Homebrew Ultimate Being Species Details

Additional Race Template

Ultimate Beings are genetically modified humanoids capable of rearranging their own DNA and reshaping their bodies into other forms of life.

No creature is naturally born as an Ultimate Being, and the process through which one can be created was lost to history long ago. The exceedingly rare specimens that remain represent the absolute peak of biological existence.

Additional Race Template

Ultimate Being is not chosen in place of another race. Instead, you choose a base race and gain the traits presented here in addition to the traits granted by that race.

You retain your base race’s Creature Type, Size, Speed, languages, and other traits unless an Ultimate Being trait specifically changes them.

The benefits of this template stack with those granted by your base race.

Ultimate Being Traits

Ability Score Increase

Your Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, and Intelligence scores each increase by 2.

These increases can raise your ability scores above 20 and stack with the Ability Score Increases granted by your base race.

Enhanced Senses

You can alter the sensitivity of your skin and sensory organs, allowing you to perceive even the slightest vibrations traveling through the air and surrounding surfaces.

You gain proficiency in the Perception skill. Your Proficiency Bonus is doubled for any Wisdom (Perception) check you make.

Your Passive Perception increases by an amount equal to your Proficiency Bonus as a result of this doubled proficiency.

Immortal

Your body represents the biological zenith of life. The telomeres within your cells no longer deteriorate, making you effectively immune to the effects of aging.

You do not age, and you cannot be aged by magical or nonmagical effects. Spells, elixirs, supernatural effects, and other external forces that would increase your age have no effect on you.

This trait does not make you immune to damage, disease, or death from other causes.

Perfected Self-Domination

You possess complete control over your genetic structure, allowing you to transform your body using the biological characteristics of creatures you have previously observed.

As a Bonus Action, you can expend one use of this trait to perform either a Full-Body Transformation or a Partial Transformation.

You can use this trait a number of times equal to your Constitution modifier, to a minimum of once. You regain all expended uses when you finish a Long Rest.

Your transformations last indefinitely. You can end any number of your transformations at any time without taking an action. Reverting to your original form never expends a use of this trait.

Transformation Overview

Rule	Effect
Duration	A transformation lasts indefinitely until you willingly end it or die.
Reversion	Ending a transformation requires no action and expends no use of Perfected Self-Domination.
Unconsciousness	Becoming Unconscious does not end or suppress your transformations.
Death	All active transformations immediately end when you die.
Nature	Perfected Self-Domination and its transformations are nonmagical.
Accumulation	You can accumulate multiple transformations over time. Active transformations overlap perfectly, and their benefits add together rather than replacing or suppressing one another.
Full-Body Forms	You can maintain only one Full-Body Transformation at a time. Assuming a new full-body form replaces the previous full-body form but does not end any Partial Transformations.
Combat Limitation	When you use this trait to make a Partial Transformation during combat, that use can alter only one distinct section of your body. An entire limb counts as one section, and any amount of your skin counts as one section.

Transformation Save DC

Some transformations require a creature to make a saving throw or escape from an effect. Your transformation save DC is calculated as follows:

Transformation save DC = 8 + your Proficiency Bonus + your Constitution modifier

Observed Forms

You can transform only into a creature, body part, biological structure, or material that you have personally seen.

Seeing an illustration or receiving a verbal description is not normally sufficient unless the DM determines that your understanding is detailed enough to reproduce the intended structure accurately.

Biological Features Only

You gain only features created through the creature’s physical anatomy or inherent biological processes.

You cannot reproduce a magical or supernatural feature acquired through an external force, training, divine influence, equipment, spellcasting, or another power that surpasses the creature’s natural biology.

An extraordinary feature remains eligible if it is an inherent biological function of the observed creature. For example, a petrifying gaze, venomous organ, or unusual sensory ability can be reproduced if its effects originate entirely from the creature’s biology.

Unless the DM determines otherwise, you cannot reproduce Spellcasting, Innate Spellcasting, Legendary Actions, Lair Actions, Mythic Actions, class features, learned proficiencies, or abilities granted by equipment.

Biological Movement

Transforming your anatomy does not automatically grant every Speed or movement mode possessed by the observed creature.

You gain a Walking, Climbing, Swimming, Flying, or Burrowing Speed only when it is explicitly granted by a transformation profile or approved by the DM as a reasonable result of the anatomy you reproduced.

Natural Weapons

When a transformation grants you a natural weapon without providing specific damage, that natural weapon counts as a simple melee weapon with which you are proficient.

You can use your Strength or Dexterity modifier for its attack and damage rolls.

On a hit, it deals 1d8 Bludgeoning, Piercing, or Slashing damage, as appropriate to its form.

A natural weapon can replace any attack you make as part of the Attack action and interacts with Extra Attack normally. You can combine natural weapon attacks with Unarmed Strikes and attacks made using manufactured weapons.

Transforming into a creature does not grant you that creature’s Multiattack action.

Full-Body Transformation

You transform your entire body into another creature you have seen.

Your transformed Size cannot be more than one size category larger than your normal Size. You can transform into creatures considerably smaller than yourself, including Tiny creatures.

Your Hit Points, Hit Point maximum, Hit Dice, ability scores, saving throws, proficiencies, class features, and mental faculties do not change unless the transformation specifically states otherwise.

You do not replace your game statistics with the creature’s stat block. Instead, you gain only the anatomical features and mechanical benefits approved by the DM or presented in a transformation profile.

A Full-Body Transformation does not suppress, replace, or end any of your Partial Transformations. All compatible anatomical changes overlap seamlessly, and their mechanical benefits continue to apply.

You retain your personality, memories, alignment, and consciousness. You can continue to cast spells, speak your existing languages, and take any action you could normally take, regardless of the anatomical limitations of your assumed form.

Transforming into a creature does not grant you any languages spoken by that creature.

Your equipment does not transform with you. Equipment that your new form cannot wear or carry falls harmlessly into your space.

Partial Transformation

You transform one or more sections of your body while retaining the remainder of your current form.

Outside combat, one use of this trait can alter any number of body sections required to complete a single intended transformation.

During combat, each use can alter only one section of your body, as described in the Transformation Overview table.

A Partial Transformation can reproduce biological structures such as wings, tentacles, gills, venom glands, claws, sensory organs, hardened tissue, or regenerative muscle.

You can also transform portions of your body into inorganic materials, such as stone, crystal, or another similarly hard substance, provided the DM determines that the alteration remains within the limits of your biological control.

Partial Transformations accumulate and remain active when you perform a Full-Body Transformation.

Transformation Profiles

The following profiles represent common transformations and establish an approximate mechanical standard for creating additional forms.

The DM can modify these profiles or create new ones based on the creature, body part, or material being reproduced.

Transformation Profile Table

Transformation	Type	Primary Benefits
Black Bear	Full Body	Large Size, 40-foot Speed, Slashing Unarmed Strikes, bleeding bite
Young Dragon	Full Body	Large Size, 50-foot Fly Speed, multiple natural weapons, Fire Breath
Shrimp	Full Body	Tiny Size, amphibious breathing, exceptional culinary potential
Octopus	Partial	Tentacles that Grapple as part of an Unarmed Strike
Owl	Partial	Wings and a Fly Speed 10 feet greater than your Walking Speed
Crystal	Partial	+2 AC, environmental endurance, illumination, rapid underwater descent
Axolotl	Partial	Continuous Hit Point regeneration

Black Bear

You transform your entire body into a powerful bear-like form.

Your Size becomes Large, and your Walking Speed becomes 40 feet.

Your Unarmed Strikes can deal Slashing damage instead of Bludgeoning damage.

You also gain a bite that functions as a natural weapon and deals Piercing damage.

When you hit a creature with the bite, the target begins bleeding for 1d4 rounds. At the start of each of its turns while bleeding, it takes 1d4 Slashing damage.

The bleeding ends early if the creature receives magical healing or if it or another creature within 5 feet of it uses an action to succeed on a Wisdom (Medicine) check against your transformation save DC.

Additional applications of this bleeding do not stack, but they replace its remaining duration with a new roll.

Young Dragon

You transform into a young dragon-like creature.

Your Size becomes Large, and you gain a Fly Speed of 50 feet.

You gain bite, claw, tail, and wing natural weapons. The bite deals Piercing damage, the claws deal Slashing damage, and the tail and wings deal Bludgeoning damage.

You also gain the following breath weapon:

Fire Breath

As an action, you exhale fire in a 30-foot Cone.

Each creature in the area must make a Dexterity saving throw against your transformation save DC.

On a failed save, a creature takes 18 (4d8) Fire damage. On a successful save, it takes half as much damage.

You can use Fire Breath a number of times equal to your Proficiency Bonus, regaining all expended uses when you finish a Long Rest.

Ending and reassuming this form does not restore expended uses of Fire Breath.

Shrimp

Your Size becomes Tiny, and you can breathe air and water indefinitely.

You retain all your normal faculties and abilities while in this form.

You also become extremely tasty when prepared correctly.

Octopus

You partially transform your limbs into powerful, flexible tentacles and gain the following ability:

Squeeze

When you hit a creature with an Unarmed Strike, you can also Grapple it as part of the same attack, provided the target is no more than one size category larger than you.

The target takes the attack’s normal damage and becomes Grappled by you.

A creature Grappled in this way can use its action to make a Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check against your transformation save DC, ending the condition on a success.

You must have at least one transformed limb available for each creature you are Grappling through this feature.

Owl

Your shoulder blades transform into two large wings capable of carrying you without tiring.

You gain a Fly Speed equal to your Walking Speed + 10 feet.

This flight can be maintained indefinitely and does not require Concentration.

Crystal

You transform any portion of your skin, or your entire skin, into glowing crystal or another material of comparable hardness.

While this transformation remains active, you gain a +2 bonus to your Armor Class.

This bonus stacks with armor, shields, natural armor, magical items, and other bonuses to your Armor Class.

You automatically succeed on saving throws made solely to withstand environmental extreme heat or extreme cold. This benefit does not grant Resistance or Immunity to Fire or Cold damage.

Your body sheds Bright Light in a 10-foot radius and Dim Light for an additional 10 feet.

While submerged in water, you can descend at a rate of up to 60 feet during your turn. This descent does not grant you a Swim Speed or otherwise improve your ability to move horizontally through water.

Axolotl

You forcibly incorporate axolotl-like regenerative structures into your muscles and internal tissues.

At the end of each of your turns while in combat, you regain 2d8 Hit Points.

This healing can restore you while you are Unconscious and at 0 Hit Points, provided you are not dead.

Outside combat, you regain all your missing Hit Points after remaining alive for 1 uninterrupted minute.

An effect capable of suppressing, overwhelming, or preventing biological regeneration can prevent this healing at the DM’s discretion.

Spin and Hamon

At the DM’s discretion, an Ultimate Being possesses the biological capability to learn both Spin and Hamon, using the rules presented in Sheets 97 and 101.

This trait does not automatically grant knowledge of either technique.

HomeBrewBoi Note. You must still learn each technique from a creature capable of teaching it and complete any training requirements established by the DM.

Ultimate Compatibility

Ultimate Being is intentionally more powerful than an ordinary race. The player and DM can agree to adjust individual damage values, saving throw DCs, or other numerical effects to suit the campaign.

HomeBrewBoi Note. For maximum thematic and mechanical compatibility, it is recommended that Ultimate Being be applied to the Pillar Men race presented in Sheet 110.

Ultimate Being Traits

A genetically perfected humanoid capable of rewriting its own DNA to replicate the anatomy and natural abilities of other creatures.