Hello folks, I'm new to tabletop D&D (introduced by Baldur's Gate 3) and browsing the D&D reddit/forums over the past few months has made me interested in creating homebrewed races and campaigns.

I'm making an insectoid race for my campaign in South Faerûn, but am unsure if the traits are balanced, overpowered or useless since I haven't played a real game before. I've read a few guides on balancing races and tried to use similar feats as other official races, but thought that'd it might be easier to balance it by seeking comments from more experienced folks like yourselves. 

Here's the link to the insectoid race: Xubaiyi (Termite folk). They are based on openly foraging termites and cockroaches, which tend to be at the bottom of the food chain and so focus on survival. 

Grateful for any comments/suggestions, and have a good day! 

Mostly looks good, the Mandibles and Tenacious Strike features seem too weak compared to the other subraces’ features.

Quote from MilestoGo_24 >>

Mostly looks good, the Mandibles and Tenacious Strike features seem too weak compared to the other subraces’ features.

Thank you Miles :)  In your view, is it too weak because of the small amount of temporary hp it gives (1-5) or low dmg of the Mandibles (1d4 vs Lizardfolk's 1d6) or some other reason? Would the following adjustment (inspired by Fury of the Small but granting 1hp/lvl instead of 1dmg/lvl) make it more comparable to the other subraces? 

• Tenacious Strike. In battle, you can draw out your innate tenacity. As a bonus action, you can make a special attack with your mandibles. 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. equal your level, and you can't use this trait again until you finish a short or long rest. 

I think doing “temporary hit points equal to half your level (round up)” would be more balanced, but otherwise the change is great!

Something I also didn’t notice before: Fontanellar Gun should make a saving throw if the attack hits, rather than just outright blinding.

Quote from MilestoGo_24 >>

I think doing “temporary hit points equal to half your level (round up)” would be more balanced, but otherwise the change is great!

Something I also didn’t notice before: Fontanellar Gun should make a saving throw if the attack hits, rather than just outright blinding.

Thanks much for your help! Will make the changes suggested. I've assumed that the saving throw uses strength like a person grabbing the acid glob (like a mini gelatinous cube) and tossing it aside. Do I need to specify the DC for this since its not technically a spell which uses 8 + proficiency + ability modifier? Drafted a version below, assuming its stickiness increases when you level and become more proficient. Let me know what you think, thank you!

Fontanellar Gun. You can use your action to shoot a viscous glob of acid from your fontanellar gun towards a creature or object within 60 feet of you. When you do so, make a ranged attack against the target. Dexterity is your modifier for this attack. On a hit, the target takes 2d6 acid damage and if the target is a creature, it must succeed on a Strength saving throw or be blinded until the end of your next turn. The DC of the Strength saving throw is 8 + your proficiency bonus. After you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest. 

I might drop the DEX bonus to +1 and have the worker subclass get an additional +1 to DEX.  When you look at the 2 other options that start with a feat, V Human and Custom Lineage they only have +2 total bonus to scores.

Quote from cclu >>

Quote from MilestoGo_24 >>

I think doing “temporary hit points equal to half your level (round up)” would be more balanced, but otherwise the change is great!

Something I also didn’t notice before: Fontanellar Gun should make a saving throw if the attack hits, rather than just outright blinding.

Thanks much for your help! Will make the changes suggested. I've assumed that the saving throw uses strength like a person grabbing the acid glob (like a mini gelatinous cube) and tossing it aside. Do I need to specify the DC for this since its not technically a spell which uses 8 + proficiency + ability modifier? Drafted a version below, assuming its stickiness increases when you level and become more proficient. Let me know what you think, thank you!

Fontanellar Gun. You can use your action to shoot a viscous glob of acid from your fontanellar gun towards a creature or object within 60 feet of you. When you do so, make a ranged attack against the target. Dexterity is your modifier for this attack. On a hit, the target takes 2d6 acid damage and if the target is a creature, it must succeed on a Strength saving throw or be blinded until the end of your next turn. The DC of the Strength saving throw is 8 + your proficiency bonus. After you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest. 

 Yes, you need to specify how to calculate the DC. Also, most save DCs get bigger as the user gains levels, but you should definitely specify an ability score to tie the save DC to. I suggest Constitution. Additionally, the save should also be a Constitution save or Dexterity save rather than a Strength save, as I can hardly imagine a creature needing to be strong rather than able to dodge or physically resistant in order to avoid being blinded.

Quote from ThelonelyMagi >>

I might drop the DEX bonus to +1 and have the worker subclass get an additional +1 to DEX.  When you look at the 2 other options that start with a feat, V Human and Custom Lineage they only have +2 total bonus to scores.

Thanks for the comment! I did a bit more reading into feats and it does seem that Alert is quite strong to have. I'll probably replace it with a proficiency in perception and some other thematic things like darkvision and nimbleness. 

Quote from MilestoGo_24 >>

Quote from cclu >>

Quote from MilestoGo_24 >>

I think doing “temporary hit points equal to half your level (round up)” would be more balanced, but otherwise the change is great!

Something I also didn’t notice before: Fontanellar Gun should make a saving throw if the attack hits, rather than just outright blinding.

Thanks much for your help! Will make the changes suggested. I've assumed that the saving throw uses strength like a person grabbing the acid glob (like a mini gelatinous cube) and tossing it aside. Do I need to specify the DC for this since its not technically a spell which uses 8 + proficiency + ability modifier? Drafted a version below, assuming its stickiness increases when you level and become more proficient. Let me know what you think, thank you!

Fontanellar Gun. You can use your action to shoot a viscous glob of acid from your fontanellar gun towards a creature or object within 60 feet of you. When you do so, make a ranged attack against the target. Dexterity is your modifier for this attack. On a hit, the target takes 2d6 acid damage and if the target is a creature, it must succeed on a Strength saving throw or be blinded until the end of your next turn. The DC of the Strength saving throw is 8 + your proficiency bonus. After you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest. 

 Yes, you need to specify how to calculate the DC. Also, most save DCs get bigger as the user gains levels, but you should definitely specify an ability score to tie the save DC to. I suggest Constitution. Additionally, the save should also be a Constitution save or Dexterity save rather than a Strength save, as I can hardly imagine a creature needing to be strong rather than able to dodge or physically resistant in order to avoid being blinded.

 Thanks again! I'll take these into considerations and edit it.