Remnant

MY MIND IS HIS SOUL, ACHING FOR ITS RELEASE. MY heart is his bones, ripe with age and mended breaks from years of journeys. My will, however, is mine alone. I choose to release this poor man, and complete his deeds and wishes.

-----Harmosa, Wooded Remnant and Host of Eligh

Remnant are a legend among the forests, mountains, and tundras. They are made of the world itself, and are birthed by nature. Their purpose is to fufill that of one who had passed without their duty finished or completed, their goal unrealized. With their spirit and soul unable to rest, they host their remains, both physical and spiritual, and embark on a journey to complete their task so they may rest in peace. Some reject this destiny, and die withering, proving to many that these are in fact living creatures that are able to experience the joys, hardships, and sadness of life.

Experience the Living

Remnant are born of the elements, and elementals they are. Functionally newborn, they are given the life of another and learn through them as they struggle to adopt the world as not a force of nature, but as a living, breathing creature.

Each Remnant are free to do as they wish, but straying too far from the suffering soul they're bound to causes them to die and deteriorate in a natural, yet horrific process of time.

Note to the DM: Opportunities to Introduce a Remnant / Remnant Information and Origin The concept and idea of the Remnant originated early in my first campaign as a DM. The party Barbarian honored the death of a Druid NPC that was betrayed and stabbed in front of them, though he barely knew him, the barbarian took the corpse of the Druid and found a hollow tree he had a magical attachment to. Without hesitation, he put him inside and sealed it, using it as a tomb of nature itself. I had a thought recently: "What if I brought him back, as an Treant that was the host of his spirit?" That soon evolved into nature creating hosts for the dead who had work to still do. If a party member dies, and still has a destiny or quest to finish, offer a Remnant to them. This allows them to continue on their path through the will of another, but lets them have the freedom to be a different character that can have a different experience in the same world. This, of course, also works for NPCs. Do note: The variation of the Remnant depends heavily on the nature of the person and the location of their burial. Some sort of spiritual and physical remains are needed for the Remnant to establish a connection with the dead, but feel free to play with this and be flexible. Overall, treat them as a rare occurance, a 'shooting star' if you would. Mysterious, odd, yet alluring all the same. This is all still in testing and concept, and may or may not become 'ported' to a class variant in the future. Please, leave feedback and enjoy!

Remnant Traits

Remnants share a number of traits in common with each other, as well as many unique differences.

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 1.

Age. Remnants age like any other, though their appearance never always lines up due to their origin and nature. Most deteriorate after fifty years and return to the elements from which they came.

Alignment. Remnants are fragments of the world that relive and host memories and the very being of the person or creature they imitate. As their first exposure to an alignment, they typically stay within their 'past life's' alignment with the exception of sometimes defying it if they see it as a necessity. Otherwise, Remnants are often Chaotic Neutral out of pure curiosity and a trial-and-error mindset before they settle into their role.

Size. Remnants range from only a couple feet to nearly 10 feet tall, all based around and modeling their initial form after their past life and their size. Their size is medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

One With The World. You have proficiency in the Nature skill.

In My Element. Your proficiency bonus increases by 1 and advantage on stealth checks while in an enviroment akin to your Remnant type.

Credit: Robert Crescenzio