Homebrew Grung [2024] Species Details

Grung are froglike humanoids found in rainforests and tropical jungles. They are often territorial and protective of their ancestral rainforests.

Tree-Dwelling Amphibians. Grung live in trees and prefer shade and wet climates. A grung hatchery is maintained in well-guarded ground-level pools. About three months after hatching, grung tadpoles takes on the shape of an adult. It takes another six to nine months for a grung juvenile to reach maturity.

Castes and Colors. Traditional grung society features color-coded castes, with separate hatching pools and roles in society tied to color. Non-traditional grung societies view colors more as historical lineages.

Traditional grung normally remain in their caste for life. On rare occasions, an individual that distinguishes itself with great deeds can earn an invitation to join a higher caste. Through a combination of herbal tonics and ritual magic, an elevated grung changes color and is inducted into its new caste in the same way that a juvenile of the caste would be. From then on, the grung and its progeny are members of the higher caste.

In non-traditional grung societies, the colors are viewed as physical characteristics not tied to any particular role in society. Grung living in such enlightened societies can undergo the magical equivalent of plastic surgery to change their coloration.

Naturally Toxic. All grung secrete a substance that is harmless to them but poisonous to other creatures. A grung can also use its venom to poison its weapons.

Mind-Altering. Eating food laced with small amounts of grung poison can make non-grung creatures lethargic and compliant. A creature afflicted in this way over a long period of time becomes a shell of its former self and can be restored to normalcy only by magic.

Grung [2024] Traits

Your grung has an assortment of inborn abilities, part and parcel of grung nature.

Age

Grung mature to adulthood in a single year, and have been known to live up to 50 years.

Alignment

Most grung are lawful, having been raised in a strict caste system if they hail from the traditional rainforest homelands.

Size

Grung stand between 2 ½ and 3 ½ feet tall and average about 30 pounds. Your size is Small.

Arboreal Awareness

You have proficiency in the Perception skill.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet, and you have a swimming speed and a climbing speed equal to your walking speed.

Amphibian

You can breathe air and water.

Giant Leap

Your base long jump is up to 25 feet and your base high jump is up to 15 feet, with or without a running start.

Hydrophilic

You must immerse yourself in water for at least 1 hour each day or suffer one level of exhaustion at the end of that day. You can only recover from this exhaustion by using magic or immersing yourself in water for at least 1 hour.

Poison Resilience

You’re immune to grung poison and have advantage on saving throws to avoid or end the poisoned condition on yourself. You also have resistance to poison damage.

Poisonous Skin

Any creature that grapples you or otherwise comes into direct contact with your skin must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or become poisoned for 1 minute. A poisoned creature no longer in direct contact with you can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.

You can also apply this poison to any piercing weapon as part of an attack with that weapon, though when you hit the poison reacts differently. The target must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or take 2d4 poison damage.

Languages

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