Homebrew Drachling Species Details
“We were a small party of dwarves that had sworn to clear the mountains of the dragons that had so plagued our people for the last century. Having heard from a farmer that he had sighted one in the area, we tracked the creature for a day before finding it's camp. Yes, camp, not a lair or nest as we expected, but a crude leanto with a bed roll laid out in it and a pile of tinder which the creature was attempting to light with flint and steel, without success. It seemed quite small for a dragon, about our height but slender of build.
We were quite well hidden in the bush, but still wary, for you know how deceitful the creatures can be. One of our party commented that he was a puny excuse for a dragon as my brother whispered in my ear, "why doesn't he just breathe fire on it?" The creature threw down his flint and steel in disgust and turned it's snout to us. "I can hear you, you know," he called out, his voice heavy in derision. "I'm not breathing fire on it because I'm not a dragon. Any of you puny excuses for giants know how to light a campfire?"”
Perhaps the most enigmatic of the hybrid races, Drachlings share almost none of the features of their parent races. Instead, in many ways, they are more alike dwarves, (which contributes to their other nomenclature "Dwarf Dragonborn.") More evident in them is the draconic nature of their distant ancestry. Even without scales, horns or a breath weapon, they are arguably the most dragonlike of humanoids.
Rejected by both Kobolds (for their wings and comparatively large size,) and by Dragonborn clans (for their comparatively small size and lack of clan markings,) they are usually raised by a lone parent. They quickly grow to adulthood harboring great general resentment or indignation and are fiercely independent, striking out on their own to explore the world only a few years after hatching.
Lean and Mean
Standing an average of 4 1/2 feet tall, Drachlings are slim and lithe, but like svervneblin, are far heavier than their size would suggest, averaging 200 lbs. Though neither armored nor equipped with a breath weapon, their sharp teeth and claws marks them more predator than prey. They are equally comfortable under the open sky or like their Kobold forebearers, underground. These traits, combined with their darkvision and draconic sense for metals, make them outstanding miners and smiths on par with dwarves in these professions.
Drachling hide can be of any earth tone from pale tan to deep kobolt blue or rust red to moss green to muddy brown. Their skin may be of one color, or a mixture of colors, may be mottled, spotted or striped. For unknown reasons the coloration of Drachlings seems completely unrelated to their parentage. All are completely hairless, lacking even eyelashes.
Gender, Family & Independence
As a whole, Drachlings show no outward features typical of gender for most humanoids, and fully half of them are truely genderless; these are unable to have offspring. The remaining half are equally likely to be male or female. Should a gendered Drachling have offspring with another Drachling, Kobold or Dragonborn, the Drachling lineage breeds true. Such children are identical in all ways with the product of a Kobold-Dragonborn union.
Raised apart from other children by a lone parent, Drachlings are cultureless. Any trappings of cultural identity the parent may attempt to impart on its child are fiercely rejected. With both its parent cultures rejecting the child, why would the child embrace them? Instead each Drachling, in accordance with their fierce independence streak, attempts to find its own moral compass, often based on what it can glean from other humanoid cultures. By age 3 they reach adulthood with tentative alignment leanings--which often changes by degrees with the more experiences they have.
Two traits are shared by all Drachlings regardless of alignment leanings; a love of gold and an insatiable curiosity. This curiosity is more often than not the downfall of young Drachlings. While theoretically they should live hundreds of years, few live longer than twenty, with misadventure the primary cause of their demise.
From the Earth to the Sky
Shortly after hatching, Drachlings curiosity drives them to explore every tiny niche and crevice in their surroundings with a natural aptitude. They squeeze through tiny spaces where their parent cannot follow, much to their delight and their parent's consternation. Hatchling Drachlings seem unaware of their wings at all until about 2 years of age, when they begin testing them, again, to their parent's consternation. By the time they strike out on their own at three years of age, they are only starting to discover the possibilities of where their wings can take them. The open sky holds such promise for exploration; their all consuming curiosity drives them from the nest.
The Dragon Within
All Drachling are motivated by a desire for treasure—for its own sake, for its beauty, or for what it can buy. By the time they have fully grown into their wings they usually have begun to amass a small hoard, and if they have not yet established a base of operations to keep that hoard safe, the impetus to do so becomes paramount. Greed is a particular challenge for good aligned Drachlings, as all are loathe to part with a single copper.
While Drachlings may be of any class, clerical Drachlings are rare and paladins are rarer still. They make competent fighters, rangers and barbarians. Their racial features can make them exceptional rogues. The ability to use alternative damage types in unarmed combat can make them particularly deadly monks. But their natural affinity for magic draws many to the arcane classes instead, particularly to sorcery. Drachling sorcerers are exclusively of the draconic bloodline subtype.
Drachling Traits
Your Drachling character has inherited traits from it's draconic ancestors..Ability Score Increase
Your Dexterity score increases by 2 and Constitution score increases by 1.
Age
Drachlings grow quickly, maturing from a hatchling to adult in only 3 years. Without clan or tribe, young adult Drachlings rarely survive past 20, but theoretically should have a life expectancy of several hundred years.
Alignment
Where Dragonborn tend towards the extremes of the alignment scale and Kobolds have a decidedly chaotic streak, Drachlings by contrast tend to be noncommittal. An individual Drachling may begin play with any alignment, but their alignment is more changeable than any other race. When you level, you may choose to change either your ethos or alignment by one degree.
Size
Drachlings stand between 4 and 5 feet tall but are more massive than humans or dwarves, averaging almost 200 pounds in spite of their slender build. Your size is Medium.
Wings
You have wings with a wingspan equal to twice your height. While not wearing heavy armor you can use them to reduce falling damage, make wing assisted leaps (at level 5,) glide (at level 9) and fly for short distances (at level 14) where space permits.
Gliding is a limited form of flight, which you can maintain with concentration for up to your constitution modifier in rounds before falling. You may not gain height while gliding, and your height drops 10' per round while gliding. If you choose to drop an additional 10' per round while gliding, your gliding speed does not count towards your total movement for the round.
Both gliding and flying require concentration and cannot be accomplished if encumbered.
Darkvision
Accustomed to life underground, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Draconic Senses
You have advantage on perception checks to locate hidden or invisible creatures.
You can determine the metal composition of any object you can hold such as the purity of gold, the strength of steel or the base metals used to form strange alloys with a successful investigation check. You make this roll at advantage.
You can smell magic. Using this feature you can cast Detect Magic a number of times per short rest equal to your wisdom modifier (minimum of once,) using intelligence as your casting modifier. When you use this feature to cast this spell it requires neither verbal or somatic components, and instead of a visible aura you can determine scents distinctive to each school of magic.
Natural Weapons
You have claws, sharp teeth and a blunt muscular tail. When you do unarmed combat damage you may choose whether that damage is bludgeoning, piercing or slashing damage.
Tunnel Rat
You are comfortable in close spaces and are considered one size smaller when attempting to squeeze into a smaller space, allowing you to explore tunnels as narrow as 2 1/2' x 2 1/2' wide.
While squeezing you do not suffer the disadvantage to attack rolls and dexterity saving throws other characters suffer nor do attacks against you gain advantage due to the squeezing movement.
While squeezing you ignore difficult terrain and the additional movement cost associated with this type of movement.
While travelling underground you have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks to detect unstable floors, walls and ceilings.
You can make an Intelligence (investigation) check to determine the origin of a tunnel; whether it is natural or what race or creature created it. This check is made at advantage.
Languages
You can speak, read, and write Common and Draconic.
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