Dungeons & Dragons 5e Race/Species : Opteran
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Heliana's Guide to Monster Hunting
Opteran
Quotes from Heliana's Guide to Monster Hunting
"A sedentary life among the birds and insects of their treetop dwellings is the most adventurous goal of many opterans’ lives. In shades of green and brown, these larval opterans (OP-ter-an) are happy to avoid conflict, camouflaging into the canopy from which they acquire sustenance. But, with a brilliant flash of colour, an adult opteran injects this placid scene with a vivacious zest for life. Frantic flaps of its broad, multicoloured wings usher this metamorphosed form to and fro, a sparkling rainbow that nary takes a moment to rest.
Live Fast, Die Young
Opterans can, in theory, live forever. So long as they are never stressed (and have no goals for reproduction), a larval opteran doesn’t age and can enjoy an indefinite life of sedentary bliss. However, should the need arise, such as during times of environmental catastrophe, war, or fits of passion, a larval opteran enters a chrysalis in which it metamorphoses into its winged, adult form. Once it emerges, the clock begins ticking; it lives no more than 2 or 3 years in this form, just long enough to find a mate and produce a new batch of larvae elsewhere in the world. Because of this, larval opterans are extremely conflict-averse. If a predator comes a-calling, a larval opteran prefers to deploy its sticky ‘string shot’ and retreat to the safety of its tree-home, rather than potentially become overstimulated. Conversely, adult, winged opterans often lose this sense of self-preservation, a behavior change that the uneducated might describe as ‘disturbing’.
Natural Performers
Due to their brilliant coloration and short lives, opterans make some of the most renowned performers. Tales are told of the bard group Wings of a Butterfly’s first and final world tour. So in-demand were tickets to this once-in-their-lifetime show, that monarchs even traded small earldoms in order to purchase a show for their courts. Opterans that choose to venture into the wider world are often old, tired of the sedentary life, and ready for adventure. However, the destruction of an opteran’s home, the search for a loved one, or the desire to be the next Wings of a Butterfly could all be worthy motivators to risk undergoing the change."
Creature Type. You are a humanoid. You are also considered a fey for any prerequisite or effect that requires you to be a fey.
Size. Larval opterans stand between 2 and 3 feet tall, while adult opterans are between 5 to 6 feet. Your size begins as Small. When you become an adult opteran, you grow to Medium size. See the Metamorphosis trait for details.
Metamorphosis. At 1st level, you are a larval opteran. While you are a larva you have a +1 to your Constitution score. You loose this increase to your Con when you become an adult. When you reach 5th level, you can choose to undergo a metamorphosis over the course of 24 hours. After this period elapses, you emerge as an adult opteran: you lose the Many-Footed and String Shot traits, and you gain the Flight and Radiant Wing traits. While you are an adult you have a +1 to your Dexterity score. You can delay this change until you reach 6th level, at which point it happens spontaneously.
- Many-Footed (Larval Form Only). Having many legs and a low centre of gravity gives you extraordinary balance. You have advantage on ability checks made to maintain your balance and on ability checks and saving throws made to avoid the prone condition.
- String Shot (Larval Form Only). As an action, you can fire a torrent of sticky string at a creature you can see within 15 feet of you. The target must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw (DC equals 8 + your Constitution modifier + your proficiency bonus) or become restrained for 1 minute. A creature can use its action to make a Strength check against the aforementioned DC, freeing itself or a restrained creature within its reach on a success. You can use it a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a short or long rest.
- Flight (Adult Form Only). As an adult opteran, you have a flying speed of 20 feet. To use this speed, you can’t be wearing medium or heavy armour.
- Radiant Wing (Adult Form Only). Those wings would dazzle any performance. You have advantage on all Charisma checks.
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