Homebrew Avali Species Details

Hailing from the icy moon-world of Avalon, the Avali are a species whose appearance is equal parts familiar and foreign to most common folk. Standing on average at the height of a goblin or kobold, the Avali are notable for their digitigrade stance, sets of four rabbit-like ears, long tails, and their coats of soft down feathers. These feathers come in a variety of different colors and patterns, though males tend to have the more vibrant of hues. Along their arms, the feathers of the Avali transition into longer, more utilitarian wing-like appendages, stopping just at their three-fingered hands. These wings are said to have once carried the Avali through the skies of Avalon, though with the heavier gravity found on most other worlds, the appendages have been relegated to purposes of gliding.

The world of Avalon is not a kind one, with a harsh environment where only the strongest and most well-adapted could survive. Living as nomads, the Avali relied on their keen ears to supplant their poor eyesight on their overcast home. Expert hunters, explorers, and inventors, they overcame trial after trial as a race. Over time, the Avali came to thrive on their hostile planet, and found an interest in music. It is in this way that they became masters of the melodic arts, where it is not uncommon to hear even an ordinary Avali appraise rhythm with the same nuance as an expert virtuoso.

Pack hunters through-and-through, the Avali seem to make something of a spiritual attachment to those they call packmates. If an Avali is separated from their pack for a substantial length of time, it can have terrible effects on them, both mentally and physically. It is for this reason that, if an Avali considers you a genuine member of their pack, you may take to heart that, to them, your life is held above their own.

Creating Your Character

When you create your D&D character, you decide whether your character is a member of the human race or one of the game’s fantastical races. If you create a character using a race option presented here, follow these additional rules during character creation.

Ability Score Increases

When determining your character’s ability scores, increase one of those scores by 2 and increase a different score by 1, or increase three different scores by 1. Follow this rule regardless of the method you use to determine the scores, such as rolling or point buy.

The “Quick Build” section for your character’s class offers suggestions on which scores to increase. You’re free to follow those suggestions or to ignore them. Whichever scores you decide to increase, none of the scores can be raised above 20.

Languages

Your character can speak, read, and write Common and one other language that you and your DM agree is appropriate for the character. The Player's Handbook offers a list of widespread languages to choose from. The DM is free to add or remove languages from that list for a particular campaign.

Creature Type

Every creature in D&D, including every player character, has a special tag in the rules that identifies the type of creature they are. Most player characters are of the Humanoid type. A race option presented here tells you what your character’s creature type is.

Here’s a list of the game’s creature types in alphabetical order: Aberration, Beast, Celestial, Construct, Dragon, Elemental, Fey, Fiend, Giant, Humanoid, Monstrosity, Ooze, Plant, Undead. These types don’t have rules themselves, but some rules in the game affect creatures of certain types in different ways. For example, the text of the cure wounds spell specifies that the spell doesn’t work on a creature that has the Construct type. (The autognome is a noteworthy exception because of its Healing Machine trait.)

Life Span

The typical life span of a player character in the D&D multiverse is about a century, assuming the character doesn’t meet a violent end on an adventure. Members of some races, such as dwarves and elves, can live for centuries—a fact noted in the description of the race in question.

Height and Weight

Player characters, regardless of race, typically fall into the same ranges of height and weight that humans have in our world. If you’d like to determine your character’s height or weight randomly, consult the Random Height and Weight table in the Player's Handbook, and choose the row in the table that best represents the build you imagine for your character.

Avali Traits

As an Avali player character, you have the following traits.

Creature Type

You are a Humanoid.

Size

You are Small.

Speed

Your walking speed is 30 feet.

Glide

When you fall at least 10 feet above the ground, you can use your reaction to extend your wings to glide horizontally a number of feet equal to your walking speed, and you take 0 damage from the fall. You determine the direction of the glide.

Avali Senses

You have advantage on any Perception check that relies on hearing. Also, you have blindsight within a range of 30 feet. However, you cannot use your blindsight if you are deafened.

Additionally, your eyes are accustomed to low-light conditions; you have darkvision and can see in dim light out to 60 feet as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You cannot discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

However, your sight is largely an auxiliary sense. You have disadvantage on any Perception check that relies on sight.

Downy Feathers

You have resistance to cold damage. You also are naturally adapted to cold climates, and do not suffer the adverse effects of extreme cold as described in the Dungeon Master's Guide (pg. 110).

Pack-Motivated

You form close bonds with those you call allies. As a bonus action, you can give yourself a bonus to an attack roll or saving throw equal to the number of allies within 30 feet of you (maximum of +5). You can use this trait a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Musical Aptitude

You are proficient in the Performance skill, and you have proficiency in one instrument of your choice.