Dragonborn Variant

Credits:

• WoTC for making the world's greatest roleplaying game.
• The lovely folks at the Haven discord for helping me get good at brew and being good friends
• My girlfriend. For always being there for me and loving me unconditionally.
• Full art credits are at the end of this document.

Dragonborn Traits

Your dragonborn character has the following traits.

Age. Young dragonborn grow quickly. They walk hours after hatching, attain the size and development of a 10-year-old human child by the age of 3, and reach adulthood by 15. Most live to be around 200 years old, and some can even live longer than that.

Alignment. Dragonborn tend to extremes, making a conscious choice for one side or the other. A dragonborn’s heritage can be a deciding factor in their alignment, a red dragonborn may tend to be greedy and evil, but they can overcome their natural tendencies and instincts and choose goodness.

Size. Dragonborn are generally between 6 and 7 feet tall and weigh between 200 and 300 pounds. Your size is medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Draconic Armor. Your thick scales protect your body, while unarmored, your AC equals 12 + your Dexterity modifier. Also, you have resistance to the damage type granted to you by your Draconic Ancestry.

Breath Attack. Your draconic anatomy grants you the ability to exhale elemental destruction like greater dragons. Your Draconic Ancestry decides the shape and damage type of your breath attack.

Regardless, you use your action to use your breath attack, each creature in the area of effect must make a saving throw equal to 8 + your Constitution modifier + your Proficiency Bonus or take 4d6 damage on a failed save, and half as much on a successful one.

The damage increases to 6d6 at 5th level, 8d6 at 11th level, and 10d6 at 17th level. When you reach 8th level, your breath attack grows in size, if your breath attack is a cone it becomes a 30-foot cone, and if it's a line it becomes a 5-foot by 60-foot line.

You regain use of your breath attack on a short or long rest.

Language. You speak Common and Draconic.

Subraces There are as many subraces of dragonborn as there are types of dragon. Choose one of them for your character.

Red Dragonborn

Your ancestry traces back to the red dragons. The mightiest of all the chromatic dragons, red dragons cared little for the problems of lesser dragons, and even less for what they considered mortals. This hubris was usually what brought about the downfall of a red dragon.

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

Draconic Ancestry. The damage type for your Draconic Armor and Breath Attack features is fire. Also, your breath attack uses a 15-foot cone, and requires a Dexterity saving throw.

Powerful Build. You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.

Blue Dragonborn

Your line hails from the infamous blue dragons, known for tricking desert travelers using their talent for hallucinations and causing desert storms. Blue dragons are unusual among chromatic dragons, given their orderly nature and the fact that they were more likely to taunt and humiliate creatures than kill them.

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

Draconic Ancestry. The damage type for your Draconic Armor and Breath Attack features is lightning. Also, your breath attack uses a 30-foot line, and requires a Dexterity saving throw.

Desert Magic. You know the Shocking Grasp cantrip, and can cast it at will. Once you reach 3rd level, you can cast the Silent Image spell once with this trait as a first level spell. When you cast Silent Image in this way, you regain use of it on a long rest.

Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

Green Dragonborn

Your ancestry traces back to the deceptive green dragons, they are known for their natural gift for manipulation and corruption of lesser creatures.

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

Draconic Ancestry. The damage type for your Draconic Armor and Breath Attack features is poison. Also, your breath attack uses a 15-foot cone, and requires a Constitution saving throw.

Poison Resistance. You have advantage on saving throws against the poisoned condition.

Black Dragonborn

Your ancestry traces you back to the vile tempered black dragons. Black dragons were the most cruel of all the chromatic dragons, loving to play with their prey and torture them before finishing them off.

Ability Score Improvement. Your Constitution score increases by 2, and your Wisdom score increases by 1.

Draconic Ancestry. The damage type for your Draconic Armor and Breath Attack features is acid. Also, your breath attack uses a 30-foot line, and requires a Dexterity saving throw.

Swamp Predator. You can hold your breath for up to 15 minutes, and have a swimming speed equal to your walking speed.

Additionally, you have advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks while submerged in water.

White Dragonborn

The weakest of chromatic dragonkind, white dragons were also the least intelligent. While still being leagues ahead smarter than most humans, they were still considered animalistic and savage to other dragons.

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

Draconic Ancestry. The damage type for your Draconic Armor and Breath Attack features is cold. Also, your breath attack uses a 15-foot cone, and requires a Constitution saving throw.

Ice Walk. You can move across and climb icy surfaces without needing to make an ability check. Additionally, difficult terrain composed of ice or snow doesn't cost you extra movement.

Gold Dragonborn

Your ancestry traces back to the reclusive gold dragons, their majesty and wisdom is in your blood.

Ability Score Improvement. Your Wisdom score increases by 2, and your Strength score increases by 1.

Draconic Ancestry. The damage type for your Draconic Armor and Breath Attack features is fire. Also, your breath attack uses a 15-foot cone, and requires a Dexterity saving throw.

Brave. You have advantage on saving throws against being frightened.

Silver Dragonborn

Your ancestry traces back to the graceful silver dragons, their appreciation of human culture and natural intelligence are in your blood.

Ability Score Improvement. Your Intelligence score increases by 2, and your Charisma score increases by 1.

Draconic Ancestry. The damage type for your Draconic Armor and Breath Attack features is cold. Also, your breath attack uses a 15-foot cone, and requires a Constitution saving throw.

Natural Leader. You can use the help action as a bonus action.

Bronze Dragonborn

Your ancestry traces back to the stalwart bronze dragons, their good heartedness and pacifism are in your blood.

Ability Score Improvement. Your Constitution score increases by 2, and your Charisma score increases by 1.

Draconic Ancestry. The damage type for your Draconic Armor and Breath Attack features is lightning. Also, your breath attack uses a 30-foot line, and requires a Dexterity saving throw.

Aquatic Dweller. You can breathe underwater, and have a swimming speed equal to your walking speed.

Copper Dragonborn

Your ancestry traces back to the trickster bronze dragons, their skill at entertaining and presenting riddles is in your blood.

Ability Score Improvement. Your Charisma score increases by 2, and your Intelligence score increases by 1.

Draconic Ancestry. The damage type for your Draconic Armor and Breath Attack features is acid. Also, your breath attack uses a 30-foot line, and requires a Dexterity saving throw.

Play On Words You have proficiency in Performance and Deception.

Brass Dragonborn

Your ancestry traces back to the brass dragons, their appreciation of knowledge and intelligence are in your blood.

Ability Score Improvement. Your Intelligence score increases by 2, and your Strength score increases by 1.

Draconic Ancestry. The damage type for your Draconic Armor and Breath Attack features is fire. Also, your breath attack uses a 15-foot cone, and requires a Dexterity saving throw.

Fluent You can speak, read, and write 1 extra language of your choice, and if you converse with a creature using a language that it knows that isn't common, you add double your proficiency bonus to any Persuasion checks made towards that creature.

Bonus Ancestries

The following subraces are either one of a kind or incredibly rare depending on the setting, and require close consideration from the DM.

Platinum Dragonborn

You are a chosen dragonborn of celestial blood, born of light. You are a natural leader, and a powerful weapon against the forces of evil.

Ability Score Improvement. Your Strength score increases by 2, and your Charisma score increases by 1.

Draconic Ancestry. The damage type for your Draconic Armor and Breath Attack features is radiant. Also, your breath attack uses a 30-foot line, and requires a Dexterity saving throw.

Inspiring Roar. As an action, you can expend a use of your Breath Attack to let loose a roar of inspiration. Allied creatures within 30 feet have advantage on their next attack or saving throw in the next minute.

Once you use your Breath Attack in this way, you cannot do it again until you complete a long rest.

Shadow Dragonborn

You were once a true dragonborn, but now you are a monster corrupted by the shadowfell or a similar darkness. Now the light burns your flesh and saps your strength, and you forgot the love of the sun's warm embrace.

Ability Score Improvement. Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and your Constitution score increases by 1.

Draconic Ancestry. The damage type for your Draconic Armor and Breath Attack features is necrotic. Also, your breath attack uses a 15-foot cone, and requires a Constitution saving throw.

Shadow Stealth. While in dim light or darkness, you can take the hide action as a bonus action.

Shadevision. You can see normally in dim light and darkness, both magical and nonmagical, to a distance of 30 feet.

Sunlight Sensitivity. While in sunlight, you have disadvantage on attack rolls, as well as on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.

Undead Dragonborn

Whether you were the failed experiment of some dragon obsessed necromancer, or born from an evil god, you are an undead dragonborn and will be hated and spat upon. Regardless you have some powerful abilities, but the drawbacks are severe. Work with your DM on how this came about.

Ability Score Improvement. Your Intelligence score increases by 2, and your Constitution score increases by 1.

Draconic Ancestry. The damage type for your Draconic Armor and Breath Attack features is necrotic. Also, your breath attack uses a 15-foot cone, and requires a Constitution saving throw.

Undead. Your type is both humanoid and undead, meaning you are affected by any features or abilities that affect either of those types. For example, you can be targeted by hold person or turned by turn undead. The exception to this is healing: any spell, feature, or ability that restores hit points and normally has no effect on undead instead restores you for half the number of hit points it would normally restore, rather than having no effect.

Due to your undead nature, you are immune to disease and the poisoned condition, and you have resistance to poison and necrotic damage. You do not need to eat or breathe, but you can ingest food or drink if you wish.

Instead of sleeping, you enter an inactive state for 4 hours each day. You do not dream in this state, but resting in this way is otherwise identical to sleeping. Magically induced sleep can cause you to enter this inactive state.

Clockwork Dragonborn

You were created, not born. Perhaps you were constructed by a master golemsmith to help defend her projects, or were part of a line of manufactured dragonoid war golems.

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

Draconic Ancestry. The damage type for your Draconic Armor and Breath Attack features is fire. Also, your breath attack uses a 15-foot cone, and requires a Dexterity saving throw.

Artificial. You were created, not born. This fact is represented by the following benefits:

• You have advantage on saving throws against being poisoned, and you have resistance to poison damage.
• You are immune to disease.
• You don’t need to eat, drink, or breathe.
• You don’t need to sleep and don’t suffer the effects of exhaustion due to lack of rest, and magic can’t put you to sleep.

Recharge. When you take a long rest, you must spend at least 6 hours in an inactive, motionless state, rather than sleeping. In this state, you appear inert, but it doesn’t render you unconscious, and you can see and hear as normal.

Faerie Dragonborn

Your ancestry traces back to the playful faerie dragons, their fey magic and quickness is in your blood.

Ability Score Improvement. Your Charisma score increases by 2 and your Dexterity score increases by 1.

Fey Ancestry. You replace your Draconic Armor and Breath Attack features, instead you have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can’t put you to sleep.

Size. Faerie Dragonborn are smaller than other Dragonborn by a sizeable amount, usually around 3 to 4 feet tall. Your size is small

Fey Magic. You know the Minor Illusion cantrip and can cast it at will. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the Charm Person spell once with this trait as a first level spell. When you cast Charm Person in this way, you regain use of it on a long rest.

Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

Gem Ancestries

The following subraces are descended from gem dragons, psionic and generally neutral cousins of chromatic and metallic dragons. Gem dragonborn are not as common as other types of dragonborn, but share their greater counterparts natural psionic power and traits.

Amethyst Dragonborn

Your blood stems from the easy going amethyst dragons, you have enherited their natural gift for psionic power.

Ability Score Improvement. Your Charisma score increases by 2, and your Intelligence score increasesby 1.

Draconic Ancestry. The damage type for your Draconic Armor and Breath Attack features is force. Also, your breath attack has a 5-foot radius centered on a point within 20 feet of you, and requires a Dexterity saving throw.

When you reach 8th level, your breath attack grows in size, and your breath attack has a 10-foot radius centered on a point within 40 feet of you.

Psychokinesis. You know the Mage Hand cantrip and can cast it without spell components. When you cast Mage Hand using this feature, you can make the spectral hand invisible.

Charisma is your spellcasting ability for this spell.

Crystal Dragonborn

Your ancestry flows from the intensely curious crystal dragons, a shining light burns in your heart.

Ability Score Improvement. Your Constitution score increases by 2 and your Intelligence score increases by 1.

Draconic Ancestry. The damage type for your Draconic Armor and Breath Attack features is radiant. Also, your breath attack uses a 15-foot cone, and requires a Dexterity saving throw.

Scintillating Psionics. You know the Light cantrip and can cast it at will. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the Color Spray spell once with this trait as a first level spell. When you cast Color Spray in this way, you regain use of it on a long rest.

Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

Emerald Dragonborn

Your ancestry derives from the paranoid and antisocial emerald dragons. You share their love for study and knowledge.

Ability Score Improvement. Your Intelligence score increases by 2, and your Wisdom score increases by 1.

Draconic Ancestry. The damage type for your Draconic Armor and Breath Attack features is thunder. Also, your breath attack uses a 15-foot cone, and requires a Constitution saving throw.

Innate Knowledge. You have proficiency in your choice of Arcana, Religion, or History.

Obsidian Dragonborn

Your ancestry flows from the hot tempered obsidian dragons that live amongst volcanos, their fire and strength are a part of you.

Ability Score Improvement. Your Strength score increases by 2, and your Charisma score increase by 1.

Draconic Ancestry. The damage type for your Draconic Armor and Breath Attack features is fire. Also, your breath attack uses a 15-foot cone, and requires a Dexterity saving throw.

Pyrokinesis. You know the Produce Flame cantrip and can cast it at will. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the Hellish Rebuke spell once with this trait as a first level spell. When you cast Hellish Rebuke in this way, you regain use of it on a long rest.

Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

Sapphire Dragonborn

You are related to the territorial sapphire dragons, you gained their natural gift for psychoportation and fearlessness.

Ability Score Improvement. Your Strength and Wisdom scores increase by 1.

Draconic Ancestry. The damage type for your Draconic Armor and Breath Attack features is thunder. Also, your breath attack uses a 15-foot cone, and requires a Constitution saving throw.

Psychoportation. As a bonus action, you can magically teleport up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space you can see. Once you use this trait, you regain use of it on a short or long rest.

Topaz Dragonborn

Your ancestry flows from the selfish topaz dragons, you have their power over water and dehydrating breath.

Ability Score Improvement. Your Intelligence and Constitution scores increase by 1.

Draconic Ancestry. The damage type for your Draconic Armor and Breath Attack features is necrotic. Also, your breath attack uses a 30-foot line, and requires a Constitution saving throw.

Hydrokinesis. You know the Shape Water cantrip and can cast it at will. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the Create or Destroy Water spell once with this trait as a first level spell. When you cast Create or Destroy Water in this way, you regain use of it on a long rest.

Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

Ruby Dragonborn

You are a one of a kind dragonborn, created either through pure chance or divine will. Your powers are versatile and your will is strong.

Ability Score Improvement. Your Charisma score increases by 2, and your choice of ability score increases by 1.

Draconic Ancestry. The damage type for your Draconic Armor and Breath Attack features is fire. Also, your breath attack uses a 30-foot line, and requires a Dexterity saving throw.

Awesome Presence. As an action, you expend a use of your breath attack feature to overwhelm the mind of a creature within 30 feet of you with psionic power. The creature must make a Wisdom saving throw against your breath attack DC or be incapacitated for 1 minute.

The creature can repeat the saving throw at the beginning of each of it's turns, ending the effect on a success.

Racial Feats

At certain levels, your class gives you the Ability Score Improvement feature. Using the optional feats rule, you can forgo taking that feature to take a feat of your choice instead. You can take each feat only once, unless the feat's description says otherwise.

Deep Breaths

Prerequisite: Dragonborn

Sublety isn’t your way. You have mastered the use of exhaling elemental energies, and thus you have trained your throat to crack stone with your voice alone. You gain the following benefits:

• Instead of exhaling destructive energy, you can expend a use of your Breath Weapon trait to roar, forcing each creature of your choice within 30 feet of you must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw equal to your Breath Attack DC. A target automatically succeeds on the save if it can't hear or see you. On a failed save, a target becomes frightened for 1 minute. If the frightened target takes any damage, it can repeat the saving throw, ending the effect on itself on a success.
• When you speak, you can choose to make your voice up to 3 times louder.

Winged Thunder

Prerequisite: Dragonborn

You have grown wings that are common amongst the greater of your kind. You gain the following benefits.

• You have a flying speed equal to your walking speed. To use this speed, you can’t be overencumbered, or wear heavy armor.
• Once per short or long rest, when you move into the air using your fly speed you can make a buffet attack as a bonus action. Any grounded creatures that are within 5 feet of you must make a Strength saving throw equal to your Breath Attack DC or be knocked prone.

Tooth and Scale

Prerequisite: Dragonborn

You grow retractable claws, your fangs grow longer and your scales harden further. You gain the following benefits:

• Your fanged maw and retractable claws are natural weapons, with which you can make unarmed strikes. Your bite deals 1d6 piercing damage, and your claws deal 1d6 slashing damage.
• Your natural AC equals 13 + your Dexterity or Constitution modifier.

Draconic Influence

Prerequisite: Dragonborn

You learn how to harness some of the influence that true dragons have on mortals. You gain the following benefits:

• You gain proficiency in your choice of Intimidation or Persuasion. If you already have proficiency in one of these skills, you add double your proficiency bonus to rolls using that skill.
• If you choose Intimidation, you can use a bonus action to make a Charisma (Intimidation) check against a creature’s Wisdom (Insight), if the creature can hear or see you and you succeed, the creature is frightened of you until the end of your next turn.
• If you choose Persuasion, you can use a bonus action to make a Charisma (Persuasion) check against a creature’s Wisdom (Insight), if the creature can hear or see you and you succeed, the creature is charmed by you until the end of your next turn.

You can use this ability once, and you regain use of it on a short or long rest.

Telepathy

Prerequisite: Dragonborn (Gem Subrace)

You learn to focus your natural psionic power as a gem dragonborn.

You can speak telepathically to any creature within 30 feet of you. The creature understands you only if the two of you share a language. You can speak telepathically in this way to one creature at a time.

Minor Polymorph

Prerequisite: Dragonborn (Metallic Subrace)

Like your greater counterpart you now have the ability to shapeshift and change your form to suit your purpose.

You gain the ability to cast the Alter Self spell once per long rest. When you cast Alter Self using this ability, it lasts for as long as you can concentrate.

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