Changelings

"It is a shame that changelings are so rare. We could make such good use of them as spies and infiltrators. A method for control would have to be devised, of course, they are so independent minded and unruly."
~Archmage Dulacar, A History
Descendants of victims of the Elfblight, changelings can shift their faces and form with a thought. Many changelings use this gift as a form of artistic and emotional expression, but it’s an invaluable tool for grifters, spies, and others who wish to deceive. This leads many people to treat known changelings with fear and suspicion.

Hidden People

Wherever humans can be found, there could be changelings; the question is whether their presence is known.
Changelings are born to one of two paths. A few are raised in stable communities where changelings are true to their nature and deal openly with the people around them. Most are orphans, raised by other races, who find their way in the world without ever knowing another like themselves.

Naming Traditions

Feminine names

Luna, Stella, Star, Twinkling, Aether, Windy.

Masculine names

Shadow, Moon, Dark, Dancer, Fox.

Family names

Changelings join clans just as any human, though many will introduce themselves by a made-up surname that they think gets their point across (Shadowstep, Manyface, Everyman, etc.) Among these invented surnames, Nobody is by far the most popular.

Other names

Changelings usually name their changeling children with common words. It seems to fulfill a desire for tangibility.

Culture

Culture and cultural heritage

As far as anyone knows, there are no permanent enclaves of changelings.

Shared customary codes and values

Changelings value individuality and change. Most are a bit envious of the concrete sense of self felt by non-changelings.
Masks and Personas In their natural form changelings are slender and pale, with colorless eyes and silver-white hair. A changeling can alter its physical appearance with a thought. While this can be used to deceive others, it is a natural form of expression for the changeling. A changeling shifts shapes the way others might change clothes. A casual shape — one created on the spur of the moment, with no depth or history — is called a mask. A mask can be used to express a mood or to serve a specific purpose and then never used again. However, many changelings develop identities that have more depth. They build an identity over time, crafting a persona with a history and beliefs. This focused identity helps a changeling pinpoint a particular skill or emotion. A changeling adventurer might have personas for many situations, including negotiation, investigation, and combat. Personas can be shared by multiple changelings; there might be three healers in a community, but whoever is on duty will adopt the persona of Tek, the kindly old medic. Personas can even be passed down through a family, allowing a younger changeling to take advantage of contacts established by previous users of the persona.

Common Etiquette rules

Once they identify another changeling, it is customary to drop the disguises even if for a moment.

Art & Architecture

"The Perfect Face" is a common tradition for changelings. It involves a face apart from their natural form, which they add to and alter and tweak over the course of their lives.

Coming of Age Rites

Becoming

Funerary and Memorial customs

It is common for a changeling to respond to loss by taking something from the fallen; a mole, a scar, a unique eye color, etc. for their Perfect Face.

Ideals

Beauty Ideals

Changelings, for obvious reasons, don't care much about their physical appearance as a matter of vanity (Though they certainly like appearing attractive to other races and ethnicities). Instead, they are attracted to displays of skill or wit.

Gender Ideals

Changelings will usually choose a gender early, appearing as that gender more often by default. In reality, they can change at any time they choose. Likewise, they usually find themselves attracted more to one gender than the other, though in a plurality of changelings this, too, is fluid.

Relationship Ideals

Changelings are often earnest in relationships, but can easily grow bored looking at the same face for years on end. They can become experimental when attached to a non-changeling. That being said, when they find another changeling (not an easy task, really) they can settle down and endlessly change anything about themselves on a whim. To this end, relationships with other changelings most often last.

Changeling

Ability Score Increase +2 Charisma, Dex or Int +1

Size Medium

Speed 30ft

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Change Appearance

As an action, you can transform your appearance or revert to your natural form. You can’t duplicate the appearance of a creature you’ve never seen, and you revert to your natural form if you die.
You decide what you look like, including your height, weight, facial features, the sound of your voice, coloration, hair length, sex, and any other distinguishing characteristics. You can make yourself appear as a member of another race, though none of your game statistics change. You also can’t appear as a creature of a different size than you, and your basic shape stays the same; if you’re bipedal, you can’t use this trait to become quadrupedal, for instance. Your clothing and other equipment don’t change in appearance, size, or shape to match your new form, requiring you to keep a few extra outfits on hand to make the most compelling disguise possible.
Even to the most astute observers, your ruse is usually indiscernible. If you rouse suspicion, or if a wary creature suspects something is amiss, you have advantage on any Charisma (Deception) check you make to avoid detection.

Changeling Instincts

You gain proficiency with two of the following skills of your choice: Deception, Intimidation, Insight, and Persuasion.

Unsettling Visage

When a creature you can see makes an attack roll against you, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the roll. You must use this feature before knowing whether the attack hits or misses.
Using this trait reveals your shapeshifting nature to any creature within 30 feet that can see you. Once you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Divergent Persona

You gain proficiency with one tool of your choice. Define a unique identity associated with that proficiency; establish the name, race, gender, age, and other details. While you are in the form of this persona, the related proficiency bonus is now expertise for any ability check you make that uses that proficiency.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and two other languages of your choice.