Homebrew Drakogriff Species Details

He glides, skimming the treetops, his chestplates grazing the occasional top branch. An eagle's cry escapes his throat, followed by whistled notes that trail upwards into a crecendo. He was aliveand for now, that was all that mattered to him. The joy of seeing the world, to live life to its fullest, it bubbled in his chest, fuelling his every move. His goal? To see where the wind takes him, and what adventures there might be to have. He lives for the sake of living, and for the sake of finding his Purpose.

He knows some never find it, but those who never seek, never find.

 

 

Drakogriff are odd creatures, each with their own wild personalities. Some can be caring and sweet while others would just as soon rifle through your pack and take what they can before you catch them. The carnivorous creatures are, as far as anyone can tell, part dragon, part bird, and part horse, but few have gotten close enough to really take a close look at them. For the most part, drakogriff are nomads, moving from territory to territory in search of Purpose, whether that be a companion in adventure, a true dragon to serve under, or a mate to spend their days with.

Featherkyn

Drakogriff, in appearance, are thin, and lightly structured, but extremely muscular beneath hard, shining scales. Their feathers, while they match the hue of their scales, bear the patterns of various birds: owls, eagles, hawks, falcons, magpies, crows, essentially any kind of bird species that can be found in the wild. They stand from around 14.5 hands high to a jaw-dropping 20 hands high. One's wingspan is 2.5 times their length, from nose to tail-tip. Drakogriff are also expert flyers, sporting two sets of feathered tail fins, one at the base of the tail, and another at the tip. These can extend and withdraw independently of each other, allowing the creatures maximum aerial maneuverability. A drakogriff's physical characteristics heavily depend on their avian and draconic parts. The dragon part of them determines scale color, scale and horn shape, toughness, as well as breath attack, general disposition, resistances and weaknesses. It also determines what size they grow to, as different breeds of dragons tend to be much larger than others. In color, drakogriff can vary between bright red, green, blue, or white, lustrous black, or gleaming metallic gold, silver, brass, copper, or bronze. Their ears are large and diamond-shaped, and on the outside of their head, below and behind the horns.

The intellegence of a drakogriff, for the most part, equals that of a dragon. Drakogriff cannot write, and their speaking abilities are limited to different levels of broken Draconic, but they can still fully understand multiple languages, including Draconic, Common, Elvish, and Sylvan. They mainly communicate using anything from chirps to roars, combined with a wide range of facial expressions and ear positions that make it easy for any race to tell what one is thinking, and what one would say if they could talk.

 

Drakogriff Traits

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

Alignment

Drakogriff, however mischeivious they may be, are always Good.

Avian Ancestry

Drakogriff are part dragon as well as part bird. Their avian half determines minor abilities they may have, such as darkvision or a flying speed boost.

Ability Score Increase

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

Age

Young dragonborn grow quickly. They walk hours after hatching, attain the size and development of a 10-year-old human child by the age of 3, and reach adulthood by 15. They live to be around 80.

Size

Fully grown drakogriff can range from the size of an average pony to that of a giant carthorse, standing from 14.5 hh to a staggering 20 hh, and having a wingspan that's twice their length. Your size is Large.

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
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)
Gold	Fire	15 ft. cone (Dex. save)
Green	Poison	15 ft. cone (Con. save)
Red	Fire	15 ft. cone (Dex. save)
Silver	Cold	15 ft. cone (Con. save)
White	Cold	15 ft. cone (Con. save)

Breath Weapon

You can use your action to exhale destructive energy. Your draconic part 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 only Draconic, and only a little at that, but your nomadic history has allowed you to fully understand understand Draconic, Common and Elvish.