Homebrew Drakenkin Species Details
On all of the continents across the material plane it is common to see Humans, Elves, and even Dwarves. What is not so common is seeing an eladrin out for a stroll within a city's limits. Which follows logically considering the Eladrin people hail from the Feywild whereas the other aforementioned races call the Material plane their home. What doesn't make since, however, is the prospect that despite this fact it is more unlikely to see a Drakenkin.
The Drakenkin, or Reyliik as is pronounced in their native tongue, are a secluded people. Ones that have all the social sensibilities you would come NOT to expect from a race of what the layman calls hermits.
As time passed the mystique of Drakenkin culture has long since faded. As bards sung tales and scholars archived their habits, the sociable hermits eventually became well-documented. However, the conclusions of their origins are speculative at best. Some believe they were born of a human family line who would bathe in a cauldron of dragon's blood every day til their bodies transformed. Others lean on a mundane theory of a bloodline of spurred of diluted Dragonborn half-breeds. The most popular story by far though is a tale of forbidden love between a god and an ancient dragon.
Ferocious Beauty
A duality of flesh and scale exists among the Reyliik. Though the human in humanoid is more present in them more than their Draconic brethren, that isn't for a lack Draconic features. Some Drakenkin bear intricate patterns of scales along their skin, while some bear the arm of a dragon, and others have grandiose horns that twist and tower above their heads. The color of their scales and horns, present, usually depend on the family line they come from although the most common are black scales. Drakenkin, unless under specific circumstances, have not a hair on their bodies nor their chins. Their hair ranges from tame and straight to wild and wavy and even at times their eyes are piercing like a dragon's.
Roll a d6 for a Drakenkin physical feature for one or multiple, or choose them manually.
| Roll (d6) | Draconic Feature |
|---|---|
| 1 | Your scales are like an abstract pattern woven on your skin. |
| 2 | You have one or multiple limbs that are consumed by your scales and bear sharp features. |
| 3 | Your scales shape around your head like a natural helmet that is durable yet flexible. |
| 4 | Your eyes have a faint fire that wanes behind your draconic pupils. |
| 5 | The magical nature of your body allows your hair to defy physics, floating ethereally. |
| 6 | Your horns are your pride, and for good reason. They stand tall and elegant atop your head. |
A Family, A Keep
The most important thing to a Drakenkin is their family, and second most important thing to them is their collection. Both of which is held and protected by their family keep. As stated before, Reyliik do not commonly venture outside of their domain and as a result those that do keep a healthy income of amenities and necessities coming through the doors of the keep. Most of the time a keep holds one family line, but there are some cases in which multiple families collide under one keep, some with more resistance than others. As a result the keep turns into a self sustainable society brimming with life deep bonds, one that outsiders are not often welcome too lest accompanied by a member of the family(s).
LAYOUT OF THE KEEP
Although usually confined to a family environment, there are examples of keeps in which have a market which is open to the public using it as a trade outpost to replace knickknacks for, well, knickknacks... or gold if they really want to rid of something from their collection.
Family Hall. A grand hall of constant reunion amongst the Reyliik. A place filled with tables, chairs, campfires, and revelry bountiful. A place filled with brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, and constant stories.
The Bedroom. Depending on the size of the family a Drakenkin may or may not have their own room. Regardless if they do or do not they will have a spot cleaned out for their collection. Some have it on display while others have it stowed away.
The Pit. A place of reverence. When a Drakenkin passes a ceremony of remembrance commences. Those closest to the individual come together and one by one pour the late soul's collection into the pit. By the end, they throw in one item each of their own collection to join the hoard of a family long past, a family who built the keep and the who the keep is built on.
A Menagerie of Treasures
As mentioned above, the Drakenkin have a 'hoard' of their own. Although not an entirely appropriate word the connection of this fascination of collecting has to be drawn between the Reyliik and their ancestors.
A collection can come in many forms for the Drakenkin. One can follow the tradition of gold or valuable jewelry, whilst others can be a technicolor display of al-chemical solutions. A collection to a Drakenkin is as unique as the person behind it and often aligns with an interest. Some struggle with this inclination and can end up with loose hands, tight pockets, and an addiction to boot. Others have a collection that isn't encumbering on the body let alone the spirit nor the mind.
Leaving The Dragon's Nest
Though the adventuring life is not common amongst Drakenkin, there are a couple of reasons for them to leave the keep. The most common reason is to gather supplies for the keep, usually these ventures wrap up before the winter gathering. Another common reason is for a Drakenkin who reaches the age of maturity to venture the world to find a partner for life. The last common reason is to bolster one's collection of course. These, of course, are far from the only reasons a Drakenkin may leave their home and feel free to come up with something that suits your character first and foremost.
Drakenkin Traits
As a Drakenkin, you have the following traits.Field of Confluence
Once per long rest, a Drakenkin can use their natural influence over the weave to warp a spell within sight and range (including their own).
Within a 60ft range a spell that targets another person or creature to hit can be made with advantage or disadvantage. A spell that requires a target to make a saving throw can have advantage or disadvantage on said roll. You can only use this once per long rest and must choose whether the targeted spellcaster or target of a spell makes the appropriate roll with advantage or disadvantage.
Keen Appraisal
As a natural collector, you are trained with a set of tools to help you maintain the quality of your collection. Choose a set of tools to gain proficiency with.
Draconic Senses
Thanks to your draconic eyes you see the world like no other who walk among you, aside from other Drakenkin that is.
You have blindsight to a range of 15 feet. Within that range, you can effectively see anything that isn't behind total cover, even if you're blinded or in darkness. Moreover, you can see invisible creatures within that range, unless the creatures successfully hide from you.
You have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks.
Ability Score Increase
Your choice of a score to increase by 2 and another score to increase by 1.
Age
Drakenkin reach maturity at the same rate as Humans, but go on to live on average to be 600 years old.
Size
Humans vary widely in height and build, from barely 5 feet to well over 6 feet tall. Regardless of your position in that range, your size is Medium.
Speed
Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Languages
You can speak, read, and write Common and two extra languages of your choice. Drakenkin typically have a fascination with the world around them, including other cultures and what knowledge they could have.
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