eleazzaar
2015-06-29, 09:43 PM
Elephantine DRAFT 3 (Beh-mamush)
Google Docs repository of this and other interesting 5e races. (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1m7qG9BDQEH1pIykhmUb88f1--ghHvJZlV5QBJUtzTR4/edit#heading=h.eqzqqp2gn5yu)
Lore
The elephantine are an ancient race that has quietly dwelt in inaccessible corners of the world for millennia. While their holdings are not precisely secret, they prefer to remain undisturbed by the other more tumultuous peoples. Studious, contemplative and yet devoted to family, the elephantine move through their lives with quiet dignity. The ironbacks are a more recent offshoot from that culture, embracing a less scholarly, more vigorous life in warmer lands.
Elephantine are stout, baggy-skinned humanoids with a head and trunk quite similar to an elephant, but without tusks. Their skin varies from pale to slate grey or dull brown. This tone may be relieved by pink spots and uniquely shaped patches. Over the millennia the two branches of the race have become physically distinct. While the ironbacks are usually taller, even a longhair looks down at most humanoids.
Infrequently, an elephantine will venture out into the world. They might be a rare outcast, though more likely they are driven by a thirst for knowledge that cannot be satisfied within their lands.
In their own language, they refer to themselves as “Beh-mamush”, though they take no offence at the more commonly known “elephantine” name. However, few elephantine want to be confused with the even larger loxo. If pressed they might explain that the loxo were the result of a super soldier exparament that didn’t go they way they wanted.
The elephantine claim that the language everyone else calls "draconic" today is simply the common language from the dawn of time when the elephantine, dragons, and the first few other races were civilized. The fact that few others remember the elephantine, they attribute to the fact that they don't make as much fuss and mess as the dragons.
Traits
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 1.
Age. Elephantine mature slowly, reaching adulthood around the age of 40. Their life-spans also progress slowly often reaching past the third century.
Alignment. Most elephantine are lawful neutral, and have a natural aversion to chaos, valuing stability and reliability. Their societies seldom enforce conformity however, and elephantine of all alignments can be found.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Prehensile Trunk. Elephantines possess a trunk, with three finger-like knobs. While it can be used as a third hand for most purposes, its boneless-ness does not make it suitable for wielding a weapon. You may use your trunk for your object interaction, and carry items with it. You may hold and pass a light item (such as a healing potion or a throwing weapon) between hand and trunk without using your object interaction. You may also hold a spellcasting focus and perform the somatic component of spells with your trunk.
Heavy. Due to your weight, you have disadvantage on climbing checks, and the distance you can jump is halved.
Immoveable Bulk. You gain advantage to resist being shoved, unless the creature shoving you is of a larger size.
Strong Back. Your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift, is 50% greater than normal for a creature of your size (1.5x total).
Language. You can speak read, and write Common, and Beh-mamush— an ancient dialect of Draconic.
Subrace. Choose the longhair or ironback subrace.
Longhair
Longhair are the smaller subrace of elephantine, named for their long coat of red-brown or grey fur. They prefer to live in small cities in extreme environments, such as high elevations, or northern tundra. Longhairs have shorter trunks and tend to keep them curled neatly out of the way.
The longhairs see themselves as keepers of the true and ancient culture of their people, in which knowledge and wisdom are valued above all.
Most longhairs groom their fur in a complex and unique series of braids, plaits and beads. To a long hair these signifies family ties, fields of lore mastered, beliefs and personal style.
Size. Weighing between 225 and 325 pounds and standing around 6 feet tall, your size is Medium.
Ability Score Increase. Your choice of two of the following ability scores increase by 1: Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma.
Never Forgets. You have expertise (double proficiency bonus) in one knowledge skill of your choice: Arcana, History, Nature or Religion. This proficiency bonus cannot be further increased by any other features, such as a bards or rogue’s expertise.
Extra Language. You can speak, read, and write one extra language of your choice.
Ironback
Ironback elephantine are larger, and prefer to live in small settlements amid spacious forests or shrublands. They are nearly hairless, and have longer, stronger trunks, which they use for expansive gesturing,
Ironbacks hold that wisdom and knowledge alone are worthless and that strength and courage are needed to put wisdom into action. While they also have insular communities, they are less hesitant to mingle with outsiders. Most of the elephantine encountered in the wider world are ironbacks.
Lacking hair, the ironbacks inscribe their family associations, deeds and accomplishments on their face and trunk with tattoos.
Size. Weighing between 275 and 375 pounds and ranging from 6 to 7 feet tall, your size is Medium.
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 1, and your choice of one of the following scores increase by 1: Intelligence, Wisdom or Charisma.
Elephantine Toughness. Your hit point maximum increases by 1, and it increases by 1 every time you gain an odd numbered level.
Constricting Grapple. When your trunk is not holding anything, you may use it and a hand to gain advantage on checks to grapple a single creature and to resist escape attempts from that grapple.
Points
1.00 Ability Score Increase
1.50 Trunk
-.50 Heavy
0.50 Strong Back
0.50 Immoveable Bulk
0.00 Common + 1 Language
3.00 Base Race Total
Longhair
2.25 Ability Score Increases
1.00 Knowledge skill expertise
0.25 Extra Language
6.50 Total
Ironback
2.25 Ability Score Increases
0.75 Elephantine Toughness
0.50 Advantage on Grapple
6.50 Total
Google Docs repository of this and other interesting 5e races. (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1m7qG9BDQEH1pIykhmUb88f1--ghHvJZlV5QBJUtzTR4/edit#heading=h.eqzqqp2gn5yu)
Lore
The elephantine are an ancient race that has quietly dwelt in inaccessible corners of the world for millennia. While their holdings are not precisely secret, they prefer to remain undisturbed by the other more tumultuous peoples. Studious, contemplative and yet devoted to family, the elephantine move through their lives with quiet dignity. The ironbacks are a more recent offshoot from that culture, embracing a less scholarly, more vigorous life in warmer lands.
Elephantine are stout, baggy-skinned humanoids with a head and trunk quite similar to an elephant, but without tusks. Their skin varies from pale to slate grey or dull brown. This tone may be relieved by pink spots and uniquely shaped patches. Over the millennia the two branches of the race have become physically distinct. While the ironbacks are usually taller, even a longhair looks down at most humanoids.
Infrequently, an elephantine will venture out into the world. They might be a rare outcast, though more likely they are driven by a thirst for knowledge that cannot be satisfied within their lands.
In their own language, they refer to themselves as “Beh-mamush”, though they take no offence at the more commonly known “elephantine” name. However, few elephantine want to be confused with the even larger loxo. If pressed they might explain that the loxo were the result of a super soldier exparament that didn’t go they way they wanted.
The elephantine claim that the language everyone else calls "draconic" today is simply the common language from the dawn of time when the elephantine, dragons, and the first few other races were civilized. The fact that few others remember the elephantine, they attribute to the fact that they don't make as much fuss and mess as the dragons.
Traits
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 1.
Age. Elephantine mature slowly, reaching adulthood around the age of 40. Their life-spans also progress slowly often reaching past the third century.
Alignment. Most elephantine are lawful neutral, and have a natural aversion to chaos, valuing stability and reliability. Their societies seldom enforce conformity however, and elephantine of all alignments can be found.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Prehensile Trunk. Elephantines possess a trunk, with three finger-like knobs. While it can be used as a third hand for most purposes, its boneless-ness does not make it suitable for wielding a weapon. You may use your trunk for your object interaction, and carry items with it. You may hold and pass a light item (such as a healing potion or a throwing weapon) between hand and trunk without using your object interaction. You may also hold a spellcasting focus and perform the somatic component of spells with your trunk.
Heavy. Due to your weight, you have disadvantage on climbing checks, and the distance you can jump is halved.
Immoveable Bulk. You gain advantage to resist being shoved, unless the creature shoving you is of a larger size.
Strong Back. Your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift, is 50% greater than normal for a creature of your size (1.5x total).
Language. You can speak read, and write Common, and Beh-mamush— an ancient dialect of Draconic.
Subrace. Choose the longhair or ironback subrace.
Longhair
Longhair are the smaller subrace of elephantine, named for their long coat of red-brown or grey fur. They prefer to live in small cities in extreme environments, such as high elevations, or northern tundra. Longhairs have shorter trunks and tend to keep them curled neatly out of the way.
The longhairs see themselves as keepers of the true and ancient culture of their people, in which knowledge and wisdom are valued above all.
Most longhairs groom their fur in a complex and unique series of braids, plaits and beads. To a long hair these signifies family ties, fields of lore mastered, beliefs and personal style.
Size. Weighing between 225 and 325 pounds and standing around 6 feet tall, your size is Medium.
Ability Score Increase. Your choice of two of the following ability scores increase by 1: Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma.
Never Forgets. You have expertise (double proficiency bonus) in one knowledge skill of your choice: Arcana, History, Nature or Religion. This proficiency bonus cannot be further increased by any other features, such as a bards or rogue’s expertise.
Extra Language. You can speak, read, and write one extra language of your choice.
Ironback
Ironback elephantine are larger, and prefer to live in small settlements amid spacious forests or shrublands. They are nearly hairless, and have longer, stronger trunks, which they use for expansive gesturing,
Ironbacks hold that wisdom and knowledge alone are worthless and that strength and courage are needed to put wisdom into action. While they also have insular communities, they are less hesitant to mingle with outsiders. Most of the elephantine encountered in the wider world are ironbacks.
Lacking hair, the ironbacks inscribe their family associations, deeds and accomplishments on their face and trunk with tattoos.
Size. Weighing between 275 and 375 pounds and ranging from 6 to 7 feet tall, your size is Medium.
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 1, and your choice of one of the following scores increase by 1: Intelligence, Wisdom or Charisma.
Elephantine Toughness. Your hit point maximum increases by 1, and it increases by 1 every time you gain an odd numbered level.
Constricting Grapple. When your trunk is not holding anything, you may use it and a hand to gain advantage on checks to grapple a single creature and to resist escape attempts from that grapple.
Points
1.00 Ability Score Increase
1.50 Trunk
-.50 Heavy
0.50 Strong Back
0.50 Immoveable Bulk
0.00 Common + 1 Language
3.00 Base Race Total
Longhair
2.25 Ability Score Increases
1.00 Knowledge skill expertise
0.25 Extra Language
6.50 Total
Ironback
2.25 Ability Score Increases
0.75 Elephantine Toughness
0.50 Advantage on Grapple
6.50 Total