
Changelings are a supernatural species of shape-shifting creatures in Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) that can take the form of any human. They are often depicted with pale skin, straw-like white hair, and black or white eyes. While changelings possess violent impulses, they are tempered with humanity, making them unique and enigmatic. They have a fluid relationship with gender and can be bisexual or non-binary. They can eat the same food as humans but have a stronger fortitude, allowing them to consume rotten food or raw meat. They have a particular affinity for citrus fruits and caffeine, which can induce a euphoric state similar to drunkenness. Interestingly, when a changeling takes on a human form, they also develop a preference for the food liked by the person they are imitating. But do changelings need to eat and sleep?
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Need to eat | Yes, the same food as humans |
| Need to sleep | No, but they do need to meditate deeply for 4 hours a day |
| Retain form when sleeping | Yes |
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What You'll Learn
- Changelings don't need to sleep, but they do need to enter a trance-like state for 4 hours a day
- Changelings can eat the same food as humans, but they can also eat rotten food or raw meat
- They have a stronger fortitude than humans, and caffeine affects them more potently
- Changelings can shapeshift into any humanoid they want, but they need something of the target's to do so
- Changelings can only produce offspring with humans, and the result is always another changeling

Changelings don't need to sleep, but they do need to enter a trance-like state for 4 hours a day
Changelings are a race of supernatural creatures who can take the form of any human. They are the result of a union between humans and doppelgangers, and possess a variety of abilities, including shape-shifting and enhanced agility.
Interestingly, changelings don't need sleep. Instead, they enter a trance-like state for four hours each day, during which they remain semi-conscious. This state is referred to as "changeling trance." After this period of rest, changelings gain the same benefits that a human would from eight hours of sleep.
While the ability to forgo sleep may seem like a significant advantage, it's worth noting that changelings still require a significant amount of rest, albeit in a different form. This trance-like state allows them to restore their energy and maintain optimal function, similar to how sleep benefits humans.
It is important to note that while changelings don't need to sleep, they can still choose to do so if they wish. This is especially true for "Becomers," a group of changelings who tend to repress their shape-shifting abilities and adopt a single form. They may sleep like humans to fit in with their community and further their disguise.
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Changelings can eat the same food as humans, but they can also eat rotten food or raw meat
Changelings, a race of supernatural creatures, are the result of a union between humans and doppelgangers. They are able to shapeshift into other humans, but their abilities are more limited than those of their doppelganger cousins. Interestingly, they possess a moral compass, which tempers their violent impulses with humanity.
In their natural form, changelings have pale grey or white skin, thin white hair, small pointed ears, and long limbs. Their facial features are not fully defined, with only a hint of a nose, lips, and blank eyes. They stand just over five feet tall and have a gaunt appearance.
When it comes to sustenance, changelings can eat the same food as humans. However, they also have the ability to consume rotten food or raw meat, although most prefer not to. This is likely due to their dulled sense of taste in their natural form, which can even be nonexistent in some cases.
Changelings particularly enjoy citrus fruits, especially grapefruit, and other acidic foods, while tending to avoid starchy options. They also have a fondness for black coffee, as caffeine affects them much more strongly than humans, inducing a euphoric sense of joy akin to the effects of illegal drugs.
An intriguing aspect of changelings is their tendency to develop a preference for the favourite foods of the humans they are imitating, even if it is something they would typically dislike. This demonstrates the extent of their shapeshifting abilities, which go beyond mere physical appearance and influence their sensory perceptions as well.
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They have a stronger fortitude than humans, and caffeine affects them more potently
Changelings are a supernatural species that evolved from the union of humans and doppelgangers. They are regarded as a humanoid species or a "Shadow species" that is separate but related to humans. They possess a range of human emotions and thought processes, as well as violent impulses inherited from their doppelganger cousins.
Changelings have a stronger fortitude than humans, enabling them to eat rotten food or raw meat, although most prefer not to. Their sense of taste in their natural form is highly dulled, and they particularly enjoy citrus fruits and other acidic foods. Interestingly, when a changeling takes on a human form, they tend to develop a preference for whatever food the human they are imitating enjoys.
Caffeine affects changelings much more potently than humans. Consuming black coffee can induce a euphoric sense of joy, similar to the effects of illegal drugs, and they may act like a human drunk on alcohol. This heightened sensitivity to caffeine is a notable aspect of their physiology, setting them apart from humans and other species in the Dungeons & Dragons world.
In addition to their enhanced fortitude, changelings possess enhanced agility due to their flexible and fluid physical forms. They also have strong mental defences, making it difficult for psychics to "break into" their minds. Their ability to regenerate and heal wounds quickly further contributes to their robust constitution. These traits collectively showcase the resilience and unique characteristics of changelings in the context of the game.
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Changelings can shapeshift into any humanoid they want, but they need something of the target's to do so
Changelings are half-human, half-doppelganger creatures with shape-changing abilities. They can change their appearance and voice as an action, determining specifics such as height, weight, hair length, and sex. They can also adjust their height and weight, but not so much that their size changes from Medium to Small or Large. Changelings can impersonate another medium-sized humanoid of any race, as long as they have seen the creature before and it has the same basic arrangement of limbs. This means they can't grow extra limbs, wings, tails, or horns, but they could grow a unicorn horn as it is not a paired appendage.
Changelings need to have seen the creature they wish to shift into. They can't simply will themselves to be blue, for example, without modelling that shift on a creature they have seen. They can, however, make themselves blue while taking the shape of a creature they know, as long as it is within the limitations of that creature's form.
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Changelings can only produce offspring with humans, and the result is always another changeling
Changelings are half-human, half-doppelganger creatures that can breed with other humanoids, including humans, to produce offspring. When a changeling breeds with another humanoid, there is a 50% chance that the child will be a changeling and a 50% chance that the child will be of the other parent's race. This means that if a changeling breeds with a human, there is a 50% chance that the child will be a changeling and a 50% chance that the child will be human. It is not possible to have a "half-changeling" child; the child will always be either a changeling or a human.
Changelings are shape-shifters, able to change their physical appearance and voice, including their coloration, hair length, sex, height, and weight, but not their clothing. They are also limited to adopting the form of a creature with the same basic arrangement of limbs that they have. Changelings have a fluid relationship with gender, seeing it as just one more characteristic that they can change.
Changelings are born from the union of a doppelganger and a human. Doppelgangers are too lazy or self-interested to raise their young, so they trick others into doing it for them. They assume attractive male forms and seduce women, leaving them to raise their children. A doppelganger child appears to be a normal member of its mother's species until it reaches adolescence, at which point it discovers its true nature and leaves to join its kind.
In the Eberron campaign setting, changelings are considered to be genetically descended from shape-shifting monsters like doppelgangers. However, most changelings believe that their shape-shifting abilities are a gift from a deity known as The Traveller. They believe that doppelgangers are mentally damaged changelings with no respect for preserving their identities, making them dangerous psychopaths.
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Frequently asked questions
Changelings can eat the same food as humans, but they have a stronger fortitude and can also eat rotten food or raw meat. In their natural form, their sense of taste is highly dulled and in some cases, non-existent. Most changelings enjoy citrus fruits and other acidic foods, and tend to avoid starchy foods.
Changelings don't need to sleep. Instead, they meditate deeply, remaining semiconscious, for 4 hours a day. This state is called a "trance". After resting in this way, they gain the same benefit that a human does from 8 hours of sleep.
Yes. There is no rule against changelings maintaining their alternate form when they sleep. The power that allows a changeling to disguise themselves states: "The new form lasts until you change form again."
In their natural form, a changeling stands just over five feet tall with pale grey or white skin and thin, straw-like, white hair. They have small, pointed ears and disproportionately long limbs compared to humans, giving them a gaunt appearance. Their facial features are more defined than those of a doppelganger but less finished than a human, with a hint of a nose, lips, and blank white or black eyes.
Changelings can only produce offspring with humans. The result of these couplings are always changelings themselves.











































