Woke Long (Dragonborn Racial Variant)

[Ralcos]

Building a homebrew world and I've had these guys in my head for a while. Basically, they're Dragonborn, but they're more like Asian Lungs rather than European Dragons.

Woke Long
(Pronounced Woh-Key Long)
You are similar to the Dragonborn, but are shaped differently. Longer neck, and fur on the head and a long whisker on each side of your upper lip. Females have smaller whiskers, but longer tails.

Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 2, while your Dexterity score increases by 1.
Age. Young Woke Long grow quickly. They walk hours after hatching, attain the size and development of a 10-year-old Human child by the age of 3, and reach adulthood by 15. They live to be around 80.
Alignment. While sharing some similarities to their Dragonborn cousins, Woke Long prefer Neutral alignments.
Size. Woke Long stand taller than Humans, and are sometimes lighter, standing well over 6 feet tall and average around 170 pounds. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Damage Resistance. You have Resistance to one of the following damage types: Acid. Cold, Fire, Lightning, Poison.
Ancient Defense. Woke Long come from an ancient bloodline of dragon-blooded beings, allowing them to call upon their ancient heritage to defend themselves. As a Reaction to being hit with a melee attack roll, you can make the attacker roll a Dexterity saving throw, dealing 2d6 damage to the foe. This damage increases to 3d6 at 6th level, to 4d6 at 11th level, and to 5d6 at 16th level. Damage dealt with this ability is the same damage type you chose as part of the Damage Resistance trait.
The DC for the Dexterity saving throw is 8 + Your Proficiency Modifier + Your Charisma Modifier. On a successful saving throw, half damage is dealt.
This ability can only be used once, regaining use when you take a Short or Long Rest.
Nomadic Lifestyle. Woke Long are a nomadic people, wandering from place to place, exploring nature and worshiping their Draconic creators. You are trained in either the Nature skill or the Survival skill.
Languages. You, can speak, understand, and are literate in the Common and Draconic languages.

Optional Racial Trait (Replaces Ancient Defense)
Draconic Lineage. You know one cantrip, based on your bloodline. When you reach 3rd level, your bloodline gives you a 1st level spell that you can cast once per day. When you reach 5th level, your bloodline gives you a 2nd level spell that you can cast once per day. Charisma is the casting ability for these spells.

Brass, Gold, or Red ---- Fire Bolt, Burning Hands, Scorching Ray
Black or Copper ---- Acid Splash, Chromatic Orb (Acid Only), Melf's Acid Arrow
Silver or White ---- Chill Touch, Chromatic Orb (Cold Only), Shatter
Blue or Bronze ---- Shocking Grasp, Witch Bolt, Thunderwave
Green Dragon ---- Poison Spray, Ray of Sickness, Ray of Enfeeblement

Hopefully you guys like this race.

[nickl_2000]

Ancient defense is way OP as it is currently. Currently any time you are hit you can use your reaction to do damage. This really should be limited to a certian number of uses per rest. Still a very interesting race

[GalacticAxekick]

Ancient defense is way OP as it is currently. Currently any time you are hit you can use your reaction to do damage. This really should be limited to a certian number of uses per rest. Still a very interesting race

I agree that the feature needs to be toned down, but it's not that bad.

Even at 1st level, 1d6 damage (average 3.5) isn't really strong. An opportunity attack will deal an average 1d8+3 damage (average 7.5) and hit at least half the time (average 3.75). This feature doesn't give the Woke Long any more damage than they could already deal with strong tactics.

The balance problem to me is that this damage scales very well, while opportunity attacks do not. 1d8+3 at 1st level become 1d8+5 at 20th, while the Ancient Defense's 1d6 becomes 4d6. It scales like a cantrip—an action— instead of like an opportunity attack: a reaction

Balance aside, I'd also allow a save, for the sake of making the feature differently responsive to different targets, and increase the damage accordingly. Also, I think it's just not very fun to punish the enemy for dealing damage, because the player should dread getting hit and have incentives to avoid it. I don't think combat would be as fun knowing that whether the enemy hits or misses, I'm doing the right thing.

So solutions! You could try to tweak the concept. Allow save, increase damage, and maybe make the reaction target a creature who MISSES an melee attack (like a kind of riposte). Alternatively, change the feature! Maybe the Woke Long can channel their element through weapons and ammunition (effectively changing a weapon's damage type, not giving it a bonus). Maybe their unarmed strikes are get a damage bonus of their type. Or maybe innate, spellcasting, some other races have, allows eachs sort of Woke Long to cast according to their element.

[Ralcos]

I agree that the feature needs to be toned down, but it's not that bad.

Even at 1st level, 1d6 damage (average 3.5) isn't really strong. An opportunity attack will deal an average 1d8+3 damage (average 7.5) and hit at least half the time (average 3.75). This feature doesn't give the Woke Long any more damage than they could already deal with strong tactics.

The balance problem to me is that this damage scales very well, while opportunity attacks do not. 1d8+3 at 1st level become 1d8+5 at 20th, while the Ancient Defense's 1d6 becomes 4d6. It scales like a cantrip—an action— instead of like an opportunity attack: a reaction

Balance aside, I'd also allow a save, for the sake of making the feature differently responsive to different targets, and increase the damage accordingly. Also, I think it's just not very fun to punish the enemy for dealing damage, because the player should dread getting hit and have incentives to avoid it. I don't think combat would be as fun knowing that whether the enemy hits or misses, I'm doing the right thing.

So solutions! You could try to tweak the concept. Allow save, increase damage, and maybe make the reaction target a creature who MISSES an melee attack (like a kind of riposte). Alternatively, change the feature! Maybe the Woke Long can channel their element through weapons and ammunition (effectively changing a weapon's damage type, not giving it a bonus). Maybe their unarmed strikes are get a damage bonus of their type. Or maybe innate, spellcasting, some other races have, allows eachs sort of Woke Long to cast according to their element.

Added a Dexterity saving throw to Ancient Defense. Hopefully it's a little better now?

[JNAProductions]

Hell no. That's a more powerful 14th level Barbarian feature.

For reference, Retaliation (the feature in question) deals, at best, 1d12+13 damage, assuming a level 20 Barbarian with a Greataxe who's raging. That's 19.5, with no damage on a miss.

Yours deals 18, but with damage on a successful saving throw, so assuming the Barbarian hits on a 6+, they still only average to 14.625 damage. Whereas if the enemy succeeds on an 10 (requiring a whopping +9, in all probability, to their Dex save) it still deals 13.5 damage on average.

Far more importantly, let's compare DPR at, say, level 5. That'll see play a poopload more. Let's say you're a well-armored Fighter, so you're only hit once every other round (as opposed to a Reckless Attacking Barbarian, who's hit EVERY SINGLE ROUND, most likely).

Normal Fighter-let's say Half Orc-has a slightly higher Strength score than you, so hits on a 7+ for 1d8+4 damage, two attacks per turn. 11.9 DPR.

Your Woke Long Fighter. Hits on an 8+ for 1d8+3 damage, and does 2d8 damage (DC 13 save for half-let's assume they need a 10 to save) every other round. 17.25 DPR.

Now, DPR ain't the be-all end-all of balance. But when you're doing more than 40% more damage, that balance is out of whack.

[Ralcos]

Hell no. That's a more powerful 14th level Barbarian feature.

For reference, Retaliation (the feature in question) deals, at best, 1d12+13 damage, assuming a level 20 Barbarian with a Greataxe who's raging. That's 19.5, with no damage on a miss.

Yours deals 18, but with damage on a successful saving throw, so assuming the Barbarian hits on a 6+, they still only average to 14.625 damage. Whereas if the enemy succeeds on an 10 (requiring a whopping +9, in all probability, to their Dex save) it still deals 13.5 damage on average.

Far more importantly, let's compare DPR at, say, level 5. That'll see play a poopload more. Let's say you're a well-armored Fighter, so you're only hit once every other round (as opposed to a Reckless Attacking Barbarian, who's hit EVERY SINGLE ROUND, most likely).

Normal Fighter-let's say Half Orc-has a slightly higher Strength score than you, so hits on a 7+ for 1d8+4 damage, two attacks per turn. 11.9 DPR.

Your Woke Long Fighter. Hits on an 8+ for 1d8+3 damage, and does 2d8 damage (DC 13 save for half-let's assume they need a 10 to save) every other round. 17.25 DPR.

Now, DPR ain't the be-all end-all of balance. But when you're doing more than 40% more damage, that balance is out of whack.

Changed it back to d6s, and reduced progression to 3d6 at 16th level.

[JNAProductions]

Well, it was originally d6s. I'll change it back, and reduce progression.

...

Just make it once per rest! Seriously, I'll redo the math, but even on d6s it'll be WAY TOO STRONG.

[Ralcos]

...

Just make it once per rest! Seriously, I'll redo the math, but even on d6s it'll be WAY TOO STRONG.

I'm taking some time to rethink it.
Whether to keep it or change it into something else.
I'll change it once I get an idea.

[JNAProductions]

I'm taking some time to rethink it.
Whether to keep it or change it into something else.
I'll change it once I get an idea.

If you want it balanced, you NEED to restrict it. It's essentially an Extra Attack, for anyone who frontlines.

[Ralcos]

If you want it balanced, you NEED to restrict it. It's essentially an Extra Attack, for anyone who frontlines.

I made it usable once per rest.

[Ralcos]

I have been thinking of replacing Ancient Defense with something else. Here's what I came up with.

Spoiler: Proposed feature

Show

Draconic Lineage. You know one cantrip, based on your bloodline. When you reach 3rd level, your bloodline gives you a 1st level spell that you can cast once per day. When you reach 5th level, your bloodline gives you a 2nd level spell that you can cast once per day. Charisma is the casting ability for these spells.

Brass, Gold, or Red ---- Fire Bolt, Burning Hands, Scorching Ray
Black or Copper ---- Acid Splash, Chromatic Orb (Acid Only), Melf's Acid Arrow
Silver or White ---- Chill Touch, Chromatic Orb (Cold Only), Shatter
Blue or Bronze ---- Shocking Grasp, Witch Bolt, Thunderwave
Green Dragon ---- Poison Spray, Ray of Sickness, Ray of Enfeeblement

Damage Resistance will follow the same logic, if this feature is implemented.

[Ziegander]

As far as the reaction damage option goes, with a saving throw, restricted to once per short/long rest, I like it. I think the damage should equal the Dragonborn's breath weapon, but I like it.

But the spells option feels like it evokes more of that Eastern vibe than a reaction damage, so I like that too. Knee-jerk is that I prefer the reaction damage option, but both are good.

[Ralcos]

As far as the reaction damage option goes, with a saving throw, restricted to once per short/long rest, I like it. I think the damage should equal the Dragonborn's breath weapon, but I like it.

But the spells option feels like it evokes more of that Eastern vibe than a reaction damage, so I like that too. Knee-jerk is that I prefer the reaction damage option, but both are good.

Should I just allow a choice of either feature, or is that too much?

I'm okay with both as well, but I feel like the race will be too powerful with both features.

Edited Racial Traits based on suggestion.