Kane0
2023-03-17, 11:40 PM
I'm tinkering away at my homebrew world again, races is the next thing on the menu.
Worldbuilding isn't incredibly important at this stage except for one detail, the races are loosely grouped together into three categories (the ones that bleed red, the ones that bleed blue and the ones that bleed green) and races can interbreed within those categories but not without. So I guess there's really only three 'races' and each of these is a subrace, technically? Doesn't matter, taxonomy doesn't apply to D&D.
None of these adjust ability scores nor incorporate the ability to use spells, because i'm messing with those elsewhere.
Human: Basic vanilla mankind, but not the PHB abilities
Determined: Once per short rest gain advantage on a d20 roll
Lucky: Copied from Halfling, reroll 1s on d20 rolls
Fast Recovery: Add Prof Bonus to any healing during a Short Rest, and recover one extra level of exhaustion during a Long Rest
Goliath: Big, bald humans that have been tampered with by the Giant's Ordning
Hardy: +1 HP per level
Long Stride: +5' speed
Touch of the Ordning: Choose one of the below
Burn: Once per short rest when you are hit by a melee attack attack you can use your reaction to deal Fire damage to your attacker equal to your level + proficiency bonus
Endure: Once per short rest when you take damage you can use your reaction to reduce the damage taken by 1d6 + double proficiency bonus
Freeze: Once per short rest when you hit with an attack you can also Slow the target until the end of your next turn
Push: Once per short rest when you are hit by a melee attack you can use your reaction to push your attacker away up to 15 feet
Wallop: Once per short rest when you hit with an attack you can also knock the target (up to large size) prone
Grelin: Commonly referred to as the smallfolk, they share some traits of Halflings, Gnomes and Dwarves
Stubborn: Once per short rest you can add +2d4 to a failed saving throw, potentially turning it into a success
Nimble: Can move through the space of, and hide behind, creatures larger than you
Darkvision: They're the ONLY race that get it
Sar-Qwa: Resemble Dragonborn and Lizardfolk in appearance, they have muted emotions and a very accurate tactile sense which they use for their exhaustive braille-like language
Thermal absorbtion: Once per short rest can use reaction to gain resistance to fire or cold damage taken. Within the next hour can expel the opposite damage type as a 15' cone breath weapon dealing the same damage that was absorbed (save for half)
Lizard Brain: Advantage on saving throws against being Charmed, Frightened or Confused
Perfect visualization: Perfectly remember anything you have touched
Avé: Appearance derived from Kenku, and retain the ability to copy what they've heard but different fluff in this setting
Mimicry: You can mimic sounds and voices you have heard. Insight contest against your Deception to tell it's an imitation
Ghostsight: You can see incorporeal and ethereal creatures (but not invisibility)
Talons: Your unarmed attacks deal 1d4 damage instead of 1. If you gain some other increase to your unarmed strike damage, you add +1d4 damage to it.
Anura: Earning the derogatory nickname of 'toads' for their appearance
Poison Resistance: Advantage on saves against Poisoned Condition and resistance to Poison damage
Leap: Jump distance is doubled, and always treated as having a running start
Natural camouflage: On your turn you can sacrifice all of your movement to instead take the Hide action, remaining still and changing your color to match your surroundings
Rumin: Could easily be mistaken for minotaurs, but they're largely peaceful, mostly herbivorous and often sport antlers or tusks instead of horns
Powerful Build: Count as large for lift/carry capacity and grapples, and can shove up to 10'
[Racial Feature Missing]
Light Sleeper: You only need to sleep half as long as normal to get the full benefits of rest
Nik'Tar: A hybrid between goblins and hobgoblins that outcompeted both and basically bred them into extinction, they never stop growing over their lifespan and also possess some Rat-like qualities
Poison and Disease Resistance: Advantage on saving throws against poison and disease, plus resistance to Poison damage
Lesser Pack Tactics: As per Pack Tactics, but only once per round
Hold Breath: You can hold your breath for up to three times as long
Miaki: A race of extreme sexual dimorphism, the males appear feline like Tabaxi or Kajiit and the females canine like Lupin. They are distantly related to lycanthropes and as such are both immune to lycanthropy and can immediately identify them as well as other shapeshifters.
Lycanthropic Heritage: Immunity to Lycanthropy, and can identify Shapechangers by smell
Keen Senses: Advantage on Perception and Survival checks that rely in hearing or smell
Burst of Speed: Once per short rest you can double your speed until the end of your turn
Seeking critique and help with missing features!
The idea is that all the core facets of races available in other settings are represented in different form here while injecting some cool roleplay stuff to latch onto, while at the same time keeping them roughly balanced against each other and avoiding cultural/learned abilities like bonus weapon proficiencies
Obviously the aim is to make them all interesting without doing so by just making them powerful.
Worldbuilding isn't incredibly important at this stage except for one detail, the races are loosely grouped together into three categories (the ones that bleed red, the ones that bleed blue and the ones that bleed green) and races can interbreed within those categories but not without. So I guess there's really only three 'races' and each of these is a subrace, technically? Doesn't matter, taxonomy doesn't apply to D&D.
None of these adjust ability scores nor incorporate the ability to use spells, because i'm messing with those elsewhere.
Human: Basic vanilla mankind, but not the PHB abilities
Determined: Once per short rest gain advantage on a d20 roll
Lucky: Copied from Halfling, reroll 1s on d20 rolls
Fast Recovery: Add Prof Bonus to any healing during a Short Rest, and recover one extra level of exhaustion during a Long Rest
Goliath: Big, bald humans that have been tampered with by the Giant's Ordning
Hardy: +1 HP per level
Long Stride: +5' speed
Touch of the Ordning: Choose one of the below
Burn: Once per short rest when you are hit by a melee attack attack you can use your reaction to deal Fire damage to your attacker equal to your level + proficiency bonus
Endure: Once per short rest when you take damage you can use your reaction to reduce the damage taken by 1d6 + double proficiency bonus
Freeze: Once per short rest when you hit with an attack you can also Slow the target until the end of your next turn
Push: Once per short rest when you are hit by a melee attack you can use your reaction to push your attacker away up to 15 feet
Wallop: Once per short rest when you hit with an attack you can also knock the target (up to large size) prone
Grelin: Commonly referred to as the smallfolk, they share some traits of Halflings, Gnomes and Dwarves
Stubborn: Once per short rest you can add +2d4 to a failed saving throw, potentially turning it into a success
Nimble: Can move through the space of, and hide behind, creatures larger than you
Darkvision: They're the ONLY race that get it
Sar-Qwa: Resemble Dragonborn and Lizardfolk in appearance, they have muted emotions and a very accurate tactile sense which they use for their exhaustive braille-like language
Thermal absorbtion: Once per short rest can use reaction to gain resistance to fire or cold damage taken. Within the next hour can expel the opposite damage type as a 15' cone breath weapon dealing the same damage that was absorbed (save for half)
Lizard Brain: Advantage on saving throws against being Charmed, Frightened or Confused
Perfect visualization: Perfectly remember anything you have touched
Avé: Appearance derived from Kenku, and retain the ability to copy what they've heard but different fluff in this setting
Mimicry: You can mimic sounds and voices you have heard. Insight contest against your Deception to tell it's an imitation
Ghostsight: You can see incorporeal and ethereal creatures (but not invisibility)
Talons: Your unarmed attacks deal 1d4 damage instead of 1. If you gain some other increase to your unarmed strike damage, you add +1d4 damage to it.
Anura: Earning the derogatory nickname of 'toads' for their appearance
Poison Resistance: Advantage on saves against Poisoned Condition and resistance to Poison damage
Leap: Jump distance is doubled, and always treated as having a running start
Natural camouflage: On your turn you can sacrifice all of your movement to instead take the Hide action, remaining still and changing your color to match your surroundings
Rumin: Could easily be mistaken for minotaurs, but they're largely peaceful, mostly herbivorous and often sport antlers or tusks instead of horns
Powerful Build: Count as large for lift/carry capacity and grapples, and can shove up to 10'
[Racial Feature Missing]
Light Sleeper: You only need to sleep half as long as normal to get the full benefits of rest
Nik'Tar: A hybrid between goblins and hobgoblins that outcompeted both and basically bred them into extinction, they never stop growing over their lifespan and also possess some Rat-like qualities
Poison and Disease Resistance: Advantage on saving throws against poison and disease, plus resistance to Poison damage
Lesser Pack Tactics: As per Pack Tactics, but only once per round
Hold Breath: You can hold your breath for up to three times as long
Miaki: A race of extreme sexual dimorphism, the males appear feline like Tabaxi or Kajiit and the females canine like Lupin. They are distantly related to lycanthropes and as such are both immune to lycanthropy and can immediately identify them as well as other shapeshifters.
Lycanthropic Heritage: Immunity to Lycanthropy, and can identify Shapechangers by smell
Keen Senses: Advantage on Perception and Survival checks that rely in hearing or smell
Burst of Speed: Once per short rest you can double your speed until the end of your turn
Seeking critique and help with missing features!
The idea is that all the core facets of races available in other settings are represented in different form here while injecting some cool roleplay stuff to latch onto, while at the same time keeping them roughly balanced against each other and avoiding cultural/learned abilities like bonus weapon proficiencies
Obviously the aim is to make them all interesting without doing so by just making them powerful.