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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Blue" data-source="post: 7273076" data-attributes="member: 20564">Ever get an idea in your head and you start jotting notes and then it's several hours later?  I had an idea this morning and started to examining it ... end ended up with a bunch of typed pages.  This is a first draft that I'd love feedback on how to improve before investing more time.  It's targeted for those who are looking for additional character creation time customization.  I understand that isn't everyone - if that is not something you are looking for please move on.  In other words, please criticize and lead feedback, but do so in regards to how well it fulfills it's goals, not if you personally would want to add more creation-time customization.====Concept:  5e races are pared back to just the truly innate aspects, and racial and cultural specializations are broken off to be picked.  This encourages greater customization in character creation, such as a half-orc raised among the dwarfs having some of their skills.  It also allows DMs to easily customize cultures for their setting, making each have unique mechanical backing.  Finally it partially decouples ability score bonuses from race choice to allow race/class combinations to be reasonable.   Implementation:  Going to use the “feat” design space for this.  I’ll give every race two feat choices, but only among feats with the Racial or Cultural keywords.  This has the side benefit of allowing existing characters who are immersed in a culture or having an other in-game excuse to pick up cultural feats. It also allows some play where a half-orc or half-elf may pick racial abilities from both sides.  It could also easily allow expanding the possible racial options which is a goal but this pass is just mimicking the PHB.   Racial feats give a bigger bonus to the race that picked them, to still help shape expected archetypes as well as “these are the best feats and everyone will always take them”.  These take the place of subraces.  I’ll have a “traditional subrace” cheat sheet to build the existing.   Restriction:  Starting bonuses to a single ability score are capped at +2 regardless of race and feats chosen.   Concerns:  Because of how things break out, these do not perfectly mimic the current races.  For example, the mountain dwarf core race has armor training but that’s really cultural.  I moved that to the cultural feat (which means all dwarfs get it) and moved the innate poison resistance to Mountain Dwarfs.   One bit that I’m watching is that cultural feats with weapon proficiencies may be less tempting to characters with class weapon proficiences that overlap.  I’m trying to make the weapon proficiencies less than half the benefit.   The racial vs. subracial features needed rebalancing – some races (e.g. Halfling) have most of their power in the main race and wimpy subraces, while others are the opposite.  So there are changes.  Please look at these as a first draft, feedback is especially appreciated on these.   In some places I generalized.  “Surface Elf Upbringing” was easy for common High & Wood elf bits, but I also have “Stout Ancestry” for Mountain Dwarfs and Stout Halflings, “Underdark Upbringing” for Dark Elves and Deep Gnomes, etc.   When rebalancing and generalizing, the final result shifted some from the PHB.  I tried not to make this too bad.  The most noticeable is the +2 STR & +2 CON Mountain dwarf is a bit different, and the Underdark Upbringing with the Sunlight Sensitivity gets both drow and deep gnome adders because, well, you don’t need to take that feat and it needed to be worth the drawback.  Drow get undercommon and the deep gnome’s ability to hide in rocks better, and deep gnomes get drow weapon profs and keen senses.   Will it be odd in-game for those who have no racial choice, which usually defines the subraces?  Or someone who takes two racial?  I was thinking of requiring 1 racial and 1 cultural feat, but if you can have half-elves with a human and elf parent, why not a high/wood elf?  Both parents are still elves, should be even easier. This is using the same system to address subraces so I can break out cultural, but I’m torn if I should just leave subraces as a racial choice.  In other words, is this gaining enough to justify the complexity it is adding?  But I like the idea of moving Fey Ancestry to a racial feat for half-elves to pick up, and basically pulling the whole SCAG “Half-Elf Variants” into a smooth system for everyone.   Notes on changes to features:  If I used the same name, I did not change existing powers – if I list it it’s just a reminder on what it does.  There are a few unnamed bits that differ, such as Underdark Upbringing, which gives +60’ Darkvision or 60’ Darkvision if you don’t have it.   Races All races have a speed 30’ and are size medium unless otherwise noted.  All races have the Common language.   Dwarf +1 CON Speed:  25’ but not reduced by heavy armor Darkvision   Traditional Hill Dwarf:  Dwarven Upbringing + Hill Dwarf Ancestry Traditional Mountain Dwarf:  Dwarven Upbringing + Stout Ancestry   Elf +1 DEX Darkvision Trance   Traditional High Elf:  Surface Elf Upbringing + High Elf Ancestry Traditional Wood Elf:  Surface Elf Upbringing + Wood Elf Ancestry Traditional Dark Elf:  Underdark Upbringing + Dark Elf Ancestry   Halfling +1 DEX Size: Small Speed:  25’ Lucky Halfling Nimbleness   Traditional Lightfoot:  Halfling Upbringing + Lightfoot Halfling Ancestry Traditional Stout:  Halfling Upbringing + Stout Ancestry   Human +1 to any ability not raised by starting racial/cultural feats ONE OF: One of the initial feats is not restricted to feats with the Racial or Cultural keyword, it can be any feat the character fulfills the requisites (if any) for.   OR A third starting feat to be used for Racial feats only.  The character gets the full ability score modifier from any Racial feats even if they are not of the appropriate race.    (Note:  The first is based off the variant human.  The second is loosely inspired by the standard human and the fact that there seem to be a lot of viable human/whatever hybrids.  It’s not +1 to all abilty scores, but does give them other abilities which is generally a power up.)   LAST MINUTE NOTE:  Okay, “standard” human is broken – it’s basically better than any other race.  Need to rework that some   Traditional Variant Human:  Broad Upbringing + 1 general feat Nontraditional Standard Human:  Broad Upbringing + 1 racial/cultural feat +1 racial features   Dragonborn Unlike the Half-Elf that have obvious elf subrace choices (especially when looking at the SCAG variants), this legitimately has no subraces.  I could break out each dragon type to be a subrace, but those would be somewhat powerful and do we want to dilute the “Dragonborn-ness” of giving out resistance & breath weapon to others?  But giving both in a single feat is out-of-line in terms of power for the other racial feats.   And they have no Upbringing part of their racials except the Draconic language, it’s all innate.  And really, their language may be innate as well.  I think I’ll treat it as such.   I was considering giving them Draconic Ancestry and then making two Racial feats, one with breath weapon and one with damage resistance, both requiring Draconic Ancestry.  But if no other race could benefit from them it’s worthless to break out.  Instead I put the Draconic Ancestry into the feats, but non-dragonborn can only take one..  Really unsure about this one and looking for feedback.   +1 STR Language: Draconic Full Draconic Ancestry:  You have draconic ancestry.  Choose one type.  YOU MAY IGNORE LIMITATIONS ABOUT TAKING MORE THAN ONE FEAT WITH DISTANT DRACONIC ANCESTRY.   Traditional Dragonborn:  Draconic Breath + Draconic Resistance   Gnome +1 INT Size: Small Speed:  25’ Darkvision   NEED TO FINISH.  Include Deep Gnome from SCAG   Half-Elf +1 CHR Darkvision Bonus feat:  Broad Upbringing Counts as Elf and Human for feats   Traditional Half-Elf:  Broad Upbringing, High/Wood/Dark/Aquatic Elf Ancestry, 1 upbringing feat   Half-Orc +1 STR Darkvision Count as Human and Orc for racial feats   Traditional Half-Orc:  Savage Upbringing, Orc Ancestry   Tiefling +1 CHR Darkvision NEED TO FINISH.  Include SCAG variants, possibly updated to include the UA options as well.   Cultural Feats    Dwarven Upbringing +1 CON or STR Tool proficiency:  Proficiency with one of:  smith, brewer or mason’s tool. Stonecunning Dwarven Combat Training: Proficiency with battleaxe, handaxe, throwing hammer, and warhammer. Dwarven Armor Training:  Proficiency with light and medium armor. Langauge:  Dwarvish   Halfling Upbringing +1 DEX Brave Language:  Halfling   Broad Upbringing (Looking for a better name.  Inclusive?) +1 to any ability that is not improved by race or other starting feat. Skill:  Gain proficiency in skill of choice Language:  Gain proficiency in language of choice.   Savage Upbringing +1 CON Menacing:  Proficiency in Intimidation Savage Attacks:  When you score a critical hit with a melee weapon, roll one of he weapon’s damage dice one additional time and add it to the extra damage of the critical hit. Language:  Orc   Surface Elf Upbringing +1 DEX Elf Weapon Training:  Proficiency in longsword, shortsword, shortbow and longbow Keen Senses:  Proficiency in Perception Language: Elvish   Underdark Upbringing +1 DEX Sunlight Sensitivity Weapon Training:  Proficiency with rapiers, shortswords and hand crossbows +60’ to existing Darkvision, or 60’ Darkvision if you don’t have it. Keen Senses:  Proficiency in Perception Stone Camouflage:  Advantage on Dex (Stealth) checks to hide in rocky terrain. Language: Undercommon   Racial Feats   Aquatic Elf Ancestry NOTE:  This is a half-elf option from SCAG.  What’s the appropriate ability score increase? Swim speed: Equal to land speed Water breathing Language: Elvish   Dark Elf Ancestry Elves and half-elves get +1 CHR Drow Magic:  Dancing lights cantrip.  @3rd faerie fire 1/day, @5[SUP]th[/SUP] darkness 1/day.  Pick spellcasting attribute. Language: Elvish   Draconic Breath Dragonborn get +1 CHR Breath Weapon: As per Dragonborn   Draconic Resistance Dragonborn get +1 STR If you do not have Full Draconic Ancestry, you get:  Distant Draconic Ancestry:  You have draconic ancestry.  Chose one type.  You may not aquire any other feats with Distant Draconic Ancestry. Damage Resistance: As per Dragonborn   High Elf Ancestry Elves and half-elves get +1 INT Fey Ancestry:  advantage on saves vs. being charmed, and magic can’t put to sleep. Cantrip:  You know 1 cantrip from the wizard list.  You may choose the spellcasting ability for it. Language: Elvish   Hill Dwarf Ancestry Dwarfs get +1 WIS Dwarven Toughness Langauge:  Dwarvish   Lightfoot Halfling Ancestry Halflings get +1 CHR Naturally Stealthy   Orc Ancestry Orcs get +1 STR Relentless Endurance:  As half-orcs Language:  Orc   Stout Ancestry Dwarfs and Halflings get +1 CON Poison Resilience:  Advantage on saves vs. poison, resistance to poison damage.   Wood Elf Ancestry Elves and half-elves get +1 WIS Fleet of Foot Mask of the Wild Language: Elvish</blockquote>

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