaves exactly like everyone else in the 0 caste, but are released as ones when their sentence is over. Non-Tyl slaves can never have a rank of 1 or higher.

1: The lowest of the non-slave castes, these are usually the least competent, least driven, and most disdained members of the system, as ones are frequently seen as lazy scum who are unmotivated and uncouth. ones are usually assigned as overseers to slaves during the day, making sure they remain true to the rules and complete their tasks as quickly as possible. ones who show sufficient skill and a good attitude towards their station can be quickly upgraded to a 2, but most ones fit the stereotype of unmotivated, dissatisfied, and cruel and never leave this station. Children are considered ones until they complete their competency tests.

2: Newly made “adults” are twos, as are those who have just received a promotion from station 1. twos tend to be managers of ones and zeros, making sure and keeping track of the slaves and the slave masters to make sure they are treated appropriately and are available for promotion should they prove themselves sufficiently. twos are seen as more respectable than ones, but are still judged based on their low station.

3: Tyl of rank 3 are unskilled workers or those who have displeased their betters but not in a way deserving of becoming a 0. 3 is a rank for the in-betweens; people who can grow and usually will, but also a place that is still low in rank and value. threes work on tasks that require a Tyl to be actively involved or have to be done by Tyl, such as creating low-grade magic items or armors, weapons, or tools.

4: Fours make up the largest percentage of the Tyl population, and easy progression by simple work ethic and demonstration of values becomes exponentially more difficult from beyond this point. Most Tyl are moderately content with positions as fours, which take the role of teachers, low business CEOs, librarians, important messengers, skilled craftsman, and the like. Entering the rank of 5 is very difficult, but someone particularly clever and ambitious can be promoted and enter the Tyl’s equivalent of a nobleman.

5: The most numerous of the noble ranks, fives are freshly appointed and must quickly grapple with the authority and high expectations of their station. Most fives serve as important designers, masterful craftsmen, specialists, and intellectuals. Most members of a rank higher than 5 who are demoted for political reasons are rarely demoted beyond 5 unless they have done something sever, earning them a rank of 3 or even 0 if they have broken any laws.

6: Usually a rank for the unmotivated but still talented nobles who please their betters but not enough to earn a promotion. Many sixes are happy with a position of such prestige, but have a hard time juggling the expectations of their betters, who call upon them for tasks unfit for zeros and non-nobles. Most sixes are philosophers and scientists who haven’t made a particularly large impact.

7: Researchers, explorers, celebrities, and influential members of society fall into the category of 7. From 7 on, members of these ranks are almost universally very intelligent and very ambitious members of society, searching for approval from their higher ups, all trying to one-up each other. Because of the sheer political maneuvering of the sevens, most people know of the sevens personally. Revered and respect, sevens are held to high standards.

8: This caste is one of the smallest: less than a fourth of the size of the 7 caste. eights are specialists and masters of their field, sitting solidly at the forefront of the race as a whole. Powerful and successful spellcasters and artificers, heroes of the people, and those who have personally pleased the Master are likely to be eights. Most non-noble castes may only ever meet an 8 once or twice in their lifetime.

9: Since the only higher caste is 10, nines are personally appointed to their station by the Master. nines live entirely separate from the non-nobles, usually using fives and sixes as servants instead of zeros. The number of nines is usually incredibly small, as it rarely reaches double digits. Being appointed to a 9 requires the approval of the Master and that alone. nines serve as the spokesman of the Master and rule together, in a council, in his place, under the guidance of an individual appointed to the station called the High-9 or sometimes referred to by their displayed number, a 9.5. nines choose the focus and application of research, judge criminals, write laws, create missions, and maintain order. Nines can choose creatures to become -1s and have the authority to demote or promote anyone not of their own caste or going into their own caste as they see fit.

10: There is only one individual in this caste: The Master. Enigmatic, paranoid, driven, immortal, and very, very powerful, the Master was the first Tyl, using magic to transform himself before creating the race and the Homeland. The Master’s intellect dwarfs the intellect of most gods, but his power remains in an odd place somewhere between actual divinity and being a mere mortal. The Master’s magics focus mainly on enslaving and altering minds and on teleportation. Should the Master somehow die, the High-9 would become a 10 and replace him. Most Tyl never meet the Master, as he rarely stays long when he comes to check on and settle business with his creations, instead spending his time personally seeking out more magical power and secrets. The personal palace of the Master is more of a giant library/magical laboratory, and is populated by sevens, eights, and nines who are performing tasks and research under his direct orders. The Master has ultimate and complete authority in Tyl society; his words are law, and his will and philosophy viewed as being effectively divine. The Tyl are people known for emotional detachment and exploiting weakness, but are designed to be agreeable and friendly to the Master, whom each Tyl genuinely loves and adores. The Master has many laws, and his teachings guide the Tyl. The Master teaches many of the main tenets of the race, and encourages his people to explore and create magic and artifacts, to unearth power and secrets at any cost, to store and gain all knowledge possible, to improve the Tyl and be self-sufficient, to seek immortality by a way not related to becoming an undead, and to dominate the world.

Telepathy and Language

Tyl almost always communicate using their telepathy, as it allows for a much quick, more precise transition of knowledge. Tyl disdain using actual language, but their high vocabulary comes in handy when they have to use it. However, despite their massive intellect and vocabulary, Tyl who don’t use verbal language frequently are very clumsy, forming sentences such that there are no grammatical errors, but forming incredibly long, confusing, repetitious, roundabout, or backward sentences that are frequently almost unintelligible. This is because the Tyl’s obsession with precision extends to their language, making them try, with all their might, to convey exactly what they desire or think at every moment to account for any possible misunderstanding, making them frequently double and triple say what they have already said in an attempt to make themselves easier to understand. However, because telepathy is a thing, they rarely need to worry about this. Having a telepathic discussion with a Tyl is like trying to read the music sheets of a grand orchestra in less than a second AND be expected to remember and make sense of it all; it can easily be a disorienting experience for anyone unprepared or inexperienced with telepathy. However, creatures grow more accustomed to the sudden barrage of precise commands and exact ideas as they spend more time interacting with Tyl, eventually allowing a non-telepathic but intelligent creature to at least keep pace, for the most part, with the maelstrom of thoughts that enter their mind.

Tyl Names

The Tyl are descended from an original 20 Tyl that rapidly reproduced for a short time. Because of this a Tyl can immediately trace their ancestry to a prominent founding ancestor. At birth, a Tyl is given the first half of both of its parents’ surnames, puting first the part of the parent of the same gender as the new Tyl, separated by a hyphen, and when it completes its tests it creates a name to place in front of its two-part surname.

Until they pass their Grand test, all Tyl's are named by their caste number, usually One, as a temporal name. Tyl permanent names tend to be just a few syllables, using lots of Ts, Zs, Es, and Is, but not excluding any letters. Many tyl start experimenting into creating their name or getting nicknames since they are born, but they can only get one after the Grand Test. Since each Tyl comes up with their own names, there is a lot of variety in their names; however, most Tyl make names similiar to parts of their surnames.

For example: A female Tyl is born to parents whose names are Enoc Drek-Tet (Father) and Zia Kirep-Vinshul (Mother). Its name, until it officially creates one, would be One Kirep-Drek because of her caste. When this Tyl came of age, it decided to be call Gozzal. It’s fully name would now by Gozzal Kirep-Drep.

Surname: Drek, Josil, Timoc, Annel, Yoox, Triex, Vinshul, Jupef, Tet, Defox, Kix

Male Example Names: Demit, Jadus, Zar, Gonhal, Serox, Yunixe

Female Example Names: Saria, Zia, Vin, Olea, Aleax, Sileto,

Tyl Traits

Cerebral, xenophobic alien beings with a rewritten soul.
Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 2, and your Wisdom score increases by 1.
Age. Born fully formed, the only thing that new Tyl need is guidance until it comes to fully understand its surroundings and place in the world. Tyl have extremely long lives, usually living without problem to an age of 2,000 years old, but began declining rapidly over the course of a decade before passing.
Alignment. Tyl value emotionless pragmatism and unfeeling realism, proclaiming the value of logic at the expense of all else, which puts them in the Lawful alignment. Because they frequently take being emotionless a step further, costing others who weren’t well enough prepared, and happily use resources without conscience or remorse, they tend to be either Neutral or Evil.
Size. Tyl have very little variation in size. Males are around 6 feet tall and females tend to be a little smaller. Your size is medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision. Designed for the eternally dark Homeland, 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..
Axiomatic Mind. You cannot be compelled to act in a manner contrary to your nature or instructions. You have advantage against becoming charmed or frightened.
Empowered Mind. You always know what time it is and can accurately recall anything you have seen or heard. Your memories cannot be altered by magic.
Telepathy. You can communicate telepathically with any creature you can see within 120 feet. You don’t need to share a language with a creature to communicate with it, but the creature must be able to understand one language in order to understand your telepathic communications.
Languages. Although you almost exclusively use telepathy, you can read, write, and speak Tylish. Tylish is a language made to convey as many ideas as fast as posible that is formed with multiple gutural, gurgling, crackling and sizzling sounds that sounds to the commoner like "an afonic person gurgling". It is written with the Gith script.

Suggested Characteristics

Most Tyl are reluctant, at best, to leave the safety of the Homeland for a life of adventure. When creating a Tyl character, you can use the following table to help explain why you are out in the world and/or what you are hoping to do there.

d6	Bond
1	I got separated from my mission party and I don't know if they are dead or alive.
2	An experiment with unstable teleportation magic threw me out into the world. I need to get back.
3	The rest of my mission party was killed before we could complete our objective. No matter; I can complete the mission on my own.
4	Some knowledge can only be gotten out in the field.
5	How are we supposed to rule the world when we never leave the Homeland? I’m taking a more active approach...
6	I have faint memories from the creature I was born from, and seek to find out who these people in the memories are.

You can also use these Personality Traits, Ideals, and/or Flaws to help flesh out your character and better describe how you interact with those around you. Use these tables in addition to or in place of your background’s characteristics.

d10	Personality Trait
1	I’m horribly, horribly awkward in social situations.
2	I’m willing to listen to every side of an argument before I make judgement.
3	I’m constantly asking weird questions to anyone who will respond to me.
4	I like wearing heavy clothing, masks, hoods, and other obscuring clothing to try to hide my ancestry.
5	I’m always polite and respectful.
6	I try to imitate those around me in an attempt to appear “normal”.
7	I constantly use complex and niche words that nobody outside the Homeland know, much to the chagrin of those around me.
8	I refuse to communicate verbally.
9	I despise bright lights and try to avoid them at all cost, using others as shade when possible.
10	I use my flawless memories to reenact and recreate situations I've experienced instead of explaining them.

d6	Ideal
1	Logic (Lawful); Emotions must not cloud our logical thinking.
2	Tradition (Lawful); The expectations and culture of the Tyl must be upheld and spread.
3	Community (Lawful); All peoples should work together to improve themselves and each other.
4	Power (Evil); Unlocking ancient secrets is the surest way towards untold power.
5	Mastery (Evil); Non-Tyl are nothing more than potential slaves… Or meals.
6	Might (Evil); Those best fit to rule will, inevitably, conquer those who aren’t.

d6	Flaw
1	I can barely use normal language because I’m so used to telepathy.
2	I fear non-Tyl, believing them to be rabid and unpredictable heathens.
3	I desperately hide a terrible crime that must never come to light.
4	I miss the comforts of civilization, and I’m not afraid to let people know.
5	I have a temper that I can never seem to control.
6	I hate work; I would rather have other people do things.

Back to Main Page → 5e Homebrew → Races