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View Full Version : D&D 5e/Next Reimagined Races Part 1: Goliath



supergoji18
2018-04-10, 03:01 PM
A little under a week ago, I posted a thread in the D&D 5e/next forum asking everyone what they thought was the worst/most boring race in that edition (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?555285-In-your-opinion-what-are-the-worst-most-boring-races-in-5e). I was primarily looking for responses about which ones were mechanically boring. I was pleasantly surprised to see how much attention my thread got, and so I've decided to do a little project in my spare time: revamp the boring races of 5e and make them more interesting.

So to begin, here were the responses, briefly summarized, that I got from the thread. The most popular responses for boring races for mechanical reasons were:

Standard Human - With only a +1 to all ability scores, this race has nothing interesting going for it.

Dragonborn - Whereas most races get a multitude of features, the dragonborn only get two: a damage resistance and a weak breath attack that costs an action and requires a short rest to recharge. They don't even get darkvision.

Genasi - Again, very little in the way of features that are interesting or make sense. To quote one of the more sarcastic people who posted, "being able to walk more quietly is definitely what I picture an Earth-person doing."

Goliath - Frequently people describe the traits of goliaths as underwhelming, comparing them to Half-Orcs who have similar ability score improvements and features. People did note however that they loved the race as far as the concept and fluff was concerned.

My plan is to make variants of each of the above races with more interesting features and abilities. I do not intend to change the fluff about them, only the features they have in 5e in order to make them more fun. So with that in mind, I present to you my first variant, the Goliath.


https://media-waterdeep.cursecdn.com/avatars/thumbnails/7/620/420/618/636286749289682134.png
Goliath
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2, and your Constitution score increases by 1.
Age. Goliaths have lifespans comparable to humans. They enter adulthood in their late teens and usually live less than a century.
Alignment. Goliath society, with its clear roles and tasks, has a strong lawful bent. The goliath sense of fairness, balanced with an emphasis on selfsufficiency and personal accountability, pushes them toward neutrality.
Size. Goliaths are between 7 and 8 feet tall and weigh between 280 and 340 pounds. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Natural Athlete. You have proficiency in the Athletics skill.
Stone's Endurance. Your hit-point maximum increases by 1, and it increases by 1 every time you gain a level. You do not tire as easily and can go twice the normal amount of time before feeling hungry, thirsty or exhausted.
Powerful Build. You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.
Mountain Born. You’re acclimated to high altitude, including elevations above 20,000 feet. You’re also naturally adapted to cold climates, as described in Chapter 5 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide. Additionally, difficult terrain caused by snow or by uneven footing does not cost you extra movement.
Thunderous Blows. When you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can cause the attack to deal extra damage equal to your level. The creature must then make a Strength saving throw (DC = 8 + Proficiency Bonus + Strength modifier) or be knocked prone. Once you use this trait, you must finish a short or long rest before you can use it again.

Essentially what has changed here is I've reworked Stone's Endurance, added a new effect to Mountain Born, and add a new feature called Thunderous Blows.
Most complaints were that the official version of Stone's Endurance was just a worse version of the Half-Orc's Relentless Endurance, so this was the first feature I decided to revamp. Instead of a damage reduction feature, I chose to focus on the "endurance" aspect by granting them more hit points and a resilience against exhaustion. I'm sure in many people's eyes a group of big mountain men should have tremendous stamina, and now that is reflected in this new version.
I added a bonus to Mountain Born that lets them more more effectively on difficult terrain and to better climb mountains. As goliath live in the mountains, its only natural that they should be so well adapted to traverse their homeland. While other races struggle to keep to even move in the cold and rocky mountains, the goliaths are as comfortable as a hobbit in his hole.
The final change was the addition of a new feature: Thunderous Blows. The goliaths are huge people with tremendous strength, and they should naturally hit harder than other races. While their strength bonus helps, I felt it didn't do complete justice to how strong goliaths should be. A feature that lets them deal bonus damage on a weapon hit and knock down their opponent makes them fit the fantasy in my opinion.

I will be working on variants for the other races and will post them in new threads at later times. In the meantime, let me know what you all think of this. I'd like any feedback you can provide.

mr-mercer
2018-04-10, 03:13 PM
As one of the people who stated their misgivings about the goliath in the other thread, I like this version a lot more and would definitely play with it given the chance. I don't have the best grasp on balance and such so I couldn't tell you if it's good on that front or not, but I definitely like the feel of the abilities.

supergoji18
2018-04-10, 03:49 PM
As one of the people who stated their misgivings about the goliath in the other thread, I like this version a lot more and would definitely play with it given the chance. I don't have the best grasp on balance and such so I couldn't tell you if it's good on that front or not, but I definitely like the feel of the abilities.
Thanks :smallredface:

Balance is always tough to figure out when it comes to homebrewing, but I feel this version maintains a level of balance while simultaneously making it more fun to play. I had some crazy ideas for this originally, but I realized quickly that if I did implement them then the other races would need to be redesigned under an entirely new design philosophy or else my reimagined goliath wouldn't fit with the way races are designed in the 5e system. That was simply too much work and went against the spirit of what I was trying to accomplish, so I came up with this version instead.

strangebloke
2018-04-10, 04:07 PM
Stone's Endurance. Your hit-point maximum increases by 1, and it increases by 1 every time you gain a level. You do not tire as easily and can go twice the normal amount of time before feeling hungry, thirsty or exhausted...

When you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can cause the attack to deal extra damage equal to your level. The creature must then make a Strength saving throw (DC = 8 + Proficiency Bonus + Strength modifier) or be knocked prone. Once you use this trait, you must finish a short or long rest before you can use it again.

I mean... this is a huge buff, so I'm of course in favor. They got half-feat in replacement of their ability that was like a quarter feat, and got a completely new ability that pretty ok in replacement.

supergoji18
2018-04-10, 05:30 PM
I mean... this is a huge buff, so I'm of course in favor. They got half-feat in replacement of their ability that was like a quarter feat, and got a completely new ability that pretty ok in replacement.

I'm glad to see you like it. I felt this version of stone's endurance fit better with the idea of a mountain dwelling giant person.

quinron
2018-04-10, 05:32 PM
I like it! The original Stone's Endurance didn't really feel like it had any basis in the goliaths' fluff; this one ties in well with their Natural Athlete trait and the fluff behind it.

I'm interested to see what you do with the genasi. Honestly, I really like the race as a whole (to the point that they're a core feature of my new setting), but I understand the argument that the air and earth ones are lacking. I don't really agree with some of the sentiments in the other thread that their core chassis is too weak; I think it's a little weird that they made them a singular race in the first place, so the extreme subrace variation makes sense to me.

supergoji18
2018-04-10, 07:07 PM
I like it! The original Stone's Endurance didn't really feel like it had any basis in the goliaths' fluff; this one ties in well with their Natural Athlete trait and the fluff behind it.

I'm interested to see what you do with the genasi. Honestly, I really like the race as a whole (to the point that they're a core feature of my new setting), but I understand the argument that the air and earth ones are lacking. I don't really agree with some of the sentiments in the other thread that their core chassis is too weak; I think it's a little weird that they made them a singular race in the first place, so the extreme subrace variation makes sense to me.

Thank you, I'm glad people really like it so far!

I love the idea of the genasi, but I have to say that their features feel rather underwhelming. Fitting perhaps, but there just isn't really much there to play with. Since they have no unifying racial features and only 2 or 3 subrace features, they already have a lot less than other races.

That said, I do have some stuff prepared for a revision that I think will make them very fun. I've taken some inspiration from works that feature elemental powers prominently and incorporated some of the features those works present as new traits and powers. I think they'll be the next race I post.