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Customizing D&D Races

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My latest DMs Guild product, The Iron Titan, is now available!

Before we dive in, I want to thank two people who gave me great feedback on this article. First Leona Maple consulted and did rules development for this idea. It would not be close to what it is without her contributions and advice. Check out Leona’s website! I also want to thank James J. Haeck, who gave me great advice that inspired the variant on these rules below. Find out more about James on his site!

I want to be upfront that I don’t think this system comes close to solving every issue of race in Dungeons & Dragons. That is an issue that requires a total rethink of the game, in other words an entirely a new game. Leona put it best when she said, “D&D itself is problematic and racialised, and it is 1000% baked into the very foundations in tiny ways, even aside from the racial bonuses.” This new system addresses some, and nowhere close to all, of the mechanical aspects of this issue.

The fact that D&D has ability score adjustments and many cultural traits tied to race is inherently racist. There’s also a fun factor to this new system, which is subjective. I want to play a dwarf wizard and not be inferior to other wizards just because I didn’t get a sweet, sweet Intelligence score bonus and an extra cantrip. I’ll admit, I have a little power gamer in me as well as actor, so even when I have a great character concept in mind, I hesitate to play it if it isn’t optimized. I also get a little jealous when my friends are more effective.

There are also story considerations. What if you want to play a character with one tiefling parent and one dragonborn parent? You could pick either tiefling or dragonborn and go with it, but wouldn’t it be more fun to put the two together? What if you’re a halfling raised underground by incredible masons and miners? Shouldn’t you have the Stonecunnig trait? What if you come from a place where a diverse population has existed for generations? You might have a bunch of different heritages and cool mix of genetic and cultural traits to go with it. What if I just want to play an elf bard with a Charisma bonus instead of Intelligence and some more skill proficiencies instead of weapon proficiencies?

With all this in mind, I started to think about the options I could give my players the next time we rolled up characters. What I’m putting forth in this post is my first crack at a way to offer more flexible ancestry for characters in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons.

This is definitely going to need some adjustment. Please feel free to leave feedback in the comments below, but here’s the thing: I know this is a contested subject. This post is about making a system help my players have more fun and be more comfortable at the table. I’m sharing it, because I think it might help other people. If you like the way fifth edition D&D character-building works now, there’s no need to get nasty about this single option I’m proposing.

Balancing the System

The system I’m proposing below is meant to be used as an option for character building. If my players want to build their characters according to the official rules, that is also fine with me. My hope is to provide a method for some players to customize their characters in fun ways while still maintaining the overall power balance among player characters. (This first crack may not accomplish that, but I got to start somewhere. Let’s see how close I got!)

This system cannot be used to recreate existing races. Many races are balanced by a lot of fiddly factors. For example, mountain dwarves getting +2 Strength is balanced by them also getting the Dwarven Armor Training trait (since classes that benefit most from +2 Strength already have the same armor proficiencies the trait provides). If I included all these considerations in my system, it would likely be very balanced but also way too complicated for most to use at the table. It’s already a little complicated and likely too unwieldy for people unfamiliar with fifth edition D&D. Lucky for me, many people are.

The final note about this is that this version of the system only uses the racial traits available in the Player’s Handbook. I may add traits from other books later, but at the moment I want to keep it simple.

Custom Races in D&D

To build a custom race in D&D, you first build a base race with some starting guidelines. Then you pick more traits to build onto the base.

Build a Base Race

You begin with the following traits:

Ability Score Increase. Two different ability scores of your choice increase by 1.

Size. Pick your size: Medium or Small.

Speed. If you are Small-sized, your base walking speed is 25 feet. If you are Medium-sized, pick one: Your base walking speed is 30 feet, or your base walking speed is 25 feet and not reduced by wearing heavy armor.

Language. You know Common and one other language of your choice.

Add More Traits

Now that you have your character’s base traits, you can spend points on any number of traits from the list below until you exhaust your total. If you are a Medium-sized character you have 10 points to spend. If you are a Small-sized character, you have 11 points to spend (because of your slower base walking speed, not directly because of your size). You can purchase each trait only once unless its description says otherwise. Each trait is defined below or in chapter 2 of the Player’s Handbook.

1-Point Traits

The following traits each cost 1 point:

  • Artificer’s Lore. See “Gnome Traits” in chapter 2 of the Player’s Handbook for more information.
  • Brave. See “Halfling Traits” in chapter 2 of the Player’s Handbook for more information.
  • Extra Language. You can speak, write, and understand a language of your choice. This trait can be taken multiple times. Each time you take it, you learn a new language.
  • Fey Ancestry. See “Elf Traits” in chapter 2 of the Player’s Handbook for more information.
  • Nimbleness. This trait works the same as “Hafling Nimbleness” in “Halfling Traits” in chapter 2 of the Player’s Handbook. Only a Small-sized character can take this trait.
  • Resilience. You have advantage on saving throws against poison.
  • Speak with Small Beasts. See “Gnome Traits” in chapter 2 of the Player’s Handbook for more information.
  • Stonecunning. See “Dwarf Traits” in chapter 2 of the Player’s Handbook for more information.
  • Tool Proficiency. You gain proficiency with a set of tools of your choice. This trait can be taken multiple times. Each time you take it, you gain proficiency in a new set of tools.
  • Trance. See “Elf Traits” in chapter 2 of the Player’s Handbook for more information.
  • Weapon Training. You gain proficiency with three weapons of your choice. This trait can be taken multiple times. Each time you take it, you gain proficiency in three new weapons.

2-Point Traits

The following traits each cost 2 points:

  • Darkvision. See “Dwarf Traits” in chapter 2 of the Player’s Handbook for more information.
  • Cantrip. You know one cantrip of your choice from the wizard spell list. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for it. (Designer note: This would include minor illusion, so the forest gnome’s Natural Illusionist trait is covered by this trait.)
  • Faster Movement. Your walking speed increases 5 feet.
  • Mask of the Wild. See “Elf Traits” in chapter 2 of the Player’s Handbook for more information.
  • Naturally Stealthy. See “Halfling Traits” in chapter 2 of the Player’s Handbook for more information. Only a Small-sized creature can take this trait.
  • Powerful Critical. This trait is the same as “Savage Attacks” in “Half-Orc Traits” in chapter 2 of the Player’s Handbook.
  • Relentless Endurance. See “Half-Orc Traits” in chapter 2 of the Player’s Handbook for more information.
  • Skill Proficiency. You gain proficiency with a skill of your choice. This trait can be taken multiple times. Each time you take it, you gain proficiency in a new skill.
  • Superior Darkvision. When you gain this trait, you also gain the Sunlight Sensitivity trait. See “Elf Traits” in chapter 2 of the Player’s Handbook for more information.
  • Tinker. See “Gnome Traits” in chapter 2 of the Player’s Handbook for more information.
  • Toughness. This trait is the same as “Dwarven Toughness” in “Dwarf Traits” in chapter 2 of the Player’s Handbook.

3-Point Traits

The following traits each cost 3 points:

  • Armor Training. This trait works the same as “Dwarven Armor Training” in “Dwarf Traits” in chapter 2 of the Player’s Handbook.
  • Breath Weapon. See “Dragonborn Traits” in chapter 2 of the Player’s Handbook for more information.
  • Damage Resistance. You gain resistance to one of the following damage types of your choice: acid, cold, fire, lightning, or poison.

4-Point Traits

The following traits each cost 4 points:

  • Ability Score Increase. Increase one ability score of your choice by 1, including an ability score you already increased with your initial traits. You can purchase this trait a second time, but when you do, you must apply the increase to a different ability score.
  • Cunning. This trait is the same as “Gnome Cunning” in “Gnome Traits” in chapter 2 of the Player’s Handbook.
  • Drow Magic. See “Elf Traits” in chapter 2 of the Player’s Handbook for more information.
  • Infernal Legacy. See “Tiefling Traits” in chapter 2 of the Player’s Handbook for more information.
  • Lucky. See “Halfling Traits” in chapter 2 of the Player’s Handbook for more information.

8 Points for a Feat

If your DM allows feats in the game, you can spend 8 points to gain a feat.

Variant: Customizing Existing Races

The rules above can also be used to customize existing races. A character swap a published racial trait for another of the same or lower point value, as the long as the trait swapped in or out is not the Ability Score Increase trait.

A character can adjust the Ability Score Increase trait by swapping the ability scores increased for others. For example, instead of a dragonborn ranger gaining a Strength score increase of 2 and a Charisma score increase of 1, they could elect to gain a Dexterity score increase of 2 and a Wisdom score increase of 1. A character cannot gain an ability score increase of more than 2 for any given score. If a character gains a bonus to two or more different ability scores originally, each increase must still be applied to a different ability score. For example, a human character cannot use this variant rule to gain +2 Wisdom, +2 Constitution, and +1 Charisma. (Designer’s note: I know this second rule is a little more fiddly. Consider the tiefling’s normal +2 Charisma and +1 Intelligence do not optimize as well with any obvious single class builds the way a half-orc’s +2 Strength and +1 Constitution do. However, my game, like many, allows for multiclassing, which basically throws many of these fiddly arguments out the window… probably.)

How’s It Look?

So how did I do? Let me know in the comments below.

If you like what you’re reading please consider supporting me on Patreon, supporting me on Ko-fi, follow me on Twitter, like World Builder Blog on Facebook, check out my podcasts, find my products on the DMs Guild, tell your friends about the blog, and/or leave me a comment and let me know you think. Thanks!

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How to Make a D&D Race

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Publisher’s Choice Quality Stock Art © Rich Hershey / Fat Goblin Games

Hey guess what? You can preorder my level 1 – 20 fifth edition adventure right now!

This article first appeared on D&D Beyond. I’ve stripped most of the references to the D&D Beyond to keep the advice here more universal and streamlined. If you want advice on how to build a background specifically in D&D Beyond, check out that version of the article.

When it comes to designing new elements of D&D, there are few pieces of the game as important to get right as new races. The story and mechanics of a player character’s race come up multiple times during every session of play.

The same reasons to be careful while designing a race are also what make building a new one so fun and rewarding. You’re adding a big piece of to the game! Unlike a spell, feat, monster, or magic item that your players might ignore most of the time, an original race sets your game apart from all others. Getting the balance right might seem daunting, but don’t let that stop you.

Like previous Design Workshop articles, I’m going to go through the process of creating a race step-by-step.

Before You Start, Ask the Important Questions

Before you begin to design any new element of the game, don’t forget to ask these three questions, the importance of which are discussed in the How to Make a D&D Background post:

  • What do I want to make?
  • Does my creation already exist as official D&D content?
  • Can I reskin or tweak another creation to suit my needs?

If the race you’re considering designing doesn’t already exist and can’t be built by tweaking an existing one, it’s time to design your own.

Designing Races

The Dungeon Master’s Guide provides guidelines for creating a new race (and subrace), which are great. I’ll expand on what’s provided and vary the steps in the process to give a more in-depth look. All races have the following components you need to design:

  • Story
  • Racial Traits

For this article, I created a new race called farfolk. These humanoids are influenced by the Far Realm.

Step 1. Story

The story of your race should be broken down into at least four sections, each of which should be at least one paragraph.

Introductory Paragraph

The introduction of your race should give an overview of what the people of the race are like, where they come from, and where they live. Some of these opening descriptions, like the one for the dwarf, are no longer than a sentence, while others, like the genasi, go on for several paragraphs. Give enough information for a general overview of your race before diving into the details.

Physical Description

Provide at least a paragraph of physical description for your race. Include body types and shape, color options for hair, skin, and eyes, fashion sensibilities, and anything else that sets your race apart from the rest. Start this section with a short heading that let’s players reading the description prepare for what’s ahead and get reminded of the race’s appearance when they come back to it. For instance, the physical description for elves has the header “Slender and Graceful,” which sums up elf physiology quite well. These headers are valuable both as a quick summary for the reader but also as a focus for you as you design your new race.

Attitudes and Philosophies

Provide at least a paragraph about the typical attitudes, philosophies, religions, and reasons for adventuring that your race has. How does your race differ from others in these areas? As with the physical description section, add a header to sum-up your race’s attitudes and philosophies.

Other Story Sections

You can choose to add as many other sections as you like to your race’s story. You could add a section about where the race typically lives, like the halfling’s “Pastoral Pleasantries” section, a section about how your race views other races, like the lizardforlk’s “Hapless Soft Ones” section, or sections about strange customs, unique behaviors, and the like. Add as much description as you like and don’t forget your helpful headers.

Names

After all your story sections are complete, write a final section about your race’s naming conventions and include example names. How many names does a typical member of your race have? Who do they inherit any familial names from? Do they have nicknames? Are their certain sounds or a particular number of syllables these names have?

Sample Write-Up

Here is the sample write-up for the farfolk:

When a pregnant human comes into metaphysical contact with an entity of the Far Realm, their unborn child can become warped and strange, developing into one of the farfolk. Farfolk are able to have children with other farfolk and humans. The offspring these unions also produce farfolk. The strange race are shunned by others for their differences of appearance, but those who befriend the contemplative race know their oddities are gifts.

Alien in Appearance

Though humanoid, farfolk have an otherworldly appearance. Their great black eyes take up much of their bulbous, hairless heads that end in short tentacles. Instead of a nose, they sport two nostril slits in the middle of their faces just above their thin-lipped, circular mouths. Farfolk skin can be any shade of blue or purple mottled with marks of black, gray, and red. The hands and fingers of farfolk are long and slender, just like the rest of their spindly bodies. Since farfolk are feared for their alien appearance, they tend to wear baggy, hooded clothing to conceal their features.

Reserved Observers

Many farfolk feel they belong nowhere and go through much of life as observers while taking in the actions of others. Their cerebral minds analyze every behavior of other races as well as the forces of nature, habits of animals, and the like. These observations teach farfolk about the world they live in. When farfolk interact with others, they use behaviors and phrases they learned by watching others. A farfolk abandoned by its parents and raised by wolves acts like a wolf, a farfolk raised in a dockside tavern cusses like a sailor, and a farfolk raised in a noble household has manners better than any royalty.

Farfolk tend to be on the move, not just because they’re unwelcome or restless, but also because they feel a need to observe more of the world. The more they observe, they more they understand. Traveling helps a farfolk move beyond mimicking behavior and coming into their own. This wanderlust makes adventuring a perfect life for farfolk.

Shunned by Others

Their strange appearance and psionic powers leave other races uncomfortable at best with farfolk. Farfolk who spend coin in a settlement are welcome for a time, but when an accident or crime happens in town, they are the first blamed. Those who know of the Far Realm and the horrors that originate there can be hostile or fascinated by farfolk, depending on their interest in the alien plane. Adventurers of other races tend to overlook a farfolk’s alien physicality and strange observe-and-mimic behavior since they’ve seen worse and know the abilities and mind of the strange race are a boon.

Farfolk Names

Farfolk with human parents have human names. Farfolk with one or more farfolk parents might have a farfolk name, a multisyllable word that borrows sounds from Deep Speech, using many X and Z sounds. Adult farfolk without a farfolk name sometimes adopt one themselves, to better reflect their heritage.

Farfolk Names: Az’cax’ta, Cazbux, Exvezzeer, Fax’muz, Galzux, Jozzozzox, Lemoxoz, Mezzil, Oztoxizok, Traz’uk, Xalvazat, Zazzcom

Step 2. Racial Traits

It’s time to give your race traits! These mechanical bits of the game can be difficult to balance. I recommend studying what Wizards of the Coast has put out and using the mechanics of races already created to help design your own. Also, it is very important to playtest your race. Because race is such an integral part of a player character, you can only know for sure it’s balanced by playtesting. I’ll go through traits one-by-one and talk about how to balance them.

Subraces

If you intend to create subraces, the philosophy of balance is the same as it would be for creating a race with no subraces. Balance the race as a whole with its subraces considered. For instance, you should not compare the dwarf, which has three subraces, to the half-orc, which has none. You should compare the duergar, hill dwarf, and the mountain dwarf to the half-orc (and all dwarves to each other).

It does not matter how many traits you choose to save for subraces, as long as each subrace is as powerful as its counterpoint and when combined with the universal racial traits, creates a race that can stand toe-to-toe with the others without overpowering them.

Introduction

You want one sentence to introduce your race’s traits. For farfolk, I wrote, “Farfolk share certain racial traits as a result of their brush with the energies of the Far Realm.”

Ability Score Increases

Most races get a +2 bonus to one ability and a +1 bonus to another. There are exceptions to this rule. Humans receive a +1 bonus to all ability scores for instance, but this gain is balanced by the fact that humans get no other traits beyond a bonus language. Mountain dwarves get +2 Constitution and +2 Strength, but this gain is balanced by the fact that mountain dwarves are also proficient in light and medium armor. Most classes that rely on Strength in even small ways grant armor proficiency and those that don’t grant the proficiency don’t rely on Strength. If you plan on changing up the normal +2/+1 dynamic, be sure to balance for it elsewhere.

It doesn’t matter which ability scores get your +2/+1 increases, if you’re sticking to the standard. Farfolk get +2 Intelligence and +1 Wisdom.

Age

Let people know at what age your race matures and about how long they live. These numbers help players get an idea of how old an elderly half-orc is and when an elf hits puberty.

Alignment

Give players an idea of the alignments your race tends to favor.

Size

Give a height and weight range for your race and then their size. If your race is the same size as humans (like tieflings), you can instead write that along with their Medium size.

Speed

Provide the race’s base walking speed. Most creatures have a base speed of 30 feet and a few (dwarves, gnomes, and halflings) have a speed of 25 feet. Wood elves are faster than other races with a speed of 35 feet. Most creatures don’t have any special speeds beyond a walking speed, but there are exceptions (like the aarakocra and the triton).

Consider a walking speed of 30 feet the baseline. If a creature has a slower or faster speed or special type of movement (like a flying speed), you need to balance for this later when your adding other traits to your race.

Other Traits

This is where the balancing gets tricky. There are no hard rules for designing a race’s traits. Look at the traits of other races while going through this process. First make a list of the traits you want your race to have. Do those traits or similar ones exist in an official race like darkvision or the ability to cast spells? What else do races with those traits get in addition to those abilities?

To get the balance right, pick an official race that is close to yours and modify it to fit your new race. Is there something that gets close to what you’re creating story-wise? Odds are it is close trait-wise as well.

For instance, farfolk are influenced by another plane’s magic and treated like outsiders, like tieflings. The tiefling traits would be perfect for farfolk with a few tweaks.

I’m going to lift darkvision from tieflings. Many monsters from the Far Realm can see in the dark, so it makes sense that our farfolk can as well.

The tiefling gets Hellish Resistance, which doesn’t exactly fit for the farfolk, but psychic damage resistance makes sense. Psychic damage resistance is not as powerful as resistance to fire, since far more monsters and spells deal fire damage.

To balance the farfolk’s weaker psychic resistance, I could give them another rare resistance, like radiant, but that doesn’t really gel with the race’s story. Another trait is in order. The ghostwise halfling’s Silent Speech trait fits the farfolk’s story, and it’s a fair trade for a weaker resistance. This ability doesn’t boost the farfolk’s combat capabilities or give it a bonus to saves or ability checks, it allows the creature to communicate telepathically with others. It’s a needed small boost.

I also want to give the farfolk some psionic talents, similar to the tiefling’s Infernal Legacy trait. I gave farfolk characters the same trait, but with different spells of the same level. I did make one other change that boosts the power of the trait for farfolk just a bit. No components are required for the spells to give them a psionic flavor (like the mind flayer’s Innate Spellcasting (Psionics) feature). I think this change is minor enough and that the farfolk still lags behind for not having resistance to a more common damage type. That should be ok. I’ll find out if not during playtesting.

That’s enough other traits! The race is almost complete. Just one more thing to do.

Languages

Unless you have a very good reason, your race should be able to at least be able to read, speak, and write Common. Adding one language beyond this won’t break the game, but once a race has three or more to start, you may want to consider balancing for that by losing or making one of their other traits weaker.

Farfolk can read, speak, and write Common and read and speak Deep Speech (which has no written language).

Step 3. Edit and Playtest

Now that you’ve created your race, read it outloud and edit. Even the most experienced designers need to edit their work. Then send your work to a friend to make comments. A second pair of eyes helps you understand if the design intent of your race is coming through.

If you have the opportunity to playtest your new race, take it! Nothing is a better test of your design work than actually seeing it in action. Plus it’s a great excuse to get friends together for a game of D&D! Give your race to someone else to use during the playtest, again to see if the design intent comes through. Change anything you think needs it after playtesting.

Step 4. Make Your Work Public

It’s time to make your work public! That means sharing the race with your group, posting it to a blog, putting it up for sale on the DMs Guild, or on D&D Beyond.

You can find the final version of the farfolk here.

Go Make Stuff!

There you have it! A step-by-step process for creating a D&D race. I can’t wait to see what people create. Share your creations with me on Twitter @JamesIntrocaso on in the comments below. Next, I’ll show you how to make a new spell!

If you like what you’re reading please follow me on Twitter, like World Builder Blog on Facebook, check out my podcasts, find my products on the DMs Guild, tell your friends about the blog, and/or leave me a comment and let me know you think. Thanks!

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New Year, New World, New PC Race!

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It’s a new year! Here’s hoping it brings you gaming goodness.

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and running games in Exploration Age since this blog started. I feel I have enough material to publish a book, but it need a lot of work – editing, layout, development, and it’d be great to get some playtesting feedback. The book will most-likely be a massive endeavor unlike any I’ve taken on. I’ve never even created a print product on my own!

To that end, I’ve decided to switch my focus for a while to a smaller world so that I can get my feet wet. Exploration Age will not go away. I’ll still be playing games in that wonderful world, but it may be some time before consumers get their mitts on it. So with that in mind, I want to focus on the smaller, but evocative world of Enora the Bound Sky.

What is Enora?

I’ve already written about this world in two different posts, One-Hour Worldbuilding and 5 Campaign Worlds for Your Next D&D Game. If you want a quick summary, read on below!

Six floating cities hover above the darkness of Enora in Bound Sky. Once a prosperous nation, Enora was home to humans, elves, halflings, gnomes, and dragonborn. The country was run by the Dordune, a council of mage governors, each acting as the leader of one of Enora’s thirteen major cities. Beneath Enora’s surface, the nation’s dwarf and tiefling allies lived happily in the kingdom of Drakefire. Except for the occasional marauding gnoll pack or angry dragon, all was well in Enora. Any threats which appeared were dealt with swiftly and efficiently by the Dordune.

Fifty years ago Governor Kira Vae, an elf wizard, was nearing the end of her long life. Some say fear of death gripped the governor, others say it was an unsatiated lust for power. Whatever the reason, Vae transformed herself into a lich. The transformation warped her mind, seeding a dark hatred of all life in her heart. The lich declared herself Empress of Enora. Empress Vae turned the citizens of her city, Cambor, into an undead army. The rest of Enora tried to stand against the threat, but so sudden and severe did the undead strike that seven of Enora’s cities fell to Vae.

Every victory added more soldiers to her undead ranks. Messengers were sent to Drakefire, asking for military against the undead legions, but the underground kingdom was already over run by Vae’s minions. Any survivors from Drakefire had already fled even deeper underground by the time the messengers arrived.

As the armies of Empress Vae closed around Enora’s six remaining cities, the Dordune made a decision to enact a powerful ritual which raised the cities and their people into the sky away from Vae and her undead. Away from a fight they knew they could not win. As the cities rose, Vae swore to eradicate the rest of Enora’s living. She is eternal as is her hate for all people who defy her.

Now the six floating cities of Deldoroth find themselves safe from Empress Vae’s undead, but they have their own troubles. With limited land to produce resources, the six cities have begun treating each other more like separate countries than one cooperative nation. The Dordune have disbanded and each governor acts as a city’s monarch. As competition for food, water, and shelter grows each day, many less fortunate turn to a life of crime or legal savagery to survive. Airships transporting goods from one city to another are wary of pirates, and many make a killing or die trying in the cities’ gladiatorial arenas (which were introduced by the governors to help control population growth).

Beneath Deldoroth, dead Enora can no longer be seen. Thick layers of black clouds hang between the floating cities and the surface. The undead built massive stoves and constantly pipe ash into the sky to blot out the sun they hate so much. Sometimes at night the victorious howls of the undead can be heard through the blackness by the people of Deldoroth. It is an unsettling reminder that Enora is no longer their home and what drove them out long ago still hungers for them.

The situation underground is no better. Resources are scarce in Redwind, the last remaining city of Drakefire. Plenty of unsavory beasts that burrow made their way underground when the undead took the surface. Everyday the hoard bangs on Redwind’s doors and it is only a matter of time before they break through and devour the residents… if disease or starvation doesn’t take them first.

Screen Shot 2015-03-11 at 12.24.28 PM
This map of Enora before the fall made on Roll20 using Russ Hapke‘s Old World Style Maps

So in the coming weeks, prepare to hear more about the world of Enora. In the meantime, may I present for your consideration…. the dwiefling PC race. This is in its rough stages, so take a look and let me know what you think!

Dwiefling

In the crowded city of Redwind, some dwarves and tieflings have married, producing dwiefling offspring. Dwieflings walk in multiple worlds like other mixed races, but because they grow up in a densely packed city from which there is no escape, they cannot run from odd looks, name-calling, and occasional violent reactions. Though most know taking on a dwiefling mano a mano is a dangerous idea, since they have the toughness of dwarves, the suspicious nature of tieflings, and the self-reliant values of both parents. They are versatile and dangerous adventurers who dare to wander the unsafe halls of Drakefire’s fallen cities. The boldest dwieflings make trips to the surface to scout for more resources and spy on the undead legions of Empress Vae.

Devilish Dwarves

Dwieflings have the basic body structure of dwarves, but stand a bit taller. They are just about 5 feet tall, stout, and compact, weighing 200 to 300 pounds. Many share the blunt tongue of their dwarf ancestors as well. Yet there is no hiding the infernal blood of this race. They have the horns and pupil-less eyes of a tiefling, though they lack a tail. Their skin is often purple, red, brown, or black. Perhaps the most unique feature of dwieflings is complete hairlessness. They do not have a single follicle on their heads, faces, or bodies, including eyebrows.

Reliable and Short-Tempered

A life as outcasts in a city they cannot leave makes dwieflings suspicious of everyone they interact with at first. Most people find them closed off, or even cold. A dwiefling’s trust is difficult to gain, but once it is won, there is no greater ally. They place great importance on the bonds shared with their few close friends, and fiercely defend those allies with a passionate tenacity. Those closest to a dwiefling can even engage their friend in a reasoned debated, something that many fear to attempt with good reason.

The temper of dwieflings is legendary. Most carry an innate anger and explode with words, fists, or spells when provoked, particularly when their heritage is mocked. This causes many closet racists to just give a passing dwiefling a funny look, while other bigots ignite that infamous temper to start a fight for amusement. The latter often regret this decision, since the sturdy dwieflings rarely lose.

Outcast Artists In Crowded Tunnels

Because dwieflings and their parents are often shunned by others in Redwind, most try to keep to themselves. They lurk in dark corners or small alleys, pursuing artistic crafting hobbies, reading ancient lore, or practicing with steel or magic. Dwieflings sometimes pursue these self-taught skills to the point of obsession and become experts in these crafts, though no one else may know it.

Dwiefling Names

Dwieflings usually have a dwarf or tiefling name, given to them by one of their parents.

Dwiefling Traits

Your dwiefling character has the following racial traits.

Ability Score Increase. Your Strength, Constitution, and Intelligence scores each increase by 1.

Age. Dwieflings mature more slowly than humans and are considered adults at around age 25. They can live for 150 years.

Alignment. Dwieflings tend to trust in themselves and are very loyal to the few friends they make. They often favor a neutral alignment.

Size. Dwieflings stand about 5 feet tall and weigh around 250 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision. Your infernal heritage and dwarf blood grant you superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Expanded Knowledge. You gain proficiency in one set of artisan’s tools or melee weapon of your choice or one of the following skills: Arcana, History, Nature, or Religion.

Hellish Bind. When a creature hits you with an attack that deals damage, you can use your reaction to force that creature to make a Wisdom saving throw as your pain imparts psychic visions of torture to it. The DC for this saving throw equals 8 + your Constitution modifier + your proficiency bonus. On a failure, the creature is stunned until the end of its next turn. After you use Hellish Bind, you cannot use it again until you finish a long rest.

Menacing. You gain proficiency in the Intimidation skill.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common, Dwarvish, and Infernal.

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Let’s Get Me(n)tal

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It’s character building time! We’re almost ready to start playing in the world of Exploration Age and I couldn’t be more excited. Last Thursday I posted my version of the svirfneblin, duergar, and shifter PC races and their unique stories in Exploration Age. There’s three more classic D&D races I’ve made available to my players and each has their own story twist for my campaign setting.

Githzerai

Githzerai just look so cool!

New to Verda by many other races’ standards, githzerai came to Verda to aid the tribes and tieflings with the incursion of their oldest foe – the githyanki. The githyanki violently invaded the Material Plane, looking for a place to lay their eggs as they cannot lay them in their home Astral Plane. For years they terrorized the tribes and tieflings, until the githzerai got wind of the invasion. They were old enemies of the githyanki and were driven from their Astral Plane home to the Swirling Chaos of Mispuria by the evil race. The githyanki heard the tales, knew the Material Plane was in need, and added their might to that of the tribes and the tieflings. Over 200 years later, some githzerai still remain in Verda because they enjoyed life in the Material Plane, or because they are still trying to hunt down every last githyanki. Many githzerai have been accepted into the tribes and some have even had offspring with humans.

Githzerai are the picture of calm and peaceful. They have seemingly endless patience and believe all the power an individual needs to find enlightenment lies within one’s self. As a result, they often serve as shamans and spiritual advisors to the tribes, giving council on all matters often whether or not their opinion was asked. The githzerai seem to share an unspoken superiority to the other races of the tribes, as they were instrumental in staving off the githyanki incursion.

Githzerai get along with just about anyone, but they can come off as condescending and superior, which is known to turn certain folks off. Githzerai adventurers could be monks on quests to find enlightenment, githyanki hunters, powerful shamans seeking the ways of the world, or anything you dream.

Githzerai Traits

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 1 and your Wisdom score increases by 2.

Age. Githzerai reach adulthood around the same time as humans and live to be about 100 years old.

Alignment. Githzerai are pragmatic, sometimes to a fault, so they tend to be neutral. They fall all over the spectrum of law and chaos.

Size. Githzerai are between 6 and 6 and a half feet tall and weigh between 150 and 200 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Darkvision. You have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Mental Magic. You know the mage hand cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the blur spell once per day. When you reach 5th level, you can also cast the haste spell once per day, but you may only target yourself with the spell. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

Mental Might. You have advantage on saving throws against charm effects.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Githzerai.

Kalashtar

Even his hair floats!

I’ve already written about the story of the sweet, sweet kalashtar here. Now for the mechanics!

Kalashtar Traits

Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 2 and your Wisdom score increases by 1.

Age. Kalashtar reach adulthood around the same time as humans, but can live to be 200 years old.

Alignment. Kalashtar are good-hearted and community-oriented so they tend to be lawful good.

Size. Kalashtar have the height and build of humans. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Bastion of Mental Clarity. You have advantage on saving throws against spells of the illusion school of magic.

Mental Might. You have advantage on saving throws against charm effects.

Subtle Psychic. Choose one of the follow skills: Deception, Intimidation, or Persuasion. You are proficient in that skill.

Telepathy. You can communicate telepathically with any creature within 60 feet of you that understands a language.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language of your choice.

Warforged

It’s hard to beat an axe-arm.

The warforged generally fall into two camps; those who accept their slavery and those who rage against it. Invented less than half a century ago, warforged were built by Bragonay’s dwarves as machines with a purpose. The master craftsmen didn’t realize that they were actually creating sentient life.

Now the warforged can be found throughout Findalay and in parts of Verda. Free warforged have embraced their liberty fully and try to experience all parts of life. They are open to and seek out new experiences. Their thirst for the knowledge of other cultures and lands is unrivaled by by no other race. These free warforged have a fiery passion in their bellies for liberty and want to see slaves set free across Canus.

There are many warforged still enslaved in Bragonay. These warforged are content to serve their masters, but still have feelings, thoughts, and emotions of their own, and still share the passion for learning free warforged have. Then there are the warforged who cannot stand their bonds of slavery and spend their days plotting their escape.

Warforged reproduction is a touchy subject. The Creation Forges in Bragonay have been out of service since the uprising, though they still work and many debate whether or not the empress and warlords should turn these back on. A few free warforged have discovered ways to build their own offspring however, using pieces of their own body and expensive material components found throughout the land. To get the ritual and blueprints required however, one would need to speak to these warforged directly. These creators do not share their identities with just anyone, lest the plans be used to once again create beings to be used as slaves.

Warforged adventurers could be slave liberators, druids trying to figure out their own place in the circle of life, slaves spying on a liberation operation for their master, or anything you dream.

Warforged Traits

Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score and Constitution score increase by 2.

Age. Warforged are born as adults and do not age.

Alignment. Warforged tend toward lawful alignment, since they were designed to be soldiers and slaves. They usually do not bend either good or evil, since they are usually more focused on the task at hand than its moral implications.

Size. Warforged are between 6 and 6 and a half feet tall and weigh between 250 and 300 lbs. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Composite Plating. You gain a +1 bonus to Armor Class.

Construct Rest. Instead of sleeping, you enter a sleep‐like state. You need to remain in it for only 4 hours each day. You do not dream; instead, you are fully aware of your surroundings and notice approaching enemies and other events as normal. After resting this way, you gain the same benefits a human does from 8 hours of sleep.

Incredible Resolve. You can end any incapacitated, paralyzed, or stunned condition effecting you on the start of your turn. You must complete a short rest before you can use this ability again.

Living Construct. Even though you were constructed, you are a humanoid. You are immune to disease. You do not need to eat or breathe, but you can ingest food and drink if you wish.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language of your choice.

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We’re Off to the (Sub)Races!

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So I’ve already written quite a bit about some of the races available to my players in Exploration Age – the assimar in one post and the deva, mul, and shardmind in another. Yet, I’ve got more yet to be released D&D races I’m going to make available to them and I’d like to give you the mechanics I’ve created as well as the unique story for each race in my setting.

Svirfneblin

First up, the svirfneblin. They’re actually a gnome subrace, so bust out that Player’s Handbook, and check out the gnome. I’ve given you the deep gnome story in another post, so check that out if you want their story. Here are the mechanics.

Svirfneblin Traits

Deep gnomes are weird.

Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 1.

Superior Darkvision. Your darkvision has a radius of 120 feet.

Sunlight Sensitivity. You have disadvantage on attack rolls and on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight when you, the target of your attack, or whatever you are trying to perceive is in direct sunlight.

Stonecunning. Whenever you make an Intelligence (History) check related to the origin of stonework, you are considered proficient in the History skill and add double your proficiency bonus to the check, instead of your normal proficiency bonus.

Svrifneblin Combat Training. You have proficiency with the war pick and warhammer.

Svirfneblin Lights. You know the dancing lights cantrip. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for this spell.

Duergar

Mohawk duergar is the best.

Living with the drow and fighting side-by-side in their constant war with the aberrants are the duergar, or gray dwarves. Like their surface kin the gray dwarves value martial prowess and good well-crafted. This is, of course, because the duergar descended from their surface kin a long time ago. During their bloody war with the chromatic dragons on the side of the shardminds, some dwarves went into The Underdark seeking refuge. These dwarves became the duergar and eventually found an entirely new war beneath the surface.

Now, in many ways duergar have more in common with drow than they do with dwarves of the world above. Both duergar and drow deal with the constant stress of their aberrant war and rely on each other with undying trust.

While they share brotherhood and battlelines with the drow, duergar do not share their drow’s impulsiveness and live-each-day-as-if-it-were-your-last lifestyle. Almost everything the duergar do is in preparation for war. Duergar are practical and know that a good night’s sleep and healthy meal are more likely than a late night of revelry at ensuring survival the next day. They craft arms and armor, mine metals, and train constantly. Ever vigilant, careful, and calculating are the gray dwarves.

Duergar adventurers could be mercenaries seeking a better life on the surface, aberrant hunters hoping to learn new techniques to help them with their war below, deadly assassins for hire, or anything you dream.

Duergar Traits

Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 1.

Superior Darkvision. Your dark vision has a radius of 120 feet.

Sunlight Sensitivity. You have disadvantage on attack rolls and on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight when you, the target of your attack, or whatever you are trying to perceive is in direct sunlight.

Duergar Magic. You know the thaumaturgy cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the invisibility spell once per day. When you reach 5th level, you can also cast the enlarge spell once per day, but you may only target yourself with the spell. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

Shifter

Don’t mess.

Shifters are born outcasts. Many are killed as babes, their parents too horrified to look upon them. To the elves they are abhorrent monstrosities. To the werewolves – an evolutionary misstep deserving only to die. Many of the shifters lucky enough to have a parent let them live are still kicked out of the house at an early age, or orphaned when their parent is murdered by bigots.

These abandoned shifters find each other and form communities of wandering vagabonds who make a living performing, swindling, and selling crafts. These communities exist all over Findalay and many look forward to the circuses and carnivals the shifters provide. Others feel shifters have been short-changed and try to help these beings find a more established life in Findalay. Some fear the partial werewolf race avoiding and shunning them. The truly fearful seek out and kill these half-breeds.

The discovery of Verda has opened up new possibilities for the shifters, a place where they may have a home of their own free from persecution, stares, jeers, discrimination, violence, and the ever-looming Brotherhood of the Moon.

Shifter adventurers could be thieves disguised as traveling circus performers, cunning mages using their magic to predict people’s fortunes, wild, untamed barbarians, or anything you dream.

Shifter Traits

Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 1.

Age. Shifters mature and age at the same rate as humans.

Alignment. When it comes to good or evil, shifters are usually neutral, since they embody the spirit of the wild. Most shifters tend to be wild and free and therefore favor chaos over law.

Size. Shifters range from just over 5 to just over 6 feet tall and have lean builds. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision. Thanks to your lycanthrope heritage, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Keen Hearing and Smell. You have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or smell.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language of your choice.

Subrace. Two subraces of shifter are found in Canus: longtooth and razorclaw. Choose one of these sub races.

Longtooth Shifter

Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2.

Longtooth Shifting. Once per day, as a bonus action you may shift, entering a more beastial state for one minute. When you do, you gain a +2 damage bonus to Strength-based attacks and regenerate 5 HP at the start of your turns. In addition, you grow long fangs which function as a light weapon which deals 1d6 piercing damage. You may attack with your fangs as a bonus action on your turn.

While you are shifting, you may not cast spells. You can end the shift early on your turn if you so choose.

You gain a second daily use of longtooth shifting at 8th level and your bonus damage to Strength-based attacks while shifting increases to +4, and your attacks with your fangs count as magic for the purpose of overcoming damage resistance. You gain a third daily use of this ability at 16th level and your bonus damage to Strength-based attacks while shifting increases to +6.

Razorclaw Shifter

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2.

Razorclaw Shifting. Once per day, as a bonus action you may shift, entering a more beastial state for one minute. When you do, your speed increases by five feet, you gain a +1 bonus to your AC, and you have advantage on Dexterity saving throws. In addition, you grow a pair of claws which function as light, finesse melee weapons which deal 1d6 slashing damage. You may attack with one of your claws as a bonus action on your turn.

While you are shifting, you may not cast spells. You can end the shift early on your turn if you so choose.

You gain a second daily use of razorclaw shifting at 8th level and your speed increases by 10 feet, you attacks with your claws count as magic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage resistance, and your bonus to AC increases to +2 while shifting. You gain a third daily use of this ability at 16th level and your speed increases by 15 feet and your bonus to AC increases to +3 while shifting.

If you like what you’re reading, please check out my podcast on The Tome Show, follow me on Twitter, tell your friends and share this blog post, and/or leave me a comment and let me know you think. Thanks!

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