Starlings {Tieflings}

Description

Starlings are a humanoid, planetouched species that are currently scattered all around Levantis. Their skin colors range from black as night to alabaster white with grey speckles, and many of them have horns, prehensile tails and pointed teeth. Their stories tell of an ancient pact with supposedly a devil that transformed them to their current forms, but knowledge of what the pact entailed and who it was signed with has been lost. Contrary to popular belief among some commoners, they are not the product of interbreeding with devils, which produces half-devils instead.

Culture

The Starlings maintain expansive oral histories, but they lost much of their history during the event that they refer to as 'the Stranding'. These stories tell of a time when theirs was an advanced spacefaring society, capable of travel on the 4th axis, allowing them to transition between the planes. Apparently these ships could even maintain an environment allowing them to survive in otherwise hostile environments. They were not the only ones capable of this however, as the stories also tell of an ancient and vile opposing empire that they clashed with. However, like most things from before the Stranding, there is little knowledge left of this enemy. In reality, the Stranding was the result of a cataclysmic battle with this enemy where they lost a large amount of their fleet and ended up stranded on the Prime Plane.
After this disaster the Starlings had to struggle to survive, and in the midst of this much of their knowledge was lost. And because any written records were lost and their capable engineers had since passed, they were never able to reclaim their lost technology. Admittedly some bits and pieces of technology survived and still retain function, but it is pretty much a guessing game as to what they were used for and they tend to be a one-time-use type of thing since no one knows how to repair them. These types of items also tend to be extremely rare and closely guarded by Starling communities, as they consider these their heritage.
Of course, there have been several high level casters that can transition between the planes among the Starlings as well. However, this does not allow for mass transport on a similar scale, and these archmages are few and far between. They have been able to study the planes to some extent and there has been extensive searches for the ancestral home of the Starlings, but no one has been able to find it yet. As such, they are still basically stranded travelers in a world they do not originate from.
Due to the combination of their strange origin and devilish appearance, they are often mistrusted and have difficulty fitting in. Therefore they often form tight-knit traveling communities among themselves, in a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy. These communities often travel around, never staying in one place for too long, before they become unwelcome. As such the Starlings are scattered all around Levantis, and they have large collections of (hi)stories from all over that have been transferred from generation to generation orally. And while they are especially reviled by the higher classes, rulers often invite their elders as storytellers to entertain the court during banquets or balls.

Religion

The Starlings are not particularly beholden to one God, who they worship is very much a personal affair. That being said, Nerissa is more popular among them than most races because boundaries and different planes are part of her portfolio.
There is also the story of the Redeemer. There is a presumed prophecy that says there will at some point be an individual who will regain their former technology and lead them to their home. There are different versions of this myth, in some the Redeemer is a champion of Nerissa, while in others he is part machine himself. Regardless, this prophecy has gained a sizeable following to the point where it can be considered a cult or religion in itself. The Followers of the Redeemer are a rather vicious section of this 'cult' who aggressively hoard all scraps and pieces of the old technology, and will go to extreme extents to obtain them. They have also been looking into the viability of incorporating machinery in live individuals, with only limited success so far.

Statistics

The following statistics can be used for Starlings in Levantis. Alternatively, if you want to put greater emphasis on their fiendish heritage, you may use the statistics for Tieflings as mentioned in the Player's Handbook.
Ability Score Increase.
Your Charisma score increases by 2, and your Constitution score increases by 1.
Speed.
Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision.
Thanks to your planetouched heritage, you have superior vision in dark and dim 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.
Planar Resistance.
You have resistance to radiant damage.
Planetouched Legacy.
You know the Light cantrip. Once you reach 3rd level, you can cast the Guiding Bolt spell once as a 2nd-level spell. Once you reach 5th level, you can also cast the Blink spell once. You must finish a long rest to cast these spells again with this trait. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Languages.
You can read, speak and write Common and Infernal.

Culture

Common Dress code

Starlings often wear a particular type of cloak that is made of ribbon-like strips of grey and white cloth that seems to shimmer when they move.

Ideals

Beauty Ideals

They highly prize their horns and maintain them well. They also value hygiene well, which is important for a traveling people. They do not care much for jewellery and adornment however.

Gender Ideals

Starlings do not differentiate between genders at all, all are equal and judged based on their virtue above all else.

Naming Conventions

Starlings are usually given a name at birth that represents what the parents hope the child will be, but after the age of 8 they are allowed to choose their own names. These names represent who they aspire to be themselves. Once they believe they have attained this goal, they may choose a new name which is added on to the current full name. They usually refer to themselves only by the latest name however. These names are often in different languages as well, chosen by the circumstances in which the name was adopted or by the preference of the starling. Draconic, Infernal and Celestial are the most commonly used for these.
For example: a child is born and the parents hope it will be compassionate, so they name it Compassion. While growing up the child sees its friends being treated poorly and wants to protect them, thus they name themselves Shield. Years later, the now young adult manages to protect his friends from a group of thugs, thus fulfilling his name. He realizes however that this is an uphill battle if nothing changes in the attitudes of people. Therefore he looks to change people's views so they become more accepting of the Starlings, and he changes his name to Unity. His full name without family name is now Compassion Shield Unity, but he will always refer to himself as Unity. These are not in common however, Compassion may have been in Infernal because it was the parents mother tongue, while Shield may have been in Dwarvish as Dwarves are considered staunch folk, and Unity is in Celestial to represent all that is good in the world.
As an example of how different languages mix, consider the following example. A person was called Fire for his passionate behavior, and Rock after he protected others and survived a beating in their stead. But they chose to use the Dwarvish translation of Draugh for fire, and the Celestial translation for Rock is Petru. Thus, their name is Draugh Petru, a normal-sounding name at first glance, but filled with meaning.