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Avern

Varkesh

https://irp.cdn-website.com/1a87fa92/dms3rep/multi/Avern+2+-+Familiar+Arcana+TTRPG+%283%29.jpg

Medium

30

Common, plus two extra language of your choice

Athletics, Animal Handling, Insight, Intimidation, Nature, Perception, Survival, Medicine

Standard

Borrowed Lifespan

When you would be reduced to 0 Hit Points but not killed outright, you can expend one use of Resolve to instead be reduced to 1 Hit Point and gain no Exhaustion from being reduced to 0 Hit Points.

Borrowed Lifespan cannot prevent an effect that kills you outright.

You have a number of Resolve uses equal to your Strength modifier, with a minimum of one use. You regain all expended uses when you finish a Long Rest.

Memories of the Past

You gain proficiency in two Skills of your choice. If you are already proficient in a chosen Skill, you instead gain Expertise in that Skill.

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Tartarean Vengeance

The first time each round a creature within 60 feet damages you, you can use your Reaction to make an attack roll against the attacker's Reflex Defense. On a full hit, the creature takes a number of d12 fire damage equal to your Charisma modifier.

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Infernal Instincts

At Character Rank 5, you gain a +1 bonus to all Skill checks. This bonus increases by an additional +1 at Character Rank 11 and 17.

Avern are demons who have chosen to leave the Realm of Mortal Dread by entering into a soul pact with a living mortal.

Avern are demons who have chosen to leave the Realm of Mortal Dread by entering into a soul pact with a living yet hopeless mortal. In exchange for the mortal's remaining lifespan, the Avern takes their place in the mortal world, inhabiting their body and inheriting their memories, relationships, and unfinished life. The mortal is sent in their place to the Realm of Mortal Dread, where they are given another chance at reaching the Realm of Sanctuary if the Avern completes the terms of the pact.

To everyone else, this change can be almost impossible to notice. An Avern remembers the names, loves, grudges, and experiences of the person whose life they inherited, and their body remains entirely mortal. The irises of their eyes become a deep ruby red when the exchange is made, but could easily be mistaken for brown eyes. This caused a trend of many humans buying ruby red colored contacts to look cool when an Avern Bard became increasingly popular. Avern can marry, have children, grow old, and die like anyone else; their children are entirely human. Their borrowed life is not meant as an escape from punishment, but as a chance at redemption, and the soul pact prevents an Avern from returning fully to the cruelty that condemned them. Whether they become something better during that second life determines not only their own fate, but the fate of the mortal who trusted them with it.

Avern look entirely human at first glance. They inhabit the mortal body given to them through the soul pact, inheriting its height, build, features, scars, and every other physical trait it possessed before the exchange. An Avern does not grow horns, develop claws, or take on the more obvious features often associated with demons unless they cause trouble in the mortal realm. Anything supernatural is hidden until they pass or fail their redemption arc.

When the exchange takes place, the human's irises become a deep ruby red that remains for the rest of the borrowed lifespan. The color can be subtle in dim light, but up close it is unmistakable. Among those who understand what it means, ruby eyes are enough to identify an Avern immediately. Everything else about them belongs to the mortal whose life they inherited.

Avern do not have a culture in the traditional sense. Each enters the mortal world already carrying the memories, language, relationships, and social expectations of the person whose body they now inhabit. Some continue living almost exactly as that mortal did, returning to the same home, profession, family, and community. Others find that knowing how someone lived and actually being that person are very different things.

Avern rarely gather into large communities of their own, or interact with other Avern out of fear that they might feed off of eachother's potentially bad habits. Most Avern live with ordinary mortals and adopt the customs of wherever their borrowed life takes them. Few other people can relate to remembering a childhood they never lived, loving someone through memories that technically belong to another soul, or carrying guilt for things done in a life that was never truly theirs, which can lead Averns to seek out another Avern just to have someone who understands.

Some Avern become deeply protective of the mortal life entrusted to them. They care for old friends, finish unfinished work, settle debts, raise children, or repair relationships that had already begun to fall apart. Others distance themselves from the mortal's former life and try to build something new with whatever time remains. The soul pact asks that an Avern become better than what they once were, not that they perfectly imitate the person whose place they took.

Avern tend to be observant, restrained, and unusually aware of the consequences of their choices. They remember what it was like to exist in the Realm of Mortal Dread, and most understand exactly what is at stake if they waste the chance they have been given. This does not make every Avern kind, patient, or pleasant. Some are bitter, arrogant, suspicious, or difficult to trust. What separates them from the demons they once were is that cruelty can no longer be the foundation of who they are, not at first at least.

Living with another person's memories also affects Avern in different ways. Some become deeply sentimental, carrying attachments they never chose but cannot ignore. Others struggle to separate inherited emotions from their own. An Avern may remember loving someone without being certain whether that love belongs to them, or feel grief for a parent they never had. Over time, most learn to treat those memories as part of themselves, even if they came from somewhere else.

Avern are also often careful about revealing what they are. Ruby eyes cannot easily be hidden forever, not every community understands the soul pact or believes an Avern deserves the chance it represents. Some are treated with suspicion simply for having once been a demon, regardless of anything they have done since returning to the mortal world.

An Avern does not receive a new lifespan when the exchange takes place. They inherit only the years the mortal was destined to have remaining. If the mortal had forty years left to live, the Avern receives those forty years. If only three remained, then three is all they have. The length of the borrowed life is already known by the gods when the pact is made and cannot be extended simply because the body changes hands.

The Avern inherits the mortal's remaining lifespan, but that lifespan is not guaranteed. Injury, illness, dangerous living, or other mortal causes can still bring their life to an early end. The pact can never extend their life beyond the years originally given.

Avern can become sick, grow tired, suffer injury, and die like any other mortal. They possess no natural resistance to age or the elements simply because their soul is demonic. When the borrowed lifespan reaches its intended end, the soul pact is completed and both souls are judged according to its terms.

For many Avern, knowing that their remaining years are limited gives time an unusual weight. Some become intensely purposeful, refusing to waste a day of the life they were given. The Avern is never told exactly how much time they have left.

Avern have no supernatural need for heat, darkness, ash, or any other environment associated with demons. Their physical preferences are determined almost entirely by the mortal body they inhabit. An Avern in the body of someone raised along a cold northern coast may feel at home in bitter weather, while another may prefer warm cities, farmland, mountain settlements, or crowded river towns.

Many do prefer places where they are unlikely to attract attention. Large cities, border settlements, roadside communities, and mixed-species towns can be especially appealing because unusual traits are easier to ignore when everyone minds their own business. Others deliberately choose quiet villages or familiar homes, especially when they intend to continue the life of the mortal whose memories they inherited.

Some Avern avoid places strongly associated with death, judgment, or religious authority, particularly early in their borrowed life. Others are drawn to them for exactly the opposite reason. Temples, shrines, cemeteries, and places where the dead are remembered can become important reminders of why the pact was made in the first place.

An Avern may become an adventurer usually in hopes to establish good deeds, or to fulfill obligations the mortal had causing their hopelessness. A missing child, an unpaid debt, a broken oath, a vanished friend, or an enemy who still believes the same person is alive can all pull an Avern into the adventuring life. In these cases, adventuring is not always about obligation. Sometimes the Avern genuinely cares about the people involved because the memories they inherited make their relationships feel real.

Others leave because they want to prove that the soul pact was deserved. They seek out dangerous work, protect people who cannot protect themselves, hunt creatures similar to what they once were, or place themselves in situations where choosing mercy is difficult. Some believe redemption should require action rather than simply avoiding evil until their borrowed years run out.

An Avern might also adventure because remaining in the mortal's old life becomes unbearable. Knowing every detail of a marriage, family, or career does not mean they know how to live it. For some, the road offers a chance to become someone distinct from both the demon they were and the mortal whose memories they carry. While others search for answers about the soul pact itself, hoping to understand what will happen when their borrowed life finally ends.

Common Avern names include: Avar, Azren, Malek, Veyra, Soren, Nessa, Oren, Daria, Kael, Mira, Zarek, Liora, Corvin, Talia, Riven, Selka, Marek, Nika, Varro, Ilara, Lucan, Vasha, Theron, Anya, Silas, Marra, Orin, Zora, Tavik, Rhea, Jarek, Fira, Evren, Tova, Bran, Luma, Zella, Pella, Rurik, Nori, Vorn, Masha, Sava, Mirae, Fenna, Grisha, Amara.

Avern usually retain the surname of the mortal whose life they inherited. Common examples include: Hale, Mercer, Clarke, Bell, Carter, Shaw, Ward, Cole, Reed, Holt, Marsh, Wells, Sutton, Harper, Brooks, Dawson, Foster, Bennett, Turner, Miller, Cooper, Fletcher, Mason, Baker, Porter, Palmer, Hayes, Walsh, Burke, Moore, Collins, Barrett, Graham, Price, Stone, Cross, Wood, Hill, Ford, Lane, Beckett, Carver.

Avern typically align somewhere among the Good and Neutral alignments. The soul pact is offered to demons who have already chosen to seek another path, and an Avern cannot simply return to the cruelty that once defined them without jeopardizing the pact itself. This does not mean they are automatically generous, lawful, patient, or kind. An Avern can be selfish, bitter, deceitful, violent, or deeply unpleasant while still refusing to become truly evil again.

Many Avern gradually move toward Good over the course of their borrowed life, particularly as inherited memories force them to understand mortal relationships in ways they never could before. Others remain firmly Neutral, doing enough to honor the pact without becoming saints. For most, alignment is less about what they once were and more about what they choose to become with the years they have been given.

Avern who seek out Brinari settlements are often drawn to their practical outlook and willingness to judge people by how they behave rather than where they came from. Communities shaped by changing tides, dangerous waters, and constant adaptation can be surprisingly accepting of someone trying to become something different from what they once were. Many Avern find comfort among people who understand that survival often requires change.

Avern who seek out Caerwyn settlements are often drawn to their belief in cycles, balance, and the possibility that something damaged can still find a place within the living world. Caerwyn communities may remain cautious around a former demon, but those willing to accept the soul pact often see the Avern as proof that nature is not the only thing capable of renewal. Some Avern find the quiet pace of Caerwyn life especially useful when learning how to live as a mortal rather than simply imitate one.

Avern who seek out Elonian settlements are often drawn to their openness, social freedom, and willingness to let people define themselves through what they do now rather than what they once were. For an Avern carrying another person's memories and reputation, that attitude can be deeply appealing. Elonian communities also give them countless opportunities to form new relationships of their own instead of relying entirely on those inherited through the exchange.

Avern who seek out Morveth settlements are often drawn to people whose existence already challenges ordinary ideas about what a person should be. Among creatures touched by strange realms, unusual origins, and forces most mortals barely understand, an Avern's demonic soul may attract curiosity rather than immediate fear. Some also believe Morveth scholars may understand parts of the soul pact that even the Avern themselves do not.

Avern who seek out Nytherian settlements are often drawn to their scholars, magical institutions, and willingness to study unusual forms of magic. Soul pacts are rare, powerful, and poorly understood, making Avern an obvious subject of interest among theologians, Wizards, and researchers. Some welcome that attention in the hope of learning more about their condition, while others are deeply uncomfortable being treated as another magical problem waiting to be examined.

Avern who seek out Silcan settlements are often drawn to their warmth, hospitality, and insistence that celebration has value even when life is difficult. For someone who remembers the Realm of Mortal Dread and doesn't know exactly how many years remain in their borrowed life, Silcan traditions can feel almost defiant. Many Avern find themselves unexpectedly attached to communities where shared meals, gifts, festivals, and small acts of kindness are treated as important rather than frivolous.

Avern who seek out Tebian settlements are often drawn to places where a person's past is not always the first question anyone asks. Hidden rooms, border inns, roadside camps, and crowded alley markets are full of people living under names, reputations, and circumstances that may not tell the whole truth. Avern who do not wish to explain their ruby eyes or the life they inherited can often disappear more easily among Tebian communities than almost anywhere else.

Avern who seek out Varkesh settlements are often drawn to their belief that worth can be proven through discipline, strength, and action. For someone whose past cannot be erased, the idea that respect can still be earned can have enormous appeal. Some Avern become soldiers, guards, or officers because a clear hierarchy gives them a way to measure their progress. Others struggle with Varkesh attitudes toward weakness and punishment, especially when their own existence depends on the belief that even a condemned soul can deserve another chance.