Dracaskan
Dracaska reside on the islands of Žagrašheated stones, a volcanic archipelago far south of Gabroria. They share the islands with many creatures that live nowhere else. Their most notable cohabitants, however, are dragons. Many dragons make their nests and lairs in Žagraš. Those that do are often worshipped by local dracaska.
Dragon Worship
Dragon worship is a significant part of dracaskan life. Each tribe favors a particular dragon, bringing gifts of food, treasure, and praise. A select few members of the tribe are entrusted with guarding the dragon's nest or hoard, especially in the dragon's absence. In exchange, a dragon protects its servants from other tribes and other dragons.
The ideals of each tribe are shaped by the ideals of their patron dragon. Thus, some tribes are brutal and cutthroat, some are reserved and reclusive, and others are gentle or philanthropic. Similarly, diplomacy between any two tribes parallels that of their respective dragons. Most dragons are territorial, so dracaskan tribes are generally wary of their neighbors and often at war. Some dragons, especially younger ones, lack territory; these "rogue" dragons and their nomadic followers follow different diplomatic rules than established dragons and their tribes.
Despite the zeal a tribe displays in aggregate towards its dragon, it is common for individuals to move between tribes. Dragons and tribe leaders may expel, adopt, or even trade members, especially young members who can use their wings to fly.
Those of Frozen Hearts
Far south of Žagraš, where the sea is frozen all year, is the domain of a single dragon: ČalšausColdest, the Ice Dragon. The only dragon alive to be shunned by all others of his kind, the entire southern ocean is his hunting ground. His breath turned to frost long ago. He is infamous among human whalers for destroying ships and stealing whale carcasses, although sightings of him are often separated by decades.
Čalšaus is not without followers, however. The ice plains are home to a scattering of unusual dracaska. They are Sustanusu Šržu, or Those of Frozen Hearts—dracaska who, by birth, chance, choice, or exile, wound up in the freezing south at the mercy of the cold. Like Čalšaus, their bodies are adapted to the frigid climate, although the lesser dracaska still fare poorly. They all pay tribute to Čalšaus.
<redacted> Physiology
The dracaskan species can be subdivided into two species: lesser and greater. Like their soraskan cousins, dracaska hatch from eggs and require little care from their parents. Also like soraska, female dracaska are larger than male dracaska and play the dominant role in dracaskan politics. Dracaska have a much faster metabolism than soraska, fueled in part by the ambient heat of the archipelago's bedrock.
The most obvious difference between soraska and dracaska is that the latter have wings. These wings are only strong enough to sustain flight during a dracaskan's early adulthood, but even then, the wings require extensive training to use. Dracaskan bones and scales toughen with age, eventually making flight impossible. Additionally, some dracaska are born without wings at all. These unfortunate individuals, called štarnulack-wings, are at the absolute bottom of the social hierarchy.
<redacted> Lesser Dracaska
Lesser dracaska, or kulžassmall folk in Draconic, generally occupy lower ranks in the surface tribes. Not all lesser dracaska worship a dragon, however. Many dwell in large colonies in lava tubes, where the enhanced warmth invigorates them. These tunnel-dwelling kulžas, or urnakulžascave-dwelling small folk, are occasionally seen carrying strange contraptions and magical devices. They even have their own language, Urnakaslacave speech. No outsider has seen the full extent of an urnakulžas tunnel colony, but it is suspected that some colonies may be more advanced than they appear.
Lesser dracaska have been known to meditate on hot rocks near open lava, and when noticed—or for no apparent reason at all—burst with energy and scurry away.
Greater Dracaska
A greater dracaskan, or graužastall folk in Draconic, can easily reach a height of 6 feet by age 15, and they continue to grow throughout their entire life. This unchecked growth eventually leads to heart failure in old age, when heights over 8 feet and weights exceeding 400 pounds are typical. One graužas legend tells of RkalgasukaHead in the Sky, a priestess who used magic to sustain her heart—and grew to a size rivaling the dragon she served. Feeling threataned, the dragon expelled her, but she was so old and wise that most of the tribe left to follow her. She eventually grew so big she became a god, and her body became the second-largest island of RkalgasukatuBones of Head in the Sky.
Dracaskan
Size
Varies
Varies
Speeds
Walk 30 ft.
Walk 30 ft.
Old Age Threshold
Varies
Varies
Traits
Fire Conversion. You have resistance to fire damage, and you partially absorb its power and accumulate the energy within yourself. This energy is represented by fire charges, which you can expend to fuel other features. You have a number of fire charges equal to your level.
You automatically gain or lose fire charges in the ways listed below. There is no upper limit to the number of charges you can have.
- You gain 1 fire charge at the end of your turn if the number of charges you have subceeds your level and you haven't spent any fire charges since the end of your last turn.
- You lose 1 fire charge at the end of your turn if the number of charges you have exceeds your level.
- When you take fire damage, you gain a number of fire charges equal to half the damage you took.
- When you take cold damage, you lose a number of fire charges equal to half the damage you took (to a minimum of 0 charges).
Subraces
Select one of the subraces below.
Lesser Dracaskan
Small Size. Your size is Small.
Short Lifespan. Your old age threshold is 30 years.
Diminutive. Your particularly small stature enables you to move through the space of any creature that is at least one size larger than you (instead of the usual two sizes). You also have advantage on ability checks made to free yourself from being restrained while stuck.
Explosive Fervor. After you make an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw—but before you know the outcome—you can expend all of your fire charges, and add half the number of charges expended (rounded up) to the check. When you do so, you can also cause each creature within 5 feet of you to take fire damage equal to the number of charges expended. Once you use this feature, you stop gaining fire charges at the ends of your turns until you finish a short or long rest.
Burning Haste. You can galvanize yourself with your inner heat. When you take the Dash action, you can expend a number of fire charges up to your proficiency bonus. If you do so, you can immediately move a number of feet equal to 5 times the number of charges expended. The extra movement from this feature doesn't provoke opportunity attacks.
Greater Dracaskan
Medium Size. Your size is Medium.
Typical Lifespan. Your old age threshold is 70 years.
Powerful Build. You have the Powerful Build trait.
Dragon's Breath. You can unleash your reserves of elemental power with your breath. As a minor action, you can expend a number of fire charges up to your proficiency bonus and force each creature in a 15-foot cone to make a Constitution saving throw. The DC is 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Strength or Constitution score (your choice). A target takes 1d6 fire damage per charge expended on a failed save, or half as much on a success.
Suggested Feats
Shielding Wings
Prerequisite: Dracaskan
Cost: 4 feat points
Cost: 4 feat points
Your bulk makes flying difficult, but your tough wings make excellent shields. You gain the following benefits:
- Your wings count as a kite shield, and you are proficient with them.
- Your base AC can be calculated as 10 + your proficiency bonus + your Strength score, regardless of your armor.
- If you also have the Shield Master feat, you can use the minor action to shove each creature in a 15-foot cube instead of just one creature if you do so with your wings.
Soaring Wings
Prerequisite: Dracaskan
Cost: 4 feat points
Cost: 4 feat points
Your wings are strong enough for flight. You gain a fly speed of 40 feet. If you also have the Shielding Wings feat or are wearing heavy armor, this fly speed is halved.
One of Frozen Heart
Prerequisite: Dracaskan, Fire Conversion feature
Cost: 0 feat points
Cost: 0 feat points
Frozen Heart
You pledge your loyalty and soul to Čalšaus, the Ice Dragon. You gain the following benefits:
- Your Fire Conversion feature becomes Frost Conversion. It is exactly the same as Fire Conversion, except it gives you frost charges instead of fire charges, and the roles of fire damage and cold damage are reversed.
- Each of your features that would use fire charges uses frost charges instead, and the roles of fire damage and cold damage therein (if any) are reversed.
- This feat's Fire Conversion prerequisite becomes a Frost Conversion prerequisite.
Freezing Breath
Prerequisite: Dracaskan (greater), Dragon's Breath feature, One of Frozen Heart feat
Cost: 4 feat points
Cost: 4 feat points
Frozen Heart
When you use your Dragon's Breath and expend all your frost charges to deal damage, you can exhale a supercooled breath that can freeze your foes in place. If you do so, each creature that fails its saving throw is also hindered by ice formations (standard action ends), and you stop gaining frost charges at the ends of your turns until you finish a short or long rest.
Burning Breath
Prerequisite: Dracaskan (greater), Dragon's Breath feature, Fire Conversion feature
Cost: 4 feat points
Cost: 4 feat points
When you use your Dragon's Breath and expend all your fire charges to deal damage, you can exhale a superheated breath that can set your foes ablaze. If you do so, each creature that fails its saving throw is also ignited (a number of d6's equal to the number of fire charges expended) (standard action ends), and you stop gaining fire charges at the ends of your turns until you finish a short or long rest.
Malleable Breath
Prerequisite: Dracaskan (greater), Dragon's Breath feature
Cost: 2 feat points
Cost: 2 feat points
You are skilled at manipulating the path of your breath. You can augment your Dragon's Breath in the following ways each time you use it:
- You can change the shape to be a 30-foot line instead of a 15-foot cone.
- You can cause the breath to emanate further than usual, doubling the length of the line or cone. To do so, you must spend additional fire charges equal to the number of fire charges spent on the breath itself. These extra charges are expended immediately after the initial expenditure of charges and don't contribute towards the breath's damage.
Dash
Dash
Cost: 2 AP (repeatable)
Add your speed to the movement pool of your Move action. You can then take the Move action.
Move
Move
Cost: 0 AP (repeatable)
You move up to your speed. This action uses a special pool of movement that resets at the start of each of your turns.
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Walk
Walk
Natural Movement Modes: Jumping, walking
Other Movement Modes (+1 Cost): Climbing, crawling, sneaking, swimming
Other Movement Modes (+1 Cost): Climbing, crawling, sneaking, swimming
If you don't have a walk speed, you are prone while on the ground. If you have a walk speed of at least 5 feet, you can spend half of it as part of a move to stand up from prone.
Jumping
Jumping
Jumping is a movement modifier that lets you clear gaps or obstacles. Instead of the usual movement cost, you must spend 1 foot of movement for every foot you jump vertically or horizontally (whichever is higher).
When you jump, perform the following series of calculations; don't round until the end. The resulting value is the maximum number of feet you can jump.
- Start with your passive Athletics. Alternatively, you can make an Athletics check and use the result instead.
- If you did not get a running start immediately before jumping, divide the value by 2. To get a running start, you must move in a straight line in the direction you want to jump for a number of feet determined by your size, as shown in the Running Start Distances table. The speed you use to get a running start must be the same speed you use to jump.
- To determine the vertical distance you can clear, divide the value by 2 again.
Running Start Distances
| Size | Running Start |
|---|---|
| Minuscule | 0 ft. |
| Tiny | 5 ft. |
| Small | 10 ft. |
| Medium | 10 ft. |
| Large | 15 ft. |
| Huge | 20 ft. |
| Gargantuan | 25 ft. |
Prone
Prone
Effects of This Condition
- The only movement mode available to you is crawling.
- You have disadvantage on attack rolls.
- An attack roll against you has advantage if the attacker is within 5 feet of you. Otherwise, the attack roll has disadvantage.
Ending This Condition
You can end this condition by standing up, which requires spending half of your walk speed when you move.
Causes of This Condition
Walking
Walking
Walking lets you move in any direction across a non-vertical surface. There is no mechanical distinction between walking and running. If you are on land and lack a walk speed, you fall prone.
Climbing
Climbing
Climbing lets you move in any direction across vertical surfaces. If the surface is particularly difficult to climb, you may have to make an Athletics check to avoid falling off.
Falling
Falling
When you begin falling, you immediately fall 60 feet. While falling, you drop another 180 feet at the start of each of your turns.
On impact, you take one size die of bludgeoning damage for every 10 feet you fell, to a maximum of 20 dice. You land prone unless you avoid taking damage from the fall, such as via the Break Fall reaction.
If you land in a creature's space, that creature must make a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw. It can choose to fail. On a failed save, the fall damage is split evenly between you and it.
Break Fall
Break Fall
Trigger: you land at the end of a fall
You attempt to land safely. Make an Acrobatics check. The fall damage is reduced by half the result of the check.
Sneaking
Sneaking
Sneaking is a special movement mode that you use at the same time as another movement mode. If you are hidden, sneaking allows you to maintain your Hide DC.
Swimming
Swimming
Swimming lets you travel in any direction through a liquid. While swimming, you don't sink and are immune to the prone condition.
Darkvision
Darkvision
Base sense: sight
Within a specified range, a creature with darkvision can see in dim light as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. The creature can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Light
Light
There are three categories of illumination: bright light, dim light, and darkness.
A source of light typically emits bright light in a small radius and dim light in a larger radius; these distances are given in parentheses. For example, a fire that sheds light (20/40 ft.) produces bright light within 20 feet and dim light for another 20 feet beyond that.
Bright Light
Bright light lets most creatures see normally. Even gloomy days provide bright light, as do torches, lanterns, fires, and other sources of illumination within a specific radius.
Dim Light
Dim light, also called shadows, creates a lightly obscured area. An area of dim light is usually a boundary between a source of bright light, such as a torch, and surrounding darkness. The soft light of twilight and dawn also counts as dim light. A particularly brilliant full moon might bathe the land in dim light.
Darkness
Darkness creates a heavily obscured area. Characters face darkness outdoors at night (even most moonlit nights), within the confines of an unlit dungeon or a subterranean vault, or in an area of magical darkness.
Obscured
Obscured
When vision in an area is hindered by smoke, darkness, or a similar phenomenon, the area is obscured. There are two degrees of obscurity.
Lightly Obscured
In a lightly obscured area, such as dim light, patchy fog, or moderate foliage, creatures have disadvantage on Perception checks that rely on sight.
Heavily Obscured
A heavily obscured area, such as darkness, opaque fog, or dense foliage, blocks vision entirely. Nothing in that area can be seen.
Shield Master
Shield Master
Prerequisite: Proficiency with shields
Cost: 3 feat points
Cost: 3 feat points
You have mastered advanced shield techniques. You gain the following benefits using a shield you're proficient with:
- Donning or doffing a shield costs 1 less action point than normal.
- You can use a make a special push attack using your shield. You are proficient with this attack, and it doesn't have the unarmed property. If you take the Attack action on your turn, you can make this attack as a minor action on the same turn.
- If you're wielding a shield and are subjected to an effect that allows you to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, you can use a reaction to take no damage if you succeed on the saving throw, interposing your shield between yourself and the source of the effect.
Push
Push
Simple melee weapon
Cost: —
Damage: —
Weight: —
Properties: unarmed
Damage: —
Weight: —
Properties: unarmed
You attempt to push an opponent. On a hit, the target must succeed on a Strength saving throw against your passive Athletics or be pushed up to 5 feet away from you.
Unarmed
Unarmed
When you use your own body as a weapon, such as when you punch or kick, the body part you use counts as a weapon with the "unarmed" property.
Fly
Fly
Natural Movement Modes: Flying
Other Movement Modes (+1 Cost): Sneaking
Other Movement Modes (+1 Cost): Sneaking
When you use a fly speed to fly, you fall if your fly speed is 0.
Flying
Flying
Flying lets you move through the air. If you are knocked prone while flying, you fall.
Hindered
Hindered
Effects of This Condition
- Each foot you travel costs 1 additional foot of movement.
- Attack rolls against you have advantage.
- Your attack rolls and Dexterity saving throws have disadvantage.
Ignited
Ignited
Effects of This Condition
- You take ongoing fire damage. The amount of ongoing damage is typically specified in parentheses after this condition's listing; for example, "ignited (1d6)" causes 1d6 ongoing fire damage.
- You shed light (20/40 ft.)
Ending This Condition
Unless otherwise specified, this condition ends if you are submerged underwater.