Shroudlings

“Their eyes shimmer like veiled stars, and their names never quite settle in your memory.”

Born of hidden unions between humans and the mysterious Oculith, the Shroudlings are children of half-truths and subtle vanishments. They move through the world like wraiths in daylight — present, yet oddly impermanent. Memory resists clinging to them, and even their closest companions sometimes find themselves doubting what they know.

Shroudlings are naturally elusive and possess a quiet charisma that borders on the supernatural. Many turn their talents toward espionage, diplomacy, or forbidden scholarship. Others wander Valruhn as relic-hunters or seekers of lost truths — especially those that their Oculith ancestors fought to bury.

Shroudlings gain the racial trait: Veil-Touched Memory. They may also choose the Stealth or Deception skill as a bonus at character creation.

Racial Trait: Veil-Touched Memory Link to heading

“You were never quite there. Or were you?”

Shroudlings exude an otherworldly dissonance, inherited from their Oculith ancestry. This manifests as a subtle warping of memory in those who encounter them.

• Veil-Touched Memory: Any creature that interacts with you for more than 10 minutes must make a Mental save to clearly recall specific details about you afterward — such as your name, face, or notable traits. On a failure, the memory becomes vague, dreamlike, or eerily absent. A creature that interacts with you for less than 10 minutes automatically fails the save unless they are Worthy.
• This ability does not affect memory-enhancing magic or meticulous written documentation, though casual notes may appear smudged, incomplete, or oddly phrased.
• Once per day, you may automatically succeed on a Sneak or Deception skill check when attempting to avoid being identified, followed, or remembered.

Mistborn Shroudlings Link to heading

“They are the fog between moments, the hush between heartbeats.”

Mistborn Shroudlings dwell in fog-wreathed moors, quiet ruins, and forgotten borderlands where the Oculith are said to have left their strongest impressions. They are experts in evasion and misdirection, often acting as scouts, messengers, or spies.

• Trait: Once per scene, they may become indistinct for a single round, forcing all ranged attacks against them to roll with a -2 penalty.
• Flavor: Mistborn tend to wear layered veils, gauzy fabrics, and cloaks that shift hue subtly with the light.

Echo-Blooded Shroudlings Link to heading

“You’ve met them before, though you don’t remember when.”

Echo-Blooded are descended from Shroudlings who lived too long near Sites of Fracture — places where reality is thin, and memory loops. Their blood carries a ghostly resonance. They’re often dream-haunted and strangely prescient.

• Trait: Once per day, reroll a failed skill check as if recalling a forgotten memory.
• Flavor: Echo-Blooded often speak in riddles or deja vu, and their voices sometimes seem to echo faintly even in silence.

Sigil-Marked Shroudlings Link to heading

“Runes beneath the skin, secrets behind the smile.”

These Shroudlings were raised in the hidden vaults and libraries of the Oculith, trained as preservers of their legacy. Their skin bears faint spiraling tattoos, invisible to most, that glow when ancient magic stirs.

• Trait: Gain a +2 bonus on saves vs magical detection, and once per day may ask a single yes/no question of an Oculith sigil (as augury).
• Flavor: Sigil-Marked often conceal their markings under long gloves or high collars, and carry relics engraved with fragmentary prophecies.