Homebrew Ettinborn Species Details

Ettins

Ettins, commonly called two-headed giants, are the conjoined twins of the giants whose names translated to "ugly giant" in ancient Common and "runt" in Giant. They bridged the gap between true giants and giant-kin, only being classifiable as the former by virtue of relation to Annam and Othea, but with no terrain granted to them by the All-Father.

Courtship

Ettin women are the dominant gender among Ettins, responsible for initiating their courtship rites. They wear treasures taken from prey to signify their hunting ability, and thus increase their attractiveness in the eyes of the men, and gave such items to them as gifts to woo them. Otherwise, courtship started by a more aggressive Ettin woman would result in her hunting down a a suitable partner and subduing them in a show of dominance, after which they stayed around and cared for her.

This aggressive sort of courtship would lead to an Ettin that either did not manage to charm or hunt down others from her species, to resort to chasing down of even court a member of another species to be her partner, usually smaller ones like humans, orc or elves and sometimes even centaurs or minotaurs, as it'd be easier for her, although they would, for unknown reasons, not attempt this courtship with small species such as goblins, dwarves and kobolds.

Ettinborns

Thus an Ettinborn is, well, born. The fruit of a rather chaotic relationship to say the least. Ettinborns are significantly shorter than their Ettin mother but would still tower over their fathers, standing on average 7 feet tall (a little over 2 meters) and weighing upwards of 300lbs (135 kilos). Although not as bulky as their mother, an Ettinborn was still a force to be reckoned with, capable of uprooting small trees with their bare hands. Their twin heads still carried their mother's thick and strong hair and tusks, which would be exceptionally long if the father had orc descendance.

Both their heads have their own personality and tastes, as do regular Ettins. they often adorn themselves with piercings face paint and differing hairstyles as to differentiate themselves from each other. Addressing an Ettinborn as a single entity would be considered rude and sometimes even a direct insult.

Ettinborn Traits

The giant-kin blood running through your veins grants you the following traits

Ability Score Increase

You gain a +2 to either your Strength or Constitution scores. Additionally, you gain a +1 to any one Ability score besides Strength or Constitution.

Age

Ettinborns tend to live for about 75 years. Though a few have reached the 100s.

Size

Despite being born of giant-kin, your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

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.

Twin heads

Two heads are better than one, most of the time, giving you the following buffs and de-buffs:

• With two pairs of eyes, you see more, though sometimes more than you'd like. You gain proficiency in the Perception skill. You have disadvantage on saving throws involving eye contact (ie: Medusa's Petrifying Gaze)
• When one of your heads is awake, the other can be asleep and vice versa. Meaning you don't gain disadvantages while sleeping.
• You have advantage on Constitution saving throws to maintain concentration when you are attacked.
• Twice per long rest you can use the help action on yourself, giving yourself advantage on any Intelligence, Wisdom or Charisma checks.

Separate Indentities

Similarly to the Charlatan's False Identity feature, you have two active personalities, one for each head. Each identity has its own motives, tastes, desires and personality (as well as documentation if your setting would warrant it).

Powerful Build

You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.

Languages

You can read, write and speak in Giant and one other language of your choice.