Hushlings: Stats and Fluff

Fluff #

Look, as someone who actually works with a Hushling, I have to call bullshit. They’re not mean spirited, just… different.
Does Bryce’s habit of looking into my window with a neck that’d put a giraffe’s to shame mess with my sex life? Yes. Is this intentional? Fuck yes. But he gets as good as he gives, and I’ve found my own ways to get even. That, and that thing where he pops and cracks his way above our enemies before using his speak-stone to say that monotone “EVENING”? Priceless.
– Someone in a pub

Skilled osteomancers one and all, these lost cousins of halflings and gnomes found their way out of the grip of the Fey only a few generations ago. Although most of them live underground, a few have dared to return to the surface in hopes of claiming the freedom denied to them. No matter where they live, they dye their naturally-pale skin and hair in jewel tones and other bright colors. They are generally between 1 and 1.3 meters tall, and have an especially slim build.

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Impressions #

The general populace has two main views of Hushlings: they’re either funny prankster-mimes with a propensity for intentionally misunderstanding things, or eerily silent things that could kill you without concern and mostly feign congeniality. As with many things, nether view is entirely correct.
Hushlings wear their skin to soothe the (skinned) people around them, true, and many of them get speak-stones so they have a voice to put strangers at ease¹. They perform pranks, true, and they use humor to recover from social faux pas. But what the public eye fails to see is why they do this – to claim the personhood they were denied for centuries.

To Peel Back Skin #

It is uncommon for Hushlings to find close companionship with other races: often times, the other party doesn’t bother to ask about their culture, their needs, or their burdens, and the Hushling gets the sense those things are not welcome. This instinct, sadly, is often accurate.
The exception to this rule are the Deaf² communities. Those whose first language is signed fundamentally understand that what you see is what you get: Hushlings don’t come off as blunt or overly literal in their company, unlike in the Hearing world. As a bonus, Hushlings are great at reminding people that a deaf person speaking is not open season for you to assume they’ve magically started to hear you.

Hushlings may not be the primary target of Audism³, but they’re well within the splash zone, and are an empathetic shoulder when it’s needed. They’ve often found Deaf companions willing to do the same with their struggles.

No matter what the Fey or the Humans say, no matter how many generations have passed, every Hushling knows somebody who has suffered at the hands of the fey, whether it be a grandparent, a friend, or even themselves. And they’re sick of the numerous reasons society throws around of why they should “move on” – even as the fey seek new ways to hurt them.

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Crunch (DnD 5e) #

Hushling Traits #

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2.

Age. It is unknown exactly how old a Hushling can get, but it’s generally agreed they can go a few centuries without too many problems.

Alignment. Although they have no cultural preference towards good or evil, Hushlings are strongly prone to Chaotic alignments: they’ve spent too damn long following orders, a break is overdue.

Damage Vulnerability. Hushlings are vulnerable to Piercing damage.

Size. Hushlings are Small, like their Halfling and Gnomish relatives.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet.

Osteomancy. The nature of Hushlings lets them reshape their bones to accomplish various tasks. Once per short or long rest, you may:

• Split off part of your skeleton into a Simple Melee Weapon,
• Extend one (or more) of your limbs to egregious proportions (note that leverage and weight are major concerns when doing this),
• Be of Medium size for a scene,
• Surround yourself (and any allies who are especially close by) with bone, with an effect similar to the Shield spell (Pg 275, PHB, Magic Missle doesn’t give a fuck about this FYI)
• Or another, similar effect you and the rest of the table can agree on.
  Hushlings do follow conservation of mass, so using Osteomancy if you explicitly haven’t eaten in a while may give a level of exhaustion.
  The Hushling tendancy to “stretch” (they get uncomfortable if they remain in one shape for too long; “stretching”, as visually and auditorily⁴ concerning as it is, is aptly named) does not count as a use of this trait.

Strange Skin. Hushling skin is unusually stretchy, and comparatively detatched from the rest of them. Their skin does not bleed (much) when cut, but cannot restore large cuts without intervention. Cure Wounds, Healing Word, other such spells, or even stitches can handle the injuries typically sustained in combat. However, Lesser Restoration (or skin grafts) would be required to replace missing portions, and Greater Restoration is required if their skin has been completely destroyed.
Due to a ritual series of cuts performed shortly after birth, Hushlings are able to quickly get their skin out of the way when required for Osteomancy. If their skin is regenerated, they are assumed capable of walking their healer through redoing these cuts.

Mute. Hushlings cannot speak. However, they have found workarounds for the sake of spellcasting, whether via the use of speak-stones, instruments, or the few mouth sounds they can reliably make. Thus, non-magical silencing attempts are made with disadvantage.

Starting Equipment. Hushlings are assumed to start play with a speak-stone, and/or a party that is fluent in one (or more) of their signed starting languages.

Languages. You are fluent in Common (both its spoken and signed variants), as well as Underdark Sign; fluency includes reading and writing. Underdark Sign formed as a Deaf-Blind sign language, but has a non-blind variant. Communication is blunt and literal compared to most spoken languages, as are most sign languages. It has a written version (unlike most sign languages), which is logographic – each logograph is made up of parts representing parts of the sign that would be performed.
It is a lingua franca of the Underdark.

Subrace. Hushlings are generally divided into those who hail from the Underdark, and those who live above ground. Choose between these two subraces:

Delver Hushlings #

Delver Hushlings live (or at least grew up) in the Underdark, and have learned how to thrive in its numerous tight gaps and dark corners.

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 1.

Climb Speed. You have a climb speed equal to your walking speed.

Size Is A Suggestion. You can, while spending 1 extra foot of movement for every 2 feet moved, traverse a gap one size smaller than you. Round up how many feet of movement you use.

Sharp Ears. You have proficiency in Perception.

Sunkissed Hushlings #

Sunkissed Hushlings choose to brave the surface world. As a result, they are more exposed to the public eye, as well as the eyes of those who don’t take no for an answer unless it is backed by force.

Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 1.

Stubborn. You have advantage on saving throws and skill checks to avoid being socially or magically dominated. This includes advantage on Charmed and Frightened saves, as well as saves against illusion spells.

Mad Dash. You can, a number of times per day equal to your proficiency modifier, decide that it’s time to MOVE. For 1 minute, you gain an extra action on each of your turns. This extra action can only be used to take a Dash or Disengage action. When this effect ends, you recieve disadvantage on all Dexterity checks and saving throws until you’ve rested for at least 1 minute.

Since they really are out to get me… During each rest, you learn if you’ve encountered any of the following since your previous rest:

• A disguised fey,
• Any other non-humanoid using magical or mundane means to disguise themselves as a humanoid,
• A humanoid using magical or mundane means to disguise themselves as a different type of humanoid.
  If so, you learn which of the following was encountered. You do not learn who it was, nor how many encounters you had of that type, but you do learn if you had two different types of encounters (E.G, if you met a disguised fey and a disguised non-fey humanoid).

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Potential Feats: #

Little Living Bone Pile (Hushling exclusive) #

You can, a number of times per day equal to your proficiency modifier, increase your size to Medium or return to size Small. Alternately, if you are willing to remove your skin for a while, you can become size Large.
If you are Medium or Large, your base speed increases to 30ft; While Large, you also gain 5ft of reach on all melee attacks.
You automatically return to size small at the end of a short or long rest; otherwise the size change lasts between scenes.

Osteomancy Training (Cannot be taken by Hushlings) #

You have some skill in Osteomancy. However, your physicality means it’s going to hurt.
Once per short or long rest, you may:

• Use an action to craft a simple melee weapon from your bones; roll the weapon’s damage die and take that much Piercing damage,
• Use a reaction to generate a lattice of bone that will protect yourself and (maybe) some allies; identify what size category your group would fit in, roll that many d8s, and take that much Piercing damage. Medium and Small both count as 2d8, and Large counts as 3d8. This bone shield will provide +5 AC against attack against the occupants, although a bludgeoning strike will promptly destroy the lattice.
• Or another, similar effect you and the rest of the table can agree on.

Damage taken from Osteomancy Training will require a concentration check, and characters with an immunity to Piercing damage will instead treat this instance as if they were merely resistant.