Homebrew Firenewt Species Details

On firenewts, the great wizard Elminster once said: "’Tis always a fight to death for them, so ’tis also one for ye." The firenewts are a race of lizard-like humanoids that originate from the Elemental Plane of Fire. They typically dwell in underground hot spots, or on the surface in areas lush with hot springs and volcanic activity. They're known to worship Kossuth and the Evil Prince of Elemental Fire, Imix. They have translucent, almost lava-like, scales with a clear view at their ribcage which glows a hot white.

Their known for their use of alchemical concoctions, their favourite mix being a paste of sulphur, mineral salts and oil. Chewing on this paste pleasantly increases their internal body heat, allowing them to survive away from a moist heat source for longer and allows them to spit it out as a fiery attack.

Creating Your Character

At 1st level, you choose whether your character is a member of the human race or of a fantastical race. If you select a fantastical race, follow these additional rules during character creation.

Ability Score Increases

When determining your character’s ability scores, increase one score by 2 and increase a different score by 1, or increase three different scores by 1. Follow this rule regardless of the method you use to determine the scores, such as rolling or point buy. The “Quick Build” section for your character’s class offers suggestions on which scores to increase. You can follow those suggestions or ignore them, but you can’t raise any of your scores above 20.

Languages

Your character can speak, read, and write Common and one other language that you and your DM agree is appropriate for the character. The Player's Handbook offers a list of languages to choose from. The DM is free to modify that list for a campaign.

Creature Type

Every creature in D&D, including each player character, has a special tag in the rules that identifies the type of creature they are. Most player characters are of the Humanoid type. A race tells you what your character’s creature type is.

Here’s a list of the game’s creature types in alphabetical order: Aberration, Beast, Celestial, Construct, Dragon, Elemental, Fey, Fiend, Giant, Humanoid, Monstrosity, Ooze, Plant, Undead. These types don’t have rules themselves, but some rules in the game affect creatures of certain types in different ways. For example, the cure wounds spell doesn’t work on a Construct or an Undead.

Life Span

The typical life span of a player character in the D&D multiverse is about a century, assuming the character doesn’t meet a violent end on an adventure. Members of some races, such as dwarves and elves, can live for centuries. If typical members of a race can live longer than a century, that fact is mentioned in the race’s description.

Height and Weight

Player characters, regardless of race, typically fall into the same ranges of height and weight that humans have in our world. If you’d like to determine your character’s height or weight randomly, consult the Random Height and Weight table in the Player's Handbook, and choose the row in the table that best represents the build you imagine for your character.

Firenewt Traits

As a firenewt, you have the following racial traits.

Creature Type

You are a Humanoid. You are also considered an elemental for any prerequisite or effect that requires you to be an elemental.

Size

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

Speed

Your walking speed is 30 feet.

Amphibious

You can breathe air and water.

Firenewt Paste

The favourite mixture of firenewts is a paste of sulphur, mineral salts, and oil. Chewing this blend produces a pleasant internal heat and if chewed daily it extends the time you can spend away from a moist heat source, further detailed in Heat Seeker, to a month. This applies to every level of exhaustion. One pint of oil mixed with three handfuls of both sulphur and mineral salts can create enough to last 5 days. Discuss with your DM how available sulphur and mineral salts are.

A creature chewing this blend must make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or take 1d6 fire damage. On a success they take no damage. This save must be repeated for every round the paste is chewed. A creature immune to fire damage automatically succeeds on this saving throw.

Heat Seeker

After spending a week away from an external source of moist heat, such as hot springs or boiling mud baths, you gain a level of exhaustion. For every week after that, you gain another level of exhaustion up to a maximum of 3 levels of exhaustion from this feature. Once you have spent half a day within 30 feet of an external source of moist heat this feature resets and any levels of exhaustion gained by this feature end.

Spit Fire

When you take the Attack action on your turn, you can replace one of your attacks with the expectoration of fiery spittle at a creature of your choice within 10 feet. The creature must make a Dexterity saving throw (DC = 8 + your Dexterity modifier + your proficiency bonus). On a failed save, the creature takes 2d8 fire damage. On a successful save, it takes half as much damage. This damage increases by 1d8 when you reach 5th level (3d8), 11th level (4d8), and 17th level (5d8).

You can use your Spit Fire a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Volcanic Dwelling

You have immunity to fire damage.