Homebrew Aberrant Dragonborn Species Details

Ten days of rain. Ten nights of nightmares. Ten murders committed in darkness. A purple sky at the birth. This is what that cursed child brought to our village. We did not want the boy. We did not want his mother either. The mother was judged by the paladins called to village and before they come, we took the child from the mother by force and left him to wilderness. We couldn’t show the courage to kill him. I… I couldn’t make the life in those innocent but cursed eyes wane. Every night I pray to the gods for atonement and every night I wish for the child to be killed by the wolves. I will never forget his eyes and I know that even if the boy won’t remember us, that cursed eyes of him will.

 

— Jofran Valto, Elder of the Aforementioned Village

 

Born of dragons, as their name proclaims, the dragonborn walk proudly through a world that greets them with fearful incomprehension. Shaped by draconic gods or the dragons themselves, dragonborn originally hatched from dragon eggs as a unique race, combining the best attributes of dragons and humanoids. Some dragonborn are faithful servants to true dragons, others form the ranks of soldiers in great wars, and still others find themselves adrift, with no clear calling in life.

A Mystic Birth

Since your existence is not a common one, both anatomically and spiritually, your hatching also carried mystic events or signs. Unending rain, different sky colors, unlucky events, creatures lurking in the shadows, unintelligible whispers coming from thin air, strange shadow plays etc. can be happened during the period of your hatching. These can be evaluated as good or bad omens in different societies. You can be seen as destined or cursed. You can bring your family luck and wealth or your birth may cause them to move away.

Proud Dragon Kin

Dragonborn look very much like dragons standing erect in humanoid form, though they lack wings or a tail. The first dragonborn had scales of vibrant hues matching the colors of their dragon kin, but generations of interbreeding have created a more uniform appearance. Their small, fine scales are usually brass or bronze in color, sometimes ranging to scarlet, rust, gold, or copper-green. They are tall and strongly built, often standing close to 6½ feet tall and weighing 300 pounds or more. Their hands and feet are strong, talonlike claws with three fingers and a thumb on each hand.

The blood of a particular type of dragon runs very strong through some dragonborn clans. These dragonborn often boast scales that more closely match those of their dragon ancestor—bright red, green, blue, or white, lustrous black, or gleaming metallic gold, silver, brass, copper, or bronze.

A Unique Bloodline

Aberrations are one of the most unique creatures of the world. From their anatomy to their goals and motives, they are completely strange and frightful. You carry the blood of such an otherworldly creature. This will make you precious for some. Your blood can be used in many different rituals or it unlocks the doors of hidden powers. Some mages will surely want to capture you, study your anatomy and experiment on you. To be short, your life will probably be interesting but not an easy one for sure.

Self-Sufficient Clans

To any dragonborn, the clan is more important than life itself. Dragonborn owe their devotion and respect to their clan above all else, even the gods. Each dragonborn’s conduct reflects on the honor of his or her clan, and bringing dishonor to the clan can result in expulsion and exile. Each dragonborn knows his or her station and duties within the clan, and honor demands maintaining the bounds of that position.

A continual drive for self-improvement reflects the self-sufficiency of the race as a whole. Dragonborn value skill and excellence in all endeavors. They hate to fail, and they push themselves to extreme efforts before they give up on something. A dragonborn holds mastery of a particular skill as a lifetime goal. Members of other races who share the same commitment find it easy to earn the respect of a dragonborn.

Though all dragonborn strive to be self-sufficient, they recognize that help is sometimes needed in difficult situations. But the best source for such help is the clan, and when a clan needs help, it turns to another dragonborn clan before seeking aid from other races—or even from the gods.

Plans of Eons

As mentioned before, the natures and motives of aberrations are strange and unknown. Time and place are relative and indifferent for them. They are creatures of another universe or time. Whether your character is good or evil, lawful or chaotic, in the deepest depths of your mind you know that you are a part of these strange creatures’ plans which were prepared to be executed in eons.

 

 

Aberrant Dragonborn Traits

Your draconic heritage manifests in a variety of traits you share with other dragonborn. Your aberrant character has the following traits granted by the aberration blood that flows in its veins.

Alignment

Dragonborns can range from good to evil, depending if they are metallic or chromatic, respectively. The creature whose blood you carry stands outside the parameters of reality. So your instincts urge you to act against the rules. Hence, aberrants tend to be chaotic aligned.

Aberrant Lucidity

The aberration blood in your veins grants you lucidity about whichever environment you are in, both socially and physically. You gain advantage on Wisdom (Insight) checks and your Wisdom (Perception) checks.

Shattered Mind

The whispers you hear and the maddening dreams you see distorts your mind, thoughts and focus. You are immune to become frightened but you have disadvantage on ability checks you make about remembering names, historic knowledge, past information etc.

Ability Score Increase

Your Strength score increases by 2, and your Charisma score increases by 1. Because of your aberrant blood, your Intelligence score increases by 1, and your Wisdom score decreases by 1. The aberration blood helps you unlock the secrets of the universe but it leaves you with a thinning concept of reality.

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. Though average dragonborn live to be around 80, your aberrant blood dooms you to walk the earth nearly twice as long. You can live for up to 100 years longer than the average dragonborn.

Size

Dragonborn are taller and heavier than humans, standing well over 6 feet tall and averaging almost 250 pounds. Your size is Medium.

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 ancestry 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, read, and write Common and Draconic. Draconic is thought to be one of the oldest languages and is often used in the study of magic. The language sounds harsh to most other creatures and includes numerous hard consonants and sibilants.