Homebrew (2014 & 2024) Dragonborn Expanded Species Details

 

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.

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.

Expanded Dragonborn Info

The Expanded Dragonborn is an expansion on to the original Dragonborn. It was based off of the 2014 Dragonborn: However, it is fully compatible with the 2024 ruleset. As is to be expected, some dragonborn are more common than others. In most campaigns, the Time, Ghost, Jabberwocker, and Pink dragonborn will be highly uncommon and unusual, possibly even frightening in the case of the Jabberwocker and Ghost. However, this is only a suggestion, as most campaigns have differing rarities of species. 

With this expansion, you will see much more types of dragonborn; as such, some may conflict with the ideas of your campaign. Restricting certain types of dragonborn is certainly allowed and expected. Also, I feel like doing a changelog and I imagine this is a good place to start.

Changelog:

1.0: Created.

 

(2014 & 2024) Dragonborn Expanded Traits

Your draconic heritage manifests in a variety of traits you share with other dragonborn.

Ability Score Increase

Your Strength score increases by 2, and your Charisma score increases by 1.

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. They live to be around 80.

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/Special Feature
Black	Acid	5 by 30 ft. line (Dex. save). You can breath underwater and have a swimming speed of 30 feet.
Blue	Lightning	5 by 30 ft. line (Dex. save). You are immune to the effects of extreme heat and recover 1d2 exhaustion levels at the end of a Long Rest, as opposed to 1.
Brass	Fire	5 by 30 ft. line (Dex. save). You gain proficiency in Persuasion and Deception.
Bronze	Lightning	5 by 30 ft. line (Dex. save). You gain proficiency in the Greatsword, Longsword, and Rapier.
Copper	Acid	5 by 30 ft. line (Dex. save). You have proficiency in Persuasion and Performance.
Gold	Fire	15 ft. cone (Dex. save). You have proficiency in Perception, and can add double your proficiency bonus to any skill check you make with it.
Green	Poison	15 ft. cone (Con. save). You add an extra 2d6 damage to attacks made against surprised enemies.
Red	Fire	15 ft. cone (Dex. save). You have advantage on attack rolls made against Bloodied Creatures while you are Bloodied.
Silver	Cold	15 ft. cone (Con. save). You can cast Minor Illusion at will, and can cast DIsguise Self a number of times equal to you Proficiency bonus, and regain all expended uses at the end of a Long Rest.
White	Cold	15 ft. cone (Con. save). You have Proficiency in Survival, and have advantage on Survival checks made to track a creature that was hit by one of your attacks within the last hour.
Deep	Psychic	5 by 30 ft. line (Wis. save). You have Darkvision out to a range of 60 ft.
Japperwocker	Fire	5 by 30 ft. line (Dex. save). You can track the last creature you hit with an attack within 24 hours ago within a mile radius of it.
Turtleborn	Fire	5 by 30 ft. line (Dex. save, unaffected by resistance from water). You can breath underwater and have a swimming speed of 30 ft.
Solarborn	Radiant	5 by 30 ft. line (Dex. save). You emit bright light in a 5 ft. radius, and dim light and additional 5 ft. You can turn this off or on at will.
Dracohydran	Fire, Lightning, Ice, Acid, or Poison (Choose at the end of a Long Rest)	Two 5 by 10 ft. lines or one 5 by 25 ft. line (Con. save). You have two heads, so you cannot be surprised as long as you are conscious. In addition, you cannot be rendered charmed, stunned, or unconscious unless both heads are affected. Roll separate saving throws for avoiding those effect and those effects alone.
Eldritch	Psychic	15 ft. cone (Int. save). You have advantage on Insight and Arcana checks, but disadvantage on Perception and Investigation checks.
Ghostly	Necrotic	15 ft. cone (Wis. save). You can cast Message at will, and can cast Sending a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus and regain all expended uses at the end of a long rest. The message always appears as though a small, spectral skull or something similar is delivering it.
Time	Force	15 ft. cone (Con. save). You can reroll any one dice; whether it be damage, a skill check, attack roll, or something completely different. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus and regain all expended uses at the end of a long rest.
Elysian	Radiant	15 ft. cone (Con. save). You are considered one size larger. However, you have disadvantage on weapon attacks.
Concordant	Philosophical stuff (Each target within range must succeed on the saving throw or be incapacitated until the end of their next turn, thinking philosophical thoughts. Your Draconic resistance is Psychic damage)	30 ft. cone (Int. save). You gain proficiency in Intelligence Saving throws, but have Disadvantage on Wisdom Saving Throws.
Iron	Lightning or Fire (Choose at the end of a Long Rest)	5 by 30 ft. line (Dex. save). You have an additional Hitpoint per level.
Adamantine	Lightning	5 by 30 ft. line (Dex. save). You deal double damage to Structures and Objects.
Cobalt	Force	5 by 25 ft. line (Dex. save, and those hit by it must succeed on a Str. saving throw or be pushed back 10 ft.). You have proficiency in Tinker's Tools and Thieve's Tools.
Chromium	Cold	15 ft. cone (Dex. or Con. save, decide when you use this action.) You have immunity to Cold damage, as opposed to the standard Resistance.
Steel	Poison	15 ft. con (Con. save). You can cast Disguise Self at will.
Mithral	Radiant	15 ft. cone (Con. save). You gain a flying speed of 30 ft., which you can only use when you are not wearing Heavy armor.
Grey	Charm Ray (Any creature that fails the Cha. saving throw is charmed by you for one minute or until you damage them. Your Draconic Resistance is Psychic.)	15 ft. cone (Cha. save). You have proficiency in Survival and Stealth checks.
Pink	Bubbles! (Any creature that fails the Cha. saving throw is incapacitated until the start of their next turn due to uncontrollable laughter. Your Draconic Resistance is Psychic.)	30 ft. cone (Cha. save). You have advantage on skill checks that use Charisma as their modifier.
Tungsten	Piercing or Fire (Choose at the end of a Long Rest)	15 ft. cone (Dex. save). You can cast Fog Cloud at will.
Nickel	Acid	15 ft. cone (Con. save). You can breath underwater and have a swimming speed of 30 ft.

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.