Symbiote Race
For years symbiotes have been things of fear, whether it be the fearsome myconid race that reigns supreme in the underdark, or mental parasites used by the mind flayers. You, however, are something more. You are a being from the heart of a dying star, a seemingly insignificant smudgeon of oozing madness. But your body was not meant to be alone. Find hosts, make more, and spread! The hope of our people lies within you!
Impostor race
For eons untold the symbiotes, or T'kall as they refer to themselves, have been infecting and spreading. So fierce was their incursion that the gods themselves had to step in and annihilate almost all of their kind. But they're back, and they will not stop until they have conquered the world!... or at least until they find some good snacks
Race Features:
Ability score increase Your charisma score increases by three. You only make charisma, intelligence, and wisdom stats, and if other stats are needed use your host's stats.
Age Symbiotes reach maturity after 30 minutes, and can live infinitely so long as a host is available. It would not be surprising to find a 4,000,000 year old symbiote!
Size Symbiotes on their own are small puddles of ooze-like substance, and are size tiny. If they take a host, however, their size is equal to whatever the size of the host is.
Alignment Symbiotes are generally uncaring as to aspects of good and evil, caring more about the infecting of hosts and the finding of new and progressively more exotic foods. They are usually true neutral, but can be persuaded by friends or by the host to be a certain alignment.
Speed On their own, Symbiotes can be incredibly slow, possessing the custom speed of 2 1/2 feet (movement starts first round but they only move if they move again the turn after if you're using a standard grid or hex array). When attached to a host, their speed is equal to that of the host.
Lamguages You know common. Just common.
Strange composition Your creature type is ooze, and while you're separated from your host you can move through spaces as wide as a hundredth of an inch without squeezing.
Symbiotic necessity As a symbiote, you depend on your host for nutrients and power. You can either be in complete control of your host (usually a hostile relationship, as defined later), in a joint control situation where you both get a say in your actions, or in a shut out position wherein you have no say in your actions, and can at best give advice, given that you're unable to control your shared body. A hostile relationship necessitates a DC 8 charisma save each long rest when you wake. On a failure, your host is in control (unless they choose to relinquish hold over to you) and you can retake the save at the end of a long rest or when you receive damage while below half of your hitpoint maximum. Hostile relationships, though strenuous, give you the ability to force the meat shield feature without making the contested check, and gives you advantage on perception and investigation checks like your host would have. You can unbond from a host as a free action, and bond two one using all your actions, reactions and bonus actions over the course of three of your turns.
Also, if you are unable to obtain a new host within 72 hours of losing a host, you gain one level of exhaustion, which cannot be removed by any means besides a wish spell or bonding to a new host. As a symbiote, your host can be of the humanoid, beast, monstrosity, or aberration creature types. You can choose an additional creature type you can be hosted by (besides undead and constructs) at levels 5, 10, 15, and 19.
Symbiotic benefits You aren't the only one who benefits from this arrangement. Your host gains your advice, in a addition to some of your features, such as the meat shield racial trait and a bonus of +2 to either their strength or dexterity score, to a maximum of 30. In addition, your host can see what you see, giving them advantage on perception and investigation checks while you are conscious.
Meat shield If either you or your host would take damage, you can use your reaction to cause the damage to hit the other target (i.e. an attack on your host would hit you instead). If you take an attack for your host it may improve your relationship. Forcing your host to take a hit for you may damage your relationship. Your host also has access to this feature. When a forced target change is made, the result is determined by a contested charisma save.
Subraces Not all symbiotes are the same, and each has their own quirks. The subraces are the Corpsemongers, fiendsouls, angelics, bastions, sylvanites, and loners. Subrace features are detailed at the end of the description. Please note that they are in the order listed, not alphabetical order.
Corpsemonger
Corpsemongers are symbiotes that have adapted in order to bond to dead or undead hosts, giving them new freedom in the ways that they can maneuver.
Spawn of death You are naturally attracted to death, and as a Corpsemonger you are able to bond to it. You can bond to undead who's original creature type you are capable of bonding with, or corpses of creatures types that you are able to bond with.
Necrosis You and your host channel a kind of death energy, inflicting 1 necrotic damage when you are hit with a melee attack. You and your host also gain resistance to necrotic damage.
Fiendsoul
Fiendsouls are symbiotes touched by evil, whether it be of the Abyss, Baator, or Gehenna. They are the friends of fiends, and often serve alongside them. They're also more inclined towards the evil alignment.
Fiendish composition You become able to change your creature type to fiend as a reaction, and each long rest during your sleep you can determine whether you wish to be seen as a fiend or an ooze by scrying. In addition, you are now able to bond with creatures of the fiend creature type.
Fiendish boon You gain a dark blessing based on which kind of fiend you are. This also effects spells that target only certain subcastes of fiends, such as demons, and is included in your fiend creature type.
| fiend type | Blessing |
|---|---|
| devil | pact enforcer Beings that make deals with you and break them suffer 1d8 psychic damage |
| demon | Wild fury As a bonus action you can grant a +1 bonus to melee damage rolls for the next minute |
| yugoloth | Mercenary's will You gain advantage on wisdom saving throws |
Angelic
Angelic symbiotes have been influenced by the heavens, and often are of good alignment. They have holy blessings upon them.
Divine bonds You can now bond to creatures with the celestial creature type. In addition, if your host is below half of its maximum hp, you can heal it an amount equal to one-tenth your level, rounded down (minimum of one) per round.
Guiding voice As a reaction, you can grant yourself or your host advantage on a charisma check, and have advantage on checks to understand a language you do not know.
Bastion
Bastions are symbiotes that can turn the inanimate into living things, and often spend many mortal lifetimes trying to make for find the perfect "shell" for themselves.
Animator You can now bond to inanimate objects and creatures with the construct creature type. When bonding to a creature with the construct creature type it must succeed on a charisma save with a DC of 8 + your charisma bonus + your proficiency bonus. IF it fails, you have total control, and the construct is considered to be inanimate, though its sentience will be regained should you ever unbond from it.
Inanimate hosts have no relationship with the symbiote, and the symbiote is considered to be in a state of total control while bonded to an inanimate host.
Enhancer Each long rest you can choose either attack rolls or damage rolls. Until the end of your next long rest, you gain the ability to grant a +1 bonus to you or your host to the kind of roll chosen as a reaction a number of times per long rest equal to your constitution modifier.
sylvanite
Sylvanites are spawned from the encroachment of the wooded paradise that is the Feywild. They are driven to expand its otherowrldly influence, and are often chaotic in alignment.
Sylvan Bonds You can bond to creatures that possess the plant or fey creature type.
Sylvan Nature You gain the fey ancestry elf racial trait, and if you are bonded to a host your host also gains this benefit. If your host already is an elf they instead become immune to being charmed.
Loner
Loners are symbiotes that, for reasons unknown, can survive for more extended periods of time without a host. This leads them to ostracized by most other varieties of symbiotes, but gives them certain advantages that the others do not possess.
Seperate Body You possess the ability to create a body of your own matter. For this body, create consitution, strength, and dexterity scores, with a +2 bonus to all three stats. You can only maintain this form for a number of rounds equal to your level divided by five (minimum of one). At level twenty it can be maintained indefinitely. Transitioning between your symbiotic and humanoid forms takes an action. Your Loner form is humanoid in shape, by the way.
Lonesome Callousness Given that you are used to working alone, or almost alone, you have advantage and a +1 bonus to checks made to maintain control of your body.