D&D 5e-Half-Orc Variant and Tanarukk

[Crucius]

Hey everyone. I wanted to run a game in the future where the players start off as members of an orc raiding party. Given that the half-orc and orc races are very similar, I wanted to brew up some half-orc variants and a tanarukk race to give some variety to race options. I would leave feedback, especially on power level and alternative feature ideas.

Additional Orc Races Half-Orc Variant Traits Ability Score Increase. Your Strength and Constitution score each increase by 1. Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet. Darkvision. Thanks to your orc blood, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. 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. 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. Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Orc. Subraces. While your orc blood is dominant in your physical makeup, your other blood can have deep effects as well. Many half-bloods come from human parentage. Dwarven lineage is not as common but still happens occasionally. Elvish lineage is very rare but does occur from time to time. Choose one of these subraces. Human-Orc Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by an additional 1 (to a total of 2). Age. Human-orcs mature a little slower than orcs, reaching adulthood around age 14. They age noticeably slower as well but rarely live longer than 75 years. Size. Human-orcs are somewhat smaller and leaner than orcs, and they range from 5 to well over 6 feet tall. Your size is Medium. Menacing. You gain proficiency in the Intimidation skill. 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. Elf-Orc Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity Score increase by 1. Age. Elf-orcs age and mature at a significantly slower rate than full-blooded orcs. Elf-orcs do not reach maturity until 17 years of age and can live up to 160 years. Size. Elf-orcs may be considerably bulkier than others of elvish blood, but they are quite small in comparison to other orcs. They range from 5 to just over 6 feet tall and and usually weigh between 160 and 210 pounds. Your size is medium. Brutish Grace. Your elf and orc lineages combine to make you especially agile in combat. When you hit with a melee attack on your turn, you can take a bonus action. This bonus action can be used only to take the Disengage or Dodge action. Fey Ancestry. You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can’t put you to sleep. Orcish Armor Training. Your more patient mind makes you adept at learning the simplistic forms of combat taught by orcs. You have proficiency with light armor and hide armor. Languages. You can speak, read, and write Elvish. Dwarf-Orc Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by an additional 1 (to a total of 2). Age. Dwarf-orcs reach maturity a few years after full-blooded orcs at the age of 16 and live much longer, up to 120 years. Size. Dwarf-orcs are shorter than full-blood orcs and can be as short as just under five feet tall and very rarely reach six feet tall. They also have a wider, denser build than most orcs, usually weighing between 270 and 320 pounds. Dwarven Resilience. You have resistance against poison damage. Powerful Build. Your dwarf and orc lineages combine to make you much stronger than your size would suggest. You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift. Languages. You can speak, read, and write Dwarvish. Tanarukk Traits Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2, and your Charisma score is increased by 1. Age. Tanarukk’s age at about the same rate as normal Orcs, reaching maturity at 13 years of age and rarely living past the age of 55. Size. Tanarukks are larger than their normal orc brethren, ranging from 6 to nearly 8 feet tall. Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet. Darkvision. Thanks to your abyssal heritage, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. 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. Abyssal Legacy. You have resistance to fire damage. Magic Resistance. You have advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects. Powerful Build. You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift. Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common, Orc, and Abyssal. Height and Weight

[Crucius]

Just a little bump, I would really love some feedback here. I’m a little new to the site so if anything is amiss here I swear I didn’t do it on purpose. If I’ve made some obvious or grave error please let me know so I can rectify it. Thanks!

[Crucius]

I made some adjustments after looking over a guide to race balance and I think it’s looking a little better. I’d still love to hear anyone’s ideas or suggestions.

[jj_wolven]

First, clarify that the "Half-Orc Variant" is the base and the rest are 'sub-races' or 'other half'.
I had to lookup Powerful Build in 5e, but that all looks fine.

Otherwise it looks pretty good.

In general, I would recommend putting what changes were made in your comments so that people that come along later can follow along.

-me

[Crucius]

Okay, thanks! I’ll put that list here.

Changes Elf-Orc Subrace: Took away Perception proficiency and increased leather, studded leather, and hide proficiency to light armor and hide. Dwarf-Orc Subrace: Took away additional Strength bump Tanarukk Race: Reduced Charisma increase to +1, took away Intelligence penalty, and took away Intimidation proficiency.

Also, what would be the best way to differentiate the races and subraces. I italicized the subraces in addition to the boldness originally but should I put a base race tag on the base race? Or is there maybe an indentation feature I could use?

[Wynamoinen]

TBH, it would be best to try to replicate the formatting of the PHB. One of the best tools for this is The Homebrewery. That is listed, among other resources on the Unearthed Arcana subreddit. I think that you'll honestly get a lot more feedback if you post your work there. I'm glad you're here, and I hope you get more feedback, and I hope you use this stuff in an RPGX game! But as a simple matter of traffic, you're going to get a lot more eyes on your work over there.

[Crucius]

Thanks! I tried to change to PHB style. Hopefully that looks more comprehensible.

[jj_wolven]

Put a blank line between the main and subs is a good start.

-me

[Crucius]

Originally Posted by jj_wolven

Put a blank line between the main and subs is a good start.

Done, thanks!

[Crucius]

Update, I decided to change the human-orc to match the half-orc as listed in the PHB. After that, I slightly reduced the power level of the other subraces to fit the power level of the new human-orc.

I’m still open to any suggestions or comments. Any response would be greatly appreciated

Changes Human-Orc: Changed choice of two ability score increases to strength increase. Changed choice of skill proficiency to intimidation proficiency. Changed bonus language to bonus damage die on critical hits. Elf-Orc: Changed qualifier on dodge/disengage bonus action from taking the attack action to hitting with a melee weapon attack. Dwarf-Orc: Removed advantage against poisoned condition.