Ancestral Traits

The description of each ancestry includes ancestral traits that are common to members of that ancestry. The following entries appear among the traits of most ancestries.

Ability Score Increase

Every ancestry increases one or more of a character’s ability scores.

Age

The age entry notes the age when a member of the ancestry is considered an adult, as well as the ancestry’s expected lifespan. This information can help you decide how old your character is at the start of the game. You can choose any age for your character, which could provide an explanation for some of your ability scores. For example, if you play a young or very old character, your age could explain a particularly low Strength or Constitution score, while advanced age could account for a high Intelligence or Wisdom.

Alignment

Most ancestries have tendencies toward certain alignments, described in this entry. These are not binding for player characters, but considering why your dwarf is chaotic, for example, in defiance of lawful dwarf society can help you better define your character.

Size

Characters of most ancestries are Medium, a size category including creatures that are roughly 4 to 8 feet tall. Members of a few ancestries are Small (between 2 and 4 feet tall), which means that certain rules of the game affect them differently. The most important of these rules is that Small characters have trouble wielding heavy weapons, as explained in “Equipment.”

Speed

Your speed determines how far you can move when traveling (“Adventuring”) and fighting (“Combat”).

Languages

By virtue of your ancestry, your character can speak, read, and write certain languages.

Lineages

Some ancestries have lineages. Members of a lineage have the traits of the parent ancestry in addition to the traits specified for their lineage. Relationships among lineages vary significantly from ancestry to ancestry and world to world.

• Anurian
• Avanari
• Chelunen
• Dragonborn
• Dwarf
• Elf
• Felioni
• Gnoll (Ancestry)
• Gnome
• Half-Elf
• Half-Orc
• Halfling
• High Elf
• Hill Dwarf
• Homthun
• Human
• Lightfoot Halfling
• Lizardfolk (Ancestry)
• Lubin
• Minotaur (Ancestry)
• Rock Gnome
• Tiefling
• Tiggywinkle
• Tinkerling

Armor (medium or heavy, but not hide), uncommon

This suit of armor is reinforced with adamantine, one of the hardest substances in existence. While you’re wearing it, any critical hit against you becomes a normal hit.

Weapon (any ammunition), uncommon (+1), rare (+2), or very rare (+3)

You have a bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this piece of magic ammunition. The bonus is determined by the rarity of the ammunition. Once it hits a target, the ammunition is no longer magical.

Wondrous item, rare (requires attunement)

Your Constitution score is 19 while you wear this amulet. It has no effect on you if your Constitution is already 19 or higher.

Wondrous item, uncommon (requires attunement)

While wearing this amulet, you are hidden from divination magic. You can’t be targeted by such magic or perceived through magical scrying sensors.

Wondrous item, very rare (requires attunement)

While wearing this amulet, you can use an action to name a location that you are familiar with on another plane of existence. Then make a DC 15 Intelligence check. On a successful check, you cast the plane shift spell. On a failure, you and each creature and object within 15 feet of you travel to a random destination. Roll a d100. On a 1–60, you travel to a random location on the plane you named. On a 61–100, you travel to a randomly determined plane of existence.

Armor (shield), very rare (requires attunement)

While holding this shield, you can speak its command word as a bonus action to cause it to animate. The shield leaps into the air and hovers in your space to protect you as if you were wielding it, leaving your hands free. The shield remains animated for 1 minute, until you use a bonus action to end this effect, or until you are incapacitated or die, at which point the shield falls to the ground or into your hand if you have one free.

Wondrous item, legendary

This item first appears to be a Large sealed iron barrel weighing 500 pounds. The barrel has a hidden catch, which can be found with a successful DC 20 Intelligence (Investigation) check. Releasing the catch unlocks a hatch at one end of the barrel, allowing two Medium or smaller creatures to crawl inside. Ten levers are set in a row at the far end, each in a neutral position, able to move either up or down. When certain levers are used, the apparatus transforms to resemble a giant lobster.

The apparatus of the Crab is a Large object with the following statistics:
Armor Class: 20
Hit Points: 200
Speed: 30 ft., swim 30 ft. (or 0 ft. for both if the legs and tail aren’t extended)
Damage Immunities: poison, psychic

To be used as a vehicle, the apparatus requires one pilot. While the apparatus’s hatch is closed, the compartment is airtight and watertight. The compartment holds enough air for 10 hours of breathing, divided by the number of breathing creatures inside.

The apparatus floats on water. It can also go underwater to a depth of 900 feet. Below that, the vehicle takes 2d6 bludgeoning damage per minute from pressure.

A creature in the compartment can use an action to move as many as two of the apparatus’s levers up or down. After each use, a lever goes back to its neutral position. Each lever, from left to right, functions as shown in the Apparatus of the Crab Levers table.
Apparatus of the Crab Levers (table)

Armor (light, medium, or heavy), rare (+1), very rare (+2), or legendary (+3)

You have a bonus to AC while wearing this armor. The bonus is determined by its rarity.

Armor (plate), legendary (requires attunement)

You have resistance to nonmagical damage while you wear this armor. Additionally, you can use an action to make yourself immune to nonmagical damage for 10 minutes or until you are no longer wearing the armor. Once this special action is used, it can’t be used again until the next dawn.