Questions tagged [racial-traits]
For questions primarily about racial traits, the quantifiable capabilities or limitations specific to a race, such as Dwarves, Orcs, Romulans, et. al.
344
questions
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1answer
82 views
How would taking an “X raised by Y” trait via the Adopted trait work?
Let's say I'm a non Half-Orc and I use Adopted take Iron Control (Half-Orc raised by Humans).
Would I have to be adopted by Half-Orcs, get disowned or otherwise lose my Half-Orc parents, then get re-...
6
votes
1answer
204 views
Does a Firbolg lose their invisibility granted by the Hidden Step trait if a creature they summon attacks or deals damage?
The description of the firbolg trait Hidden Step states (VGtM, p. 107):
As a bonus action, you can magically turn invisible until the start of your next turn or until you attack, make a damage roll, ...
4
votes
1answer
258 views
Can you choose same spell twice from different sources?
I am optimizing my Warlock character now and wanted to pick new UA (for now) Hexblood race (detailed in this Unearthed Arcana article). I will get a free hex once per long rest as racial trait.
I'm ...
1
vote
1answer
76 views
Can the Hexblood's token be used for rudimentary two-way communication?
In the recent Gothic Lineage UA, the Hexblood race was introduced. One of their abilities is Magic Token:
Magic Token. As an action, you can harmlessly pull out one of your nails, a tooth, or a lock ...
9
votes
2answers
882 views
Customizing Your Origin and Reincarnate
The druid spell Reincarnate says "The reincarnated creature recalls its former life and experiences. It retains the capabilities it had in its original form, except it exchanges its original race ...
14
votes
1answer
708 views
Dhampir bite attack, does it add both STR and CON?
The Vampiric Bite, from the new Dhampir lineage race, says as follow (emphasis mine):
Vampiric Bite
"Your fanged bite is a natural weapon, which counts as a simple melee weapon with which you ...
11
votes
2answers
1k views
Can Tortles receive the non-AC benefits from magic armor?
The Tortle's Natural Armor trait says:
Due to your shell and the shape of your body, you are ill-suited to wearing armor. Your shell provides ample protection, however; it gives you a base AC of 17 (...
8
votes
3answers
647 views
Can a half-elf taking Elf Atavism select a versatile heritage?
As title. Consider Halledon Felf, a half-elf. At first level, Hal takes Human ancestry, and selects Half-elf as a heritage. He then has an ancestry feat, which he uses to take Elf Atavism, allowing ...
4
votes
1answer
99 views
What weapons are subject to ancestries' weapon familiarity proficiency changes?
Consider Dwarven Weapon Familiarity.
A dwarf that takes it becomes trained in the battleaxe, pick and warhammer. Also from this feat:
You also gain access to all uncommon dwarf weapons. For the ...
10
votes
1answer
825 views
How does a Cloak of Displacement interact with a tortle's Shell Defense?
The cloak has a property that causes creatures to have disadvantage on attack rolls against the one wearing it (emphasis mine):
While you wear this cloak, it projects an illusion that makes you ...
2
votes
0answers
73 views
Is there a way (and if so how) to add a conditional trait into PCGen?
Pathfinder
Specifically what I am trying to do is add a racial trait to the Kitsune race that will replace two of the normal racial traits. I have successfully added a trait called "Naturally ...
2
votes
3answers
413 views
Mixed race from half-elf and half-dwarf
I'm creating a character and looking for help on how to go about applying racial traits. My character's father is half human, half dwarf and her mother is half-elf.
I've only been playing for maybe ...
9
votes
1answer
344 views
Can elves, half-elves, warforged, and/or kalashtar be affected by Dream of the Blue Veil?
The Fey Ancestry racial trait shared by elves (Player’s Handbook, p. 23) and half-elves (p. 39) states “magic can’t put you to sleep.” Warforged’s Constructed Resilience trait is similar: “You don’t ...
12
votes
2answers
1k views
What is the comparative value of armor proficiencies?
Is medium or heavy armor proficiency as racial feature more powerful (in general) than light armor, or is it just favoring different kinds of builds?
The intent is that I want to playtest some racial ...
3
votes
1answer
92 views
Does the Invisibility spell end on a mystic if they use their abilities? [closed]
It's specifically stated that psionic abilities do not count as spells (thus, it's possible to use one as an action and another as a bonus action in the same turn).
A duergar (dwarf subrace) player ...
3
votes
1answer
192 views
Is a racial feature balanced that lets you chose any low-level spell to learn
Many races give certain low-level spells on a once-per-day basis and there is the high elf who can learn any wizard cantrip. Now consider the following racial feature:
Chose any spell of spell level ...
6
votes
1answer
428 views
Does the updated Integrated Protection feature of the Warforged mean that they count as “wearing” armor when using armor?
The updated Warforged's Integrated Protection trait, as detailed in Eberron: Rising from the Last War (p. 36), now states:
Your body has built-in defensive layers, which can be enhanced with armor.
[...
5
votes
2answers
683 views
Understanding the mechanics of a satyr's Mirthful Leaps trait
I am having an issue calculating how to utilize a Satyr's Mirthful Leaps trait, and how it would affect the character moving forward, focusing on the math and stats. For this question, I'll use the ...
11
votes
3answers
2k views
How does the Dissonant Whispers spell interact with advantage from the halfling's Brave trait?
If someone casts the dissonant whispers spell on my halfling, how does it interact with the halfling's Brave trait?
I roll 2d20 for the advantage, and this "succeed or fail the save"
result ...
6
votes
1answer
377 views
Can magic tattoos be used by warforged, or other constructs such as the battle smith artificer's steel defender?
Magic tattoos all say things akin to the following:
To attune to this item, you hold the needle to your skin where you want the tattoo to appear, pressing the needle there throughout the attunement ...
12
votes
3answers
5k views
Does a Character with a Custom Lineage belong to a race, for the purposes of racial requirements?
Tasha's Cauldron of Everything introduces new character options. In the Customizing Your Origin subsection, there is a side panel that details the Custom Lineage options.
This option allows you to, &...
4
votes
2answers
514 views
Does the envoy warforged's Ability Score Increase trait give you a +1 to Con and +1 to two other ability scores? Or just +1 to two ability scores?
Does the envoy warforged (from UA: Eberron Races) get a +1 to Con and +1 to two other ability scores (e.g. Dex and Wis)?
Or only +1 to two ability scores total (e.g. Dex and Wis, or Dex and Con)?
5
votes
1answer
243 views
Does the Orc's 'Aggressive' racial trait allow you to move with a grappled target as long as you move toward it?
Aggressive. As a bonus action, you can move up to your movement speed toward a hostile creature you can see or hear. You must end this move closer to the enemy than you started.
That last clause ...
8
votes
2answers
904 views
Is a lightfoot halfling obscured for the purposes of hiding while in the space of another creature?
Can a lightfoot halfling hide while in the space of some creature (like a Medium-sized or larger ally), and be hidden from an adjacent creature?
The halfling is not trying to hide from the creature ...
16
votes
2answers
1k views
Can Minotaur Players be targeted by Hold Person and other similar spells?
Hold person specifies that it can only target humanoids:
Choose a humanoid that you can see within range[...]
The Minotaur creature stat block from the Monster Manual lists them as monstrosities, ...
6
votes
3answers
2k views
Does a Tortle's Natural Armor interfere with the Monk's Unarmored Movement ability?
The Tortle's Natural Armor ability says:
Due to your shell and the shape of your body, you are ill-suited to wearing armor. Your shell provides ample protection, however; it gives you a base AC of 17 ...
2
votes
2answers
104 views
When a ysoki is holding items in his cheek pouches, can others tell if they have something in there?
The rules on ysoki cheek pouches are rather vague on whether objects held inside them are actually concealed. It seems possible that someone else would be able to determine that the ysoki was ...
12
votes
2answers
1k views
Does the Air Genasi's Unending Breath trait affect their ability to resist a dragon's poison breath?
I play a 3rd-level Air Genasi Monk. My party will be fighting a Green Dragon soon.
Can a Green Dragon's Poison Breath affect me if I'm not breathing due to the Air Genasi's Unending Breath trait?
13
votes
5answers
3k views
Is this modified version of the changeling's “Shapechanger” trait fair?
For context:
In a new campaign, the DM accepted my request to play a changeling, but wants to limit its "Shapechanger" trait (E:RftLW, p. 18). His idea was to allow only one change a day, ...
8
votes
2answers
2k views
Do Goliaths get cold resistance from the Mountain Born trait?
There seems to be a discrepancy between sources for the Goliath's 'Mountain Born' racial trait.
Volo's Guide to Monsters (p. 109) includes the following description for the trait:
You're acclimated ...
6
votes
5answers
438 views
Is it possible for a player to gain the innate ability to regenerate body parts without spells?
Using the DMG's Injuries variant rule (or just having a character who for whatever reason is missing a body part), a character can lose an arm, leg, or eye, and the regenerate spell is the normal way ...
13
votes
1answer
2k views
Is my Fool race balanced?
I want to create a homebrew playable race called Fools. Essentially the idea is court jesters but as a race. They have bright, multicolored skin. I want them to have the abilities of the original Fool ...
5
votes
1answer
345 views
Is the Midgard Heroes Handbook Centaur race considered as Medium, or Large, for the purpose of grappling and shoving?
In the "Midgard Heroes Handbook" from the Kobold Press, there is a playable character race, the Centaur (not to be confused with the somewhat different Centaur published in Guildmaster's ...
9
votes
5answers
3k views
Are your default racial traits suppressed when choosing the Doppelganger Character Secret in the Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden adventure?
The Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden adventure contains a list of possible Character Secrets in Appendix B. One of these possible secrets is "Doppelganger" (emphasis mine):
I’m a ...
0
votes
2answers
335 views
What explicit player-side rules exist for reflavoring races/classes?
Wizards' spellbooks and artificer "magic" are explicitly called out as being reflavorable--that is, as long as everything has the same numbers, a "spellbook" doesn't need to be a ...
7
votes
1answer
797 views
Does the wood elf's Mask of the Wild trait allow them to basically “disappear” in front of their opponent if in an area lightly obscured by foliage?
The rules on hiding state, in part (PHB, p. 177):
You can't hide from a creature that can see you clearly, [...]
The description of the wood elf's Mask of the Wild trait says (PHB, p. 24):
You can ...
1
vote
1answer
305 views
Dragon Alternate Form feature vs Draconic Polymorph
I was curious about what the differences are for a True Dragon between using its natural Alternate Form feature vs the Draconic Polymorph spell.
The Alternate Form feature (link to Gold Dragon on SRD) ...
14
votes
3answers
695 views
Can Warforged doff Cast-Off Armor in a single action?
Xanathar's Guide to Everything includes this fun magical armor variant, Cast-Off Armor, which can be doffed in a single action (see XGE p136):
You can doff this armor as an action.
This is generally ...
4
votes
1answer
500 views
Do the races of D&D have different core temperatures?
Are there any official sources of bioinformatics (for lack of better word; though mapping the elven genome might be a useful way to figure out their longevity...hmm...) for the races of Dungeons & ...
7
votes
3answers
612 views
Making Race Traits independent of race
I'm preparing my new campaign for my group of players and I was wondering if the following ruling would unbalance the table.
What will be the effects, balancing-wise, if I let players choose a race ...
-4
votes
1answer
200 views
If a dragonborn used his fire breath with his stomach full of elves foot mead [closed]
I'm having an argument that my intestines would explode if I tried to breath fire as a dragonborn.am I right or is he
3
votes
1answer
412 views
Is my homebrew variant of the Dragonborn race balanced compared to the other official races?
I made my own homebrew variant of the Dragonborn race. The ASI replaces the ones in the PHB and it does get the damage resistance from the dragon ancestry trait. My reasoning for these racial traits ...
5
votes
2answers
343 views
How can a character be able to Detect Thoughts on multiple people at once?
Since this video came out (timestamped to the important part), I have been puzzling over any spell I could find to understand what's going on. While I know a DM can invent all they want for NPCs and ...
4
votes
3answers
2k views
How exactly does a Changeling's shapeshifting work?
Though I have asked a similar question here, and I am very thankful for NautArch's answer, I realized that the more I looked into the text of a changeling's shapeshifter trait, the more questions I ...
1
vote
2answers
483 views
Does the Shadow Magic sorcerer's Eyes of the Dark feature negate Sunlight Sensitivity for creatures like drow?
The Shadow Magic sorcerer's 1st-level feature Eyes of the Dark reads (XGtE, p. 51):
Starting at 1st level, you have darkvision with a range of 120 feet.
I would like to play a Drow character. Does ...
2
votes
2answers
778 views
Are there ways Changelings can overcome their shape-shifting limitations?
While the Changeling's shapeshifting ability does provide the player with quite a variety of creatures (both pc and npc) to choose from, the rules do limit it to medium human-like (as humanoid is a ...
8
votes
2answers
224 views
Do racial features which benefit specific ability/skill checks provide a benefit for skill checks made with different abilities?
The rules for making skill checks are usually cut and dried. If a character is making a check to see if they can swim against a current, this would usually be a Strength (Athletics) check.
But the ...
3
votes
2answers
436 views
In Pathfinder's Race builder, can you give the race you create two racial qualities? (i.e. Fey and Humanoid.)
I was wondering when creating a race in Pathfinder 1e, are you able to give them two racial type qualities like Fey and Humanoids for example or is it just one type only? I ask because I was looking ...
14
votes
1answer
1k views
Do Tabaxi regain the use of their Feline Agility trait if they get up from being knocked prone but don't move to a different space?
If a Tabaxi PC is knocked prone and then uses their turn to get up without moving anywhere else, does that let them refresh their Feline Agility racial ability?
Getting up uses half their movement ...
6
votes
1answer
271 views
If a spellcaster's racial trait grants a spell that requires material components, can they use their class' focus to cast that spell?
Based on the answer to this question about non-spellcasters, spells granted by racial traits don't waive the need for material components. However, can spellcasters use their class' allowed focuses ...
