Homebrew Dohwar Species Details

Skillful, adventurous, and graceful. These are words no one would ever use to describe the dohwar. Heavily feathered but flightless birds, the dohwar appear to resemble penguins, except they come in many colors, not just black and white. They are a species of highly mercantilistic people who travel around the many spheres in their ongoing trade war with the Great Rival: the Mercane. To date, the Mercane are barely aware of their existence.

At first glance, many might think a dohwar would be dextrous like other avian creatures. This is anything but the truth. The Dohwar tend to be incredibly clumsy and sluggish in their movement. They have small bodies that work against the few of them that seek a life of martial combat, though that hasn't stopped a few from becoming one of the 'legendary' Dohwar Deathsquealers.

One might then think that being a mercantilistic race, the dohwar must be a persuasive race, able to talk people into deals. That's also not the case. The dohwar have foregone any social grace in favor of a highly aggressive personality that is often offputting. When the dohwar want to make a deal with someone, multiple dohwar usually show up and each of them starts recounting their list of items for sale and prices, as well as what they will offer to pay for the items the person has. They don't haggle so much as keep screaming prices at you until a deal is struck. Oddly enough though, this seems to work for them.

The dohwar are a telepathic species, able to quickly and efficiently communicate with one another over great distances while they are working on trade deals. They can also turn this telepathy outwards to detect the thoughts of would-be customers to play that to their advantage in dealings.

They are a highly ragged looking species, rarely dressed in fine clothing in favor of whatever works for them. They seem to be a mess, but in reality this is all a show. The dohwar are a highly developed and organized trade machine that thoroughly believe the entire universe is out to get them.

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. 

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.

Dohwar Traits

As a dohwar, you have the following racial traits.

Creature Type

You are a Fey.

Size

You are Small.

Speed

Your walking speed is 30 ft. You have a swimming speed equal to your walking speed.

Hold Breath

You can hold your breath for up to 15 minutes at a time.

Arctic Adaptation

 You are naturally adapted to cold climates and you have resistance to cold damage.

Collective Bargaining

As an action you can reach out mentally over vast distances to other dohwar merchants for assistance and advice in determining the value of goods and treasure. When you do, you can choose one of the following options.

• You can determine the origin and value of trade goods, or an art object that you can see within 60 feet of you. 
• You can determine whether an object you are holding is a magic item, and you determine its rarity if it has one.
• You can determine the properties, and attunement requirements of a magic item that you've already determined the rarity of.

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

Silent Speech

You can speak telepathically to any creature within 30 feet of you. The creature understands you only if the two of you share a language. You can speak telepathically in this way to one creature at a time.

Mind Peek

Starting at 3rd level, you can use an action you can peek into the mind of a creature you can see within 60 feet of you, granting you a brief insight into their wants and desires. You have advantage on the next Wisdom (Insight), Charisma (Persuasion), or Charisma (Deception) check that you make against the target within the next minute. At the DM's discretion you may also learn the most recent surface thought that the creature had.

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