Guide: The Godling

Throughout the World at Large, there are certain creatures known as Godlings. Not much is known about these mysterious entities, and indeed they are often seen as malign agents of long-dead gods by the denizens of the Central Continents. The truth, of course, is more complicated than that. Below is a brief explanation of their origin, as well as a discussion of the ramifications of playing a Godling adventurer.

History
The true history of the Godling is muddled and tattered, so much that even Godlings themselves can scarcely tell you the truth of their origin. Still, any Godling can tell you one thing: their origin lies in the god-spirit, the primordial beasts that once roamed the World at Large. Hence the name - a misnomer, since Godlings aren't actually divine. They are mortal, albeit long-lived, and they are born with no more innate divinity than humanity or the natural world. However, don't be mistaken: the Godling is a being of powerful magic, capable of shapeshifting and mastering the arcane arts.

An important distinction to draw is the main difference between the Godling and the Blessed, as many end up conflating the two, or assuming they share a common origin (besides the involvement of the god-spirits). While the Blessed were once humans, given a Blessing by a god-spirit centuries ago, Godlings were actually beasts, endowed with intelligence and magical abilities, by their quasi-divine creators.

While there are hints that the Godlings are as old as the god-spirits themselves, their very existence is still up for debate to many throughout the World at Large. Many Godlings are secretive and reclusive, wandering throughout the wilds the god-spirits once resided in, keeping away from human society. Even if they entered into a human settlement, they could take the form of a human themselves, assuming the identity of a simple traveler. And not for no good reason; many nations across the Central Continents are very suspicious of the Godlings, and a few have even ordered the death of these mysterious creatures on sight. Still, a few intrepid Godlings infiltrate human society, becoming active members of their community, surviving and thriving all while hiding in plain sight.

Godling Traits
Like their pseudo-cousins, the Blessed, Godlings are as varied as the natural world, assuming the forms of a thousand different animals and insects.

Ability Score Increase: Godlings receive a boon to certain attributes, depending on their animal form. As a whole, Godlings tend to come from the more diminutive species: cats, foxes, dogs, rodents, birds, and so on. As such, bonuses to Dexterity and Intelligence are most popular, their small size and elusive natures lending to a individual with quick feet and a quicker wit. Boons to Charisma are also prevalent, as many Godlings find themselves to be very persuasive. While it is rare, boons to Strength and Constitutions are possible, depending once again on the animal form chosen.

Nature's Mask: The most important tool in a Godling's arsenal is Nature's Mask: their shapeshifting ability. At will, a Godling can use an action to change shape between one of three forms: their human form, their hybrid form, or their animal form. A Godling's favored form differs depending on the individual, but their truest form is their hybrid form, a bipedal version of their animal form. In their animal form, the Godling takes on the statistics of the animal, but retains their Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma scores, along with their personality and alignment. Their human form takes on many of the characteristics of their animal form; pointed ears for an owl, or a large nose for a dog, red hair for a fox, and so on. Nature's Mask normally has no restrictions, but if a Godling shapeshifts too often in too short a time period, the effort can exhaust them, or temporarily exhaust their capability to shapeshift.

Beast Tongue: When in their hybrid or animal form, a Godling can communicate with beasts of the same species as their animal form. The Godling can understand the beast, and vice versa. In human form they can only understand the beast, but cannot communicate back.

Age: For reasons unknown, Godlings have lifespans vastly greater than their beastly counterparts. While it varies from individual to individual, the average lifespan of a Godling is roughly 200 years.

Alignment: Godlings don't necessarily favor one particular alignment, though many find the Chaotic alignment helps in their wandering lifestyles.

Size: Godlings are nearly always size Medium, with a few exceptions for particularly small animal forms.

Speed: In their hybrid and human forms, their speed is 30. They also take on the speed of their chosen animal when in animal form.

Additional Traits: Depending on the individual, additional boons may be warranted. Proficiency in a skill, a resistance to a certain damage type, or prowess of magic are all possibilities.