Homebrew Drake Species Details

We call them dragons of the earth and not of the sky. It seems they aren’t always so fond of that…

 

Drakes are creatures that resemble dragons, but have no wings. Their limbs are very muscular, and their neck is short and knotted with muscle. Like dragons, they have horns, claws, and sharp teeth, but these are not their primary weapons. While they prefer to be on all fours, they are beyond capable of standing on their hind legs and using their long arms to fight. While their neck is short, they have a very long tail. There are remnants of what might be vestigial wings by their shoulders. Their tails are long and muscular, with great heft to smash even armour.

History

Drakes are believed to be the unwanted offspring of dragons. They are anomalies that can occur within a dragons' brood, and are usually derided as born failures due to their lack of wings and smaller size. Drakes are usually left to die of exposure when their birth is discovered. But like dragons, they are very hardy and do not die easily. Most wander off from the nest, fully capable of surviving on their own. It is unknown exactly what abnormality in the egg makes a drake, but dragons have many superstitions of how the egg was rotten, or not heated enough to provide for a real dragon baby. Regardless, the drakes are not as feared as dragons due to their size. Taking that into their advantage, they utilize their intelligence to assimilate and coexist with other societies.

When Tiamat's cult reigned, they created a large amount of drakes subservient to their dragon queen. These drakes are the same as the naturally occurring anomalies: squat, muscular and wingless. This began the popular trend of using drakes as servants among dragons. Sometimes they would be servile to humans as well. Due to their ecology and abnormal birth, drakes cannot reproduce. But so long as they are created either via accident or for servitude, their numbers will persist.

Society

Drakes typically bond with whoever feeds it within the first three weeks of its birth. Originally, as they were neglected creatures, they were unaligned and chaotic with no masters, roaming as they please. Like dragons, they are very solitary and do not like to tolerate other drakes. They are naturally territorial, being very protective of possessions, but can also be seen as obedient to those who bond with them, or to those they see as their natural leader. The natural leader is usually the dragon type from which they originate. Some are a bit more open to interaction with other creatures and so work among their societies, having none of their own. With the bringing about of alchemy and rituals to create drakes, they number mainly as servants in other communities that use them as such.

 

Drake Names

Names come to a drake usually by venue of a master who summoned or created them, or a dragon who is their owner. Drakes who remain solitary or wander off usually try to name themselves, as they are usually bothered by lack of names. They favor Draconic names, but are not wholly masters of that language themselves. They hope to often gain a title for themselves as most dragons have.

Male: Drydrun, Tralamuth, Relliszat, Eregio

Female: Vendriss, Mondrial, Ymirth, Hragi.

Drake Traits

Your draconic heritage manifests in a variety of traits you share with other creatures of dragonkind.

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 can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Draconic Tail

You have a strong tail that is as long as half your height and can hold up to 15 pounds. It cannot wield weapons or shields but can be used for unarmed strikes. If you hit with it, you deal bludgeoning equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier.

Your tail can be trained to either rattle your foes or keep them at a safe distance.

Dragon Dash

You make quick beelines for targets. As a bonus action, you can drop to all fours and Dash. You must finish a short or long rest before using this trait again.

Ability Score Increase

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

Age

They reach maturity around 6 human years after its birth and live to be around 300.

Size

Drake vary widely in height and build, from barely 6 feet to well over 7 feet tall. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Draconic Ancestry

You have draconic ancestry. Choose one type of dragon from the Draconic Ancestry table. Your breath weapon and damage resistance are determined by the dragon type, as shown in the table.

Draconic Ancestry

Dragon	Damage Type	Breath Weapon
Amethyst	Force	15 ft. cone (Dex. save)
Black	Acid	5 by 30 ft. line (Dex. save)
Blue	Lightning	5 by 30 ft. line (Dex. save)
Brass	Fire	5 by 30 ft. line (Dex. save)
Bronze	Lightning	5 by 30 ft. line (Dex. save)
Copper	Acid	5 by 30 ft. line (Dex. save)
Crystal	Radiant	15 ft. cone (Dex. save)
Emerald	Psychic	15 ft. cone (Dex. save)
Gold	Fire	15 ft. cone (Dex. save)
Green	Poison	15 ft. cone (Con. save)
Red	Fire	15 ft. cone (Dex. save)
Sapphire	Thunder	15 ft. cone (Dex. save)
Silver	Cold	15 ft. cone (Con. save)
Topaz	Necrotic	15 ft. cone (Dex. save)
White	Cold	15 ft. cone (Con. save)

Breath Weapon

You can use your action to exhale destructive energy. Your draconic ancestry determines the size, shape, and damage type of the exhalation. When you use your breath weapon, each creature in the area of the exhalation must make a saving throw, the type of which is determined by your draconic ancestry. The DC for this saving throw equals 8 + your Constitution modifier + your proficiency bonus. A creature takes 2d6 damage on a failed save, and half as much damage on a successful one. The damage increases to 3d6 at 6th level, 4d6 at 11th level, and 5d6 at 16th level. After you use your breath weapon, you can’t use it again until you complete a short or long rest.

Damage Resistance

You have resistance to the damage type associated with your draconic ancestry.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and Draconic. Draconic is thought to be one of the oldest languages and is often used in the study of magic. The language sounds harsh to most other creatures and includes numerous hard consonants and sibilants.