DARKLING – 5e stats

Small or Medium fey, chaotic neutral

Armor Class 14 (leather armor)
Hit Points 13 (3d6 + 3) or 16 (3d8 + 3)
Speed 30 ft. or 40 ft.

Proficiency Bonus +2
Proficiency Bonus +3 (5th Edition Advanced Mode)

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
9 (-1)	16 (+3)	12 (+1)	10 (+0)	12 (+1)	10 (+0)

Saving Throws (suggested) Wis +3
Skills Acrobatics +5, Deception +2, Perception +5, Stealth +7
Senses blindsight 30 ft., darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 15
Languages Elvish, Sylvan
Challenge 1/2 (100 XP)

Death Flash. When the darkling dies, nonmagical light flashes out from it in a 10-foot radius as its body and possessions, other than metal or magic objects, burn to ash. Any creature in that area and able to see the bright light must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or be blinded until the end of the creature’s next turn.

Foreseeing (suggested). The darkling can predict what is about to happen. The darkling is always successful on Dexterity saving throws and has advantage on ranged weapon attacks.

Light Sensitivity. While in bright light, the darkling has disadvantage on attack rolls, as well as on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.

Ambusher (suggested). The darkling has advantage on Stealth skill check.

ACTIONS

• Dagger. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d4 + 3) piercing damage. If the darkling has advantage on the attack roll, the attack deals an extra 7 (2d6) piercing damage.
• Poisoned Dagger (suggested). Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d4 + 3) piercing damage. If the darkling has advantage on the attack roll, the attack deals an extra 7 (2d6) piercing damage. The target must make a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or take 20 (8d4) poison damage and suffer the poisoned condition.
• Evil Eye (suggested). One target within 60 feet of the darkling must make a DC 10 Charisma saving throw. If the target fails the saving throw, then it will have disadvantage on saving throws and hit rolls until it takes a short rest.

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DESCRIPTION

Darklings are a race of fey that have been cursed by the Summer Queen for betraying her. They are doomed to absorb light and age rapidly from exposure to it. They have a humanoid appearance, but with grey skin, black hair, and glowing eyes. Darklings typically wear clothing that covers their entire body to protect themselves from the light. Darklings that undergo a special ritual can become elders, who have a taller and fairer form, with glowing tattoos on their body.

Alternatively, darklings can also be members of the Vistani (see the Ravenloft) who have been cast out from their people. No longer tied to the fabric of the demiplane in the same way that they once were, these darklings become more and more evil with the passing of time. In the end, they are utterly corrupted by the gloom of the surrounding land. They look much like their distanced Vistani cousins, save that their skin tends to be even darker and they are almost uniformly gaunt. Their features are sunken and worn, making them look as if they had been far too long without nourishment. They dress much like other Vistani, save that they lose their taste for bright colors and tend to wear drab earth tones. These darklings want as little to do with true Vistani as possible, but often prey on normal men and their societies.

COMBAT

Darklings are not evil, but they are often involved in criminal activities such as theft and assassination. They use their skills in acrobatics, deception, perception, and stealth to evade detection and strike from the shadows. They usually wield daggers or shortswords as their weapons of choice. Darklings have both darkvision and blindsight, which allow them to see in the dark and sense their surroundings without relying on sight. However, they have poor vision in bright light and avoid it as much as possible.

The most dangerous aspect of darklings is their death-flash. When a darkling dies, all the light it has absorbed over its lifetime is released in a sudden, explosive flash that burns its body and possessions to ash. This flash can blind or damage anyone who can see it within a certain radius. The death-flash of elders is more powerful and destructive than that of regular darklings.

The darkling still clings to a portion of the power that was once his. As such, he is a dangerous and clever opponent. Perhaps the most important of his abilities is that of foreseeing. This allows him to anticipate his enemies’ actions and react accordingly. In melee combat, the darkling will generally rely on light arms like daggers and short swords, doing damage according to the weapon employed. The use of lethal poisons on bladed weapons is a darkling trademark, however, so those who suffer even a minor scratch from a darkling blade may be in deadly peril. The toxin created by darklings is an injected poison and they will share the secrets of its creation with no one. It is rumored that even the Vistani cannot duplicate the poisons of their distanced kin. If a darkling attains surprise when it attacks someone, it will often employ its evil eye. This curse is a variant on the traditional Vistani enchantment. It causes fear, paralysis, or death in its victim, depending on the strength of the darkling’s will and the victim’s resistance.

HABITAT / SOCIETY

Darklings typically live in isolated chambers and caverns beneath the settlements of other races. They prefer locations that are dark, such as forests, mountains, urban areas, or the Underdark. They have a fondness for art and nature, and sometimes risk the light to admire a sunset, a painting, or a jewel. They speak Elvish and Sylvan, the languages of their fey ancestors.

Darklings have a loose social structure, with no formal leaders or laws. They respect elders who have undergone the transform ritual, which involves other elders inking glowing tattoos on the supplicant’s body. The tattoos channel some of the absorbed light away from the body, allowing the supplicant to become an elder if successful, or die if unsuccessful. Elders are wiser and more powerful than regular darklings, and often act as mentors or advisors to their kin.

Having been cast out of the Vistani society for some crime or wrongful act, some darklings often gather a band of human thugs around them and take up a life of heinous crime and wandering brutality. While they are unable to cross the misty borders between the domains of Ravenloft, these darklings are said to know every stone and tree in the domain they dwell in. This imprisonment in a single domain is quite painful to a people as full of wanderlust as the Vistani and serves to fuel the evil desire for vengeance that burns in the darkling’s heart. Often, these darklings will work toward some grand scheme which they feel will allow them to escape from the domain they are imprisoned in (or even from Ravenloft itself) and strike back at their former people in some way. Since the Vistani are in far better harmony with the environment than their darkling outcasts, such plans of vengeance are seldom anything but failures. These darklings often claim to retain more of their fortune telling power than they truly do. Predictions offered by them, however, are either lies or educated guesses.

ECOLOGY

Darklings are cursed fey that have a unique relationship with light. They absorb light into their bodies, which causes them to age faster than normal. This also makes them vulnerable to fire and radiant damage, as well as spells that create light or dispel darkness. Darklings have a lifespan of about 80 years, but most of them die much sooner due to their curse or their dangerous lifestyle.

Darklings have no natural enemies or allies among other races. They are often mistrusted or feared by those who encounter them, due to their appearance and reputation. Some darklings may work with other creatures of the dark, such as drow or duergar, for mutual benefit or protection. Others may seek out allies among the unseelie fey, who share their disdain for the Summer Queen and her followers.

The darkling lives either alone or as the leader of a small band of thugs and ruffians. He looks upon the Vistani as cruel people who have done him wrong and upon normal men as pawns and objects of prey. To the darkling, the world has committed a great wrong and now owes him a great debt. Thus, he looks upon all material things as his rightful property and takes what he needs without regard for the consequences of his actions. The death of a darkling usually draws the attention of the nearest Vistani group. Within a week, they arrive at the location of the demise, bury the body, and perform an ancient rite designed to soothe the spirit of their tortured brother and allow him to rest in eternal peace. If this ritual is not completed, there is a chance that the darkling will return in 1d6 weeks as a ghast (if the body is intact) or as a wraith (if the body has been destroyed). This undead creature will then hunt down those men who served it in life and kill them, transforming them into ghouls (if the darkling returns as a ghast) or wights (if it is a wraith). Thus, its evil legacy continues even after death.