Races (Core, Expanded, UA, Homebrew)

In this compilation of races I will be collating all the races from the core books, the expanded collections (excluding Plane Shift), Unearthered Arcana and selected homebrews from around the internet. It will mostly consist of the stats for each race with a little bit of lore.
Humans are the most common people in the worlds of D&D, but they live and work alongside dwarves, elves, halflings, and countless other fantastic species. Your character belongs to one of these peoples.

Not every intelligent race of the multiverse is appropriate for a player - controlled adventurer. Dwarves, elves, halflings, and humans are the most common races to produce the sort of adventurers who make up typical parties. Dragonborn, gnomes, half-elves, halforcs, and tieflings are less common as adventurers. Drow, a subrace of elves, are also uncommon.

Your choice of race affects many different aspects of your character. It establishes fundamental qualities that exist throughout your character’s adventuring career. When making this decision, keep in mind the kind of character you want to play. For example, a halfling could be a good choice for a sneaky rogue, a dwarf m akes a tough warrior, and an elf can be a master of arcane magic. Your character race not only affects your ability scores and traits but also provides the cues for building your character’s story. Each race’s description in this chapter includes inform ation to help you roleplay a character of that race, including personality, physical appearance, features of society, and racial alignment tendencies. These details are suggestions to help you think about your character; adventurers can deviate widely from the norm for their race. It’s worthwhile to consider why your character is different, as a helpful way to think about your character’s background and personality.

Racial Traits

The description of each race includes racial traits that are common to members of that race. The following entries appear among the traits of most races.

Ability Score Increase

Every race increases one or more of a character’s ability scores.

Age

The age entry notes the age when a member of the race is considered an adult, as well as the race’s expected lifespan. This information can help you decide how old your character is at the start of the game. You can choose any age for your character, which could provide an explanation for some of your ability scores. For example, if you play a young or very old character, your age could explain a particularly low Strength or Constitution score, while advanced age could account for a high Intelligence or Wisdom .

Alignment

Most races have tendencies toward certain alignments, described in this entry. These are not binding for player characters, but considering why your dwarf is chaotic, for example, in defiance of lawful dwarf society can help you better define your character.

Size

Characters of most races are Medium, a size category including creatures that are roughly 4 to 8 feet tall. Members of a few races are Small (between 2 and 4 feet tall), which means that certain rules of the game affect them differently. The most important of these rules is that Small characters have trouble wielding heavy weapons, as explained in chapter 5, "Equipment".

Speed

Your speed determines how far you can move when traveling (chapter 8, "Adventuring") and fighting (chapter 9, "Combat").

Languages

By virtue of your race, your character can speak, read, and write certain languages. Chapter 4 lists the most common languages of the D&D multiverse.

Subraces

Some races have subraces. Members of a subrace have the traits of the parent race in addition to the traits specified for their subrace. Relationships among subraces vary significantly from race to race and world to world. In the Dragonlance campaign setting, for example, mountain dwarves and hill dwarves live together as different clans of the same people, but in the Forgotten Realms, they live far apart in separate kingdoms and call themselves shield dwarves and gold dwarves, respectively.

1a

PART 0 | INTRODUCTION

Ability Score Summary

Dwarf Names

A dwarf’s name is granted by a clan elder, in accordance with tradition. Every proper dwarven name has been used and reused down through the generations. A dwarf’s name belongs to the clan, not to the individual. A dwarf who misuses or brings shame to a clan name is stripped of the name and forbidden by law to use any dwarven name in its place.

Male Names: Adrik, Alberich, Baern, Barendd, Brottor,

Bruenor, Dain, Darrak, Delg, Eberk, Einkil, Fargrim,

Flint, Gardain, Harbek, Kildrak, Morgran, Orsik,

Oskar, Rangrim, Rurik, Taklinn, Thoradin, Thorin,

Tordek, Traubon, Travok, Ulfgar, Veit, Vondal

Female Names: Amber, Artin, Audhild, Bardryn,

Dagnal, Diesa, Eldeth, Falkrunn, Finellen, Gunnloda,

Gurdis, Helja, Hlin, Kathra, Kristryd, Ilde, Liftrasa,

Mardred, Riswynn, Sannl, Torbera, Torgga, Vistra

Clan Names: Balderk, Battlehammer, Brawnanvil,

Dankil, Fireforge, Frostbeard, Gorunn, Holderhek,

Ironfist, Loderr, Lutgehr, Rumnaheim, Strakeln,

Torunn, Ungart

Dwarf Traits

Your dwarf character has an assortm ent of inborn abilities, part and parcel of dwarven nature.

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score   increases by 2.

Age. Dwarves mature at the same rate as humans, but they’re considered young until they reach the age of 50. On average, they live about 350 years.

Alignment. Most dwarves are lawful, believing firmly in the benefits of a well-ordered society. They tend toward good as well, with a strong sense of fair play and a belief that everyone deserves to share in the benefits of a just order.

Size. Dwarves stand between 4 and 5 feet tall and average about 150 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet. Your speed is not reduced by wearing heavy armor.

Darkvision. Accustomed to life underground, 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.

Dwarven Resilience. You have advantage on saving throws against poison, and you have resistance against poison damage (explained in chapter 9, "Combat").

Dwarven Combat Training. You have proficiency with the battleaxe, handaxe, throwing hammer, and warhammer.

Tool Proficiency. You gain proficiency with the artisan’s tools of your choice: smith’s tools, brewer’s supplies, or mason’s tools.

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.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Dwarvish. Dwarvish is full of hard consonants and guttural sounds, and those characteristics spill over into whatever other language a dwarf might speak.

Subrace. Three subraces of dwarves populate the worlds of D&D: Hill Dwarves, Mountain Dwarves and Duergar. Choose one of these subraces.

Dwarf Tables

This section provides a number of tables useful for players and DMs who want to choose or randomly generate details about dwarf characters or settlements.

Duergar Tables

Most of the tables in this section are duergar-themed versions of the information for dwarves that's presented above and in the Player's Handbook.

Duergar in the World

The tables below are designed to add depth to a duergar character by offering possible reasons why the character left the clan for the life of an adventurer and a choice of personality quirks that are tailored for duergar.

Duergar Adventurer Story Hooks

d6	Hook
1	You are a heretic, drawn to worship of Morad in.
2	Caught stealing, you escaped imprisonment but    not before torture left you with a scar or lasting    injury.
3	You were enslaved by drow or mind flayers but    escaped to the surface.
4	You seek only to test yourself in battle with    monsters.
5	Profit is all that matters to you.
6	The best way to defeat the folk of the surface is to    study them firsthand.

Duergar Quirks

d6	Quirks
1	A separate personality in your mind provides advice    and guidance to you.
2	Your gear must be perfectly arranged, otherwise    someone must bleed.
3	When there isn't a roof over your head, you keep    your eyes on the ground.
4	You don't talk unless you absolutely must.
5	The outside world is a giant cave, and nothing will    convince you otherwise.
6	Humans fascinate you, and you collect odd trinkets    of their culture.

6

PART 1 | PLAYERS HANDBOOK- DWARVES

Haughty but Gracious

Although they can be haughty, elves are generally gracious even to those who fall short of their high expectations—which is most non-elves. Still, they can find good in just about anyone.

Dwarves. "Dwarves are dull, clumsy oafs. But what they lack in humor, sophistication, and manners, they make up in valor. And I must admit, their best smiths produce art that approaches elven quality.”

Halflings. “ Halflings are people of simple pleasures, and that is not a quality to scorn. They’re good folk, they care for each other and tend their gardens, and they have proven themselves tougher than they seem when the need arises."

Humans. “All that haste, their ambition and drive to accomplish something before their brief lives pass away— human endeavors seem so futile sometimes. But then you look at what they have accomplished, and you have to appreciate their achievements. If only they could slow down and learn some refinement.”

Elf Traits

Your elf character has a variety of natural abilities, the result of thousands of years of elven refinement.

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2.

Age. Although elves reach physical maturity at about the same age as humans, the elven understanding of adulthood goes beyond physical growth to encompass worldly experience. An elf typically claims adulthood and an adult name around the age of 100 and can live to be 750 years old.

Alignment. Elves love freedom , variety, and self expression, so they lean strongly toward the gentler aspects of chaos. They value and protect others' freedom as well as their own, and they are more often good than not. The drow are an exception; their exile into the Underdark has made them vicious and dangerous. Drow are more often evil than not.

Size. Elves range from under 5 to over 6 feet tall and have slender builds. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision. Accustomed to twilit forests and the night sky, 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 Senses. You have proficiency in the Perception skill.

Fey Ancestry. You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can’t put you to sleep.

Trance. Elves don’t need to sleep. Instead, they meditate deeply, remaining semiconscious, for 4 hours a day. (The Common word for such meditation is “trance.”) While meditating, you can dream after a fashion; such dreams are actually mental exercises that have become reflexive through years of practice. After resting in this way, you gain the same benefit that a human does from 8 hours of sleep.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Elvish. Elvish is fluid, with subtle intonations and intricate grammar. Elven literature is rich and varied,and their songs and poems are famous among other races. Many bards learn their language so they can add Elvish ballads to their repertoires.

Subrace. Ancient divides among the elven people resulted in three main subraces: high elves, wood elves,and dark elves, who are com m only called drow. Choose one of these subraces. In some worlds, these subraces are divided still further (such as the sun elves and moon elves of the Forgotten Realms), so if you wish, you can choose a narrower subrace.

Dark Elf (Drow)

Descended from an earlier subrace of dark-skinned elves, the drow were banished from the surface world for following the goddess Lolth down the path to evil and corruption. Now they have built their own civilization in the depths of the Underdark, patterned after the Way of Lolth. Also called dark elves, the drow have black skin that resembles polished obsidian and stark white or pale yellow hair. They commonly have very pale eyes (so pale as to be mistaken for white) in shades of lilac, silver, pink, red, and blue. They tend to be smaller and thinner than most elves.

Drow adventurers are rare, and the race does not exist in all worlds. Check with your Dungeon Master to see if you can play a drow character.

Ability Score Increase. Your Cha score increases by 1.

Superior Darkvision. Your darkvision has a 120ft radius.

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.

Drow Magic. You know the dancing lights cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the faerie fire spell once per day. When you reach 5th level, you can also cast the darkness spell once per day. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

Drow Weapon Training. You have proficiency with rapiers, shortswords, and hand crossbows.

Avariel (UA)

The avariel are winged elves. These rare creatures were more common when the worlds of the multiverse were young, but frequent conflicts with dragons much reduced the winged elves’ number. Still, a few colonies persist here and there in the Material Plane and on the Plane of Air.

Flight. You have a flying speed of 30 feet. To use this speed, you can’t be wearing medium or heavy armor.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Auran.

Eladrin (MToF)

Eladrin are elves native to the Feywild, a realm of beauty, unpredictable emotion, and boundless magic. An eladrin is associated witb one of the four seasons and has coloration reminiscent of that season, which can also affect the eladrin's mood:

Autumn is the season of peace and goodwill, when summer's harvest is shared with all.

Winter is the season of contemplation and dolor, when the vibrant energy of the world slumbers.

Spring is the season of cheerfulness and celebration, marked by merriment as winter's sorrow passes.

Summer is the season of boldness and aggression. a time of unfettered energy.

Some eladrin remain associated with a particular season for their entire lives, whereas other eladrin transform, adopting characteristics of a new season.

When finishing a long rest, any eladrin can change their season. An eladrin might choose the season that is present in the world or perhaps the season that most closely matches the eladrin's current emotional state.

The following tables offer personality suggestions for eladrin of each season. You can roll on the tables or use them as inspiration for characteristics of your own.

Summer

Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 1.

Fey Step. As a bonus action, you can magically teleport up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space you can see. Once you use this trait, you can't do so again until you finish a short or long rest.

When you reach 3rd level, your Fey Step gains an additional effect based on your season; if the effect requires a saving throw, the DC equals 8 +your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier:

Autumn. Immediately after you use your Fey Step, up to     two creatures of your choice that you can see within 10 feet     of you must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or be     charmed by you for 1 minute, or until you or your     companions deal any damage to it.

Winter. When you use your Fey Step, one creature of your     choice that you can see within 5 feet of you before you     teleport must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or be     frightened of you until the end of your next turn.

Spring. When you use your Fey Step, you can touch one     willing creature within 5 feet of you. That creature then     teleports instead of you, appearing in an unoccupied space     of your choice that you can see within 30 feet of you.

Summer. Immediately after you use your Fey Step, each     creature of your choice that you can see within 5 feet of you     takes fire damage equal to your Charisma modifier     (minimum of 1 damage).

Sea Elf (MToF)

Sea elves fell in love with the wild beauty of the ocean in the earliest days of the multiverse. While other elves traveled from realm to realm, the sea elves navigated the deepest currents and explored the waters across a hundred worlds. Today, they live in small, hidden communities in the ocean shallows and on the Elemental Plane of Water.

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 1.

Sea Elf Training. You have proficiency with the spear, trident, light crossbow, and net.

Child of the Sea. You have a swimming speed of 30 feet, and you can breathe air and water.

Friend of the Sea. Using gestures and sounds, you can communicate simple ideas with any beast that has an innate swimming speed.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Aquan.

11

PART 1 | PLAYERS HANDBOOK- ELVES

Grugach (UA)

The grugach of the world of Greyhawk shun contact with other folk, preferring the solace of the deepest forests and the companionship of wild animals. Even other elves draw their suspicion.

The grugach tend toward chaos and neutrality. They feel no special duty to anyone beyond their own folk and the forest that is their home. Troubles beyond their borders are best kept there. At the same time, they harbor little ambition beyond a peaceful coexistence with nature.

If anyone is fool enough to disturb a grugach realm, these elves take to arms and fight in earnest. Grugach master the basic weapons needed to hunt and forage in the wood. Every copse of trees becomes a sniper’s nest, and each forest meadow is an ambush point. The grugach set pits filled with stakes, snares that leave an intruder helpless to grugach arrows, and other snares designed to kill rather than capture. The grugach fight to the death to preserve their realms.

Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 1.

Grugach Weapon Training. You have proficiency with the spear, shortbow, longbow, and net.

Cantrip. You know one cantrip of your choice from the druid spell list. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for it.

Languages. Unlike other elves, you don’t speak, read, or write Common. You instead speak, read, and write Sylvan.

Shadar-Kai (MToF)

Sworn to the Raven Queen's service, the mysterious shadar-kai venture into the Material Plane from the Shadowfell to advance her will. Once they were fey like the rest of their elven kin, and now they exist in a strange state between life and death. Eladrin and shadar-kai are like reflections of each other: one bursting with emotion, the other nearly devoid of it.

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 1.

Necrotic Resistance. You have resistance to necrotic damage.

Blessing of the Raven Queen. As a bonus action, you can magically teleport up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space you can see. Once you use this trait, you can't do so again until you finish a long rest.

Starting at 3rd level, you also gain resistance to all damage when you teleport using this trait. The resistance lasts until the start of your next turn. During that time, you appear ghostly and translucent.

12

PART 1 | PLAYERS HANDBOOK- ELVES

Elf Tables

This section provides tables for players and DMs who want to choose or randomly generate details about elves.

Blend into the Crowd

Halflings are adept at fitting into a community of humans, dwarves, or elves, making themselves valuable and welcome. The combination of their inherent stealth and their unassuming nature helps halflings to avoid unwanted attention.

Halflings work readily with others, and they are loyal to their friends, whether halfling or otherwise. They can display remarkable ferocity when their friends, families, or communities are threatened.

Pastoral Pleasantries

Most halflings live in small, peaceful communities with large farms and well-kept groves. They rarely build kingdoms of their own or even hold much land beyond their quiet shires. They typically don’t recognize any sort of halfling nobility or royalty, instead looking to family elders to guide them. Families preserve their traditional ways despite the rise and fall of empires.

Many halflings live among other races, where the halflings’ hard work and loyal outlook offer them abundant rewards and creature comforts. Some halfling communities travel as a way of life, driving wagons or guiding boats from place to place and maintaining no permanent home.

Exploring Opportunities

Halflings usually set out on the adventurer’s path to defend their communities, support their friends, or explore a wide and wonder-filled world. For them, adventuring is less a career than an opportunity or sometimes a necessity.

Halfling Names

A halfling has a given name, a family name, and possibly a nickname. Family names are often nicknames that stuck so tenaciously they have been passed down through the generations.
Male Names: Alton, Ander, Cade, Corrin, Eldon, Errich,

Finnan, Garret, Lindal, Lyle, Merric, Milo, Osborn,

Perrin, Reed, Roscoe, Wellby
Female Names: Andry, Bree, Callie, Cora, Euphemia,

Jillian, Kithri, Lavinia, Lidda, Merla, Nedda, Paela,

Portia, Seraphina, Shaena, Trym, Vani, Verna
Family Names: Brushgather, Goodbarrel, Greenbottle,

High-hill, Hilltopple, Leagallow, Tealeaf, Thorngage,

Tosscobble, Underbough

15

PART 1 | PLAYERS HANDBOOK-HALFLINGS

Halfling Traits

Your halfling character has a number of traits in common with all other halflings.

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score
increases by 2.

Age. A halfling reaches adulthood at the age of 20 and generally lives into the middle of his or her second century.

Alignment. Most halflings are lawful good. As a rule, they are good-hearted and kind, hate to see others in pain, and have no tolerance for oppression. They are also very orderly and traditional, leaning heavily on the support of their community and the comfort of their old ways.

Size. Halflings average about 3 feet tall and weigh about 40 pounds. Your size is Small.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet.

Lucky. When you roll a 1 on an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll.

Brave. You have advantage on saving throws against being frightened.

Halfling Nimbleness. You can move through the space of any creature that is of a size larger than yours.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Halfling. The Halfling language isn’t secret, but halflings are loath to share it with others. They write very little, so they don’t have a rich body of literature. Their oral tradition, however, is very strong. Almost all halflings speak Common to converse with the people in whose lands they dwell or through which they are traveling.

Subrace. The two main kinds of halfling, lightfoot and stout, are more like closely related families than true subraces. There is a third subrace, the Ghostwise, they are incredibly rare and come from the Storm Coast. Choose one of these subraces.

Ghostwise (SCAG)

Ghostwise halflings trace their ancestry back to a war among halfling tribes that sent their ancestors into flight from Luiren. Ghostwise halflings are the rarest of the hin, found only in the Chondalwood and a few other isolated forests, clustered in tight-knit clans. Many ghostwise clans select a natural landmark as the center of their territory, and members carry a piece of that landmark with them at all times. Clan warriors known as nightgliders bond with and ride giant owls as mounts. Because these folk are clannish and mistrustful of outsiders, ghostwise halfling adventurers are rare. Ask your DM if you can play a member of this subrace, which has the halfling traits in the Player's Handbook, plus the subrace traits below.

Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by l.

Silent Speech. You can speak telepathically to any creature within 30 feet of you. The creature understands you only if the two of you share a language. You can speak telepathically in this way to one creature at a time.

16

PART 1 | PLAYERS HANDBOOK-HALFLINGS

Halfling Tables

This section provides a number of tables useful for players and DMs who want to choose or randomly generate details about halfling characters or villages.

Reasons For Adventuring

d6	Reasons
1	Peeling taters and herding goats all the time wasn't your cup of tea.
2	You fell asleep on a raft one day and woke up near a human city. You were so thrilled with the strange sights and tasty food that you never turned back.
3	What started off as simple pumpkin pillaging from nearby farms turned into your becoming a wande ring rogue for hire.
4	You talked to a nice faerie in the woods, and all of a sudden you were a thousand miles from home.
5	Your village elder told you so many stories about being a rogue in an adventuring party that you couldn't resist the urge to try doing it yourself.
6	A friend dared you to jump on the back of a sleeping horse, which turned out to be a pegasus, and your life hasn't slowed down since.

17

PART 1 | PLAYERS HANDBOOK-HALFLINGS

Everyone’s Second - Best Friends

Just as readily as they mix with each other, humans mingle with members of other races. They get along with almost everyone, though they might not be close to many. Humans serve as ambassadors, diplomats, magistrates, merchants, and functionaries of all kinds.

Dwarves. “They’re stout folk, stalwart friends, and true to their word. Their greed for gold is their downfall, though.”

Elves. “It’s best not to wander into elven woods. They don't like intruders, and you’ll as likely be bewitched as peppered with arrows. Still, if an elf can get past that damned racial pride and actually treat you like an equal, you can learn a lot from them.”

Halflings. "It’s hard to beat a meal in a halfling home, as long as you don’t crack your head on the ceiling— good food and good stories in front of a nice, warm fire. If halflings had a shred of ambition, they might really amount to something.”

Lasting Institutions

Where a single elf or dwarf might take on the responsibility of guarding a special location or a powerful secret, humans found sacred orders and institutions for such purposes. While dwarf clans and halfling elders pass on the ancient traditions to each new generation, human temples, governments, libraries, and codes of law fix their traditions in the bedrock of history. Humans dream of immortality, but (except for those few w ho seek undeath or divine ascension to escape death’s clutches) they achieve it by ensuring that they will be rem em bered when they are gone.

Although some humans can be xenophobic, in general their societies are inclusive. Human lands welcome large numbers of nonhumans compared to the proportion of humans w ho live in nonhuman lands.

Exemplars of Ambition

Humans who seek adventure are the most daring and ambitious members of a daring and ambitious race. They seek to earn glory in the eyes of their fellows by amassing power, wealth, and fame. More than other people, humans champion causes rather than territories or groups.

Human Names and Ethnicities

Having so much more variety than other cultures, humans as a whole have no typical names. Some human parents give their children names from other languages, such as Dwarvish or Elvish (pronounced more or less correctly), but most parents give names that are linked to their region’s culture or to the naming traditions of their ancestors.

The material culture and physical characteristics of humans can change wildly from region to region. In the Forgotten Realms, for example, the clothing, architecture, cuisine, music, and literature are different in the northwestern lands of the Silver Marches than in distant Turmish or Impiltur to the east—and even more distinctive in far-off Kara-Tur. Human physical characteristics, though, vary according to the ancient migrations of the earliest humans, so that the humans of the Silver Marches have every possible variation of coloration and features.

In the Forgotten Realms, nine human ethnic groups are widely recognized, though over a dozen others are found in m ore localized areas of Faerun. These groups, and the typical names of their members, can be used as inspiration no matter which world your human is in.

Calishite

Shorter and slighter in build than most other humans, Calishites have dusky brown skin, hair, and eyes. They’re found primarily in southwest Faerun.
Calishite Names: (Male) Aseir, Bardeid, Haseid,

Khemed, Mehmen, Sudeiman, Zasheir; (female)

Atala, Ceidil, Hama, Jasmal, Meilil, Seipora, Yasheira,

Zasheida; (surnames) Basha, Dumein, Jassan, Khalid,

Mostana, Pashar, Rein

Chondathan

Chondathans are slender, tawny-skinned folk with brown hair that ranges from almost blond to almost black. Most are tall and have green or brown eyes, but these traits are hardly universal. Humans of Chondathan descent dominate the central lands of Faerun, around the Inner Sea.

19

PART 1 | PLAYERS HANDBOOK- HUMAN

Damaran

Found primarily in the northwest of Faerun, Damarans are of moderate height and build, with skin hues ranging from tawny to fair. Their hair is usually brown or black, and their eye color varies widely, though brown is most common.
Damaran Names: (Male) Bor, Fodel, Glar, Grigor,

Igan, Ivor, Kosef, Mival, Orel, Pavel, Sergor; (female)

Alethra, Kara, Katernin, Mara, Natali, Olma, Tana,

Zora; (surnames) Bersk, Chernin, Dotsk, Kulenov,

Marsk, Nemetsk, Shemov, Starag

Illuskan

Illuskans are tall, fair-skinned folk with blue or steely gray eyes. Most have raven-black hair, but those who inhabit the extreme northwest have blond, red, or light brown hair.
Illuskan Names: (Male) Ander, Blath, Bran, Frath,

Geth, Lander, Luth, Malcer, Stor, Taman, Urth;

(female) Amafrey, Betha, Cefrey, Kethra, Mara, Olga,

Silifrey, Westra; (surnames) Brightwood, Helder,

Hornraven, Lackman, Stormwind, Windrivver

Mulan

Dominant in the eastern and southeastern shores of the Inner Sea, the Mulan are generally tall, slim, and amber-skinned, with eyes of hazel or brown. Their hair ranges from black to dark brown, but in the lands where the Mulan are most prominent, nobles and many other Mulan shave off all their hair.
Mulan Names: (Male) Aoth, Bareris, Ehput-Ki,

Kethoth, Mumed, Ram as, So-Kehur, Thazar-De,

Urhur; (female) Arizima, Chathi, Nephis, Nulara,

Murithi, Sefris, Thola, Umara, Zolis; (surnames)

Ankhalab, Anskuld, Fezim, Hahpet, Nathandem,

Sepret, Uuthrakt

Rashemi

Most often found east of the Inner Sea and often intermingled with the Mulan, Rashem is tend to be short, stout, and muscular. They usually have dusky skin, dark eyes, and thick black hair.
Rashemi Names: (Male) Borivik, Faurgar, Jandar,

Kanithar, Madislak, Ralmevik, Shaumar, Vladislak;

(female) Fyevarra, Hulmarra, Immith, Imzel,

Navarra, Shevarra, Tammith. Yuldra; (surnames)

Chergoba, Dyernina, Iltazyara, Murnyethara,

Stayanoga, Ulmokina

Shou

The Shou are the most numerous and powerful ethnic group in Kara-Tur, far to the east of Faerun. They are yellowish-bronze in hue, with black hair and dark eyes. Shou surnames are usually presented before the given name.
Shou Names: (Male) An, Chen, Chi, Fai, Jiang, Jun,

Lian, Long, Meng, On, Shan, Shui, Wen; (female)

Bai, Chao, Jia, Lei, Mei, Qiao, Shui, Tai; (surnames)

Chien, Huang, Kao, Kung, Lao, Ling, Mei, Pin, Shin,

Sum, Tan, Wan

Tethyrian

Widespread along the entire Sword Coast at the western edge of Faerun, Tethyrians are of medium build and height, with dusky skin that tends to grow fairer the farther north they dwell. Their hair and eye color varies widely, but brown hair and blue eyes are the most common. Tethyrians primarily use Chondathan names.

Turami

Native to the southern shore of the Inner Sea, the Turami people are generally tall and muscular, with dark mahogany skin, curly black hair, and dark eyes.
Turami Names: (Male) Anton, Diero, M arcon, Pieron,

Rimardo, Rom ero, Salazar, Umbero; (female) Balama,

Dona, Faila, Jalana, Luisa, Marta, Quara, Selise,

Vonda; (surnames) Agosto, Astorio, Calabra, Domine,

Falone, Marivaldi, Pisacar, Ram ondo

Human Traits

It’s hard to make generalizations about humans, but your human character has these traits.

Ability Score Increase. Your ability scores each increase by 1.

Age. Humans reach adulthood in their late teens and live less than a century.

Alignment. Humans tend toward no particular alignment. The best and the worst are found among them.

Size. Humans vary widely in height and build, from barely 5 feet to well over 6 feet tall. Regardless of your position in that range, your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and one extra language of your choice. Humans typically learn the languages of other peoples they deal with, including obscure dialects. They are fond of sprinkling their speech with words borrowed from other tongues: Orc curses, Elvish musical expressions, Dwarvish military phrases, and so on.

A continual drive for self-improvement reflects the self-sufficiency of the race as a whole. Dragonborn value skill and excellence in all endeavors. They hate to fail, and they push them selves to extreme efforts before they give up on something. A dragonborn holds mastery of a particular skill as a lifetime goal. Members of other races who share the same commitment find it easy to earn the respect of a dragonborn.

Though all dragonborn strive to be self-sufficient, they recognize that help is sometimes needed in difficult situations. But the best source for such help is the clan, and when a clan needs help, it turns to another dragonborn clan before seeking aid from other races, or even from the gods.

Dragonborn Names

Dragonborn have personal names given at birth, but they put their clan names first as a mark of honor. A childhood name or nickname is often used among clutchmates as a descriptive term or a term of endearment. The name might recall an event or center on a habit.
Male Names: Arjhan, Balasar, Bharash, Donaar, Ghesh.

Heskan, Kriv, Medrash, Mehen, Nadarr, Pandjed,

Patrin, Rhogar, Shamash, Shedinn, Tarhun, Torinn
Female Names: Akra, Biri, Daar, Farideh, Harann,

Flavilar, Jheri, Kava, Korinn, Mishann, Nala, Perra,

Raiann, Sora, Surina, Thava, Uadjit
Childhood Names: Climber, Earbender, Leaper, Pious,

Shieldbiter, Zealous
Clan Names: Clethtinthiallor, Daardendrian, Delmirev,

Drachedandion, Fenkenkabradon, Kepeshkm olik,

Kerrhylon, Kimbatuul, Linxakasendalor, Myastan,

Nemmonis, Norixius, Ophinshtalajiir, Prexijandilin,

Shestendeliath, Turnuroth, Verthisathurgiesh, Yarjerit

Uncommon Races

The dragonborn and the rest of the races in this chapter are uncommon. They don’t exist in every world of D&D, and even where they are found, they are less widespread than dwarves, elves, halflings, and humans.

   In the cosmopolitan cities of the D&D multiverse, most people hardly look twice at members of even the most exotic races. But the small towns and villages that dot the countryside are different. The common folk aren’t accustomed to seeing members of these races, and they react accordingly.

   Dragonborn. It’s easy to assume that a dragonborn is a monster, especially if his or her scales betray a chromatic heritage. Unless the dragonborn starts breathing fire and causing destruction, though, people are likely to respond with caution rather than outright fear.

   Gnome. Gnomes don’t look like a threat and can quickly disarm suspicion with good humor. The common folk are often curious about gnomes, likely never having seen one before, but they are rarely hostile or fearful.

   Half-Elf. Although many people have never seen a half-elf, virtually everyone knows they exist. A half-elf stranger’s arrival is followed by gossip behind the half-elf's back and stolen glances across the common room, rather than any confrontation or open curiosity.

   Half-Orc. It’s usually safe to assume that a half-orc is belligerent and quick to anger, so people watch themselves around an unfamiliar half-orc. Shopkeepers might surreptitiously hide valuable or fragile goods when a half-orc comes in, and people slowly clear out of a tavern, assuming a fight will break out soon.

   Tiefling. Half-orcs are greeted with a practical caution, but tieflings are the subject of supernatural fear. The evil of their heritage is plainly visible in their features, and as far as most people are concerned, a tiefling could very well be a devil straight from the Nine Hells. People might make warding signs as a tiefling approaches, cross the street to avoid passing near, or bar shop doors before a tiefling can enter

Dragonborn Traits

Your draconic heritage manifests in a variety of traits you share with other dragonborn.

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

Age. Young dragonborn 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. Dragonborn tend to extremes, making a conscious choice for one side or the other in the cosmic war between good and evil (represented by Bahamut and Tiamat, respectively). Most dragonborn are good, but those who side with Tiamat can be terrible villains.

22

PART 1 | PLAYERS HANDBOOK- DRAGONBORN

Draconic Ancestry

Dragonborn Tables

This section provides several tables useful for players and DMs who want to create gnome characters.

Gnome

Skinny and flaxen - haired, his skin walnut brown and his eyes a startling turquoise, Burgell stood half as tall as Aeron climb up on a stool to look out the peephole. Like most habitations in Oeble, that particular tenement had been built for humans, and smaller residents coped with the resulting awkwardness as best they could.

But at least the relative largeness of the apartment gave Burgell room to pack in all his gnome-sized gear. The front room was his workshop, and it contained a bewildering miscellany of tools: hammers, chisels, saws, lockpicks, tinted lenses, jeweler's loupes, and jars of powdered and shredded ingredients for casting spells. A fat gray cat, the mage’s familiar, lay curled atop a grimoire. It opened its eyes, gave Aeron a disdainful yellow stare, then appeared to go back to sleep.

A constant hum of busy activity pervades the warrens and neighborhoods where gnomes form their closeknit communities. Louder sounds punctuate the hum: a crunch of grinding gears here, a m inor explosion there, a yelp of surprise or triumph, and especially bursts of laughter. Gnomes take delight in life, enjoying every mom ent of invention, exploration, investigation, creation, and play.

Vibrant Expression

A gnome’s energy and enthusiasm for living shines through every inch of his or her tiny body. Gnomes average slightly over 3 feet tall and weigh 40 to 45 pounds. Their tan or brown faces are usually adorned with broad smiles (beneath their prodigious noses), and their bright eyes shine with excitement. Their fair hair has a tendency to stick out in every direction, as if expressing the gnome’s insatiable interest in everything around.

A gnome’s personality is writ large in his or her appearance. A male gnome’s beard, in contrast to his wild hair, is kept carefully trim med but often styled into curious forks or neat points. A gnome’s clothing, though usually m ade in m odest earth tones, is elaborately decorated with embroidery, embossing, or gleaming jewels.

Delighted Dedication

As far as gnomes are concerned, being alive is a wonderful thing, and they squeeze every ounce of enjoyment out of their three to five centuries of life. Humans might wonder about getting bored over the course of such a long life, and elves take plenty of time to savor the beauties of the world in their long years, but gnomes seem to w orry that even with all that time, they can’t get in enough of the things they want to do and see.

Gnomes speak as if they can’t get the thoughts out of their heads fast enough. Even as they offer ideas and opinions on a range of subjects, they still manage to listen carefully to others, adding the appropriate exclamations of surprise and appreciation along the way.

Though gnomes love jokes of all kinds, particularly puns and pranks, they’re just as dedicated to the more serious tasks they undertake. Many gnomes are skilled engineers, alchemists, tinkers, and inventors. They’re willing to make mistakes and laugh at themselves in the process of perfecting what they do, taking bold (sometimes foolhardy) risks and dreaming large.

24

PART 1 | PLAYERS HANDBOOK- GNOME

Bright Burrows

Gnomes make their homes in hilly, wooded lands. They live underground but get more fresh air than dwarves do, enjoying the natural, living world on the surface whenever they can. Their homes are well hidden by both clever construction and simple illusions. Welcome visitors are quickly ushered into the bright, warm burrows. Those who are not welcome are unlikely to find the burrows in the first place.

Gnomes who settle in human lands are commonly gemcutters, engineers, sages, or tinkers. Some human families retain gnome tutors, ensuring that their pupils enjoy a mix of serious learning and delighted enjoyment. A gnome might tutor several generations of a single human family over the course of his or her long life.

Gnome Names

Gnomes love names, and most have half a dozen or so. A gnome's mother, father, clan elder, aunts, and uncles each give the gnome a name, and various nicknames from just about everyone else might or might not stick over time. Gnome names are typically variants on the names of ancestors or distant relatives, though some are purely new inventions. When dealing with humans and others who are “stuffy” about names, a gnome learns to use no more than three names: a personal name, a clan name, and a nickname, choosing the one in each category that’s the most fun to say.

Male Names: Alston, Alvyn, Boddynock, Brocc, Burgell,

Dimble, Eldon, Erky, Fonkin, Frug, Gerbo, Gimble,

Glim, Jebeddo, Kellen, Nam foodle, Orryn, Roondar,

Seebo, Sindri, Warryn, Wrenn, Z ook
Female Names: Bimpnottin, Breena, Caramip, Carlin,

Donella, Duvamil, Ella, Ellyjobell, Ellywick, Lilli,

Loopm ottin, Lorilla, Mardnab, Nissa, Nyx, Oda, Orla,

Roywyn, Shamil, Tana, W aywocket, Zanna
Clan Names: Beren, Daergel, Folkor, Garrick, Nackle,

Murnig, Ningel, Raulnor, Scheppen, Timbers, Turen
Nicknames: Aleslosh, Ashhearth, Badger, Cloak,

Doublelock, Filchbatter, Fnipper, Ku, Nim, Oneshoe,

Pock, Sparklegem , Stumbleduck

Seeing the World

Curious and impulsive, gnomes might take up adventuring as a way to see the world or for the love of exploring. As lovers of gems and other fine items, some gnomes take to adventuring as a quick, if dangerous, path to wealth. Regardless of what spurs them to adventure, gnomes who adopt this way of life eke as much enjoyment out of it as they do out of any other activity they undertake, sometimes to the great annoyance of their adventuring companions.

Gnome Traits

Your gnome character has certain characteristics in common with all other gnomes.

Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score
increases by 2.

Age. Gnomes mature at the same rate humans do, and most are expected to settle down into an adult life by around age 40. They can live 350 to almost 500 years.

Alignment. Gnomes are most often good. Those who tend toward law are sages, engineers, researchers, scholars, investigators, or inventors. Those who tend toward chaos are minstrels, tricksters, wanderers, or fanciful jewelers. Gnomes are good-hearted, and even the tricksters among them are more playful than vicious.

Size. Gnomes are between 3 and 4 feet tall and average about 40 pounds. Your size is Small.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet.

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

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

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Gnomish. The Gnomish language, which uses the Dwarvish script, is renowned for its technical treatises and its catalogs of knowledge about the natural world.

Subrace. Three subraces of gnomes are found among the worlds of D&D: forest gnomes, rock gnomes and deep gnomes (or svirfneblin). Choose one of these subraces.

Forest Gnome

As a forest gnome, you have a natural knack for illusion and inherent quickness and stealth. In the worlds of D&D, forest gnomes are rare and secretive. They gather in hidden communities in sylvan forests, using illusions and trickery to conceal themselves from threats or to mask their escape should they be detected. Forest gnomes tend to be friendly with other good-spirited woodland folk, and they regard elves and good fey as their most important allies. These gnomes also befriend small forest animals and rely on them for information about threats that might
prowl their lands.

25

PART 1 | PLAYERS HANDBOOK- GNOME

Rock Gnome

As a rock gnome, you have a natural inventiveness and hardiness beyond that of other gnomes. Most gnomes in the worlds of D&D are rock gnomes, including the tinker gnomes of the Dragonlance setting.

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score
increases by 1.

Artificer’s Lore. Whenever you make an Intelligence (History) check related to magic items, alchemical objects, or technological devices, you can add twice your proficiency bonus, instead of any proficiency bonus you normally apply.

Tinker. You have proficiency with artisan’s tools (tinker’s tools). Using those tools, you can spend 1 hour and 10 gp worth of materials to construct a Tiny clockwork device (AC 5, 1 hp). The device ceases to function after 24 hours (unless you spend 1 hour repairing it to keep the device functioning), or when you use your action to dismantle it; at that time, you can reclaim the materials used to create it. You can have up to three such devices active at a time.

When you create a device, choose one of the following options:

Clockwork Toy. This toy is a clockwork animal, monster, or person, such as a frog, mouse, bird, dragon, or soldier. When placed on the ground, the toy moves 5 feet across the ground on each of your turns in a random direction. It makes noises as appropriate to the creature it represents.

Fire Starter. The device produces a miniature flame, which you can use to light a candle, torch, or campfire. Using the device requires your action.

Music Box. When opened, this music box plays a single song at a moderate volume. The box stops playing when it reaches the song’s end or when it is closed.

Deep Gnome - Svirfneblin (SCAG + MToF)

Deep gnomes have the gnome traits in the Player's Handbook, plus the subrace traits below. Unlike other gnomes, svirfneblin tend to weigh 80 to 120 pounds. Short-lived compared to other gnomes, deep gnomes mature at the same rate humans do and are considered full-grown adults by age 25. They live 200 to 250 years, although toil and the dangers of the Underdark often claim them before their time.

Svirfneblin believe that survival depends on avoiding entanglements with other creatures and not making enemies, so they favor neutral alignments. They rarely wish others ill, and they are unlikely to take risks on behalf of others, except those dearest to them.

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score
increases by 1.

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

Stone Camouflage. You have advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks to hide in rocky terrain and underground.

Extra Language. You can speak, read, and write Undercommon.

Gnome Tables

This section provides several tables useful for players and DMs who want to create gnome characters.

Diplomats or Wanderers

Half-elves have no lands of their own, though they are welcome in human cities and somewhat less welcome in elven forests. In large cities in regions where elves and humans interact often, half-elves are sometimes numerous enough to form small communities of their own. They enjoy the company of other half-elves, the only people who truly understand what it is to live between these two worlds.

In most parts of the world, though, half-elves are uncommon enough that one might live for years without meeting another. Some half-elves prefer to avoid company altogether, wandering the wilds as trappers, foresters, hunters, or adventurers and visiting civilization only rarely. Like elves, they are driven by the wanderlust that comes of their longevity. Others, in contrast, throw themselves into the thick of society, putting their charisma and social skills to great use in diplomatic roles or as swindlers.

Half-Elf Names

Half-elves use either human or elven naming conventions. As if to emphasize that they don’t really fit in to either society, half-elves raised am ong humans are often given elven names, and those raised am ong elves often take human names.

Half-Elf Traits

Your half-elf character has some qualities in common with elves and some that are unique to half-elves.

Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 2, and two other ability scores of your choice increase by 1.

Age. Half-elves mature at the sam e rate humans do and reach adulthood around the age of 20. They live much longer than humans, however, often exceeding 180 years.

Alignment. Half-elves share the chaotic bent of their elven heritage. They value both personal freedom and creative expression, demonstrating neither love of leaders nor desire for followers. They chafe at rules, resent others’ demands, and sometimes prove unreliable, or at least unpredictable.

Size. Half-elves are about the same size as humans, ranging from 5 to 6 feet tall. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision. Thanks to your elf 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.

Fey Ancestry. You have advantage on saving throws against being charm ed, and m agic can’t put you to sleep.

Skill Versatility. You gain proficiency in two skills of your choice.

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

Half-Elf Variants

Some half-elves in Faeron have a racial trait in place of the Skill Versatility trait. If your DM allows it, your half-elf character can forgo Skill Versatility and instead take one of the following based on your parentage

Eladrin Parentage

    Fey Step. As a bonus action, you can magically teleport up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space you can see. Once you use this trait, you can't do so again until you finish a short or long rest. You do not gain the added abilities of the seasons however.

28

PART 1 | PLAYERS HANDBOOK- HALF-ELF

But they laugh loudly and
heartily, and simple bodily
pleasures—feasting, drinking,
wrestling, drumming, and wild dancing—
fill their hearts with joy. They tend to be short-
tempered and sometimes sullen, more inclined
to action than contemplation and to fighting than
arguing. The most accomplished half-orcs are those with enough self control to get by in a civilized land.

Half-Orc Traits

Your half-orc character has certain traits deriving from your orc ancestry.

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

Age: Half-orcs mature a little faster than humans, reaching adulthood around age 14. They age noticeably faster and rarely live longer than 75 years.

Grudging Acceptance

Each half-orc finds a way to gain acceptance from those who hate orcs. Some are reserved, trying not to draw attention to themselves. A few demonstrate piety and good-heartedness as publicly as they can (whether or not such demonstrations are genuine). And some simply try to be so tough that others just avoid them.

Size: Half-orcs are somewhat larger and bulkier than humans, and they range from 5 to well over 6 feet tall. 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.

Menacing: You gain proficiency in the Intimidation skill.

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.

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.

30

PART 1 | PLAYERS HANDBOOK- HALF-ORC

Half-Orc Tables

This section provides several tables useful for players and DMs who want to create half-orc characters.

Tables created by Brandes Stobbard

Flaws

d6	Flaws
1	Calling me a coward can goad me into anything.
2	I feel helpless and confused in big cities, and that makes me dangerous.
3	Whenever I have a little money I spend it immediately, on the first thing to catch my eye.
4	When I argue, I want to force my opponent to back down more than I want to be right.
5	I’ve been cheated before, and I’m quick to accuse others of trying to cheat me.
6	I evaded sacrifice at the hands of a powerful warlock, and he’ll never forgive me for fouling his ritual.

31

PART 1 | PLAYERS HANDBOOK- HALF-ORC

Tiefling Names

Tiefling names fall into three broad categories. Tieflings born into another culture typically have names reflective of that culture. Some have names derived from the Infernal language, passed down through generations, that reflect their fiendish heritage. And some younger tieflings, striving to find a place in the world, adopt a name that signifies a virtue or other concept and then try to em body that concept. For some, the chosen name is a noble quest. For others, it’s a grim destiny.
Male Infernal Names: Akm enos, Amnon, Barakas,

Damakos, Ekemon, Iados, Kairon, Leucis, Melech,

Mordai, Morthos, Pelaios, Skamos, Therai
Female Infernal Names: Akta, Anakis, Bryseis, Criella,

Damaia, Ea, Kallista, Lerissa, Makaria, Nemeia,

Orianna, Phelaia, Rieta
“Virtue” Names: Art, Carrion, Chant, Creed, Despair,

Excellence, Fear, Glory, Hope, Ideal, Music, Nowhere,

Open, Poetry, Quest, Random, Reverence, Sorrow,

Temerity, Torment, Weary

Tiefling Traits

Just as there are many types of demons, there are many different types of tieflings. All share some common traits however:

Age. Tieflings mature at the same rate as humans but live a few years longer.

Alignment. Tieflings might not have an innate tendency toward evil, but many of them end up there. Evil or not, an independent nature inclines many tieflings toward a chaotic alignment.

Size. Tieflings are about the same size and build as humans. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision. Thanks to your infernal 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.

Hellish Resistance. All Tieflings except Abyssal Tieflings have resistance to fire damage.

Languages. All Tieflings can speak and write Common and Infernal except Abyssal Tieflings who can speak and write Common and Abyssal

Subrace All tieflings gain different aspects of their constitution and abilities based on their legacy. Pick one of the following for your subrace:

Baalzebul (MToF)

The crumbling realm of Maladomini is ruled by Baalzebul, who excels at corrupting those whose minor sins can be transformed into acts of damnation. Tieflings linked to this archdevil can corrupt others both physically and psychically.

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

Legacy of Maladomini: You know the Thaumaturgy cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the Ray of Sickness spell as a 2nd level spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. When you reach 5th level, you can cast the Crown of Madness spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

Dispater (MToF)

The great city of Dis occupies most of Hell's second layer. It is a place where secrets are uncovered and shared with the highest bidder, making tieflings tied to Dispater excellent spies and infiltrators.

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

Legacy of Dis: You know the Thaumaturgy cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the Disguise Self spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. When you reach 5th level, you can cast the Detect Thoughts spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

Fierna (MToF)

A master manipulator, Fierna grants tieftings tied to her forceful personalities.

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

Legacy of Phlegethos: You know the Friends cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the Charm Person spell as a 2nd-level spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. When you reach 5th level, you can cast the Suggestion spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

Glasya (MToF)

Glasya, Hell's criminal mastermind, grants her tiefiings magic that is useful for committing heists.

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

Legacy of Malbolge: You know the Minor Illusion
cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the
Disguise Self spell once with this trait and regain the
ability to do so when you finish a long rest. When you
reach 5th level, you can cast the Invisibility spell
once with this trait and regain the ability to do
so when you finish a long rest. Charisma is
your spellcasting ability for these spells.

Levistus (MToF)

Frozen Stygia is ruled by Levistus, an archdevil known for offering bargains to those who face an inescapable doom.

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

Legacy of Stygia: You know the Ray of Frost cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the Armor of Agathys spell as a 2nd-level spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. When you reach 5th level, you can cast the Darkness spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

Mammon (MToF)

The great miser Mammon loves coins above all else. Tieflings tied to him excel at gathering and safeguarding wealth.

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

Legacy of Minauros: You know the Mage Hand cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the Tenser's Floating Disk spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a short or long rest. When you reach 5th level, you can cast the Arcane Lock spell once with this trait, requiring no material component, and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

Mephistopheles (MToF)

In the frozen realm of Cania, Mephistopheles offers arcane power to those who entreat with him. Tieflings linked to him master some arcane magic.

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

Legacy of Cania: You know the Mage Hand cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the Burning Hands spell as a 2nd-level spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. When you reach 5th level, you can cast the Flame Blade spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

34

PART 1 | PLAYERS HANDBOOK- TIEFLING

Zariel (MToF)

Tieflings with a blood tie to Zariel are stronger than the typical tiefling and receive magical abilities that aid them in battle.

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

Legacy of Avernus: You know the Thaumaturgy cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the Searing Smite spell as a 2nd-level spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. When you reach 5th level, you can cast the Branding Smite spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

Feral Tiefling (SCAG)

Some Tieflings vary from standard Infernal Tieflings. If you have some variance but don't wish to have a blood tie to one of the Demon Lords then you could be more Feral.

Feral: Your Intelligence score increases by 1, and your Dexterity score increases by 2.

Feral Variants As part of your feral and variance compared to other Infernal Tieflings part of you has changed. You gain one of the following traits:

Devil's Tongue: You know the Vicious Mockery cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the Charm Person spell as a 2nd-level spell once with this trait. When you reach 5th level, you can cast the Enthrall spell once with this trait. You must finish a long rest to cast these spells once again with this trait. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for them.

Hellfire: You know the thaumaturgy cantrip. Once you reach 3rd level, you can cast the Burning Hands spell once per day as a 2nd-level spell. Once you reach 5th level, you can also cast the darkness spell once per day. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

Winged: You have bat-like wings sprouting from your shoulder blades. You have a flying speed of 30 feet while you aren't wearing heavy armor.

35

PART 1 | PLAYERS HANDBOOK- TIEFLING

Tiefling Variance

Tieflings as a race have many similarities but due to their demon heritage, some have very different physical appearances. You can use these table to find some of the variances you may have.

d100 Table built by the r/d100 on Reddit, all individual users are credited in each result.

Personality tables created by Brandes Stobbard

Personality Traits

Ideals

Bonds

Flaws

Aasimar

I saw her, wreathed in wings of pure light, her eyes blazing with the fury of the gods. The bone devils stopped in their tracks, shielding their faces. Her blade, now a brand of light, swept once, twice, three times. The devils' heads hit the ground, one after another. And thus we learned that an aasimar traveled in our ragtag band.

Aasimar bear within their souls the light of the heavens. They are descended from humans with a touch of the power of Mount Celestia, the divine realm of many lawful good deities. Aasimar are born to serve as champions of the gods, their births hailed as blessed events. They are a people of otherworldly visages, with luminous features that reveal their celestial heritage.

Aasimar Traits

Your aasimar character has the following racial traits.

Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score
increases by 2.

Age. Aasimar mature at the same rate as humans, but they can live up to 160 years.

Size. Aasimar have the same range of height and weight as humans.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision. Blessed with a radiant soul, your vision can easily cut through darkness. 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.

Celestial Resistance. You have resistance to necrotic damage and radiant damage.

Healing Hands. As an action, you can touch a creature and cause it to regain a number of hit points equal to your level. Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.

Light Bearer. You know the Light cantrip. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for it.

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

Subrace. Three subraces of aasimar exist: protector aasimar, scourge aasimar, and fallen aasimar. Choose one of them for your character.

Fallen Aasimar

An aasimar who was touched by dark powers as a youth or who turns to evil in early adulthood can become one of the fallen-a group of aasimar whose inner light has been replaced by shadow.

Ability Score Increase: Your Strength score increases by 1.

Necrotic Shroud: Starting at 3rd level, you can use your action to unleash the divine energy within yourself, causing your eyes to turn into pools of darkness and two skeletal, ghostly, flightless wings to sprout from your back. The instant you transform, other creatures within 10 feet of you that can see you must each succeed on a Charisma saving throw (DC 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier) or become frightened of you until the end of your next turn.

Your transformation lasts for 1 minute or until you end it as a bonus action. During it, once on each of your turns, you can deal extra necrotic damage to one target when you deal damage to it with an attack or a spell. The extra necrotic damage equals your level.

Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.

Falling from Grace or Rising to it

With your DM's consent, you can change your character's subrace to fallen aasimar if your protector/scourge aasimar turns to evil. To do so, replace your subrace benefits, including the ability score increase, with those of a fallen aasimar.

Similarly, if your faJlen aasimar turns to good, your DM might allow you to become a protector or scourge aasimar.

41

PART 2 | VOLO'S GUIDE TO MONSTERS- AASIMAR

Aasimar Tables

This section provides several tables useful for players and DMs who want to create Aasimar characters.

Tables created by Brandes Stobbard

Flaws

d6	Flaws
1	I’m terrible at keeping secrets about myself, especially when it matters.
2	I have a wit so dry and biting that it causes conflicts I could have avoided with some tact.
3	Desire to protect my allies from harm causes me to risk myself too much and jeopardize the whole group.
4	Planning for long-term goals often gets in the way of short-term decisive action.
5	My mistrust for authority figures gets in my way, even when they are on my side.
6	My health and safety are my angelic progenitor’s great vulnerability.

42

PART 2 | VOLO'S GUIDE TO MONSTERS- AASIMAR

Firbolg

We spent three months tracking the green dragon before locating the forest in which it sought refuge. On our second day in that place, we woke to find the dragon's head placed in the center of our camp. Soveliss told me that firbolgs must have claimed the forest, and they wanted to show us we had no further business there. If we lingered, he assured me, our heads would be next.

Firbolg tribes cloister in remote forest strongholds, preferring to spend their days in quiet harmony with the woods. When provoked, firbolgs demonstrate formidable skills with weapons and druidic magic.

Firbolg Names

Firbolg adopt elven names when they must deal withoutsiders, although the concept of names strikes themas strange. They know the animals and plants of the forestwithout formal names, and instead identify the forest'schildren by their deeds, habits, and other actions.By the same token, their tribe names merely refer totheir homes. When dealing with other races, firbolgs referto their lands by whatever name the surrounding folkuse, as a matter of tact and hospitality, but among theirown kind they simply call it "home."Sometimes firbolgs adopt the nicknames or titles outsidersgive them under the assumption that those whoneed names can call them whatever they wish.

Firbolg Traits

Your firbolg character has the following racial traits.

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

Age. As humanoids related to the fey, firbolg have long lifespans. A firbolg reaches adulthood around 30, and the oldest of them can live for 500 years. Size: Firbolg are between 7 and 8 feet tall and weigh between 240 and 300 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Firbolg Magic. You can cast Detect Magic and Disguise Self with this trait, using Wisdom as your spellcasting ability for them. Once you cast either spell, you can't cast it again with this trait until you finish a short or long rest. When you use this version of Disguise Self, you can seem up to 3 feet shorter than normal, allowing you to more easily blend in with humans and elves.

Hidden Step. As a bonus action, you can magically turn Invisible until the start of your next turn or until you attack, make a damage roll, or force someone to make a saving throw. Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

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

Speech of Beast and Leaf. You have the ability to communicate in a limited manner with beasts and plants. They can understand the meaning of your words, though you have no special ability to understand them in return. You have advantage on all Charisma checks you make to influence them.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common, Elvish, and Giant.

44

PART 1 | PLAYERS HANDBOOK- FIRBOLG

Goliath

Goliaths can prove useful allies, but never turn to them in weakness. They are as hard and unforgiving as the mountain stone, as cold and pitiless as its bitter, cold winds. If you approach them in strength, they might consider you worthy of an alliance.

At the highest mountain peaks-far above the slopes where trees grow and where the air is thin and the frigid winds howl-dwell the reclusive goliaths. Few folk can claim to have seen a goliath, and fewer still can claim friendship with one. Goliaths wander a bleak realm of rock, wind, and cold. Their bodies look as if they are carved from mountain stone and give them great physical power. Their spirits take after the wandering wind, making them nomads who wander from peak to peak. Their hearts are infused with the cold regard of their frigid realm, leaving each goliath with the responsibility to earn a place in the tribe or die trying.

Goliath Names

Every goliath has three names: a birth name assigned by the newborn's mother and father, a nickname assigned by the tribal chief, and a family or clan name. A birth name is up to three syllables long. Clan names are five syllables or more and end in a vowel.

45

PART 1 | PLAYERS HANDBOOK- GOLIATH

Goliath Traits

Goliaths share a number of traits in common with each other.

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

Age. Goliaths have lifespans comparable to humans. They enter adulthood in their late teens and usually live less than a century.

Size. Goliaths are between 7 and 8 feet tall and weigh between 280 and 340 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Natural Athlete. You have proficiency in the Athletics skill.

Stone's Endurance. 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.

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

Mountain Born. You're acclimated to high altitude, including elevations above 20,000 feet. You're also naturally adapted to cold climates.

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

46

PART 1 | PLAYERS HANDBOOK- GOLIATH

Kenku

The map we found showed the entrance to the Priest King's treasure cache right in the middle of the ruined section of the city. We approached our destination,without issue, but as we arrived at the burned-out building, a sudden cacophony erupted around us. Birds squawked, cats hissed, and dogs growled. Lidda hustled us back to the city's safer avenues. Onry when we were back within the area patrolled by the guard did she explain that the noises indicated that the wingless folk had claimed that area, and that to trespass would be to court death.

Haunted by an ancient crime that robbed them of their wings, the kenku wander the world as vagabonds and burglars who live at the edge of human society. Kenku suffer from a sinister reputation that is not wholly unearned, but they can prove to be valuable allies.

Ideal Minions

Kenku gather in groups called flocks. A flock is led by the oldest and most experienced kenku with the widest store of knowledge to draw on, often called Master.

Although kenku can't create new things, they have a talent for learning and memorizing details. Thus, ambitious kenku can excel as superb spies and scouts. A kenku who learns of clever schemes and plans devised by other creatures can put them to use. The kenku lack the talent to improvise or alter a plan, but a wise Master sets multiple plans in motion at once, confident that underlings can follow orders to the letter.

For this reason, many kenku make an easy living serving as messengers, spies, and lookouts for thieves' guilds, bandits, and other criminal cartels. A network of kenku can relay a bird call or similar noise across the city, alerting their allies to the approach of a guard patrol or signaling a prime opportunity for a robbery.

47

PART 2 | VOLO'S GUIDE TO MONSTERS- KENKU

Kenku Adventurers

Kenku adventurers are usually the survivors of a flock that has sustained heavy losses, or a rare kenku who has grown weary of a life of crime. These kenku are more ambitious and daring than their fellows. Others strike out on their own in search of the secrets of flight, to master magic, or to uncover the secret of their curse and find a method to break it.

Kenku adventurers, despite their relative independence, still have a tendency to seek out a companion to emulate and follow. A kenku loves to mimic the voice and words of its chosen companion.

Kenku Names

Given that kenku can duplicate any sound, their names are drawn from a staggering variety of noises and phrases. Kenku names tend to break down into three categories that make no distinction between male and female names.

Kenku thugs, warriors, and toughs adopt noises made by weapons, such as the clang of a mace against armor or the sound made by a breaking bone. Non-kenku refer to the kenku by describing this noise. Examples of this type of name include Smasher, Clanger, Slicer, and Basher.

Kenku thieves, con artists, and burglars adopt animal noises, typically those common in urban settings. In this manner, kenku can call out to each other while those who overhear them mistake them for common animals.

Non-kenku use names that refer to the sound made or the animal a kenku mimics, such as Rat Scratch, Whistler, Mouser, and Growler.

Some kenku turn their back on crime to pursue legitimate trades. These kenku adopt noises made as part of their craft. A sailor duplicates the sound of a fluttering sail, while a smith mimics the clanging of a hammer on metal. Non-kenku describe these folk by their trade sounds, such as Sail Snap, Hammerer, and Cutter.

Kenku Traits

Your kenku character has the following racial traits.

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

Age. Kenku have shorter lifespans than humans. They reach maturity at about 12 years old and can live to 60.

Size. Kenku are around 5 feet tall and weigh between 90 and 120 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Expert Forgery. You can duplicate other creatures' handwriting and craftwork. You have advantage on all checks made to produce forgeries or duplicates of existing objects.

Kenku Training. You are proficient in your choice of two of the following skills: Acrobatics, Deception, Stealth, and Sleight of Hand.

Mimicry. You can mimic sounds you have heard, including voices. A creature that hears the sounds you make can tell they are imitations with a successful Wisdom (Insight) check opposed by your Charisma (Deception) check.

Languages. You can read and write Common and Auran, but you can speak only by using your Mimicry trait.

48

PART 2 | VOLO'S GUIDE TO MONSTERS- KENKU

Hapless Soft Ones

At their core, lizardfolk view other humanoids with an indifference verging on pity. Born into the world lacking stout scales and sharp teeth, it's a wonder they have managed to survive for so long. The typical human would barely make it through a day in the swamps.

Still, if other creatures prove useful to lizardfolk, those creatures can trigger a prote,ctive response made all the stronger by their apparent weakness. The lizardfolk assess such beings as hatchlings, young ones incapable of protecting themselves but who might prove useful in the future if they receive care.

Lizardfolk Personality

You can use the Lizardfolk Quirks table to determine a personality quirk for a lizardfolk character or to inspire a unique mannerism.

Lizardfolk Names

Lizardfolk take their names from the Draconic language. They use simple descriptives granted by the tribe based on an individual's notable deeds or actions. For example, Garurt translates as "axe," a name given to a lizardfolk warrior who defeated an ore and claimed his foe's weapon. A lizardfolk who likes to hide in a stand of reeds before ambushing an animal might be called Achuak, which means "green" to describe how she blends into the foliage.

Lizardfolk make no distinction between male and female in their naming conventions. Each example name includes its translation in parenthesis.

Lizardfolk Names: Achuak (green), Aryte (war), Baeshra

(animal), Darastrix (dragon), Garurt (axe), Irhtos

(secret), Jhank (hammer), Kepesk (storm), Kethend

(gem), Korth (danger), Kosj (small), Kothar (demon), Litrix

(armor), Mirik (song), Othokent (smart), Sauriv (eye),

Throden (many), Thurkear (night), Usk (iron), Valignat

(burn), Vargach (battle), Verthica (mountain), Vutha

(black), Vyth (steel)

Lizardfolk Traits

Your lizardfolk character has the following racial traits.

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

Age. Lizardfolk reach maturity around age 14 and rarely live longer than 60 years.

Size. Lizardfolk are a little bulkier and taller than humans, and their colorful frills make them appear even larger. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet, and you have a swimming speed of 30 feet.

Bite. Your fanged maw is a natural weapon, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with it, you deal piercing damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.

Cunning Artisan. As part of a short rest, you can harvest bone and hide from a slain beast, construct, dragon, monstrosity, or plant creature of size Small or larger to create one of the following items: a shield, a club, a javelin, or 1d4 darts or blowgun needles. To use this trait, you need a blade, such as a dagger, or appropriate artisan's tools, such as leatherworker's tools.

Hold Breath. You can hold your breath for up to 15 minutes at a time.

Hunter's Lore. You gain proficiency with two of the following skills of your choice: Animal Handling, Nature, Perception, Stealth, and Survival.

Natural Armor. You have tough, scaly skin. When you aren't wearing armor, your AC is 13 + your Dexterity modifier. You can use your natural armor to determine your AC if the armor you wear would leave you with a lower AC. A shield's benefits apply as normal while you use your natural armor.

Hungry Jaws. In battle, you can throw yourself into a vicious feeding frenzy. As a bonus action, you can make a special attack with your bite. If the attack hits, it deals its normal damage, and you gain temporary hit points (minimum of 1) equal to your Constitution modifier, and you can't use this trait again until you finish a short or long rest.

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

Tabaxi

We had a Tabaxi come through once, a few winters back. She kept the taproom packed each night with her stories and spent most days napping in a chair in front of the fireplace. We thought she was lazy, but when Linene came around looking for a missing broach, she was out the door before I could blink an eye.

-Toblen Stonehill, innkeeper

Hailing from a strange and distant land, wandering tabaxi are catlike humanoids driven by curiosity to collect interesting artifacts, gather tales and stories, and lay eyes on all the world's wonders. Ultimate travelers, the inquisitive tabaxi rarely stay in one place for long. Their innate nature pushes them to leave no secrets uncovered, no treasures or legends lost.

Tabaxi Personality

A tabaxi might have motivations and quirks much different from a dwarf or an elf with a similar background. You can use the following tables to customize your character in addition to the trait, ideal, bond, and flaw from your background.

The Tabaxi Obsession table can help hone your character's goals. For extra fun, roll a new result every few days that pass in the campaign to reflect your ever-changing curiosity.

Tabaxi Traits

Your tabaxi character has the following racial traits.

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

Age. Tabaxi have lifespans equivalent to humans.

Size. Tabaxi are taller on average than humans and relatively slender. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision. You have a cat's keen senses, especially in the dark. 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.

Feline Agility. Your reflexes and agility allow you to move with a burst of speed. When you move on your turn in combat, you can double your speed until the end of the turn. Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until you move 0 feet on one of your turns.

Cat's Claws. Because of your claws, you have a climbing speed of 20 feet. In addition, your claws are natural weapons, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with them, you deal slashing damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.

Cat's Talent. You have proficiency in the Perception and Stealth skills.

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

52

PART 2 | VOLO'S GUIDE TO MONSTERS- TABAXI

Triton

Ah, the Tritons. Imagine if the elves spent a few centuries far beneath the sea, where their arrogance and pretension could grow undisturbed. At least the tritons spent that time fighting sahuagin and worse, so you know you can count on them in a fight.

-Brego Stoneheart, sea captain

Tritons guard the ocean depths, building small settlements beside deep trenches, portals to the elemental planes, and other dangerous spots far from the eyes of land-bound folk. Long-established guardians of the deep ocean floor, in recent years the noble tritons have become increasingly active in the world above.

Staunch Champions

Despite their off-putting manners, tritons are benevolent creatures at heart, convinced that other civilized races deserve their protection. Their attitude might grate, but when pirate fleets prowl the waves or a kraken awakens from its slumber, they are among the first to take up arms to protect others.

Tritons readily sacrifice themselves for the common good. They will fight and die for humans, merfolk, and other creatures without question. Their self-absorbed nature makes them overlook the history of other creatures, but they also endure a sense of guilt over allowing the evils of the Plane of Water to enter the Material Plane and threaten its inhabitants. The tritons believe they owe a debt of honor to the world, and they will fight and die to pay it.

At times their fervor and ignorance of the world can lead them astray. Tritons encountering other creatures for the first time can underestimate them, leaving the tritons vulnerable to deception. With their strong martial tradition, tritons can sometimes be too eager to leap into a fight.

53

PART 2 | VOLO'S GUIDE TO MONSTERS- TRITON

Strangers to the Surface

Given their isolation, most tritons have never been to the surface world. They struggle with the idea that they can't easily move up and down out of water, and the changing of the seasons mystifies them.

Tritons also find the variety of social institutions, kingdoms, and other customs bewildering. For all their proud culture, they remain innocent of the surface world. The typical triton protectorate is tightly regimented, organized, and unified around a common cause. A triton on the surface becomes easily confused by the bewildering array of alliances, rivalries, and petty grievances that prevent the surface folk from truly unifying.

At its worst, a triton's arrogance compounds the tendency for the triton. not to understand the ways of the surface world. It's easy for a triton to blame baffling social practices on what the triton perceives as the barbarism, weakness, or cowardice of surface folk.

Triton Personality

Far from flawless, these champions of good mean well, but they are easily frustrated by others. You can select, roll, or adapt a triton-specific quirk from the Triton Quirks table. Use the quirk to inform how you portray your character.

Triton Names

Most triton names have two or three syllables. Male names typically end with a vowel and the letter s, and female names traditionally end with an n. Tritons use their home protectorate as a surname, with the name formed by adding a vowel followed by a "th" to the end of the protectorate's name.
Female Triton Names: Aryn, Belthyn, Duthyn, Feloren,

Otanyn, Shalryn, Vlaryn, Wolyn
Male Triton Names: Corus, Delnis, Jhimas, Keros, Molos,

Nalos, Vodos, Zunis
Triton Surnames: Ahlorsath, Pumanath, Vuuvaxath

Triton Traits

Your triton character has the following racial traits.

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

Age. Tritons reach maturity around age 15 and can live up to 200 years.

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

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet, and you have a swimming speed of 30 feet.

Amphibious. You can breathe air and water.

Control Air and Water. As a child of the sea, you can call on the magic of elemental air and water. You can cast Fog Cloud with this trait. Starting at 3rd level, you can cast Gust of Wind with it, and starting at 5th level, you can also cast Wall of Water with it. Once you cast a spell with this trait, you can't do so again until you finish a long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

Emissary of the Sea. Aquatic beasts have an extraordinary affinity with your people. You can communicate simple ideas with beasts that can breathe water. They can understand the meaning of your words, though you have no special ability to understand them in return.

Guardians of the Depths. Adapted to even the most extreme ocean depths, you have resistance to cold damage, and you ignore any of the drawbacks caused by a deep, underwater environment.

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

54

PART 2 | VOLO'S GUIDE TO MONSTERS- TRITON

Monstrous Adventurers

In some campaigns, humanoids normally regarded as sinister threats can emerge to adventure alongside humans and the other standard races. This section is aimed at DMs who wish to expand the race selections for their campaigns beyond the typical folk of D&D.

Friends or Enemies?

Figure out what special ties the character has to other members of the adventuring party. An ore warlock might be the dwarf ranger's sworn enemy, but the two are forced to work together to defeat a mutual foe. Perhaps the kobold sorcerer was the tiefiing wizard's familiar, transformed by an irate archmage in return for some petty insult. The hobgoblin paladin might have been human once, but crossed the wrong hag and was cursed to take on an evil guise. A creative tie betw:een a monstrous character and the rest of the party helps make for a memorable campaign.

The Monstrous Origin table gives a number of ideas for adding a monstrous character to the campaign.

Monstrous Origin

|d8|| Origin| |:----:||:-| |l|| You are a spy sent to undermine your enemies from within.| |2|| You are the victim of a curse or polymorph spelll.| |3|| You were raised by humans, elves, or dwarves and have adopted their culture.| |4|| At a young age, you adopted a human religion and now serve it faithfully.| |5|| You received divine insight that sent you on your path, and occasionally receive new visions that guide you| |6|| Your sworn enemy is an ally of your people, forcing you to leave your tribe to gain vengeance.| |7|| An evil entity corrupted your people's society.| |8|| An injury or strange event caused you to lose all memory of your past, but occasional flashes of it return to you.|

55

PART 2 | VOLO'S GUIDE TO MONSTERS- MONSTEROUS RACES

Racial Traits

The game traits of the monstrous races are given here. Some of these races are unusual in that they have a reduction to an ability score, and some are more or less powerful than the typical D&D races-additional reasons for the monstrous races to be used in a campaign with care.

Hobgoblin

Your hobgoblin character has the following racial traits. Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2, and your Intelligence score increases by 1.

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

Size. Hobgoblins are between 5 and 6 feet tall and weigh between 150 and 200 pounds. 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.

Martial Training. You are proficient with two martial weapons of your choice and with light armor.

Saving Face. Hobgoblins are careful not to show weakness in front of their allies, for fear of losing status. If you miss with an attack roll or fail an ability check or a saving throw, you can gain a bonus to the roll equal to the number of allies you can see within 30 feet of you (maximum bonus of +5). Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

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

Orc

Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2, your Constitution score increases by 1, and your Intelligence score is reduced by 2.

Age. Orcs reach adulthood at age 12 and live up to 50 years.

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. 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.

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.

Menacing. You are trained in the Intimidation skill.

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.

Yuan-ti Pureblood

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.

Magic Resistance. You have advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.

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

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

Height and Weight

You may roll for your character's height and weight on the Random Height and Weight table. The roll in the Height Modifier column adds a number (in inches) to the character's base height. To get a weight, multiply the number you rolled for height by the roll in the Weight Modifier column and add the result (in pounds) to the base weight.

Random Height and Weight

Race	Base Height	Base Weight	Height Modifier	Weight Modifier
Aasimar	4'8"	110 lb.	+2dl0	X (2d4) lb;
Bugbear	6'0"	200 lb.	+2d12	X (2d6) lb.
Firbolg	6'2"	175 lb.	+2dl2	X (2d~) lb,
Goblin	3'5"	35 lb.	+2d4	X l lb.
Goliath	6'2"	200 lb.	+2d10	X (2d6) lb.
Hobgoblin	4'8"	110 lb.	+2dl0	X (2d4) lb.
Kenku	4'4"	50 lb.	+2d8	X (ld6) lb.
Kobold	2'1"	25 lb.	+2d4	X l lb.
Lizardfolk	4'9"	120 lb.	+2dl0	X (2d6) lb.
Ore	5'4"	175 lb.	+2d8	X (2d6) lb.
Tabaxi	4'10"	90 lb.	+2dl0	X (2d4) lb.
Triton	4'6"	90 lb.	+2dl0	X (2d4) lb.
Yuan-ti	4'8"	110 lb.	+2dl0	X (2d4) lb.

57

PART 2 | VOLO'S GUIDE TO MONSTERS- MONSTEROUS RACES

Other Core Releases - Mordenkainen's Tomb of Foes

Githyanki

Since winning their freedom from the mind flayers, the githyanki have become corrupt raiders and destroyers under the rulership of their dread lich-queen, Vlaakith.

They dwell on the Astral Plane in the city of Tu'narath, a metropolis built on and in the corpse of a deity. Vlaakith commands the loyalty of the githyanki from her personal stronghold, Susurrus, also called the Palace of Whispers, which is located deep inside the floating city. She sits on her Throne of Bones, a mighty artifact fueled by the intellects of mind flayers and elder brains that were defeated by her minions. It is crafted from mind flayer skulls and extremities, and the cushion she sits on is made of leather produced from the cured remains of an elder brain. A grand statue of Gith, an obsidian monument over 100 feet tall, stands beside the palace.

Knights: A Breed Apart

I AM HER WILL MADE MANIFEST.
I am her unsheathed sword.
I am a master of dragons.
I am thefate of all worlds.
I am a knight of Vlaakith.
Ever may she reign.

-Battle hymn of the githyanki knights

Githyanki knights are warriors, spellcasters, and scouts of exceptional ability devoted to the unflagging service of Vlaakith. Knights report directly to the queen and aren't part of the military hierarchy. The personnel for any important mission includes at least one knight, and every githyanki fortress or outpost across the multiverse is administered by at least one knight in residence. Knights are selected for their roles based on their martial and psionic potential, and young githyanki who pass muster are inducted into service soon after they enter Tu'narath for the first time.

Knights are always involved in important decisions, and it is forbidden to keep secrets from them. They act as commissars and enforcers ofVlaakith's will. They are the rough equivalent of religious figures in githyanki culture, although the githyanki have no priests or clerics of normal sort.

Two aspects of their nature set knights apart from other githyanki. Each knight wields a cherished silver greatsword that imparts special powers to its owner, and the knights are among the few githyanki who can not only travel psionically between planes, but can also take allies along with them. Knights often emerge from planar travel astride the backs of red dragons, which have been serving the githyanki as allies ever since their time of enslavement under the mind flayers.

58

PART 3 | OTHER CORE RELEASES - GITH

Silver Swords

The first silver swords were created eons ago, when the gith were still a single race, by those who would become the first githyanki knights. A silver sword, which functions as a +3 greatsword, is a conduit through which its wielder can assail a foe both physically and psychically. The weapon is particularly effective on the Astral Plane against any travelers who are connected to their physical bodies by a silver cord- a strike against such an enemy has a chance of severing the silver cord, causing instant death.

Knights and their silver swords arc inseparable, and a knight will fight to the death to prevent the loss of its weapon. If a silver sword falls into the possession of someone other than a githyanki, Vlaakith sends a squad of knights out from Tu'narath to destroy the malefactor and recover the weapon.

Dragon Steeds

The relationship between githyanki and red dragons has remained basically unchanged since ancient times. Under the terms of the alliance with Tia mat, a small cadre of dragons serve as cohorts and mounts for knights . and other high-ranking githyanki. The dragons remain above githyanki politics. They obey the orders of their riders and fulfill their terms of service without offering opinions or advice.

Red dragons typically serve the githyanki during their younger years. Once a dragon reaches adulthood, it is dismissed and replaced with a younger dragon, taking with it the loot it has accumulated on raids.

Since dragons don't age while on the Astral Plane, they don't grow in size or capability. In order to become both stronger and richer, they prefer to spend as much time as possible engaged in raids on the Material Plane or other realms. The best duty of all for a dragon is being tasked to guard a githyanki creche on the Material Plane, a posting that could last for years. Not only does it receive treasure as compensation, the dragon ages normally while completing its service, so that it reaches adulthood sooner than the dragon cohorts that are stationed in Tu'narath.

The dragons that are bound to serve githyanki consider their assignment an irritant but aren't hostile. They resent their masters, but the promise of loot makes them eager to participate in raids. As part of the compact with Tiamat, the githyanki are forbidden from using psionics or magic to compel their dragon allies' actions or read their minds. A dragon remains a loyal ally as long as its riders and handlers treat it with respect and it gets plenty of opportunities to pillage.

Githyanki Traits

The brutal githyanki are trained from birth as warriors. Your character shares the following traits with other gith.

Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 1, and your Strength score increases by 2.

Age. Gith reach adulthood in their late teens and live for about a century.

Size. Gith are taller and leaner than humans, with most a slender 6 feet in height. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Decadent Mastery. You learn one language of your choice, and you are proficient with one skill or tool of your choice.

Martial Prodigy. You are proficient with light and medium armor, and with shortswords, longswords, and greatswords.

Githyanki Psionics. You know the Mage Hand cantrip, and the hand is invisible when you cast the cantrip with this trait. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast Jump once with this trait, and you regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. When you reach 5th level, you can cast the Misty Step spell once with this trait, and you regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for these spells. When you cast them with this trait, they don’t require components.

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

59

PART 3 | OTHER CORE RELEASES - GITH

Githzerai

The githzerai were born as a race at the end of the gith's bloody, genocidal uprising against the mind flayers. A gith named Zerthimon, who had gained a significant following during the conflict, challenged Gith's plans and her leadership. Gith was evil, the newcomer proclaimed, and she would lead the people into darkness and tyranny not unlike the one imposed by the illithids.

Thus, no sooner had the gith defeated their sworn enemies than they were plunged into a bitter civil war. In the ensuing conflict, Zerthimon was killed and his followers, naming themselves githzerai, relocated their civilization to the plane of Limbo.

Today, under the leadership of the Great Githzerai, Zaerith Menyar-Ag-Gith, the githzerai continue to stand fast against the githyanki, as well as taking their revenge on the mind flayers. Through forays into the Material Plane and other realms, they provide stiff opposition to their enemies' plans for world domination.

Githzerai Traits

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

Age. Gith reach adulthood in their late teens and live for about a century.

Size. Gith are taller and leaner than humans, with most a slender 6 feet in height. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Mental Discipline. You have advantage on saving throws against the charmed and frightened conditions.

Githzerai Psionics. You know the Mage Hand cantrip, and the hand is invisible when you cast the cantrip with this trait. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast Shield once with this trait, and you regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. When you reach 5th level, you can cast the Detect Thoughts spell once with this trait, and you regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for these spells. When you cast them with this trait, they don’t require components.

Languages: You can speak, read, and write Common and Gith.

61

PART 3 | OTHER CORE RELEASES - GITH

Tortle Names

Tortles perfer simple, non-gender-specific names that are usually no more than two syllables. If a tortle doesn't like its name for whatever reason, it can change it. A tortle might change its name a dozen times in its life. Tortles don't have surnames or family names.
Male and Female Names: Baka, Damu, Gar, Gura, Ini,

Jappa, John, Kinlek, Krull, Lim, Lop, Nortle, Nulka, Olo,

Ploqwat, Quee, Queg, Quott, Sunny, Tibor, Ubo, Uhok,

Wabu, Xelbuk, Xopa, Yog

Tortle Traits

Your tortle character gains traits that enable it to cope with the perils of a savage world.

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

Age. Young tortles crawl for a few weeks after birth before learning to walk on two legs. They reach adulthood by the age of 15 and live an average of 50 years.

Size. Tortle adults stand 5 to 6 feet tall and average 450 pounds. Their shells account for roughly one third of their weight. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Claws. Your claws are natural weapons, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with them, you deal slashing damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.

Hold Breath. You can hold your breath for up to 1 hour at a time. Tortles aren't natural swimmers, but they can remain underwater for some time before needing to come up for air.

Natural Armor. Due to your shell and the shape of your body, you are ill-suited to wearing armor. Your shell provides ample protection, however; it gives you a base AC of 17 (your Dexterity modifier doesn't affect this number). You gain no benefit from wearing armor, but if you are using a shield, you can apply the shield's bonus as normal.

Shell Defense. You can withdraw into your shell as an action. Until you emerge, you gain a +4 bonus to AC, and you have advantage on Strength and Constitution saving throws. While in your shell, you are prone, your speed is 0 and can't increase, you have disadvantage on Dexterity saving throws, you can't take reactions, and the only action you can take is a bonus action to emerge from your shell.

Survival Instinct. You gain proficiency in the Survival skill.
             Tortles have finely honed survival instincts.

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

63

PART 3 | OTHER CORE RELEASES - TORTLES

One Grung Above

Grungs

"Sentient, poisonous frogs that live in trees. Truly, the gods hate us."

-Volo, Volo's Guide to Monsters

Grungs were poisonous frog-like amphibious humanoids that lived in trees. Their society was organized in castes determined by each grung's color.

Grungs preferred to live in shady areas, and needed to remain in constant proximity to water. Their tadpoles developed in ground pools, already separated by caste. All grungs continuously secreted a poisonous substance that was harmless to them.

In addition to their naturally poisonous nature, grungs also poisoned their weapons. Each color of grung poison caused a different ailment in their victims.

Grung Society

Grung society is a caste system. Each caste lays eggs in a separate hatching pool, and juvenile grungs join their caste upon emergence from the hatchery. All grungs are a dull greenish gray when they are born, but each individual takes on the color of its caste as it grows to adulthood. Each grung's place was determined by its color:

Green Warriors, hunters, and general laborers.

Blue Artisans and domestic workers.

Purple Supervisors of the green and blue grungs.

Red Scholars and magic users. Also known as grung wildlings, they were superior to purple, green and blue castes, and respected even by higher castes.

Orange Elite warriors, with authority over all lesser grungs.

Gold Also elite warriors, with the highest leadership positions. Every tribe leader was a gold grung.

Some mobility was possible between the castes, in cases of valuable contributions and great deeds, by the use of ritual magic and herbal compounds.

Grung tribes also made extensive use of slavery, and were always looking for new creatures to enslave. They kept their slaves at bay by poisoning their food in order to inflict lethargy on them. Over extended periods of time, the effects of such poisoning could only be removed by magic.

Grung Names

To non-grungs, names sound just like any other frogesque noise. However in Grung language these are gender neutral identifiers for each member of the tribe

Male and Female Names: Koko, Le'Pad, B'loop, B'leep, B'lop, B'Ang'r'Ang, B'Lip, D'Ahten'Khan, C'Ahbulos, B'Lahp

Grung Traits

Your grung character has an assortment of inborn abilities, part and parcel of grung nature

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

Age. Grungs mature to adulthood in a single year, but have been known to live up to 50 years.

Alignment. Most grungs are lawful, having been raised in a strict caste system. They tend toward evil as well, coming from a culture where social advancement

occurs rarely, and most often because another member of your army has died and there is no one else of that caste to fill the vacancy. Arboreal Alertness. You have proficiency in the Perception skill.

Size. Grungs stand between 2 ½ and 3 ½ feet tall and average about 30 pounds. Your size is Small.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet, and you have a climbing speed of 25 feet.

Amphibious. You can breathe air and water. Poison Immunity. You’re immune to poison damage and the poisoned condition.

Poisonous Skin. Any creature that grapples you or otherwise comes into direct contact with your skin must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or become poisoned for 1 minute. A poisoned creature no longer in direct contact with you can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.

You can also apply this poison to any piercing weapon as part of an attack with that weapon, though when you hit the poison reacts differently. The target must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or take 2d4 poison damage.

Standing Leap. Your long jump is up to 25 feet and your high jump is up to 15 feet, with or without a running start.

Water Dependency. If you fail to immerse yourself in water for at least 1 hour during a day, you suffer one level of exhaustion at the end of that day. You can only recover from this exhaustion through magic or by immersing yourself in water for at least 1 hour.

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

64

PART 3 | OTHER CORE RELEASES - GRUNGS

Aarakocra in the Forgotten Realms

Never well established in Faerûn, aarakocra have only four major colonies: in the Star Mounts within the High Forest, in the Storm Horns in Cormyr, in the Cloven Mountains on the Vilhon Reach, and in the Mistcliffs in Chult.

Those colonies established in the Star Mounts, closest to the Dessarin Valley, were ever a secretive and guarded people, only spotted during their flights over the High Forest. A cruel and rapacious green dragon nearly wiped out the population and scattered the survivors. These aarakocra and their descendants have sworn vengeance against the dragon and may be seen scouring the lands of the North and Cormyr for signs of their foe.

Their only remaining settlement lies on the slopes of the Star Mounts’ southernmost mountains. At the headwaters of the Unicorn Run, the Last Aerie is home to several dozen aarakocra. Recently, aarakocra elders detected changes in the prevailing winds that they regarded as a bad omen.

Unlike the aarakocra of other worlds on the Material Plane, the aarakocra of the Realms rarely travel to the Elemental Plane of Air.

Great Purpose

Aarakocra enjoy peace and solitude. Most of them have little interest in dealing with other peoples and less interest in spending time on the ground. For this reason, it takes an exceptional circumstance for an aarakocra to leave his or her tribe and undertake the adventurer’s life. Neither treasure nor glory is enough to lure them from their tribes; a dire threat to their people, a mission of vengeance, or a catastrophe typically lies at the heart of the aarakocra adventurer’s chosen path.

Two other circumstances might call an aarakocra to adventure. First, aarakocra have historical ties to the Wind Dukes of Aqaa. Exceptional individuals honor that connection and might seek out the missing pieces of the Rod of Seven Parts, the remains of an artifact fashioned by the Wind Dukes long ago to defeat the Queen of Chaos’s monstrous champion, Miska the Wolf-Spider. When plunged into Miska’s body, the chaos in his blood sundered the rod and scattered its pieces across the multiverse. Recovering the pieces means gaining honor and esteem in the eyes of the vaati who forged it and could possibly restore a powerful weapon for defense against the agents of elemental evil.

Second, aarakocra are sworn foes of elemental earth, in particular the gargoyles that serve Ogrémoch, the Prince of Earth. The Aarakocra word for gargoyle is loosely translated as “flying rock,” and battles between aarakocra and gargoyles have raged across the Elemental Planes of Earth and Air, occasionally spilling into a world on the Material Plane. Aarakocra on that plane might leave their colonies to lend aid to other humanoids committed to fighting earth cults and thwarting their efforts.

Aarakocra Names

As with much of their speech, aarakocra names include clicks, trills, and whistles to the point that other peoples have a difficult time pronouncing them. Typically, a name has two to four syllables with the sounds acting as connectors. When interacting with other races, aarakocra may use nicknames gained from people they meet or shortened forms of their full names.

An aarakocra of either gender may have one of these short names: Aera, Aial, Aur, Deekek, Errk, Heehk, Ikki, Kleeck, Oorr, Ouss, Quaf, Quierk, Salleek, Urreek, or Zeed.

Aarakocra Traits

As an aarakocra, you have certain traits in common with your people. Being able to fly at high speed starting at 1st level is exceptionally effective in certain circumstances and exceedingly dangerous in others. As a result, playing an aarakocra requires special consideration by your DM.

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

Age. Aarakocra reach maturity by age 3. Compared to humans, aarakocra don’t usually live longer than 30 years.

Alignment. Most aarakocra are good and rarely choose sides when it comes to law and chaos. Tribal leaders and warriors might be lawful, while explorers and adventurers might tend toward chaotic.

Size. Aarakocra are about 5 feet tall. They have thin, lightweight bodies that weigh between 80 and 100 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet.

Flight. You have a flying speed of 50 feet. To use this speed, you can’t be wearing medium or heavy armor.

Talons. You are proficient with your unarmed strikes, which deal 1d4 slashing damage on a hit.

Language. You can speak, read, and write Common, Aarakocra, and Auran.

Air Genasi

As an air genasi, you are descended from the djinn. As changeable as the weather, your moods shift from calm to wild and violent with little warning, but these storms rarely last long.

Air genasi typically have light blue skin, hair, and eyes. A faint but constant breeze accompanies them, tousling the hair and stirring the clothing. Some air genasi speak with breathy voices, marked by a faint echo. A few display odd patterns in their flesh or grow crystals from their scalps.

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 1.

Unending Breath. You can hold your breath indefinitely while you’re not incapacitated.

Mingle with the Wind. You can cast the levitate spell once with this trait, requiring no material components, and you regain the ability to cast it this way when you finish a long rest. Constitution is your spellcasting ability for this spell.

Earth Genasi

As an earth genasi, you are descended from the cruel and greedy dao, though you aren’t necessarily evil. You have inherited some measure of control over earth, reveling in superior strength and solid power. You tend to avoid rash decisions, pausing long enough to consider your options before taking action.

Elemental earth manifests differently from one individual to the next. Some earth genasi always have bits of dust falling from their bodies and mud clinging to their clothes, never getting clean no matter how often they bathe. Others are as shiny and polished as gemstones, with skin tones of deep brown or black, eyes sparkling like agates. Earth genasi can also have smooth metallic flesh, dull iron skin spotted with rust, a pebbled and rough hide, or even a coating of tiny embedded crystals. The most arresting have fissures in their flesh, from which faint light shines.

Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 1.

Earth Walk. You can move across difficult terrain made of earth or stone without expending extra movement.

Merge with Stone. You can cast the pass without trace spell once with this trait, requiring no material components, and you regain the ability to cast it this way when you finish a long rest. Constitution is your spellcasting ability for this spell.

Fire Genasi

As a fire genasi, you have inherited the volatile mood and keen mind of the efreet. You tend toward impatience and making snap judgments. Rather than hide your distinctive appearance, you exult in it.

Nearly all fire genasi are feverishly hot as if burning inside, an impression reinforced by flaming red, coalblack, or ash-gray skin tones. The more human-looking have fiery red hair that writhes under extreme emotion, while more exotic specimens sport actual flames dancing on their heads. Fire genasi voices might sound like crackling flames, and their eyes flare when angered. Some are accompanied by the faint scent of brimstone.

Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 1.

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. Your ties to the Elemental Plane of Fire make your darkvision unusual: everything you see in darkness is in a shade of red.

Fire Resistance. You have resistance to fire damage.

Reach to the Blaze. You know the produce flame cantrip. Once you reach 3rd level, you can cast the burning hands spell once with this trait as a 1st-level spell, and you regain the ability to cast it this way when you finish a long rest. Constitution is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

Water Genasi

The lapping of waves, the spray of sea foam on the wind, the ocean depths—all of these things call to your heart. You wander freely and take pride in your independence, though others might consider you selfish. Most water genasi look as if they just finished bathing, with beads of moisture collecting on their skin and hair. They smell of fresh rain and clean water. Blue or green skin is common, and most have somewhat overlarge eyes, blue-black in color. A water genasi’s hair might float freely, swaying and waving as if underwater. Some have voices with undertones reminiscent of whale song or trickling streams

Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 1.

Acid Resistance. You have resistance to acid damage.

Amphibious. You can breathe air and water.

Swim. You have a swimming speed of 30 feet.

Call to the Wave. You know the shape water cantrip (see chapter 2). When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the create or destroy water spell as a 2nd-level spell once with this trait, and you regain the ability to cast it this way when you finish a long rest. Constitution is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron

Eberron can be home to any of the creatures found across the multiverse of Dungeons & Dragons. Humans, gnomes, elves, and orcs have all made their marks on the continent of Khorvaire. However, the creatures of Eberron can be quite different from their counterparts on other worlds. The orcs of Eberron include druids and paladins who fight to defend the world from demons and aberrations. The Valenar elves are fierce warriors, and the Talenta halflings are brave nomads who cross the plains on dinosaur mounts.

This chapter presents four new races that were originally developed for the Eberron campaign setting.

Changelings

Long ago there was a woman named Jes, and she had one hundred children Her rivals conspired against her and swore to kill her children. Jes begged the Sovereigns for help, but their only answer was the wind and rain In the depths of her despair, a lonely traveler took her hand “I will protect your children if they follow my path. Let them wander the world They may be shunned and feared, but they will never be destroyed ” Jes agreed, and the traveler gave her his cloak. When she draped it over her children their old faces melted away, and they could be whoever they wanted to be. And so it remains. Though the Children are shunned by all, the gift of the Traveler protects them still.

— Chance, changeling priest

A changeling can shift its face and form with a thought. Many changelings use this gift as a form of artistic and emotional expression, but it is an invaluable tool for grifters, spies, and others who wish to deceive. This leads many people to treat known changelings with fear and suspicion.

Hidden People

Changelings are spread across Khorvaire. Wherever humans can be found, there are changelings; the question is whether their presence is known.

Changelings are born to one of three paths. A few are born and raised in stable communities, where changelings are true to their nature and deal openly with the people around them. Some are orphans, raised by other races, who find their way in the world without ever knowing another like themselves. Still others are part of the nomadic changeling clans spread across the Five Nations who keep their true nature hidden from the single-skins. Some of these clans maintain safe havens in major cities and communities, but most prefer to wander, following the unpredictable path of the Traveler.

In creating a changeling adventurer, consider the character’s relationships with the people around them. Does the character conceal their true changeling nature, or do they embrace it? Do they have connections to a changeling community or clan, or are they alone and in search of companions?

Masks and Personas

In their natural form, changelings are slender and pale with colorless eyes and silver-white hair. A changeling can alter its physical appearance with a thought. While this can be used to deceive others, it is a natural form of expression for the changeling. A changeling shifts shapes the way others might change clothes. A casual shape—one created on the spur of the moment, with no depth or history—is called a mask. A changeling mask can be used to express a mood or to serve a specific purpose and then never used again. However, many changelings develop identities that have more depth. They build an identity over time, crafting a persona, with history and beliefs. This focused identity helps a changeling pinpoint a particular skill or emotion. A changeling adventurer might have personas for many situations, including negotiation, investigation, and combat. Personas can be shared by multiple changelings; there might be three healers in a community, but whoever is on duty will adopt the persona of Tek, the kindly old medic. Personas can even be passed down through a family, allowing a younger changeling to take advantage of contacts established by previous users of the persona.

Changeling Names

A changeling might use a different name for each mask and persona, adopting new names as easily as they develop new faces. The true name of a changeling tends to be monosyllabic; however, there are often accents to a changeling’s name that are expressed through shapeshifting, something single-skins will likely miss. For instance, two changelings might have the name Jin, but one is Jin-with-vivid-blue-eyes and one is Jin-with-golden-cheeks.

Changelings have a fluid relationship with gender, seeing it as one characteristic to change among many others.

Changeling Names: Bin, Cas, Dox, Fie, Hars, Jin,

Lam, Mas, Nix, Ot, Paik, Ruz, Sim, Toox, Vil, Yug

70

PART 5 | WAYFINDER'S GUIDE TO EBERRON - CHANGELING

Changeling Traits

Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 2, and either your Dexterity or your Intelligence increases by 1 (your choice).

Age. Changelings mature slightly faster than humans but share a similar lifespan—typically a century or less. While a changeling can shapeshift to conceal their age, the effects of aging still catch up to them.

Alignment. Changelings hate to be bound in any way, and those who follow the path of the Traveler believe that chaos and change are important aspects of life. Most tend toward pragmatic neutrality as opposed to being concerned with lofty ideals. Few changelings embrace evil.

Size. In their natural forms, changelings average between 5 and 6 feet in height, with a slender build. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Change Appearance. As an action, you can transform your appearance or revert to your natural form. You can’t duplicate the appearance of a creature you’ve never seen, and you revert to your natural form if you die.

You decide what you look like, including your height, weight, facial features, the sound of your voice, coloration, hair length, sex, and any other distinguishing characteristics. You can make yourself appear as a member of another race, though none of your game statistics change. You also can’t appear as a creature of a different size than you, and your basic shape stays the same; if you’re bipedal, you can’t use this trait to become quadrupedal, for instance.Your clothing and other equipment don’t change in appearance, size, or shape to match your new form, requiring you to keep a few extra outfits on hand to make the most compelling disguise possible.

Even to the most astute observers, your ruse is usually indiscernible. If you rouse suspicion, or if a wary creature suspects something is amiss, you have advantage on any Charisma (Deception) check you make to avoid detection.

Changeling Instincts. You gain proficiency with two of the following skills of your choice: Deception, Insight, Intimidation, or Persuasion.

Unsettling Visage. When a creature you can see makes an attack roll against you, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the roll. You must use this feature before knowing whether the attack hits or misses.

Using this trait reveals your shapeshifting nature to any creature within 30 feet that can see you. Once you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Divergent Persona. You gain proficiency with one tool of your choice. Define a persona associated with that proficiency: establish the name, race, gender, age, and other details. While you are in the form of this persona, the related proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses that proficiency.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and two other languages of your choice.

71

PART 5 | WAYFINDER'S GUIDE TO EBERRON - CHANGELING

Kalashtar Names

A kalashtar name is formed by the blend of a personal prefix tied to the name of the quori spirit within the kalashtar. Each spirit has a gender identity, but this may or may not match the gender identity of the kalashtar host. Thus, a female kalashtar might have what others would consider a masculine name, because she’s tied to a spirit with a masculine identity. Kalashtar orphans are unlikely to know the names of their spirits and instead take names from the cultures they’re raised in.
Male Quori Names: Hareth, Khad, Kosh, Melk,

Tash, Ulad, Vash
Female Quori Names: Ashana, Ashtai, Ishara, Nari, Tana,

Tari, Vakri
Kalashtar Names: Coratash, Dalavash, Dolishara,

Halakosh, Khoratari, Koratana, Lanhareth, Molavakri,

Nevitash, Sorashana, Torashtai, Valakhad, Vishara

Kalashtar Traits

Your kalashtar character has the following traits

Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom, Charisma, and one ability score of your choice increase by 1.

Age. Kalashtar develop physically at the same rate as humans do and have similar lifespans.

Size. Kalashtar are similar in build to humans, though they are a few inches taller. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Dual Mind. When you make a Wisdom save, you can use your reaction to gain advantage on the roll. You can use this trait after you roll, but before any of the roll’s effects occur.

Mental Discipline. You have resistance to psychic damage.

Mind Link. You can speak telepathically to any creature you can see within 60 feet of you. You don’t need to share a language with the creature for it to understand you, but it must be able to understand at least one language or be telepathic itself.

As a bonus action when you’re speaking telepathically to a creature, you can give it the ability to speak telepathically to you until the start of your next turn. To use this ability, the creature must be within 60 feet of you and be able to see you.

Psychic Glamour. Choose one of the following skills: Insight, Intimidation, Performance, or Persuasion. You have advantage on all ability checks you make with that skill.

Severed from Dreams. You are immune to magical spells and effects that require you to dream, but not to spells and effects that put you to sleep.

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

73

PART 5 | WAYFINDER'S GUIDE TO EBERRON - CHANGELING

Shifter Traits

Your shifter character has the following traits.

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 1.

Age. Shifters reach adulthood at 10 and rarely live past 70.

Size. Shifters range from 5 to 7 feet tall. 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.

Keen Senses. You have proficiency in Perception.

Shifting. On your turn, you can shift as a bonus action. Shifting lasts for 1 minute, until you die, or until you end it on your turn as a bonus action. While shifting, you gain temporary hit points equal to your level + your Constitution bonus (minimum of 1). You also gain a feature that depends on your shifter subrace. You must finish a short or long rest before you can shift again.

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

Subrace. Several subraces of shifter exist, each with its own animalistic features. Choose one of the options below.

Wildhunt

Wildhunt shifters are sharp and insightful. Some are constantly alert, wary for possible threats. Others focus on their intuition, searching within. Wildhunt shifters are excellent hunters, and they also tend to become the spiritual leaders of shifter communities.

Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 2.

Natural Tracker. You have proficiency in Survival.

Mark the Scent. As a bonus action, you mark one creature within 10 feet that you can see. Until the end of your next long rest, your proficiency bonus is doubled for any check made to track it, and you always know the creature's location if it's within 60 feet of you. You can't use this trait again until you finish a short or long rest.

Shifting Feature. You gain advantage on all Wisdom-based checks and saving throws.

75

PART 5 | WAYFINDER'S GUIDE TO EBERRON - SHIFTER

Warforged Traits

Your warforged character has the following traits.

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 1.

Age. A typical warforged is between two and thirty years old. The maximum lifespan of the warforged remains a mystery; so far, warforged have shown no signs of deterioration due to age.

Alignment. Most warforged take comfort in order and discipline, tending toward law and neutrality, but some have absorbed the morality—or lack thereof—of the beings they served with.

Size. Your size is Medium. Most warforged stand between 5 and 6½ feet tall. Build is affected by your subrace.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Warforged 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 are immune to disease.

• You don’t need to eat, drink, or breathe.

• You don’t need to sleep and don’t suffer the effects of exhaustion due to lack of rest, 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 protective layers, which determine your Armor Class. You gain no benefit from wearing armor, but if you are using a shield, you apply its bonus as normal.

You can alter your body to enter different defensive modes; each time you finish a long rest, choose one mode to adopt from the Integrated Protection table, provided you meet the mode’s prerequisite.

Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica

The people of Ravnica include members of many different races. Aside from humans, elves, and a smattering of half-elves, the races from the Player's Handbook are unknown on Ravnica, unless they're visiting from other worlds. This chapter provides information about the following common races of Ravnica, as well as racial traits for all of them but humans and elves:

Centaurs, the quintessential merging of human and horse, savor freedom and champion nature's cause.

Loxodons resemble humanoid elephants with powerful bodies, stoic natures, and serene wisdom.

Minotaurs on Ravnica are sophisticated tacticians as well as strong and fierce warriors.

Simic Hybrids are the results of the Simic Combine's Guardian Project, which magically infuses the adaptive qualities of certain animal species into human, elf, or vedalken volunteers.

Vedalken are tall, blue-skinned, and ingenious, with insatiable curiosity and a penchant for invention.

Centaur

In the sprawling city of Ravnica, where "open road" seems like a contradiction and "open plain" is sheer nonsense, centaurs nevertheless retain a love of wide spaces and the freedom to travel. As much as they can, centaurs run-in wide plazas, spacious parks, and expanses of rubble and ruin. They race the wind, hooves thundering and tails streaming behind them, until the next wall looms in their path and brings them to a stop.

Nature's Cavalry

Centaurs have the upper bodies, down to the waist, of muscular humans, displaying all the human variety of skin tones and features. Their ears are slightly pointed, but their faces are wider and squarer than those of elves. Below the waist, they have the bodies of small horses, with a similar range of coloration- from various shades of chestnut or bay to dappled or even zebra-like striped patterns. Most centaurs style their hair and their tails in a similar way. Selesnya centaurs favor long, flowing hair. Gruul centaurs cut their hair in rough, spiky styles.

The upper bodies of centaurs are comparable to human torsos in size, and their lower equine bodies average about 4 feet tall at the withers. Though they are smaller than a human rider mounted on a horse, they fill similar roles as cavalry warriors, messengers, outriders, and scouts.

Affinity for Nature

Centaurs have an affinity for the natural world. Among the guilds that share that affinity, centaurs favor the rubblebelts of the Gruul Clans and the wide plazas of the Selesnya Conclave over the undercity tunnels of the Golgari and the laboratories of the Simic.

Centaurs celebrate life and growth, and the birth of a foal is a lways cause for festivities. At the same time, they revere the traditions of the past, and among both the Gruul and the Selesnya they are voices of memory and history, preserving old ways and keeping alive the legends of ancestral heroes. They feel a close kinship with wild animals, perhaps because of their own horselike bodies, and delight io the feeling of running alongside herds and packs of other beasts.

Clans and Community

Centaurs sense the interconnectedness of the natural world. Thus, they celebrate family and community as microcosms of that greater connection. Among the Gruul, they have a strong clan identity, and Selesnya centaurs are fiercely loyal to their individual communities as well as the guild as a whole. Their love of history and tradition also means that centaurs are more likely than most other Ravnicans to join the same guild that their parents did.

Centaur Names

Centaurs' given names are passed down through family lines. The name bestowed on a new foal is typically the name of the most recently deceased family member of the same gender, keeping a live the memory- and, the centaurs believe, some shard of the spirit- of the departed. Centaurs don't use family names, but they wear symbols that represent their family membership. These symbols might include graphical representations of plants or animals. printed mottoes. braids and beads worn in the hair and tail. or even specific patterns of woven fabric.

Male Names: Bonmod, Boruvo, Chodi, Drozan, Kozim, Milosh, Ninos, Oleksi, Orval, Radovas, Radom, Rostis, Svetyos, Tomis, Trijiro, Volim, Vlodim, Yarog

Female Names: Daiva. Dunja, Elnaya.
Galisnya, lrinya, Kotyali. Lalya. Litisia,
Madya, Mira, Nedja, Nikya, Ostani, Pinya,
Rada, Raisya, Stasolya. Tatna,
Zhendoya, Zoria

78

PART 6 | GUILDMASTER'S GUDIDE TO RAVNICA - CENTAUR

Centaur Traits

Your centaur character has the following racial traits. These traits are also suitable for the centaurs of other worlds where there are centaurs of fey origin. These centaurs are smaller than the non-fey centaurs that roam in some realms.

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

Age. Centaurs mature and age at about the same rate as humans.

Alignment. Centaurs are inclined toward neutrality. Those who join the Selesnya are more often neutral good, while those who join the Gruul are typically chaotic neutral.

Size. Centaurs stand between 6 and 7 feet tall, with their equine bodies reaching about 4 feet at the withers. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 40 feet.

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

Charge. If you move at least 30 feet straight toward a target and then hit it with a melee weapon attack on the same turn, you can immediately follow that attack with a bonus action, making one attack against the target with your hooves.

Hooves. Your hooves are natural melee weapons, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with them, you deal bludgeoning damage equal to ld4 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.

Equine Build. You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push or drag. In addition, any climb that requires hands and feet is especially difficult for you because of you r equine legs. When you make such a climb, each foot of movement costs you 4 extra feet, instead of the normal 1 extra foot.

Survivor. You have proficiency in one of the following skills of your choice: Animal Handling, Medicine, Nature, or Survival.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Sylvan. Sylvan is widely spoken in the Selesnya Conclave, for it is rich in vocabulary to describe natural phenomena and spiritual forces.

In Unearthed Arcana, there has been a previous version of the centaur, which is based on a larger, non fey Centaur which has the following Racial Traits.

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

Age. Centaurs mature and age at about the same rate as humans.

Alignment. Centaurs are inclined toward neutrality.

Size. Your size is Medium, yet you tower over most other humanoids.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 40 feet.

Charge. If you move at least 20 feet straight toward a target and then hit it with a melee weapon attack on the same turn, roll the weapon’s damage dice twice and add them together. Once you use this ability, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Hooves. Your hooves are natural melee weapons, with which you’re proficient. If you hit with a hoof, the target takes bludgeoning damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier.

Equine Build. You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push or drag. In addition, any climb that requires hands and feet is especially difficult for you because of your hooves. When you make such a climb, each foot of movement costs you 4 extra feet, instead of the normal 1 extra foot. Finally, a Medium or smaller creature can ride on your equine back if you allow it. In such a situation, you continue to act independently, not as a controlled mount.

Survivor. You have proficiency in the Survival skill.

Hybrid Nature. You have two creature types: humanoid and monstrosity. You can be affected by a game effect if it works on either of your creature types.

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

Minotaur Traits

Your minotaur character has the following racial traits. These traits are also suitable for minotaurs in other D&D worlds where these people have avoided the demonic influence of Baphomet.

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

Alignment. Most minotaurs who join the Boros Legion lean toward lawful alignments, while those associated with the Cult of Rakdos or the Gruul Clans tend toward chaotic alignments.

Size. Minotaurs average over 6 feet in height, and they have stocky builds. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Horns. Your horns are natural melee weapons, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with them, you deal piercing damage equal to ld6 + your Strength modifier. instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.

Goring Rush. Immediately after you use the Dash action on your turn and move at least 20 feet, you can make one melee attack with your horns as a bonus action.

Hammering Horns. Immediately after you hit a creature with a melee attack as part of the Attack action on your turn, you can use a bonus action to attempt to shove that target with your horns. The target must be no more than one size larger than you and within 5 feet of you. Unless it succeeds on a Strength saving throw against a DC equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus+ your Stre ngth modifier, you push it up to 10 feet away from you.

Imposing Presence. You have proficiency in one of the following skills of your choice: Intimidation or Persuasion.

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

Minotaur Bonds

When creating a minotaur character, you can use the following table of bonds to help flesh out your character. Use this table in addition to or in place of your background’s bond or a bond of your creation.

81

PART 6 | GUILDMASTER'S GUDIDE TO RAVNICA - MINOTAUR

Loxodon Traits

Your loxodon character has the following racial traits.

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

Age. Loxodons physically mature at the same rate as humans, but they live about 450 years. They highly value the weight of wisdom and experience and are considered young until they reach the age of 60.

Alignment. Most loxodons are lawful, believing in the value of a peaceful, ordered life. They also tend toward good.

Size. Loxodons stand between 7 and 8 feet tall. Their massive bodies weigh between 300 and 400 pounds. Your size is Medium.

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

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Loxodon Bravery. You have advantage on saving throws against being frightened.

Natural Armor. You have thick, leathery skin. When you aren’t wearing armor, your AC is 13 + your Dexterity modifier. You can use your natural armor to determine your AC if the armor you wear would leave you with a lower AC. A shield’s benefits apply as normal while you use your natural armor.

Mason’s Proficiency. You gain proficiency with mason’s tools.

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 normal proficiency bonus to the check, instead of your normal proficiency bonus.

Keen Smell. Thanks to your sensitive trunk, you have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) and Intelligence (Investigation) checks that rely on smell.

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

83

PART 6 | GUILDMASTER'S GUDIDE TO RAVNICA - LOXODON

Plane Shift: Amonkhet

Towering, gold-encrusted monuments break the unending monotony of a horizon formed of sun-blasted sand. Awe-inspiring, animal-headed gods walk among the people, offering them care and protection from the horrors of the desert. A wide, life-giving river offers its abundant bounty, providing for every physical need. Happy, hopeful people offer sacrifices in grand temples dedicated to their benevolent gods, addressing their spiritual needs.

In this land, there are several races that co-exist, these being Human, Aven, Khenra, Minotaurs and Nagas. Humans use the same traits and are very similar to humans in the rest of the worlds in Dungeons and Dragons.

Khenra

The khenra of Amonkhet are tall and lean, with graceful bodies and heads that strongly resemble jackals. Their snouts are long and sharp, and their angular ears rise straight above their heads. Their bodies are covered in dark, sleek hair that ranges from the brown of the desert sands to ebony black. Despite their sharp teeth, they consider biting to be an uncouth and unworthy combat tactic.

Nearly every khenra is born a fraternal or identical twin, and a pair of khenra twins forms an extremely close emotional bond unknown to most other residents of Amonkhet. The death of one twin in training or the trials causes a tremendous shock to the survivor, who typically grows more aggressive and foolhardy in battle. The rare khenra who are born without twins are believed to have killed their siblings in the womb, and are thus viewed as natural-born initiates, sure to achieve a glorified death in the Trial of Zeal.

Naga

Naga resemble enormous snakes with shoulders, arms, and a torso that resembles a humanoid form. They typically hold their heads and torsos off the ground while moving, but they can increase their speed by lowering their bodies and using their hands for extra propulsion. They adorn their torsos with armor, jewelry, and a vague nod toward the clothing worn by other races. Male naga have broad hoods, wider than their shoulders, while females have narrower hoods and longer faces.

Naga believe in a principle called the Sweetest Harmony, which describes a perfect balance between the body and the mind. Finding that balance, as they understand it, is a sure path to glory in the trials, since a combination of physical and mental preparation will ensure success in every trial. For an example of this Sweetest Harmony, they point to the Luxa river and the land it nourishes, which exist in a delicate and life-giving balance. Either one without the other would be diminished and useless. Just so, mental strength supports physical capabilities, and physical fortitude feeds mental tenacity, so neither mind nor body can exist in isolation.

In the same way, the naga believe that Kefnet and Rhonas exist in interdependence, and that their trials are best conceived as two halves of a whole. But in practice, as much as they strive for balance and harmony, most naga identify more strongly with one god than the other.

Plane Shift: Dominaria

Dominaria is an enormous plane, with numerous landmasses separated by vast oceans which are collectively known as the Domains.
The unique races of this publication are Aven and Keldon Human.

Plane Shift: Innistrad

On the plane of Innistrad, horrors stalk the shadows and scratch at doors in the night. Humanity is beset on all sides: vampires thirst for human blood, werewolves live for the thrill of the hunt, the restless spirits of the dead haunt the living, and no corpse is safe from reanimation at the hands of cruel necromancers or cunning scientists. Only their grim determination—and their staunch faith in the protection of their patron archangel, Avacyn—has allowed humans to survive in this nightmarish realm.

Plane Shift: Ixalan

Vampire

The Legion of Dusk is dominated by an aristocratic class made up of vampires. They are faster and stronger than most humans, and gifted with supernatural abilities that made them the most formidable force in their homeland. Now, as they push into the depths of Ixalan in search of the Immortal Sun, they bring this strength to bear against all who would resist their advance. For many vampires, the Rite of Redemption that transforms a human into a vampire is an act of personal sacrifice, paving the way for a promised glorious age. These vampires embody Torrezon’s noble tradition in Ixalan. They are often guided by their dual loyalties to church and crown, believing that the monarch acts with righteous purpose. As such, these vampires carry themselves with a self-assurance that is both imposing and imperial. Other societies seem inferior and unclean compared to their own, leading them to feel that they have a right to claim new lands despite the presence of people already inhabiting those lands.

Other vampires view vampirism merely as a means to attain a powerful advantage over others. These vampires are fierce, ruthless, and often cruel, relishing conflict—be it political or armed—as a means of demonstrating their superiority. Many are politically ambitious, invoking Torrezon’s hierarchy when it serves their interests, but ignoring all the rules of church, state, and morality when those rules become a burden. When these vampires come to Ixalan, they are conquerors, motivated by the prospect of personal glory and the accumulation of riches. Those who achieve wealth and power display it ostentatiously.

The core of every vampire’s nature is the Feast of Blood. Though it is forbidden to feed on human citizens of Torrezon, including the human sailors and servants who accompany the vampire conquistadors to Ixalan, vampires are encouraged to feed on outsiders and heretics. The Feast of Blood sends new life essence flowing through the vampire who partakes of it, manifesting as even greater strength and speed.

Ixalan Goblin

Goblins are native to Ixalan, and their eager curiosity drew them to the ships of the Brazen Coalition when the pirates first made landfall on the Sun Empire’s shores. Though they still thrive in remote jungle colonies, goblins are most commonly seen swinging on the ropes of sleek pirate ships.

Goblins stand about three feet tall, though they rarely stand upright. They prefer a crouched posture that lets them scramble quickly on all fours, aided by their long prehensile tails. Their hearing and eyesight make them excellent lookouts, and their agility serves them well as crew members on pirate ships. They climb, swing, and jump easily among a ship’s ropes, and can get into tight spaces that humans can’t. For better or worse, many goblins are also incorrigible pranksters, and they often have a hard time determining when a prank is inappropriate, is poorly timed, or has gone too far.

Sirens

Sirens are at home along the waters of the Stormwreck Sea. They settle on rocky coasts and remote islands, and even on floating piles of kelp. Sirens are mercurial creatures who can turn in an instant from lonely to repulsed, from desirous to hateful, from welcoming to irritated, from loving to murderous—and then back again. They are fascinated with ships, and enjoy toying with them. One siren might call out to a passing crew for company, only to capriciously draw the ship into an entangling mass of kelp. Another might lure a vessel onto jagged rocks so as to study the wreckage and learn more about the strange contraption. But as the number of Brazen Coalition ships passing through siren-controlled waters has increased over the years, a growing number of sirens have decided to satisfy their curiosity by taking positions on ship crews—including, in at least one case, the position of captain.

Sirens are humanoid creatures with birdlike features. Their long, slender arms extend into powerful wings that easily carry their light frames into the air. Their fingers bear sharp claws but are nimble enough to wield weapons and perform fine manipulation. Crests of feathery plumage start between their eyes and cover the backs of their heads.

Plane Shift Kaladesh

Kaladesh is a living work of art—a vibrant, beautiful plane where anything is possible. Optimism, innovation, and the spirit of creativity fuel an intoxicating renaissance of invention and artifice across Kaladesh. Its inhabitants frequently assert that “anything can be built,” and brilliant inventors seem to prove that saying every day.

Plane Shift: Zendikar

Zendikar is a dangerous world of lethal risks and priceless rewards. From the perspective of its inhabitants, it is a hostile place that seems to be actively trying to kill any creature that has the audacity to live there. The danger is unrelenting. Precarious terrain, cunning predators, and natural disasters on a massive scale all present a constant challenge to survival— as do the unpredictable ripples of change that wash through the plane, known to its people as the Roil. Even the mana that suffuses the land is wild and hard to tame. It feels almost alive to those who wield it, and sometimes causes the land to manifest magical effects much like spells. Zendikar is a plane of deadly peril, but the denizens of that plane grow up strong and resilient, prepared for the dangers of the only world they know

Zendikar Goblins

Goblins are an inquisitive and adaptable race hampered by their small size, their natural cowardice, and a severe shortage of common sense. They eagerly explore areas that others hesitate to enter, and obsessively fiddle with magic that more sensible folk would take careful precautions with. They prize ancient artifacts not for their inherent value, but primarily as a mark of status—for a precious trophy proves that its owner survived a delve into a deep and dangerous ruin.

Goblins are associated with red mana. Their shamans are fond of spells that create or control fire and lightning to smite their foes, and they are quick to follow their impulses and passions into action without much forethought. Life to a goblin is an adventure full of new things to explore and experience.

Credits and Thanks