5e homebrew races- Goblin, Hobgoblin, Lizardfolk, Bullywug, and Yuan-Ti

[Jediking]

[h=1]Goblin Traits[/h]Your Goblin character has these abilities in common with other members of your race.

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2 and your Constitution score increases by 1.
Age. Goblins mature quicker than humans, reaching adulthood at age 12. It is not widely known how long a Goblin’s natural lifespan is, but a few cases have put the estimate at around 60 years.
Alignment. Goblins may be loyal in small family groups, but often scrabble over petty differences. They tend towards a chaotic nature.
Size. Goblins are are between 3 ½ and 4 feet tall and average about 60 pounds. Your size is Small.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet.
Darkvision. Accustomed to deep caverns and tunnels, 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 colour in darkness, only in shades of gray.
Furtive Steps. You gain proficiency in the Stealth skill.
Fleeing Instinct. Opportunity attacks against you are made with disadvantage.
Goblin Nimbleness: You can move through the space of any creature that is of a size larger than yours.
Goblin Weapon Training. You have proficiency with the spear, scimitar, shortsword, and shortbow..
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Goblin.

-I know, I know. Another homebrew Goblin race. I've worked on every race released so far and am trying to use that to make it easier to make new races and to swap certain traits. All of this is to try and give my players more ways to customize their characters without adding too many new things.

-I didn't use the term Nimble Step because I used Steps and Nimble in other stuff and I can't think of anything else. I think Fleeing Instinct is about equal to a skill proficiency/cantrip, or at least that is what I am shooting for.

 

[Jediking]

[h=1]Hobgoblin Traits[/h]Your Hobgoblin character has the following abilities in common with the rest of your race.
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 1, your Constitution score increases by 1, and one ability score of your choice increases by 1.
Age. Hobgoblins mature a little faster than humans, reaching adulthood around age 14. They age noticeably faster and rarely live longer than 75 years.
Alignment. Hobgoblins are raised in a strict and militaristic setting and tend towards lawful. Many follow orders that lead towards evil, but there are those who wander away from their home and may be neutral or good.
Size. Hobgoblins are somewhat larger and bulkier than humans, and they range from 5 to well over 6 feet tall. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision. Thanks to your hobgoblin blood, 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.
Martial Advantage. When you use the Attack action and hit a creature with a melee weapon attack, you may use your bonus action to grant an ally within 5 feet of you advantage on the next melee attack roll it makes against that creature. This lasts until the start of your next turn.
Determined Focus. You gain proficiency in one skill of your choice.
Hobgoblin War Training. You have proficiency with the longsword, spear, medium armor, and shields.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Goblin.


-At first the stats were +2 Str, +1 Con, but then it was too similar to the Half-Orc. I figured in a militaristic society each Hobgoblin has a specific job as well as marital training, so I gave some some versatility with the skill and third score bump so they aren't shoehorned into Fighter/Barb.
-I think Martial Advantage is ok, it gives the Help action to an ally but both have to be in melee. Or it should be, please let me know if the wording is off.
-War Training gives medium armor and shields. No other class gives shields, but the classes where it could really helps (casters) probably won't use Martial Advantage much so I hope it balances out. Rogue have competition for their bonus action so I'm not worried about them.

 

[Jediking]

[h=1]Bullywug Traits[/h]Your Bullywug character share certain characteristics in common with all other Bullywugs.
Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 2.
Age. Bullywugs begin to evolve into their adult form after 8 years. Those that survive past their tadpole stage usually live up to 60 years old, but some Bufonid have been rumoured to live much longer.
Alignment. Bullywugs have a strong sense of possession which makes them tend towards a lawful alignment. The influence of their elders or other nearby tribes will push them towards good or evil.
Size. Bullywugs usually stand between 4 ½ and 5 ½ feet tall. Grenouille weigh between 100-130 lbs, while Bufonid are heavier, weighing up to 200 lbs. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Amphibious. You have a swimming speed of 30 ft. You can breathe both air and water.
Swamp Camouflage. You have advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made in swampy terrain.
Standing Jump. Your long jump is up to 20 feet and your high jump is up to 10 ft, with or without a running start.
Speak with Frogs. You can communicate simple concepts to frogs and toads when you speak Bullywug.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Bullywug.

Subrace. Two main subraces of Bullywug populate the worlds of D&D: Grenouille and Bufonid. Choose one of these subraces.
[h=2]Grenouille[/h]Also called Froghoppers, they are usually smaller and thinner with longer legs than other Bullywug. Their skin is often slippery, which helps them avoid the larger threats who may try to carry them of in the swamps. Grenouille are attracted to outsiders and new objects, and have brought many new materials back to trade with.
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 1.
Slick Skin. Your skin is moist and smooth. You have advantage to resist attempts made to grapple or restrain you.
Hopalong. You are proficient with the Acrobatics skill.
[h=2]Bufonid[/h]Bufonid, or Croakers, are often leathery and stout. They can grow to immense size, and their bulk can often deceive others into thinking they are slow and immobile. Bufonid have large cheeks which secrete poison, and they can spit at creatures who try and provoke them. Tribes of Bufonid work together to hunt and defend against dangerous prey by restraining creatures and staying out of range of danger.
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 1.
Toxic Gland. You have a reserve of toxin in your cheeks. When you are hit with a melee attack, you can use your reaction to deal 1d8 poison damage to the attacking creature. You cannot use this feature again until after you have finished a short rest.
Bufonid Weapon Training. You are proficient with the spear, trident, pike, and net.


-I think this is the sketchiest race. Mostly new stuff that is hard to balance, so I played safe and now it looks a bit weak.
-There's a bunch of ribbon stuff (Speak with Frogs, Standing Jump, Swim Speed), but hopefully combined with Swamp Camouflage it is enough. Maybe a tool (poisoner's kit/brewer's/herbalism) could help.
-I should probably give Grenouille the Nimbleness trait, or something to do with their jump.
-Toxic Gland is the biggest question. It might be too powerful early and doesn't scale. Maybe just give the poison spray cantrip?
-I really wanted to do something with croaking/ribbiting but couldn't think of something to do besides something with Deafness. Any ideas?

 

[Jediking]

[h=1]Lizardfolk Traits[/h]Your lizardfolk character share certain characteristics in common with all other lizardfolk.
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2.
Age. Lizardfolk mature a little faster than humans, reaching adulthood around age 14. They age at a similar rate, but are not treated as adults within their tribe until completing a rite of passage.
Alignment. Lizardfolk distrust outsiders and have learned to obey the laws of the jungle, not civilization. They tend to be self reliant and neutral, doing what needs to be done to survive.
Size. Lizardfolk are usually larger than humans and range from 5 ½ ft. to 7 ft. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Swampfolk. You have a swimming speed of 30 ft. Additionally, you can hold your breath for up to 15 minutes while underwater.
Jaws. You are never unarmed. You are proficient with your jaws, which are a melee weapon that deals 1d6 piercing damage.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Draconic. Lizardfolk have passed down the Draconic language through their oral traditions.

Subrace. Two main subraces of Lizardfolk populate the worlds of D&D: Lurkers and Krocka. Choose one of these subraces.
[h=2]Lurkers[/h]Seldom leaving their natural homeland, Lurkers survive in a dangerous world by learning to adapt and strike quickly. Some Lurkers are hired as guides or hunters to those trying to find their way through the swamps, and can bring back manufactured goods back to strengthen their tribe.
Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 1.
Jungle Tracker. You have learned to avoid threats and stalk prey. You have advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) and Wisdom (Survival) checks when in swamplands.
Natural Study. You have proficiency in the Nature skill.
[h=2]Krocka[/h]Large and often brutish, Krocka are resilient and prefer to meet their enemies head-on. They seek out tough opponents to fight, and many do not reach old age due to their overconfidence. The ones that do are often the revered and respected among the Folk.
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 1.
Pressure Bite. When you use the Attack action during your turn to make a melee attack, you can attempt to grapple a creature with your jaws as a bonus action. You cannot grapple more than one creature with your jaws.
Swamp King: You have proficiency in the Athletics skill.


-Now you can play as Killer Croc! Both subraces have dumb names, please help.
-Lurkers may need a tool (herbalism?) to help them, as Jungle Tracker looks too situational. I was thinking just change it to Mask of the Wild (ala Wood Elf).
-No Natural Armour. It's hard to balance, won't stack with class features, especially one this race would fit (Barb), and they fit well with heavy armour if they choose. No Dex bump either as I see them closer to gators/crocs than geckos or skinks. I was going to do a third subrace, but a +2 Str, +1 Dex is limited. Still might throw one together because it's new.

 

[Jediking]

[h=1]Kobold Traits[/h]Your Kobold character has the following traits.
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2 and your Intelligence score increases by 1.
Age. Kobolds mature quickly, reaching adulthood at age 8. They usually die there, but some lucky few have reach the ripe old age of 27.
Alignment. Kobolds are often subservient to a dragon, and tend towards neutral. Their alignment for good or evil usually follows that of the dragon.
Size. Kobolds are between 3 and 4 feet tall and average about 50 pounds. Your size is Small.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet.
Darkvision. Accustomed to life underground, 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.
Trapsmith. Whenever you make an Intelligence (Investigation) check related to finding or understanding traps, you can add twice your proficiency bonus, instead of any proficiency bonus you normally apply..
Triggerfingers. You gain proficiency with the Sleight of Hand skill.
Tunnel Worker. You gain proficiency with the artisan’s tool of your choice: carpenter’s tools, mason’s tools, or tinker’s tools.
Draconic Worship. Kobold ancestors have worshipped dragons for centuries, and are used to being near death at all times. You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed or frightened.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Draconic.


-Thought about replacing Sleight of Hand with Thieves' Tools. No Sunlight Sensitivity because I didn't want to give them magic or even more skills, as they were made with Rogues in mind already.

 

[Jediking]

[h=1]Yuan-Ti Traits[/h]Your Yuan-Ti character has the following traits, due to their nature.
Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 2 and your Intelligence score increases by 1.
Age. Yuan-Ti mature a little slower than humans, reaching adulthood around age 20. They age noticeably slower and can live up to 120 years.
Alignment. Most Yuan-Ti work together in a society towards a greater goal. However, they each vie for power over others and are very ambitious. They tend to be chaotic and often try to get into politics (therefore usually evil).
Size.Yuan-Ti range from 5 to 6 feet tall and have slender builds. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Forked Tongue. You have proficiency in the Deception skill.
Bite. You are never unarmed. You are proficient with your fangs, which are a melee weapon that deals 1d4 piercing damage.
Venomous Blood. You have advantage on saving throws against poison, and you have resistance against poison damage.
Mesmerizing Stare: You can cast the Charm Person spell once with this trait, requiring no material components, and you regain the ability to cast it this way when you finish a long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for this spell.
Parseltongue. You can communicate simple concepts to snakes when you speak Yuan-Ti.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Yuan-Ti.


-I'm only doing humanoids to keep things simple. So snake head, two arms, two legs. I thought of a Slither trait where crawling doesn't costs extra movespeed even in difficult terrain, but then it's just a 4 limbed dude awkwardly worming around instead of being a cool snake. And who would ever want to play Snakes on a (Earth) Plane?
-This is probably the most straightforward race. There is lots of room to change up a couple things for your own personal preference of what a snake-person should have: I thought about giving poisoner's kit, adding poison damage to the bite, able to detect heat, able to shed skin, can smell the air, etc. Snakes are awesome and there is tonnes to add. But there's already poison, heat detection could get wonky with rules, advantage on Perception checks that rely on smell was too easy; but then I remembered snake charmers and here we are.

-Charm Person is the issue. Any other race with the ability to cast only a single spell casts it on self (see: Earth Walk, Levitate, Misty Step). And if you mesmerizing sexy snake-guy-or-gal tries to fool the wrong person, then you aren't so sexy for the rest of the entire day. Yuan-Ti would be good Warlocks/Sorcs, so giving them Acid Splash or Poison Spray isn't the right fix.
-I think simply swapping it with the Friends cantrip would be a good fix. The trait should equal either a 1st-level spell able to cast 1/LR, skill proficiency, or an at-will cantrip, so it works out.

 

[Blue]

Ability Score Increase.[/COLOR][/B] Your Strength score increases by 1, your Constitution score increases by 1, and one ability score of your choice increases by 1.

Lots of cool stuff, it's going to take me a while to read it. Just a quick question about the Hobgoblin Ability Score Increase. Did you mean it to be like the Half-Elf, which contains the word "other" so you can't double up, or can their free-floating +1 also be assigned to Str or Con bringing it to +2?

 

[Jediking]

Just a quick question about the Hobgoblin Ability Score Increase. Did you mean it to be like the Half-Elf, which contains the word "other" so you can't double up, or can their free-floating +1 also be assigned to Str or Con bringing it to +2?

I was thinking you can double it up to give +2 to Str or Con if you chose to. I wanted Hobgoblins to actually have a deeper culture than just a military, although that is the core of it.
But like some countries have mandatory military service, Hobgoblin nations will have that just taken a lot farther. But there are many military jobs or training that will add more than just Str or Con.

 

[GreenTengu]

I am only going to comment on the Goblin and Hobgoblin...

Are you certain that you feel that requisite weapon proficiencies are where these races should be sinking their "points"? I really have to wonder if the races are so very linked with those particular weapons that it seems the best place to put the emphasis. I kind of feel like there should be so much crazy diversity under the "goblin" and maybe marginally less so the "hobgoblin" concept that sinking a trait into 'they all know how to use these particular weapons' seems a bit of a waste. Especially since very few classes in D&D 5E can actually remotely make use of having access to weapons their class doesn't automatically give them access to.

Also, in terms of the hobgoblin, do you really suppose it is best to put their major emphasis on enforcing melee combat or giving them an optional ability that they could possibly trigger every single round of the game is best? I mean, I know that Half-Orcs are kind of screwed as a race if you aren't a melee combatant and not using a great weapon, but I kind of feel that sort of pigeon-holing of an entire race tends to turn out badly because it really discourages some creative or even possibly conceptually strong concept (Half-Orcs make poor Warlocks or Druids due to the race's over-emphasis on melee combat).

I kind of feel like a passive boost to something the character is already going to be doing or an ability one can rely on no more than once per a combat, if not a day, is preferable in terms of racial options. Granted, races that offer cantrips do break that to a degree in that they can use their cantrip every round-- BUT, generally if one chooses a cantrip that does direct damage, they soon find their class options are superior and the cantrip gets ignored while if they use it for a non-combat cantrip, the ability to use it arises less often but it at least finds real use and is generally never worse than the options the class provides.

Now, granted, I have put out probably 3 versions of both the Goblin and the Hobgoblin since 5E arose and I dislike my own previous versions, so I am totally biased, though I try to keep an open mind and see if others are covering an aspect I haven't covered.

You can see my last attempt at them, but even that I am not too happy with because I feel the +1 initiative is a bit wonky to try to justify. I might well revisit them again soon. But I am interested in hearing some other takes on what goblinoids should be.

http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?474300-5E-Goblin-Gith-Hobgoblin-amp-Rakasta

 

[Jediking]

First off, big thanks for the feedback.

I am only going to comment on the Goblin and Hobgoblin...


Are you certain that you feel that requisite weapon proficiencies are where these races should be sinking their "points"?

Absolutely not. I looked at the races you made, and think we both have the same kind of idea of [roughly] what the "points" are and how they can be applied. I don't think Weapon Training is great for racial options. It can make sense for lore/background, and from how I've judged it, Weapon Training (ex. Elven/Drow/Dwarven) is ~about equal~ to a Skill or Cantrip as far as the current races are balanced. But you are right; the racial options that get the Weapon Training usually get the weapon proficiency anyways from their class choice per synergy, or at least it doesn't matter much. My issue was giving much more to the Goblin or Hobgoblins were that it might give too many active racial traits.

For the Goblin, I think that Fleeing Instinct (opportunity attacks are at disadv.) could be really powerful, so the Weapon Training being underpowered will help balance it.

Also, in terms of the hobgoblin, do you really suppose it is best to put their major emphasis on enforcing melee combat or giving them an optional ability that they could possibly trigger every single round of the game is best?

For the Hobgoblin, I really wanted to include the Weapon Training to fit with the race and it's military background. I was almost trying to make the Hobgoblin as to the Human and Half-Orc, compared to the Half-Elf is to Human and Elf. So the Hobgoblin gets a couple choices (+1 ability and any skill) to help be a bit more versatile, but the race is still synergizes best as a Martial class and I'm ok with that (to a point). I couldn't really think of a way to make them decent at ranged fighting and I think there is more support for Dex (and ranged) races than Strength (and melee), so I just chose melee over everything. Please let me know if you have any ideas!

With Martial Advantage, the Hobgoblin has to both hit with a melee attack and have the ally within 5 ft. It might not work great, as it might be a bit overpowered or useless if people use Flanking, but as I focused on melee and saw the MM race it stuck.

But 5e does a great job of no need an optimized character to work, and if a player really wanted to make a Yuan-Ti Barbarian, they'd still be able to do well. But I want to be able to make these races balanced and not pigeon-holed. As you mentioned, the Half-Orc is probably the worst candidate for this, but the PHB races do a pretty good job overall of being able to mix any race with any class and get a solid character.