The Awakened
This cat was different from most Meira met in her travels. It spoke Elvish and understood the magical arts on a level a Human adult would. Its fur was tinged with a darkness that could only be from a small fire. A tiny light manifested in front of it, illuminating its golden eyes as they widened at the sight of it.
"Did you make that, beast?" Meira said in astonishment. The cat merely let out a meow and batted the light with its paws. "Typical of a creature of your kind," she sighed.
"Don't be so dismissive, Elf," the cat said with a tinge of annoyance. It then shot a burst of flame at the light with its paws and walked away as if it had no care in the world. Meira laughed to herself and followed after before she returned home for the night.
Curious and changed compared to their wild brethren, Awakened are brought into a world they thought they understood from the moment of their awakening. After their minds are awakened through powerful magic, experimentation, or a stroke of luck, Awakened are introduced to customs they never knew and people they may have never met. Aiding those they meet or who can win their trust first, an Awakened is a powerful ally to have in a world full of dangers with their loyal nature.
Small in Size, Large in Mind
An Awakened is nearly indistinguishable from normal animals, nearly. Despite still being quite small compared to most races, Awakened stand nearly 3ft tall and barely weigh more than 50 pounds on average. Whether of feather, fur, or scale, Awakened have a glint of wonder in their eyes that match their attitude towards things as they wander around the vast new worlds now open to them.
Assistants and Explorers
Awakened are eager to learn and explore the world. After being awakened, new experiences are abound for them. They may take time to explore these new experiences and form bonds with humanoids from all walks of life.
Awakened rarely form communities together due to their small numbers. Instead they take residence with humanoids they meet and befriend. They live among them or help with arcane practices, which they find they have a strong attunement too. Others may aid druids and rangers in their quest to protect the wilds, while others are beholden to the divine. A few are even known to be accomplices to those in more unsavoury practices, such as assassination and thievery.
Awakened Names
Awakened take names from those who influenced them or from humanoids they've had a particular bond with and tend to have a pet name from their companion.
Pet Names: Belle, Drake, Fluffles, Kaya, Littlefoot, Mr. Bumpkins, Peckers, Rose, Shadow, Wolfsbane, Zadie
Male Names: Bodram, Demesk, Fren, Gosem, Hugin, Iep, Kindroth, Lathyll, Tiew, Vaalyun, Zunod
Female Names: Ayda, Che, Daethie, Fren, Gosem, Lonal, Nuruh, Mai, Shadil, Vaeri, Zachi
Awakened Traits
Awakened tend to have similar traits among each other no matter their awakening.
Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 2, and your Dexterity score increases by 1.
Age. As an animal, you mature at a far different rate than most other races. Most Awakened are mature after the first year awakened and live a little longer than other animals. They live around 20 years.
Alignment. Awakened prefer to take no side unless convinced to, leaning towards neutral alignments.
Size. Awakened are typically a little over 2 feet tall and weigh under 30 pounds on average. The magic infusing you makes them larger than typical creatures of their species. Your size is small.
Speed: Ground (badger, cat, lizard, weasel). Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Speed: Flying (eagle, hawk, owl, raven). Your base walking speed is 5 feet and you have a flying speed of 30 feet. To use this speed, you can’t be wearing medium or heavy armor.
Awakened Form. When you pick this race, choose badger, cat, eagle, hawk, lizard, owl, raven, or weasel. This determines your appearance and speed.
Beast. You are considered Beast instead of Humanoid.
Beastial Senses. You gain proficiency in the Nature and Perception skill.
Cantrip. You know one cantrip of your choice from the Wizard spell list. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for it.
Fumbling Grasp. You can only wield simple weapons with the light property and only one at a time.
Tooth and Claw. You are proficient with unarmed strikes, which deal your choice of 1d4 slashing or piercing damage on a hit.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and one extra language of your choice.
Awakening
All Awakened are blessed with their intelligence. You can roll on the table to choose an awakened origin.
| Roll | Origin |
|---|---|
| 1 | "A god opened my mind in exchange for devotion to it." |
| 2 | "A wandering bard found me on the street and awakened me for a stage performance." |
| 3 | "Magic from the Feywild opened my mind to the world around me." |
| 4 | "I was a druid's companion and helped them guard our home." |
| 5 | "A wizard experimented on and awakened me. I was lucky to escape!" |
| 6 | "I woke up one day suddenly blessed with greater intelligence." |
| 7 | "A ranger found me on the street and took pity on me, making me their companion." |
| 8 | "I was a familiar to a powerful archmage who awakened me to send me on a great quest." |
Height and Weight
| Base Height | Height Modifier | Base Weight | Weight Modifier |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1'8" | +2d4 | 20 Ibs. | x1 |
Feature: Magical Bond
Prerequisite: Awakened
You can act as a flesh and blood familiar for your companions.
• Increase your Intelligence score by 1, to a maximum of 20.
• You gain proficiency in the Arcana skill.
• When you pick this feature, choose another friendly creature that has spell slots of 1st level or higher. When the creature casts a spell with a range of touch, you can deliver the spell as if you had cast the spell. You must be within 100 feet of them, and you must use your reaction to deliver the spell when they cast it. If the spell requires an attack roll, they use their attack modifier for the roll.
Playing Other Animals
The Awakened race provides statistics for 8 different animals via their Awakened Form racial feature. However, the Awakened race is useful for playing any beast of medium or smaller.
If the animal you wish to play that has the ability to fly, use Speed: Flying, if not, use Speed: Ground. If in the case you wish to play as an animal with swimming speed and no waling speed, use Speed: Swimming. If it has a hybrid of walking and swimming speed, use Speed: Hybrid. Additionally, Awakened with Speed: Swimming or Speed: Hybrid have the Amphibious racial feature.
Speed: Swimming. Your base walking speed is 0 feet and you have a swimming speed of 40 feet.
Speed: Hybrid. Your base walking speed is 20 feet and you have a swimming speed of 20 feet.
Amphibious. You can breathe air and water.
Before choosing an animal not already listed, always consult your DM.
Credit
Created by u/ShadowDcord / Ritunn (GMBinder)
Created using GMBinder
"Judge's Familiar" art created by Jack Wang for Magic the Gathering
