Homebrew Ettin Species Details

The Ettin are a reclusive people. They live largely solitary lives, or as solitary as can be when sharing a body, in the mountains and hills of the world. Brutish and savage, the average Ettin is barely more than a lumbering monster. Very rarely however a genius among their kind emerges, a pair who rise above the murky depths of monsterthood to join the ranks of enlightened species. 

Immensely strong and gifted with (Comparatively) tremendous intellect you shall venture the world together, and you will struggle.

Ettin Traits

Your body comes with many blessings, do try to share will you?

Ability Score Increase

Your lumbering form is tremendously strong and hardy. Increase your Strength score by 2 and your Constitution by 1.

Age

The Ettin live in harsh environments, beset on all sides by foes. They reach maturity comparatively quickly after about 18 years, though they can live for over 150 years if allowed to.

Alignment

Ettin culture inclines towards Evil, not out of choice but necessity. The world is unkind to a young Ettin, and often they find they must put themselves before others just to scrape by. From the outside Ettins may appear chaotic or lawless, however, this tends to rise through conflicts between heads. Individual heads develop a strong code of law to which they adhere, and develop pacts with their co-heads to ensure the smooth functioning of their daily lives, though that does not stop their bickering.

Size

Even the most runtish of Ettins stands at over 11 feet tall, and many can reach sizes of sixteen feet high. Your size is Large.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 35 feet

Imposing

Your figure is both powerful and unnerving. Gain proficiency in Intimidation.

Better together

Your lifelong companion sits on their neck beside you. You were born with them, and you shall die with them. Two people share the body of the Ettin and must compromise accordingly. 

Players may choose whichever class they please as usual, and both pool their hit die to determine their amalgam HP. Both players remain conscious until the entire pool is spent, before simultaneously falling unconscious. 

Class features or skills may only be activated by the player which brings them to the table, however, skills that affect the whole body benefits both. For example, uncanny evasion would allow the shared body to escape unharmed even if one of the players does not possess it. Passive enhancements to the body such as a Paladin's disease immunity affect both players in the shared body.

Effects that target the body such as poison are shared, however individually targeted effects or spells which affect the mind only affect one player. Saving throws that affect both players simultaneously can be rolled by either of the players based on preference.

Each player technically controls one arm and one leg (On the opposite side of the body from where their head sits).

Both players share the movement pool of the body and may add to it via skills, spells, or class features. Both players must unanimously agree on how the movement is spent, and if an agreement or compromise cannot be reached then the body falls prone as it attempts to move in two directions at once.

Clever hands

For your entire lives you have shared a body and thus have learned some very clever tricks to compensate. You may treat each arm as two for the purposes of rules as written, allowing the operation of complex objects as though two-handed. You may draw and fire a bow, incant spells, and wield both a sword and shield in a single hand. This has been achieved through years of practice and refinement. Have some fun describing the clever ways your Ettin has overcome some of these problems.

Exotic body

Your titanic form makes equipping yourself difficult. Standard equipment will not fit your body, and any armor built for the smaller races must be resized or refitted in order to be used. However, your body is also very tough and you have a permanent +1 Bonus to AC 

Heavy Sleeper

You have become used to sleeping through the antics of your co-head. When you rest you may pass control of the rest of the body to your partner head and gain the full benefits of a rest provided you sleep long enough. 

Languages

You can speak, read, and write both Common and Giant.

Comments

Posts Quoted:
Reply
Clear All Quotes