Spells from Races
If any trait of your race grants you the ability to cast Spells, choose whether Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma is your spellcasting ability for those Spells when you select that race.
Additionally, you can also use any Spell Slots you have to cast the Spell.
Elf
Elf Traits
Creature Type: Humanoid
Size: Medium
Speed: 30 feet
As an Elf, you have these special traits.
Elven Lineage. Choose your elven lineage from Drow, High Elf, or Wood Elf; this choice effects the Elven Spellcasting and Environmental Bond traits.
Darkvision. You have Darkvision with a range of 60 feet.
Fey Ancestry. You have Advantage on saving throws you make to avoid or end the Charmed Condition on yourself.
Keen Senses. You have Proficiency in the Perception Skill.
Trance. You don’t need to sleep, and magic can’t put you to sleep. You can finish a Long Rest in 4 hours if you spend those hours in a trancelike meditation, during which you retain consciousness.
You can mtystically draw skills from shared elven memory. When you finish a Long Rest, you may gain one Skill Proficiency of your choice. This Proficiency lasts until you finish another Long Rest.
Elven Magic. You know one cantip, as determined by your Elven Lineage
Starting at 3rd level and again at 5th level, you also gain the ability to cast a Spell with this trait. Once you cast the Spell with this trait, you can’t cast that Spell with it again until you finish a Long Rest; however, you can cast the Spell using any Spell Slots you have of the appropriate level.
| Lineage | Cantrip | 3rd level | 5th level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drow | Dancing Lights | Faerie Fire | Darkness |
| High Elf | Presdigitation | Detect Magic | Misty Step |
| Wood Elf | Druidcraft | Longstrider | Pass without Trace |
Environmental Bond. You have a special bond with your environment. You gain one of the following features, determined by your Elven Lineage.
| Lineage | Environment | Bond |
|---|---|---|
| Drow | Underground | The range of your Darkvision increases to 120 feet. |
| High Elf | Magical Areas | When you finish a long rest, you can replace the cantrip from your Elven Magic trait with a different cantrip from the Arcane Spell List. |
| Wood Elf | Forests | Your Speed increases to 35 feet. |
Additional Elf Lineages
This is to demonstrate what subraces from rules suplements could look like.
As an Elf, you may choose to take the Sea Elf, Shadar-kai, and Eladrin lineages in addition to the lineages listed in the Player's Handbook. You use the following options for the Elven Magic and Environmental Bond traits:
| Lineage | Cantrip | 3rd level | 5th level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sea Elf | Shape Water | Speak with Animals | Gust of Wind |
| Shadar-Kai | Spare the Dying | Bane | Misty Step |
| Eladrin | Autumn: Friends Winter: Message Spring: Guidance Summer: True Strike |
Bless | Misty Step |
| Lineage | Environment | Bond |
|---|---|---|
| Sea Elf | Underwater | You can breath both air and water and gain a Swimming Speed equal to your Speed. |
| Shadar-Kai | Shadowfell | You have Resistance to Necrotic Damage. |
| Eladrin | Feywild | You have a particular season, choosing from Autumn, Winter, Spring, or Summer. Your choice of season determines the cantrip you know from your Elven Magic trait. You may change your season when you finish a Long Rest. |
Gnome
Gnome Traits
Creature Type: Humanoid
Size: Small
Speed: 30 feet
As an Gnome, you have these special traits.
Darkvision. You have Darkvision with a range of 60 feet.
Gnomish Cunning. You have Advantage on Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws against spells.
Cunning Magic. You know the Minor Illusion Cantrip.
You can also cast the Speak with Animals Spell without expending a spell slot with this trait.
Fade Away. Immediately after you take damage, you can use a Reaction to magically become Invisible until the end of your next turn or until you take the Attack Action or target a creature besides yourself with a Spell.
You can use this trait a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
Backgrounds
Magewright
Ability Scores: +2 Intelligence, +1 Constitution
Skill Proficiencies: Arcana, Investigation
Tool Proficiency: Artisan’s Tools (one of your choice)
Language: Gnomish
Feat: Magical Tinkerer
In a world of magic, you have focused on it's more practical side. You have incorporated the use of minor spells into your trade, whatever that may be. In learning this practice, you have picked up Gnomish, the tounge of the people who many say innovated the practice in the first place.
Equipment
Artisan’s Tools (same as above)
Chalk (10 pieces)
Traveller's Clothes
25 gp
Feats
Magical Tinkerer
1st-Level Feat
Prerequisite: None.
Repeatable: No.
You are trained in practical magic that you can use in your everyday life, giving you the following benefits:
Practical Magic. You know the Mending and Prestidigitation cantrips. You also know one cantrip of your choice from the Arcane Spell List.
Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these Spells. You can use any Artisan's Tools you have Proficiency with as a focus for any of these Spells.
Magical Device. You can spend 10 minutes casting Prestidigitation to create a Tiny device (AC 5, 1 HP), such as a toy, a fire starter, or a music box. Casting the Spell in this way consumes 10 GP worth of raw material (string, gears, and the like), which you provide during the casting.
When you create the device, you determine its function by choosing one effect from Prestidigitation; the device produces that effect whenever you or another creature takes a Bonus Action to touch the device and activate it. If the chosen effect has options within it, you choose one of those options for the device when you create it. For example, if you choose the spell’s ignite-extinguish effect, you determine whether the device ignites or extinguishes fire; the device doesn’t do both.
You can have three such devices in existence at a time. You can touch one of your devices and dismantle it as an Action. After a device is dismantled, the 10 GP of materials used to create it can be reclaimed.