EIDOLAI — SPECIES

Salorras species: eidolai — captives of the orilyni invasion whose starborn spark halted their mutation halfway, leaving them flesh sealed in crystal and mirror: keen-minded, element-warded, and uncannily hard to find. 2024 has no analogue for this people; this is a custom Salorras species capturing the eidolai’s crystalline resistances, mirror-pupiled sight, sonic frailty, and the single innate mirror-gift each one wakes to in maturity. Ability scores come from your background, as in 2024.

Origin: Salorras in the Era of the Third Moon — starborn seedlings who held onto their souls through the orilyni invasion Stature: ~1.75 m, ~100 kg, dense with crystalline mass — mirror pupils, silver hair, a skin glazed over with glass Lifespan: Eighteen months in the womb; adult at thirty; venerable past one hundred and forty Society: No clans, no homeland — solitary by nature, scattered across every city and waste Faith: No organized religion — rare devotees follow Nerkan Thak’Ar or Kaith’otl, or honor their orilyni forebears as individualists Languages: Native — the local tongue of their upbringing; esoteric — the ancient dragon-speech and primordial extraplanar dialects; forbidden — Orilyn (taboo)

The eidolai are a strange people born on Salorras in the Era of the Third Moon, and the cause of their making was the last invasion the world ever suffered — from the alien and mysterious people of the orilyni, inhabitants of the Mirror Ring. When the orilyni invaded, they took humanoid captives and, by setting a living crystal upon the tongue, mutated them into their own likeness; but some captives who carried the spark of the starborn — starborn seedlings — resisted the mutation as it advanced only so far, keeping part of their memory and consciousness. The eidolai who remain are flesh sealed in crystal and mirror: mystical, introverted, warded against the elements, and gifted at passing unseen.

Character

The complex temperament of the orilyni passed in great measure to the eidolai — mysterious beings of introverted character, remote and solitary. They are highly intelligent and often work through the world in a mathematical way, even on matters that seem meaningless to other peoples, which is often the very reason others struggle to relate to them. It is not easy to win an eidolai’s trust, though it can change quickly if they sense real intelligence before them; many grow narcissistic and underestimate an opponent. They love the visual arts, where hidden recurring patterns appear that often only they perceive.

Appearance

The pupils of their eyes are made of mirror, their hair is always silver, and pointed mirror-tips often protrude at shoulder and elbow. Their skin ranges from chalk-white to black, always under a thin glaze of glass that sheathes the whole body; in older eidolai this membrane cracks deeply at the joints. The high concentration of glass makes them slightly stiff, and lends them their tolerance of elemental magic. Their build resembles that of humans but heavier — about 1.75 m and roughly 100 kg. Gestation takes eighteen months, adulthood comes at thirty, and the longest-lived reach close to 140 years.

Neighbors and Rivals

The eidolai do not make friends or trust easily, and often seek nothing of the sort. They harbor a distaste for humans, from whom they more often receive racist treatment, and whom they see as a lesser people with fleeting power. With the other peoples they hold a neutral stance, though for some undefined reason they favor elmaers and pyrekin — perhaps owing to those peoples’ own alien origins. They can hardly coexist with barbaric or primitive folk, whose simple minds and empty superstitions they often deride.

Faith

Rarely is an eidolai strongly religious, for they are steered above all by rational thought; even so they may believe in any higher power without easily becoming its servant. The devout often follow Nerkan Thak’Ar for his dark nature, or find meaning in the misty doctrine of Kaith’otl. Rare but not impossible are those who believe in the power of the Mirror Ring, the return of the orilyni, or the Dark Companion.

Conscience

The alien nature of the orilyni keeps the eidolai from thinking conventionally and complicates their life among peoples bound to formal law and order. They tend toward a dominant ethos of chaos, though they do not perceive it so, for behind their complex temperament lies a private code of principles they follow faithfully — and however chaotic their deeds may seem, they usually serve a strict, long-running plan. That code can make them cheerful and friendly or hostile and dangerous as the occasion demands, and they almost never reveal the true reason for their actions, even to friends.

Eidolai Domains

The eidolai hold no land of their own; one may find them in any region of the world, very rarely keeping organized quarters even within great cities. They are everywhere and nowhere, and they like to act alone, feeling at home in urban centers where they blend in without drawing eyes. It is common to meet an eidolai with more than one place they call “home,” owing to a temperament that moves or migrates several times across a lifetime.

Wanderers and Seekers

The eidolai act most often within the great cities, where they pass unnoticed — sooner spotted in a capital’s alleys, though some serve a city’s army or guard on outland missions. They do not readily present their true identity, so one can never be sure where such a creature might cross one’s path. They slip into closed circles or work as mercenary spies by grace of their natural gifts, and those who excel at mystical magic win the admiration even of famed mages. Their greater motive is most often personal advancement and money, though the more serious reason behind their adventures may be the fulfillment of some mission feeding a long, elaborate plan.

Language

The eidolai have no fixed official tongue, keeping no known organized society. They speak the local tongue of their upbringing, while many prefer to learn complex, esoteric ones — the ancient dragon-speech, the Saragothan of the demons, or primordial extraplanar dialects. Rare are those who know Orilyn, the tongue of their forebears; its use can grow dangerous if heard by a learned ear, for it is treated as taboo, and its knowers are usually wielders of high magic who dwelt long in the Mirror Ring.

Eidolai Starborns

Though the eidolai people rests historically upon the starborn seedlings, it is unknown to this day whether there has ever been a starborn eidolai. Rumor says the divine spark that saved them from utter degeneration was also the price they “paid,” in an inability ever to rise as the starborn do.

Names

Eidolai names are simple, usually no more than three syllables, paired with an epithet marking some visual effect drawn from their appearance or habits.

Male names: Troel Crystalfingers, Nort Opalgaze, Shan Reflectpalm, Jaelon Hardclench, Zane Shimmerskin, Illigon Crackedface, Lomis Hidelight, Dalv Brightrun. Female names: Syla Glitterlashes, Meiri Fakeshade, Keely Shardnails, Lorva Darkglass, Vyra Sharphair, Anis Iridechest, Foera Duskmirror, Noe Hailtouch.

Eidolai Traits (5e 2024)

The twofold nature of the eidolai — mortal flesh imprisoned in crystal and mirror — shows itself in qualities found in no other people of Salorras. Your ability scores come from your background, as in 2024.

• Creature Type: Humanoid. For any game effect that distinguishes native from extraplanar creatures, you count as native to the Material world.
• Size: Medium.
• Speed: 30 feet.
• Mirror-Pupiled Sight (Darkvision): You have Darkvision with a range of 60 feet. You see in this range only in shades of gray.
• Crystalline Resilience: The glass and mirror running through your flesh ward you against the elements — you have Resistance to Cold, Fire, and Lightning damage. The same composition is your undoing against sound: you have Vulnerability to Thunder damage.
• Inscrutable Mien: Your alien train of thought and refractive skin make you hard to read and easy to lose. You gain proficiency in two of the following skills of your choice: Deception, Stealth, Insight, or Perception.
• Mirror Blade: As a Bonus Action, you imbue a weapon you are holding with a hardening mirror-extract. For 1 minute, the weapon’s damage dice are treated as one size larger (for example, d6 becomes d8) on a hit. Once you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you finish a Long Rest. (At 5th level and again at higher tiers, a DM may allow a second use per Long Rest to reflect a matured eidolai.)
• Glass-Born Veiling: In maturity each eidolai wakes to one innate mirror-gift, chosen once and forever. Choose one of the following when you gain this species; your spellcasting ability for it is Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma (chosen now):
  • Mirror Image — you can cast it once per Long Rest without a spell slot.
  • Invisibility — you can cast it once per Long Rest without a spell slot.
  • Disguise Self — you can cast it at will, without a spell slot.
• Languages: You know Colloquial and one other language of your choice (typically the regional tongue of your upbringing).