The Misty Shadow's Extraplanar Races - PEACH

[Shadow_in_the_Mist]

So, you're doubtlessly wondering what the hell is going on. Well, to put things simply, I've got a huge array (70+, at last counting) of homebrewed races for 5e that I want to get critiqued, plus plans for future races beyond that. For obvious reasons, I can't post each race here individually; I'd drown us all. But, at the same time, I can't hope to get any reviews or comments if I put them all in one thread - wall of text to the nth degree. So, I tried to compromise and instead make a relatively small group of splinter topics that I can post them under in more manageable numbers.

To see these races in their natural habitat, follow the linked google-doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XovWm65MSmIzQWSMDMXo0_aIpZgq9YSa2KkpO3kThS4/edit#

To see the index of all my 5e homebrew, follow this linked thread: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?516554-The-Misty-Shadow-s-Absurd-Amount-of-5e-Homebrew-PEACH

Although I have my share of complaints about the Great Wheel and Planescape, the basic idea of adventuring through the multiverse has always stuck with me; it's one of my favorite campaign ideas, a theme that I think D&D is wondrously suited for. And fantastic worlds, well, they call for fantastic races. In this thread, I provide all my attempts at converting various "unearthly" races from D&D's past, from classics like the Bariaur, Gith and Rogue Modrons to obscurities like the Diaboli and Shardminds to just general "otherworldly" races like the Huldra and Hamadryad.

[Shadow_in_the_Mist]

The humble Bariaur is the forgotten bastard child of Planescape. Whilst Tieflings have seized the imagination and migrated to the core, and Githzerai made a big comeback in 4e, the traveling bighorn sheep centaurs of Ysgard have remained an obscurity. Originally, horns or hornlessness, which was a sort of subrace treatment back in AD&D, was determined by whether it was male or female. However, there are two netbooks out there, the Complete Book of Bariaur and the Bariaur Book of Belief, (incidentally, if anyone can find a copy of those that isn't on Scribd, which my computer can't handle, I'd be deeply grateful), which further support the mentions in canon that there are both hornless males (who become the closest thing to mystics in Bariaur culture) and horned females, which, combined with this being a different era, was all the justification I needed to just go the subrace route.

Only issue is... beyond the whole "non-standard bodily configuration" thing, I'm worried the result is kind of boring. I mean, Bariaur weren't that interesting mechanically back in AD&D (Infravision 60 feet, Movement 15, Male: +1 Str, +1 Con, -1 Wis, -1 Int, headbutt for 1d8 damage, charge attack for 3d8 damage but must save vs. breath or take 3d8 damage, charge attack has 50% chance to knock over a Medium or small critter; Female: +1 Int, +1 Wis, -1 Str, -1 Con, +2 on surprise rolls vs. opponents that make noise or have scents, +3 bonus to save vs. spells), but even so...

Bariaur
Ability Score Modifiers: +2 Constitution
Size: Medium
Speed: 40 feet
Vision: Darkvision
Quadruped: A bariaur’s unusual body means that it is treated as being Large for purposes of its Carrying Capacity, but it suffers Disadvantage to Dexterity (Acrobatics) checks and is also treated as being Large for determining its Space.
Subrace: Choose between the Horned or Hornless Bariaur subraces for the rest of your racial abilities.

Horned Bariaur
Ability Score Increase: +1 Strength
Horns: You are never unarmed. You are proficient with your horns, which are a melee weapon that deals 1d8 bludgeoning damage. Your horns grant you advantage on all checks made to shove a creature, but not to avoid being shoved yourself.
Goring Rush: When you use the Dash action during your turn, you can make a melee attack with your horns as a bonus action.
Hammering Horns: When you use the Attack action during your turn to make a melee attack, you can attempt to shove a creature with your horns as a bonus action. You cannot use this shove attempt to knock a creature prone.

Hornless Bariar
Ability Score Increase: +1 Intelligence, +1 Wisdom
Heightened Senses: A Hornless Bariaur has Advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks.
Comforts of the Flock: A Hornless Bariaur can, at will, create a tiny, harmless sensory effect to predict what the weather will be at their location for the next 24 hours. Additionally, it can instantly light or snuff out a candle, torch, or small campfire.
Strength Through Will: A Hornless Bariaur adds double its Proficiency bonus to Intelligence or Wisdom saving throws made against spells and other magical effects.

[Shadow_in_the_Mist]

The Gith. No Planescape race, beyond the Tiefling and its grid-filling kinsfolk, is more iconic or well-known than the Gith. Although Githzerai have had a stable tradition of PC writeups since the 2nd edition, Githyanki have always been off the market, courtesy of their hypocritical culture which seems them enslaved to the conquest-driven lich-queen in pursuit of "freedom". But, every culture has its rebels, and even Githyanki have been known to wise up, with PC writeups in both 3.5's Expanded Psionics Handbook and in the Monster Manual 1 for 4th edition. The problem is... mechanically, the Githyanki have always been kind of boring, in no small part due to the combination of their "always lawful evil" backdrop and their inter-connection with psionics.

Indeed, maybe the two races would be better off if we wait for WoTC to finally update psionics to 5e. But, since that doesn't look likely to happen within the next decade, I went ahead and tried to come up with what I hoped would be a flavorful writeup for each race that would still make it feel distinct and not just a knock-off of each other.

Githyanki
Ability Score Modifiers: +2 Intelligence, +1 Strength or +1 Constitution
Size: Medium
Speed: 30 feet
Vision: Normal
Hate Breaks All Shackles: A githyanki has Advantage on saving throws against the Charmed and Stunned effects, and on saving throws to end those effects.
Mind Slicer: While a githyanki is wielding a weapon that inflicts Slashing damage, once per short rest, it can spend an action to “charge” that weapon with psionic energy. Whilst charged, that weapon inflicts an additional +d6 Psychic damage on a successful strike. Maintaining this psionic charge is a Concentration effect.
Pain Becomes Strength: Once per turn, when a githyanki takes damage from an enemy attack, it can spend its Reaction to make an immediate melee attack. Additionally, if a githyanki has exhausted its Mind Slicer ability, it can choose to spend one hit dice to reactivate it instead of waiting to take a short rest.
Hand of Will: A githyanki can cast a variant of the Mage Hand cantrip at will, using Intelligence as its casting ability score. This variant follows all of the normal rules for Mage Hand, but the “hand” is invisible.

Githzerai
Ability Score Modifiers: +2 Wisdom, +1 Intelligence or +1 Dexterity
Size: Medium
Speed: 30 feet
Vision: Normal
Shield of Will: A githzerai can cast a variant of Mage Armor once per long rest. This variant grants an AC of 13 + the githzerai’s Wisdom modifier and does not require a material component.
Fortress of Discipline: A githzerai has Advantage on saving throws against Charm, Paralyzed and Stunned effects.
Fluid as Thought: Once per turn, if a direct attack against a githzerai misses, the githzerai can spend its Reaction to move 5 feet.
Hand of Will: A githzerai can cast a variant of the Mage Hand cantrip at will, using Wisdom as its casting ability score. This variant follows all of the normal rules for Mage Hand, but the “hand” is invisible.

[Shadow_in_the_Mist]

The Tanarukk, inspired by its original appearance in 3.5, was a personal challenge; as a non-human tiefling, could it be made to feel different to the actual 5e tiefling? Ignoring the 5d8s of racial hit dice and attendant skills & bonus feats it got, the 3.5 Tanarukk was a Medium creature with +4 Str, +2 Dex, -2 Wis, -4 Cha, a base speed of 20 feet, Darkvision 60 feet, Fire Resistance 10, Spell Resistance 14 + class levels, +4 natural armor, automatic proficiency with all martial weapons, a 1d6 damage bite attack, and the ability to cast Control Flames as per a 5th level Sorcerer 1/day. So, I went with a slow, but skilled, fire-manipulating creature in my iteration - which isn't necessarily a bad idea, but maybe needs some tweaks to work better.

Tanarukk
Ability Score Modifiers: +2 Strength, +1 Dexterity
Size: Medium
Speed: 25 Feet
Vision: Darkvision
Warrior Born and Bred: A tanarukk is automatically proficient with all Martial melee weapons.
Spawn of the Flames: A tanarukk is Resistant to Fire and can cast the Control Flames and Fire Bolt cantrips using Strength as its casting ability score.

[Shadow_in_the_Mist]

The Huldra is a Scandinavian nymph slash she-troll, which has never appeared in D&D to my knowledge. Simple curiosity, born of the two different versions that have appeared in Pathfinder - one official, one by Kobold Press - made me wonder if I could pull it off as a fey race for more fey-leaning campaigns. This one, I know, needs a lot of work; I really think the "tree shape" ability is a great fluffy ribbon that the race could have, but I can't seem to think of a way to make it not overpowered. I mean, the idea is that the huldra neither heals nor gains any special defenses in tree-form, it's a stealthing ability, but... well, I could just really use somebody to talk to about it.

Huldra
Ability Score Modifiers: +2 Charisma, +1 Strength
Size: Medium
Speed: 30 feet
Vision: Darkvision
Fey Ancestry: A huldra has Advantage on saves vs. Charm effects and is Immune to Magical Sleep effects.
Alpine Origins: A huldra is considered to be Acclimatized to both High Altitudes and Cold Environments.
Unnatural Might: A huldra's impossible strength gives it Advantage on Strength checks. It is also counts as one size larger when determining its carrying capacity and the weight it can push, drag, or lift.
Back of Bark: At will, a huldra can spend its move action to assume the form of a tree; shape, species and status as living or dead are chosen each it assumes tree form. As a tree, a huldra takes up space as a Large creature, is immobile, and cannot physically interact with the world around it, although it can still perceive the world with its normal senses. Attacking a huldra in tree form is treated as attacking an ordinary tree. It can revert to its true form at will as a free action.
Fortune's Kiss: Once per long rest, a huldra can apply either a blessing or a curse by placing a kiss on a creature, a weapon, or a tool. A blessed weapon or set of tools grants Advantage to anyone that wields them, whilst a blessed creature gains Advantage on one ability score or skill check of the huldra's choise. Cursing instead imposes Disadvantage. The effects of Fortune's Kiss last only for 1 minute, whether it is used to bless or curse.

[Shadow_in_the_Mist]

The Shardmind was one of the first races to be completely unique to 4th edition. As I happen to regard 4e's fluff with a great deal of fondness, naturally, I want to convert the Shardmind to run under 5rth edition mechanics.

Shardmind
Ability Score Modifiers: +1 Intelligence, +1 Wisdom, +1 Charisma
Size: Medium
Speed: 30 feet
Vision: Normal
Living Construct: A shardmind is immune to disease. It does not need to eat or drink, although it can ingest materials if it desires. It does not sleep in the normal fashion, but enters a waking trance instead; this lasts for 4 hours and during this time, the shardmind is fully aware of its surroundings.
Telepathy: A shardmind can communicate telepathically with any creatures it is aware of within 30 feet, provided it shares a common language. The ability to passively sense the desires and emotions of sapient creatures gives shardminds Advantage on Charisma (Diplomacy) checks.
Crystalline Mind: A shardmind is Resistant to Psychic Damage.
Shard Swarm: Once per short rest, when a shardmind takes damage from a direct enemy attack, it can use its Reaction to nullify the damage and to teleport to a single spot within 15 feet that it can see.

[Shadow_in_the_Mist]

The Diabolus, like the Lupin over in my Beastfolk topic, is an ancient Mystaran PC race that I was itnroduced to via its 3.5 update in Dragon Magazine #327. It struck a chord with me, and I wanted to bring this obscure denizen of D&D back to life withthe 5e mechanics.

Diabolus
Ability Score Modifiers: +2 Charisma, +1 Wisdom
Size: Medium
Speed: 30 feet
Vision: Darkvision
Child of Dreams: A diabolus is immune to Sleep and Charm effects.
Foe of Nightmares: A diabolus has Advantage on any checks made to resist Fear effects, and is proficient in the use of the Trident.
Diabolic Tail: A diabolus sports a long, flexible tail that ends in a poisonous barb. A diabolus has an Extra Attack that can only be used to make a Tail Sting attack - this is an Unarmed Strike that inflicts Piercing damage and which forces the victim to make a Constitution check vs DC (8 + your Proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier) or be Poisoned. Additionally, in a campaign that uses languages, all diaboli know the Diaboli Tail Cant, a silent language based on gestures, positions and motions with the tail; other races can learn to understand this language, but they cannot “speak” it without a suitably flexible tail of their own.


Diaboli Racial Variants: That Old Time Feeling
D&D fans familiar with editions past may remember that the Diaboli of prior editions were somewhat different beasts. They were described as having “all the flexibility of humans”, which translated as them having no ability score modifiers, but also being inherently alienating to creatures native to the material plane, as well as being inherently resistant to magic due to their extraplanar nature. For those who want to bring back some of that older feel, the following alternatives are presented.

Alternative Ability Score Modifier: +1 to all ability scores.

Racial Flaw: Alien: A diabolus suffers Disadvantage on all Charisma (Persuasion), Wisdom (Animal Handling) and Intelligence (Investigation) checks made against beings native to the material plane. At the DM’s discretion, suitably “monstrous” races such as (Half-)Orcs and Dragonborn, or “planetouched” races such as Tieflings, Genasi and Aasimar, may be immune to this penalty.

Optional Racial Trait: Soul of Chaos: A diabolus has Resistance to all damage caused by spells or magical effects, and has Advantage on all saving throws caused by spells or magical effects.

[Shadow_in_the_Mist]

And now, for the last of my planar characters, so far, and another race essential to my Malebolge project, so please, I really need feedback on this.

The Shadar-kai are another race that benefited from 4th edition. Originally a rather boring enemy race (faeries who migrated to the Plane of Shadow to get away from humanity, had it backfire on them, and wanted revenge for their own stupidity), 4e made them awesome by turning them into descendants of humans who migrated to the Shadowfell in pursuit of immortality, and found it, if in a very different manner to what they had anticipated. They were a truly unique race, and I'd love to bring them back into 5e.

Shadar-Kai
Ability Score Increase: +2 Dexterity, +1 Charisma
Size: Medium
Speed: 30 feet
Vision: Darkvision
Sunlight Sensitivity: A shadar-kai suffers Disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks and on attack rolls made whilst the shadar-kai or its target is in direct sunlight.
Superior Darkvision: A shadar-kai has Darkvision to a range of 120 feet.
Fading Flesh: A shadar-kai is Proficient in Dexterity (Stealth) checks. Additionally, a shadar-kai treats dim light as being total darkness for purpose of making Dexterity (Stealth) checks.
Cling to Life: Once per long rest, a shadar-kai that is reduced to 0 hit points without being killed outright can instead choose to only be reduced to 1 hit point.
Shadow Jaunt: A shadar-kai can teleport up to 30 feet once per short rest, but must begin and end its teleport in an area of dim light or darkness.


Shadar-Kai Racial Feat: Darkwinter Soul
Requisite: Shadar-Kai
Effects:

Gain Resistance to Cold Damage
Gain Resistance to Necrotic Damage
After using its Shadow Jaunt, a Shadar-Kai gains the Incorporeal Movement trait for (1 + Charisma modifier, minimum of 1) turns.

[JBPuffin]

After seeing what Wizards considers fair for "monstrous" races, it's harder to say if a race goes too far in one direction or another than before; I'm going to tag a link here to Musicus' race-brewing guide (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ViqLSEN67mmd2Lo_OJ-H5YX0fccsfI97kFaqx7V1Dmw/edit) since the gist of it is super useful.

As for the bounty presented here:


Base - Base 40 move speed seems crazy, especially if the Horned build is encouraged to dash anyway; I'd make it 35, just to be safe. I'm guessing the not-Large Large feature is to make sure there's no ambiguity on the damage its manufactured weapons will do (sort of a debate, I think), but I wonder if it'd be better to just say Size: Large...

Horned is all about the horns, which is okay, I think. Since the normal Bariaur is kind of meh, I think you can give it the dwarf's Stonecunning but for Strength(Athletics) checks to break down barriers. That'd be cool, just have your goatman run straight through a wall...

Hornless needs something, I think. Upgrade its Strength Through Will so it matches the gnome's "advantage on mental spell saving throws" or give it a Tiefling-style spellcasting thing (pre-set trio of cantrip at 1st level, 1st-level spell at 3rd level, and 2nd-level spell at 5th level, all based on choice of Wisdom or Intelligence). That will put it on par with an Elf, methinks.
Yanki - Maybe make Strength Through Pain a once/short rest thing, since 5e seems pretty restrictive on extra attacks beyond the feature (freakin Barbarian's the example on this front, sadly...), but I could be wrong. I can't see a problem with the rest of it, though - congrats!

Zerai - Love it, can't see a problem with it.
I dunno. A lot of the classes it'd want to use are proficient with most martial weapons already, but the "cast spells with Strength" part might actually make this balanced, if a tad boring. I...hmm. Hopefully someone else has an idea.
Oh man, this is a fun one. The tree thing seems like a ribbon, I agree, although I think you need to clarify how much HP and AC it has (because at first I thought I knew and now I don't >.>). Fortune's Blessing is also tricky, but I think it might be safer to give them a Bardic Inspiration type thing - they have a d6 they can give out once/short rest to a creature, weapon or tool; creature uses it like Inspiration, weapon adds it to choice of attack or damage (chosen when blessed), tool adds it to the next check. Cursing would subtract instead of add to it. Minute-long cast-flexible advantage is a 2nd- or 3rd-level spell in my mind, if not just straight up too much...
I like it. I turned Shard Swarm into a move-attack thing, since a swarm of sharp rocks ought to do damage :smallbiggrin: but the mobility on this one is cool. No complaints!
The tail thing is tricky, but I think it's okay. A Diabolus Monk sounds like a heck of a lot of fun, though...actually, make a note of how you intend it to interact with Monk. Like, does the tail's damage increase like a normal unarmed strike? I spelled it out for RAW people for my Needle-Worm, which I'm quite happy with as a monk-oriented race.
Last but not least; one of my 4e faves alongside Shardmind. I think it makes sense and would play one if given a shot.

Feat - Double resistance + the ability to walk through walls. Seems legit.

[Shadow_in_the_Mist]

Thanks for all of the critique!

Bariaur
A little contrarian, I know, but we do have a 40ft move race in the Tabaxi already, and bariaurs were known for being quick in AD&D. So, I'm not sure if 35ft or 40ft is better for them.

Yeah, quadruped is a hard trait to balance. I don't think 5e can handle Large creatures, not least of which because it means doubling the damage you do with all weapons, so I think Powerful Build plus some body-based disadvantage is the best way to handle it as a whole. Although, even in AD&D and 3e, Bariaurs were Medium sized creatures anyway, I think.

Ooh, nice idea about the bonus to Shove and "Barrier Breaker" checks! That'd definitely give the Horned Bariaur some extra grunt.

Hmm... the Hornless one is hard to do justice because, as I said, there wasn't a lot of attention given to them. I wonder... going back to the Bariaur expansionbooks might be helpful?

http://www.scribd.com/doc/48456344/Ps-the-Complete-Book-of-Bariaur

http://www.scribd.com/doc/48456253/bariaur-book-of-belief


Gith
Changing Through Pain, Strength to a 1/short rest feature sounds a good idea to me. I'll do that.


Huldra
Honestly, I could use a hand with just jiggering the mechanics of Tree Shape. What I had originally planned is that it retains the AC and HP of the character in either form; it is all about just going semi-invisible by taking the form of a tree, after all. But, really, I have no idea where to start making this feature make sense.

Your idea for Fortune's Kiss sounds much better, I'll definitely change it to work that way.


Diabolus
I had planned that diaboli monks replace their Tail Sting damage with their Monk Strike damage - does that make it overpowered?

[Shadow_in_the_Mist]

It's been a while, I know, but I was struck by a burst of inspiration and wanted to cover it before I forgot it.

The Deva was a race introduced in 4th edition, in an attempt to fulfil the "Celestial PC Race" in a manner that was less obviously "grid-filling" than the Aasimar of old. The result: a race of rogue angels, who forsook divinity to walk eternally amongst the mortal races, dying and being reborn over and over as they exulted in the bliss of being alive, a sensation denied to them in their old existences. As the upcoming re-release of Planescape: Torment made me realize, you could refluff Devas as coming from mortal stock; sages and wise-men who have attained a more enlightened being, would-be immortals who have failed to truly complete their goal, villains cursed to live endless lives in order to make amends for their sins, and the like.

Deva:
Ability Score Modifiers: +2 Wisdom, +1 Intelligence
Size: Medium
Speed: 30 feet
Vision: Normal
Astral Majesty: You have Advantage on Charisma (Intimidate) and Charisma (Persuasion) checks.
Astral Resistance: You have Resistance to Necrotic Damage and Resistance to Radiant Damage.
Memory of a Thousand Lifetimes: When you complete a long rest, you can grant yourself Proficiency in one Skill, Weapon, Armor or Tool that you do not possess. When you choose your remembered skill, you cannot change this choice until you complete another long rest.

[JNAProductions]

First off, don't double post. It's not a terrible sin, but it's frowned upon.

Second off, the races.

Bariaur seems okay, except for Expertise in Int and Wis saves. Since non-magic Int and Wis saves are rare, that's effectively two super proficiencies, allowing you to be proficient in two saves AND have Expertise in two more.

Githyanki need some work. How long does Mind Slice last? One attack? One minute? Until concentration is broken?

Githzerai's shield of will is too good. Makes Druids and such too Wisdom SAD.

Tanarukk are too weak.

Huldra's Unnatural Strength is way too good. Barbarians get that while raging only, and it makes them grapplers supreme. You get that, for free, permanently, on possibly a Rogue. Back of Bark is confusing-do you retain your HP? And Fortune's Kiss is really damn good as well.

Shardmind should not have blanket advantage on Diplomacy (called Persuasion now). Otherwise good.

Diabolus's tail attack is way too good. Free extra attack, for 1+Str mod damage isn't much. But the Poisoned condition is. Also, how long does it last?

Shadar-Kai are fine.

Deva's Astral Majesty is too good, but is otherwise fine.

[Shadow_in_the_Mist]

Apologies, I have to fly so this is all being jotted down real hasty-like.

Firstly, I prefer to avoid multiposting if I can, but given the unreliability of getting replies to my threads, sometimes, I don't have a choice.

Secondly, I'm not sure if I should start editing the profiles based on earlier conversations yet or not.

Bariaur - Yeah, as I said before, I'm struggling with what to do for hornless bariaur; back in AD&D, they got +1 Wisdom and Intelligence, -1 Strength and Dexterity, +2 bonus to surprise rolls against ambushers that "make noise or have smells", +3 to saving throws vs. spells, and the ability to be fighters, priests or wizards. So, yeah, really open to discussion on what to do in order to make them work in 5e.

Githyanki - Mind Slice lasts until Concentration is broken, after which you need to complete a short rest or invoke Pain Becomes Strength before you can use it again.

Githzerai - Thanks for the explanation, I'll try and come up with alternatives by the time I return.

Tanarukk - Any specifications on what makes them so weak, or how I might improve them? The original 3.5 stats are given in their post, so that should serve as inspiration.

Huldra -
* I see what you mean about Unnatural Strength. They were noted for their sheer strength in mythology... do you think +1 Str and Powerful Build combined works to convey that, or would you still give them a little something extra on top of that, just not as powerful as Advantage on Strength Checks?
* JBPuffin already suggested a hopefully more balanced alternative to Fortune's Kiss I intend to implement.
* Back of Bark works like this: when you turn into a tree, you take on the appearance of a Medium (or, at DM's discretion, Large) tree of your choice. Your AC remains unaltered. Your hitpoints remain unaltered. You cannot move. You cannot attack. You gain Vulnerability to Fire Damage. You can still perceive the world around you and can speak without breaking tree shape. Enemies will not attack you unless they would logically understand that this tree is unnatural, because... you're a tree; why would they attack you?

Shardmind - Hmm... you are right, they actually didn't get innate proficiency in persuasion in 4e, so I guess it does make sense to dump that sub-attribute.

Diabolus - I was thinking Poisoned until the end of the victim's next turn. Is that too strong?

Shadar-Kai - Thank you! I really want to make this race work.

Deva - Can you suggest an alternative for Astral Majesty? In 4e, it was "+1 to all defenses against attacks from Bloodied creatures". In fact, why is it overpowered as-is?

[Shadow_in_the_Mist]

So, for obvious reasons, D&D has traditionally focused on "human plus" forms of hybrids and mixed breeds. But, not always. Whilst the Fey'ri and the Tanarukks, elvish and orcish tieflings, may be the most famous of Faerun's humanoid planetouched, Dragon #350 introduced four more; Azerblooded, the spawn of dwarves and azers (which is practically cheating, because Azers were pretty much fire elemental dwarves until 5e); Celadrine, offspring of elves and firre eladrin; D'hin, the children of halflings and djinn genies, and Worghests, the pups of barghests and ordinary goblins.

I vacillated on whether or not to do these guys as subraces or full races at first. And then with whether or not to post them here all at once or one at a time. Ultimately, I made the choice I made, and I hope it can at least serve as a foundation to build from.


Azerblood
Descendants of mountain dwarves who settled upon volcanoes and found themselves touched by elemental energy, azerbloods have a highly distinctive appearance, with brazen or copper-hued skin, flame-red hair that tends to move, and flickering flame-like irises. They combine the hardiness of their dwarven ancestors with a natural affinity for fire, making them surprisingly adept as sorcerers.

Ability Score Modifiers: +2 Constitution, +1 Strength
Size: Medium
Speed: 25 feet
Vision: Darkvision 60 feet
Dwarven Lineage: You are treated as being a Dwarf for effects that tie specifically into race. Among other things, this allows you to use magic items normally restricted to dwarves, but also makes you vulnerable to spells specifically crafted against dwarves.
Dwarven Resilience: You have Advantage on saving throws against Poison, and are Resistant to Poison damage.
Dwarven Combat Training: You have proficiency with the battleaxe, handaxe, throwing hammer and warhammer.
Born of the Forge: You have Fire Resistance. Additionally, you know the cantrips Control Flames and Firebolt.


Celadrin
The firre are benevolent fae who embody fire as a symbol of passion, beauty and creation. This makes them particularly respected by elves, and during the summer solstice, many firre appear in elven settlements to take part in the celebrations. The children of such union are seductive, beautiful creatures of bronze, gold and red colorations, who feel a similar calling as their faerie parents, blessed with a love of beauty and a natural talent for song and music.

Ability Score Modifiers: +2 Charisma, +1 Dexterity
Size: Medium
Speed: 30 feet
Vision: Darkvision 60 feet
Elven Lineage: You are treated as being an elf for effects that tie specifically into race. Among other things, this allows you to use magic items normally restricted to elves, but also makes you vulnerable to spells specifically crafted against elves.
Fey Ancestry: You have Advantage on saving throws against the Charmed condition, and are immune to magical effects that induce Sleep.
Melodious Voice: You have Proficiency in Perform and advantage on Charisma (Persuasion) checks.
Firre Magic: You know the Produce Flame cantrip and cast it with this trait. Upon reaching 3rd level, you can cast Charm Person as a 1st level spell with this trait, but must complete a long rest before you can use it again. Upon reaching 5th level, you can cast Scorching Ray as a 2nd level spell with this trait, but must complete a long rest before you can use it again. Spells cast with this trait use Charisma as their spellcasting ability score.


D'hin
Born to the unlikely pairing of nomadic halflings and the genies of the air, the d'hin tell many tales of their race's conception, each more improbable than the last; from a halfling who stumbled upon a bound genie and wished for its hand in marriage, to their ancestors being freed from slavery by kind-hearted djinni, to ancient bonds between the two free-spirited races. Whatever the truth, these fickle, impulsive and light-hearted planetouched spread far and wide, drifting wherever the wind takes them.

Ability Score Modifiers: +2 Dexterity, +1 Charisma
Size: Small
Speed: 30 feet
Vision: Normal
Halfling Ancestry: You are treated as being a halfling for effects that tie specifically into race. Among other things, this allows you to use magic items normally restricted to halflings, but also makes you vulnerable to spells specifically crafted against halflings.
Halfling Nimbleness: You can move through the space of any creature that is of a size larger than you.
Ride the Wind: You are always treated as having a running start when making Jump checks, and you have Proficiency in Acrobatics.
Djinni Trickery: You know the Prestidigitation cantrip and the Gust cantrip.


Worghests
Although barghests readily prey on goblinoid souls, as their creator intended, they are still creatures of bestial impulses and fiendish lusts. Presented with goblins that eagerly bow to even the most obscene whim, many barghests enjoy the pleasures of the flesh whilst they can before being whisked back to Gehenna. From such couplings are spawned litters of worghests; fiend-tainted goblins whose lineage shines through in their hirstutism, blue-hued hair, glowing orange eyes and lupine facial features. Though lacking the need to kill their kinsfolk, worghests tend to rise far in the hierarchy of goblin tribes, and have even been known to give hobgoblins pause, especially when they gather in packs.

Ability Score Modifiers: +1 Strength, +1 Dexterity, +1 Constitution
Size: Small
Speed: 30 feet
Vision: Darkvision 60 feet
Goblin Ancestry: You are treated as being a goblin for effects that tie specifically into race. Among other things, this allows you to use magic items normally restricted to goblins, but also makes you vulnerable to spells specifically crafted against goblins.
Nimble Escape: You can take the Disengage or Hide action as a bonus action on each of your turns.
Wolf-Shifter: You can shift between goblinoid form and the form of a wolf as an action. This uses all of the rules for Druidic Wild Shape, except that your hit points and hit dice do not alter between forms; your hit points as a wolf are the same as those you had in goblinoid form, and if you are reduced to 0 hit points in wolf shape, then you suffer exactly as if you had been reduced to 0 hit points in goblinoid shape.
Keen Sense of Smell: You have Advantage on Perception checks based on scent.
Charnel Feast: You can use your action for the turn to consume the corpse of a humanoid opponent. This extensively damages the body, making it harder to resurrect, and heals you for 1d4 + Constitution modifier hit points per hit dice of the corpse.

[Shadow_in_the_Mist]

The Hellbred are an obscure race that only appeared in 3.5's "Fiendish Codex II", and lorewise they're sort of a blend of Tiefling and Revenant. In a nutshell, Hellbred were mortals who damned themselves to Hell in some fashion, but realized their mistake and repented or tried to make amends at the last moment. For this, they managed to avoid damnation and were reincarnated with certain diabolic powers - and the knowledge that their soul was still in risk. Favoring the Paladin class, they strove desperately to find some way to truly redeem themselves and escape their punishment.

In 3.5, the race had its features determined by whether you chose the Infernal Aspect of Body or the Infernal Aspect of Soul, and got free access to the "Devil's Favor" feats. For this first draft, I decided to use that methodology over again.

Hellbred:
Ability Score Modifier: +1 Wisdom
Size: Medium
Speed: 30 feet
Vision: Normal
Damned and Forsaken: You are Immune to Fear and the Frightened condition. However, because your soul is damned, you cannot be affected by a Raise Dead spell: restoring you to life requires a Resurrection spell.
Findish Mien: You have Proficiency in Intimidation.
Infernal Aspect: Choose either the Tainted Soul or Corrupted Body aspect. Your remaining racial traits are determined by this choice.

Corrupted Body:
Ability Score Modifer: +2 Constitution
Filled With Corruption: You have Resistance to Poison damage, Immunity to the Poisoned condition, and Advantage on saving throws against disease.

Tainted Soul:
Ability Score Modifier: +2 Charisma
Whispers of Damnation: You can communicate telepathically with one creature that you can see within 30 feet.

[Shadow_in_the_Mist]

This was a thought exercise more than anything... Yaddithians are a minor, non-malevolent race of alien humanoids from H.P. Lovecraft's story "Though The Gates of The Silver Key", and Pathfinder took a shot at statting them in its 6th Bestiary. So, I wanted to see if they could pull off being converted to 5th edition D&D.

Yaddithian
Ability Scores: +2 Intelligence, +1 Constitution
Size: Medium
Speed: 30 feet
Vision: Darkvision 60
Spawn of the Void: You have Resistance to Cold and do not need to breathe. You suffer no ill effects for exposure to the vacuum of space.
Talons: Your Unarmed Strikes do 1d4 points of Slashing damage.
Unaging: Your species does not succumb to aging in the way most mortal races do, making you immune to aging attacks.

Racial Feat: Cosmic Mind
Prerequsite: Yaddithian race, Spellbook class feature
Yaddithian mages have vast intellects and undergo rigorous training in compartmentalizing their minds. This allows them to store mystical lore in their brains with far greater efficiency than other races can, nullifying the need for spellbooks.
Effect: You no longer require a physical spellbook; instead, all spells in your spellbook are imprinted into your Sub-Memory. You can still only prepare a number of active memorized spells per day determined by your class levels. Altering your prepared spells and copying new spells to your Sub-Memory follows the same rules as using a spellbook; this feat means you can no longer have your spellbook stolen or destroyed. Additionally, once per long rest, you can switch a prepared spell with a spell of equal or lower level from your Sub-Memory as an action.