Boundborn (5e Race Variant)
Human Variant[edit]
Boundborn humans are brutalized slaves that are treated worse than the dirt upon their masters' boots. They are bought and sold to anyone from brutal autocratic empires to small-time criminal organizations. From the birth, they're brutally beaten and disciplined to teach them to listen to the masters, and from age four upwards, the torture intensifies to further the submission and make sure they are willing to do their labor. The slave master will even force them to breed so they can gain more slaves for free. However, they are actually extremely well fed so their bodies can keep up with the labor they're meant to do, but if they refuse to eat, they're punished by being force-fed burning coals. A particular job boundborn are bought for is gladiators; these fights take place in anywhere from underground fight clubs to huge gladiatorial stadiums and are often to the death or very close, even children show little mercy against each other. The reason these fights are so brutal is because the reward for victory is usually a day-off and a feast, which for a slave is one of the greatest gifts ever even if tomorrow it's back to work, the ring, or the crack of the whip.
The following traits replace the standard human traits.
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength and Constitution increases by 2.
Rough and Tumble. You are proficient with improvised weapon attacks.
Unyielding Body. When you roll a 1 on a melee attack roll, or a Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution check or saving throw, you can reroll the die. You must use the new result. You can only use this once per long rest.
That Which Doesn't Kill You. 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.
Powerful Build. You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.
Languages. As normal, you can speak Common. However, you can't read or write, but you can learn to do so.
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