Homebrew Goron (Legend of Zelda) Species Details

"Gorons gulp down rock by the mouthful, relax in bubbling lava, and don't see any value in gems. You didn't hear this from me, but... that's just plain crazy."

— Savelle, Breath of the Wild

The Gorons (pronounced /'ɡɔər.ɒn/ -on), also known as the Goron Tribe, are a race of rock people inhabiting Hyrule, Termina, and several other countries, typically living in mountain ranges. They have been called "rock people" since ancient times, when the goddess Hylia ruled and have long held close ties with the Hyrulean royal family. They have the capability to thrive in any environment, and in times of crisis, have survived by migrating to different climes. They are notable for having a lack of identifiable female members.

Unusual Homes, Unusual Appearance

The Gorons are a mountain-dwelling race, with sizes ranging from medium, tall, and even gigantic. Goron legs are short, especially in comparison to their much longer arms. Gorons typically live in or under mountain ranges of several countries, including mountains such as Death Mountain of Hyrule and Snowhead of Termina, among others. They are also adept at living in non-mountainous regions; it is not uncommon to see Gorons come down from their mountain homes or even travel to faraway lands, as seen in The Wind Waker, The Minish Cap, Skyward Sword and Breath of the Wild. Some also live on islands, such as on Goron Island. Befitting with that of their habitat, their durable, round bodies greatly resemble that of stones and boulders, and nearly all Gorons have a hide of ridged stones on their backsides. They usually have light brown skin. They have small eyes and noticeable lips, which conceal unaligned, square teeth. Another common trait are their symbols in the shape of the Goron's Ruby tattooed to the sides of their arms, whether this is natural or not is unknown. Combined with their round shape, Gorons can also curl themselves into a ball shape and roll like a boulder, which is also their primary attack against enemies.

Strong Communuity

Gorons possess immense strength which many are proud of, and many groups of Gorons like to hold competitions that test each other's physical strength and even rolling ability, including competitions such as Sumo Wrestlin' and rolling racing, among others. While Gorons do have many strengths, they are also not without their weaknesses. Gorons tend to move slowly, though their ability to roll can make up for this, and one of their apparent weaknesses is deep water as they cannot swim. However, as mentioned in Twilight Princess, Gorons can hold their breath for long periods without ever needing to breathe and thus cannot drown. Groups of Gorons often live in close-knit communities within their home mountains, often led by an elder leader, such as Darunia, the leader of the Death Mountain Gorons in Ocarina of Time. Those who become chiefs are both powerful and wise, uniting their people through respect and trust, rather than by force. Gorons tend to live in relative isolation but will regularly trade with Hyruleans and other friendly races. Gorons are very close and respectful to others of their own kind, and often refer to each other as "brothers". Though the Gorons are a friendly race, they can also be slow to trust outsiders, and may come off as cautious or even aggressive depending on the situation. However, if an outsider is able to prove their worth, usually in a test of strength, skill, intelligence, or courage, the Goron tribe will accept them and come to call them one of their brothers.

Goron Names

(I looked up the name of every Goron from every game, and listed them here.)

Names: Aji, Axyl, Bargoh, Bayge, Biggoron, Bladon, Bludo, Bohrin, Boldon, Bulk, Dangoro, Darbus, Darmani, Daruk, Darunia, Dorill, Drak, Dugby, Fugo, Gongoron, Gonguron, Gor Amoto, Gor Coron, Gor Ebizo, Gor Liggs, Gortram, Grapp, Greyson, Heehl, Hot Rodder, Jengo, Kabetta, Kairo, Krane, Link, Lyndae, Medigoron, Modar, Naddon, Offrak, Pelison, Pyle, Reagah, Rhodo, Rogaro, Rohan, Slergo, Strade, Tanko, Tray, Volcon, Yunobo 

Homebrew Race Balance Explanation

A little behind the scenes so people can see how the balance was designed, to show that it is a balanced race.

I started with the Naga as the basis for this race.

I did a standard swap of which ability scores were increased (which is equivalent in balance according to Tasha's Cauldron of Everything).

Eating Rocks is designed so that it grants no advantage or disadvantage, monetary or otherwise, over races that eat organic food.  It merely provides mechanical weight to the flavor fluff of Goron diet.  A goron living a lifestyle of a given comfort level has to pay the same amount to purchase his rocks to eat as any other race does on food.

I replaced the Naga Poison Immunity with Fire Immunity.  I took away immunity to the poisoned condition and did not grant them any condition they are immune to in replacement, because even though the WotC designers claim that they don't balance around damage types, fire damage is better than poison damage.

The passive benefit of the Rolling Speed ability isn't actually a buff, it just gives them the 30 feet base speed that Naga actually have already.  For flavor reasons I reduced this to 25 feet for the Goron while they are not rolling.  You'll notice that rolling does not take any action.

Speed Burst is exactly the same as the Naga ability, but I added the requirement that the Goron be rolling to activate it.

Natural Weapons & Rolling Attack, fist are not the main weapon here, since we are already getting access to a natural weapon, there is no reason not to allow gorons fists to do extra base damage, gorons rarely use weapons, so giving their fists modest damage allows for that.  The main weapon here is the rolling attack.  Since the Bite deals a total 2d4 damage (across two damage types).  I made it just a flat 1d8 bludgeoning damage.  The naga have some versatility in their natural weapon, being able to choose between piercing and poison damage or bludgeoning damage that also applies the (very powerful) restrained condition.  So in exchange I gave the attack the option to throw foes away from you if you rolled a distance first, just like being hit by a goron's rolling attack in the games.  The Restrained condition is stronger than Prone condition so swapping them is still fair.  Pushing a foe 10 feet and knocking them prone is still not as strong as Grappling them (reducing their speed to 0) and Restraining them.

I replaced poisoner's kit proficiency with different tool proficiency options, balance wise that is equivalent as was confirmed by Tasha's Cauldron of Everything.

Toughen Up isn't providing any power for the character that any other character wouldn't have spending the exact same amount on armor and using the same armor proficiencies.  The ability is just a clever way of re-flavoring buying armor.  By using Gorons' propensity for engaging in punishing training to toughen and strengthen themselves.  Technically it does provide one small incidental benefit that a character wearing traditional armor doesn't get, and that is that the Goron sleeps in their armor, something a character wearing medium or heavy armor cannot do.  But I feel that it is a pretty incidental benefit that doesn't affect the balance of the race.  From a DM reward standpoint, it doesn't hamper the DM in any way.  Just like how a DM could leave armor as loot for the party to find if he wants to award mundane armor, the DM could just as easily leave uncut gemstones as loot for the goron player.

Sink Like a Stone.  This is the only ability that was added that neither has a corresponding ability present on the Naga nor is it just re-flavoring of regular activities any other character would be engaged in (acquiring armor), but I felt it was important enough flavor-wise to the goron to add it in.  Gorons are heavy like rocks and don't float, they sink.  So I put that in as a defect for the gorons.  But to compensate I allowed them to be able to hold their breath so that a goron who fell into some water wouldn't automatically drown and die, where any other character could just swim to safety.
As a DM, if this ability bothers you balance-wise just take it out or make a change to it (Maybe the goron can only hold their breath as long as a character of the same stats and skill proficiencies could survival float.  Maybe that only applies while doing little to know activity but if they are engaged with activity more strenuous than getting back out of the water, the amount of time they can hold their breath is lessened by some amount.).

Additional Fighting Style Options.
Rollout.  This fighting style is just the dueling fighting style, but it applies to your rollout slam instead of a melee weapon.  Rollout slam is not any stronger than using a Longsword or any other one handed d8 weapon.

 

Goron (Legend of Zelda) Traits

Gorons share a number of traits in common with each other.

Ability Score Increase

Your Intelligence score increases by 1, and your Charisma score increases by 2.

Age

Like humans, Gorons reach adulthood in their late teens. They show no signs of aging beyond that point except for growing larger, so in theory, a Gorons could live well over a century.

Alignment

Gorons tend to be good natured. They have no inherent leaning towrards law or chaos, they have a strong sense of dealing with others with honor, but also are very free spirited.

Size

Gorons are usually much larger than a human.  They have long arms and short legs, and are very round and stocky.  Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 25 feet when on foot, and 30 feet when rolling.

Eating Rocks

Instead of eating normal food like other races.  You eat rocks.  But you cannot eat just any rocks.  The rocks you consume for nutrition come from a variety of types of uncommon rocks.

Just like how humans can eat plants, but cannot eat just any plants, a Goron eats rocks but cannot eat just any rocks.  A human can no more eat grass than a goron can eat the common rocks found everywhere.

Some rocks are more gourmet than others.  Because they are uncommon, the rocks you eat cost about the same as a non-goron eating a meal of equivalent quality.  These rocks you can eat are not so rare that one cannot scavenge them for them in the wilderness.  A character (goron or not) with the wanderer background can replace any number of the five people's worth of food he gathers with enough edible rocks to feed that number of gorons.  And on average it is the same difficulty for someone to Scavenge for edible rocks for you as it would be to scavenge for normal food constituting the same quality meal for a single non-goron, and takes on average the same amount of time to complete.  However this is only an average, in some environments it may be easier to find organic food, and in others it may be easier to find edible rocks.  For example: At the DM's discretion, in a lush flat forest it may be easier to find organic food than edible rocks, but on a mountainside or in a cave, it may be easier to find edible rocks than organic food.  In a desert it is likely that both will be hard to find.  On open waters, you might be able to fish but it might be impossible to find edible rocks, and in a desolate volcanic wasteland it may be impossible to find organic food for non-gorons, but possible to find edible rocks for a goron.

Magical food items like potions and good berries can still be consumed by you.

Volcanic Immunity

You are immune to fire damage.

Rolling Speed

Gorons are slow when walking, but can move faster when they roll.

When you are rolling your base speed increases from 25 feet to 30 feet.  Any other increases to speed you have apply to this speed as well.  Rolling does not take an action.

While rolling, anything you are holding is tucked up inside, you cannot use anything equipped in your arms while rolling.

Speed Burst

By pumping up your rolling speed, you can move more quickly for a time. As a bonus action on your turn, if you are rolling and have both hands free, you can increase your walking speed by a further 5 feet until the end of your turn.

Natural Weapons & Rolling Attack

Your fists deal bludgeoning damage equal to 1d6 + Strength Modifier.  While you are rolling anything in your hands is tucked inside and cannot be used, but you can slam into a foe as a weapon attack that deals bludgeoning damage equal to 1d8 + Strength Modifier.  If you moved at least 20 feet and your target is no more than one size category larger than you, you can instead deal bludgeoning damage equal to 1d6 + Strength Modifier, and the target must make a Strength saving throw (DC 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Strength modifier) or you push it up to 10 feet away from you in any direction and they are knocked prone.

Toughen Up

Because of the unusual shape of your carapace, you cannot wear armor.  However, Gorons complete challenges to train and toughen up their bodies.  When you gain proficiency in a type of armor that also includes completing the appropriate challenge training.  This begins the process to harden your carapace into improved natural armor.  To complete this process, you mus consume gemstones of at least a specified value to complete the process, at any point after gaining that proficiency.

Likewise if you gain shield proficiency, at the same time you also complete training to toughen up your forearms, and use them to block attacks.  Afterwards you may consume uncut gemstones of the same value as the price of a shield.  From then on, if you have at least one hand free, not holding anything, that arm counts as a shield increasing your armor class appropriately.  This benefit applies even if you are rolling, the shield bonus in this case coming not from blocking with your arms but repositioning your spinning body to better block a hit.  You still need to have eaten the gemstones to gain this benefit.  While using your arm as a shield, it also counts as using a shield for the purpose of any other abilities you have (for example, it would count for the Protection fighting style.

For either of these transformations, cut gemstones can be consumed as a substitute to some or all of the value of needed in uncut gemstones.  However cut gemstones, only provide 75% of their market value towards the cumulative total value of gemstones consumed.

If your DM's campaign made changes to the average prices for these armors--or is using a different currency system, for example Rupees--then the total value (in that currency) of gemstones consumed to qualify for a given level of AC changes accordingly to match.

You can use your natural armor to determine your AC.  A shield's benefits apply as normal while you use your natural armor.
When you complete a Long Rest, you may set the AC value provided by your natural armor equal to the AC value of any suit of armor of your choice for which you would be proficient in (although you cannot wear that suit of armor due to your unusual shape) that has an average price less than or equal to the total value in uncut gemstones (cut gemstones consumed provided 75% of their value towards this) consumed for this feature (not counting any gemstones consumed for shield proficiency).  Your natural armor is made of rock, and thus it increases your body weight as the armor, increases.  Assume your body weight is increased by an amount matching the weight of the matching armor.  If the armor chosen would cause a wearer to have disadvantage on Stealth (Dexterity) checks, then your natural armor increases your body weight by a further 50 pounds, weighing you down enough that you suffer the same disadvantage to those same checks.  Natural Armor has no effect on your encumbrance.  Any increase in weight is just an increase in your total body weight, and has no effect on the total weight you can carry in items.  Any selections to your natural armor may be changed after completing a long rest assuming you have also eaten rocks constituting a days meal the previous day (the mass of the armor has to come from somewhere).  You may choose to have your natural armor count as worn armor of the same type for the purposes of gaining the benefits of any other features you have (like the Defense fighting style).  If you do so, then it counts for all such features, and also prevents you from using features that do not work while wearing armor or wearing armor of that type.

Gemstones, once consumed, count for life, you do not need to re-consume gemstones each long rest.

Sink Like a Stone

You cannot swim.  You sink.  However you can hold your breath for as long as you remain conscious.

Goron Tool Proficency

You gain proficiency with one of these tools of your choice: smith's tools, mason's tools, potter's tools, or a musical instrument or gaming set of your choice.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and Goron (use Terran instead in games where Goron isn't a language).