Homebrew Draenei Species Details

Long before the fallen titan, Sargeras, unleashed his demonic Legion on Azeroth, he turned his baleful gaze upon the world of Argus and its highly intelligent inhabitants, the Eredar. Believing that this magically gifted race would be a crucial component in his dark quest to undo all of creation, Sargeras contacted the Eredar’s three leaders – Kil’jaeden, Archimonde, and Velen – and offered them knowledge and power in exchange for their loyalty.

Background

Long ago on the world of Argus, the brilliant and magically gifted Eredar race drew the attention of Sargeras, the Destroyer of Worlds. Sargeras offered untold power to the three leaders of the Eredar–Kil'jaeden, Archimonde, and Velen–in exchange for their unquestioning loyalty. A troubling vision soon came to Velen, who saw the Eredar transformed into unspeakable demons–the first sentient members of the Legion, which would grow to immense size and decimate all life. Despite Velen's warnings, Kil'jaeden and Archimonde decided to accept Sargeras' offer. Velen despaired at his former friends' decision and prayed for help. To his surprise and relief, he was answered by one of the benevolent Naaru. These energy beings had, like Velen, foreseen the formation of the Burning Legion.

The Naaru offered to shepherd Velen and other believers to refuge. Velen quietly gathered those of his fellow Eredar who seemed trustworthy and dubbed them the Draenei, or "exiled ones." As Sargeras returned to Argus and transformed many willing Eredar into demons, the Draenei narrowly escaped their homeworld. Kil’jaeden, who had loved Velen like a brother, was infuriated by the Draenei’s flight from Argus and their ungrateful refusal of Sargeras’ offer. In retaliation, Kil’jaeden led the Legion’s armies on a relentless pursuit of the Draenei throughout the cosmos. Even as the Burning Legion chased the Draenei, the Naaru instructed the exiles in the way of the Light. Deeply affected, the Draenei vowed to honor the Light and uphold the Naaru's ideals. In time, the Draenei settled on a remote world and met the shamanistic orcs who inhabited it. The Draenei came to call their new home Draenor or "Exiles' Refuge."

Kil'jaeden continued his hunt, however, eventually learning of the idyllic world and its unsuspecting inhabitants. Working through the shaman Ner'zhul, the demon lord gradually began corrupting the orcs. When Ner'zhul refused to serve the Legion's agenda past a certain point, Kil'jaeden turned to Ner'zhul's apprentice. Gul'dan worked the orcs into a frenzy of bloodlust, and the newly formed Horde began slaughtering the peaceful Draenei. The orcish campaign against the Draenei was brutally effective. Over eighty percent of the Draenei race was destroyed, though a small group of survivors remained, including the noble Velen. The orcs went on to invade Azeroth through Medivh's Dark Portal. Years later, after the Second War, Ner'zhul's additional portals would tear Draenor to pieces.

In the wake of the calamity, what remained of Draenor – known henceforth as Outland – devolved into a battleground among the Burning Legion and other factions vying for control of the ruined landscape. To escape the mounting chaos, Velen and a number of his followers commandeered the Exodar, a satellite structure of the stunning Naaru dimensional fortress named Tempest Keep. Using this craft to search for new allies, the Draenei left Outland and later crash-landed upon the world of Azeroth.

Inspired by heroic tales of the Alliance and its victories against the Legion, the Draenei sought out and pledged their loyalty to this courageous faction. Not long afterward, Velen and his noble refugees played a key role in urging the Alliance to invade Outland and disrupt the Legion’s nefarious activities. Armed with their unshakable faith in the Light, the Draenei ventured to their embattled former home as steadfast members of the Alliance and defeated their ancient demonic rivals.

“In moments of great strife, I gaze into the heavens and see just how far we have already come.”
          — The Prophet Velen

Appearance

Draenei closely resemble Tieflings. They are bipedal ungulates, whose females are on average 7'1" tall while males tend to reach 7'5" in height. Their skin tone is generally blue but can range from white to dark violet. Their blood is also blue. Draenei possess hooves and a long tail, which tends to be thinner on females and which can be reinforced with plates on males. They can also have horns or forehead plates on their heads. While males have tendrils growing out from their chin and neck, female tendrils are thinner and grow from behind their ears. Draenei females are obsessed with the way their horns look and find ways to reduce "horn shedding or something".

Their eyes glow many shades of blue or purple. When Draenei die, the glow fades away

Draenei Names

Draenei rarely have last names, instead often prefacing their name with an honorary or title denoting their military rank, profession, or status. These include Apprentice, Caregiver (Innkeepers), Defender, Exarch, Huntress, and Vindicator, among many others.

Female Draenei Names: Aalesia, Ceyla, Dearny, Elysia, Iressa, Loryi, Onaala, Sha'nir, Tristia, Vuuleen

Male Draenei Names: Achelus, Baatun, Daedal, Haldor, Kandaar, Mikolaas, Ryosh, Vishael, Zalduun

 

Draenei Traits

Draenei share certain racial traits as a result of their common Eredar heritage.

Ability Score Increase

Your Strength or Dexterity score increases by 1. Your Wisdom score increases by 2.

Age

Draenei mature at the same rate as humans but live a few years longer.

Alignment

Draenei typically tend to be good, though there are a few exceptions. Their heritage and community ties make them lean towards lawful.

Size

Draenei females are on average 7'1" tall while males tend to reach 7'5" in height. Here’s how to determine your height and weight randomly, starting with rolling a size modifier:

Size modifier = 2d8

Height = 6 feet + 6 inches + your size modifier in inches

Weight in pounds = 150 + (2d4 × your size modifier)

Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 35 feet.

Darkvision

Thanks to your Eredar heritage, 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.

Shadow Resistance

The Draenei are so devoted to the Holy Light and the ways of the Naaru that all Draenei have resistance to necrotic damage.

Gift of the Naaru

With the help of the Naaru, every Draenei has learned a basic spell for healing in the form of cure wounds. You may cast this spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a short or long rest. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

Gemcutting

Draenei have worked with gems for centuries in a variety of ways such as jewelry or power sources, so they have proficiency with jeweler's tools at the start.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and Celestial.