Homebrew Canide Species Details

Though some canidae live out their days in remote agricultural communities, others form nomadic bands that travel constantly, lured by the open road and the wide horizon to discover the wonders of new lands and peoples.

Small and Practical

The foreign canidae survive in a world full of larger creatures by avoiding conflict or, barring that, sneaking away. Standing about 4 feet tall, they appear relatively harmless and so have managed to survive in the shadow of empires and on the edges of wars and political strife. They are inclined to be lithe, weighing between 40 and 45 pounds.

Canidae's skin is rarely seen under their fur, but it is a pale pink. Their fur is wide ranging in length texture and colour. They have brown or hazel eyes. They like to rely on their fur for comfort, usually wearing nothing aside from a loin cloth unless they need protective wear.

Canide practicality extends beyond their clothing. They’re concerned with basic needs and simple pleasures and have little use for ostentation. Even the wealthiest of halflings keep their treasure unassuming and hidden rather than on display for all to see. They have a knack for finding the most straightforward solution to a problem, and have little patience for dithering.

Kind and Curious

Canidae are an affable and cheerful people. They cherish the bonds of family and friends, harboring few dreams of gold or glory. Even adventurers among them usually venture into the world for reasons of friendship, wanderlust, or curiosity. They love discovering new things, even simple things, such as an exotic food or an unfamiliar style of clothing.

Canidae are easily moved to pity and hate to see any living thing suffer. They are generous, happily sharing what they have even in lean times.

Blend into the Crowd

Canidae are adept at placing themselves into a community of humans making themselves valuable and welcome. The combination of their inherent charisma and their unassuming nature helps halflings to avoid unwanted conflict.

Canidae work readily with others, and they are loyal to their friends, whether canide or otherwise. They can display remarkable ferocity when their packs are threatened.

Pastoral Pleasantries

Most canidae live in small close-knit "packs" that travel about in their merry way. They rarely ever build settlements of their own or claim land beyond where they stand. They typically don’t recognize any sort of nobility or royalty, instead looking to elders to guide them. Packs preserve their traditional ways despite the rise and fall of empires.

Although many canidae travel as a way of life, driving wagons or guiding boats from place to place and maintaining no permanent home, some make their home amongst humans, their resemblance to dogs and friendly disposition are the cause of fast friendships with many humans.

AFFABLE AND POSITIVE

Canidae try to get along with everyone else and are loath to make sweeping generalizations—especially negative ones.

Dwarves. “Dwarves make loyal friends, and you can count on them to keep their word. But would it hurt them to smile once in a while?”

Elves. “They’re so beautiful! Their faces, their music, their grace and all. It’s like they stepped out of a wonderful dream. But there’s no telling what’s going on behind their smiling faces—surely more than they ever let on.”

Humans. “Humans are our source in this world, while we admire their freedom and tendancy to explore, they are prone to selfish ambition and pride that can ruin the very land we stand on"

Exploring Opportunities

Canidae usually set out on the adventurer’s path to explore a wide and wonder-filled world. For them, adventuring is less a career than an opportunity or sometimes merely a pastime.

Canide Names

A canide has a given name, a pack name, and possibly a nickname. Pack names are often nicknames of a prominent figure that stuck so tenaciously they have been passed down through the generations.

 

Canide Traits

Your canide character has a number of traits in common with all others.

Ability Score Increase

Your Dexterity score increases by 2.

Age

Canidae do not live the typical length of creatures in the forgotten realm, reaching maturity in only a couple years, and never living much longer than a couple decades

Alignment

Most halflings are neutral good. As a rule, they are good-hearted and kind, hate to see others in pain, and have no tolerance for oppression but put faith in the judgement of elders.

Size

Halflings average about 3 feet 6 inches tall and weigh about 35 pounds. Your size is Small.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 40 feet.

Puppy Dog Eyes

You have advantage on persuasion checks.

Brave

You have advantage on saving throws against being frightened.

Inspirational Howling

Howl for your party and grant them advantage on attack rolls for 5 rounds

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and ine other standard language. They write very little, so they don’t have a rich body of literature. Their oral tradition, however, is very strong. Almost all canidae speak Common to converse with the people in whose lands they dwell or through which they are traveling.