The Lost Child, A Fairy-Tale Lineage for 5E (Patreon)

"Some of the miscreants leapt into the sea; others hid in dark recesses, where they were found by Slightly, who did not fight, but ran about with a lantern which he flashed in their faces, so that they were half blinded and fell as an easy prey to the reeking swords of the other boys. There was little sound to be heard but the clang of weapons, an occasional screech or splash, and Slightly monotonously counting: five—six—seven—eight—nine—ten—eleven." —J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan

Some say a great power of the fey lurks in the woods, in mist and wind, in the reflections of moonlight on running water. Others say it is no fey but a fiend, subtle in its wickedness. From time to time it finds a child who has stumbled away from the safety of home into the hungry wilds. If ever seen again, such a child is changed. Lost children grow strange and wild, as flighty and capricious and dangerous as a bird or a fierce gust of wind. Some are mistaken by superstitious villagers for powerful nature-gods in their own right, which always fills a lost child with amusement and satisfaction. A lost child typically looks the same as in their old life but carelessly tangle-haired, wearing leaves and skins bound with vines and cobwebs.

LOST CHILD NAMES

A lost child usually keeps the name that it had in its old life, its mostly forgotten life in the dull world of humanity. But that human name is often changed, misremembered, or enhanced with some token of what the child has come to love best.

LOST CHILD TRAITS

Lost children have supernatural gifts that make them one with the natural world in all its deadly joys.

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and your Charisma score increases by 1.

Age. Lost children do not age. They remain children until killed or until released by some whim of the strange power that saved and holds them.

Alignment. Most lost children are chaotic, chafing at rules that might restrain their fun. Few go out of their way to be good, though many are susceptible to hero-worship or to kind but firm admonitions. Fewer are genuinely evil, though most are given to spite and unthinking cruelty when wronged.

Size. Lost children come to their mysterious patron at around 10 to 12 years old, before any trace of adolescence. Most were short and slight for their age, ill-fed and raised in hard circumstances, usually just over four feet tall and little more than 60 lbs. Your size is Small.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet.

Darkvision. Accustomed to twilit forests and moonlight, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Flight. Lost children are blessed with the power to rise in mist and moonlight above the unforgiving earth. You have a flying speed of 40 feet. To use this speed, you can’t be wearing medium or heavy armor.

The Ways of Birds and Beasts. You have the ability to cast speak with animals, but only as a ritual.

Languages. You can speak Common and Sylvan. Few lost children remember how to read and write. If you devote a language proficiency to Literacy, you learn to read and write in all languages you know.