Saurian
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Saurians are a playable race unique to the Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition setting of Planegea. They are essentially Planegea's version of Saurials, being a collection of dinosaur beastfolk.
One of the oldest kinships native to Planegea, saurians both are and aren't a singular race. The four distinct subraces of these dinosaur beastfolk - the pterosaur-based Leatherwings, the ankylosaurid Hammertails, the carnosaur-evolved Sharpfangs and the hadrosaur-descend Webfoots - prefer to avoid interacting with each other, instead dwelling in largely monoracial clans. Despite this, there are major cultural and biological traits that are universal across the divide.
For starters, all saurians are born with highly unique and vibrant color patterns on their scales, the tints and hues of whic shift in response to the emotions and moods of their owners. Saurians are devoted to family, and will fight to the death to protect their young from the most overwhelming of foes, but practice communal childcare; eggs are laid in a singular nest and hatchlings reared by the clan as a whole, with no concept of individual blood-parentage.
The mos distinctive of the common saurian traits are this: they are a race of necromancers, admittedly in the original sense of spirit talkers rather than the pulpy practitioners of the black arts by which the term is now defined. Saurians are innately able to summon the spirits of their ancestors back from the grave in order to commune with them and benefit from their wisdom, and this has shaped the saurian culture. The dead of a saurian clan are buried in and amongst the dwellings of the living, and they are freely summoned when the living need their guidance. Indeed, the saurian word for "dead" translates literally as "frozen", and they believe in a Great Thaw that will see all of their ancestors rise to aid the living saurians during their moment of greatest need.
Other Planegean kinships regard the saurians as disturbingly morbid.
The other major trait of saurians is their inherent wanderlust, which feeds into many goals, not least of which is the desire to accumulate as much wisdom as possible to pass on to one's future descendants.
Individual subraces have defining traits too. Leatherwings are noted for their skill at mysticism and their inherent reclusivity; they have a well-deserved reputation for cruelty and for pursuing arcane knowledge with a ruthless zeal. Hammtertails are deeply contemplative, but experience wanderlust the most strongly of all the races. Sharpfangs are territorial, warlike and predatory. Webfoots favor coastal regions, marshes and river banks, and tend to be the most laidback of the saurians.
The common saurian racial profile is thus:
- Ability Score Increase: +1 Intelligence
- Size: Medium
- Speed: 30 feet
- Ancestral Memory: You can cast the Sense Whispers cantrip (takes 1 minute, Divination, detects all friendly undead within 30 feet). From 3rd level, you can cast Bless 1/day. From 5th level, you can cast Augury 1/day.
- Subrace: Choose Leatherwing, Hammertail, Sharpfang or Webfoot.
Leatherwing:
- Ability Score Increase: +1 Intelligence, +1 Charisma
- Winged Creature:' You have a Flying speed of 45 feet, but must have both arms free to fly. Whilst flying, you can snatch up a Medium or smaller creature in your talons and carry them along with you without any penalty if you pass a Grapple check.
- Powerful Aerial Build: When flying, you count as one size category larger for determining your carrying, dragging, pushing and lifting capacities.
Hammertail:
- Ability Score Increase: +1 Constitution, +1 Wisdom
- Armored Scales: +1 AC.
- Hammer Tail: As an unarmed strike, you can make a tail club attack; this has a Reach of 10 feet and deals 1d4 + Str modifier Bludgeoning damage on a hit.
Sharpfang:
- Ability Score Increase: +2 Dexterity
- Predatory Dash: When you take the Dash action on your turn, you gain +10 feet of movement sped and double your Jumping distance for 1 turn.
- Hatched To Hunt: When making unarmed strikes, you can choose to slash with youur claws (1d6 + Str modifier Slashing damage) instead of making the normal bludgeoning attack.
Webfoot:
- Ability Score Increase: +1 Strength, +1 Wisdom
- Darkvision 60 feet.
- Limited Amphibiousness: You have a Swim speed of 30 feet and can breathe both air and water, but must breathe air at least once every 4 hours to avoid suffocation.
- Trumpet: As an action, you can make a trumpeting blast through your crest that can be heard up to a mile away, providing there is no interference. Your trumpet also counts as a musicial instrument in which you haver innate proficiency.