I am homebrewing a race for my brother. The idea is that they tear apart reality to teleport and stuff.
At first level, they gain the ability to cast shield once per long rest
At third level they gain misty step and can cast it once per long rest
At fifth level they can attempt to disarm people when they cast shield. The attacker makes a Str save (DC 8+ PB+ int) or their weapon falls to the ground. If they are using an unarmed strike, they take (PB) d6 force damage.
At ninth level, they can cast teleport once per long rest
Is it a bad idea to give them teleport? And if so, how can I balance it?
I would just stop at 5th level and give them more uses of misty step. That and shield are already two of the best low-level spells in the game, especially if you don’t need to spend spell slots for them. Besides, currently there are no official races that grant traits at higher than 5th level. Also, that disarm trait isn’t much more than a ribbon since it costs nothing to pick a weapon back up. You could also allow them to cast shield and misty step with spell slots too, that would add a little more beef to the mix without making it too overpowered.
Githzerai is possibly has the best racial spell casting becaue it gets access to shield, but only does so at level 3, at level 1 a full caster only has 2 spell slots so getting an extra slot and being able to cast probably the best 1st level spell in the game at that level is extremely powerful, similarly at level 3 a full caster only has two second level slots which this feature increases to 3. At level 5 the Githzerai gets detect thoughts, this is somewhat DM dependent (What is surface thought? does the target regards probing deeper as a hostile act?) I would say it is nothing like as useful as misty step. On top of this the Githzerai gets an invisible mage hand, advantage on saves against chamed or frightened and resistance to psychic damage, though that comes up rarely.
I would be tempted to use a similar structure a cantrip at level 1 (mage hand would actually fit this, minor illusion would also fit) then give shield at 3 and misty step at 5. They could also get another feature (or possibly 2) at level 1 but bearing in mind they have 3 really good spells here so I would add anything too powerful, certainly no stronger than the Githzerai.
If you don't go that way I would disagree that the disarm feature is a ribbon. The majority of monsters do not have weapons so the effect will be PB d6 damage. A martial at level 5 might do 1d8+4 damage with an op attack (average 8.5) maybe a little more if they have a +1 weapon and or 1 two handed weapon, this feature gives 3d6 (average 10.5) so this character is doing at least as much damage as an op attack as a freedbie whan casting what is probably the best 1st level spell in the game. Removing the damage on atacks without a weapon (or maybe making it a small boost of 1d6) would turn it into a ribbon feature to add to the incredbily powerful features gained at levels 1 and 3 (getting levelled spells earlier than most other racial spells).
Teleport is not a fourth level spell it is a 7th level spell there is no way that should be granted at level 9. Did you mean dimension door? If if that is the case I would agree with IamSposta that it is best not to add racial features beyond level 5.
…I would be tempted to use a similar structure a cantrip at level 1 (mage hand would actually fit this, minor illusion would also fit) then give shield at 3 and misty step at 5. They could also get another feature (or possibly 2) at level 1 but bearing in mind they have 3 really good spells here so I would add anything too powerful, certainly no stronger than the Githzerai.
I am homebrewing a race for my brother. The idea is that they tear apart reality to teleport and stuff.
At first level, they gain the ability to cast shield once per long rest
At third level they gain misty step and can cast it once per long rest
At fifth level they can attempt to disarm people when they cast shield. The attacker makes a Str save (DC 8+ PB+ int) or their weapon falls to the ground. If they are using an unarmed strike, they take (PB) d6 force damage.
At ninth level, they can cast teleport once per long rest
Is it a bad idea to give them teleport? And if so, how can I balance it?
I would just stop at 5th level and give them more uses of misty step. That and shield are already two of the best low-level spells in the game, especially if you don’t need to spend spell slots for them. Besides, currently there are no official races that grant traits at higher than 5th level. Also, that disarm trait isn’t much more than a ribbon since it costs nothing to pick a weapon back up. You could also allow them to cast shield and misty step with spell slots too, that would add a little more beef to the mix without making it too overpowered.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
Compared to standard races this is very powerful.
Githzerai is possibly has the best racial spell casting becaue it gets access to shield, but only does so at level 3, at level 1 a full caster only has 2 spell slots so getting an extra slot and being able to cast probably the best 1st level spell in the game at that level is extremely powerful, similarly at level 3 a full caster only has two second level slots which this feature increases to 3. At level 5 the Githzerai gets detect thoughts, this is somewhat DM dependent (What is surface thought? does the target regards probing deeper as a hostile act?) I would say it is nothing like as useful as misty step. On top of this the Githzerai gets an invisible mage hand, advantage on saves against chamed or frightened and resistance to psychic damage, though that comes up rarely.
I would be tempted to use a similar structure a cantrip at level 1 (mage hand would actually fit this, minor illusion would also fit) then give shield at 3 and misty step at 5. They could also get another feature (or possibly 2) at level 1 but bearing in mind they have 3 really good spells here so I would add anything too powerful, certainly no stronger than the Githzerai.
If you don't go that way I would disagree that the disarm feature is a ribbon. The majority of monsters do not have weapons so the effect will be PB d6 damage. A martial at level 5 might do 1d8+4 damage with an op attack (average 8.5) maybe a little more if they have a +1 weapon and or 1 two handed weapon, this feature gives 3d6 (average 10.5) so this character is doing at least as much damage as an op attack as a freedbie whan casting what is probably the best 1st level spell in the game. Removing the damage on atacks without a weapon (or maybe making it a small boost of 1d6) would turn it into a ribbon feature to add to the incredbily powerful features gained at levels 1 and 3 (getting levelled spells earlier than most other racial spells).
Teleport is not a fourth level spell it is a 7th level spell there is no way that should be granted at level 9. Did you mean dimension door? If if that is the case I would agree with IamSposta that it is best not to add racial features beyond level 5.
Agreed.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
Thanks everyone for your feedback and ideas. And thanks for pointing out that teleport is not a 4th level spell. I misread that lol.