Shardmind

Shardminds are sentient fragments of the Living Gate, which stands at the pinnacle of the intricate lattice of the Astral Sea. Shardminds are fragments of pure thought given life and substance. They are crystalline creatures consisting of hundreds of small shards of translucent crystal assembled into humanoid form and animated by a force of pure psionic energy.

Crystalline Form

Shardminds are creatures of pure thought, forming a humanoid body out of crystals, animated by their innate psionic energy. A shardmind is made up of hundreds of shards of green, white, red, or amber crystal. A shardmind's animating force glows dimly from within each of its component shards, emanating most brightly from where the eyes would be. This inner light sheds dim light in a shardmind's space, but a shardmind individual can squelch the light with an instant's concentration.

The crystalline fragments making up a shardmind's body are in constant, silent motion, almost like the circulation of blood. When a shardmind is stunned or unconscious, it might lose control of the tight mental reins that keep its body in humanoid form, a few shards slipping free into orbits around its body until the shardmind regains control.

Shardminds are living only in the loosest sense. Their crystalline bodies do not require sustenance, air, or sleep. They do not age, but the shardminds alive today are not the ones that originally sprang to life with the Living Gate. Shardminds say that each time an awakened shardmind is killed, another one somewhere in the multiverse stirs to consciousness.

A Piece of the Whole

Shardminds are fragments of the Living Gate, a gateway hidden in the depths of the Astral Sea. The Living Gate seals passage to the Far Realm, and protects the planes from the madness beyond. Shardminds are born of the Living Gate's psionic power.

Sharminds are constructs. They are logical, emotionally distant, and naive to theways of society in the world. Some appraoach life with innocent curiosity, eager to embrace the wealth of experiences the world has to offer, while others remain reseved and aloof, bearing a higher purpose in mind at all times. Though they often seem dispassionate, when a strong emotion, they experience it powerfully. For example, shardminds don't get annoyed; they become enraged.

Shardmind Traits

Your shardmind character has certain racial traits as a result of their connection to the Living Gate.

Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 2, and your Wisdom or Charisma increases by 1.

Age. Shardminds are ageless. They do not grow, have gender, or reproduce. A shardmind is born when its mind awakens, and it starts life with full mental faculty.

Alignment. Shardmings are logical and emotionally distant. They tend toward neutral alignments. Many shardminds believe that seeking personal power will in turn empower the Living Gate they are connected to. Some shardminds believe that protecting others emulates the purpose of the Living Gate. A few shardminds believe that killing other shardminds leaves more power in the Living Gate to harness for themselves.

Size. Shardminds are about the same size as humans and mimic humanoid shape.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Awakened Mind. You can communicate telepathically with any creature within 60 feet of you that has a language.

Crystalline Mind. You have resistance to psychic damage.

Living Construct. You don't need to eat, drink, breathe, or sleep. You cannot be affected by starvation, thirst, suffocation, or exhaustion. You must still rest for 6 hours in order to benefit from a long rest.

Immortal Origin. You are a construct and you are native to the Astral Sea.

Shard Swarm. You can loosen your grip on your physical form, distracting foes with a swarm of shards, and reforming elsewhere. Doing so costs all of your movement for the turn. Enemies within 5 feet grant combat advantage to you until the end of your next turn. You then teleport half your speed. After you use your shard swarm, you can't use it again for five minutes.