I am trying to put together a custom species on here but it has proven very difficult. Partially because Wizards themselves can't settle on how they want to handle sub-races/species.
I know there is a dedicated way to do sub-races, but it seems that nothing official has used this for years. I am trying to make my race as modern as possible. In regards to wording and function, so I have mostly been looking at Monsters of the Multiverse and the 2024 Players Handbook for how to do this.
But even between those two books this is handled differently. MotM just straight up doesn't do them and instead separates them all into individual races. And the 2024 Elf rebrands them as Lineages and makes them an option under Elf. (Except not in the same way or place as they did it in 2014).
I set out to build mine like the 2024 elf because it seemed the most similar to what I am trying to do. Except the way that is set up only works for gaining spells as you level. One of my sub-races doesn't gain spells but instead upgrades one of the base racial traits. First of all, it doesn't seem to be possible to make a lineage option overwrite a base racial trait. And second of all, I can't make the spellcasting choice trait only show up for the lineages that need it.
Is there a way to do those things? Could I do these things if I used the old subrace homebrewing system?
The “official” position on subspecies is that there is no longer any such thing as subspecies in D&D. The reason the Elven lineages in MotM were treated as separate species is because the base PHB species were not included in MotM, so they couldn’t just add it as an additional Lineage to the standard elf. The way they are doing it in the ‘24 PHB is the way to do it to be most compliant with current best practice.
The reason your spells are all getting applied to all your lineages is probably because you are adding them to the base species trait. What you need to do is create an individual Option for each lineage and attach the different spells to those Options. You can learn all about creating Options for Species Traits in the Homebrew Subclasses & Species FAQ,* question #1. To learn more about how to add the desired spells, please see question #14 of that same FAQ.*
For that special variation that gets a completely different trait instead of the one that grants different spells based on lineage, you would need to do it differently. Instead of a Species Option (formerly “subrace”), you would need to create it as a Variant (just like the various variant races in the 2014 PHB). You can learn about the differences between Species Options and Variant Species in the same aforementioned FAQ,* question #5.1 in this case.
First of all thank you. That FAQ is a game changer!
The spells are working correctly for the lineages that are supposed to get spells. I can select the spell casting modifier and the spells are added and work. The problem is that the trait that adds the options (Example; Elven Lineage Spells). Is still showing up for the lineage that doesn't get a spell. There are no options to pick from, because all of the options have the other lineages set as prerequisites. But the trait still shows up and has an empty drop down.
I suppose if I am instead creating a variant for that spell-less lineage that might fix the problem. How do variants stack up with current best practices? Seems like those also haven't been used in a while. Though the '24 books are just getting started.
Out of curiosity, why did you split the spells off into a different trait than the one that determines the lineage? Technically, so far they haven’t used variants in quite a while, but that doesn’t mean they won’t. A “variant species” doesn’t have the same issues associated with it that a “subspecies” would have had. Plus it would make incorporating something like the Astral elf and any other different type of elves in with the PHB elf species moving forward. Since WotC appears to be now writing their stuff to essentially conform to DDB’s system, if they were planning not to use the variant system moving forward I have to think they would have simple made those not work for 5e24 species either. 🤷♂️
I had to split the spells into a different trait in order to allow you to pick your spell casting modifier.
Basically, for each lineage, you have to create 3 options, one for each spell casting stat. And then you set prerequisite options so that they only appear in the drop down if you have picked the right lineage. As far as I can tell, it's not possible to use an option as a prerequisite if that option comes from the same trait as the option that needs it. So I had to create a new trait altogether, and add the spell casting options in there. Then I could use the lineage options as prerequisites for the spellcasting modifier options.
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I am trying to put together a custom species on here but it has proven very difficult. Partially because Wizards themselves can't settle on how they want to handle sub-races/species.
I know there is a dedicated way to do sub-races, but it seems that nothing official has used this for years. I am trying to make my race as modern as possible. In regards to wording and function, so I have mostly been looking at Monsters of the Multiverse and the 2024 Players Handbook for how to do this.
But even between those two books this is handled differently. MotM just straight up doesn't do them and instead separates them all into individual races. And the 2024 Elf rebrands them as Lineages and makes them an option under Elf. (Except not in the same way or place as they did it in 2014).
I set out to build mine like the 2024 elf because it seemed the most similar to what I am trying to do. Except the way that is set up only works for gaining spells as you level. One of my sub-races doesn't gain spells but instead upgrades one of the base racial traits. First of all, it doesn't seem to be possible to make a lineage option overwrite a base racial trait. And second of all, I can't make the spellcasting choice trait only show up for the lineages that need it.
Is there a way to do those things? Could I do these things if I used the old subrace homebrewing system?
The “official” position on subspecies is that there is no longer any such thing as subspecies in D&D. The reason the Elven lineages in MotM were treated as separate species is because the base PHB species were not included in MotM, so they couldn’t just add it as an additional Lineage to the standard elf. The way they are doing it in the ‘24 PHB is the way to do it to be most compliant with current best practice.
The reason your spells are all getting applied to all your lineages is probably because you are adding them to the base species trait. What you need to do is create an individual Option for each lineage and attach the different spells to those Options. You can learn all about creating Options for Species Traits in the Homebrew Subclasses & Species FAQ,* question #1. To learn more about how to add the desired spells, please see question #14 of that same FAQ.*
For that special variation that gets a completely different trait instead of the one that grants different spells based on lineage, you would need to do it differently. Instead of a Species Option (formerly “subrace”), you would need to create it as a Variant (just like the various variant races in the 2014 PHB). You can learn about the differences between Species Options and Variant Species in the same aforementioned FAQ,* question #5.1 in this case.
*(https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/dungeons-dragons-discussion/homebrew-house-rules/131411-a-homebrewers-how-to-faq#HomebrewSubclasses&SpeciesFAQ).
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
First of all thank you. That FAQ is a game changer!
The spells are working correctly for the lineages that are supposed to get spells. I can select the spell casting modifier and the spells are added and work. The problem is that the trait that adds the options (Example; Elven Lineage Spells). Is still showing up for the lineage that doesn't get a spell. There are no options to pick from, because all of the options have the other lineages set as prerequisites. But the trait still shows up and has an empty drop down.
I suppose if I am instead creating a variant for that spell-less lineage that might fix the problem. How do variants stack up with current best practices? Seems like those also haven't been used in a while. Though the '24 books are just getting started.
Out of curiosity, why did you split the spells off into a different trait than the one that determines the lineage? Technically, so far they haven’t used variants in quite a while, but that doesn’t mean they won’t. A “variant species” doesn’t have the same issues associated with it that a “subspecies” would have had. Plus it would make incorporating something like the Astral elf and any other different type of elves in with the PHB elf species moving forward. Since WotC appears to be now writing their stuff to essentially conform to DDB’s system, if they were planning not to use the variant system moving forward I have to think they would have simple made those not work for 5e24 species either. 🤷♂️
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
I had to split the spells into a different trait in order to allow you to pick your spell casting modifier.
Basically, for each lineage, you have to create 3 options, one for each spell casting stat. And then you set prerequisite options so that they only appear in the drop down if you have picked the right lineage. As far as I can tell, it's not possible to use an option as a prerequisite if that option comes from the same trait as the option that needs it. So I had to create a new trait altogether, and add the spell casting options in there. Then I could use the lineage options as prerequisites for the spellcasting modifier options.