Notes on the Common Kin

 Here are some notes on the standard D&Dish races (focused on the "how our [x] are different," as you do) for a world I've been blogging about recently, a world which I'm now calling Elden Urd (inspired by Tad Williams' Osten Ard in his Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy).

Dwarves

Warrior mercenary companies, distilled spirits, artisans in metal and gems. They mostly dwell above ground though not entirely. The dwarven throne has been empty for ages; they are ruled by a republic.

Elves

Descendants of fey trapped in the Cosmos when it was made. To this day they care little for the gods. Extremely long lived and slow to reproduce so they are a dwindling people.

Gnomes

Preservers of some of the knowledge of the Age of Wizard-Kings. Artificers and makers of mechanisms.

Halflings

The people of the plains and meadows, sometimes called "grass runners." Some are settled in sod house villages, work farms and tend flocks, others are itinerant traders and entertainers. 

Tieflings

Descendants of Fiends, the fallen Titans. They sometimes face prejudice from the common folk, but among the sorts of people that consort with adventurers their ancestry hardly merits notice.

Xeno-File: Ythnat

Art by Jason Sholtis

The ythnat evolved from omnivorous, beaked homeotherms. They are smaller than most known sophonts being around 1 meter tall on average. They are not above using their size and appearance to ingratiate themselves or at least appear non-threatening to others. It would be a mistake to underestimate them, however. They are "first among equals" in the Interstellar Compact by their own admission. In actuality, the o'omkaro and the hna-hunkpa are essentially client civilizations.

It has been opined that the ythnat have no laws, only obligations. Compared to human cultures, they certainly rely on complicated webs of patronage, referent power, and custom, more so than codified law. The contract, however, is always sarcosanct. The planetary political structure of the ythnat is prone to change to a dizzying degree, but the powerful merchant princes and syndicates effectively control the planetary economy and that of the entire Compact. 

Xeno-File: O'omkaro

Art by David Monge Bustista

 O'omkaru are newcomers to interstellar civilization. They are often found accompanying other species from the Compact sphere. 

The word o'omkaro, though used as such by others, seems not to strictly be the species name, but rather denotes the spirit or mentality of the species or the species as an ideal. As best as can be determined, their modern government seems to be via some form of adhocracy, and in their interactions with each other and with other species they seem to place a great value on the debating of options and consensus. This is not to say they are particularly conformist by the standards of other species. To the contrary, they seem to have a great tolerance for eccentricity, displays of emotion and individuality. 

So far as is known they have two sexes. Bidirectional hermaphroditism occurs, so that an individual may switch sex several times in a lifetime. The triggers for these changes are unknown, and it seems to be a topic they are reluctant to discuss with other species. Personality changes occur along with their sex, and o'omkaro society accommodates this shift in its members, altering responsibilities and roles as needed.

Many o'omkaru are followers of cultural fads (especially those from other species) and many are collectors of some sort. Almost any new religion, political philosophy or art form they sweeps known space is guaranteed to count o'omkaro among its enthusiasts. O'omkaro history has been painted but historians of other species as a churn of secret societies, revolutionary ideas, and religious awakenings.

The Essential Elf

What's an elf? For a lot of people, it seems to come down to pointy ears. (See any discussion about the accuracy of Talislanta's "No Elves" tagline line--which really seems to upset a lot of people--or discussion of Vulcans as "Space Elves.") Tvtropes, of course, has some ideas, but I feel like their definition only skirts the narrative use of elves in fantasy, mixing both surface characteristics and other qualities. My list overlaps in some places but has some differences. Not all elves or elf-like beings have all of these traits or possess the ones they do have to the same degree, but they tend to have the majority of them to a greater than humans (or whatever the baseline group of the setting is) in a work.

The qualities are:

• Otherworldliness. Magical, mythic, or nonmaterialness. This is probably the essential elven trait.
• Scale. Supra- or metahumanness.
• Alien. Nonhumanness in outlook/mentality.
• Morality. Association with greater moral clarity/absolutism.

Other qualities seem very common, but maybe not essential: "Clandestine/Hidden" and "Dwindling," are two the come to mind.

Tolkien's elves are perhaps only modest scorers except in Scale. Elquest elves are worse performs, but still outdo humans in several eras. The elves of Anderson's The Broken Sword, hit 3 out of 4 significantly. The Minbari of Babylon 5, ostensibly non-elves, manage to tic all the boxes.

Weird Revisited: Froglings for 5e

This post originally appeared in 2014. it's interesting what remained true and what got tweaked regarding the Land of Azurth from this conceptual, pre-game phase...

 

Frox or Bufokin (a bit of a misnomer, as frox resemble frogs more than their warty, dry-skinned cousins) are amphibious humanoids native to the bottomlands and marshes of the country of Yanth. Following rivers, they've ranged beyond their ancestral home to be a common sight in river towns. Their call and response work songs can be heard dockside all over Azurth. Frox work as bargemen or stevedores in civilized areas, and as hunters, farmers, or guides in their villages.

Frox legends say they come from a land across the Boundless Sea, which they left to escape persecution by a terrible and poisonous race of toad-folk, but this claim is considered doubtful by the scholars of Azurth for many reasons--not the least of which being that the Boundless Sea has no other side!

Frox are generally shorter than humans and tend to be thinner of limb, though many develop a potbelly as they age. Their skin colors are generally a dull green or brown, though they range from muted reds to purplish-gray.

A wealthy Frox businessman and tribal chieftain visiting the palace

Frox Traits
Ability Score Increase. Dexterity increased by 2 and another ability score by 1.
Age. Frox live shorter lifespans than humans on average with only a few living beyond their mid-60s. They are mature by their early teens.
Alignment. Frox tend toward good but are have no special affinity for Law and Chaos.
Size. Frox are between 3 and 4 feet tall. Small.
Speed. Base walking speed in 25 feet.
Jumper. Frox can long jump their full Strength score in feet from standing start, and double their Strength in feet with at least 10 feet of movement in a running start. They can high jump a total of 6 feet (rather than the usual 3) + their Strength modifier in a moving high jump and  half that for a standing jump. They have an advantage on Dexterity (Acrobatics) checks to land in difficult terrain.
Swimmer. Frox can swim at their full movement rate and rough waters only cost them 1 extra foot for each foot of movement. They use double their Constitution modifier for the purposes of holding their breath.
Resistance to Poisons. Frox have an advantage on saving throws against poison and resistance against poison damage.
Moisture Dependent. Frox require twice as much water as most races. However, submerging most of their body in water for 20 minutes or more reduces their requirement to standard levels.
Languages. Frox can speak and read (limited) Common. They also speak their on croaking, chirping tongue, which has no written form.

[Thanks to Evan Elkins, the creator of the Froglings, the basis for the Frox.]

A frox traditional dwelling

5e Hadozee

Another species in my 5e pulp sci-fi game, which will probably be somewhat familiar to those of you that remember Star Frontiers... 

HADOZEE

Hadozee are tall, furry humanoids with manes around their necks and heads and large (sometimes tufted) ears. They evolved from arboreal hunters. Humans sometimes call them "monkeys" because they resemble to a degree simian primates of Old Earth, but this can be considered somewhat derogatory. Two large flaps of skin (a patagium) grow on either side of their bodies, attached along their arms, torso, and legs. A Hadozee can use these as a sort of wing or gliding.

Hadozee have four joints (one more than Humans) on their digits. The inside toe is partially opposable like a thumb, allowing them to grasp things with their feet. The tips of their fingers and toes end in broad, ribbed pads, giving them an excellent grip.

Hadozee communities are divided into large, loosely organized clans. All the members of a clan are related to each other. In the past, clan ties were very strong, and inter-clan conflict was common and often violent. These tendencies have been tempered in the modern age, but hadozee still have a proud warrior tradition.

Homeworld: Verdis 

Average Height: 2.1 meters

Average Weight: 50 kg (male), 60 kg (female)

Phenotypic Variation: Individual hadozee vary in color of their head manes and body fur from glossy black to pale yellow. Their skin color ranges from deep gray to light-tan. Certain colorations tend to run in particular clans or historic geographical groups.

Reproduction: Two sexes, viviparous

Traits:

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

Age. Hadozee mature a little faster than humans, reaching adulthood around age 14. They age similarly though and can live up to 100 years.

Size. You are Medium or Small. You choose the size when you select this species.

Speed. Your walking speed is 30 feet, and you have a climbing speed equal to your walking speed.

Darkvision. 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 discern colors in that darkness only as shades of gray.

Dexterous Feet. You can take the Use an Object action as a bonus action.

Glide. If you are not incapacitated or wearing heavy armor, you can extend your skin membranes and glide. When you do so, you can perform the following aerial

maneuvers:

• When you fall at least 30 feet, you can move up to 5 feet horizontally

for every 1 foot you descend.

• When you would take damage from a fall, you can use

your reaction to reduce the fall’s damage to 0.

Languages. You can speak, read and write in Solar Trade Common and Verdisian.

Vrusk for 5e

Another species in my 5e pulp sci-fi game, which will probably be somewhat familiar to those of you that remember Star Frontiers... 

VRUSK

Vrusk resemble giant arthropods, though they have internal skeletons. Eight legs grow from their abdomen, four on each side. Their torso is upright and humanoid, with two arms connected at the shoulders. A Vrusk's shoulders are double-jointed, so they can rotate their arms in a full circle without straining any muscles. They can reach any point on their abdomen or behind their backs easily. Vrusk hands are circular pads with five, evenly spaced fingers around the edge.

Vrusk have a highly regimented society where everyone knows their role and performs it for the good of all. This was not always the case and hive conflict in the past hastened the environmental decline of Marva and nearly drove the Vrusk to extinction. Modern Vrusk are seen as industrious, stoic, and rational. Their Council of Experts advise and oversee the various citizen committees which manage most aspects of Vrusk society. Vrusk consider it their duty to serve their race in whatever capacity required of them.

Of course, Vrusk have their free thinkers and eccentrics just like any other people. Where the Vrusk collective cannot find creative ways to utilize these individuals, they are politely ostracized, and they drift elsewhere in the system.

Homeworld: Marva 

Average Height: 1.5 meters tall, 1.5 meters long

Average Weight: 85 kg

Phenotypic Variation: Vrusk skin and carapace varies in color from dull red-brown to black. Their eyes likewise vary in color. These distinctions to not represent any meaningful groups within Vrusk society so far as humans know.

Reproduction: Two sexes, oviviparous

Traits:

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity, Intelligence, and Wisdom scores increase by 1.

Age. Vrusk mature similarly to humans, and have a life expectancy of 175 years.

Size. You are Medium or Small. You choose the size when you select this species.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 40 feet.

Ambidexterity. All Vrusk are ambidextrous and gain an ability to use any melee weapon that does not have the two-handed property in either hand. When fighting with two melee weapons at once, you are able to have your ability modifier to the attack in the second hand, provided it is a light weapon.  

Comprehension. Given their complicated, hierarchical society, Vrusks are attuned to intricacies of social dealings. You gain advantage on Wisdom (Insight) and Charisma (Deception) checks.

Educated. The Vrusk education system is second to none, you gain an additional skill proficiency of your choice.

Natural Armor. A Vrusk’s hard carapace provides natural protection. You have an Armor Class of 13 plus your Dexterity modifier when not wearing armor. If there are multiple features available to determine your AC, you choose which one to use.

Poor Swimmers. A Vrusk is a poor swimmer, and you will have disadvantage on Strength (Athletic) checks for swimming.

Languages. You can speak, read and write in Solar Trade Common and Marvanic.

Plasmoids for 5e

A species in my 5e pulp sci-fi game, which will probably be somewhat familiar to those of you that remember Star Frontiers... 

Art by Jason Sholtis

PLASMOID

Plasmoids are rubbery, elastic invertebrates. They can change their shape at will, creating a number of pseudopods as needed. Their skin is a flexible and surprisingly tough membrane. It generally is dull gray and lined with dark veins that meet at the Plasmoid’s two eye spots. The internal structure of a Plasmoid is much more chaotic than other species. Their central nerve bundle or brain and subordinate nerve clusters, numerous small hearts and other internal organs float in proteinaceous fluid with the consistency of pudding. 

Plasmoids are generally good-natured, philosophical and thoughtful. They seem unconcerned with wealth, power or status symbols. They are infamous for their strange sense of humor. They love old jokes and groan-worthy puns. Human comedians who can’t buy a laugh on New Terra can get rich performing on Merkuro, though few are willing to make the trip to that forbidding world.

Homeworld: Merkuro

Average Size: 1.3 m tall, 1 m wide

Average Weight: 65 kg

Phenotypic Variation: Individual Plasmoids are not quite identical, but do not vary in predictable ways reflecting ethnicity or familial relationships.

Reproduction: Sequential hermaphroditism, offspring bud off of mother

Traits:

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

Age.  Plasmoids are fully mature within 1 year after budding and usually live up to 250 years.

Size. You are Medium or Small. You choose the size when you select this species.

Speed. Your walking speed is 20 feet, though this may be improved by adding additional limbs.

Blindsight. You have blindsight within 30 feet by using your chemical and tactile senses.

Elasticity. You can squeeze through a space as narrow as 1 inch along its narrowest dimension, provided you are wearing and carrying nothing. You also have advantage on ability checks you make to initiate or escape a grapple. 

Grappler. Because of your elastic nature, you have advantage on attack rolls against any creature that you have grappled.

Resilience. You have natural resistance to piercing and slashing damage.

Shape Self. If you are not incapacitated, you can reshape your body to give yourself a head, one or two arms, one or two legs, and makeshift hands and feet, or you can revert to a limbless blob (no action required). You can have a total number of limbs equal to your Dexterity Ability score divided by 2. A Plasmoid needs at a minimum of 2 legs to be able to walk at base speed. A Plasmoid with 3 legs has a walking speed of 25 feet, and 4 legs or more has a walking speed of 30 feet.

As a bonus action, you can extrude a new pseudopod that is up to 6 inches wide and 4 feet long or reabsorb one into your body. This requires concentration until the start of your next turn. If you have three or more arms, you gain one additional unarmed melee attack or grapple as a Bonus Action during your turn when using an Attack action. Also, you can perform a Use Object Action as a Bonus action. You can use this pseudopod to manipulate an object, open an unlocked door or container, stow or retrieve an item from an open container, or pour out the contents of a container without the use of a Bonus Action.

Languages. You can speak, read and write in Solar Trade Common and Merkuran.

The First Folk of the Wilderness

This is a follow-up to this post.

The First Folk were the earliest inhabitants of the Western Lands, that is certain. Their tradition holds that all people emerged from the navel of the Earth, somewhere in the far west, but that they, the Children of the Dawn, were specially loved by the gods who taught them their secrets, which the first Folks used to found the earliest civilizations in the world in the Eastern Lands.

Some human scriptures teach that the First Folk are the hybrid children of rebellious greater spirits, sometimes falsely called gods, and humans. They cite the Great Flood as the True God's punishment for the iniquities of the First Folk and their parents. This religious condemnation did not stop human tribes from studying under the First Folk and learning their craft and science. Of course, these humans, too, committed the same sins in the eyes of God, perhaps, for was not their island home destroyed in a cataclysm for their wickedness?

After the Flood, the surviving First Folk lords and their people returned to the shores of the Western Lands. There they found members of their own race, fallen in their own reckoning, living primitively in the endless forests. They sometimes met these kinsfolk in peace, sometimes in violence. They raised new cities, though perhaps not as glorious as those in the East. The barrows and ruins of these people are still found, though in the end a strange fall overcame them, so that they were only a shadow by the time the first humans came West. 

These human tribes sometimes warred with the surviving First Folk from the East, but over time became beloved of the the First Folk of the woodlands. Later human tribes would not be so receptive to the First Folk ways.

The Folk of Forests have receded ever further as human civilization has encroached upon the dark wood beyond the mountains. It is wise for travelers to abide by their rules and attempt to placate them, however, as they have be known to punish those who do not respect their ways.

The First Folk of the east were taller (perhaps as tall as 8 feet, with some of the ruling class of the great kingdoms of the East even taller) and in general, considered more beautiful than humans. Their lifespans were exceedingly long--before the Deluge they were immortal--and their physical capabilities exceeded those of man. Their eyes and sometimes their faces, were said to have a subtle radiance about them, perhaps a suggestion of their Celestial heritage. The Folk of the Forest are not as tall, and often more angular, but still strangely beautiful, possessed of a glamor, it is said.

Weird Revisited: Gnomes: Magical Mystery Tour

The original version of this post appeared in 2010, the first full year of this blog. It relates to the setting I briefly ran (and wrote about) prior to launching into the City and Weird Adventures. I late stole ideas from this setting for other stuff.

 

As mentioned before, there are two types of beings called "gnomes" in the world of Arn. One is a scholarly group akin to halflings, inhabiting and maintaining the Library of Tharkad-Keln. The other are ultraterrestrials--extraplanar beings--who have been characterized as an annoying group of pilgrims, or even less charitably, as an infection of the Prime Material Plane. It is this second type of gnome that will concern us here.

Gnomes usually appear as diminutive men with nut-brown skin and large, amber eyes. There are reports of green-skinned gnomes, and youthful females, but these are more rare. No one knows if these different forms reflect real differences within the gnomish race, or are only affectations.

Their demeanor is often perplexing, as well. They often project a knowing amusement in their interactions with other intelligent species, but can at times view even the simplest and commonplace things with child-like wonder. Unless directly threatened, they often seem blissfully unaware of dangerous situations.

No one knows on what plane the gnomes arose. Some hold that it was the elemental plane of earth itself, given their connection with that element. Others hold that they hail from an alternate material plane with a higher concentration of elemental earth. Wherever they came from, they're now a race of travelers--though the purpose of their travels is mysterious.

Gnomes go anywhere there is elemental earth. They somehow dwell within--and move and communicate through--something they refer to as "tesseract networks" within the elemental particles of earth (which as all natural philosophers know are cubic in nature). Gnomes occasionally invite other sapients into their "networks," but those who return are unable to give coherent descriptions of what they have seen.

Certain species of mushrooms represent "nodes" in the gnomish network, and are places from which gnomes emerge into our plane. Consumption of these mushrooms expands the consciousness in unpredictable ways--sometimes allowing experiences of the areas around other nodes in the gnomish network, perhaps in other time periods, or allowing direct mental communication with the intellects of the gnomes themselves. The minds of other species don't always recover from these experiences.

Despite their alien nature, gnomes are generally friendly toward other intelligent races. They will often trade gems or precious stones, though the items they desire in exchange can't be predicted. They are often skilled mages and have been known to join adventuring parties for a time, when they can find one willing to put up with their eccentricities. They go and come as they please with no explanation.  Mostly, they observe with interest, as if the world was a play put on for their amusement.

From the Sacred Scrolls: Go Ape in 5e

This post first appeared in 2016...

As presented in the original films, the apes are fairly un-ape-like in characteristics (because of course, they are played by people in masks, but that’s beside the point). Taking what we see on screen and what we are told of ape history as true, we may assume they have been genetically modified/selectively bred to something closer to a australopithecine morphology. They don’t possess the long upper limbs and associated strength, relatively stronger jaws, or opposable great toes of modern apes.

Ability score increase. +1 to any two abilities of their choice.
Speed. The apes of POTA are more bipedal than extant apes, but their foot structure still doesn't appear to be as optimized for upright walking as a humans, and they tend to have a stooped posture. Base walking speed is 25.
Grounded. For whatever reason, apes are less susceptible to illusions and mind control. They have an advantage on saving throws to resist such attacks or attempts at subterfuge.
Keen Nose. Proficiency in smell-related Perception checks.

Subraces/Subspecies:

Chimpanzee
Ability score increase. +1 Intelligence.
Studious. Gain proficiency in either one Intelligence or Wisdom skill, or a tool proficiency.

Gorilla
Ability score increase. +1 Strength.
Menacing. Gain Intimidation proficiency.

Orangutan
Ability score increase. +1 Charisma.
Knowledge Keeper. Gain proficiency in one Intelligence skill.

Ewoks!

I happened to see one of the old Ewoks cartoons on Youtube the other day. It was a pretty good fantasy cartoon of the era. It prompted me to recall than "Endor" is the Quenya name for Middle Earth, which may or may not be relevant.

Anyway, I feel like halflings/hobbits could be replaced with ewoks with very little difficult and bring a slightly different feel to things.

Weird Revisited: The Mighty

This post originally appeared in 2018...

 

Art by Jack Kirby

In the Country of Sang in the Land of Azurth, there are those born among the human tribes and city-states that have abilities beyond those of other mortals. These are the Mighty.

No one knows why the Mighty are so gifted. Some believe they bear the blood of the Ancients, who had mastered mastered sorcery and science to make themselves superhuman, while others think that they are specially chosen by forgotten gods. Often Mighty individuals will appear as normal humans until some sort of fateful trial or challenge, but these experiences are merely the catalysts of change not the source of their power.

Mighty Traits:

Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2, and your Constitution score increases by 1.
Age. The Mighty live somewhat longer lifespans as mundane humanity, perhaps a bit over a century, but the mature at the same rate.
Alignment. The Mighty may be of any alignment.
Size. The Mighty are powerfully built and generally tall (6 to 7 feet, or sometimes more). Your size is Medium.
Speed. Base walking speed is 30 feet.
Athletic Prowess. You have proficiency in the Athletics skill.
Superhuman Endurance. You can focus your will 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.
Strength Beyond Mortals. You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.
Fearlessness. You have advantage on saves against fear.

Art by Bruce Timm

Elves Don't Do Magic!

My kid has become a fan of Ben & Holly's Little Kingdom, a British animated series about the comedic exploits of a community of fairies and elves. These particular elves are certainly more of the Santa's and Keebler's varieties rather than Tolkien's. While the Little Kingdom elves are likely unsuitable as a PC rave in D&D as presented, I think their adaptable. 

Unlike your standard elf, they eschew magic. They are practical, hardworking beings, largely responsible for keeping fairy society up and going by filling positions in most trades and using and repairing modern technology.

Adult male elves tend to have beards. All elves seen to favor pointed caps.

Note that these elves are capable of using magic. Some are artificers of magical devices. They just believe that using magic inherently leads to trouble and it offends their personal work ethic.

Elf traits:

Ability Score Increase: Intelligence score increases by 2. Any other ability score of the player's choice can increased by 1.

Size: Small. (Elves in the cartoon are actually Tiny, but we're adapting here.)
Speed: Base walking speed is 25 feet.

Industrious: An elf is proficient in one skill and one artisan tool or vehicle of the player's choice. Whenever you make an ability check with the chosen skill or tool, roll a d4 and add the number rolled to the check's total.

Technologically Savvy: Elves may add their proficiency bonus to any check relating to advanced

technology or mechanical devices.

Languages: Elves can speak, read, and write Elvish, Common, and another language of their choice.

No Elves

 

This is not a Talislanta post.

While D&D has added a number of new "races" to the game over the decades, it has remained strongly humanoid-centric. Nothing wrong with that, but I have wondered on occasion if fantasy of a more or less standard variety would feel any different if you placed the D&D races with say, the species in Star Frontiers (just one example, but these have the advantage of already having appeared in D&D via adaptations to Spelljammer)? Not as an addition, but as a replacement for the usual elves, dwarves, and halflings.

Sure all sorts of gonzo PC types appear in various Old School sources, but these tend to move the game away from classic fantasy toward science fantasy or post-apocalytpicness. I think it would be interesting to see how it works if they were inserted into something more basic. 

What's to be gained? Well, for one thing, science fiction has different cliches than fantasy. There are warrior races and superior beings in both, but they don't get packaged quite in the same way. Special relationships to nature or magic are out, for instance. No one assumes Dralasites have Scottish accents, at least.

Buck Rogers XX5e: Venusians

Venusians are a genetically modified strain of humanity, with smaller, closer set ears than is typical for humans of Earth, and a nictating membrane over their eyes. The tend to heavier-framed due to Venus' thicker atmosphere.

There are three cultural groups the partially terraformed Venus of the 25th Century: the Aerostaters, Ishtarians, and Aphroditians.

The Aerostaters are nomads you engage in trade and herding from their dirigible cities. They are stereotyped as friendly and fond of festivals and large parties.

The Ishtarian Confederation dominates the planets surface-to-orbit transport. They are most known for their theocracy and mystic religion.

The Aphroditians are natives of the southern continent. They are descendants of the original colonists of Venus and live in a society constructed around large fiefs controlled by one of several families. The people are mostly farmers or miners. They are stereotyped as shrewd traders, but also stubborn and hot-tempered.

Venusian Genotypical Traits
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution and Wisdom scores increase by 1. You may also increase your Strength or Intelligence by 1.
Age. Same as humans.
Alignment. Any.
Size. Venusians are Medium.
Speed. Base walking speed is 30 feet.
Nictating Membrane. You have a Advantage against attacks which might cause you to be Blinded.

Weird Revisited: Hwaopt

This post first appeared in 2017...

Hwaopt are reptilian humanoids from a distant world. They have large eyes and their dorsal surfaces have tubercules and spines marked with splotches of drab colors. They have adapted to a trogloxenic existence, with the largest group dwelling in and maintaining a vast, library cave system, which may be the greatest repository of knowledge in the know world.

As their vocation would suggest, hwaopt are bookish creatures--to the point pedantry in the eyes of many. Their tendency to verbose lectures on obscure topics is minor social deterrent to other species compared to their odor.  Hwaopt use chemical signalling as part of their communication with others of their kind, but non-hwaopt often find these pungent scents unpleasant.

Hwaopt are generally nonviolent, perhaps even cowardly in the estimation of other races. This is not true of their degenerate, brutish relatives, the troglodytes.

Hwaopt Traits
Ability Score Increase. A hwaopt's Intelligence score is increased by 2 and Wisdom is increased by 1.
Alignment. Hwaopt tend toward lawfulness.
Size. Hwaopt are medium.
Speed. Base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision. Accustom to life underground hwaopt can see 60 feet within dim light as if it were bright light, and darkness as if it were dim light for 60 ft.
Odor. Hwaopt scent glands deliver subtle chemical signals to other hwaopt. They can tell if another individual of their kind has been in a room or other enclosed location (60 ft. area) within an hour and make a DC 12 Perception to determine their general emotional and health state and whether it is an individual they have encounter before. Open areas, a lot of air movement, or other strong scents generally make this impossible. Other races tend to find hwaopt scents unpleasant, so they wear masking perfumes when they plan to be around other species in close quarters. Creatures with a keen sense of smell must make a DC 12 Constitution check or be poisoned until their next turn. A creature who succeeds their check is immune for 1 hour.
Languages. Hwaopt can speak and read the Common language of humans. They also speak their own tongue, a language whose grammar is notoriously difficult to master. Their scholar tendencies provide them one extra language.

Weird Revisited: D&D Races as UFOlogy Aliens

The original version of this post appeared in August of 2018...

 

I bought these Japanese alien figurines about four years ago. Looking at them yesterday, I though they might make good new skins for for D&D races.

Elves = Gray
They're both fan favorites with all the mystique.

Gnomes = Hopskinville Goblin
Magical little pranksters.

Halflings = "Apache" Alien
Their both child-like and cutesy, I guess. Not so sure about this one. (I actually don't know what alien this is supposed the represent. It looks like a Neonate, but the name "Apache" is odd.)

Goliath = Voronezh Alien
Giants!

Dwarf = Frog Alien
Let's break the Dwarf/Beard connection once and for all. I suppose the Roswell Alien as pictured would be an alternate. Though I and other have statted up frogling races for 5e.

Tiefling = "Triglia" Alien
He's demonic looking!

Weird Revisited: Hohmmkudhuk

The original version of this post appeared in 2016...

Art by Jason Sholtis

Hohmmkudhuk* are dwarfish beings resembling bipedal anteaters whose dorsal surface is covered with over-lapping, plate-like scales similar to a pangolin's. They spend much of their life underground in great subterranean halls or warrens. They are clannish and eusocial. Each hall belongs to a Queen, though her holdings are managed by her mate or mates, the Drone-Princes, of which there may be as many as three.

Only the Queen and her consorts reproduce, the rest of the clan is made up of their siblings and children who are sterile. Children are raised communally and in the same way: they pass through a sort of apprenticeship, doing low-skilled tasks as soon as they are able, then advancing to the role of warrior, trader or artisan as they so aptitude and develop the appropriate skills.

If the Queen dies or decides it is time to create a daughter-clan, one of her female progeny becomes able to reproduce and becomes a new queen. This new Queen will have a mate from an unrelated clan. These unions are arranged to form alliances, but their is also a strong tradition of wandering male adventurers winning the heart of a young queen.

Hohmmkudhuk know the ways of the underground and the working of stone. Their magic is bent to this purpose. They personify the planet itself as a goddess.

Hohmmkudhuk Traits
Ability Score Increase. Constitution score is increased by 2 and Wisdom is increased by 1.
Alignment. Hohmmkudhuk tend toward lawfulness.
Size. Hohmmkudhuk are around 4 feet tall, but heavy for their height.
Speed. Base walking speed is 25 feet.
Darkvision. Accustom to life underground Hohmmkudhuk can see 60 feet within dim light as if it were bright light.
Natural Armor. Due to their scales, Hohmmkudhuk get a +1 bonus to Armor Class.
Resilence. Hohmmkudhuk have an advantage on saving throws against poison and resistance against poison damage.
Languages. Hohmmkudhuk can speak and read the Common language of humans. They also speak and read their on consonant-laden, rumbling tongue.

*pronounced ho-hmmm-ku-thuk, where u is as in put and th as in though.

Weird Revisited: Reskinned!

The original version of this post appeared in May of 2012...

The usual D&D races getting more than a little stale? Just give them a makeover and keep the old mechanics.  Try these knew visuals on for size:

For Elves:

Insect(-ish) men.

For Halflings:

Satyr-like guys.

For Half-Orcs:

Hairy hominids.

For Warforged:

Spaceknights!

Okay, that last one may be a bit of a stretch, but only a little.