Parshendi

The most striking characteristic of a Parshendi is their crimson, black, and white skin, marbled together in patterns unique to each individual. Their most astonishing ability is that of drawing power and changing their form within the highstorms. Their richest history is found within their marred relationship with their gods. However, those extremely few outsiders who have studied and lived among Parshendi insist that what truly separates them from all other races is their songs.

Listeners of the Universe

Known only to outsiders as "Parshendi", they call themselves "listeners". The average Parshendi is more attuned to the cosmos than most other races could ever dream of. This manifests itself in their speech, battle and society. Every Parshendi can hear the symphonies created by energy, both physical and magical. With focus, they can attune to specific pieces of these symphonies. When they speak, they naturally fall into the cosmic rhythm that emulates their mood. A happy Parshendi might speak to the Rhythm of Joy, whereas a grieving one might speak to the Rhythm of the Lost. As such, Parshendi have little need for facial expressions and are notoriously hard for a non-Parshendi to read. In battle, Parshendi sing as they fight, sometimes to aid themselves magically, sometimes to communicate and sometimes to bolster courage. Every Parshendi hears the same universal music and thus society is often built around it. They have no need for a time system, instead they will refer to "at the Third Movement of the Song of Courage" or "after the crescendo of the Song of Embarrassment". Their holidays are generally focused around the times of year when certain melodies ring the loudest.

At any one time, every Parshendi holds a different form that affects every aspect of their being. These forms dictate their shape, size, abilities and even certain aspects of their personality. Unchanging in each form, every Parshendi has a unique personal marbling of red, black and white on their skin that distinguishes them from each other. Their skin is coated in a carapace-like material with the appearance of bark made of dark granite. This carapace varies in thickness and shape depending on form. Outside of Mateform, there is virutally no difference in appearance by sex. The Parshendi change forms by remaining outside and unprotected during the entirety of a highstorm. The transformation process is still a mystery, even to the Parshendi themselves. A form change has never been witnessed as it fails if there is another nearby.

Betrayed by their Gods

Hundreds of generations ago, the Parshendi were greatly gifted and blessed by their gods. They served them devoutly and were rewarded with great power because of it. There came a time, however, when their gods betrayed them and took with them all knowledge. This is called the Recreance. What was left was a people incapable of defending themselves or maintaining their society. The humans discovered this society and promptly enslaved them all.

Having lost all faith and all will, these Parshendi accepted their slavery and their desendants are still slaves to the humans to this day. Luckily, not all Parshendi were rounded up after the Recreance. Enough remained free to regrow the population and eventually this group rediscovered a small fraction of their previous knowledge. This remaining group grew into a nation with a focus on freeing and enlightening their captive brethren and gaining revenge on their captors. To this day, Parshendi mourn the Recreance and will have nothing to do with divine beings or those that promise supernatural power. Those that try to do so are shunned and banned from Parshendum.

Parshendi Traits

Your Parshendi character has a number of traits in common with all other Parshendi.

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 1.

Age. Parshendi reach adulthood around the age of 15 and generally live between 100 and 130 years.

Alignment. Parshendi tend towards lawful alignments due to the organized rhythms that permeate their society.

Size. Parshendi size varies greatly depending on what form they hold. Regardless of what form, your size is Medium.

Speed. Unless altered by a form, your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Powerful Leaps. Your standing leap is 15 feet. Your running leap distance is equal to the amount of distance you ran before leaping, up to 50 feet.

Cosmic Songs. Your cosmic connection allows you to cast certain spells innately, using only verbal components. At 1st level, choose one of these as your melody: blade ward, control flames, dancing lights, gust, minor illusion, resistance, shape water, and true strike. At 3rd level, choose one of these as your minor song: bane, dissonant whispers, earth tremor, feather fall, and sleep. At 5th level, choose one of these as your major song: blindness/deafness, calm emotions, enhance ability, heat metal, phantasmal force, see invisibility, silence, and warding wind. You can cast your chosen spells with this trait, using Charisma as your spellcasting ability for them. Once you cast your minor song or major song you can't cast it again until you finish a short or long rest. You may switch your melody, minor song or major song when you gain a level.

Natural Armor. Your body is covered in a hard woody material made for protection. When you aren't wearing armor, your AC is 13+ your Dexterity modifier.

Languages. You can speak, read and write Parshendi, along with either Common, Dwarven or Gnomish.

Forms from the Storm. There are currently five forms known to the Parshendi but more may be able to be discovered. Each form has its own benefits. You can change between forms by remaining outside, isolated and unprotected during the entirety of a highstorm. There is a 10% chance of failure when attempting to change forms. When changing forms you lose the characteristics of one upon entering the storm and gain the characteristics of the other upon leaving.