Flumph PC Race

[Beanblin]

Hello!

I'm a relatively new D&D player, but I was reading the Monster Manual and fell in love with flumphs. I decided to try to make a PC race for them. It's probably wildly imbalanced, but here is my attempt:

https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/edit/WYjOeIRerLwK

PEACH :smallredface:

--Beanblin

[sandmote]

First, that's the wrong link. With the current link I could edit something. You'll want to click "share" on the tab at the top and link the page it takes you to or delete what you have and ask people to go here (https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/Gp77IRmRq1_A) to see the page.

Balance wise I think a DM could handle it, but it would take extra work and I would make special note of this for anyone you ask to run this race. Usually races should avoid having penalties (Like prone deficiency or vulnerabilities) because they do a bad job balancing against other strong features. And they still might be slightly overtuned.

I would also suggest moving the acid damage to a racial feat, instead of granting 2d4 unarmed strikes as a racial feature on the base race. You could also add Stench Spray from the flumph stat block to the feat, if +1d4 acid damage isn't quite enough. Even if you keep it part of the base race though, I'd limit the acid damage to once per turn. It still fits with the NPC flumph stat block, but the damage could get a bit nuts with a Flumph Monk or Fighter.

I would also change Mental Cartography as follows.

Mental Cartography. Whenever you make an Intelligence (Nature) check to retrace your path, you are considered proficient in the Nature skill and add double your proficiency bonus to the check, instead of your normal proficiency bonus.

Half proficiency is typically rare, and honestly a little bit weird for a racial feature. Maybe if you did "half proficiency for all Intelligence based checks" it might be worth including, but half proficiency with one skill is a bit useless.

Formatting Suggestions, closer to the formatting used in published material.

Natural Weapon. When it is not holding something, you can use one of your tentacles to make a natural weapon attacks, which have the finesse property, deal piercing damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength of Dexterity modifier plus 1d4 acid damage. At the end of each of its turns, the target must make a DC 10 Constitution saving throw, taking 1d4 acid damage on a failure or ending the recurring acid damage on a success. A lesser restoration spell cast on the target also ends the recurring acid damage.

Aberration. Your creature type is aberration, rather than humanoid.

Typically you would also list +1 Wisdom as part of the Flumph race and add +2 Int/+2 Dex/+1 Int & +1 Wis for the subraces.

[Kuulvheysoon]

Oh come on, throw Survival a bone and make Mental Cartography based off of it.

[Breccia]

I'm probably going to be in the minority here, but my feelings about your Flumphs are the feelings I have for any nonhumanoid PC race: they're going to get negatively affected by lack of magic item choices. There are just too many magic items that require hands, feet, fingers, waists, necks, or discernable heads, and most armor found doesn't come in the shape of a Macy's Parade entry. These flumph in particular are especially negatively affected, since they can't even wear medium armor or shields that happen to be in their size anyhow.

I'm not keen on the idea of a level one spellcaster who can both cast all spells silently, can also fly, and can also speak all languages, but that's really not the problem. Besides their combat vulnerabilities, a character made from this race just has too many substantial restrictions on effective class choice and character power increase.

I don't think you did a bad job trying. I just don't think it's realistic to make a balloon animal into a competitive PC race past level five or so.

If you handwave the shape issues, letting them wear boots for example (I have no idea how), I'm worried they're too strong. There aren't a ton of monster attacks that are psychic or that knock flying creatures prone (probably at range), and the telepathy effect is massive for spellcasters, which with those stats and the armor restriction, a lot of them will be.

Don't let this post discourage you. For a new player, you took on a tough job and I think you did pretty well trying to keep the race's features at a PC level. It's just a very daunting task. Most people who try to climb Mt. Everest don't make it -- doesn't make them bad climbers.