Revised Races for DnD 5e

by Dargon Black

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Yuan-Ti Pureblood (from Volo's)

  • Ability Score Increase: Your Charisma score increases by 2, and your Intelligence score increases by 1.

  • Age: Purebloods mature at the same rate as humans and have lifespans similar in length to theirs.

  • Size: Purebloods match humans in average size and weight. Your size is Medium.

  • Speed: Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

  • Darkvision: 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.

  • Innate Spellcasting: You know the Poison Spray cantrip. You can cast Animal Friendship an unlimited number of times with this trait, but you can target only snakes with it. Starting at 3rd level, you can also cast Suggestion with this trait. Once you cast it, you can't do so again until you finish a long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

  • Poison Affinity: You gain proficiency with the poisoner's kit.

  • Poison Immunity: You are immune to poison damage and the poisoned condition.

  • Languages: You can speak, read, and write Common, Abyssal, and Draconic.

  • Abysal Protection: As a reaction to being forced to make a saving throw against spells or other magical effects you can give yourself advantage when making those saving throws. You can use this ability a number of time equal to your Charisma modifier.

I have chosen to replace the magic immunity provided by this race with the feature called Abysal Protection because I want to maintain the lore behind the race as the most beloved children of an evil god who has made his domain within the vast territories of the Abysal Plane.

Naga (from Amonkhet)

  • Ability Score Increase: Your Strength, Dexterity and Intellect scores each increase by 1

  • Age: Like humans, naga reach adulthood in their late teens. They show no signs of aging beyond that point except for growing larger, so in theory, a naga could live well over a century.

  • Size: Naga stand about 5 feet tall when upright, but the total length of their bodies, head to tail, ranges from 10 to as much as 20 feet. Your size is Medium.

  • Speed: Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

  • Speed Burst By lowering your body to the ground and propelling yourself with your arms, you can move more quickly for a time. As a bonus action on your turn, if you have both hands free, you can increase your walking speed by 5 feet until the end of your turn.

  • Natural Weapons: Your fanged maw and constricting serpentine body are natural weapons, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with your bite, you deal piercing damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier, and your target must make a Constitution saving throw (DC 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Constitution modifier). On a failed save, the target takes 1d4 poison damage. If you hit with your constrict attack, you deal bludgeoning damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier, and the target is grappled (escape DC 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Strength modifier). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained, and you can't constrict another target.

  • Poison Immunity: You are immune to poison damage and can't be poisoned.

  • Poison Affinity: You gain proficiency with the poisoner's kit.

  • Languages: You can speak, read, and write Common and Naga.

Original ability score increases were Constitution +2, and your Intelligence +1. I believe that the racial bonuses do not match the lore and the benefits provided by this race. I have chosen to replace the +2 bonus with a + 1 bonus to Strength & Dexterity because the lore describes this race as a peolpe who "cultivate their physical strength as they specialize in hand-to-hand combat styles". I believe these stats provide a good balance between hitting hard and fast, while the +1 intelect represents their ability to learn magic as wizzards and combat tactics as martials.

Warforged (HB)

The warforged were built to fight in the Last War. The first warforged were mindless automatons, but House Cannith devoted vast resources to improving these steel soldiers. An unexpected breakthrough produced fully sentient soldiers, blending organic and inorganic materials. Warforged are made from wood and metal, but they can feel pain and emotion. Built as weapons, they must now find a purpose beyond the war. A warforged can be a steadfast ally, a cold-hearted killing machine, or a visionary in search of purpose and meaning.

  • Ability Score Increase: Your Constitution score increases by 2, and one other ability score of your choice increases by 1.

  • Size: Medium

  • Constructed Resilience: You were created to have remarkable fortitude, represented by the following benefits: You have advantage on saving throws against being poisoned, and you have resistance to poison damage. You don't need to eat, drink, or breathe, and you are immune to disease. You don't need to sleep, and magic can't put you to sleep.

  • Sentry's Rest: When you take a long rest, you must spend at least six hours of it in an inactive, motionless state, rather than sleeping. In this state, you appear inert, but it doesn't render you unconscious, and you can see and hear as normal.

  • Integrated Protection: Your body has built-in defensive layers, which can be enhanced with armor: You gain a +1 bonus to Armor Class. You can don only armor with which you have proficiency. To don armor, you must incorporate it into your body over the course of 1 hour, during which you remain in contact with the armor. To doff armor, you must spend 1 hour removing it. You can rest while donning or doffing armor in this way. While you live, your armor can't be removed from your body against your will.

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

Subraces

Custom Made

You were designed to fit the needs of the adventuring party/adventuring guild/faction that has requested your creation.

  • Specialized Design. You gain one skill proficiency and one tool proficiency of your choice.
Juggernaut

You’re an imposing war machine built for close combat and raw might. You tower over your comrades; juggernaut warforged stand between 6 and 7 feet in height and can weigh up to 450 pounds.

  • Iron Fists. When you make an unarmed strike, you can deal 1d4 + your Strength modifier bludgeoning damage instead of the normal damage.

  • Powerful Build. You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.

Skirmisher

You were built to scout the edges of battle and outmaneuver your enemies. You are lean and designed for speed.

  • Swift. Your walking speed is increased by 5 feet.

  • Light Step. When you are traveling alone for an extended period of time (one hour or more), you can move stealthily at a normal pace.

The following rework has been inspired by a google docs spreadsheet called "Detect Balance: a 5e Homebrew Race Guide". Using this I was able to determine that the features from Juggernaut and Skirmisher subraces have the same value as the version of the Specialized Design feature that made it in the official depiction of the Warforged race, when using it to calculate balance.

Link for your convenience https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1vq1kz6PRAbw5LHy6amH-bNb4OuB8DBXL1RsZROt03Sc/edit#gid=0

Simic Combine Hybrid

For this race I simply chose to expand the mutation choices available for the player to select.

Level 1 Mutations

Official content

  • Manta Glide (when falling, if not incapacitated, ignore the first 100 feet when calculating the fall damage, and you can move 2 feet horizontally for ever 1 foot you descend)

  • Nimble Climber (Climb Speed equal to base speed)

  • Underwater Adaptation (gain the Amphibious trait and a Swim speed equal to your base speed).

Homebrew Mutations(level 1)

  • Physical Enhancement: your hands and feet receive a mutation that allow for your unarmed strike to deal 1d4 + Str modifier of either bludgeoning, piercing or slashing (your chosen damage type becomes a permanent choice)

  • Swift Strider: your walking speed increases by 5 feet.

  • Combat Pheromone: as a bonus action, you can mark one creature you can see within 10 feet of you. Until the end of your next long rest, your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make to find the marked creature, and you always know the location of that creature if it is within 60 feet of you. You can’t use this trait again until you finish a short or long rest.

  • Breath Weapon feature from Dragonborn race.

  • Powerful Build: You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.

  • Lurker: You can attempt to hide even when you are only lightly obscured by foliage, heavy rain, falling snow, mist, and other natural phenomena.

  • Keen Smell: Thanks to your sensitive nose, you have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) and Intelligence (Investigation) checks that involve smell.

  • Mimicry: You can faultlessly recreate (but not modify) sounds, words, and voices you have heard before, as though you were a tape recorder. A successful Insight check opposed by your Deception check allows a listener to determine that the effect is faked.

Level 5 Mutations

Official content

  • Grappling Appendages (you gain a pair of extra limbs that can only be used to make unarmed strikes with; an attack from these natural weapons does 1d6 + Strength modifier damage and lets you make a grapple attack as a bonus action on a hit)

  • Carapace (+1 AC when not wearing heavy armor)

  • Acid Spit (as an action, spit at one creature or object within 30 feet; if the target fails a DC (8 + your Con modifier + your Proficiency bonus) Dexterity save, they take 2d10 Acid damage, which increases to 3d10 at 11th level and 4d10 at 17th level).

Homebrew Mutations(level 5)

  • Wings: a flying speed of 25 feet. To use this speed, you can’t be wearing medium or heavy armor.

  • Relentless Endurance: When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 hit point instead. You can’t use this feature again until you finish a long rest.

  • Adrenaline Surge: When you move on your turn in combat, you can double your speed until the end of your turn. Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until you move 0 feet on one of your turns.

  • Healing Factor: You can focus yourself to occasionally shrug off injury. When you take damage, you can use your reaction to roll a d12. Add your Constitution modifier to the number rolled, and reduce the damage by that total. After you use this trait, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

  • Iron Guts: You have advantage on saving throws against poison, and you have resistance against poison damage.

  • Relentless Strider: You can move across difficult terrain made of earth or stone without expending extra movement.

  • Hold Breath: You can hold your breath for up to 1 hour at a time.

Vampire (Plane Shift Ixalan)

  • Ability Score Increase. Your Strength, Dexterity, and Charisma scores each increase by 1.

  • Age: Vampires don’t mature and age in the same way that other races do.

  • Size: Vampires are the same size and build as humans. Your size is Medium

  • Speed: Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

  • Darkvision: Thanks to your 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.

  • Vampiric Resistance: You have resistance to necrotic damage.

  • Bloodthirst: You can drain blood and life energy from a willing creature, or one that is grappled by you, incapacitated, or restrained. Make a melee attack against the target. If you hit, you deal 1 piercing damage and 1d6 necrotic damage. The target’s hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the necrotic damage taken, and you regain hit points equal to that amount. The reduction lasts until the target finishes a long rest. The target dies if this effect reduces its hit point maximum to 0.

  • Feast of Blood: When you drain blood with your Bloodthirst ability, you experience a surge of vitality. Your speed increases by 10 feet, and you gain advantage on Strength and Dexterity checks and saving throws for 1 minute.

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

This can be found in various Plane Shift books for DnD 5e. In all books the racial bonuses do not match the core mechanic of this race which is biting people to inflict 1d6 necrotic + 1 physical damage in order to regain that amount of hit points + 10 feet speed increase + advantage on Strength and Dexterity checks and saving throws for 1 minute. The +1 to Strength is necessary for Vampires to help grapple opponents, while the +1 in Dexterity is necesary to help improve the Vampire's initiative and skills in stealth. Finaly the +1 in charisma is needed to help the vamp convince people to let themselves be bit.

Previous Vampire Atribute bonuses

Zendikaran Vampires get +2 Charisma and +1 Intelligence, while Ixalan vampires get +1 Wisdom instead of + 1 Intelligence. As you can see, in both books you get nothing to support making bites and grapples during combat.

Satyr (Theros)

  • Ability Score Increase: Your Charisma score increases by 2, and your Dexterity score increases by 1.

  • Age: Satyrs mature and age at about the same rate as humans.

  • Alignment: Satyrs delight in living a life free of the mantle of law. They gravitate toward being good, but some have devious streaks and enjoy causing dismay.

  • Size: Satyrs are slightly shorter than humans, averaging about 5 feet tall. Your size is Medium.

  • Speed: Your base walking speed is 35 feet.

  • Fey: Your creature type is fey, rather than humanoid.

  • Ram: You can use your head and horns to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with them, you deal bludgeoning damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier.

  • Legendary Cunning. You have advantage on all Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws against magic.

  • Mirthful Leaps: Whenever you make a long or high jump, you can roll a d8 and add the number rolled to the number of feet you cover, even when making a standing jump. This extra distance costs movement as normal.

  • Reveler: You have proficiency in the Performance and Persuasion skills, and you have proficiency with one musical instrument of your choice.

  • Languages: You can speak, read, and write Common and Sylvan

Legendary Cunning replaces Magic Resistance because the Magic Resistance is broken for most modules.

Orc (from Volo's guide)

  • Ability Score Increase: Your Strength score increases by 2, and your Constitution score increases by 1.

  • Alignment: Orcs are vicious raiders, who believe that the world should be theirs. They also respect strength above all else and believe the strong must bully the weak to ensure that weakness does not spread like a disease. They are usually chaotic evil.

  • Size: Orcs are usually over 6 feet tall and weigh between 230 and 280 pounds. Your size is Medium.

  • Speed: Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

  • Darkvision: Thanks to your orc blood, 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.

  • Tribal Lore: You have proficiency in two of the following skills of your choice: Animal Handling, Insight, Intimidation, Medicine, Nature, Perception and Survival.

  • Powerful Build. You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.

  • Languages: You can speak, read, and write Common and Orc. Orc is a harsh, grating language with hard consonants. It has no script of its own but is written in the Dwarvish script.

Orcish Nature

You can gain all of the following features by accepting to have the Intelligence score reduced by 2.

  • Relentless Endurance: When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 hit point instead. You can’t use this feature again until you finish a long rest.

  • Savage Attacks: When you score a critical hit with a melee weapon attack, you can roll one of the weapon’s damage dice one additional time and add it to the extra damage of the critical hit.

  • Aggressive. As a bonus action, you can move up to your speed toward an enemy of your choice that you can see or hear. You must end this move closer to the enemy than you started.

If the player only wants 2 features from the above list, he can have them in exchange for having his Intelligence score reduced by 1. Otherwise the player receives only 1 feature from the above list and not have his Intelligence score reduced.

The following rework has been inspired by a google docs spreadsheet called "Detect Balance: a 5e Homebrew Race Guide". Using this I was able to determine that Half Orcs could gain the Aggresive and Powerful Build feature in exchange for a -2 Inteligence penalty at character creation and be considered balanced in comparison to the other PHB races. Powerfull build was made a mandatory pic because Orcs are supposed to be stronger than Half Orcs, lore wise.

Link for your convenience https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1vq1kz6PRAbw5LHy6amH-bNb4OuB8DBXL1RsZROt03Sc/edit#gid=0

Variant Feature: Orcish Breed

One of the following features can be selected in place of the selections granted by Orcish Nature

  • Oorog Breed: Your Darkvision is increased by 30 feet. This improvement to Darkvision stacks with other features of the same type despite their limitations to a maximum of 120 feet. You also learn Undercommon.

  • Ondontis Breed: You gain Fey Ancestry which gives you have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can’t put you to sleep. Members of this breed are pacifists.

  • Eastern Gray Orc Breed gain the Keen Smell feature which grants advantage on Wisdom (Perception) and Intelligence (Investigation) checks that involve smell. Members of this breed all have the skin color gray and are pacifists as well.

Lore behind the breeds

Orogs are a breed of orcs descended from mountain orcs who live mostly in the Underdark, though in recent years they have been returning to the surface in large numbers and taking over Mountain orc tribes, using their abilities to bully their 'lessers' and plan raids.

Ondontis are the pacifist cousin of the orc with a fey nature.

The Eastern Gray Orc Breed are a less bestial and more civilized subrace of orcs brought to Faerûn during the Orcgate Wars through one of many Imaskari portals.

 

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