Khajiit (Elder Scrolls: Skyrim) as a 5e Player Race (PEACH)

[DracoKnight]

Khajiit
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and your Intelligence or Wisdom score increases by 1.*
Age. Khajiit reach maturity at around 10 years old, and live to be about 90 years old.
Alignment. Khajiit are looked down upon by most, and this has forced them to do what they must to survive. They tend towards being chaotic beings, but individuals make a conscious choice for good or evil, with some making the decision to stay on the edge of the two.
Size. Khajiit stand between 5 and 6 feet tall. Your size is medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Superior Darkvision. You can see 120 feet in darkness. You see everything in shades of grey, but this does not hinder your ability to perceive or investigate in the dark.
Khajiit Weapon Training. You are proficient with Battle Claws. If you are using a class feature that specifies a type of weapon, a Khajiit may use these instead.
Feline Agility. You are proficient in the Stealth and Acrobatics skills.
Catfall. When you are falling you may make a Dexterity saving throw. If you succeed you take no damage, if you fail you take half damage. The Save DC for this Saving Throw is 15.
Claws. You are proficient with your unarmed strikes which deal 1d4 slashing damage. You may use your Strength or Dexterity for these attacks. Your unarmed strikes do not count as Finesse.
Languages. You can read, write, and speak Common and Undercommon.

Khajiit are looked down upon by most, so some turn to thievery, and using their stealth for selfish gain. Others, however, might use the condescension of other races as the focal point for their personal meditation. Khajiit should make good Rogues or Monks.

Khajiit Weapon Training
Battle Claws 100gp 1d8 Slashing 1 lbs. Light, Finesse, Exotic

This weapon was homebrewed by me, using the rules set out here: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?378583-Weapon-Damage-Logic-Hot-to-Homebrew-and-Why-Some-Weapons-are-Trap-Options

The battle claws were made to basically to give the Khajiit something unique to them (for combat) that others could only get through the Weapon Master Feat. You would still have to pay for them, as they're not part of any starting equipment (I will explain).

The basis for their damage die: as laid out in the link I have posted above, everything starts with 1d10.
1d10+light = 1d8
1d8+finesse = 1d6
1d6+exotic = 1d8

Exotic is a weapon drawback that my DM and I agreed upon so that not just any character could get these without a feat. It's basically so that no character can start out with these (which, aesthetically, are gauntlets with retractible blades that act as an extension of the Khajiit/Aarakocra/Razorclaw Shifter's claws, or just as a concealed slashing weapon for other races) and you would have to spend an ASI to get them.

Please give me your feedback on the Khajiit, the weapon has (obviously) already been approved by my DM, and I only included it for the sake of clarity when giving your thoughts on the balance of the Khajiit against the other races of 5e :)

Thank you! :D

*WotC did something similar in their recent Unearthed Arcana: Waterborne Adventures with the Kyrnn Minotaur which got to choose which stat it's second ASI went into (the choice was between Strength, Intelligence, and Wisdom).

[JNAProductions]

Exotic doesn't actually exist. The only Finesse 1d8 weapons is the Rapier, which is not Light.

It should really have a 1d6 damage die.

Outside that, looks good. Gets a natural weapon and superior darkvision, but that's it. Seems fair to me.

[Ninja_Prawn]

I like it too. It's got the same stat boosts as high elf (if you take the Int option, which feels more khajiit-ish to me), but feels distinct enough that you would sometimes choose one and sometimes the other.

And I'm with you on exotic weapons. They're in my house rule book. It's a much-needed boost to the Weapon Master feat (and a nice option for the gladiator background). I wouldn't necessarily say that the khajiit need it to make them stand out - they're already cat people - but it doesn't look unbalanced.

[DracoKnight]

Exotic doesn't actually exist. The only Finesse 1d8 weapons is the Rapier, which is not Light.

It should really have a 1d6 damage die.

Outside that, looks good. Gets a natural weapon and superior darkvision, but that's it. Seems fair to me.

Thank you, I'm glad you think it's balanced. :)

I realize that exotic doesn't actually exist as far as official stats. This is a house rule. My DM and I have agreed on this drawback so that a character would have to actively seek out this weapon via the Weapon Master feat. And we agreed that the damage die isn't overpowered since: 1) You don't get these weapons from any equipment package, and you need to take a feat for them since they aren't Simple or Martial. 2) They cost 100gp. You're not getting them as a 1st level character - even as a Khajiit. They take time to acquire.

[JNAProductions]

Fair enough. I'd add an addendum stating what house-rules it relies on, but with them, seems pretty good.

[DracoKnight]

I like it too. It's got the same stat boosts as high elf (if you take the Int option, which feels more khajiit-ish to me), but feels distinct enough that you would sometimes choose one and sometimes the other.

And I'm with you on exotic weapons. They're in my house rule book. It's a much-needed boost to the Weapon Master feat (and a nice option for the gladiator background). I wouldn't necessarily say that the khajiit need it to make them stand out - they're already cat people - but it doesn't look unbalanced.

Exotic weapons make a lot of sense to me :) And it gives someone like a Fighter or a Paladin a reason to take Weapon Master to get slightly more variety than they already have, or to allow characters that don't have access to a lot of weapons to gain access to a weapon that no one else has. It's a fun house rule mechanic, and I'm surprised it's not in the official rules :P :)

It is a little bit like the High Elf, but there are so many things that I feel Dex/Int (or Wis) are an appropriate stat bump for. Thank you for your thoughts and comments on the Khajiit :D

[eleazzaar]

I estimate this race is about in the middle (possibly a little lower) of the PHB +EE race power curve-- unless their custom weapon gives them some advantage I'm not aware of. Is there a mechanical point to these, or is it just for flavor?



Feline Agility. You are proficient in the Stealth and Acrobatics skills.

Personally I think giving a particular skills to a race in most cases isn't a very interesting way to build one. The PHB/EE do that very rarely, with good reason (twice i think). Because it doesn't make the race special. Yes, a Khajiit has Stealth and acrobatics-- but they aren't any better at it than anyone else who takes that skill. I think the "Mask of the Wild", and halfling's "Naturally Stealthy" are more interesting ways to make a race good at something, in this case stealth. These abilities let them do something no other race can.

For instance instead of acrobatics prof, why not homebrew an ability like "Catfall" or give them advantage of acrobatics under certain circumstances?

[Ninja_Prawn]

unless their custom weapon gives them some advantage I'm not aware of. Is there a mechanical point to these, or is it just for flavor?


Dual-weild d8 damage dice without a feat. And they're finesse. It's small, but fairly unique.

[DracoKnight]

Dual-weild d8 damage dice without a feat. And they're finesse. It's small, but fairly unique.

They're basically Light rapiers as far as damage is concerned.

[DracoKnight]

I estimate this race is about in the middle (possibly a little lower) of the PHB +EE race power curve-- unless their custom weapon gives them some advantage I'm not aware of. Is there a mechanical point to these, or is it just for flavor?



Personally I think giving a particular skills to a race in most cases isn't a very interesting way to build one. The PHB/EE do that very rarely, with good reason (twice i think). Because it doesn't make the race special. Yes, a Khajiit has Stealth and acrobatics-- but they aren't any better at it than anyone else who takes that skill. I think the "Mask of the Wild", and halfling's "Naturally Stealthy" are more interesting ways to make a race good at something, in this case stealth. These abilities let them do something no other race can.

For instance instead of acrobatics prof, why not homebrew an ability like "Catfall" or give them advantage of acrobatics under certain circumstances?

For a homebrew ability instead of giving them skills, what about taking the word "Catfall": when you fall a distance equal to your Dexterity modifier x 2 you make a Dexterity saving throw, and on a success take no falling damage, and on a fail you take half?

[Ninja_Prawn]

For a homebrew ability instead of giving them skills, what about taking the word "Catfall": when you fall a distance equal to your Dexterity modifier x 2 you make a Dexterity saving throw, and on a success take no falling damage, and on a fail you take half?

Or just keep it simple. Give them a DEX save to halve the falling damage at any height (that's how cats work IRL, right?). Most people don't get any protection against falling damage, once they're airborne.

[DracoKnight]

Or just keep it simple. Give them a DEX save to halve the falling damage at any height (that's how cats work IRL, right?). Most people don't get any protection against falling damage, once they're airborne.

That is very true :)

[DracoKnight]

Any other thoughts?

[Ninja_Prawn]

Any other thoughts?

Honestly, I think you're good. It's time to see how it works at the table.

[DracoKnight]

Honestly, I think you're good. It's time to see how it works at the table.

I will playtest it, and let the forum know how it goes :)

[DracoKnight]

My feedback to the Forum: the khajiit is balanced for 5e. I am going to begin working on the other Skyrim Races to update them for 5e :smallbiggrin:

[Ninja_Prawn]

Wow, that's a blast from the past. Are you going to do every elder scrolls race, or just the ones that don't correlate with PHB races?

[DracoKnight]

Wow, that's a blast from the past. Are you going to do every elder scrolls race, or just the ones that don't correlate with PHB races?

I'm going to do all of the Skyrim races for sure. For the various humans throughout the realm, I'm probably going to hoomebrew a feat, and then Players will select Variant Human, choosing which subrace they are by using their Feat.

It has the added bonus of mitigating munchkinning with the Variant Human.

[Ninja_Prawn]

I'm going to do all of the Skyrim races for sure. For the various humans throughout the realm, I'm probably going to hoomebrew a feat, and then Players will select Variant Human, choosing which subrace they are by using their Feat.

It has the added bonus of mitigating munchkinning with the Variant Human.

That's pretty neat. I'd have been tempted to just go Imperial = Variant Human, Redguard = Standard Human, Nord = <homebrew>, Breton = Half-Elf and leave it at that. How are you planning to distinguish Altmer, Bosmer, Dunmer and Orsimer from Elves and Half-Orcs?