Karsite
Player race option
Karsites are an unusual group, humans who have been born with strange features and unnatural abilities that mark them as a descendant of an ancient and powerful mage.
Inheritors of Hubris
Karsus was once a mighty wizard-king in ancient times, so powerful as to even attempt to steal power from a god. His hubris far outpaced his ability, however, and his soul was torn asunder by the unimaginable power that he wielded. This failed usurpation shattered his empire and scattered his many children, causing his bloodline to become a part of nearly every human civilization. Sometimes, one of these descendants will be born with some features of their infamous ancestor, and these individuals are known as Karsites.
A Karsite normally looks like their human parents, with two unusual traits: a shock of white hair and mismatched eyes, one of which is always a light blue. In communities where Karsites breed exclusively with one another, other features begin to appear that even more closely resemble Karsus, such as straight blond or black hair, a sharp widow's peak, and a small nose and mouth.
Karsites born among ordinary humans might live and die without ever knowing that their unusual appearance comes with wondrous abilities, but others discover their birthright when they attempt to take up the path of a spellcaster, or when magical violence leaves them less harmed than it should have. Communities of karsites often seek out such “foundlings” to indoctrinate into their philosophy, hoping to swell their numbers and advance their evil agenda.
Shadowy Cults
One of the more powerful abilities that Karsites are born with is a great resilience to magic, even being able to drain power from spells directed at them to heal themselves and dispel magic with a touch. Some Karsites use this as evidence that they are superior to mundane humans and deserve to rule over them, forming shadowy cults and secret societies that scheme to sieze power over other humans.
Many of these groups venerate Karsus to the point of worship, some even claiming that some faint vestige of his being remains, urging his descendants to sieze their rightful place and tear down the hateful gods that he blames for his downfall. Whether anything truly remains of Karsus or not, these groups believe that they have been chosen by Karsus to reign over the world, establishing Karsus as the one true god. Many of these groups despise not only the worshippers of other gods but also arcane magic, blaming Karsus' failure not on his own hubris but on the weakness of arcane magic as a concept as though they seek revenge on the weave itself.
These groups work towards their goals in many ways, discrediting the good works of heroic spellcasters, preventing the founding of temples of the gods of magic, stealing magic items and ruining their creators, and taking leadership roles in human settlements. Despite their general ruthlessness, they loathe killing other humans, viewing it as a waste of potential servants. However, they relish the opportunity to harm spellcasters and clerics of any race.
When you make your karsite character, consider what connection, if any, they may have with these cults. While many karsites are completely unaware of the existence of the Karsus cults, the cults are likely to begin investigating any karsite character who draws enough attention to themself, possibly even attempting to bring this individual into the fold-- or, if they are deemed a threat, to eliminate them.
Karsite Traits
Ability Score Increase. Your constitution score increases by 2, and two other ability scores of your choice increase by 1.
Age. As with ordinary humans, Karsites reach adulthood in their late teens and live less than a century.
Alignment. Karsites raised by or indoctrinated into the Karsus cults are normally evil, but they do not have any innate tendency toward any particular alignment.
Size. Karsites tend not to vary much in height, almost always being around 6 feet tall. Your size is medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and one extra language of your choice.
Karsite Resilience. When you succeed on a saving throw against a spell or other magical effect, you can choose to regain a number of hit points equal to your proficiency bonus, which are applied after any effects from the spell. You may use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and regain all uses on a long rest.
Karsite Endurance. Your bloodline allows you to shrug off magical injuries. When you take damage from a spell or other magical effect, you can use your reaction to roll a d12. Add your Constitution modifier to the number rolled and reduce the damage by that total. You may use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and regain all uses on a long rest.
Variant Rule: Spellcasting Inability
Karsites as presented in 3.5's Tome of Magic were completely incapable of ordinary spellcasting. While it was removed for this version due to being too restrictive to a player's options, the player or DM may want the rule to still apply for the sake of flavor. If so, add the following racial feature to the Karsite Traits section.
Spellcasting Inability. Karsites cannot use spells granted by the Spellcasting feature. They can still use Ki, Pact Magic, psionic powers, and magic items normally.
Racial Feats
If your DM allows the use of feats from chapter 6 of the Player’s Handbook, a Karsite character has access to the following special feat.
Dispelling Touch
Prerequisite: Karsite
Your touch unravels the weave. Increase your Constitution or Charisma score by 1, to a maximum of 20.
Additionally, as an action, you may touch one creature, object, or magical effect within 5 feet. Any spell on the target of a level equal to or lower than half your proficiency bonus (rounded up) ends. For each spell of a higher level on the target, make an ability check using the ability increased by this feat. The DC equals 10 + the spell's level. On a successful check, the spell ends. You may use this feature a number of times equal to half your proficiency bonus (rounded up), and regain all uses on a long rest.
Karsite Magic Resistance
Prerequisite: Karsite
Your body repels the arcane. You have advantage on Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Bestiary
Included here are statblocks for members of the Karsus cults, which could be used to introduce them to a campaign.
Karsite Binder
While many of the Karsus cults venerate Karsus, sometimes even to the point of outright worship, there are some that go even further. These groups claim that a faint vestige of their progenitor has lived on, and that they have mastered secret techniques allowing them to commune with and draw power from this being. Whether this is true or not, these karsites have managed to attain no small amount of supernatural might, which is often used by them to set themselves up as the leader of their local sects.
The Karsite Binder statblock provided is for a karsite who truly does wield some power drawn from whatever is left of Karsus. If you instead want your Karsus cult to have been deceived by some other entity masquerading as Karsus, modify the warlock statblocks on pages 219-220 of Volo's Guide to Monsters.
Karsite Psion
Due to their common scorn for typical magic, many members of the Karus cults eschew it entirely in favor of more esoteric abilities. These psions use their powers to twist the weave, disrupting the abilities of more traditional spellcasters.
Karsite Binder
Medium humanoid (karsite), any evil
- Armor Class 12 (15 with mage armor)
- Hit Points 83 (11d8 + 33)
- Speed 30ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 10 (+0) 14 (+2) 16 (+3) 13 (+1) 12 (+1) 18 (+4)
- Saving throws Wis +3, Cha +7
- Skills Arcana +4, Deception +7, Persuasion +7, Religion +4
- Damage resistances Force
- Senses passive Perception 11
- Languages Common and one other language
- Challenge 6 (2,300)
Magic Resistance. The binder has advantage on saving throws made against spells and other magical effects.
Karsite Resilience. When the binder succeeds a saving throw agains a spell or magical effect, it regains 10 hit points.
Spellcasting. The warlock casts one of the following spells, using Charisma as the spellcasting ability (spell save DC 15):
At will: Dancing lights, detect magic, disguise self, levitate, mage armor (self only), silent image
1/Day each): Arcane gate, banishment, counterspell, fear, fire shield, mirror image, misty step
Emperor's Decree (3/day). When a creature takes damage from or fails a saving throw against one of the binder's spells, the binder can cast command (save DC 15) against that creature as a 1st-level spell for free as a bonus action.
Vestige Arcana. When the Binder uses its action to cast a spell, it can use its Eyes of the Vestige action as a bonus action that turn.
Actions
Dagger. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d4 + 2) piercing damage.
Dispelling touch. The Binder casts dispel magic as a 3rd-level spell on a target within touch range without expending a spell slot and without requiring any components. Charisma is the spellcasting ability for this spell.
Eyes of the Vestige. One creature that the Binder can see within 60 feet must make an Intelligence saving throw (DC 15). On a failed save, the creature takes 12 (2d6+4) Psychic damage and is blinded until the start of the Binder's next turn. On a successful save, the creature takes half damage and is not blinded.
Karsite Psion
Medium humanoid (karsite), any evil
- Armor Class 16
- Hit Points 45 (6d8 + 18)
- Speed 30ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 10 (+0) 16 (+3) 16 (+3) 17 (+3) 12 (+1) 12 (+1)
- Saving throws Int +5, Wis +3
- Skills Arcana +5, Deception +3, Religion +5
- Damage resistances Force
- Senses passive Perception 11
- Languages Common and one other language
- Challenge 4 (1,100 xp)
Magic Resistance. The psion has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Karsite Resilience. When the psion succeeds a saving throw agains a spell or magical effect, it regains 5 hit points.
Innate Spellcasting (Psionics). The psion's innate spellcasting ability is Intelligence. It can innately cast the following spells (spell save DC 13), requiring no components:
At will: mage hand (the hand is invisible)
3/day each: command, jump, misty step, tasha's mind whip
Psychic Defense. While the psion is wearing no armor and wielding no shield, its AC includes its Intelligence modifier.
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.
Shortsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d6 + 3) piercing damage.
Reactions
Psychic Disruption (3/day). When a creature attempts to cast a spell within 30 feet of the psion, the psion can force them to make an Intelligence Saving Throw (save DC 13). On a failure, the creature fails to cast the spell, but does not expend any spell slot or material components they were attempting to use to cast the spell.
Other Karsus Cultists
While the statblocks provided are meant to represent powerful members of the Karsus cults, other, more mundane members do exist, which can be represented with statblocks such as cultist, commoner, noble, and spy.
Design notes
Karsite Resilience is mostly a flavor thing, as even at low levels having a chance of possibly restoring 2 to 6 hp a few times per day isn't that good.
Karsite Endurance is basically a magic-only version of the Goliath Stone's Endurance feature with the uses changed from 1/short rest to proficiency bonus times/ long rest to bring it into line with Karsite Resilience's number of uses.
Since I thought those features by themselves may have been a bit underpowered and too situational (mostly only usable when dealing with spellcasters), I also gave the Karsite a +2 +1 +1 Ability Score increase like Half-Elves, which also makes sense since they're kind of a human subspecies.
Karsite Magic Resistance was originally a racial feature instead of Karsite Endurance, no idea if it is more balanced this way or if it's now underpowered.
I tried a few passes at making a version of their 3.5 ability to temporarily suppress the effects of magic items, but all of them were either too powerful or too weak to bother with. I eventually decided it was just a weird feature that probably wouldn't be useful in actual play in the majority of situations, so I made the Dispelling Touch feat instead.
Dispelling Touch itself is derived from 3.5's Binder class, which originated in the same splatbook as the karsites. A Binder who bound the vestige of Karsus could dispel magic at-will just by touching it. Not 100% sure about the feat itself, but I don't think it's OP at all, and it's way more flavorful than Magic Resistance. It was originally just dispel magic but at a range of touch, but I decided to give it some minor scaling so it started out weaker than dispel magic but eventually became as strong as it (though still with a range of touch) and added the stat boost to compensate.
Karsite Magic Resistance is intended to be a nerfed alternative to normal Magic Resistance found on Satyrs and Yuan-ti Purebloods, and something of a counterpart to the Gnome Cunning feature that Gnomes get.
I have no idea if the statblocks have an appropriate CR. I think they do, but CR is so weird and inconsistent that I'm not sure it matters either way.
Not sure about giving the statblocks Force resistance. It definitely fits their whole "antimagic" thing, but it would make life rather impractical for any warlocks in the party.