Homebrew Clown Species Details

Clown Base Traits

Age

Clowns live roughly as long as humans. You reach adulthood at 19, and can live to be 90.

Size

Clowns are roughly the same size as humans, but with a bit more variance. They can range from 3ft to 7ft tall. Your size is medium.

Speed

Your base speed is 30 feet.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write both Common and Undercommon as well as the language of any district you work in.

Silly Slapper

Your Constitution score and your Charisma score both increase by 1.

Wild and Confident

Clowns rarely lack confidence, seeing themselves as equal to almost any challenge in their path. This certainty might manifest as graceful self-assurance in one clown and as arrogance in another. Such self-confidence can sometimes blind a clown to risk, and their great plans often get them and others into trouble.

Chaos Incarnate

Culturally clowns strongly tend towards chaotic alignments and take great pleasure in causing a ruckus.

Darkvision

Accustomed to the darkness of the Underdark, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. 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.

Clown Appearance

Clowns appear similar to humans or half elves. They often have pale white or deeply colored skin and colorful markings on their faces, as well as their bodies. These markings are asymmetrical and no two clowns have exactly the same ones. 

Clowns may have sharp teeth, vibrantly colored hair, and somewhat exaggerated facial features. Some have extra eyes, bug-like legs, fingers ending in claws, or an extra appendage. Body types vary widely; clowns come in all shapes and sizes.

Clown Culture

Childhood

Clowns hatch from large soft eggs, similar to frog eggs. One to ten eggs can be laid at a time. After one month the eggs will hatch. Baby clowns can fit in the palm of your hand at the time of hatching and, despite their sharp teeth, are very fragile. They are kept in wet cribs until they are about one year old. Clown children are often brought to the Temple of Qigh for youth night. Children reach maturity at the age of 19.

Clothing

Clowns are on the cutting edge of fashion and are not afraid to take risks. High heels, sheer fabric, frilled collars, onesies, and more are all commonplace.

History

Clowns are natives of the Underdark and were created by Mischief, a trickster god of chaos. Mischief created the clowns in their own image out of boredom.

Sex and Gender

It is nearly impossible to tell a clown's gender by appearance alone. They have a very low rate of sexual dimorphism as well as frequent occurrences of intersex individuals. Male, Female, and Intersex birth rates are all equal to one another in occurrence. Most clowns prefer to present themselves as non-binary.

Society

Clown traditions revolve around their inherent mischievous abilities. Chaos is the norm. Families are referred to as troupes. Each troupe consists of one or two pairs of parents or grandparents, and many offspring. Family structures are typically large and complex.

Government

The clowns elect a chosen Godfather every month, or whenever they are no longer feeling the current one. The Godfather reports directly to the Seer of Mischief, Yo-yo, who works as the eyes and ears of Mischief.

Religion

Due to the unreliable nature of their birth god, Mischief, most clowns also worship the Temple Guardian Qigh.

Clown Personality Examples

 

D8	Personality Traits
1	I am quite jovial and always have a joke lined up.
2	I suffer from bouts of depression and can be a downer to be around.
3	I am very gluttonous and tend to stuff my face when not doing other things.
4	I can be psychotic and my jokes are very dark.
5	I am loopy and not always all there.
6	My jokes are sometimes sadistic even if I don't intend them to be.
7	I ama very bombastic individual.
8	I tend to be under-emotional.

 

D6	Ideal
1	I try to bring joy to children everywhere.
2	I work to create the ultimate balloon animal.
3	I endeavor to craft the ultimate gag.
4	Someday I will make the world appreciate the art of miming.
5	I will one day become a world famous japester.
6	I wish to rise to the position of Godfather.

 

D6	Bonds
1	My troupe has a gag-master I wish to surpass.
2	I endeavor to bring pride to my troupe.
3	I will bring appreciation of clowns to people everywhere.
4	There is a rival jokester I must always outdo.
5	I try to bring honor to the art of miming in all I do.
6	I will bring my troupe's art to new heights.

 

D6	Flaws
1	I must always play a gag out.
2	I am known to take a joke too far.
3	I can't take being the butt of a joke.
4	I must be the center of attention.
5	I always mess up the punch line.
6	I never take things seriously.

 

 

Clown Traits

Clown Traits (Little Funnies)

Blessing of Whimsy

When you roll a 1 on a d20, you may choose to gain an inspiration token, but your GM imposes a minor and thematically appropriate consequence on you for this roll's failure. Once you use this ability, you cannot use it again until you've used the inspiration token.

Clown Walk

Thanks to the small hairs on your hands and feet you are able to laugh in the face of gravity and climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on the ceiling, without needing to make an ability check. In polite clown society this is considered raunchy behavior when done in front of non-clowns.

Compressible Form

You can squeeze into places too tight for other creatures of your size with ease. You can move through a space as narrow as one foot wide without squeezing. Alternatively you can also roll a naked D20 to attempt to fit through spaces smaller than a cubic foot but larger than 6 inches.

Sticky Fingers

You find it difficult to resist stealing from an easy target, especially if it’s for a bit. You have proficiency in sight of hand.

Darkvision

Accustomed to the darkness of the Underdark, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. 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.