Dihiryn (3.5e Race)

Dihiryn
Summary::In the Plane of Shadow, settlements are populated by silent, twisted copies of Material Plane humanoids. Centuries ago, a failed experiment brought these shades to the Material Plane.

Origin
The Plane of Shadow was not always well understood. In the process of developing the spells that permit access to it, some complications occasionally arose. One mage's efforts, which involved taking the principles of shadow conjuration and applying them to humanoids, had particularly disastrous consequences. At first, it appeared that the spell had no effect, and the mage went to work on a new version of it. The next morning, however, word began to spread of a disturbing occurrence happening throughout the region.

Since the spell was cast, children starting being born with ash-gray skin, dead white eyes, and hideous deformities. Many of the infants &mdash; and some of the mothers &mdash; were killed, because the communities feared that demonic or diabolic influence caused this phenomenon. Those who were spared, either because of more tolerant communities or mothers who fled with them, grew up to be somewhat normal. Somewhat.

The modern understanding is that the spell caused the children to be exchanged with their copies on the Plane of Shadow. The real infants are presumed to have been killed by the shadows and bodaks.

The phenomenon affected all children in utero within a few hundred miles at the time the spell was cast. Subsequent pregnancies usually produced normal children, but ever since, the occasional human child &mdash; perhaps one out of a hundred &mdash; is born a Dihyrin. This effect is reported as occurring worldwide, and there does not seem to be any discernible cause.

Personality
Unlike the shades that populate the Plane of Shadow, Dihiryn can speak. They are not, however, usually very fond of speaking. Dihiryn often seem very alien in their behavior. Prone to forming strange and tenacious habits and obsessions, they might strike observers as acting more like odd automata than intelligent beings. They are, however, quite intelligent. While their behaviors may strike others as odd, they are ultimately nothing beyond odd, and generally prove no inhibition other than a social one.

Physical Description
Dihiryn lack color of any sort &mdash; even their blood flows black in their veins. More striking than that is the fact that their eyes completely lack pupils and irises and are instead a solid white. This, along with their twisted and deformed facial features, assures that they are rarely received well by normal humans. Their clothing is generally typical for the culture into which they are born, but with their tendency to be eccentric in unpredictable ways, this is never a guarantee.

Alignment
Being an outcast can often drive a Dihiryn to chaotic and evil alignments, but ultimately there does not seem to be any inherent predisposition within them to any particular alignment.

Religion
Dihyrin religious views are often quite atypical, and this oddity is frequently a deliberate consideration &mdash; many Dihiryn revel in their strangeness. Equally likely, though, a Dihiryn will not follow any god at all, or will simply adopt whatever religion is usual for their culture.

Language
As they are born and raised among humans, their languages have the same diversity as any other human.

Racial Traits

 * Type::Outsider (Subtype::native, Subtype::human)
 * Dihiryn base land speed is 30 feet.
 * Supreme Darkvision: A Dihiryn can see in the dark to any distance. Darkvision is black and white only, but it is otherwise like normal sight, and a Dihiryn can function just fine with no light at all. However, a Dihiryn is otherwise blind. This means that a Dihiryn is incapable of seeing color under any circumstances.
 * Nearly Human: Dihiryn do not gain the listed benefits of the Outsider type. They may meet prerequisites as both an Outsider and a Humanoid, and they are considered native to both the Material Plane and the Plane of Shadow. They are subject to effects which will target Humanoids and not Outsiders, albeit with a 50% failure chance in each instance.
 * Friend of the Night : Just as the shades on the Plane of Shadow may pass by the native undead unmolested, Dihiryn have an innate ability to escape the notice of undead creatures. Dihiryn are constantly under the effects of hide from undead, with a save DC of 10 + 1/2 character level. In the event that the effect would end due to the Dihiryn's actions, it is instead suppressed for 10 rounds.
 * Return Home : Twice per day, with 1 minute of concentration, a Dihiryn may produce the effects of a plane shift spell on himself, but only to travel from the Plane of Shadow to the Material Plane or vice versa. This ability returns the Dihiryn to the exact location he last occupied on the target plane &mdash; there is no inaccuracy, but there is also no choice of location.
 * Native Instinct : While on the Plane of Shadow, a Dihiryn gains a +20 racial bonus on Survival checks. This natural knowledge of how to get by is often used to forage for food and bring it back to the Material Plane.
 * Gaze Through Shadows : While on either the Material Plane or the Plane of Shadow, a Dihiryn can see insubstantial, barely-visible images of the other plane. Once per day, while on either the Material Plane or the Plane of Shadow, a Dihiryn may bring these images into focus, producing the effects of an arcane eye spell on the other plane at a caster level equal to his character level. This sensor appears at the location directly parallel to the Dihiryn's current location, and only moves and looks around as he does &mdash; the sensor cannot move independently of the Dihiryn.
 * Shadow Aptitude : A Dihiryn casts spells of the shadow subschool and spells with the darkness descriptor at +1 caster level and with a +1 bonus to save DC.
 * Automatic Languages: Common.
 * Bonus Languages: Any (other than secret languages, such as Druidic). See the Speak Language skill.
 * Favored Class:
 * Level Adjustment: +Level Adjustment::0
 * Effective Character Level: Effective Character Level::1
 * Level Adjustment: +Level Adjustment::0
 * Effective Character Level: Effective Character Level::1