Homebrew Clonn Species Details

The following is a race feature in The Book of House, a homebrew 5e supplement created by Willy Abeel. The PDF for Clonns is available on DMsGuild for at your decided price or free, please support the official release. 

We have a word for the exceptional: Heroes. Those with skills above the rest, whose accomplishments are immortalized in our most riveting tales. Stop me if you've heard this one: in their darkest hour, one's uncanny ability pulls them through to the dawn and leaves them on the tongues of many a bard.

But what of the average, to whom we must turn when the radiant hero fails? Do stories never mention them because they lack the vocabulary? What do we call the endeavoring dilettante? What is the word for the deuxième brave enough to try their hand at finishing the job? That word is 'clonn.'

-Otto The Joy,
Bright are my People

Clonns are the abnormal normal, often compared to humans as their exaggerated facsimile. But amongst both humans and the more seasoned races, they've yet to truly find their niche. Instead they have taken to learning anything and everything about the world, gaining a taste of competency in whatever they put their minds to. Many celebrate their place in life, offering support or cheer to those in need. But some endeavor to break past their limits and venture out in pursuit of prominence.

Blithe and Bulbous

Clonns have an unmistakable look to them. They trend to more extreme sizes, reaching heights around 4 feet to just over 8 feet. Their builds range from rail thin to rotund. Their arms are long and rest near the bottom of their thighs, similarly to those of a troll's. Their appendages are also big and round; a bulbous nose and full, crescent-shaped ears accompany massive pairs of both hands and feet. A clonn's skin is rubbery and dense with a slightly stretchy quality to it. Their skin tones are rather
monochromatic. Although they normally come in hues of ivory or eggshell white, they sometimes run ashen or grey. Their hair is thick with either a wavy or curly texture and
comes in a variety of bright colors. The most distinguishable feature of a clonn is their bright red nose. Blood vessels run remarkably wide at a clonn's extremities, nose, cheeks, ears, hands, and feet, resulting in a bright red pigment on their skin in those places.

Renaissance Men

Clonns don't live too much longer than humans do, but they'll enter as many as three times the number of professions in their lifetimes. Their natural talent allows them to pursue a variety of subjects with little issue. It's not uncommon to see an artisan clonn with self-made wares at their storefront and a battle-worn shortsword in the backroom.

A Cruel Joke 

There are generalizations made about each race. Dwarves, elves, and halflings have historically been considered excellent at filling specific roles. Half-orcs, tieflings, and other more monstrous races are feared for their potential to live up to their backgrounds. Humans, while not as storied as the others, have proven they can learn to be great at any
one thing they put their minds to.

Clonns find themselves with a surface level knack for anything they attempt, but that’s typically where the proficiency ends. A clonn can smith a serviceable hammer or fight in a war, but they will never reach the craftsmanship of a dwarf or the prowess of a dragonborn warrior. And with little to no history to look back on, they don't have evidence that they have been or ever can be anything more than what they are now. This is a hard lesson learned at childhood that shapes a clonn's mentality for the rest of their life.

Despite the apparent inability to truly excel, clonns work diligently. Perhaps they do so to prove their value to and avoid isolation from society. Or perhaps a clonn could be looking to prove their predecessors wrong.

Clonn Names

As a whole, clonnish naming conventions are fairly uniform. A clonn's name is composed of a first name and a title, both of which carry some form of history or sentimental value for them. An example of a full clonn name would be Kefir the Dizzy.

Clonnish First Names: Alf, Badin, Bailey, Binky, Bubbles, Buddy, Casey, Charlie, Dolly, Francesco, Giulia, Lola, Patches, Pogo, Stella

Clonnish Titles: the Bright, they'll Cheer, of Cures, in Dreams, may Eat, the Happy, in Kingsgraces, the Knight, brings Light, of Miracles, Royalbound, on Onestilt, the Tearful, of Wonders

Clonn Traits

Your clonn character has certain unique traits to their race.

Rubber Soul

When you reach 3rd level, you gain access to one of the following abilities (your choice). This cannot be changed.

Ability Score Increase

You gain no bonuses to your ability score. 

Age

Clonns rapidly move through childhood and mature into full grown adults by the age of 12. They live up to just over a century.

Alignment

Clonns are almost entirely lawful, sticking closely to the rules and parameters of the concepts they've learned. The rare trickster is as chaotic as they come.

Size

Clonnish heights trend to the extremes, reaching from around 4 feet to just under 8 feet. 

Clonns are also dense. An adult clonn hovers around an average of 300 pounds, but they can sometimes grow to nearly 450 pounds.

Your size is considered medium. 

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Polymathic

All ability checks with a modifier of 0 or +1 before adding your proficiency bonus are now a +2.

Additionally, ignore any of your skill check modifiers that fall below 0.

Elastic Skin

You have resistance to bludgeoning damage. 

Languages

You can speak, read and write Common, and you can sign Clonnish. Clonnish is a somatic language that combines hand shapes, arm movements, and facial expressions to express thoughts. Its primary use is for communicating with clonns who have taken a vow of silence, though some use it to share jokes in otherwise serious situations.

Clonnish must be added as a custom language.