```metadata title: Swanmay Race description: >- A conversion of the AD&D Swanmay race to 5th edition. Based on the Swan Maidens of European folklore via Poul Anderson’s novel Three Hearts and Three Lions. tags: '' systems: - 5e renderer: V3 theme: 5ePHB ``` ## Race: Swanmay {{quote Gnarley forest was certainly living up to its name, Vereedra thought. The trees’ trunks twisted and turned as they jutted up from the earth. The guides had refused to accompany her deeper into the woods, claiming the beings she sought were mere myth. But the half-ogre pushed on. She came to a clearing with a large spring spring at the other edge of it, and there she was no longer alone. What appeared to be three human women were wading in the spring’s waters. Vereedra let out a polite cough to announce her presence. The women took one look at Vereedra and grabbed the white, feathery cloaks by the spring’s edge. In mere moments large, white swans stood where the women once were, and moments after that they were flying away in spite of Vereedra’s cry of “Wait!”. But now she knew the swanmays of legend were indeed real. }} ### Heirs of a Fey Gift Originating on the world of Oerth, the swanmay race owes its origins to a human ranger named Fionnghuala, who was mortally wounded protecting an avatar of Oberon, king consort of the Seelie Court, from an avatar of the Queen of Air and Darkness. In gratitude, the archfey Titania revived Fionnghuala and made her a demigoddess, granting her a swan-feather token which allowed her to transform into a swan. Since then, a handful of other humans and demihumans have been granted the gift, and now the swanmays are a race in their own right. ### Swanmays and Gender Most born swanmays have feminine anatomies, though a swanmay can idenitfy as any gender they please. For purposes of simplicity, this document largely uses feminine pronouns for swanmays. That said, male swanmays, known as swanmugs, are not unheard of. ### Swanmay Traits ***Abiltity Score Increase.*** Your Dexterity, Wisdom, and Charisma scores each increase by 1. ***Age.*** Swanmays live around twice as long as humans; they only show signs of old age in the last decade of life. ***Alignment.*** Almost all swanmays are neutral good, and most that aren’t are lawful good. ***Size.*** In their humanoid form, swanmays look like youthful humans. Your size is Medium. ***Speed.*** Your base walking speed is 30 feet. ***Swan Skills.*** You have proficiency in the Animal Handling and Survival skills. ***Languages*.** You can speak, read, and write Common and Sylvan. ***Swan-Feathered Token.*** Every swanmay has a feathered token. As a bonus action, you can assume the form of a giant swan for one minute by activating your token or return to humanoid form. Starting at 5th level, you can stay in swan form indefinitely. When in swan form, your game statistics are entirely replaced by those of a **giant swan** (*The Wild Beyond the Witchlight* pg. 38), with the following changes: * You retain your Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores unless the swan’s scores are higher. * You retain all your skill and saving throw proficiencies, as well as your proficiency bonus. If the swan has the same proficiency as you and the bonus in its stat block is higher than yours, use the swan’s bonus instead of yours. * You can’t cast spells except those lacking both somatic and material components * You retain the benefits of your class(es) and can use them if your swan form is physically capable of doing so. However, you can’t use any of your special senses, such as darkvision or blindsight. * Any equipment you are wearing in humanoid form either falls to the ground unharmed or melds into your swan form (your choice). You cannot transform while wearing heavy armor. If you are reduced to 0 hit points while in swan form, you revert to your humanoid form, any excess damage carries over to your normal hit points, and you can’t turn back into your swan form until you finish a long rest. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest. A swanmay can perform an 8-hour ritual which consumes 50 gp worth of materials to replace a lost or destroyed token, at the end of which she receives a new token. The old one, if still extant, turns to dust. ::: {{note ##### Swan-Feathered Token Every swanmay has a *swan-feathered token* unique to her. #### Swan-Feathered Token *Woundrous Item, Uncommon* : Every swanmay has her own unique token she uses to transform. A swanmay cannot use another swanmay’s token to transform, and can’t transform at all if the swan-feathered token is lost or destroyed. A swan-feathered token loses its magic if its swanmay dies, and regains it if she returns to life. }} :: : :: :: : : {{wide
Swanmay is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. © Wizards of the Coast LLC. }}