Couaneh

“I met one of those once. Lovely lass, had these scales on her shoulders that looked like the finest gemstones dug out of Mirabar, and these pretty wings with feathers the colour of wine. She shot me down before I even had a chance to offer her a drink, let alone ask to travel with her. Pity, I'd have loved to hear her story. ”

-Dagmar Boulderstein, explorer extraordinaire

Couatl are beings set with a set of duties and tasks that dictate how they live their lives. Once those tasks are completed, however, they lose their purpose in life, and will seek some other activity to keep themselves occupied while they await their passing, which could be a milennia away. Some seek companionship with mortal folk, disguising themselves as humans themselves and living amongst them as protectors, or sometimes more humble roles. The couaneh owe their existence to these couatl who blend in with humanity.

Half-Human, Half-Celestial

Couaneh are the offspring of a human and a couatl whom has assumed the form of a humanoid. To the society the two parents live within, the pregnancy is perfectly normal right up to the point of birth, where the child is born with two small, stumpy wings on their back brilliant white scales covering parts of their bodies. As the child develops, the scales take on beautiful iridescent colours, and they sprout vibrant feathers upon their wings and rarely alongside their hair. As they age and fully develop, their wings continue to grow but never become capable of flight, remaining vestigial but beautiful.

Despite their capabilities and good nature, couatls value their secrecy, and if a child is born a couaneh their community won't take long before they figure out the identity of the couatl. In some cases, even the human parent is unaware of their partner's origins. This can have adverse effects on the child's upbringing, depending upon how their celestial parent reacts to being exposed to the community, and vice-versa. Many communities will welcome a couatl even after their identity has been exposed, whereas others chafe under fear of living alongside a celestial being that can read thoughts on a whim.

Rare and Far Apart

Couatls are very rare, and those who end up having children with a human is even less likely, and as such, couaneh are very unlikely to be seen or heard of by many smaller communities. Many couaneh will spend their entire lives never meeting another of their kin, and some spend centuries of their lives searching for another of their kind. A life of travel and adventure is a common occurrence for them as a race with a long lifespan and a kind nature, and so many are lead to a life of adventure, at least for a little while.

When living as an adventurer, a common problem they run into is their difficulty telling lies. Their human heritage allows them the ability to lie, unlike couatls, however it is uncomfortable for them to so, making such an act easy to identify. Outside of this, their eyes are naturally skilled at detecting illusions and their skill in judging characters, combined with their good natures, make them reliable and compassionate companions.

Couaneh Traits

Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 2, and one other ability score of your choice increases by 1.

Age. Couaneh develop like humans, but have livespans of centuries. Most live to see a sixth century, and some rare individuals live for over a milennia.

Alignment. Couaneh find it easy to sympathise with those around them, and generally dislike lies and betrayal, pulling them towards lawful good.

Size. Couaneh are of similar heights and builds to humans. Your size is Medium.

Speed. You have a walking speed of 30 feet.

Couaneh Resistance. you have a strong mind, and have some of your celestial parent's resilience. You have resistance to psychic damage and radiant damage.

Darkvision. While couaneh don't inherit a couatl's eyesight, you are still adept at seeing in dark conditions. 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.

See Through Illusions. You excel at detecting illusions and magics that would fool most eyes. You have advantage on ability checks and saving throws to locate invisible creatures or objects, or see through illusions.

Natural Sympathetics. Thanks to your heritage, you have a knack discerning a person's state of mind and sympathising with them, though it also hurts you to tell lies. You are proficient in the Insight skill, and have disadvantage on Deception checks made to tell a lie. Couaneh tend to withhold information or provide vague answers rather than outright provide false information.

Languages. You can speak, read and write Common, Celestial, and one language of your choice.