## Alternian Nocturnal, militaristic, and eternal, the Alternians are an ancient race, its society corrupted by the influence of outside gods. So perfectly controlled from the bottom up, Alternian society's brutalist structure and military culture reinforce its strict caste system. Alternians are another race that has unlocked the secrets of interplanar travel, and have, through this knowledge, conquered vast swathes of the planes. By use of their race's latent psionic powers, they have mastered FTL travel. ### Alien Biologies Alternians look similar to humans, but develop quite differently. Starting life as six-legged grubs about the size of a cat, Alternians gradually lose their vestigial limbs and fly-like bodies and become humanoid. They can stand anywhere from 4 feet to a towering 8 feet tall, weighing about the same as a human. Alternian skin color at birth is a pure expression of the color of that creature's blood, but as the Alternian becomes more humanoid, its skin tone ranges from light gray to dark gray. In adulthood, their skin becomes a deep black. Their hair is always jet black, but serves well as a base for dye. There is sexual dimorphism in terms of secondary sexual characteristics in Alternians, but not in the primary sexual characteristics, and the species can reproduce regardless of the apparent gender of a couple. Their eyes have black irises that fill with the color of their blood as they age, and their teeth are pointed, as their diets are mostly carnivorous. All Alternians also have sets of horns colored like candy corn, i.e. red-orange bottoms, becoming yellow, then white at the tips. Too delicate and often too small to be used as weapons, these horns serve mostly ornamental purposes, for what little ornament most of them have. An Alternian with broken horns is an object of ridicule. ### Hemospectrum The caste system of Alternian society is represented in their biology: the hemospectrum. Alternians can have colors of blood of every color of the rainbow, from burgundy red to fuchsia, which can be divided into 12 different subraces depending on which color the Alternian's blood aligns with the most. The chance of being any of the blood colors becomes increasingly rare as one goes higher up in the ladder of blood color. Longer-lived Alternians are known as highbloods, while ones that don't live as long are known as lowbloods. ##### Hemospectrum Age Limit | Blood Color | Approximate Maximum Age | |:---:|:-----------:| | <span style="color:darkred;">Burgundy</span>, <span style="color:saddlebrown;">Bronze</span>, <span style="color:darkgoldenrod;">Gold/Ochre</span> | Less than 100 years | | <span style="color:darkgreen;">Olive</span>, <span style ="color:seagreen;">Jade</span>, <span style ="color:teal;">Teal</span> | 1-3 centuries | | <span style="color:midnightblue;">Cerulean/Cobalt</span>, <span style ="color:mediumblue;">Indigo</span>, <span style ="color:indigo;">Purple</span> | Tens of Centuries | | <span style ='color:purple;'>Violet</span> | Hundreds of Centuries | | <span style='color:#99004d;'>Fuchsia</span> | Millions of Centuries | An Alternian's station in life is predetermined by their blood color, down to what their caretaker is, what jobs they can feasibly have, and the level of consequence for somebody murdering them in cold blood. As one goes higher up in the ladder, Alternians tend to become physically stronger, but less psionically gifted, while as you go down the ladder, the castes become more psionically gifted but less physically robust. At the bottom of this caste are the <span style="color:darkred;">burgundies</span>, who drastically outnumber every other class, but have a pitiful lifespan, never reaching over 70 years of age. This number may be low, however, as this caste is also the least well nourished and the most likely to be crushed into paste as an afterthought by a violet blood. At the top of this system are the <span style='color:#99004d;'>fuchsia</span> blooded Alternians, of which it is rare that more than 2 are alive at the same time. This is the class of royalty, and a fuchsia blood is monarch by blood to the throne of Alternia. This caste is mostly female, but there are male fuchsia bloods from time to time. ### Live Fast, Die Even Quicker Alternian society, which started on the planet Alternia, is practical anarchy until the children grow. The actual planet of Alternia is populated entirely with children, as to keep rebellion from fomenting on the home planet against the oppressive regime. All adults are taken off-world as soon as they mature. All Alternians are born in caverns as grubs, where they fight for dominance and food in the increasingly sparse caverns. The Alternians that do survive eventually are adopted by a diverse species that live on Alternia known as lusii. These lusii serve one Alternian each and serve as their parent, raising them until adulthood if they aren't killed first. This relationship is all that an Alternian has to grow in the endlessly hostile environment of their planet, where other Alternians and the megafauna have been conditioned to treat everyone else as a potential enemy. Many, many towns and cities do exist, but castes mingle with the same caste within these areas unless a higher blood takes an attraction to a lower blood, and any cross-talk is seen as a threat that is ended at the tip of a blade. Alternians born into higher castes are taught from a young age that they are utterly superior, both culturally and in their relative privilege. Their longer lives allow them to think on a scale even the elves cannot, outliving possibly hundreds of generations of the lower-bloods. This leads to a god complex, which leads many higher-blooded Alternians, particularly the purple-blooded, to rampage through low-blooded areas and cull the masses whenever they feel like it. Any rebellion is quickly quashed, as the fuchsia bloods have, over time, permanently maintained divination spells over the population that monitor any dissent and snuff it out. \pagebreakNum ### Nocturnal, Infernal Alternian society was not always violent and strictly regimented, being once like humans. Several tens of thousands of years ago, however, a particularly powerful archdevil known as Old Scratch appeared before a fuchsia queen as the society still had not learned the finer points of agriculture. None remember what the fuchsia queen bargained for in the deal, but it was at this point that the society exploded in its technological prowess. What came with this change, though, was the total corruption of the dreams of Alternian society. Alternians, to a man, by this deal with an archdevil, have debilitating nightmares that compel them to slaughter and violence. These nightmares leave their sleep only when killing is actually done, but invariably return. Alternians of different castes have different variations on these nightmares, and the higher-blooded Alternians have the most powerful compulsions. Over millennia, this right by might transformed into a belief of natural superiority over the lower bloods. An Alternian born outside of this system would not harbor an innate hatred of other Alternians, but still would feel these infernal calls. ### Rebels Who Must Find A Cause An adventuring Alternian must first escape from their society before they can escape from monsters. It is practically impossible for an Alternian child to escape Alternian space without some form of magic equivalent to *gate* or robbing the Alternian fleets of one of their ships and surviving the hail of cannon fire that accompanies this. An Alternian child who is an adventurer is a formidable creature, indeed, as their prowess is apparent from birth. Adults, on the other hand, constantly on the warpath, must find some reason to tear away from their unit before the executioner that comes with every unit catches them for dissenting. Such an Alternian lives life as a constant fugitive, being forced to hide their identity wherever they go that the Alternian military could find them. ### Alternian Traits The average Alternian has the following traits, cultivated from the hundreds of millenia that their race has survived on Alternia. ***Age.*** All Alternians mature at the same rate as humans, but have different average lifespans depending on their place in the hemospectrum, as can be seen on the hemospectrum chart. ***Alignment.*** Alternians live in a strictly controlled society, given free reign only in the killing of those of a lower hemocaste than themselves. Motivated to kill by their inborn murderous nightmares, the average Alternian is lawful and tends to evil or self-centered neutrality thanks to these circumstances, but they are receptive to other alignments at a younger age. ***Size.*** Alternians stand at about human height, but some can rise to 8 feet tall. Regardless of this, your height is Medium. ***Speed.*** Your walking speed is 30 feet. ***Superior Darkvision.*** As a nocturnal species, your kind have an edge in the darkness. You can see in dim light within 120 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. ***Sunlight Sensitivity.*** You have disadvantage on attack rolls and on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight when you, the target of your attack, or whatever you are trying to perceive is in direct sunlight unless you are a jade-blooded Alternian. ***Superior Technology.*** Alternians have access to advanced weaponry as a result of Alternia's advances in technology. You have proficiency in all firearms (see Dungeon Master's Guide chapter 9, Adventuring Options section). ***Languages.*** You can speak, read, and write Common and Alternian. Alternian is an aggressive-sounding language, filled with hard consonants and vowels that have a consistent sound regardless of the context. Its sound is that of a manufactured language, as the original Alternian language is long-gone, replaced by Old Scratch's version of it. The written word is runic, similar to Dwarven, but different in its construction. When an Alternian learns Common, they usually have neologisms for pre-existing objects, such as calling lungs airsucks and bridges crossing trestles or calling periods finish crumbs. ***Subrace.*** The twelve potential hemocastes are different not only in their age, but in their potential abilities. Each hemocaste has different abilities, detailed in their descriptions below. #### <span style="color:darkred;">Burgundy</span> The most common blood type, burgundy-bloods are the most psionically gifted. This serves as a double-edged sword, however, as their innate psionics also make them more susceptible to mental suggestion. In addition to this psionic potential, all burgundy-bloods, regardless of their psionic powers, are capable of communing with the dead. As a burgundy-blood, you are at the bottom rung of society, capable of being killed in the streets with little consequence. At this station in life, the only forms of employment are as minstrel-show entertainment and slave positions that are frequently softened with the vocabulary of butlership. To survive, a burgundy-blood must be quick on their feet and have an even quicker mouth. **Ability Score Increase.** Your Charisma increases by 2, and your Dexterity increases by 1. **Telekinesis.** You learn the *mage hand* cantrip if you do not already have it. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for this spell. This hand is invisible. You are able to carry a weight equal to 10 + your character level X 10 with this hand, but only on willing targets or objects. At 9th level, you can cast *telekinesis* once per long rest. **Voices of the Dead.** At 5th level, you can cast *speak with dead* as a ritual, requiring no material components. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for this spell. At 7th level, you gain the ability to turn the voices of the dead against your enemies. Once per long rest, by spending 10 minutes concentrating as if on a spell, you can send shadows of the dead to harass an enemy that is on your plane of existence. The target must make a Wisdom saving throw against your Charisma spellcasting save DC, which is modified as if you were casting the *scrying* spell upon the target. On a failure, spirits of the dead assault the target's senses, giving them disadvantage on all saving throws except Constitution for the next hour. \pagebreakNum #### <span style="color:saddlebrown;">Bronze</span> Next in the hemospectrum, the bronze-bloods are the most animal-oriented of the castes, as their skill with pacifying and controlling animals is second to none. As a bronze-blood, you are barely above a burgundy, and are given a different set of jobs for your skill. Bronzes are the ranchers, pacifiers, settlers, and rough riders of the hemospectrum, though you are considered just as expendable to anybody above you. They are the most exposed to the Alternian sun, second only to the jade-blooded rainbow drinkers, and so have adapted to handle it. **Ability Score Increase.** Your Wisdom increases by 2, and your Strength increases by 2. **Calming Touch.** You are proficient in the Animal Handling skill. If you are already proficient from your class or background, you have expertise in the skill. **Innate Spellcasting.** You can cast *speak with animals* and *animal friendship* at will, requiring no material components. At 7th level, once per long rest, you can cast *dominate beast*. **Out on the Range.** You are proficient in the Survival skill. If you are already proficient in it, you have expertise in the skill. **Sun Protection.** You have developed glasses that you can wear to protect your eyes from the sun. While wearing these glasses, you do not have the Sunlight Sensitivity feature. #### <span style="color:darkgoldenrod;">Gold/Ochre</span> The most offensively psionic of the hemocastes, goldbloods are potentially the greatest power the lowbloods have to offer, and tend to be some form of tech-savvy, but are also the most exploited come adulthood. Goldblood psionic power is so often overflowing in the members of the caste that there have been goldblood-ship interfaces set up to power ships, and these goldbloods live and die inside cages that drain them of their power, sustained only by the cruelest healing spells known that render them incapable of dying while in these cages. Those that are too weak to be batteries become the technicians and engineers, often overlooking those same batteries to keep them functioning. In a strange quirk of their biology, where all other Alternians have one pair of horns, goldbloods tend to have two pairs of horns. **Ability Score Increase.** Your Charisma increases by 2, and your Intelligence increases by 1. **Psionic Blasts.** A number of times a day equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum 1), you can let loose a bolt of psionic energy in a 5 ft by 30 ft line. All creatures in that line must make a Deterity saving throw (DC= 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier) or take 4d6 force damage on a failed save, and none on a successful one. **Psionic Battery.** You can expend a number of hit dice equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum one) in one turn. If your hit die is a d8 or lower, your hit point maximum is reduced by the amount of damage you roll. If your hit die is larger, your hit point maximum is reduced by half of the damage you roll on these hit die. When you expend these hit die, you can empower your spells or psionic blasts. For each hit die you expend, you can increase the damage dice of your psionic blasts by 2d6. For each two hit die you expend, you can raise the level of a spell you cast by 1, though the level of the spell cannot exceed your current maximum spell level. If you reduce yourself to 0 hit die with this ability, you must make a DC 18 Constitution saving throw or die instantly. Your hit point maximum returns to normal when you finish a long rest. **Telekinesis.** You learn the *mage hand* cantrip if you do not already have it. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for this spell. This hand is invisible. You are able to carry a weight equal to 10 + your character level * 10 with this hand, but only on willing targets or objects. #### <span style="color:darkgreen;">Olive</span> The start of the middle class of the hemospectrum, the olivebloods are the hunters of the hemospectrum. Though their forms are often lithe, they tend to be the most physically active, taking on jobs from manual labor to assassination to being muscle for pay. Olivebloods are also never innate psionics, though they can become mystics just as any other creature can through great effort. **Ability Score Increase.** Your Strength increases by 2, and your Dexterity increases by 1. **Weapon of Choice.** You have some weapon that you have fashioned for yourself that fits to your hands and is highly useful for attack. This weapon deals 1d4 + your Strength modifier in bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage, your choice, and you cannot be disarmed of it, as it is attached to your hands. The weapon is also easy to hide, and you have advantage on checks made to conceal it. If you lose this weapon, you can fashion a new one over a long rest if you have access to metals and leather. **Pouncing.** You have great conditioning in your legs. Your standing and long jump distances are doubled. If you jump into a creature's space from over 10 feet away, you can forgo one of your attacks to attempt to pounce on the target. Make a Strength (Athletics) check against the target, who contests your roll. On a success, you knock the target prone and can make a melee weapon attack as a bonus action. **Nimble Escape.** Once per short rest, you can take the Dash and Disengage action simultaneously as a bonus action. #### <span style ="color:seagreen;">Jade</span> The caretaker class of the Alternian hierarchy, and one of the rarest of the hemocaste that isn't the fuchsia class, the jadeblooded Alternians are set from birth to oversee the reproduction of Alternians on their planet. Down in the brooding caverns where Alternians are born, jadebloods take care of them in their grub forms, guiding them towards their eventual lusii and the trials they must undertake to leave the caverns. They must also, however, cull the weak grubs from the rest, with orders from the fuchsia empress to not allow any weakness into the gene pool. This caste has a highly uneven sex ratio, being made mostly of females, but males are not unheard of, and the horns of members of this caste always have some form of hook in them. **Ability Score Increase.** Choose either Intelligence or Dexterity. You gain a +2 bonus to one and a +1 bonus to the other. \pagebreakNum **Caretaker's Instincts.** You are proficient in the Insight skill. If you are already proficient in Insight, you have expertise in Insight. Also, you have advantage on all checks to handle the young of any species. If you have never seen the species' young before, if you observe the young of the creature while awake for ten minutes, you can innately understand enough about the young's mannerisms that you can handle it in at least a competent manner. **Pacifying Presence.** You gain proficiency in the Persuasion skill. If you are already proficient in Persuasion, you have expertise in the skill. Once per short rest, you can use an action while talking to another creature to attempt to sway it to your side. Make a Charisma (Persuasion) roll against the creature's Wisdom (Insight) check. On a success, you charm the creature for up to an hour, and when the hour is up, the creature is hesitant to fight you unless you antagonize it. The charm condition ends early if you or any of your allies attack the creature or harm someone or something allied to it. In addition, you learn the *friends* cantrip, and can cast it with no material components. Intelligence is your spellcasting modifier. When the cantrip ends, the creature must make an Insight check against your DC or else it does not know that you influenced it with magic. ##### Feat: Rainbow Drinker *Prerequisite: Jade-blooded Alternian race* All jade-bloods hold within them the potential to become rainbow drinkers, vampire-like members of the caste with preternatural abilities and the ability to survive otherwise lethal blows. It also grants them immunity to the Alternian sun, which is lethal to all creatures that have no method of heat protection. Seemingly developed as an adaptation against the photosensitive creatures that haunt the caves and the monsters that haunt the burning surface, rainbow drinkers serve as the harbinger of the sun against all creatures that would harm the grubs. As a rainbow drinker, you gain the following benefits: - Your eyes turn a bright yellow. - Your base run speed increases by 5. - You can consume the blood of other creatures for sustenance. By spending 1 minute drinking the blood of a creature, you can fulfill your daily requirement for food and water. Alternatively, you can suck a small amount of blood from two living creatures to fulfill this requirement. The creatures must be willing, and can stop the feeding at any point in the feeding. While you feed on a creature, you can expend up to 2 hit die to recover the same amount of health. If you drink the blood of a creature with a bloodborne poison or disease, you must make the required saving throw for that effect. - You can, as a bonus action, shed bright light out to 20 feet, and dim light out to another 20 feet, and end it as a bonus action. - Once per long rest, whenever you are reduced to 0 hit points and are not instantly killed, you can drop instead to 1 hit point. You can feign your death during this, appearing to have been killed, but instead are simply prone. \columnbreak #### <span style ="color:teal;">Teal</span> The lawmakers and legislators of the Alternians, teal bloods are the civil servants of the hemospectrum. As opposed to the more psionically manipulative cerulean-bloods, teal bloods use the power of their quick wit and sharp tongues to sway others to their sides. It's a necessary skill; legislators (or legislacerators, as they're known on Alternia) are culled if they fail too much in the courtroom. Teal bloods also have limited psionic potential, using it to make supernaturally accurate predictions and empower their decision-making. **Ability Score Increase.** Choose between Intelligence and Charisma. You gain +2 to one and +1 to the other. **Precognition.** You learn the *guidance* cantrip, and can cast it with only somatic components, but you can cast it only on yourself. At 3rd level, you can cast *augury* as a ritual and once per long rest without any material components, instead racking your brain for the desired result. You see hazy images of a possible future, but get only a feeling of weal or woe or neutrality, not a clear image. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for these spells. **A True Lawman.** You gain proficiency in the Persuasion or Deception skill, your choice. Either way, attempts to determine that you're lying have disadvantage. **Legislacerator.** You can innately understand any legal system and can figure out legal loopholes in any of them, given a week of study. You can also work as an attorney or prosecutor, a well-paying job, though this is up to your DM's discretion and the campaign setting. #### <span style="color:midnightblue;">Cerulean/Cobalt</span> The first rung of nobility in the hemospectrum, the cerulean-bloods enjoy their privilege to domineer over the lower members of the hemospectrum. Most cerulean-bloods, in their idleness, turn either to artistry or crime, shifting their weight as nobility to avoid consequences either way. Ceruleans make the most prolific pirates and the greatest artists, and they are the only caste that can produce psionics with mind-control powers. Though it is uncommon amongst ceruleans, your character is assumed to be such an exceptional individual. In addition, ceruleans have a quirk in their biology whereby they have more eyes or pupils than normal, enhancing their perception and marking them as members of the caste. **Ability Score Increase.** You gain a +2 bonus to Charisma and a +1 bonus to Strength. **Domination.** At 1st level, you learn the *charm person* spell. At 7th level, you learn the *charm monster spell*. At 9th level, you learn the *dominate person* spell. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for theses spells, and you can cast each spell once per long rest. **Vision Eightfold.** You have extra pupils or extra eyes upon your face that increase your range of vision. You have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight, but you have disadvantage on saving throws to avoid being blinded. **Artistry.** As a member of the nobility, you have spent more time on artistic pursuits than most. You gain proficiency in one gaming set and one set of artisan's tools. \pagebreakNum #### <span style ="color:mediumblue;">Indigo</span> Under Construction #### <span style ="color:indigo;">Purple</span> Under Construction #### <span style ='color:purple;'>Violet</span> Under Construction #### <span style='color:#99004d;'>Fuchsia</span> Under Construction \pagebreakNum > ##### Image Credit > Alternian Romance: https://www.homestuck.com/story/2393, by Andrew Hussie. Transparency of the image for the purpose of the document is mine. ## Appendix A: Alternian Romance <img src='https://i.postimg.cc/Bv9ypRmL/Troll_Fucking_Romance.png' style='position:absolute; bottom:30px; right:-50px'/> ### Alternian Romance Alternians are infamous for their difficult, hard to wrap your head around romance system, which defies even the notion of polyamory, as it has more strange nuances than that. Formed in the intersection of their elaborate mating process, their forced predisposition to violence, and their consistent nightmares, Alternians have been made to adapt how they perform romance accordingly. The basics of Alternian romance have been manufactured down to hate and love, further subdivided into whether these emotions are reproductively charged or not. These concepts are divided into black and red, and concupiscent (reproductive) and conciliatory (non-reproductive), respectively. #### Matespritship <span style="color:firebrick"> ♥</span> Matespritship is the greatest analogue to human romance that the Alternians have. In terms of its function in Alternian society, it is an expression of emotional and physical attraction that grants both physical and emotional satisfaction. All Alternians are required to have at least one active relationship of this type, as well as kismessitude, by the time that they're adults, lest they be executed for not fulfilling their reproductive responsibilities. Alternians who have this relationship with one another are called matesprits. \columnbreak #### Moirallegiance <span style="color:rosybrown"> ♦</span> Moirallegiance is a deep emotional dependence upon another creature, usually another Alternian, turning both parties into what amounts practically into each other's stress relief and best friend. Moirails, as they're called, have an almost supernatural ability to calm one another down even in high-stress situation, especially when it comes to calming each other's murderous impulses. Many a genocide has been avoided thanks to the quick wit of a concerned moirail. This relationship is not required to fulfill reproductive requirements, but is often practically required for the emotional highs and lows of the typical Alternian. Once a day, as an action, a moirail can touch their moirail in an attempt to pacify their moirail from taking violent action. Their moirail must make a Wisdom saving throw (DC= 8 + proficiency bonus + Charisma modifier) at disadvantage. On a failure, they immediately stop their violent course of action, regardless of how violent their tendencies were before that point. This does not prevent future events from agitating the moirail, however. #### Kismessitude <span style="color:black"> ♠</span> Perhaps the most alien to other humanoids is kismessitude, the love of hate. The most feasible analogue to humanoid relationship could be considered the hatefuck, but this does not cover such a relationship. Hatred is a constant part of the average Alternian's life, and tensions run high. As a reaction to these violent urges against their fellow Alternian, Alternian society as a whole found another way to deal with murderous urges: sex and spite with the person of your hatred. These kismessitude relationships are composed of a combination of spiteful barbs and mean-spirited pranks against one another, designed to agitate the other into not being to keep their hands off of them. \pagebreakNum This malevolent physicality is not abuse in the perspective of Alternian society, and is in fact often seen as healthy; both parties desire the hatred and thrive off of the spite the relationship grants them, channeling their urges into a more manageable form by finding a person who can dish it out and take it. It's seen as "hateflirting" to them. A power imbalance in such a relationship would necessarily negate those conditions. This is a necessary reproductive relationship for an adult Alternian to have, lest they be executed for not fulfilling their reproductive requirements. Alternians in such a romance are known as kismeses, with an Alternian having a kismesis. #### Auspisticism <span style="color:dimgray"> ♣ </span> Alternians, mentally unstable as they are, cannot always control their emotions in their kismessitude relationships. To accommodate this instability, a third party often joins the kismessitude as an emotional mediator, known as an auspistice. To keep the peace and prevent abuse in kismessitudes, auspistices function as an agreed-upon release valve of any squabbles the two kismeses may have with one another, even demanding the kismessitude be finished if the relationship is unsalvageable. The auspistice is in a precarious situation through these negotiations, having to balance the emotional states of two other Alternians and determining how they will function when pulled apart. This is the most thankless, but oftentimes most necessary, relationship of all, with none of the reproductive value of a kismessitude or matespritship.