Planar Touched

Being touched by the planes in the ways traditionally seen in humanoids is much less common for Saurians, such as genasi, tieflings, and aasimar. While equivalents of these do occur in The World Behind, tieflings and aasimar are maybe once in a generation occurrences, and genasi are rare enough to make the news when hatched. For reasons unknown, earth and water genasi arise more than air or fire genasi. What their appearance means to their community differs by element, with fire genasi being considered lucky due to their connection to the sun and stars, while for example earth genasi are a sign storms are coming (and the community needs to fortify themselves and the land). Tieflings and aasimar meanwhile both find themselves fighting against the view that their existence is a sign the otherworlders are a corrupting influence.

Being touched by the astral plane or far realms has been reported for as far back as Saurian recorded history. These Saurians are rarely fully physically transformed in the manner of the earlier examples, but instead usually have one or two aspects that signify the influence. An astral touched Saurian may have literal stars in their eyes for example, or odd feather patterns that seem to shift with the phases of the moon. These Saurians are often well respected, being astral touched is seen as a boon and speaks positively of themselves and their family to have been blessed in such a manner.

Being touched by the far realms, however, is looked upon with fear, or at least as a mark of concern. These Saurians may be shunned by their families, especially in small communities, and may be discouraged from having children to avoid spreading the influence. Some try to hide their marks, as often their differences are harder to see physically, but the anxiety over being discovered remains. Those touched by the far realm may be able to do things like see a persons secrets or inspire confusion, and might exhibit tendencies like speaking in nonsense metaphors, made up words, or preferring discordant music. Physically it rarely manifests in large ways, instead having small clues like claws that must be carefully trimmed lest they grow in spirals, or oddly shaped crests/spikes.

(Mechanically speaking, astral or far realm touched is not a complete lineage change, but instead selecting one or two attributes from the original lineage to substitute with planar touched options.)