Questions tagged [racial-traits]

For questions primarily about racial traits, the quantifiable capabilities or limitations specific to a race or species in tabletop RPGs, such as Dwarves, Orcs, Romulans, etc. (See also: the [races] tag.)

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Does Trox Grappling Appendages stack damage?

I am in a campaign with a trox brawler and am wondering about clarification for the trox ability grabbing appendages. If the trox can maintain grapple and still make an attack roll, does that mean ...
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7 votes
3 answers
137 views

How do the Wizard's racial bonuses affect the number of spells and cantrips known?

In Dungeon World, the "Spellbook" section of the Wizard's playbook explicitly says: You start out with three first level spells in your spellbook However, when creating a Wizard, one of ...
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1 vote
1 answer
199 views

Can a Harengon take a grappled creature with them when they use Rabbit Hop?

If a Harengon character grapples a target and then uses Rabbit Hop, can they drag/carry the target with them? If they can, is the distance of the hop halved like regular movement would be?
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2 votes
1 answer
52 views

Shifters: which natural weapon is the primary one?

Building a shifter character. Razorclaw, so they start with two claw attacks, both primary. Later, they take levels in Weretouched Master (wolverine) and get a bite attack as well. Is the bite also a ...
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3 votes
2 answers
204 views

What bard spells work well with the minotaur's racial traits?

I'm going to be playing a level 3 Minotaur Valor bard in a future campaign. I will be the 2nd front liner of the party and want to optimize usage of Minotaur traits in combat. Are there any bard ...
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1 vote
0 answers
36 views

Does the Protector Aasimar's transformation work while Wild Shaped? [duplicate]

Does the Protector Aasimar's Radiant Soul feature work if they are a wildshaped druid?
5 votes
2 answers
1k views

Is there a way for a human barbarian to acquire the cold-honed half-elf racial trait?

Question is as the title says, "Is there a way for a human barbarian to acquire the cold-honed half-elf racial trait?" Maybe through feats or traits? Something adopted? (The racial trait is ...
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3 votes
1 answer
461 views

Would Advantage on Strength Checks and/or Strength Saving Throws as part of Powerful Build be in line with base races point-wise?

I'm trying to homebrew the goliath and orc because Powerful Build is really lackluster in its current iteration. I would like to make these large und muscly races feel more powerful than a gnome of ...
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1 vote
1 answer
178 views

Best methods for Handling the Dragonmark of Handling?

Mark of Handling The Mark of Handling gives its bearer a primal connection to beasts and the natural world, granting the power to calm and coax. This extends beyond purely natural animals; the mark ...
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4 votes
1 answer
579 views

Is a Plasmoid's Shape Self similar to a Changeling's Mask?

The Plasmoid's Shape Self states: As an action, you can reshape your body to give yourself a head, one or two arms, one or two legs, and makeshift hands and feet, or you can revert to a limbless blob....
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20 votes
2 answers
3k views

Create the most broken race that is 'balanced' according to Detect Balance

Any discussion for a homebrew race will always have Detect Balance used to calculate how balanced the race is. I'm curious to see how much the tool can be abused. Thus my challenge is to create a ...
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1 vote
1 answer
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In Starfinder if I'm playing a Species with a vulnerability to an element what happens if I take a feat to overcome it?

If a player's species starts with a vulnerability to an elemental damage, or light blindness. What happens if the character is able to overcome that detriment. Do they "return the ability bought&...
11 votes
3 answers
3k views

Does the Yuan-Ti playable race have legs or a snake tail?

The Yuan-Ti excerpt in Monsters of the Multiverse states (p. 36; emphasis my own): Blessed with resistance to magical and poisonous effects by the rituals that created them, each of these yuan-ti ...
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3 votes
2 answers
516 views

What would be a good way to allow Eladrins to change season once per long rest?

I enjoy the roleplay potential offered by the Eladrin's season mechanics, so I'm considering letting Eladrin characters change season once per long rest (instead of only when finishing the rest), so ...
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4 votes
2 answers
711 views

If you're Githzerai or have the Telepathy feat, are spell components required for the spell-slot-powered castings?

The typical concept of innate telepathy is that you just have to "think at something" in a certain way and it happens. You're not casting a spell and using magic, so you don't expect the ...
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7 votes
2 answers
431 views

Is this Leshen homebrew race balanced?

The Leshen are a race of plant-like fey, born from places over flowing with druidic magic. It is said that when the elves came to the Material Plane from the Feywild, they planted a sacred grove for ...
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7 votes
1 answer
761 views

Can a Thri-kreen character make a bonus action attack through two weapon fighting using their secondary arms?

Can a PC of the thri-kreen race make a bonus action attack through two weapon fighting? Example: A thri-kreen fighter holding a shield and scimitar in their main hands, and a dagger in their smaller ...
4 votes
1 answer
157 views

Is disadvantage resolved before or after the bonus is applied from the Reborn lineage's Knowledge from a Past Life trait?

The Reborn lineage in Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft includes a racial trait called Knowledge from a Past Life that says, among other things: When you make an ability check that uses a skill, you ...
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4 votes
2 answers
283 views

Who/what can see in the dark?

This question is for the first edition since the site tags do not yet differentiate between the two. I am running a game, and part of it will take place underground. I can only find one reference in ...
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4 votes
2 answers
414 views

Shifters and druids, how do they interact?

If a Longtooth shifter changed into a werewolf and then wild shaped into a bear, would it become a werebear or do I need to do it the other way around?
5 votes
1 answer
351 views

Do creatures need to make a Saving Throw every turn they start in the range of the Aasimar's Necrotic Shroud, or only once?

In the Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse, the Aasimar's Celestial Revelation ability lasts for 1 minute, but does that apply to the Frightened part of the Necrotic Shroud?
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14 votes
3 answers
2k views

Polymorphing back to original race. Do I get my racial bonuses back?

My character started out as a dwarf cleric, but he died a couple of times. He was brought back to life each time via reincarnation which changed his race. He was an Orc, then became a human, and is ...
1 vote
1 answer
393 views

Can autognomes be put to sleep by magic?

So far, playable races that don't sleep explicitly also can't be put to sleep by magic: Warforged Constructed Resilience: "You don't need to sleep, and magic can't put you to sleep." Elf ...
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13 votes
1 answer
2k views

What is "Hadozee wavedashing"?

When talking about the recently released Spelljammer supplement (Spelljammer: Adventures in Space), some people mention "Hadozee wavedashing". What is that?
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5 votes
2 answers
753 views

Does the plasmoid's Amorphous trait grant advantage on ability checks made to avoid being grappled?

The Plasmoid's Amorphous trait (from Ch. 1 of the Astral Adventurer's Guide in Spelljammer: Adventures in Space) says, in part: [...] You have advantage on ability checks you make to initiate or ...
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6 votes
1 answer
405 views

Does the Feral Tiefling still use Charisma as its spellcasting ability for the Infernal Legacy trait?

I'm new in this world of D&D. I was reading through the Player's Handbook and decided to create a character following the process in Chapter 1 (Step-by-Step Characters). The Tiefling caught my ...
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3 votes
1 answer
261 views

How much of a firbolg's Speech of Beast and Leaf replaces Speak with Animals/Plants?

I am simply having a hard time wrapping my head around the versatility of this feature, and the meaning of the last aspect: (emphasis my own) You have the ability to communicate in a limited manner ...
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2 votes
1 answer
213 views

Gnome's Vivacious Trait and Fast Healing

The gnome's Alternate Racial trait states Vivacious: Some gnomes recover 50% more hit points (minimum 1) whenever they recover hit points from rest. Whenever they are healed of hit point damage by a ...
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2 votes
1 answer
238 views

Does antimagic field affect Gem Flight?

Gem Flight, Fizban's Treasure of Dragons, pg. 11 You can use a bonus action to manifest spectral wings for 1 minute. For the duration, you gain a flying speed equal to your walking speed and can ...
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3 votes
2 answers
1k views

How does the Firbolg’s Speech of Beast and Leaf trait interact with the Telepathic feat?

The Telepathic feat (TCoE, p. 81) gives you the ability to: [...] speak telepathically to any creature you can see within 60 feet of you. Your telepathic utterances are in a language you know, and ...
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5 votes
2 answers
2k views

Do bonuses to AC stack?

The Warforged get +1 to AC from their Integrated Protection feature. The forge domain cleric can use the feature Blessing of the Forge to enchant their armor for another +1 to AC. The Soul of the ...
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5 votes
2 answers
1k views

What kinds of attacks can the dhampir lineage's Vampire Bite trait empower?

I am playing a dhampir Grave cleric for an upcoming campaign. The description for the dhampir lineage's Vampire Bite trait says, in part (VRGtR, p. 16): When you attack with this bite and hit a ...
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3 votes
1 answer
203 views

Can a Leonin avoid targeting allies with the Daunting Roar ability if the Leonin is blinded?

I saw an interesting interaction today about the Leonin Daunting Roar ability. There was a blinded Leonin adjacent to allies and enemies. He wanted to use the Daunting Roar ability. The relevant text ...
4 votes
2 answers
8k views

Now that Monsters of the Multiverse is out, are variant Humans still relevant?

I understand that an extra Feat is a big deal, but it seems to me that given the attributes changes put everything in line with V. Humans now, that feat isn't a big deal any more since most of the new ...
1 vote
1 answer
846 views

Can a dhampir survive on blood alone?

I am building a dhampir using the stats from Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft (p. 16-17), which has some interesting entries, such as this paragraph under "Dhampir Hungers": Those who ...
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7 votes
2 answers
3k views

What is the best way to make sure I can always submerge myself as a locathah?

I want to make a locathah, but don't want to die by being away from water. Without being forced into some specific class, is there any way to ensure I can always find water with some skill or ...
15 votes
3 answers
2k views

How does the Hobgoblin's Fey Gift from "Monsters of the Multiverse" interact with rules regarding the Help Action

The hobgoblin player race from "Monsters of the Multiverse" has an ability called Fey Gift which allows you to take the Help action as a bonus action and which reads (in part): Starting at ...
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3 votes
1 answer
204 views

Can Tidal Wave disperse Fog Cloud?

Hi I play Tritons (in D&D 5E) and they have this neat trait called Fog Cloud. You create a 20-foot-radius sphere of fog centered on a point within range. The sphere spreads around corners, and ...
6 votes
2 answers
2k views

How overpowered is this Dhampir / Changeling?

I am going to be running a game for a new player, and they want to play a Dhampir Changeling. I don’t want to use the Dhampir as written, because removing the Changeling's shapechanger feature feels ...
2 votes
1 answer
501 views

Long rest contradiction between Official rule and Sage advice? [duplicate]

There are two rule clarifications posts that I am trying to wrap my head around. But both seems to contradict each other. Regarding an Elf that trances for 4H.... When does he gets the benefits of ...
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6 votes
1 answer
550 views

Can a Hexblood cast Hex and Disguise Self on the same day?

There is some disagreement between myself and a friend as to the interpretation of the following feature: Hex Magic. You can cast the disguise self and hex spells with this trait. Once you cast ...
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1 vote
0 answers
117 views

What level does the (Dragon)Mark of Healing cast Cure Wounds at? [duplicate]

Eberron: Rising from the Last War: Mark of Healing's feature Healing Touch says the following: You can cast the cure wounds spell with this trait I'm assuming this can only be cast at 1st level, but ...
10 votes
2 answers
3k views

Can a changeling change into a form with wings?

The shapechanger ability description for changelings in Eberron says that you must adopt a form with the same basic arrangements of limbs. Would this definition extend to wings and tails and the like ...
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3 votes
4 answers
3k views

Can a gem dragonborn use the Psionic Mind trait to telepathically issue commands to an elemental spirit from the Summon Elemental spell?

Gem Dragonborn, from Fizban's Treasury of Dragons (p. 11), have the Psionic Mind trait: You can send telepathic messages to any creature you can see within 30 feet of you. You don’t need to share a ...
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6 votes
1 answer
535 views

How quickly can a Thylean Centaur climb?

I'm playing the Thylean Centaur race (from the third-party Odyssey of the Dragonlords module), which has the following trait: Quadrapedal Stride. Climbing or maneuvering in tight spaces is considered ...
2 votes
1 answer
399 views

Does the Mind Blank spell block the Psionic Mind feature of Gem Dragonborn?

The spell mind blank says: one willing creature you touch is immune to psychic damage, any effect that would sense its emotions or read its thoughts, divination spells, and the charmed condition. The ...
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2 votes
0 answers
42 views

Can a monk with claws use claw attacks as secondary weapons via Feral Combat Training to get four attacks at level three? [duplicate]

I'm making a catfolk unchained monk, and I just realized, RaW, that I might have four attacks at level 3. Similar questions have been asked and answered before, but most answers seem to be referencing ...
17 votes
3 answers
1k views

What is the interaction between "cannot make a roll with advantage" and disadvantage?

Picture the following scenario. A creature attacks me, and through any combination of features, spells, conditions and other effects (for example, I am a Recklessly Attacking barbarian being ...
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8 votes
1 answer
375 views

Does Fey Ancestry still apply while polymorphed

My elf was polymorphed into a giant ape and had to make a Wisdom saving throw or else be charmed. I know that I make the saving throw with the giant ape's wisdom score but would the elf still get ...
1 vote
0 answers
95 views

In dnd-5e, is there any way to start a level 1 player character with any racial feat found in Xanathar's Guide to Everything? [duplicate]

From the PHB on page 31, variant human traits allow starting a level 1 player character with a feat. In Tasha's Cauldron of Everything on page 8, custom lineage allows starting with a feat, but lists ...
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