Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Hebitsuikaza Aug 14, 2015 7:46:26	Seeing the races that were most desired in the poll, I decided to try to give them another shot. I am not certain these are perfectly balanced yet-- I tried to give each one something unique without copying too much from another. I also tried to make it so that their abilities were not set up to all favor the same class and hopefully get more or less nullified if you choose the easy class.   Some of these abilities likely need to be changed, so I am open to suggestions about that.   And... yeah... if Elves or Dwarfs have 3-4 subraces each, each kind of goblinoid would probably have dozens of them but I figure background choices, personalities and ideals are probably good enough to display those things. (An option to make any race that has Dark Vision have Dark Vision 120' and Sunlight Sensativity is a good, fast rule for mimicing "deep goblin" types.)   Bugbear * Your Strength score is increased by 2, your Dexterity score is increased by 1 * You have Dark Vision 60'. * Your size is considered large for the purposes of grappling checks and pushing actions. * You have advantage on saving throws against being paralyzed or stunned. * You deal an additional 1d6 damage on your first attack during an encounter if it is against a creature that is surprised. The damage increases to 2d6 at 5th level, 3d6 at 11th level, 4d6 at 17th. * You are proficient with the Survival skill * You can Speak, Read and Write Goblinish and Common   Gith * Your Wisdom sore is raised by 2. * You have the Awakened Mind ability of the Warlock (See PHB) * You have the Mage Hand cantrip. Starting at level 3 may use the Misty Step spell once per long rest. Starting at 5th level you may use the See Invisible spell once per long rest. * You are proficient with the Insight skill. * You can Speak, Read and Write Gith Subrace: Choose Githyanki or Githzerai and Common Githyanki * Your Dexterity score is increased by 1. Githzerai * Your Intelligence score is increased by 1.   Gnoll * Your Constitution score is increased by 2, your Dexterity Score is increased by 1. * You have Dark Vision 60'. * You have advantage when tracking a creature you have encountered since your last long rest. * When you reduce an enemy to 0 hit points with a melee attack you may make a reaction to move up to half your movement speed and a bonus action to make an attack for 1d6 plus either Strength or Dexterity damage to another enemy within 5' of you. The damage increases to 2d6 at 5th level, 3d6 at 11th level, 4d6 at 17th. * Your are proficient with unarmed attacks and they deal 1d4 damage. * You have proficiency in the Investigation skill. * You can Speak, Read and Write Gnollish and Common   Goblin * Your Dexterity score is increased by 2, your Wisdom score is increased by 1 * You are small size * You have Dark Vision 60'. * You have advantage on saving throws against being restrained, and on checks to resist or escape a grapple. * You can attempt to hide even when you are only lightly obscured by foliage, heavy rain, falling snow, mist or other natural phennmena. * You have proficiency in the Handle Animal skill. * You can Speak, Read and Write Goblinish and Common   Hobgoblin * Your Constitution score is raised by 2, your Charisma score is raised by 1 * You have Dark Vision 60'. * When you fail a save, you may reroll the save, but must take the second result. You may do this once per a short rest.  * You have proficiency with long bows, long swords, javelins and spears. * At 3rd level you gain 1 superiority die (D8) and one combat maneuver of the Battlemaster Fighter of your choice (see PHB) * You have proficiency in the Athletics skill  * You can Speak, Read and Write Goblinish and Common   Kobold * Your Dexterity Score is raised by 2, Your Intelligence score is raised by 1 * You are small size * Your movement speed is 25. * You have Dark Vision 60'. * Whenever you make an Intelligence (Investigation) check related to stonework. * When you make an attack against a creature that has two or more of your allies within 5’, you may add your profiency bonus to the damage. * You have advantage on rolls to detect, make, arm and disarm traps. * You have proficiency with one Artisans tools of your choice. * You can Speak, Read and Write Draconic and Common   Lizardfolk * Your Constitution score is increased by 2, Your Strength score is increased by 1. * You may reduce the damage of an single attack that hits you by d12 damage once per short rest. * You have a swim speed of 30. * Your unarmed attacks deal 1d4 damage. * You have advantage on saving throws against being frightened. * You are proficient with the Survival skill. * You can Speak, Read and Write Draconic and Common   Rakasta (“Catfolk”) * Your Dexterity score is increased by 2, your Charisma score is increased by 1. * You have Dark Vision 60'. * You are resistant to falling damage. * You add your proficiency bonus to your Initiative checks * When you roll a 1 on an ability check, you may immediately reroll the check but must take the second result. * You are trained in the Acrobatics skill * You can Speak, Read and Write Rakasta and Common   Revenant * Your Constitution score is raised by 2, Your Wisdom score is raised by 1. * You are considered undead and have all the weaknesses and benefits of this. * You have Dark Vision 60'. * You have Resistance to Necrotic damage. * You have advantage on death saving throws. * You know one Cantrip from the Necromancy school. * You are trained with the Intimidate skill. * You can Speak, Read and Write Common
#2 LuisCarlos17f Aug 14, 2015 8:41:39	The racial traits for monster PCs have to be simple, because you are use lots of minions, and useful for combat. Kobolds have got bonus for profession(miner) but you don´t need in the middle of the fight.   * I imagine goblins like carrion-eaters, and I would give a save bonus for contagious diseases and poisons by oral ingestion.    * Since I bought my "Tome of Battle: Book of Nine Swords" I imagine most of hobgoblins troopers with a first level (Ki) maneuver. Maybe it is posible with a "subrace" in the future.   * Maybe it is better a racial feat from a short list. That could add variety but without breaking balance of power.   Another option is add a "racial parangon class" like ones from 3.5 Unearthed Arcana, with variatn options for different types of classes (fighter, spellcaster or steatlh).
#3 Hebitsuikaza Aug 14, 2015 8:59:19	LuisCarlos17f wrote:
#4 rampant Aug 14, 2015 9:24:51	Ok seriously does no one read the bugbear monster entry before posting a race version? Also you already add con to HD healing.  Look at the monster entry, see that power called heart of hruggek? see if you can do something with that instead of playing around with the HP and HD.   Gith, handing out a class ability to a race is iffy, if you do so you should also provide a bonus that they gain should they gain the class feature the normal way.   Favored enemy is a terrible ability why would you inflict it on a race? Why not give the gnoll the butcher's lure? and that AC power is just too good. That way lies madness.
#5 Hebitsuikaza Aug 14, 2015 11:15:58	rampant wrote:
#6 rampant Aug 14, 2015 16:13:35	I think we're talking about a different Butcher's lure. I was talking about the vocal trick they can use to mimic voices. I always thought that was one of the coolest things about gnolls. The feat to gain access to it was called butcher's lure in a previous edition. A sfar as the AC power... I'd replace it entirely AC has never really been the gnoll's thing. Speed, scavenging, cunning, and savagery are the gnoll's things.   Gith, yes I am aware of awakened mind, you might also want to specify that it's not only a warlock power, but specifically a pact power, or maybe the page number becaus eit took me a few tries to find it. Maybe just a +10ft boost to the range or somethign if they gain the ability form a class?   I also have to question the size and bulk power son the bug bear, seems a bit excessive. sinc ehtye arne't known for being especially bulky. I mean I could sort fo see the size thing as a holdover form 4e and just how generally they are protrayed as being the 'big' goblins, but the HP boost seems off.
#7 Hebitsuikaza Aug 14, 2015 19:27:49	Oh... okay, I misunderstood. I figured Butcher's lure was some sort of trap ability, but searching all through 5E I couldn't find anything and figured anything about "butcher" had to be a damage bonus for getting them to come to you or something. I guess I needed to look at 4E. I will look it up. But it seems to me having a "favored prey" ability would fit them pretty good and add that bit of Ranger flavor to the character even if one isn't a Ranger.   I suppose I could make it clearer where to find it. But... yeah, other races currently have abilities that you get from having the class (weapon and armor proficiencies for instance) that go away if you take that class. Just like some classes give you differnet ways to calculate AC, but they don't stack. It would be reinventing the wheel to make it more powerful for getting the ability twice.   The HP boost is taken right off Dwarfs. I mean, if 5' tall Dwarfs can manage a +1 hit point per level, I think it could go with an 8' tall bear looking thing, which is how they have been potrayed since 1st edition (in fact, if anything, they became less bear-like in every edition). Half-Orcs instead get to ignore the blow that would knock them out and Golliaths have the even more powerful ability to reduce the damage of a single hit. I figure they need to have something to indicate the fact that even if they are a Sorcerer or Warlock, they are still one of the most massive PC races there are. The bonus to grappling/pushing helps, but... somehow they ought to be able to take more of a beating even if they are a class that gets d4 hit die.
#8 rampant Aug 15, 2015 0:06:10	Eh, I always figured the bugbear had enough other things going on that their toughness was kind of incidental. As for weapon profs as race abilities, yeah I really don't like those for exactly this reason they're useless for the members of the race who take classes proficient with those things already.   As for the favored enemy, it's just plain not a good ability, especially at character creation because then you're reliant on the DM to balance the power by including the right number of creatures of the appropriate type. There's a reason that people were miffed that the orzel method was not implemented.
#9 Hebitsuikaza Aug 17, 2015 9:37:18	Maybe I can't quite grasp what one would want to do if they were a Bugbear or a Gnoll.   I did a bit of updating. Any thoughts on the others?
#10 rampant Aug 17, 2015 23:21:46	You've gotta work really hard not to let the whole big and tough thing get too common, some races are tough, yes but not all of them, or most of them. A lot of these races don't have spectacular toughness or ressilience, you're just judging the battle ready MM entry vs. the weak sauce stats of 1st level characters and unimportant NPCs. Bugbears do not possess unusual physical durability, what they have is uncanny resistance to a laundry list of conditions, and the ability to apply grea physical force deftly, and a natural inclination for stealth tactics. Honestly I don't think you need the size thing or the DR, just add a condition or two to the heart of hruggek, though if you wanna keep one the size thing is probably the one to keep. Really though an ambush power or something not focused on big ang tough would be ideal. Also maybe a feat to add the missing conditions to heart of hruggek?
#11 rampant Aug 18, 2015 11:44:50	Goblins - Ok some issues here 1.) Why only dex checks those instances seem specific enough you don't need to restrict them to dexterity, and some times getitng out is a strength check. 2.) Hide as a bonus action in combat... keep an eye on this one. 3.) Again overly specific, why not just give them either handle animal proficiency?
#12 Hebitsuikaza Aug 18, 2015 13:27:51	rampant wrote:
#13 rampant Aug 18, 2015 15:18:44	It seems pretty potent, and doing that with minor powers like the telpathy is one thing but that's a class defining power dude, it Might just be flat out OP.
#14 Clutchbone Aug 19, 2015 9:13:58	I think a good rule is don't have racial powers duplicate class features - especially from a class that the race *should* pick. That disincentivizes players from going in that direction. Look at a half-orc's Relentless Rage Endurance and a barbarian's Relentless Rage for an example of similar features that stack with each other rather than make one obsolete.   Also, don't be afraid to straight up steal a racial feature from pre-existing material. After all, stout halflings and dwarves share poison resilience, and drow and tieflings share tiered magic. No reason why your goblins can't have a halfling's Nimbleness or Naturally Stealthy, for example, or for gith to have Gnome's Cunning or psychic resilience.   Here is a handy resource for balancing racial features (Google Docs file), made by James Musicus. It's pretty good.
#15 Hebitsuikaza Aug 19, 2015 7:59:48	Clutchbone wrote:
#16 rampant Aug 19, 2015 11:01:41	Why does bugbear get survival instead of stealth? Skill profs hava  built in work around so if you play rogue and already have stealth you just graba  different class skill.   Wy strength and con for gnolls? seems like str and dex would fit better, or the dex+con approach from 4e. Also the bite and unarmed powers are pretty seriously limmited in utility.    For goblins I think we need to define hinder movement a bit more solidly, any effect that reduce your speed maybe?   FOr hob-goblin you have to define the size of that  die and honestly again that power has some serious limitations on who can use it because it's only useful with a weapon, unless you take commander's strike and even then it's iffy because if you arne't a multi-attacker yourself  past about level 5 you'll rarely wanna use it.   Why do kobold have stone cunning, and check your wording on their damage boost, it seems like they get more powerful when outnumbered.   For lizard folk I'd switch the con and str bonuses, or even go the sub-race route +2 con for the race, +1 str for black scale, +1 wis for green backs, + 1 dex for the poison arrow or whatever they called the little ones. The AC and unarmed powers are also pretty limited, especally since due to the use of AC formula that means that boost doesn't stack with anything and so most unarmored classes will already have and AC solution that's as good or better than the racial power.
(Reply to #16) Clutchbone	rampant wrote:
#18 Slit518 Aug 19, 2015 16:22:52	Clutchbone wrote:
(Reply to #18) Clutchbone	Slit518 wrote:
#20 Slit518 Aug 19, 2015 19:46:33	Clutchbone wrote:
#21 Hebitsuikaza Aug 21, 2015 14:37:46	rampant wrote: