A ref of my boi Noctis, a D&D species i made for one of my campaigns called Nightmare's.

alil story on the nightmare's, they are from the realm of nightmares, every bad dream ever dreamt by mortals and gods alike end up in there, where in time they come to be, despite their looks and creation, they are leaning more towards chaotic neutral, born to a world where they know nothing. Like children, they'll seek to explore anything, they do not need to eat or drink, but they can. However they need to sleep at least once every 24 to 32 hours, or they will start loosing strength fast, needing to re-atune to the dreams that gave them form.

Seeing as they are born of nightmare's, they usually take form of a arachnid or insectoid shape, formed to a more general shared phobia. A body of humanoid shape, but a chitin like armor and protective form covering them. They are able to shed the chitin, but this leaves them very vulnerable, and it will eventually regrow over a week. Each nightmare is created through a magical core that sits in their chest, they have no organs, and this core serves like a heart, radiating a color through them. Nightmare's can take many shapes, but one thing they all have in common, is their masks. The mask is akin to a second face, covering their true nature, and they VERY rarely if ever reveal their true face, as it causes a wave of hysteria to anyone of weak will seeing them. After taking from in the nightmare, they are able to leave the nightmare once, but they can never return.

As for Noctis, he changes between a few colors depending on the emotion he is feeling. And he is akin to a child, seeking to learn about the world and understand it, often acting like a bully or a jerk to others, but are easily calmed or found mesmerized by music or alchohol.

The nightmare's came to be in my D&D campaign with a realm as i said called the nightmare located in the elemental chaos. For player races of them, it's simply just using the changeling race to make it simple, and add a "True nature" feature that can be used once every long rest. Reveal their true nature the mask splitting open showing whatever your nightmare looks like beneath, causing fear to anyone within a cone of view of your face looking at you. Hit's everyone, including your allies!

Nightmare's is a open species, i'm not an artist so i can't really make much of it, but intend on making a ref sheet of how to make one, but a TLDR on how to make one if anyone is interested, its only flattering if one would want a nightmare of their own ^^ They need a core, the core can be any color and radiates within them, and their form is usually covered in chithin like a arachnid or bug. And they usually wear cloaks to try and blend in easier.

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