Dowran (5e Race)
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This page is incomplete and/or lacking flavor. Reason: A race page is almost never complete when first created. For guidance, see the 5e Race Design Guide.
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Dowran[edit]
Akin to otters and seals, dowrans are sleek-furred swimmers who forage in lakes, rivers, and coastal waters. They are known for their playfulness, their curiosity, and their bright-eyed excitement over anything new.
Thanks to their affinity for boats and rivers, dowrans are often traders. Their natural inquisitiveness draws many to leave their homes and explore the world. In adventuring parties, dowrans are typically sources of good morale and encouragement, though they can sometimes create trouble by meddling with things that would have been better left alone.
Physical Description[edit]
Dowrans are essentially large otters that habitually stand on their hind legs when on land. They are shorter in the leg but longer in the body than humans. Males are darker in colour than females, with a mane of coarser fur on their heads and necks.
History[edit]
Dowrans happily claim the credit for teaching other races to row, sail, build boats, and catch fish; their most accomplished pupils in these arts are the humans. In fact dowrans rely less on boats than humans do in the water, being far better swimmers.
Society[edit]
Dowrans are not especially territorial, but they do have a strong sense of family, typically forming female-centred groups of 10–20 adults and their children. They make their homes in and around water, and feed primarily on fish, shellfish, and crustaceans, and supplement their diet with waterfowl, frogs, and other small game if need be. A dowran home may be a hole dug in a bank, or a lodge built at the midpoint of a weir, or even a houseboat.
Dowrans wear no clothing of any kind, as it would hamper their movement in the water and their thick fur serves them amply for warmth. They boast some skillfully-made tools and weapons (especially fish-hooks, nets, and harpoons), but they tend to rely on their formidable teeth in close combat.
Dowran Names[edit]
The Dowran language runs to many-syllabled words, with heavy use of breathy consonants like F and H. It is common for a dowran family to take their family name from that of the river or other body of water they live on. This name is often put first. Dowrans seldom distinguish individual names by gender.
Family (river) names: Faufua, Ferok, Hikathaki, Hlishpa, Hloshk, Hnoka, Ka, Kiwai, Nona, Rikash, Shoko, Thifema
Individual names: Fikamo, Fu, Hafiyoth, Haimakoma, Hlithona, Hnonas, Mefi, Rusa, Seruna, Sethothi, Thikath, Thufeyu
Dowran Traits[edit]
In terms of game statistics, dowrans are similar to the lizardfolk in Volo's Guide to Monsters.
Curious, intelligent otters custom-made for a (WiP) tribal setting
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2 and your Wisdom score increases by 1.
Age. Dowrans reach maturity around age 14 and rarely live longer than 60 years.
Alignment. Dowrans are naturally kindly, and hence tend towards good. They are usually neutral with regard to law and chaos, as their philosophy is to get on with everybody rather than either to keep or break rules.
Size. Dowrans are shorter in the leg but longer in the body than humans. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet, and you have a swimming speed of 30 feet.
Bite. Your mouth is a natural weapon, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with it, you deal piercing damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.
Catch. If you hit a Medium or smaller creature with your bite attack, the target is automatically grappled unless you choose to let it go as a free action. The target is not restrained unless you hold it with your hands as well, or restrain it by some other means. You cannot use your bite attack again without releasing the target.
Furry. You have advantage on Constitution checks against exhaustion due to cold, and disadvantage on checks against exhaustion due to heat.
Hold Breath. You can hold your breath for up to five minutes at a time.
Inquisitive. You gain proficiency with two of the following skills of your choice: Insight, Investigation, Perception, and Stealth.
Jagged Teeth. Your teeth have needle-like serrations adapted for holding on to wriggling fish. If a grappled creature makes a failed attempt to escape your jaws, you can use your reaction to deal it piercing damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier.
Natural Armor. Your tough, leathery skin grants you a +2 natural armor bonus to AC.
Waterproof Fur. Water does not give you disadvantage on Constitution checks against exhaustion due to cold, though it still gives you advantage against exhaustion due to heat.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common, Dowran, and one other language of your choice.
Random Height and Weight[edit]
| Base Height |
Height Modifier* |
Base Weight |
Weight Modifier** |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4′ 6'' | +2d8 | 72 lb. | × (2d4) lb. |
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*Height = base height + height modifier | |||
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