A long time ago, I posted this bit of work for Planescape races. If you look at the date, it’s hella old. I mean, hella old. That doesn’t mean the races are bad or don’t work, but it does mean they could use the ol’ subrace treatment. While I’m at it, I’m willing to look at the races and tweak them if they need tweaking. Bariaur came out before minotaur was released by WotC – for example – so it’s a good chance to re-evaluate the different charging skills and seeing what works. Today, I will be looking at bariaur, bladelings, and ratatoskr.
Monstrous Subraces: Part One: Aarakocra, Goblin, and Mind Flayers | Lamia, Wemic | Bariaur, Bladelings, and Ratatoskr
Bariaur
Bariaur tend to remind primes of centaurs. They have humanoid upper bodies atop goat-like bodies. They have something of a lion in their facial features, though men sport great, curling ram horns. Bariaur are social, easygoing, and generally disposed to friendship upon meeting new people. Despite their meticulous and fussy natures when it comes to their appearance and actions, bariaur are not flighty or frivolous. To make a friend of a bariaur is to make a loyal, sturdy companion for life.
Your bariaur character has the following traits:
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution and Strength scores increase by 1.
Age. Bariaur mature at the same rate of humans, though they are generally twice as long-lived.
Alignment. Whatever
Size. Bariaur stand between 6 and 7 feet tall, and weigh close to 400 pounds. Your size is medium.
Speed. Your walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision. 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 grey.
Horns. You may use your horns as a melee weapon. Your horns deal 1d6 bludgeoning damage, and you are proficient with them. Your horns make it difficult to lock you in a hold safely, granting you advantage against becoming grappled.
Ramming Dash. When you use the Dash action during your turn, you can make a melee attack with your horns as a bonus action. After you have moved 30 feet in a straight line, for every 10 additional feet you travel in a straight line grants you an additional 1d4 damage on this attack.
This increases to 1d6 at 6th level, 1d8 at 11th level, and 1d10 at 16th level.
Pack Constitution. You have advantage on saving throws against disease.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Celestial.
Subrace. Bariaur are raised in a tribal society, leading a nomadic lifestyle as they travel across Ysgard. Bariaur spend much of their time seeking honor and glory, battling the fensir and giants that threaten the homes of the gods in which they travel. While bariaur are tribal, each tribe houses the dominant lineages without any prejudice. The two most common lineages are the Inspired – those blessed by the gods of creativity and innovation in Ysgard – and the Valiant – those blessed by the gods who favor bravery and valor. Many bariaur travel when they reach adulthood, gathering wisdom and insight into the planes before returning home to the tribe.
Inspired
Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 1.
Innovative. You gain proficiency in a tool of your choice.
Further, you may spend an action to create a workable version of the tool that will fall apart after a single use – either successful or failed. If you instead spend ten minutes preparing, the tool will last for a number of uses equal to your proficiency bonus, or until an hour has passed. Once you have used this portion of the trait, you may not do so again until you complete a long rest.
True Poetry. When making a Charisma (Performance) check involving poetry or song, you may choose to double your proficiency bonus. After doing so, you may gain Inspiration if you do not currently possess it. Once you have used this trait, you may not do so until you complete a long rest.
Before your first use of this trait, decide whether your poetry comes from the mead of the gods or the wells of the giants. This choice might have repercussions as you travel across the planes.
Hard to Get. When you take the Disengage action, your movement speed increases by 10 feet.
Valiant
Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 1.
Boastful. As a reaction to rolling initiative, you may cause your voice to increase to three times its normal volume while you recite your deeds and lineage. You gain advantage on your next attack roll. If this attack is successful, you may choose to re-roll the damage of this attack, taking the second result.
Challenge. You may cast compelled duel as a bonus action. Intelligence is your casting ability for this trait. Once you have used this trait, you may not do so again until you complete a long rest.
Dashing. Your movement speed is increased by 10 feet when you take the Dash action.
Bladelings
Enigmatic and secretive people from the eternal battlefield of Acheron, Bladelings call the fourth layer of Acheron – Ocanthus – home. The natives of this harsh environment reflect their home. Bladelings appear as metallic humanoids of various shades with vibrantly colored eyes, and oil-like blood. As the name suggests, blade-like protrusions jut from their body, most noticeably on their hands and bony extremities. Bladelings tend to gravitate towards positions of law, authority, and order,
Your bladeling character has the following traits:
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2.
Age. Bladelings mature at the same rate of humans, as live an equivalent length of time.
Alignment. Whatever
Size. Bladelings are generally between 5 and 6 feet tall, and weigh around 150 pounds. Your size is medium.
Speed. Your walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision. 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 grey.
Unnerving Presence. You have advantage on Charisma (Intimidation) ability checks.
Razor Storm. As an action, you may expel shrapnel from your body in a 15′ cone. Each creature in the area of the shrapnel must make a Dexterity saving throw. The DC for this saving throw equals 8 + your Constitution modifier + your proficiency bonus. A creature takes 2d8 piercing damage on a failed save, and half as much damage on a successful one. The damage increases to 3d8 at 6th level, 4d8 at 11th level, and 5d8 at 16th level.
After you use this trait you may not use it again until you complete a short or long rest.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Abyssal.
Subrace. Bladelings tend to work for the organizations present within Ocanthus, enjoying the strictures and finding their places easily within them. Over time, bladelings have been in service to some of these organizations so long that generations have passed, separating them from their brethren elsewhere. Two of the largest bladeling sects are the Cabal Macabre and the Swarm of Bralm.
Cabal Macabre
Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom or Intelligence score increases by 1.
Sacrificial Flame. You know the create bonfire cantrip, and may choose either Wisdom or Intelligence as your casting ability. Once you have chosen, you may not change your casting ability.
Arcane Well. You may spend 10 minutes in meditation to attempt to access the Arcane Well of Ocanthus. You may use this access to empower one spell of your choice – allowing it to be cast as one spell slot level higher, but consuming only the spell’s original spell slot. You must make a success Intelligence (Religion) or Intelligence (Arcana) ability check against DC 10 + the new spell slot level. You may not cast a spell as a higher level spell slot than you currently possess. Each time you use this trait after the first you gain a level of exhaustion.
Ruby’s Gift. You have proficiency with jeweler’s tools.
Swarm of Bralm
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength or Dexterity increases by 1.
Bralm’s Labor. You know the mending cantrip.
Entangling Hide. You cause the spikes of your skin to lengthen, making it difficult to score a hit against you. When you are hit by a weapon attack, you may spend your reaction to increase your AC against the attack by your proficiency bonus . Once you have done so, you may not do so again until you complete a short or long rest.
Bralm’s Blessing. You have resistance to poison damage and advantage on saving throws against poison.
Ratatoskr
Ratatoskr are the inhabitants of Yggdrasil – the world-spanning tree. Ratatoskr resemble giant squirrels, though they often have vivid stripes of color in their fur – along with a keen wit, intellect, and sense of trouble-making, of course. Ratatoskr have a reverence for Yggdrasil that borders on worship. Thanks to their affinity with the world-tree, ratatoskr are among the most reliable messengers in all the planes. However, their love of gossip and secrets cause many to seek aid elsewhere, rather than deal with the incessant chatter that comes with employing a ratatoskr. Ratatoskr are nimble – leaping wildly from branch to branch as they scale the world tree. Ratatoskr leave Yggdrasil often – sometimes believing they have been given insight – what sort of insight is rarely clear – from the tree, and other times because they just want to explore the branches of the tree and see where it takes them. Some ratatoskr have dreams and visions in complex detail and metaphor that they attribute to the world tree. Interpreting these dreams and visions is difficult, and fully consumes many ratatoskr.
Your ratatoskr character has the following traits:
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2.
Age. Ratatoskr mature at the same rate of humans, but can live several centuries before they disappear into Yggdrasil.
Alignment. Whatever
Size. Ratatoskr are between 4 and 5 feet tall, and generally weigh around 125 pounds. Your size is medium.
Speed. Your walking speed is 35 feet.
Darkvision. 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 grey.
Treeborne. You have advantage on any Strength (Athletics) ability check to climb or jump.
Frequent Faller. Your descent rate is 60 feet per round, unless you are restrained or incapacitated.
Pack Constitution. You have advantage on saving throws against disease.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and either Celestial or Sylvan.
Subrace. The influence of the powers that claim – or seek to claim – Yggdrasil as their own have left indelible marks on the ratatoskr. The mist-marked have vibrant stripes of color in their fur and tend to be more focused on gossip, secrets, and stirring up trouble than their cousins – the sky-marked – have muted stripes of color and work to unlock the mysteries and insights of the planes as told to them by Yggdrasil – no matter where they roam.
Mist-Marked
Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma increases by 1.
Notorious Gossip. You gain proficiency in Charisma (Deception) and Wisdom (Insight).
You may choose to double your proficiency bonus when you make an ability check with one of these skills. Once you have done so, you may not do so again without completing a long rest.
Once you have chosen one of the skills to double your proficiency bonus, you may never choose to double the other skill.
Rile. You may cast suggestion as an action, using Charisma as your casting ability. Once you have done so, you may not do so again without completing a long rest.
Misty Mind. You have advantage on saving throws against the charmed and frightened condition. If you already possess advantage to either condition through other means, you may instead roll 1d4 and add the result to your saving throw.
Sky-Marked
Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom increases by 1.
Water of the World-Tree. You know the guidance cantrip.
Tangled Dreams. Whenever you are sleeping non-magically during a long rest, roll 1d20. On a 20, you cast commune as part of your dreams. You may ask up to three questions, and you receive a highly metaphorical and detailed response to all three questions simultaneously. Once you have successfully communed, you may not do so for the next week.
Knowledge from the Tree. You gain proficiency in Intelligence (Arcana), Intelligence (History), or Intelligence (Religion).