HomeBrew Race: 5e

[Jaavaletdahaka]

Hi there! I'm a brand new 5e player (played 3.5e off and on for a total of about 2 years) and am looking forward to getting started in this ass-backwards thing you call fifth edition. I'm wondering if you guys could offer some constructive criticism of my race, the Wolf-Kin, for lack of a better name. Keep in mind I haven't yet fleshed out Light and Darkness, the Twin Gods.

( homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/BJnwz2y2- )

[Lalliman]

It looks mostly solid, but there's a few carry-overs from 3.5 that don't make sense in 5e.

- Size-based natural weapon dice don't exist in 5e. In fact, Small and Medium creatures always have the same damage dice from the same weapons. You're supposed to just say what the damage die is. If the character is subject to a shrinking or enlarging effect, the effect's description will say what happens to their damage dice (see the Enlarge / Reduce spell).

- The Scent ability doesn't exist as a stand-alone thing, so you'll have to describe what it does. Assumedly it grants advantage on Perception checks that rely on smell, as is the case with NPC creatures who have the Scent ability.

- Having multiple natural attacks is also not a thing anymore. Natural weapons are just stronger unarmed strikes, so they follow the same rules that all attacks do. If you want to be able to attack with both claws separately, you need to specify that they can make a claw attack as a bonus action. See the monk's Martial Arts feature.

For balancing purposes, I always suggest using these guidelines (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ViqLSEN67mmd2Lo_OJ-H5YX0fccsfI97kFaqx7V1Dmw/pub). They attribute points to each of the racial traits, and a balanced race should have around 6-7 total points. Your current design comes out at approximately 6.5, so the balance is good.

That's not counting the racial traits though. Shards of the Past is an equal trade, but the others are all more powerful than what they replace.

- Claws, if interpreted with the (assumedly intended) 3.5 natural attacks mechanic, is obviously a straight upgrade over bite. It even suggests that the damage dice of the claws are larger than those of the bite.

- Lightbringer swaps out the circumstantially-useful scent ability for the ability to cast a 3rd-level spell at will, and for immunity to light-based blindness and dazzle effects. The term "dazzle effects" is really vague, for one. Does it include spells like Colour Spray? If yes, then that's probably useful enough by itself to give up Scent for. Then there's Daylight at will, which isn't that crazy because it's really just a glorified Light spell, but still you technically shouldn't be able to have it from 1st level. (Innate spellcasting abilities tend to come online at the same level that a normal caster would get them. For Daylight that would be 5th. See the drow's innate spellcasting.)

- Darkbringer is actually crazy powerful. Aside from the thing about spell levels I mentioned above, Darkness + immunity to blinding is a very powerful combo. It's one of the greatest tools at a warlock's disposal, and this race gets it mostly for free and with unlimited uses. So this needs to be nerfed big time. Simply granting Devil's Sight (as the warlock invocation) would be a more suitable trade for Scent.

Lastly, there also seems to be a strange bug that cuts off the second page for me.

[JNAProductions]

Bug is cutting off fluff for me, but I think I have all the stats.

Animal subtype isn't a thing.

40' is really fast. I'd make it 35'.

Size based damage is not a thing, nor are secondary/primary weapons.

Scent is not a universal ability.

OVerall, this doesn't feel 5E. I don't think it's even that unbalanced. It's just not designed for 5E.

[Jaavaletdahaka]

I edited it after some work with my guild mates today, and taking your suggestions into consideration. What'dya think now? The biggest change was to nerf Shards of the Past down to 1 skill to gain proficiency in exchange for trading either Perception or Stealth. Also, the spell powers have been altered to be useable only once per day, replenishing at either Dawn or Dusk dependent on which was chosen.

[Jaavaletdahaka]

It looks mostly solid, but there's a few carry-overs from 3.5 that don't make sense in 5e.

Edited the Wolf-Kin!

[Lalliman]

*Is distracted by busty wolf girl*
*Questions own sexuality regarding furries*

Uh, what were we saying? Right, new changes.

It looks well-balanced now and most of the oddities are gone. I do have a few more thoughts.

- It's a shame their natural weapons are gone completely. Maybe that's intentional with the new less-beastly looking artwork, but you could still afford to make their unarmed strikes deal 1d4 damage and it wouldn't really affect their power level.

- The rules you added regarding Scent, which I can tell are mostly imported from 3.5, are unusually clunky for 5e. The part about detecting opponents within a certain range is mostly obsolete because "advantage on Perception checks" already covers the same ground.

- The minimum Intelligence requirement for the innate spells is also a carry-over from 3.5. Spells no longer require a casting stat of 10 + spell level to cast.

- Why are the spells Intelligence-based? Shouldn't they be Charisma-based (because innate) or Wisdom-based (because divine)?

[Jaavaletdahaka]

- Why are the spells Intelligence-based? Shouldn't they be Charisma-based (because innate) or Wisdom-based (because divine)?

Ah, that would be because I'm not an infallible logic machine.

I've played a lot of wizards, therefore stacking Intelligence.