Expanded Racial Feats

[Grod_The_Giant]

Xanathar's introduced race-specific feats for the PHB races, but not the new ones in Volo's or the EEPC. A D&D Beyond exclusive pdf introduced new feats for them, but they were... kinda awful, ranging from "pretty busted" to "why on earth?" So... here's some love for the non-core races:

Angelic Attunement
Prerequisite: Aasimar

You gain the following benefits:

• Increase your Charisma score by 1, to a maximum of 20
• You may use your Radiant Soul, Radiant Consumption, or Necrotic Shroud ability again after completing a short or long rest.
• Once per turn when you damage a foe you may deal additional radiant damage equal to your proficiency bonus.

Blackscale Lizardfolk
Prerequisite: Lizardfolk

You gain the following benefits:

• Increase your Strength or Constitution score by 1, to a maximum of 20
• Your Natural Armor trait now provides a base AC of 13+Con.
• You You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.
• If you successfully damage a target with your bite attack, you may attempt to start a grab as a bonus action.

Call of the Sea
Prerequisite: Triton

You gain the following benefits:

• Increase your Strength, Constitution, or Charisma score by 1, to a maximum of 20
• As an action, you may cast Conjure Animals, summoning a single beast with a swim speed and a challenge rating of 1/4 your level or less. Once you have done so, you cannot cast this spell again until you finish a long rest.

Embrace the Elements
Prerequisite: Genasi

You gain the following benefits:

• Increase your Constitution score or the score increased by your subrace by 1, to a maximum of 20
• You learn an additional cantrip and a spell which you may cast once as a 2^nd level spell. You learn a second spell once you reach 5^th level, which you may cast once as a 3^rd level spell. You regain the ability to cast these spells when you finish a long rest. Constitution is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

• Air: Gust and Dust Devil. At 5th level, you learn Fly.
• Earth: Mold Earth and Earthbind. At 5th level, you learn Meld Into Stone.
• Fire: Control Flames and Enlarge/Reduce. At 5th level, you learn Haste.
• Water: Frostbite and Invisibility. At 5th level, you learn Water Walk.

Friend of the Forest
Prerequisite: Firbolg

You gain the following benefits:

• Increase your Strength or Wisdom score by 1, to a maximum of 20
• You may comprehend and verbally communicate with beasts as though you shared a language.
• You may cast Disguise Self at will. You may also cast Speak with Plants. Once you have done so, you cannot cast it again until you have completed a long rest.

Hunter’s Pounce
Prerequisite: Taxabi

You gain the following benefits:

• Increase your Dexterity or Charisma score by 1, to a maximum of 20
• If you move at least 20ft straight towards a foe, you may make an unarmed strike against them as a bonus action, using your Dexterity modifier for the attack and damage rolls.
• You may use your reaction when you fall to reduce any falling damage you take by 20.

Mimic Magic
Prerequisite: Kenku

You gain the following benefits:

• Increase your Dexterity or Wisdom score by 1, to a maximum of 20
• As a reaction, you may memorize a cantrip you see being cast. You learn that cantrip yourself for 24 hours, or until you use this ability again. Once you have used this ability, you may not use it again until you have completed a long rest.
• As a reaction, you may memorize a spell you see being cast. At any point in the next hour, you may cast that spell if you have the appropriate spell level slots available. If you do not have spell slots from your class, you are considered to have a single level 1 spell slot. At eight level, you are considered to have a single level 2 spell slot; at 12th, a level 3 slot, and at 16th a level 4 slot. Once you have used this ability, you may not use it again until you have completed a long rest.

Poison Dusk Lizardfolk
Prerequisite: Lizardfolk

You gain the following benefits:

• Increase your Dexterity or Wisdom score by 1, to a maximum of 20
• Your bite attack gains the Finesse quality, allowing you to use your Dexterity bonus to make attack and damage rolls with it.
• You gain resistance to poison damage.
• As a bonus action, you can adjust the color of your skin to match your surroundings. As long as you not wearing armor, robes or other covering clothing, you gain advantage on Stealth checks for one minute, and do not need cover to attempt to hide. After using this ability, you may not do so again until you've completed a short or long rest.

Stone Rage
Prerequisite: Goliath

You gain the following benefits:

• Increase your Strength or Constitution score by 1, to a maximum of 20
• Once per turn, when making a weapon attack against a target who damaged you in the last round, you deal an additional 1d4 damage.
• When you use your Stone’s Endurance ability, you have resistance to all damage until the beginning of your next turn

Tortle Guardian
Prerequisite: Tortle

You gain the following benefits:

• Increase your Strength or Wisdom score by 1, to a maximum of 20
• Your Natural Armor trait now provides a base AC of 18.
• You may use your Shell Defense trait as a bonus action. While withdrawn, you may use reactions, but doing so causes you to emerge from your shell.

Wind Warden
Prerequisite: Aarakocra

You gain the following benefits:

• Increase your Dexterity or Wisdom score by 1, to a maximum of 20
• You gain proficiency in Perception, if you did not already have it, and may add twice your Proficiency bonus to such checks.
• If you are flying and dive at least 20ft straight towards a target, you may make an unarmed strike against them as a bonus action, using your Dexterity modifier for the attack and damage rolls.

[theVoidWatches]

Angelic Attunement is boring. It just gives you an extra use of your
ability - racial feats normally give you something new. I suggest letting them add 1d6 radiant or necrotic damage to damage once per turn, unconnected to their transformations.

Dreams of Flight giving a fly speed is strong enough that I don't think it should give an ASI as well.

[Potato_Priest]

What's the fluff justification for giving a fly speed to the Kenku? The being that stripped them of their wings was supposedly incredibly powerful, so I imagine you don't just grow them back with a snap of the fingers.

Also, shouldn't the genasi feat give +1 to constitution, rather than charisma?

If I had to call out the most overpowered of these feats, it would be the triton one, but that's just because conjure animals is a broken spell any way you cut it. Conjuring two giant octopi is so dramatically powerful that I've banned the spell in my home games.

Angelic Attunement is boring. It just gives you an extra use of your
ability - racial feats normally give you something new. I suggest letting them add 1d6 radiant or necrotic damage to damage once per turn, unconnected to their transformations.

Some more thoughts would be letting them activate their auras as a bonus action, or enhance the genasi's healing ability.

[jiriku]

I like most of these rather a lot. The best of them provide a power boost strong enough to justify skipping a full ASI while also being flavorful, thematic, and granting players new and cool heroic actions or new tactical decisions to make. and the're all appropriate to their race.

A few of these feats are more JV level. They're good, but not quite as fun and interesting as the top-tier feats. You might consider giving them a second look to see if any further inspirations strike you.

* Blackscale Lizardfolk and Stone Rage are completely passive abilities. The player doesn't gain any new abilities or extra uses of existing abilities. There are no new decisions to make or extra dice to roll. They are just numerical improvements. Don't get me wrong, they're still good feats -- but they're not very interesting. You could take one of these feats and use it for many levels and other players might never even notice that you had it.

* Poison Dusk Lizardfolk has a similar issue, but because it can't be taken at character creation, taking advantage of its finesse bite requires the player to build a character who at 1st level is bad at something he wants to do and then wait several levels before taking this feat to stop sucking. This is like the problem the 3.5 rogue had with not qualifying for finesse until 2nd level and not having a feat slot available to take it until 3rd level. I feel that if you want to provide finesse with bite, the way to do it is with a sub-race available at character creation, not with a racial feat.

[Grod_The_Giant]

Angelic Attunement is boring. It just gives you an extra use of your
ability - racial feats normally give you something new. I suggest letting them add 1d6 radiant or necrotic damage to damage once per turn, unconnected to their transformations.

~2 extra uses-- it's going from long rest to short rest. But another minor ability wouldn't be bad.

Dreams of Flight giving a fly speed is strong enough that I don't think it should give an ASI as well.

What's the fluff justification for giving a fly speed to the Kenku? The being that stripped them of their wings was supposedly incredibly powerful, so I imagine you don't just grow them back with a snap of the fingers.

Agh, you're right, Potato_Priest. Back to the drawing board... maybe mimicing a spell they see 1/long rest?

Also, shouldn't the genasi feat give +1 to constitution, rather than charisma?

...yes

If I had to call out the most overpowered of these feats, it would be the triton one, but that's just because conjure animals is a broken spell any way you cut it. Conjuring two giant octopi is so dramatically powerful that I've banned the spell in my home games.

True...Maybe if it calls a single beast with a CR of 1/4 your level or less?

* Blackscale Lizardfolk and Stone Rage are completely passive abilities. The player doesn't gain any new abilities or extra uses of existing abilities. There are no new decisions to make or extra dice to roll. They are just numerical improvements. Don't get me wrong, they're still good feats -- but they're not very interesting. You could take one of these feats and use it for many levels and other players might never even notice that you had it.

Yeah, fair point. I bet I can add something...

* Poison Dusk Lizardfolk has a similar issue, but because it can't be taken at character creation, taking advantage of its finesse bite requires the player to build a character who at 1st level is bad at something he wants to do and then wait several levels before taking this feat to stop sucking. This is like the problem the 3.5 rogue had with not qualifying for finesse until 2nd level and not having a feat slot available to take it until 3rd level. I feel that if you want to provide finesse with bite, the way to do it is with a sub-race available at character creation, not with a racial feat.

Lizardfolk are kinda weird because their two big features-- the natural armor and the bite-- pull you in opposite directions. Neither is a total loss-- you can still slap on heavy armor or grab a rapier-- but either way feels like a loss.

[Sariel Vailo]

The angelic attunement is now amazing.

[Potato_Priest]

True...Maybe if it calls a single beast with a CR of 1/4 your level or less?

Hmm, what might be fun is a find greater steed spell that only works for aquatic mounts.

[LuanaKitsune]

i really like the aarakocra feat i'm using it on my barbarian

[Bjarkmundur]

I love the kenku feat!