Dragonborn Overview

Dragonborn is a catch all term used to describe the various reptilian humanoid races found in Skjaald. Originally created by the dragon gods as a response to the war of scales they first came to be at the dawn of the age of drgons. It is said creatures that were loyal to the dragons were granted the dragons' power. This power morphed their physical bodies, rebirthing them in a lesser image of their gods. These "Dragonborn" served under the dragons as their soldiers during the war, cleansing the world of the sins of the war of scales. Many of the dragonborn left with their draconic masters when they disappeared, but more still thought their duties complete and chose to stay. Upon the vanishing of the gods, the dragonborn that stayed in Driktsuung found they were abruptly cut from the power of their deities. Over the course of a few weeks their bodies began to change again. Not back to their previous racial forms as they thought, but into a shadow of their mighty draconic peak. They shrank slightly, their wings whitered until they fell off entirely and the various horns and spikes that adorned their bodies became brittle and crumbled at the slightest touch. Those that survived quickly took this as a sign that they did not fulfill their duties afterall and were being punished. They began to call themselves "Lizardfolk" as a derogatory term to sever themselves from their former gods in hopes that their shame would cause the punishment to end.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Dragonborn, or Lizardfolk have a wide variety of subspecies that each vary considerably.

Crokk

Crokks are the hulking brutes of the dragonborn subspecies. As the name might suggest they have crocodilian features that are most prominent in their thicker scales and broad crocodilian head. Crokks stand between 7 to 9 feet tall, have a hulking muscular build and weigh a hefty 800 to 1,000 pounds. As with all other dragonborn subspecies, females are typically around 20% larger than males. Despite being overall bigger, females tend to have slightly narrower snouts, and smaller teeth. Both genders have ridges of extra thick armor-like scales on their heads, down their short necks, backs and tail.

Tortle

Tortles are slightly smaller than their crocodilian cousins, but that doesnt make them any less imposing. The physical features of a tortle have a close resemblance to dragonturtles, which includes the large shell that covers their torso. They stand from 6 to 8 feet tall, and weigh 1,200 to 1,500 pounds.

Lizard

The most common dragonborn subspecies are the derogitorily named "Lizards". They share many similarities with the dragonborn of old, a protruding snout that consists of the jaws with nostril slits at the end, ear holes on each side of the head above and behind the eyes. Lizards stand between 6 to 7 feet tall, and weigh 250 to 350 pounds. Their tail reaches about half their height in length normally. Male and Female Lizards differ very slightly with the females typically having small ridges of rougher scales that run down their back and tail starting at the base of the skull and males having larger teeth, claws, as well as slightly stockier appendages.

Kobolds (Dragonlings)

Kobolds are basically miniaturized versions of the ancient draconic warriors that served the gods. Despite only standing 3 to 4 feet tall and weighing less than 100 pounds they exhibit the most draconic features of all the dragonborn subspecies that remained. Kobolds are thin, and small with heads disproportionately large compared to their body size and build.

Gekk (Crokklings)

Gekks share a similarly wiry build with the Kobolds, but much more closely resemble their "Lizard" cousins than Kobolds or the ancient dragonborn. They stand at 3 to 3 1/2 feet tall, and weigh 60 to 80 pounds. Their most prominent features are their prehensile tail that can reach up to 80% of their height in length and their webbed 4 digit clawless hands and feet perfect for swimming.

Ancient Dragonborn (True Dragonborn)

The spitting image of their dragon gods made into humanoid form. Ancient Dragonborn are rough scaled draconic humanoids with powerful tails, large wings and deadly spikes, horns, and claws. These demigod warriors were 7 to 9 feet tall, and weighted up to 500 pounds

All Dragonborn subspecies have no measurable life expectancy as they do not seem to weaken with age, and seem to live indefinitely until killed. There are reported cases of some individuals being older than recorded history.

Reproduction

All of the Dragonborn subspecies have a very similar reproductive cycle with the exception of the Ancient Dragonborn, whose reproductive cycle is unknown and thought to not even exist. Dragonborn children physically mature very early, being able to walk and speak basic sentences by 3 months, and being nearly self sufficient by a year old. Dragonborn are able to bear children by the age of 5 though rarely do as Dragonborn are extremely picky about their choice in mates. When a Dragonborn does become pregnant it will lay a clutch of 3-12 eggs. These eggs take a little over 3 years to hatch and need nearly constant care, leading to one in 3 eggs failing to ever hatch. Regardless of the species, Dragonborn mothers take the parenting role and are very diligent and capable in this role.

Sub Species

Culture

Some Dragonborn species are very adaptive by nature, the Tortles, "Lizards", and most Kobolds tend to take on the culture of their surroundings and have very little culture of their own. There are some Kobolds who have built communal "nests" and live in isolation from other races. The Crokks and Gekks typically live together in small encampments outside of tows or cities where they offer their skills as strong manual laborers or quick deliverers and gatherers. These two species have a symbiotic relationship in that Crokks play the role of protective older sibling while the Gekks are the more intelligent nurturing younger sibling. Large groupings of Dragonborn tend to be nomadic and minimalist, doing what they must to survive but not attaching to many things. Most of the other races treat Dragonborn as if they are lesser beings, with the Crokks, and Kobolds being treated the worst. This treatment has led to a state of perpetual poverty and lack of developed individual culture. The Dragonborn who do see themselves succeeding amongst the other races, typically end up living and acting like those around them, or by being entirely subservient.

Dragonborn Traits

All Dragonborn exhibit the following traits and features in addition to those they exhibit from their subspecies:

Attributes

Racial Attributes
Dragonborn have instinct as a racial attribute. They gain +1 to that attribute score.
Racial Attribute Penalties and Deficiencies
Dragonborn a -2 penalty to their charisma attribute score. This attribute is a racial deficiency.
Languages
Your racial language is Draconic. You may speak and understand it at a basic level.
Naturally magical
{Anything magic related that you do that requires kno,ins or Cha uses your Constitution score or modifier instead. You may also expend hit dice to prevent your magical item charge die from dropping a level. To do this you must roll the hit die and add it to the charge die roll. You may expend multiple hit dice if the sum would still not break the threshold. You may not exceed the maximum value of the charge die with this feature.} <- This needs some more thought on the exact specifics of what it can be used for, such as "when casting spells" instead of "anything magic related" to prevent taking advantage of unforseen things.

Second class Species
Due to your physical appearance, and your people's historical ties to the dragon gods you are widely feared and mistrusted. Many consider you monstrous, while others simply look down on you. You have advantage on intimidation skill checks, or rolls to frighten people, and disadvantage on communication linked skill checks. Some people may even consider you a threat on sight.

Draconic Ancestry Your lineage goes all the way back to the ancient dragon god's original warriors. Each god made their warriors in their own image, and your specific ancestry helped determine your physical features and abilities. See the Draconic Ancestry page to decide on your draconic ancestry.

"Lizard" Traits

The average "lizard" dragonborn exhibits the following traits.

Attributes

Primary Attribute
Lizards have no primary attribute.
Racial Attributes
Lizards have strength, durability, swiftness and control as racial attributes. They gain +1 to those attribute scores.
Racial Attribute Penalties and Deficiencies
Lizards have a -1 penalty to their knowledge score. This attribute is a racial deficiency.

Health and Recovery

Maximum Health Bonus
Lizards have a +3 to their maximum HP.
Recovery Die
Lizards gain a D6 as their racial recovery die, they gain one at every odd character level (1,3,5,7, etc).
Natural Healing Factor Modifier
Lizards have a +2 bonus to their NHF.

Size and Movement

Size
Lizards are considered medium, regardless of their height and weight.
Base Walk Speed
Lizards have a base walking speed of 6 spaces (30 ft).
Additional Movement Types
Lizards have no additional movement types.

Proficiencies

Weapons
TBD
Armor
TBD
Skills
TBD
Tools
TBD
Languages
Lizards have proficiency in reading/writing draconic.

Features:

These are the baseline racial features of the average "Lizard". If you wish to replace one of the following features with another racial feature, talk to your GM. (negative features are typically not replaceable such as the monstrous feature.)
Powerful Build
You are considered one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.

Kobold(Dragonlings) Traits

The average kobold dragonborn exhibits the following traits.
Attributes Primary Attribute
Kobolds have knowledge as their primary racial attribute. They gain +2 to this attribute score.
Racial Attributes
Kobolds have swiftness as a racial attribute. They gain +1 to this attribute score.
Racial Attribute Penalties and Deficiencies
Kobolds have -1 to their durability and resolve attribute scores. These attributes are racial deficiencies.

Health and Recovery

Maximum Health Bonus
Kobolds have a +1 bonus to their maximum HP.
Recovery Die
Kobolds gain a D4 as their racial recovery die, they gain one at every odd character level (1,3,5,7, etc).
Natural Healing Factor Modifier
Kobolds have a +2 to their NHF.

Size and Movement

Size
Kobolds are considered small, regardless of their height and weight.
Base Walk Speed
Kobolds have a base walking speed of 5 spaces (25 ft).
Additional Movement Types
Kobolds do not have any additional movement types.

Proficiencies

Weapons
TBD
Armor
Kobolds do not have any innate armor proficiencies.
Skills
TBD
Tools
TBD
Languages
Kobolds are also proficient in speaking and reading/writing yipyap, their racial language.

Features:

These are the baseline racial features of the average kobold. If you wish to replace one of the following features with another racial feature, talk to your GM. (negative features are typically not replaceable such as the monstrous feature.)

Crokk Traits

The average crokk dragonborn exhibits the following traits:

Attributes

Primary Attribute
Crokks have strength as their primary racial attribute. They gain +2 in this attribute score.
Racial Attributes
Crokks have durability as a racial attribute. They gain +1 in this attribute score.
Racial Attribute Penalties and Deficiencies
Crokks have a -2 penalty to their knowledge and swiftness attribute scores. These attributes are their racial deficiencies.

Health and Recovery

Maximum Health Bonus
Crokks have a +4 bonus to their maximum HP.
Recovery Die
Crokks gain a D8 as their racial recovery die, they gain one at every odd character level (1,3,5,7, etc).
Natural Healing Factor Modifier
Crokks have a +2 bonus to their NHF.

Size and Movement

Size
Crokks are considered large, regardless of their height and weight.
Base Walk Speed
Crokks have a base walking speed of 5 spaces (25 ft). Additional Movement Types
Crokks have a swimming speed of 7 spaces (25 ft)

Proficiencies

Weapons
Maul
Armor

Skills
Crokks start as proficient in the athletics skill. They gain twice the amount of progress when training to increase their proficiency in that skill.
Tools

Languages
crokks are also proficient in speaking kinspeak as a racial language.

Features:

These are the baseline racial features of the average crokk. If you wish to replace one of the following features with another racial feature, talk to your GM. (negative features are typically not replaceable such as the monstrous feature.)
Powerful Build
You are considered one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.
Beast of Burden
You are considered to be little more than a beast, powerful but simple of mind. Some even consider you monstrous if not accompanied by a handler. Interactions are much more difficult for you due to mistrust and social biases.
Bond of Kin Crokks have an innate bond with their gekk cousins.

Gekk (Crokklings) Traits

The average gekk dragonborn exhibits the following traits:

Attributes

Primary Attribute
Gekks have swiftness and control as their primary racial attributes. They gain +2 to those attribute scores.
Racial Attributes
Gekks have no additional racial attributes.
Racial Attribute Penalties and Deficiencies
Gekks have a -1 penalty to their strength and durability attribute scores. These are racial deficiencies.

Health and Recovery

Maximum Health Bonus
Gekks have no bonus to their maximum HP.
Recovery Die
Gekks gain a D4 as their racial recovery die, they gain one at every odd character level (1,3,5,7, etc).
Natural Healing Factor Modifier
Gekks have a +2 bonus to their NHF.

Size and Movement

Size
Gekks are considered small, regardless of their height and weight.
Base Walk Speed
Gekks have a base walking speed of 6 spaces (30 ft).
Additional Movement Types
Gekks have a climbing speed of 6 spaces (30 ft).

Proficiencies

Weapons
Nets? Lasso? Bola? Tail Sling? Blowgun?
Armor
Gekk do not have any innate armor proficiencies.
Skills
TBD
Tools
TBD
Languages
Gekk area also proficient in speaking kinspeak as a racial language.

Features:

These are the baseline racial features of the average gekk. If you wish to replace one of the following features with another racial feature, talk to your GM. (negative features are typically not replaceable such as the monstrous feature.)
Prehensile Feet and Tail
You are able to use both of your feet, and your tail as though they are hands for grabbing, holding, or maneuvering objects and items, including weapons. Your tail is not as effective as a regular hand, and halves your strength and control attribute scores for rolls made using it specifically. Your feet and tail are treated as off-hands unless they become dominant.

Bond of Kin
Gekks have an innate bond with their crokk cousins.

Tortle Traits

The average tortle dragonborn exhibits the following traits:

Attributes

Primary Attribute
Tortles have durability and resolve as their primary racial attributes. They gain +2 to those attribute scores.
Racial Attributes
Totles have no additional racial attributes.
Racial Attribute Penalties and Deficiencies
Tortles have a -2 penalty to their swiftness and knowledge attribute scores. These attributes are racial deficiencies.

Health and Recovery

Maximum Health Bonus
Tortles have a +6 bonus to their maximum HP.
Recovery Die
Tortles gain a D10 as their racial recovery die, they gain one at every odd character level (1,3,5,7, etc).
Natural Healing Factor Modifier
Tortles have a +3 bonus to their NHF.

Size and Movement

Size
Tortles are considered large, regardless of their height and weight.
Base Walk Speed
Tortles have a base walking speed of 4 spaces (20 ft).
Additional Movement Types
Tortles have no additional movement types.

Proficiencies

Weapons
Quarterstaves, longswords, nuchucks, and sai are advanced racial weapons for tortles.
Armor
Tortles do not have any innate armor proficiencies.
Skills
TBD
Tools
TBD
Languages
Tortles do not have any additional racial languages.

Features:

These are the baseline racial features of the average tortle. If you wish to replace one of the following features with another racial feature, talk to your GM. (negative features are typically not replaceable such as the monstrous feature.)
Natural Armor
Due to the large shell that covers your body you have increased defenses You may add your durability modifier to both your armor class, and your protection points. You may spend a half action (2 AP) to retract into your shell. While in your shell, your avoidance class becomes 0, but you may add your durability attribute score to your armor class and your protection points instead of your durability modifier.

Abnormal body
Although you are humanoid, your body shape is significantly different than other humanoids. As such, items like armor or saddles do not properly fit you. You must spend double the time or currency to adapt these sorts of items to work for you.

Immense, Immovable, and Inevitable Your mass, and significant weight have their drawbacks, but they also have their benefits. Your bulk grants you the following:

• You are considered one size larger when determining what weapons you can use, your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.
• Your movement is permanently hindered, however your movement speed can not be reduced by nonmagical difficult terrain, and you cannot have your movement hindered or crippled by other nonmagical sources.
• You have advantage on any saves that resist forced movement and any time you receive forced movement, the distance is halved if possible. Moving you by sources such as being grappled and moved, or dragged by a rope, etc. has the movement hindered on top of the normal penalties.

Ancient Dragonborn (True Dragonborn) Traits (Not Playable)

Attribute modifier
Size Your size is considered medium regardless of your height or weight. Speed Your base walking speed is 30 Skills Features