Homebrew Namekian Species Details

Physiology

Namekians reproduce asexually by producing eggs, which for most of them is an act they can perform willingly but sparsely. A young Namekian born from its egg is remarkably similar in mentality and mannerism to a human child, albeit with Namekian physical traits. It reaches maturity at a rate comparable to humans, appearing to be an adult in less than 20 years. A Namekian will begin to show signs of advanced age—such as darker green and wrinkled skin, faded patches, and deterioration of body—after 100 to 200 years, but can still live to see five centuries or more. Namekians are green-skinned, human-sized humanoids with several characteristics reminiscent of slugs, including a pair of slug-like antennae protruding from their foreheads, and light green skin almost completely devoid of hair. Pink or pale yellow patches appear uniformly across their body, most notably on the abdomen, biceps, forearms, thighs, and calves. Namekians universally have elf-like pointed ears, and usually have sharp nails ending in points. Most Namekians are hairless, but an exceedingly rare few grow white-colored facial hair.

Due to their unique biology, nameks can seemingly survive on nothing but water, air, and rest. They are nonetheless capable of eating, many choose to do so, as this may be required for gaining strength or reproducing after reaching adulthood.

Unlike most races of this planet, namekians have a natural aptitude for manipulating a natural energy they usually refer to as either "ki" or simply "energy." This energy comes from within them, and supposedly all living beings, and they are able to use it to achieve feats indistinguishable from magic—including regenerating limbs, hurling destructive blasts of force, or even attaining magical flight.

As namekians reproduce asexually, they only have one gender. This gender is generally referred to as male.

History

Less than three centuries ago, the namekian home planet of Namek was met with catastrophe, and utterly destroyed. Before its demise, the race had mastered esoteric and advanced magic, and through it was even capable of interstellar flight. The handful of namekians surviving today are those who were either off-planet at the time of its destruction, or were able to survive at the last minute.

Because this world has a very similar, albeit slightly warmer climate than Namek, many if not all namekians who survived migrated to this planet with what little remained of their interstellar-traveling magic. Only a few generations at most have passed since then. Most of their advanced magic has been lost or eroded over the years. The few survivors and their descendants have managed to persist on this world, alien to them, and have mostly adapted to cultural norms. Many have even greater mastery over the Common tongue than their original language.

Society

As namekians have no home world, and have only come to this planet haphazardly, their society is sparse at best. The few societies of namekians that persist today are small, and usually descended from one or a handful of survivors who reproduced the entire clan asexually. Consequently, any given gathering of namekians can vary wildly depending on the surviving parent. They will often find refuge among other races, particularly humans.

Namekian Names

For reasons unknown, namekians of the Demon Clan are usually named after Common names for musical instruments. Most namekians not of this clan tend to avoid such names, and instead choose something with meaning from their native tongue. Namekians generally lack surnames.

Demon Clan Names: Banjo, Bongos, Cymbal, Drum, Piano, Piccolo, Tambourine

Traditional Namekian Names: Dende, Guru, Katas, Moori, Nail, Tsuno

Namekian Traits

Demon ClanThese green-skinned humanoids hail from a far-away planet, and are renowned for their regenerative capabilities and manipulation of ki.
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2.
Age. Namekians mature quickly, reaching maturity at age four and are capable of living to the ripe age of 500 years.
Alignment. Namekians keep hold of tradition and will fight to keep evil beings from gaining power. Warrior-types and those of the Dragon Clan have a strong tendency towards lawful good.
Size. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Ki Blast. You know the eldritch blast cantrip. Constitution is your spellcasting ability for it.
Alien Metabolism. You can survive without food, but still must drink water.
Limb Regeneration. If a limb or other body part is severed from your torso, but you remain conscious, you can regenerate the lost limb by the end of a short rest by expending one Hit Die specifically to do so. A Hit Die expended in this manner does not recover hit points as normal.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write both Common and Namekian. Rarely if ever is a creature not of the sparse namekian race able to understand anything from the Namekian tongue.
Subrace. Demon Clan, Dragon Clan, and Warrior Type

Namekians of the Demon Clan are a minority, and seemingly can only be produced by the rare evil-hearted namekian. Unlike others of their race, they are often of monstrous appearance, and may have seemingly random physical mutations that resemble demons or dinosaurs—such as horns, vestigial wings, tails, or uncanny accents. Like their dark-hearted parent, namekians of the Demon Clan have a tendency towards evil and chaos. As truly evil namekians are rare, so too are members of this clan.

Unlike most namekians, a member of this clan often matures to adulthood in only a few years, but rarely lives beyond a century.

Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 1.
Demonic Magic. You learn one of the following spells of your choice: comprehend languages, feather fall, endure elements, or find familiar. You can cast the chosen spell once with this racial trait, and regain the ability to do so when you complete a long rest.
Menacing. You have proficiency in the Intimidation skill.

Dragon Clan

Members of the dragon clan are those capable of innate magical abilities, and a particular aptitude for magic in general. According to legend, members of this clan were once able to create magical artifacts capable of summoning dragons and granting wishes. Members of this clan tend to slightly less muscular than Warrior-type namekians, but are otherwise visibly indistinguishable from them.

Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 1.
Dragon Spells. You know one cantrip from the cleric spell list. Wisdom is your casting ability for this spell.
Sound Judgement. You have proficiency in the Insight skill.

Warrior Type

Warrior-type namekians incorporate those of advanced physical abilities, who usually have an inherent aptitude for hand-to-hand combat and athleticism. The majority of surviving namekians at the time of Namek's demise were of this subrace, and consequently, they remain the most common variety.

Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 1.
Martial Arts. Your unarmed strike inflicts bludgeoning damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier. You can make an unarmed strike even if your hands are occupied.
Limb Stretch. As an action, you can make an unarmed strike with a reach of 10 feet. As an action, you can make a melee weapon attack as if its reach was 5 feet greater than normal, but you have disadvantage on the attack roll.
Natural Athlete. You have proficiency in the Athletics skill.

Namekian Traits

Your character has some qualities in common with elves and some that are unique to elves.

Ability Score Increase

Your Charisma score increases by 2, and two other ability scores of your choice increase by 1.

Age

Half-elves mature at the same rate humans do and reach adulthood around the age of 20. They live much longer than humans, however, often exceeding 180 years.

Alignment

Half-elves share the chaotic bent of their elven heritage. They value both personal freedom and creative expression, demonstrating neither love of leaders nor desire for followers. They chafe at rules, resent others’ demands, and sometimes prove unreliable, or at least unpredictable.

Size

Half-elves are about the same size as humans, ranging from 5 to 6 feet tall. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision

Thanks to your elf blood, 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.

Skill Versatility

You gain proficiency in two skills of your choice.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common, Elvish, and one extra language of your choice.