Blame the Halfling Bards (Halfling Crossbreeds)

[SpawnOfMorbo]

https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/y4mgOznRO

Some friends wanted to play halfling hybrid races for a one shot and I threw these together real fast.

The Elvlings name reminds me of the name Elvis.

Goblings get a bonus to charisma because they are seen as safer than goblins but scarier than halflings so their sense of self can be a bit stronger than normal.

H'Orcs are my favorite though goblings are a close second.

[Garfunion]

Elvlings: That must have been a very good bard.
I don’t think the dark elf should have open choice of sorcerer cantrips.

Goblings: Seem ok to me.

H'Orcs: That poor halfling.
A +2 to both strength and dexterity seem strong.

[SpawnOfMorbo]

Elvlings: That must have been a very good bard.
I don’t think the dark elf should have open choice of sorcerer cantrips.

Goblings: Seem ok to me.

H'Orcs: That poor halfling.
A +2 to both strength and dexterity seem strong.

Dark Elves make the best sorcerers, not like Dark Elvlings are going to be Clerics of Lolth anytime soon. Sorcerers are all about having relatives that are innately magic. Drows have innate spellcasting, whereas the High Elves have learned spellcasting. However, I would think the Drow casting isn't very strong so their offspring just get a cantrip.

H'Orcs aren't really any stronger than Dwarves or Half-Orcs as a race. They can't effectively use heavy weapons and don't get the crit bonus to damage or the armor that dwarves and half orcs get. Most builds are Strength OR Dexterity when it comes to offensive out put and each class will give everything you need to make them effective with what they got. However, this ability score bonus does come with benefits. Want to me a medium armor strength based fighter? A melee cleric? Strength based medium armor bard or rogue? A Monk that doesn't have 8 strength? A lot of off-type builds could use this type of bonus but the small race means you won't be wacking things with a great sword or shooting with a longbow.

No matter who the bard was, I'm sure he/she had a smile on their face.

[Garfunion]

Well they are not powerful, they are just not “normal”.



No matter who the bard was, I'm sure he/she had a smile on their face.
And possibly bruises, bite marks, and/or glitter lipstick on their body.

[SpawnOfMorbo]

Well they are not powerful, they are just not “normal”.


And possibly bruises, bite marks, and/or glitter lipstick on their body.

Well, as long as they're close to balanced, mostly meaning not completely weak like some races, then it ain't a bad thing to not be "normal".

Most of the races all have something that isn't normal about them. Like most of 5e, the races look haphazardly put together.

Don't knock the glitter lipstick, that stuff is tight, yo.

[Wrath Of Grapes]

My take on the elvling

+2 dexterity

speed 30'
Keen senses
Fey Ancestry
Nimbleness

Keen senses makes too much sense to leave out, fey ancestry seems fitting
nimbleness would have to compensate for darkvision and trance, but the option to play a small race with decent speed might be worth something, slightly weaker than elf or halfling base though

High; +1 intelligence, wizard cantrip, - investigation

No weapon training, no extra language, seems something extra would be appropriate -investigation seems like a good one to reflect halfling curiosity mixed with elvish logic and learning

wood; +1 wisdom, mask of the wild, - stealth

no fleet of foot (they already have 30' for a small race), mask of the wild seems about equal to a cantrip and has synergy with the stealth skill

Dark; +1 charisma, darkvision 60', dancing lights

should really have darkvision, but without sensitivity, dancing lights links it to drow but is in itself a weak choice for a cantrip especially considering the darkvision ability which brings the dark elvling in line with the other elvlings

Note: Look up elf quest comic for inspiration if you want some imagery to go with this race

[Wrath Of Grapes]

Gobling

+2 dexterity, +1 charisma

speed 30'

Halfling Nimbleness

Natural sneak - proficiency with stealth skill

Goblin trap training - add proficiency bonus to checks to set up or disable traps, if you already add your proficiency bonus double it

Survivor - Disengage or hide action as a bonus action, if you get cunning action later you get advantage on your hide check, or also use the dodge action when disengaging. When you have used this ability you can't use it again till you complete a long or short rest.

Disease resistant - advantage on saves versus disease

I changed it around a bit, darkvision seemed weird considering the other races generally didn't get it either. I changed goblin genetics to a limited use that is still useful for a rogue. Goblin trap training seems a good fit, stealthy and 30's peed are the other goblin abilities that stand out

[SpawnOfMorbo]

My take on the elvling

+2 dexterity

speed 30'
Keen senses
Fey Ancestry
Nimbleness

Keen senses makes too much sense to leave out, fey ancestry seems fitting
nimbleness would have to compensate for darkvision and trance, but the option to play a small race with decent speed might be worth something, slightly weaker than elf or halfling base though

High; +1 intelligence, wizard cantrip, - investigation

No weapon training, no extra language, seems something extra would be appropriate -investigation seems like a good one to reflect halfling curiosity mixed with elvish logic and learning

wood; +1 wisdom, mask of the wild, - stealth

no fleet of foot (they already have 30' for a small race), mask of the wild seems about equal to a cantrip and has synergy with the stealth skill

Dark; +1 charisma, darkvision 60', dancing lights

should really have darkvision, but without sensitivity, dancing lights links it to drow but is in itself a weak choice for a cantrip especially considering the darkvision ability which brings the dark elvling in line with the other elvlings

Note: Look up elf quest comic for inspiration if you want some imagery to go with this race


Elves may get Keen Senses but halflings do not. They get the elven speed (30), halfling size (small), and then the acestry of the elves, and a feature of the halfling (that is a heritage type feature). Sometimes when you blend two things you don't get all the great stuff, it's about blending the two races and not just taking the best stuff.

Besides, Elves shouldn't have darkvision to begin with.

There's no reason to give skills to these heritages, especially investigation as it isn't iconic to the race.

Giving a choice of cantrip, wizard or sorcerer, makes more sense as it will show more of the elvish ancestry. Drow are very connected to magic, to the point it's in their blood thanks to Lolth, sounds like the start of a Sorcerous bloodline but just not powerful enough.

Having the wood-elvling be super fast makes more sense and is much more flavorful than giving a skill. A speedy halfling is niche, but you won't forget the speedy elvling.

I didn't give weapon proficiencies because they're useless. Whichever class you pick up will give you the weapons you need for that class. Weapon proficiencies are basically ribbons and are not equal.

I can see giving Drow-lings darkvision, but, there's almost 0 chance a Elvling will be from the underdark without being snuffed out. Elvlings would be top side type race and most likely raised in halfling communities. Also, they really gave too many races darkvision and I rather see it removed than thrown in. Again, sometimes good stuff doesn't make it through when you blend races.



Gobling

+2 dexterity, +1 charisma

speed 30'

Halfling Nimbleness

Natural sneak - proficiency with stealth skill

Goblin trap training - add proficiency bonus to checks to set up or disable traps, if you already add your proficiency bonus double it

Survivor - Disengage or hide action as a bonus action, if you get cunning action later you get advantage on your hide check, or also use the dodge action when disengaging. When you have used this ability you can't use it again till you complete a long or short rest.

Disease resistant - advantage on saves versus disease

I changed it around a bit, darkvision seemed weird considering the other races generally didn't get it either. I changed goblin genetics to a limited use that is still useful for a rogue. Goblin trap training seems a good fit, stealthy and 30's peed are the other goblin abilities that stand out

The goblin race doesn't give you any bonuses to traps, there's no reason that an Gobling would have it. Maybe a Kabling (kabold-halfling), but not a Gobling.

No need to connect the racial trait to cunning action. Nimble Escape from the goblin race gives Dash and Hide, I changed it to Dash and Disengage because running away makes more sense for "escaping" as it isn't "nimble hiding" after all. Though, I may just change it to Disengage to keep this from being a speedy "halfling"

There's no reason for a gobling to be resistant to disease... Neither base Halflings or Goblins are resistant to disease. I could see brave? But not disease resistance.

[Wrath Of Grapes]

I know that they do not have all abilities, I thought blending races like that was a little boring. Neither half-elves or half-orcs take abilities exclusively from the existing races. Also it makes sense to change some abilities.

Goblins are known for using traps, and not being especially hygienic they were described as being resistant to disease in some 2nd edition material so I went with that as some small extra boon. I thought the goblin ability was too powerful for a PC but opinions differ. They have just never been developed to the extent of a PC race, a monster manual stat block isn't the only resource to build a race.

I wouldn't add brave to a goblin half-breed since goblins aren't exactly known to be brave, but then the crossbreed might be exceptional for that reason. I just flung something together that would be reasonable to me and hoped you would see some use in it.

[SpawnOfMorbo]

I know that they do not have all abilities, I thought blending races like that was a little boring. Neither half-elves or half-orcs take abilities exclusively from the existing races. Also it makes sense to change some abilities.

Goblins are known for using traps, and not being especially hygienic they were described as being resistant to disease in some 2nd edition material so I went with that as some small extra boon. I thought the goblin ability was too powerful for a PC but opinions differ. They have just never been developed to the extent of a PC race, a monster manual stat block isn't the only resource to build a race.

I wouldn't add brave to a goblin half-breed since goblins aren't exactly known to be brave, but then the crossbreed might be exceptional for that reason. I just flung something together that would be reasonable to me and hoped you would see some use in it.

Goblins are known for springing basic traps, such as hiding and then attacking, the small creatures that are known to be utter terrors when it comes to traps are Kobolds (see Tucker).

I'm not saying I would add brave, just that it would make more sens than a bonus versus disease.