Homebrew Lavaborn Species Details

A tall, broad-shouldered figure stands in the doorway, his flesh glowing red-orange with pure heat, plates of black stone floating on the brilliant red flesh. In his hands he carries a massive blade, the handle glowing orange around his grip. New cracks form in his eyebrows as the plates of stone shift, his brow furrowing intensely.

"You must be Char, my visitor?" the man behind the door asks the figure in front of him, a look of shock on his face.

"The very same," Char responds, swinging his sword briefly before placing it in a loop behind his back. He crosses over to the fireplace, and touches his hand on the wood, which is immediately set alight.

Char paces around the house. "I warned you not to invoke the wrath of the lavaborn, Rand," he simply states. "I was sent here to warn you now, to leave this place immediately, or to see you and your possessions destroyed. In fact, if I had the choice, I'd burn you to a crisp myself. You have one day. And then, as the lava flows from a volcano, our fury will flow unceasingly until everything you love--" he shoots a beam of lava out of his hand and the wood on the fireplace immediately combusts to ash-- "is gone. Good day." He exits from the house, slamming the door behind him.

 

Lavaborn are elemental humanoids produced from volcanoes -- the meeting place of the Material Plane and the Elemental Plane of Fire. Although they have traits of both elementals and humans, they are neither the offspring of human nor elemental, instead spawning naturally from the magma within the earth. As violent and explosive as the volcanoes that created them, lavaborn are feared and awed by humanoids alike.

Form of the Volcano

Although elemental in nature, lavaborn are humanoid in appearance, save for the cooled, hardened volcanic rock that serves as their outer layer, and the glowing, flowing magma that lies underneath. The outer layer of a lavaborn's body ranges in color from the lightest browns to the deepest blacks, and their inner layer can be any color ranging from scarlet reds to golden yellows, from white-hots to deep burnt oranges, typically depending on their mood. Their eyes are typically dark brown or coal-black, but can light up in a fiery red or orange blaze when angered. A lavaborn's outer rock layer has cracks that reveals the volcanic energy within, though the placement or width of the cracks varies between each lavaborn. Drawing on the explosive power of the volcano, lavaborn are innate fire magic wielders, though many can become fearsome warriors.

Calm Souls Prone to Anger

Lavaborn live in reclusive societies, near active volcanoes, almost always composed entirely of other lavaborn. As a result, they are generally calm and reserved. They can be beacons of eternal flame and protection, radiating light and heat around them that only the coldest of temperatures can subdue. However, as volatile as the magma from which they were created, they can turn from calm to violent, from protective to destructive, seemingly in less than an instant. Other times, lavaborn take longer to break, as each injustice, each insult, shakes them like a series of earthquakes, until they have taken too much and they erupt, just like the volcanoes they originate from. It would be unwise to get on the bad side of a lavaborn. Their fiery fury spares no one. However, as prone to anger as lavaborn are, they quickly gain trust and loyalty towards people who trust and are loyal towards them, and trust, once gained by a lavaborn, is gained forever.

Lavaborn Names

Lavaborn who are born among other humanoids typically have names reflective of that culture. However, all lavaborn eventually take upon them a name that defines their volcanic heritage, such as Ash, Char, Ember, or Pyros.

BORN FROM A RITUAL

Many lavaborn are born that way, either in the Elemental Plane of Fire or influenced by it. But there are a few lavaborn who have undergone a ritual to become like their natural born kin. For one who wishes to become a lavaborn through ritual, the ritual must be officiated at an active volcano by a lavaborn, fire genasi, or other fire elemental. The ritual takes 1 hour, which can be completed over a short rest, at the end of which the subject throws themselves into the volcano, allowing themselves to be consumed by the lava. At the moment the subject would die, they are reborn, their bodies reformed from the magma and encased in volcanic rock. However, in lavaborn society, those reborn from ritual are shunned by the natural born. The lavaborn seen as adventurers are usually the ones cast out from their society as unnatural, though there are few exceptions.

Lavaborn Traits

The shared traits between lavaborn allow them to control and harness the element of their namesake.

Ability Score Increase

Your Constitution score increases by 2, and one other ability score of your choice increases by 1.

Age

Lavaborn mature at the same rate as humans. They live much longer however, up to 200 years.

Alignment

Lavaborn tend towards a chaotic alignment, due to the violent nature of their element, and are rarely concerned over good or evil.

Size

Lavaborn are about the same size and build as humans. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common, Primordial, and Ignan.

Living Lightsource

Thanks to the fire that illuminates your soul, 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. Your elemental heritage gives you a unique form of darkvision -- you discern colors in shades of red.

You can also use a bonus action to shed bright light in a 10 ft. radius and dim light for an additional 10 ft. This lasts for 1 hour or until you dispel it as another bonus action.

Solid Body, Molten Soul

Your skin is made of hard volcanic rock. When you are not wearing armor, you gain a +1 bonus to your AC.

You have pure fire flowing through your veins. You are immune to fire damage. You also do not suffer the effects of extreme heat as detailed in chapter 5 of the Dungeon Master's Guide. However, this comes with a drawback -- you have vulnerability to cold damage.

In addition, whenever a creature hits you with a melee or reach attack, you can use your reaction to deal fire damage to the creature that attacked you equivalent to your level. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Constitution modifier (minimum of once) per long rest.

Harness the Volcano

The volcanic energy within you gives you innate spellcasting. You know the fire bolt cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the earth tremor spell as a 1st-level spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. When you reach 5th level, you can cast the heat metal spell as a 2nd-level spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. Constitution is your spellcasting ability for these spells.