Homebrew Chimera Species Details

Sequestered in high mountains atop tall trees, the aarakocra, sometimes called birdfolk, evoke fear and wonder. Many aarakocra aren’t even native to the Material Plane. They hail from a world beyond — from the boundless vistas of the Elemental Plane of Air.

They are immigrants, refugees, scouts, and explorers, their outposts functioning as footholds in a world both strange and alien.

Griffintaurs are seen as the powerful relatives of the aarkocra, those of the species that have evolved into beasts rather than man. They too hail from the world beyond, and we're thought to have first been introduced to the material plane by cloud giants who formed a symbiotic relationship with the Griffintaurs by giving them reign over the skies surrounding their kingdoms in return for protection from potential invaders.

Talon & Claw

From below, Griffintaurs look much like the large winged creatures they stem from. Only when they descend to roost in the peaks or walk across the ground does their monsterous appearance reveal itself. Standing upright, Griffintaurs might reach 8 feet tall, and they have long, muscular legs that taper to sharp talons and claws.

Feathers cover the top of their lower bodies. Their plumage typically denotes membership in a tribe. Males are brightly colored, with feathers of red, orange, or yellow. Females have more subdued colors, usually brown or gray. The rest of their lower bodies resemble that of a lion with razor-sharp claws, a thick coat of fur, and a long tail.

Sky Wardens

Nowhere are the Griffintaurs more comfortable than in the sky. They can spend hours in the air, and some go as long as days, locking their wings in place and letting the thermals hold them aloft. In battle, they prove dynamic and acrobatic fliers, moving with remarkable speed and grace, diving to lash opponents with weapons or talons before turning and flying away.

Once airborne, a Griffintaur leaves the sky with reluctance. On their native plane, they can fly for days or months, landing only to lay their eggs and feed their young before launching themselves back into the air. Those that make it to a world in the Material Plane find it a strange place. They sometimes forget or ignore vertical distances, and they have nothing but pity for those earthbound people forced to live and toil on the ground.

Avian 

The resemblance of Griffintaurs to birdlike monster isn’t limited to physical features. They display many of the same mannerisms as ordinary Griffins and people. They are fastidious about their plumage, frequently tending their feathers and fur, cleaning and scratching away any tiny passengers they might have picked up. When they deign to descend from the sky, they often do so near pools where they can catch fish and bathe themselves, or in high mountains where they can rest their wings and build nest.

Similar to the way many aarakocra punctuate their speech with chirps, sounds they use to convey emphasis and to shade meaning, much as a true human might through facial expressions and gestures. A Griffin uses a mixture of primordial, roars, chirps, and even humanoid speech to convey messages.

The idea of ownership baffles most aarakocra as it does griffintaurs. After all, who owns the sky? Even when explained to them, they initially find the notion of ownership mystifying. As a result, Griffintaurs who have little interaction with other people might be a nuisance as they drop from the sky to snatch livestock or plunder harvests for fruits and grains. Shiny, glittering objects catch their eyes.

They find it hard not to pluck the treasure and bring it back to their settlement to beautify it. A griffintaur who spends years among other races can learn to inhibit these impulses.

Confinement terrifies the Griffintaurs like other avians. To be grounded, trapped underground, or imprisoned by the cold, unyielding earth is a torment few griffintaurs can withstand. Even when perched on a high branch or at rest in their mountaintop homes, they appear alert, with eyes moving and bodies ready to take flight.

Homelands

Most Griffintaurs live on the Material Plane alongside cloud giants or in high mountains where goliaths may be found. Griffintaurs can be drawn into other planes, sometimes to pursue enemies or seek new hunting grounds. Accident might also send a nest of aarakocra tumbling into a world on that plane. A few find their way to such a world through portals on their own plane and establish nests in high mountains or in the canopies of old forests.

Once tribes of aarakocra settle in an area, they share a hunting territory that extends across an area up to 100 miles on a side, with each tribe hunting in the lands nearest to their colony, ranging farther should game become scarce.

A typical colony consists of one large, open-roofed nest made of woven vines. The eldest acts as leader with the support of a shaman. 

Chimera Traits

As a Griffintaur, you have certain traits in common with your predeccessors Being able to fly at high speed starting at 1st level is exceptionally effective in certain circumstances and exceedingly dangerous in others. As a result, playing a Griffintaur requires special consideration by your DM.

Ability Score Increase

Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and your Wisdom score increases by 1.

Age

Chimera reach maturity by age 20. Compared to humans, chimera can live as long as 300 years.

Alignment

Most Griffintaurs are Neutral and can shift between sides when it comes to law and chaos. Tribal leaders and warriors might be lawful, while explorers and adventurers might tend toward chaotic.

Size

Chimera range from 6"-7'10" feet tall. They have wide, heavyweight bodies that weigh between 200 and 400 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 40 feet.

Flight

You have a flying speed of 50 feet. To use this speed, you can’t be wearing medium or heavy armor.

Talons

Your talons are natural weapons, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with them, you deal slashing damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.

Charge

If you move at least 30 feet straight toward a target and then hit it with a melee weapon attack on the same turn, you can immediately follow that attack with a bonus action, making one attack against the target with your claws.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common, Aarakocra, and Auran.

Quadrupedal Build

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

In addition, any climb that requires hands and feet is especially difficult for you because of your equine legs. When you make such a climb, each foot of movement costs you 4 extra feet instead of the normal 1 extra foot.

Survivor

You have proficiency in one of the following skills: Animal Handling, Medicine, Nature, or Survival.