Homo varians
At a glance
Languages Common, One other language of your choice
Height 4 ft. 10 in. to 6 ft. 6 in.
Weight 100 to 260 lb., varying with build and community
Lifespan 70 to 100 years
At the table
Meta humans are Humanoids and Medium. Their walking speed is 30 feet. They gain no special movement mode from their ancestry.
Choose one Singular Gift from the list below. Its effects are supernatural but are not spells unless a specific game feature says otherwise. Use your gift rating as a narrative guide: 1.0 to 3.0 is a minor or narrowly useful expression, 4.0 to 6.0 is a reliable and conspicuous talent, 7.0 to 9.0 is exceptional, and 10.0 is legendary in scope. For playable characters, the gift's game effects remain those listed here regardless of rating. The rating does not grant extra uses, damage, or range.
Choose one of these expressions when you select Singular Gift. Each gift has a modest, bounded use suitable for adventuring. You can use your chosen gift a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a Long Rest. If a gift calls for a saving throw, the DC equals 8 + your proficiency bonus + your choice of Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma modifier, selected when you gain this trait.
Choose one: Anchoring Aura, Kinetic Nudge, Luminous Veil, Resonant Voice, or Thread-Sense. Anchoring Aura: as a Reaction when you or a creature you can see within 10 feet would be moved against its will, reduce that movement by 10 feet, to a minimum of 0. Kinetic Nudge: as a Bonus Action, move one unattended object weighing no more than 10 pounds that you can see within 30 feet up to 10 feet; it cannot deal damage through this movement. Luminous Veil: as a Bonus Action, create or extinguish a harmless light around yourself, shedding dim light in a 10-foot radius for up to 1 hour. Resonant Voice: as a Bonus Action, project your voice clearly to a creature you can see within 60 feet for 1 minute; this does not compel belief or understanding. Thread-Sense: as a Bonus Action, sense the direction of the nearest living creature within 10 feet until the end of your turn; this does not reveal its identity or exact location through total cover.
Aura is not a separate pool of energy that only meta humans possess. All people have aura, and gifts are unusual patterns in how one person's aura behaves. A gift does not automatically detect, drain, or suppress another person's aura.
Meta humans often show unusual resilience, perception, or force of personality, but their gifts do not determine their build. Assign ability score increases as your table's rules allow, such as +2 to one score and +1 to another, with no fixed scores.
Their gifts tend to alter motion, impact, balance, or the position of small objects.
Kinetic meta humans often have a visible relationship with force: a subtle push, a steadier stance, or an instinct for redirecting movement. Family members may share a theme without sharing the same practical effect.
Among ordinary people are those whose innate aura takes on an unusual, personal shape: a hand that bends light, a voice that steadies panic, or a body that can turn a falling blow aside. These meta humans are not a separate people so much as a scattered human population marked by singular gifts. An ability may echo through a family, skip generations, or appear without precedent, and its strength is measured locally on a ten-point scale rather than treated as destiny.
Meta humans are human in general anatomy and appearance, with no single visible marker that identifies them.
Some show faint aura effects when using a gift: a ripple in the air, a halo of motes, a brief change in the voice, or a shimmer along the skin. Such signs vary by individual and may be absent entirely. Close relatives can share a distinctive expression, but family members may also manifest unrelated abilities or none at all.
Meta humans live wherever humans do, from crowded capitals and farming valleys to remote settlements and traveling communities.
Their gifts can influence where they feel safe, but do not dictate a particular environment.
A child whose aura is present but whose gift may not yet have emerged. Families often watch for small signs such as odd dreams, persistent static, or an instinctive response to danger.
The gift first becomes apparent, commonly during stress, illness, or adolescence. Early use is often unreliable and requires patient instruction.
An adult whose gift has settled into a recognizable expression. Most learn to use it safely, though mastery varies greatly.
An elder whose aura may have grown subtle, precise, or unexpectedly potent. Some gifts fade with age; others become more controlled.
Aura, the subtle vitality present in all living people, is usually too diffuse to notice.
In a meta human it gathers into a repeatable talent, called a gift. Gifts are intensely individual: relatives may share a broad theme, such as heat or heightened perception, while expressing it in different ways. Communities use a rough rating from 1.0 to 10.0 to describe observable intensity, with 1.0 denoting a slight effect and 10.0 an exceptional, often difficult-to-control manifestation. This scale is descriptive, not a measure of worth, and does not directly determine a person's game statistics. Training focuses on consent, safe practice, and knowing when not to use a gift.
Meta humans follow the faiths, philosophies, and customs of their families and homelands.
Some traditions regard aura as a natural life-force shared by all beings; others see gifts as coincidence, responsibility, or a mystery beyond mortal explanation. No alignment is associated with having an ability.
Meta humans are part of human communities, though public reactions to their gifts range from admiration to suspicion.
Families may celebrate an inherited ability, conceal it for safety, or disagree over how it should be used. Meta humans often form mutual-aid circles and training groups, but these are voluntary associations rather than a unified nation. A shared gift does not guarantee kinship, trust, or similar temperament.
There is no single meta-human homeland or architectural style.
Some communities build with the practical needs of local gifts in mind: broad courtyards for safe practice, padded rooms for kinetic abilities, or quiet chambers for aura-sensitive residents. These accommodations are cultural choices, not biological necessities.
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