Homebrew Ducklan Species Details

Ducklans are a truly unique humanoid race, closely resembling ducks in their upright, waddling gait and water-resistant feathered bodies. They are remarkable beings, standing at an average height of 4 to 5.5 feet, and they display an intriguing fusion of avian and humanoid features.

Physical Features:
Ducklans, a race of duck-humanoids, display soft, feathered skin adorned in a captivating tapestry of colors, stretching from the brilliant blues of clear skies to the serene greens of tranquil ponds, the warm yellows of a sunrise, and the pristine whites of freshly fallen snow. While their toothless, beak-like mouths may seem unassuming, they can reveal surprising potency when necessary. Unfortunately, the absence of teeth means Ducklans, aside from small beetles and easily crushed creatures, refrain from indulging in meat or hard foods. Instead, they contentedly subsist on soft morsels and liquids, which perfectly meet their dietary needs. In addition to their beaks, feathers, and other duck-like features, Ducklans possess webbed feet and hands, a trait harkening back to their avian ancestry, endowing them with nimbleness and grace for swimming. It's essential to remember that Ducklans, despite their aquatic attributes, retain their humanoid aspects, including well-functioning legs for walking and arms for diverse tasks. They are more than just ducks, after all.

Society and Lifestyle: Ducklans are renowned for their peaceful and reclusive nature. They have a strong preference for living in harmony welcoming all that share their tranquil disposition. Moving and speaking at a leisurely pace, Ducklans stand out against the hustle and bustle of the faster-paced inhabitants of the material plane as they have a more relaxed look on life despite their rather short lifespan.

Ducklans typically reside in small, scattered villages near bodies of water, embracing a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. As such they have atendency to be less culturally evolved but in return they have found a peace that many long for. They deliberately distance themselves from the bustling cities of other races, as they are among the rarer species and have encountered less-than-welcoming reactions in the past and strolling through a bustling metropolis as a Ducklan is sure to turn heads. The tribes are led by a Chief, who governs with the authority of a monarch, and the mantle passes down to their descendants upon their passing. While Ducklan tribes generally exhibit friendliness towards most races, they tend to be less accommodating towards creatures with unnatural aspects, like fiends and the like.

Religious Beliefs: Ducklans hold a deep reverence for deities associated with water and the sea, often depicted as spirits believed to influence the natural world. Ducklans firmly believe that these deities collaborate to maintain the delicate balance of their aqueous world, bestowing prosperity and protection on those who honor them.

Names:
Ducklan names echo their culture's deep connection with nature and their lively characteristics. Some names are whimsically exaggerated, like "Waddlebeak," while others maintain a more neutral tone, as in "Dander":

  • Male: Waddlebeak, Splishquack, Feathertoe, Pondstrider, Drizzlewing, Swimwise, Dander, Swackles
  • Female: Puddlejump, Reedwhisper, Splashdancer, Quacklily, Wavecrest, Floatsinger, Natla, Desdra
  • Family Names: Ripplebrook, Marshdusk, Mudquill, Waterleaf, Pondsinger, Quackfeather, Lakestone, Driftwing

Ducklan Traits

Ducklans not surprisingly have many duck-like abilities resulting in unique, curious, and maybe also a tad strange creatures.

Ability Score Increase

Your dexterity score is increased by 2.

Age

Ducklans reach adulthood at the age of 10 and live to be about 60 years old. 70 at the most.

Alignment

Ducklans tend to be chaotic good.

Size

Your size is Medium. Reaching from a hight of 4 to 5 and a half feet.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 25 feet. Your swimming speed is 30 feet.

Water proof.

You have all the necessary features to be under water to a depth of  50 feet.You can also hold your breath underwater for 10 minutes. This is reduced to 20 feet and 3 minutes if you are carrying more than twice you strengt modifier.

Fellow Animal

You can comunicate simple messages with beasts that are either small or tiny size. You also gain a +3 on animal handling rolls.

Bird eyes

You have advantage on perception rolls that rely on sight and gain a +2 bonus to your perception.

Animal instinct

If an undead, fiend, monstrosity, or a beast harboring hostile intentions, is within 100 feet of your vicinity, you become acutely aware of its presence. However, this awareness does not reveal its exact location, the creature's specific identity, or its target. It's a simple acknowledgment of its presence. Should you be asleep when such a creature draws near, the monster must make a stealth check against your passive perception. If it succeeds, you remain undisturbed in slumber, oblivious to its presence. If the stealth check fails, you are roused from sleep and made aware of the lurking creature's existence.

Duck Transformation.

Upon reaching level 5 you can use a bonus action to turn into a duck. You can transform once per long rest.

You can stay in a duck shape for a number of hours equal to your level devided by 5 (rounded down). You then revert to your normal form. You can revert to your normal form earlier by using a bonus action on your turn. You automatically revert if you fall unconscious, drop to 0 hit points, or die.

While you are transformed, the following rules apply:

  • Your game statistics are replaced by the statistics of the duck, but you retain your alignment, personality, and Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores. You also retain all of your skill and saving throw proficiencies, in addition to gaining those of the duck. If the duck has the same proficiency as you and the bonus in its stat block is somehow higher than yours, use the duck's bonus instead of yours.
  • When you transform, you assume the duck's hit points and Hit Dice. When you revert to your normal form, you return to the number of hit points you had before you transformed. However, if you revert as a result of dropping to 0 hit points, any excess damage carries over to your normal form. For example, if you take 10 damage in duck form and have only 1 hit point left, you revert and take 9 damage. As long as the excess damage doesn’t reduce your normal form to 0 hit points, you aren’t knocked unconscious.
  • You can’t cast spells, and your ability to speak or take any action that requires hands is limited to the capabilities of your duck form. Transforming doesn’t break your concentration on a spell you’ve already cast, however, or prevent you from taking actions that are part of a spell, such as call lightning, that you’ve already cast.
  • You retain the benefit of any features from your class, race, or other source and can use them (if an ability is similar like if you both have proficiensy on perception then you don't gai additional benefits) if the new form is physically capable of doing so. However, you can’t use any of your special senses, such as darkvision, unless your duck form also has that sense.
  • You choose whether your equipment falls to the ground in your space, merges into your duck form, or is worn by it. Worn equipment functions as normal, but the DM decides whether it is practical for the duck form to wear a piece of equipment, based on the duck’s shape and size. Your equipment doesn’t change size or shape to match the duck form, and any equipment that the duck form can’t wear must either fall to the ground or merge with it. Equipment that merges with the duck form has no effect until you leave the duck form.

Beak Attack

When you take the Attack action on your turn, you have the option to use your bonus action to perform an additional attack with your beak. It's important to note that this bonus attack doesn't stack with other multi-attack abilities. For instance, if you were to utilize the "Extra Attack" feature from the fighter class, you'd need to forego your beak attack. Of course, you can also make a standalone beak attack without the requirement of a prior attack.

The beak attack deals 1d4 damage at level 1, increases to 1d6 at level 5, further to 1d8 at level 10, and progresses to 1d10 at level 15. By the time you reach level 20, it inflicts 1d12 damage. You may also apply your strength modifier and proficiency bonus to the beak attack.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and Aquan.

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