Optional rule to create “custom races” due to characters of mixed heritage, alien race, genetic engineering, mutation or some other reason.
BASIC TRAITS
Type: Pick Beast, Celestial, Fey, Fiend or Humanoid.
Ability Score Increases: Add 2 to one ability score and 1 to another ability score.
Age: Pick any number for your people. Age has no effect on abilities.
Alignment: Pick any alignment.
Size: Pick either Small or Medium.
Speed: By default, characters have a base walking speed of 30 feet, but traits and hinderances may change this rate.
Proficiencies: Pick any three skill or tool proficiencies.
Languages: You automatically speak Common and one other language (native to your people).
ADDITIONAL TRAITS: Pick any five, or six if also picking a hinderance…
Amorphous. You can compress your body to squeeze through a 1-inch wide space. You cannot expand inside a solid space.
Aggressive. As a bonus action, you can move up to your speed toward an enemy of your choice that you can see or hear. You must end this move closer to the enemy than you started.
Amphibious. You can breathe air and water.
Aptitude. You have proficiency in one specific skill or tool.
Arcane Cantrip. You know one cantrip of your choice from the wizard spell list. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for it.
Artificer’s Lore. Whenever you make an Intelligence (History) check related to magic items, alchemical objects, or technological devices, you can add twice your proficiency bonus, instead of any proficiency bonus you normally apply.
Bestial Kinship. You can cast the Animal Friendship spell, but only on one specific type of beasts: birds, fish, rats, snakes or so forth.
Bite. Your fangs count as a natural weapon, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with it, you deal piercing damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.
Born To Mountains. You’re acclimated to high altitude, including elevations above 20,000 feet. You’re also naturally adapted to cold climates, as described in chapter 5 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide.
Brave. You have advantage on saving throws against being frightened.
Burst Of Agility. Your reflexes and agility allow you to move with a burst of speed. When you move on your tum in combat, you can double your speed until the end of the tum. Once you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you move 0 feet on one of your turns.
Claws. You have a climbing speed of 20 feet. In addition, your claws are natural weapons, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with them, you deal slashing damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.
Combat Training: You gain proficiency in four specific weapons.
Cunning Artisan. As part of a short rest, you can harvest bone and hide from a slain beast, construct, dragon, monstrosity, or plant creature of size Small or larger to create one of the following items: a shield, a club, a javelin, or ld4 darts or blowgun needles. To use this trait, you need a blade, such as a dagger, or appropriate artisan’s tools, such as leatherworker’s tools.
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.
Divine Cantrip. You know one cantrip of your choice from the cleric spell list. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for it.
Extra Language. You can read and speak an additional language.
Fey Ancestry. You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can’t put you to sleep.
Fleet of Foot. Your base walking speed increases to 35 feet.
Fury of the Small. When you damage a creature with an attack or a spell and the creature’s size is larger than yours, you can cause the attack or spell to deal extra damage to the creature. The extra damage equals your level. Once you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Healing Hands. As an action, you can touch a creature and cause it to regain a number of hit points equal to your level. Once you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.
Hold Breath. You can hold your breath for up to 15 minutes at a time.
Long-Limbed. When you make a melee attack on your turn, your reach for it is 5 feet greater than normal.
Lucky. When you roll a 1 on an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll.
Magical Cunning. You have advantage on all Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws against magic.
Mask of the Wild. You can attempt to hide even when you are only lightly obscured by foliage, heavy rain, falling snow, mist, and other natural phenomena.
Mental Discipline. You have advantage on saving throws against the charmed and frightened conditions.
Mimicry. You can mimic sounds you have heard, including voices. A creature that hears the sounds you make can tell they are imitations with a successful Wisdom (Insight) check opposed by your Charisma (Deception) check.
Natural Armor. You have tough skin or hide. When you aren’t wearing armor, your AC is 13 + your Dexterity modifier. You can use your natural armor to determine your AC if the armor you wear would leave you with a lower AC. A shield’s benefits apply as normal while you use your natural armor.
Naturally Stealthy. You can attempt to hide even when you are obscured only by a creature that is at least one size larger than you.
Nimbleness. You can move through the space of any creature that is of a size larger than yours.
Pack Tactics. You have advantage on an attack roll against a creature if at least one of your allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally isn’t incapacitated.
Powerful Build. You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.
Primal Cantrip. You know one cantrip of your choice from the druid spell list. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for it.
Quick Escape. You can take the Disengage or Hide action as a bonus action on each of your turns.
Regenerative. If any part of your body is cut off but doesn’t kill you, you can fully regrow the lost body part in 24 hours.
Relentless Endurance. When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 hit point instead. You can’t use this feature again until you finish a long rest.
Resilience. You have advantage on saving throws against attacks and hazards that cause a specific damage type, and you have resistance against that type (half damage). Choose resilience against one of the following damage types: Acid, cold, fire, lightning, necrotic, poison, psychic, radiant or thunder.
Savage Attacks. When you score a critical hit with a melee weapon attack, you can roll one of the weapon’s damage dice one additional time and add it to the extra damage of the critical hit.
Saving Face. If you miss with an attack roll or fail an ability check or a saving throw, you can gain a bonus to the roll equal to the number of allies you can see within 30 feet of you (maximum bonus of +5). Once you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Sorcerous Cantrip. You know one cantrip of your choice from the sorcerer spell list. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for it.
Speak with Small Beasts. Through sounds and gestures, you can communicate simple ideas with Small or smaller beast (squirrels, badgers, rabbits, moles, woodpeckers, and so forth).
Speech of Beast and Leaf. You have the ability to communicate in a limited manner with beasts and plants. They can understand the meaning of your words, though you have no special ability to understand them in return. You have advantage on all Charisma checks you make to influence them.
Stone’s Endurance. You can focus yourself to occasionally shrug off injury. When you take damage, you can use your reaction to roll a dl2. Add your Constitution modifier to the number rolled, and reduce the damage by that total. After you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Stonecunning. Whenever you make an Intelligence (History) check related to the origin of stonework, you are considered proficient in the History skill and add double your proficiency bonus to the check, instead of your normal proficiency bonus.
Superior Darkvision. If you have the darkvision trait, this enhancement improves your darkvision to a radius of 120 feet.
Surprise Attack. If you surprise a creature and hit it with an attack on your first turn in combat, the attack deals an extra 2d6 damage to it. You can use this trait only once per combat.
Swim. You have a swimming speed of 30 feet.
Toughness. Your hit point maximum increases by 1, and it increases by 1 every time you gain a level.
Trance. Instead of sleep, you meditate deeply, remaining semiconscious, for 4 hours a day. (The Common word for such meditation is “trance.”) While meditating, you can dream after a fashion; such dreams are actually mental exercises that have become reflexive through years of practice. After resting in this way, you gain the same benefit that others do from 8 hours of sleep.
HINDRANCES: Choose one to start with six traits instead of five.
Slow: Your base movement speed is 25 feet.
Sunlight Sensitivity. You have disadvantage on attack rolls and on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight when you, the target of your attack, or whatever you are trying to perceive is in direct sunlight.
Water Dependent. You must submerge yourself in water for at least one hour every 24 hours. If you go longer than 24 hours, you gain one level of exhaustion every 8 hours until you can again spend an hour underwater. You recover from exhaustion at the normal rate.