Drake (5e Race)

Drake

“

We call them dragons of the earth and not sky. But it seems they ain't always so fond of that.

”

Physical Description

By ConceptualMachina

Drakes are creatures that resemble dragons, but have no wings. Their limbs are very muscular, and their neck is short and knotted with muscle. Like dragons, they have horns, claws, and sharp teeth, but these are not their primary weapons. While they prefer to be on all fours, they are beyond capable of standing on their hind legs and using their long arms to fight. While their neck is short, they have a very long tail. Unlike dragons, drakes are not fully able to utilize breath weapons, instead relying on more physical abilities. There are remnants of what might be vestigial wings by their shoulders. Their tails are long and muscular, with great heft to smash even armor.

History

Drakes are believed to be the unwanted offspring of dragons. They are anomalies that can occur within a dragons' brood, and are usually derided as born failures due to their lack of wings and smaller size. Drakes are usually left to die of exposure when their birth is discovered. But like dragons, they are very hardy and do not die easily. Most wander off from the nest, fully capable of surviving on their own. It is unknown exactly what abnormality in the egg makes a drake, but dragons have many superstitions of how the egg was rotten, or not heated enough to provide for a real dragon baby. Regardless, the drakes are not as feared as dragons due to their size. Taking that into their advantage, they utilize their intelligence to assimilate and coexist with other societies.

When Tiamat's cult reigned, they created a large amount of drakes subservient to their dragon queen. These drakes are the same as the naturally occurring anomalies: squat, muscular and wingless. This began the popular trend of using drakes as servants among dragons. Sometimes they would be servile to humans as well. Due to their ecology and abnormal birth, drakes cannot reproduce. But so long as they are created either via accident or for servitude, their numbers will persist.

Society

Drakes typically bond with whoever feeds it within the first three weeks of its birth. Originally, as they were neglected creatures, they were unaligned and chaotic with no masters, roaming as they please. Like dragons, they are very solitary and do not like to tolerate other drakes. They are naturally territorial, being very protective of possessions, but can also be seen as obedient to those who bond with them, or to those they see as their natural leader. The natural leader is usually the dragon type from which they originate. Some are a bit more open to interaction with other creatures and so work among their societies, having none of their own. With the bringing about of alchemy and rituals to create drakes, they number mainly as servants in other communities that use them as such.

Drake Names

Names come to a drake usually by venue of a master who summoned or created them, or a dragon who is their owner. Drakes who remain solitary or wander off usually try to name themselves, as they are usually bothered by lack of names. They favor Draconic names, but are not wholly masters of that language themselves. They hope to often gain a title for themselves as most dragons have.

Male: Drydrun, Tralamuth, Relliszat, Eregio

Female: Vendriss, Mondrial, Ymirth, Hragi

Drake Traits

Stunted dragons
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2, and either your Charisma or Intelligence score increases by 1.
Age. They reach maturity around 6 human years after its birth and live to be around 300.
Alignment. Drake are generally neutral, unless they follow the alignment of their bonded.
Size. Drake vary widely in height and build, from barely 6 feet to well over 7 feet tall. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision. 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.
Draconic Tail. You have a strong tail that is as long as half your height and can hold up to 15 pounds. It cannot wield weapons or shields but can be used for unarmed strikes. If you hit with it, you deal bludgeoning equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier.
Crushing Swing. With a great force, you can smash on enemies to weaken them. As a bonus action, you can make a special attack with your draconic tail. If the attack hits, it deals its normal damage, and the target has disadvantage on Constitution saving throws until the end of their next turn. You can't use this trait again until you finish a short or long rest.
Draconic Scale Ancestry. You have draconic ancestry. Your creature type is dragon instead of humanoid. Choose one type of dragon from the Draconic Ancestry Table below. Your damage resistance is determined by the dragon type, as shown in the table.
Ancestral Resistance. The scale which makes a drake grants them resistance to the dragon whose scale they carry. You have resistance to the damage type associated with your draconic ancestry.
Dragon Dash. You make quick beelines for targets. As a bonus action, you can drop to all fours and Dash. You must finish a short or long rest before using this trait again.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Draconic.

Draconic Ancestry Table

Dragon	Damage Type
Black	Acid
Blue	Lightning
Brass	Fire
Bronze	Lightning
Copper	Acid
Gold	Fire
Green	Poison
Red	Fire
Silver	Cold
White	Cold

Random Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier*	Base Weight	Weight Modifier**
6′ 4''	+1d12	230 lb.	× (1d6) lb.
*Height = base height + height modifier **Weight = base weight + (height modifier × weight modifier)

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