Manotaur Race

[EluinHexblade]

Hey guys! So, I had this random (and likely unoriginal) idea for a homebrew race called the Manotaur, a more humanoid version of a minotaur that is known for being very muscular and headstrong. So for the racial bonus, I was thinking +2 Str and +1 Con. The languages known would be Common and Abyssal, but the racial features are where I'm really looking for some input. Here's what I was thinking:

-Within 60ft, treat dim light as bright light, and darkness as dim light
-If you move 10ft or more in a straight line towards an enemy in range and make a melee weapon attack, you may deal an extra damage die upon a successful hit
-Condition Immunity: Fear

Thank you in advance!

[Crisis21]

Hey guys! So, I had this random (and likely unoriginal) idea for a homebrew race called the Manotaur, a more humanoid version of a minotaur that is known for being very muscular and headstrong. So for the racial bonus, I was thinking +2 Str and +1 Con. The languages known would be Common and Abyssal, but the racial features are where I'm really looking for some input. Here's what I was thinking:

-Within 60ft, treat dim light as bright light, and darkness as dim light
-If you move 10ft or more in a straight line towards an enemy in range and make a melee weapon attack, you may deal an extra damage die upon a successful hit
-Condition Immunity: Fear

Thank you in advance!


So, +2 STR, +1 CON, Darkvision 60, Fear immunity, and extra damage if you move then attack.

Overall impression: Underpowered. Far too few features to compete with other race templates.

Breakdown impression:

+2 STR and +1 CON sounds pretty standard for a big strong race.

Darkvision 60 seems like it's possessed by half the races out there sometimes, so nothing special in and of itself. Fairly standard.

Fear immunity: Ehh... Fear immunity is a hella big deal given how many monsters can inflict magical fear. I'd personally make this advantage on saves vs Fear.

Extra damage on move-and-attack: This looks like an auto-crit mechanic at first glance which makes me want to dislike it. Then I realized that to use it again, you'd have to keep moving which would provoke attacks of opportunity from opponents you'd just rammed into. Then I realized that Rogues get to Disengage (no AoO) as a bonus action and this became overpowered again.
Instead, I'd advise allowing the player to Shove as a bonus action instead of extra damage. Shove is a special melee attack using a contested roll (Athletics vs Athletics or Acrobatics) that can move a creature 5 feet or knock them prone. Knocking a creature prone allows advantage on attacks against it until it stands up.

Things I'd add:

Powerful Build: You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift. (should be pretty standard for any race defined as 'big and strong' really)

Proficiency in Intimidation or Athletics.

Maybe check other big strong races like the Goliath or Minotaur and see what they have for inspiration (as well as how to avoid making this a carbon copy of them)

[EluinHexblade]

So, +2 STR, +1 CON, Darkvision 60, Fear immunity, and extra damage if you move then attack.

Overall impression: Underpowered. Far too few features to compete with other race templates.

Breakdown impression:

+2 STR and +1 CON sounds pretty standard for a big strong race.

Darkvision 60 seems like it's possessed by half the races out there sometimes, so nothing special in and of itself. Fairly standard.

Fear immunity: Ehh... Fear immunity is a hella big deal given how many monsters can inflict magical fear. I'd personally make this advantage on saves vs Fear.

Extra damage on move-and-attack: This looks like an auto-crit mechanic at first glance which makes me want to dislike it. Then I realized that to use it again, you'd have to keep moving which would provoke attacks of opportunity from opponents you'd just rammed into. Then I realized that Rogues get to Disengage (no AoO) as a bonus action and this became overpowered again.
Instead, I'd advise allowing the player to Shove as a bonus action instead of extra damage. Shove is a special melee attack using a contested roll (Athletics vs Athletics or Acrobatics) that can move a creature 5 feet or knock them prone. Knocking a creature prone allows advantage on attacks against it until it stands up.

Things I'd add:

Powerful Build: You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift. (should be pretty standard for any race defined as 'big and strong' really)

Proficiency in Intimidation or Athletics.

Maybe check other big strong races like the Goliath or Minotaur and see what they have for inspiration (as well as how to avoid making this a carbon copy of them)

I did use the base Minotaur as inspiration, which was where I got the move-and-attack, but yeah, that's pretty strong in the case of rogues. Will probably do Shove instead as you suggested. As for advantage on saves vs Fear, that's what I thought at first, but there's a fair chance players won't build up Charisma on this character too much in builds, and it gives the race something unique and goes along with their headstrong (and slightly stupid in that regard) nature. Also, Powerful Build I just kinda forgot existed, otherwise I would've mentioned it, so thanks! And proficiency in Athletics makes a lot of sense. Sorry for going over things out of order, but I appreciate the feedback!
p.s. I was just trying to play it safe with the rough draft and not add too much.

[Yunru]

Overall impression: Underpowered.


Fear immunity: Ehh... Fear immunity is a hella big deal given how many monsters can inflict magical fear. I'd personally make this advantage on saves vs Fear.


Extra damage on move-and-attack: This looks like an auto-crit mechanic at first glance which makes me want to dislike it [...] and this became overpowered again.
I don't think that word means what you think it means.

[EluinHexblade]

So, after looking over the Minotaur race some more, this is the current idea:
A more humanoid version of their bovine brethren, Manotaurs are not as feared as Minotaurs, but still wield their brute strength and builds, but lack the intelligence of some Minotaurs.

Ability Score Increase
Your Strength score increases by 2, and your Constitution score increases by 1.

Languages
The Manotaur can speak Common and Abyssal, though is usually incapable of reading and writing unless taught how to do so.

Alignment
Bred for battle, Manotaurs are typically quite chaotic, but that does not mean they are evil. They typically range from Chaotic Good to Chaotic Neutral, with very few being Lawful and even fewer being Evil.

Size
Manotaurs range between 6-7 feet tall, and weigh between 200-300 pounds and are Medium creatures.

Speed
Due to having a slightly varied version of the Minotaur's respiratory and cardiovascular systems, their movement speed is 35ft.

Darkvision
You treat dim light within 60ft of you as bright light, and treat darkness as dim light. However, you are essentially colorblind.

Powerful Build
You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and weight you can move.

Monstrous Strength
The Manotaur's mighty strength and build grants it proficiency in Athletics.

Brutal Blow
After making a melee weapon attack against an enemy, you may use your Bonus Action to attempt to use the Shove action on the same enemy.

Baseless Courage
You gain advantage on saves against becoming frightened.

[Crisis21]

I did use the base Minotaur as inspiration, which was where I got the move-and-attack, but yeah, that's pretty strong in the case of rogues. Will probably do Shove instead as you suggested. As for advantage on saves vs Fear, that's what I thought at first, but there's a fair chance players won't build up Charisma on this character too much in builds, and it gives the race something unique and goes along with their headstrong (and slightly stupid in that regard) nature. Also, Powerful Build I just kinda forgot existed, otherwise I would've mentioned it, so thanks! And proficiency in Athletics makes a lot of sense. Sorry for going over things out of order, but I appreciate the feedback!
p.s. I was just trying to play it safe with the rough draft and not add too much.

Fear saves are typically Wisdom based actually.


I don't think that word means what you think it means.

The overall amount of traits is underpowered. The individual trait is overpowered.

The race needs more traits to make it seem interesting and unique, but adding them while keeping Fear immunity runs the risk of making the race too broken to use.


So, after looking over the Minotaur race some more, this is the current idea:
A more humanoid version of their bovine brethren, Manotaurs are not as feared as Minotaurs, but still wield their brute strength and builds, but lack the intelligence of some Minotaurs.

Ability Score Increase
Your Strength score increases by 2, and your Constitution score increases by 1.

Languages
The Manotaur can speak Common and Abyssal, though is usually incapable of reading and writing unless taught how to do so.

Alignment
Bred for battle, Manotaurs are typically quite chaotic, but that does not mean they are evil. They typically range from Chaotic Good to Chaotic Neutral, with very few being Lawful and even fewer being Evil.

Size
Manotaurs range between 6-7 feet tall, and weigh between 200-300 pounds and are Medium creatures.

Speed
Due to having a slightly varied version of the Minotaur's respiratory and cardiovascular systems, their movement speed is 35ft.

Darkvision
You treat dim light within 60ft of you as bright light, and treat darkness as dim light. However, you are essentially colorblind.

Powerful Build
You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and weight you can move.

Monstrous Strength
The Manotaur's mighty strength and build grants it proficiency in Athletics.

Brutal Blow
After making a melee weapon attack against an enemy, you may use your Bonus Action to use the Shove action on the same enemy.

Baseless Courage
You gain advantage on Charisma saves against becoming frightened.

Aside from the above note that Fear saves are typically Wisdom based, this looks pretty good so far. Edit: Save text corrected while I typed this. lol.

Wording correction:
you may use your Bonus Action to use the Shove action on the same enemy -> you may use your Bonus Action to attempt to Shove the same enemy

[JNAProductions]

Baseless Courage
You gain advantage on Charisma saves against becoming frightened.

I'd make that saves in general against Frightened. No need to make it JUST Charisma saves.

[EluinHexblade]

I'd make that saves in general against Frightened. No need to make it JUST Charisma saves.

I just fixed that as you posted this message funnily enough XD but thanks!

[JNAProductions]

So, after looking over the Minotaur race some more, this is the current idea:
A more humanoid version of their bovine brethren, Manotaurs are not as feared as Minotaurs, but still wield their brute strength and builds, but lack the intelligence of some Minotaurs.

Ability Score Increase
Your Strength score increases by 2, and your Constitution score increases by 1.

Languages
The Manotaur can speak Common and Abyssal, though is usually incapable of reading and writing unless taught how to do so.

Alignment
Bred for battle, Manotaurs are typically quite chaotic, but that does not mean they are evil. They typically range from Chaotic Good to Chaotic Neutral, with very few being Lawful and even fewer being Evil.

Size
Manotaurs range between 6-7 feet tall, and weigh between 200-300 pounds and are Medium creatures.

Speed
Due to having a slightly varied version of the Minotaur's respiratory and cardiovascular systems, their movement speed is 35ft.

Darkvision
You treat dim light within 60ft of you as bright light, and treat darkness as dim light. However, you are essentially colorblind.

Powerful Build
You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and weight you can move.

Monstrous Strength
The Manotaur's mighty strength and build grants it proficiency in Athletics.

Brutal Blow
After making a melee weapon attack against an enemy, you may use your Bonus Action to attempt to use the Shove action on the same enemy.

Baseless Courage
You gain advantage on saves against becoming frightened.

Looks fine to me. If I was interested in being a more man-like Minotaur, I'd play it. And, as a DM, I'd allow it.