Rubber Forehead Alien (5e Variant Rule)

Rubber Forehead Aliens

See this article for some context.

Travelling adventures are great. They're great because they're timeless. From the Odyssey and the Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor, to Star Trek: The Next Generation and Stargate SG1, who doesn't love the ongoing adventures of their favorite heroes as they heroically blunder across the wild and unexplored fringes of the known universe? But what is truly fascinating are the many bizarre and wonderful people they get to meet, fight, and make even stranger babies with. From women with fish tails, to black men with rumply foreheads, the unknown is a wonderful place to make new friends! Problem is, there aren't very many not-quite-human races available in the core material, making that degree of variety as separate races is simply unfeasible, and the core human race doesn't have a subrace feature for us to rapidly homebrew new material for! (Of course, one can always find a way to resolve that issue...) Even worse is when a player says they actually want to be a human-that's-not-really-much-of-a-human; what do you do? I'll tell ya whatcha do! You make something extremely simple, flexible, subject to opinion, and easily randomized! You can now generate countless civilizations to inhabit the far-off reaches of unknown islands/planets/planes, from anthropomorphs, to aliens, to whole-cloth extra-dimensional beings!

Physical Description Pretty much, the race can look however you want! There is only one assumption: that you are human-shaped and human-sized. Below is a list (which can be easily randomized with a d100 roll) of example physical traits one of these races may have. I would recommend somewhere between 1 and 3 physical traits to distinguish them from actual humans. An extra pair of eyes A third eye One eye No eyes No mouth No ears Feathers instead of hair Body covered in feathers Body covered in scales Body covered in fur A tail Two heads An impressively long neck Horns Tentacles instead of hair Tentacle arms Red Skin Blue Skin Green Skin Glowing Eyes Impressively long arms Only one leg Four legs Tattoo-like body markings Digitigrade legs Tentacles instead of legs Animal-like snout Spikes Fins Sparkly Transparent skin Bald Odd shaped pupils Odd color eyes Extra fingers/thumbs Hands for feet A proboscis or trunk for a mouth Long, whip-like tongue Uniquely long fingers Antennae Gems/rocks embedded in skin Exoskeleton Bird wings Bat Wings Bug Wings Whiskers A shell External gills Leaves instead of hair Wood skin Holes for eyes Skeletal Rotting/irradiated Extra pair of arms Extra pair of legs (like a centaur) Arms are wings Fish tail The head of an animal Sharp teeth Tusks Abnormally muscular Genderless race Faceless A beak instead of a mouth Slime-coated Animal ears Egg-layers Eat minerals/soil Weirdly thin frame Weirdly wide frame Particularly long legs Marked with production/creation data Sterile race Childlike appearance No lips Rumply forehead Spotted or Striped Eyes in the back of their head Eye Stalks Large head crest Very large eyes Very large nose Very large mouth Very large ears Webbed digits Tentacle mouth No skin color whatsoever; totally neutral tones Compound eyes Insect-like mandibles Artificial limbs/features Purple skin Pink skin Nostril holes in place of a nose Frills Communicate via whistles or clicks Communicate via bioluminescent display or dance Abnormally large head Abnormally small head Tiny feet Tiny hands History While you might want to decide the history and society on your own, for the sake of being able to roll 8d100 to instantly create a new race, here’s another 100. Work In Progress Was recently created and fostered by a larger, more powerful race. A barbaric struggle consumed their entire people, before they were united under one cause. Assumed dead for millennia, a few have recently risen from the ashes of their broken cities. After a battle with an almighty star god, a sliver of their divinity slipped away and created new life. They are each built individually, made for one purpose by a leader whose name now lies lost to time. From the farthest reaches of the world, they slowly invade from unknown locations. Betrayal by another empire left them wounded and running. Arcane secrets led them to unknown depths of the world, and none have been seen since. The prophets foretold their rise, but their destiny was unequivocally shattered. They are as old as dirt, and their civilizations rose among the other great races of the world. A schism in the church lead to civil war and the shattering of their government. A great injustice Society As per the history section, another table. Work In Progress Only the strongest warriors truly have rights in their brutal regimes. Peaceful and supportive, their walls beckon all strangers. Wealth is everything, those without it are nothing. The constant wartime is only to keep stability, but even then relations are strained. A majority of the people are indoctrinated sheep, governed only by the highest ranking officials. Cold, uncaring survivalists, they live where others refuse to. A dime a dozen, 90% of them live in massive slums. ”Cultural Ministers” regulate the spread of information, keeping their people uninformed of most things. Most of them are kept as slaves, sold out by their own. In a time of relative prosperity, every man is a philosopher. Every last house is full of glory hounds, who adventure and do battle to win the respect of their peers. Their ramshackle communities are always on the move, never staying in one place for too long. As massive isolationists, their towns are only partially on the surface. Their homes are often found in bodies of water, where they’re safe from most of the dangers of land. Their elaborate caste systems are a very large part of their culture. For one reason or another, the entire species is pushed to commit evil acts. Every member in the species has a strange hatred of emotion, or a simple lack thereof. They are hardy survivalists, taking only what they need and nothing more. The species is wholly reliant on another one, whether biological or emotional. Obsessed with progress, they stop at nothing to further their sciences. Due to environmental stress, they are pushed towards piracy. Brutal efficiency is their primary concern. While not necessarily harmful, they are wary of most other races to the point of near phobia. They live for battle and will fight anyone they consider strong.

Species of the Spiral 1 by Manticoresoul Species of the Spiral 1 by Manticoresoul

Names

This is really going to be mostly up to whoever decides a final race from this material.

Rubber Forehead Alien Traits

Ever wanted an infinite stream of alien weirdness? Well now you have it. Ability Score Increase. You may increase any number of ability scores up to a combined total of +3. You cannot increase a characters ability score above 20 in this way. Age. Let's just assume they have approximately the same lifespan as humans. Alignment. Same as human Size. Your size is Medium. Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Blood Trait. From your inhuman blood, you may choose up to 3 physical traits granted to you. You may take some of these features multiple times. Your DM may reject or alter your choices, if they feel that would be more appropriate. Slime Coating. Resistance to acid damage. Insulated. Resistance to cold damage. Acclimatized. Resistance to fire damage. Cushioned. Resistance to force damage. Electric. Resistance to lightning damage. Regenerative. Resistance to necrotic damage. Poisonous. Resistance to poison damage. Simply Complex. Resistance to psychic damage. Inert. Resistance to radiant damage. Dampened. Resistance to thunder damage. Fast. Your walking speed increases by 5 feet. You may take this feature multiple times. Tact. You gain a climbing speed of 15 feet, or your climbing speed increases by 15 feet. You may take this feature multiple times. Leap. Your maximum jump height and distance increases by 5 feet. You may take this feature multiple times. Amphibious. You gain a swimming speed of 15 feet, or your swimming speed increases by 15 feet. You may take this feature multiple times. Aquatic. You can breathe underwater. Worm. You gain a burrowing speed of 10 feet, or your burrowing speed increases by 10 feet. You must first use an action to gain this speed, which lasts until the start of your next turn. You may take this feature multiple times. Wings. You gain a flying speed of 15 feet, or your flying speed increases by 15 feet. You may take this feature multiple times. Aloft. You gain a flying(hover) speed of 10 feet, or your flying(hover) speed increases by 10 feet. You may take this feature multiple times. Talented. Choose any 2 skill proficiencies. You may take this feature multiple times. Razor Sharp. Your unarmed strikes deal slashing damage. Spikes. Your unarmed strikes deal piercing damage. Acidic. Your unarmed strikes deal acid damage. Icy. Your unarmed strikes deal cold damage. Heat. Your unarmed strikes deal fire damage. Whoosh. Your unarmed strikes deal force damage. Electrolysis. Your unarmed strikes deal lightning damage. Bio-hazard. Your unarmed strikes deal necrotic damage. This counts as two features. Sting. Your unarmed strikes deal poison damage. Psychic. Your unarmed strikes deal psychic damage. This counts as two features. Irradiated. Your unarmed strikes deal radiant damage. This counts as two features. Loud. Your unarmed strikes deal thunder damage. Weaponized. Your unarmed strikes deal an additional 1d4 damage. This feature does not stack with Martial Arts. You may take this feature multiple times. Swift. Your unarmed strikes have the Light trait. Deft. Your unarmed strikes have the Finesse trait. Long. Your unarmed strikes have the Reach trait. Blink. Your successful unarmed strikes blind the target for 1 round. This feature has the Recharge (5-6) property. Bang. Your unarmed strikes deafen the target for 1 round. This feature has the Recharge (5-6) property. Grip. Your successful unarmed strikes grapple the target. This feature has the Recharge (5-6) property. Venomous. Your successful unarmed strikes poison the target until the end of their next turn. This feature has the Recharge (5-6) property. Plow. You may knock a creature prone as a bonus action after a successful unarmed strike. Parasitic. Your successful unarmed strikes against living creatures cause you to regain 1 hit point. You may take this feature multiple times. Fit. You have advantage on Athletics checks. You may benefit from this feature once, regaining use at the end of a short or long rest. Supple. You have advantage on Acrobatics checks. You may benefit from this feature once, regaining use at the end of a short or long rest. Adroit. You have advantage on Sleight of Hand checks. You may benefit from this feature once, regaining use at the end of a short or long rest. Sneaky. You have advantage on Stealth checks. You may benefit from this feature once, regaining use at the end of a short or long rest. Perfect Memory. You have advantage on History checks. You may benefit from this feature once, regaining use at the end of a short or long rest. Nosy. You have advantage on Investigation checks. You may benefit from this feature once, regaining use at the end of a short or long rest. Wild Wisdom. You have advantage on Nature checks. You may benefit from this feature once, regaining use at the end of a short or long rest. Latent Faith. You have advantage on Religion checks. You may benefit from this feature once, regaining use at the end of a short or long rest. Inter-species Relations. You have advantage on Animal Handling checks. You may benefit from this feature once, regaining use at the end of a long rest. Intuitive. You have advantage on Insight checks. You may benefit from this feature once, regaining use at the end of a short or long rest. Latent Medicine. You have advantage on Medicine checks. You may benefit from this feature once, regaining use at the end of a short or long rest. Keen. You have advantage on perception checks. You may benefit from this feature once, regaining use at the end of a short or long rest. Survivalist. You have advantage on Survival checks. You may benefit from this feature once, regaining use at the end of a short or long rest. Liar. You have advantage on Deception checks. You may benefit from this feature once, regaining use at the end of a short or long rest. Thuggish. You have advantage on Intimidation checks. You may benefit from this feature once, regaining use at the end of a short or long rest. Playful. You have advantage on Performance checks. You may benefit from this feature once, regaining use at the end of a short or long rest. Lassie. You have advantage on Persuasion checks. You may benefit from this feature once, regaining use at the end of a short or long rest. Prehensile. You have 1 extra object interaction per turn. You may take this feature multiple times. Work Animal. Your carrying capacity (and encumbrance limits) are doubled. Spines. Successful unarmed melee attacks made against you, (including special attacks, such as a wolf's bite or a goat's ram) deal half damage in return to the attacking creature to a maximum of your Constitution score. Armored. While you are not wearing armor, your AC is equal to 11 + your Dexterity modifier. Short. You are Small, and you may take 1 additional feature. Incompatible with the Tall feature. Tall. You are Large. This counts as 2 features for the 3 feature limit. Incompatible with the Short feature. Bouncy. You take half damage from falling. Catnap. You can finish a short or long rest in half the usual time, but cannot use or recover hit dice in doing so. Thick. You have a damage reduction 1. You may take this feature multiple times. Dark Vision. 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. You may take this feature multiple times. Each time you take it, add 60ft to your dim light radius. If you take this more than once, you can see color in the dark. Chameleon. You can hide anywhere at any time, as long as you remain perfectly still. If you have no cover, you hide as if you were lightly obscured. Lung Capacity. You can hold your breath for twice as long. Warehouse. You need to consume only half as much food and water in order to avoid exhaustion. Scavenger. You can gain sustainable nourishment by feeding upon almost any organic matter, including rotting carrion. Howl. You can bellow single words loud enough to be heard within 10 miles. Boneless. You can fit through spaces as small as 1/4 your size as difficult terrain. Reactive. You gain one extra reaction per round. Alert. You are immune to being surprised. Initiator. +1 to initiative rolls. You may take this feature multiple times. Phase. You can move through spaces occupied by other creatures as if they weren't there. Lasting. Your exhaustion consequence thresholds are doubled. (IE: level 1 takes 2 exhaustion, level 2 takes 4 exhaustion, etc.) Innate Spellcasting. You know 1 cantrip of your choice. Constitution is your spellcasting modifier for this spell. Mineral Based. You can subsist off of soft or fine-ground inorganic material, such as sand. Immune. You cannot be inflicted with non-magical diseases. Sound of Mind. You cannot be inflicted with non-magical madness or insanity. Appropriate Anatomy. Your body is shaped such that creatures equal or lesser in size to you can ride on you like a mount. Herculean. You can lift, push, and throw twice as much weight and twice as far, despite your actual strength score, its modifier, or your encumbrance limits. Light Step. You do not leave tracks, footprints, scents, or trace evidence behind you, so there is nothing people could use to track your movement. Shapeshifter. You may cast Disguise Self on yourself, using Constitution as your spellcasting modifier, once, regaining use at the end of a long rest. Recuperator. When you regain hit points during a short rest, you may roll 1 additional hit die without expending any from your hit dice pool. Quick Thinker. You have one extra Bonus Action per turn. Slippery. You do not provoke attacks of opportunity. Bioluminescent. You glow bright light in 10ft, and dim light for an additional 10ft beyond that. Precise. The critical threshold of your attacks increases by +1 (20 > 19-20 > 18-20, etc.). Mind Mutter. You can send telepathic messages to creatures you share a language with up to 60 feet away. Dream Delve. You may cast Detect Thoughts, using Intelligence or Wisdom as your spellcasting modifier, once, regaining use at the end of a long rest. Techy. During a long rest, you may devote one hour of time to create a trinket from available scrap which reproduces one of the effects of Prestidigitation before breaking. You can repair one of these trinkets with ten minutes of work. Relentless. 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. Aggressive. As a bonus action, you may move up to your move speed towards a hostile creature you can see. Cowardly. As a bonus action, you may move up to your move speed away from a hostile creature you can see. Secondary Arms. You have a second pair of smaller arms that can pick up and manipulate a Tiny object, open or close a door or container, or wield a weapon that has the light property. Life Stage. You enter a metamorphosis, changing form and entering a new life stage, gaining one additional blood trait at 6th, 12th, 18th and 20th level.

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Languages. You can read, speak, and write Common

Premade Builds

Here is a collection of examples of what can be done with this race. Notice how, with only 3 blood traits, it is extremely difficult to get a "perfect" hybrid anthropomorph. You always have to sacrifice one trait or another for something you feel is more definitive. For example, the "Cat" build doesn't have mechanically relevant claws!

Cat

Bouncy, Keen, Sneaky

Dolphin

Lung Capacity, Amphibious(2)

Ant

Worm, Herculean, Work Animal

Chameleon

Chameleon, Sneaky, Talented(Stealth & Deception)

Scorpion

Weaponized, Grip, Venomous

Electric Eel

Aquatic, Amphibious, Innate Spellcasting(shocking grasp)

Rhinoceros

Plow, Weaponized(2)

Wasp

Weaponized, Sting, Life Stage(Wings(3))

Mole

Worm(2), Dark Vision

Monkey

Prehensile, Tact, Talented(Acrobatics and Perception)

Crocodile

Weaponized, Grip, Amphibious

Jellyfish

Innate Spellcasting(light), Boneless, Aquatic

Wolf

Howl, Grip, Keen

Turtle

Armored, Thick(2)

Coyote

Scavenger, Howl, Warehouse

Frog

Amphibious, Long, Life Stage(Leap(3))

Mosquito

Parasitic, Fly, Life Stage (Parasitic, Fly(2))

Tick

Spikes, Venomous, Life Stage(Parasitic(3))

Sense Master

Talented(Perception & Insight), Intuitive, Keen

Sloilm

• Rock skin, Spots/Stripes, Furry

Armored, Innate Spellcasting(magic stone), Short, Intuitive

Drurg

• Abnormally large head, External gills, Extra fingers/thumbs

Innate Spellcasting(shape water), Warehouse, Aquatic

Cleon

• One eye, Tiny hands, Fish tail

Bang, Playful, Chameleon

Pafs

• Uniquely long fingers, Very large nose, Abnormally muscular

Spines, Phase, Sneaky

Freoc

• No lips, Wood skin, Weirdly wide frame

Appropriate Anatomy, Intuitive, Thick

Taimdud

• Webbed digits, Green Skin, Slime-coated

Tact, Agile, Spines

Bupeon

• A proboscis or trunk for a mouth, Eat minerals/soil, Eyes in the back of their head

Light Step, Tall

Vugsus

• Webbed digits, A shell, Body covered in scales

Adroit, Armored, Perfect Memory

Grichreoks

• A third eye, Tattoo-like body markings, Compound eyes

Nosy, Mineral Based, Wild Wisdom

Oivammeans

• Webbed digits, Green Skin, Four legs

Psychic, Lassie

5.00

(one vote)

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