Wednesday 30 January 2019

5e: Spelljammer Races: Part III—Grav, Hadozee, and Kree'Uli

For the last few weeks I've been presenting conversions of Spelljammer races as an aid to your attempts to to run Dungeons & Dragons campaigns among the Crystal Spheres! Or you could just introduce one or more of these species as inhabitants of or exotic visitors to your world. Previous installments have introduced the Dohwar, the Dracon, the Grommam, and two Gith subraces: Pirates of Gith and Zerth Freebooters. You can find links to all posts in this series here.

Today I'm presenting conversions of the Grav, the Hadozee, and the Kree'Uli (although the special features of the Kree'Uli race are near-identical to the Hadozee, so I chose to present adaptation notes in a sidebar rather than a true write-up. Also included this week is a new spell, gravity control. As their name hints at, the Grav have an innate control over gravity, but as I figured out the mechanics of this feature I realised it was getting very complex for a racial trait, and was looking more and more like a spell. Doing it this way streamlines the Grav entry, brings it in line with official races with innate magic, and also opens the spell up to other characters.

Grav

Gravs are short and stocky humanoids  approximately the same height as dwarves. They have an almost square build, and wide heads with round ears, prominent brows, and noses that are broad flat. A grav’s body is exceptionally dense, and has three times the mass of a being of similar size. 

The Grav are most often encountered on asteroids and moons, which they mine for valuable metals and minerals. They use their innate powers over gravity to assist in their industry. The gravs keep the location of their homeworld a secret. It is a high gravity world on which territory is divided into fiefdoms, each one of which is ruled a single family of elites. 



Grav


Grav Traits

Your grav has the following racial traits.

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2, and your Strength score increases by 1.

Age. Gravs can live well into their second century, and come of age at 23.

Alignment. Grav have an ordered society that props up an elitist caste system. Grav are peaceful almost to a fault. Their rabble-rousers are quietly moved to new positions on remote, trivial worlds. As a rule, grav are lawful neutral.

Size. Gravs are around the same height as dwarves, with a near-square build. They weigh about the same as a muscular half-orc. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet. Your speed is not reduced by wearing heavy armor.

Attention to Detail. You are proficient in Investigation. 

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 gray.

Gravity Mastery. Grav are innately able to control gravitational forces. You can cast gravity control with this trait, without requiring any components. Constitution is your spellcasting ability. Once you do so, you can’t cast it again until you finish a long rest. Starting at 3rd level you can cast gravity control twice with this trait between long rests, then three timer between long rest once you attain 5th level.

Additionally, when you are subject to sudden changes of gravity, including the effects of spells such as gravity control and reverse gravity, you can choose not to be affected. If you choose to be affected and you have one or more uses of gravity control remaining, you can spend your reaction to cast it on yourself as a reaction at any point during your fall. 

Minecraft. Whenever you make an Intelligence (History) check related to the ore, gems, or the mining industry you are considered proficient in the History skill and add double your proficiency bonus to the check, instead of your normal proficiency bonus.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Grav. Grav is a language of guttural consonants and hard vowels.  

Gravity Control

2nd-level transmutation  | Classes: Sorcerer, Wizard

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 60 feet
Components: V, S, M (a lodestone and iron filings)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute

You alter the gravity affecting a single creature or object within 60 feet that is no more than one size category larger than yourself. The target must make a Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, you can either hold the creature in place or float it upward or downward by up to 30 feet.

While you concentrate on the spell, the target’s speed becomes 0, and it can’t benefit from any bonus to its speed. Furthermore, it has disadvantage on Dexterity saving throws. On your turn you can spend a bonus action on your turn to hold the creature in place, or an action to float it up or down by up to 30 feet. If you float the target further from yourself than the spell’s range, your concentration is broken. The target may make a Strength saving throw against the original DC at the end of each of its turns, breaking your concentration on a success.

When your concentration is broken the target falls back down to the ground (or in the direction of the current gravity plane, if different).


Hadozee

Hadozee are tall and hairy ape-like humanoids whose fur comes in a variety of shades between bright orange to a chocolate brown. They have a shaggy mane around their head, which has a protruding muzzle and pronounced fangs. A hadozee possesses patagial skin flaps which hang between its arms and legs. When extended taut, these allow the hadozee to glide short distances. Hadozee tend to be nimble climbers with a head for heights and a good sense of balance. They are also known to be hard-working. These qualities make them excellent construction workers, as well as crew for seafaring or spelljamming vessels.

The Hadozee world is warmer than a world such as Toril, and much of it is covered by subtropical and tropical forests. Hadozee have an adventurous spirit and can be found all over their world, as well as all over space and dozens of other worlds throughout the known Crystal Spheres. Most hadozee encountered away from their homeworld have never even visited it, and never will. As individuals and as a species, hadozee care far more about where they’re going than where they have been.


Hadozee



Hadozee Traits

Your hadozee has the following racial traits.

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and your Intelligence score increases by 1.

Age. Hadozee live about as long as humans, but they are considered adults in their mid-teens. 

Alignment. Hadozee rarely concern themselves with deep contemplation over morality and ethics. They just want to be left alone to enjoy their lives, and prefer to leave others alone to do the same.  They are often neutral. 

Size. Hadozee average around 6 feet in height, though they have a naturally stooping posture that makes them seem slightly shorter than they really are. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Attention to Detail.  When you jump from a place that is at least 10 feet above ground level, you can glide rather than falling provided there is space for you to stretch your patagial flaps. When gliding you have a fly speed of 20 feet but you cannot fly upward. At the end of each turn you spend gliding you descend 5 feet closer to the ground.

Additionally, you can spend your reaction to begin gliding when you fall, provided there is space to do so.

Handy Feet. Your toes are very limber and your big toes are opposable. You can use your feet as though they are an extra pair of hands. In addition, you have a climbing speed of 20 feet.

Rigging Runner. You are incredibly agile on any surface, ropes and lines, and even in the air. You gain proficiency in Acrobatics. 

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Hadozee. Hadozee consists of hoots, barks, and low vocalisations, as well as simple body language. 

Kree'Uli


Kree’uli are a race of diminutive humanoids who resemble crosses between a raccoon, a monkey and flying squirrel.  They come from a jungle world and live in small treetop villages. Their special characteristics are pretty similar to the hadozee, so you can use hadozee racial traits with only a few changes to represent a kree’uli character. Apply the changes described below:

Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score doesn’t increase, but your Wisdom score increases by 1.

Age. Kree’Uli have fairly short lives, living until roughly sixty. They reach maturity at age twelve.

Size. Kree’Uli are about the same size as halflings. Your size is Small.

Alignment. Your base walking speed is 25 feet.

Prehensile Tail. You can use your tail to grasp objects, but not to perform any tasks that require fingers or to make weapon attacks.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Sylvan.

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