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View Full Version : D&D 5e/Next Lizardfolk PC race. 3 subraces Partial Background



eleazzaar
2016-09-19, 10:34 AM
There are a lot of lizardfolk homebrew out there, but I wanted to do something that stuck pretty close to 5e cannon, while getting fleshed out a bit more, and having some unique and flavorful abilities. The "Mucktread" are the classic lizardfolk, and I got a bit more creative with the other two subraces.

This is the early stage of development. Pretty graphics and more description will come after the mechanics are locked down.

Feedback on balance and phrasing is very much desired. The fluff description is now pretty minimal. I don't want to put much time into that until the mechanics are locked down. I don't think the subraces are quite equivalent in power-- I left it that way so to see where people think the best balance lies.

Does the lore have a term that lizardfolk use for non-reptilian races? "Softskins" is the closest i can come up with, but I'm not really sure I didn't make that up. "Pinkskin" also sounds familiar, but that tends to only fit white-skinned demihumans.

In addition to comments on balance in a vaccuum, i'd be interested to hear what builds these guys would excell at. Thanks in advance.



Lizardfolk Traits

Your lizardfolk character has certain characteristics in common with all other lizardfolk.

Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2.

Age. Lizardfolk mature according to the amount of food they eat. They reach adulthood somewhere between their early teens and late twenties. They may live several hundred years, but very few lizardfolk live nearly long enough to die of old age.

Alignment. Lizardfolk tend to concern themselves with little outside the immediate needs of their clan or tribe. They tend toward neutral alignments.

Size. Lizardfolk size varies with the quality of their diet. Adults may weigh between 100 and 250 pounds. Though usually hunched, standing tall they measure between 5 and 7 feet tall. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Scaly Hide. Your tough scales offer some protection. When unarmored, your AC is equal to 12 + your dexterity modifier.

Cold-blooded. Lizardfolk prefer warm or hot environments, and roll with disadvantage for any checks related to enduring cold weather.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common, and a debased dialect of Draconic unique to your tribe or clan. With some effort you can communicate with speakers of other forms of Draconic. While most lizardfolk know only a little bit of Common, but those who deal with outsiders (and that includes you as an adventurer) pick up enough Common to get by in other lands.

Subraces. Three major subraces of lizardfolk are found among the worlds of D&D: muck tread, dry claw, and ghost scale. Choose one of these subraces.


Mucktread

As a mucktread lizarfolk, swamps, stagnant lakes, and the surrounding land are your natural domain. You are equally at home on land or under the water. Your powerful tail can propel you through the water as swiftly as you can walk on land. Mucktread are the biggest, toughest and most common type of lizardfolk. Most outsiders probably don’t even realize there are other types.

Mucktread typically bear scales of muddy green or brown with darker accents. Often the colors form subtile patterns unique to each individual.

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 1.

Toothy Jaws. You are never unarmed. You are proficient with your bite, which is a melee weapon that deals 1d6 piercing damage. On a successful bite attack, you may attempt to grapple the bitten foe as a bonus action.

Swim. You have a swimming speed of 30 feet.

Hold Breath. You can hold your breath for 15 minutes.

At Home in the Muck. You can move across difficult terrain made of mud or similar sludgy substances without expending extra movement.


Dry Claw

As a dry claw your kind has left the chaos of the water behind long ago, in exchange for the purity of the desert sands. You are leaner and shorter in body than other lizardfolk, but with a longer, flexible neck.

Dry Claw typically bear scales of brown, tan or pale grey, set in a pebbly pattern. The light colors help to deflect the heat of the sun.

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 1.

Venomous Fangs. You are never unarmed. You are proficient with your bite, which is a finesse melee weapon that deals 1d4 piercing damage and 1d8 poison damage. Your attack ability modifier is added to the piercing damage, but not the poison damage.
This feature wiill be changed: probably requiring a bonus action to inject poison and a CON save.

Desert Born. You’re acclimated to the extreme heat of the desert. You’re naturally adapted to hot climates, as described in chapter 5 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide.

Additionally, you can move across difficult terrain made of sand without expending extra movement.


Ghost Scale

Though lizardfolk usually dwell on the surface, from time to time a group will find its way into the caverns of the world. Some find ways to survive and reproduce. They forget the surface, and adapt to fishing the dark waters, and their jaws weaken due to the smallness of their prey. There over the generations, they grow pale and their senses attune to the darkness. Used to underwater pools, Ghost scale lizard folk have kept the affinity for the water they inherited from their muck tread ancestors.

Ghost scale lizard folk are typically albinos, with no pigments in their scales. Their scales are milky white or ivory, and their eyes are pink or pale blue.

Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 1.

Lesser Jaws. You are never unarmed. You are proficient with your bite, which is a melee weapon that deals 1d4 piercing damage.

Darkvision. Accustomed to life underground, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Swim. You have a swimming speed of 30 feet.

Hold Breath. You can hold your breath for 15 minutes.




Lizardfolk Background

Skill Proficiencies: Athletics, Survival

Tool Proficiency: your choice of two of the following: cook's utensils, herbalism kit, leather working tools, poisoner's kit, woodworking tools, or vehicles (land).


Equipment: The symbol of your clan (a tattoo, necklace or other item), a fishing net, a box of various spicy seasonings, a set of common clothes adapted to your physiology, and a pouch containing 15 gp.

Feature:

Wanderer, same as outlander background

Suggested Characteristics
Most lizardfolk know little about the world beyond their tribe or clan’s land, and care less. Those that explore the outside world are driven by an unusual circumstance or need. A lizardfolk will be an outsider, and possibly unwelcome in most civilized places. A lizardfolk will almost never be blasé about the world of the unscaled but have some strong reaction to the people's, cultures and material civilizations that are so different from those of his home tribe.

Personality Trait


I always look for ways to test and improve my strength.

The main joy of life is to taste new foods.

Nature provides many signs of what will come. I read these omens in everything.

There is so many wonderful things to see outside my tribal lands. I can never get enough of seeing new things!

I often disparage the culture of non-lizardfolk, and point out ways that the lizardfolk are superior.

The unscaled usually think I am stupid. I often play to their expectations and take advantage of their folly.

I do everything I can so sample all the civilized luxuries available among the non-lizardfolk.

The noise and press of the cities is disturbing. I prefer to be among few people in the wilderness.



Ideal


Tradition. The lizardfolk traditions are the only true path to right living. (Lawful)

Reconciliation. Somehow I must make peace between the lizardfolk and other races.(Good)

Freedom. Both the traditions of the lizardfolk and the laws of outsiders, are harmful restraints. (Chaotic)

Power. The strong are worthy to do as they please to the weak. (Evil)

Progress. I must find a way to bring the innovations of the outer world to strengthen the lizardfolk. (Lawful)

Emissary. I seek to prove to outsiders that lizardfolk can be as accomplished and civilized as any other race. (Any)


Bond


My visions have shown that I must make a long pilgrimage outside lizardfolk lands to avert a terrible evil.

One day I will get revenge over the corrupt chief who exiled me from the tribe.

I owe my life to the unscaled who took me in, healed my wounds and taught me to live outside the lizardfolk lands.

Dragons are the most powerful and marvelous of creatures. I seek to lean more about them, and perhaps one day meet one

I will do anything to protect the lands where my people live.

One day I will return to my tribe and prove I was exiled unjustly.



Flaw


I often wonder what the unscaled I meet would taste like grilled over a fire.

All unscaled care nothing for lizardfolk. None can be trusted.

I don't understand the unscaled concept of property.

I can never let an insult or slight stand without responding.

When things don't go my way, I disappear into the wilderness for a while.

I can't get enough of the unscaled's alcohol

arrowed
2016-09-19, 11:35 AM
This looks good. Lizardfolk might refer to less lizardy beings as unscaled. My only question is why the Dryclaw's poisonous bite doesn't have a con save for half or no poison damage.

eleazzaar
2016-09-19, 11:46 AM
This looks good. Lizardfolk might refer to less lizardy beings as unscaled. My only question is why the Dryclaw's poisonous bite doesn't have a con save for half or no poison damage.

"Unscaled" is good.:smallsmile:

I didn't have a CON save because usually an attack is resolved with a single roll. I didn't want to overcomplicate things.

*EDIT:* On reflection, I think I will make the injection of poison a bonus action with cantrip like scaling, and a CON save. That will make it more relevant across levels, while also keeping it from being abused at lower levels....

Rerem115
2016-09-19, 01:35 PM
1d4+1d8 is usually about 8 damage, which is one more than a battleaxe and about the same as a great-sword. Thing is, since it's a finesse weapon, your rogue can now essentially sneak attack with a great-sword. That's a pretty big damage bonus, especially at low levels.

eleazzaar
2016-09-19, 02:51 PM
1d4+1d8 is usually about 8 damage, which is one more than a battleaxe and about the same as a great-sword. Thing is, since it's a finesse weapon, your rogue can now essentially sneak attack with a great-sword. That's a pretty big damage bonus, especially at low levels.

I know it is out of bounds, see the edit on my previous post. There's nothing like posting online to help you realize your stupidity. On the other hand, this is the subrace's major feature-- it is supposed to be cool and significant, if situational.

arrowed
2016-09-19, 03:15 PM
Dragonborn breath weapons scale in a similar fashion, but they're 1/rest, area, and half damage on a successful save. Poison spray is something you could build off, but so is firebolt. The poisonous snake in the PHB might be another useful resource with how it's poisonous bite works. I think 1d4 piercing plus nd8 poison (constitution save negates) where n scales as a cantrip seems balanced. Con save half makes it a bit more powerful, but they already need to hit with a melee attack and poison is a common resistance/immunity.

eleazzaar
2016-09-19, 03:30 PM
Thanks for the analysis, I'm on the same page with you.


I think 1d4 piercing plus nd8 poison (constitution save negates) where n scales as a cantrip seems balanced.

That was pretty much what I came up with.


Venomous Fangs. You are never unarmed. You are proficient with your bite, which is a finesse melee weapon that deals 1d4 piercing damage. On a successful bite you can attempt to inject poison through your fangs as a bonus action. The creature must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or take 1d8 poison damage. Your poison’s damage increases by 1d8 when you reach 5th level (2d8), 11th level (3d8), and 17th level (4d8). The saving throw DC for your poison is 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Constitution Modifier.

I'm wanting something that's a defining feature of the subrace, and is pretty useful, but doesn't break the game. Piling on damage to a single weak base attack is very much a rogue thing, but the fact that this competes with a rogue's cunning action for the use of the bonus action, is another balancing point, and I hope a pretty interesting tactical decision.

What other kinds of builds would this be useful for? It isn't my intention to build this as a "Play me as a Rogue!" subrace, but that's how it is looking. Though i find it hard to switch between the mindset of a designer to a player looking to min/max the content.

EDIT: Drat-- just realized this should stack with the new SCAG cantrip Greenflame Blade and Booming Blade. A problem or not?

VoxRationis
2016-09-19, 03:49 PM
I suppose you could just reduce the base damage to 1 or 1d2, and make the majority of the damage come straight from poison, no save and no bonus action. Reduce the fuss, keep the flavor. I'm not sure how that works out mathematically.

I feel like lizardfolk wouldn't have a word that means "unscaled" directly; they'd probably consider "scaled" to be the default, not worth having a word for, and thus they wouldn't have a word that is a negative form of "scaled". They'd probably have words that are translated as "unscaled," but come closer to our words like "naked."

arrowed
2016-09-19, 03:56 PM
That was pretty much what I came up with.

Ah, I should have made it clear I was talking about your edit there. My mistake.

I don't have SCAG, but if the bite and one of the cantrips can be used together that is... potent. Probably overpowered. And I didn't consider sneak attack. Although presumably a rogue could achieve the same effect with Magic Initiate, yes? And GFB and BB both have riding effects about the target moving or hitting an adjacent target I think. Maybe it should be just 1d8 con negates.
Paladin Improved Smite adds more at-will damage, as do the martial classes' Extra Attack features, which I think specifically can't double up with GFB or BB.
If this was a magic weapon, we could compare it to Flame Tongue and Frost Brand in the DMG, which do 2d6 and 1d6 extra damage respectively with no save. Useful guideline perhaps?

eleazzaar
2016-09-19, 06:46 PM
I think I need to rewrite it as a once-per-short-rest ability-- but scale up the power-- something more in line with the dragonborn's breath.

Otherwise it is effectively a free cantrip that stacks with other cantrips. On the same turn.

eleazzaar
2016-09-20, 04:45 AM
I've completed the charts and proficiencies for the optional lizardfolk background, and added it to the post. Please let me know what you think.

Pivotal
2016-09-20, 06:22 PM
I like the cold-blooded. Nice idea and gives good flavor without being to big of a deal most of the time. But the scales ability seems way to weak. At that kind of number is simply doesn't do anything for almost anyone. It might help casters a bit, but they wont be picking this race. Anyone else pretty much would just rather wear armor. It doesn't even stack with unarmored characters or casters with mage armour.

eleazzaar
2016-09-20, 06:34 PM
I like the cold-blooded. Nice idea and gives good flavor without being to big of a deal most of the time. But the scales ability seems way to weak. At that kind of number is simply doesn't do anything for almost anyone. It might help casters a bit, but they wont be picking this race. Anyone else pretty much would just rather wear armor. It doesn't even stack with unarmored characters or casters with mage armour.

Yeah, flavor is exactly what "cold-blooded" is supposed to be.

I get what you are saying about the armor. I'm not entirely settled on how useful that feature is, but it isn't supposed to be super-powerful. I will say in it's defense, that like the bite-- it is armor that is not every removeable-- useful when you aren't geared up.

How would you feel if there was a qualification that you could add a shield to it?