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 Jinx
A Pointy Hat Racial Option for Player Characters
 Overview:
History:
Nobody knows what jinxes did to deserve their fate. Some say that they descend from a halfling
who broke all laws of hospitality and was forever cursed by Yondalla's children. Some believe
that they were created to make up for the lucky halflings, so that the cosmic scale of fate
remains in balance. Whatever the case may be, the reality is that jinxes naturally attract
misfortune wherever they go.

It matters little what a jinx does to try to offset their fate; they are constantly followed by a streak
of bad luck. A jinx attending any function will ensure that it will rain that day; a wagon will
mysteriously break down if a jinx is traveling on it; hosting a jinx in your home will lead to rats
finding their way into your pantry and a leak to form in your roof.

These mishaps influence the way that jinxes go through life. There is no jinx society, as any
concentration of jinxes in the same place tends to have terrible consequences for anyone
around them. There are no jinx family units, as it’s generally frowned upon even among jinxes to
form a relationship with another jinx, and children leave their parents behind in their teens, when
their bad luck starts to manifest. They are naturally nomadic, not just to not curse the same
place with their misfortune for long, but also because they are simply not welcomed by others,
and for regrettably good reason. The jinx’s distinctive looks make it easy for them to be spotted
and shunned. They stand around 3 feet tall, like other halflings, but that’s where the similarities
end. Their skin and hair come only in shades of gray, black, or stark white, as if color had been
sapped from them along with their luck. The dark rings around their eyes seem to be indelible,
no matter how much sleep they get, and the tips of their fingers are always slightly darker than
the rest of their skin, as if their bad luck had tainted them.

Faced with this unfortunate existence, jinxes go through life in many different ways. Since they
are nomadic by necessity, many take on adventuring, as it’s one of the few professions that can
benefit from bad luck -- after all, the jinx’s misfortune can just as easily affect those the jinx is
fighting. Some jinxes decide to rebel against their cruel fate, and try to find a way to free
themselves and their brethren from their curse in their travels, keeping a happy and positive
attitude even in the face of constant misfortune.

Some others, however, embrace their bad luck and see it as a gift. There are whispers of guilds
of jinxes that disguise their members and send them to the houses of their targets. They gain
employment as servants, or befriend them and are invited as guests, and then they just need to
stay there long enough for their natural gift to do its work. The string of bad luck will soon follow
and fall upon the house they have infiltrated. It is said that countless business magnates,
athletes, actors, and singers have had their careers ruined by a jealous rival hiring the services
of a jinx guild.

A Note on Wording:
I’m aware that WotC have stated their intention to move away from using the word “race” in their
content, replacing it with “species”.

While I agree with this change and will be honoring it, we do not yet have an example of how
this will affect specific wording, since we’ve also seen the word “lineage” being used. The word
“species” also seems to be a placeholder for the moment, and the final word will be decided
after feedback is received from the latest survey.

Because of these two points, I’ll be using “race” in this document and all further documents until
we have the final word. Once we do, I’ll go back and update these documents to reflect the
change.

For what it’s worth, I prefer the term “lineage” to “species” and hope they’ll be choosing that as
the replacement in the future!

A Note on Playing the Jinx:

Because the jinx’s trademark feature can affect other party members, it’s very important that
you talk not only with your GM but also with the other players before you choose to play a
character of this race.

I firmly believe that characters with setbacks and negative features can facilitate incredible
moments while in play, but this only works when everyone accepts and is willing to play with
those setbacks.

There is an alternate rule that will limit the effects of the jinx’s feature. As the system is written,
bad luck affects anyone around the jinx somewhat evenly: sometimes the jinx, sometimes their
party members, and sometimes NPCs. Instead, you can choose to only allow yourself and
NPCs to be affected by the bad luck, not your party members. This means that more unlucky
events will be directed at you, but it is a compromise you may be interested in taking if your
party members don't want to use the rules of the jinx's features.

Abilities:
Jinx Features:
Creature Type: You are a Humanoid.

Size: Your size is Small.

Speed: Your walking speed is 25 feet.

Nimble: You can move through the space of any creature that is of a size larger than yours.

Unalluring: You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed.

Unremarkable: Your grayscale appearance and your small size allow you to blend in with the
shadows. You have advantage on all Dexterity (Stealth) checks while in darkness or dim light.
Additionally, you can take the Hide action as a bonus action.

Trademark Feature: Jinx:

You are naturally unlucky, which affects you and anyone around you, friend or foe. At the end of
each long rest, the GM rolls a d100 on the table below to find out the effects of your bad luck. If
the GM feels like the effect rolled is unlikely to happen within that day, they roll again. The GM
then selects who or what is the target of your bad luck, and when the effect takes place. The
effects of your bad luck can affect any creature (including you) or any object within 100 feet of
you. The GM should evenly distribute the effects of your bad luck between you, your party, and
NPCs (including enemies) within that 100 feet radius. Once the effect has taken place, you gain
the ability to impose disadvantage on any dice roll, even those related to abilities or effects you
are not aware of, provided the creature affected by the disadvantage is within 100 feet of you.
Once you’ve imposed this disadvantage, the GM rolls on the table again, and so on.
At the end of a long rest, any effects that have not yet taken place, including your ability to
impose disadvantage, are discarded and the GM rolls on the table again.

01- A creature trips because of uneven 51- A mode of transportation, like a cart, a
02 ground, becoming prone. 52 horse, or a ship, breaks down, reducing
its speed to 0 for 1d12 hours until it can
be repaired or healed.

03- A creature cuts themselves on 53- A flash of light hits a creature in their
04 accident, taking 1 point of slashing 54 eyes, blinding them for one round.
damage.

05- A building, like a house, a shop, or an 55- A non-magical object falls to the ground,
06 inn, suffers some minor structural 56 breaking on impact.
damage that will take 20 gold pieces
and 2d8 hours to repair.

07- A creature accidentally leaves behind 57- A creature twists their ankle or otherwise
08 a non-magical object in their 58 becomes injured, and their speed is
 possession. reduced by half (rounding down) for 1d4
hours.

09- A creature develops an illness, 59- The weather shifts drastically, creating
10 suffering the effects of the poisoned 60 torrential rain for 2d4 hours.
condition for 1d4 days.

11- 10% of the gold pieces a creature is 61- A plague of locusts passes through,
12 carrying are lost, accidentally left 62 obscuring the space they occupy for 1d6
behind, or stolen. hours and destroying all crops in their
path.

13- A creature accidentally drops their 63- A splinter lodges itself in a creature's
14 weapon. 64 body, dealing 1 point of slashing damage.

15- A spell or cantrip malfunctions when 65- A creature’s piece of equipment, like a
16 cast. Roll on the wild magic table for 66 shield, a weapon, or a piece of armor,
the result. suffers damage that will take 50 gold
pieces and 1d4 days to repair.

17- A building, like a house, a shop, or an 67- A creature forgets the name of a casual
18 inn, suffers some major structural 68 acquaintance as they go to interact with
damage that will take 100 gold pieces them.
in materials and 2d6 days to repair.

19- A creature’s performance goes terribly 69- A belt, shoelaces, or another fastening
20 wrong. 70 comes undone.

21- A creature hiding or trying to not
22 attract attention to themselves fails to
do so, making a loud noise or
otherwise revealing their location.
71- A heavy object, such as a shelf, a suit of
72 armor, or a wardrobe, falls on a creature,
dealing 1d8 points of bludgeoning
damage, knocking the creature prone,
and restraining them.

23- A food item or dish spoils and 73- A creature lightly burns themselves by
24 becomes inedible. 74 accident, taking 1 point of fire damage.

25- A creature develops a mild allergic
26 reaction, suffering the effects of the
poisoned condition for 1d4 hours.
75- A creature makes a bad impression on
76 another creature, taking a -5 to all
Charisma (Persuasion and Deception)
checks against that creature until their
opinion is changed.

27- The weather shifts drastically, creating 77- A wild animal finds its way into an
28 a heatwave for 2d4 hours. 78 enclosed space; for example, a bat flying
into a room through the window.

29- A creature bumps their head on an 79- A creature’s plans don’t go as planned
30 obstacle, taking 1 point of bludgeoning 80 because of an unforeseen circumstance.
damage.
31- An unexpected occurrence throws off 81- An article of clothing snags on something,
32 a creature attempting to use their skills 82 causing a small tear on it.
to perform an action. They take -5 to a
skill check.

33- The weather shifts drastically, creating 83- Vermin ruin an object; for example, moths
34 a snowstorm for 2d4 hours. 84 eat holes in a garment or ants eat the
food in a pantry.

35- An expensive non-magical item 85- A creature’s food stock, such as a

36 breaks. 86 grocer’s produce or an adventurer’s
rations, goes bad and becomes inedible.

37- A mirror or other reflective surface 87- A plant dies because of over- or
38 breaks. 88 underwatering.

39- The weather shifts drastically, creating 89- A creature loses a key or an object that
40 a hailstorm for 2d4 hours. 90 unlocks something else.

41- The weave of magic shifts in an
42 unusual and unnatural way. All
damaging spells cast for 1d4 hours
around the jinx cause 1d6 points less
damage.
91- The weave of magic shifts in an unusual
92 and unnatural way. All damaging spells
cast for 1d4 hours around the jinx change
damage type.

43- A creature loses a game of chance. 93- A creature becomes the target of a thief,
44 94 losing an object in their possession that a
thief could feasibly steal.

45- The weather shifts drastically, creating 95- A window is struck by something and
46 an icy strong wind for 2d4 hours. 96 shatters.

47- A black cat crosses a creature’s path 97- A source of light extinguishes itself.
48 from left to right. 98

49- A lightning storm forms unexpectedly. 99- A creature suffers a sudden heart attack.
50 A creature is then struck by lightning, 00 If they are not healed for their total HP in
taking 4d10 points of lightning 1 minute after the start of the heart attack,
damage. the creature dies.
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