Additional Spelljammer Races - The Forgotten Travelers of the Multiverse

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Introduction to Spelljammer
New Spelljammer Races

Last week we discussed the UA Spelljammer races that WotC had released in 2021 in preparation for next week’s release of Spelljammer: Adventures in Space. While I was excited to review old favorites like the Giff and new additions such as the Plasmoid, I wondered about the remainder of the original Spelljammer races. Six races had not made the cut, so of course, we took it upon ourselves to make homebrew for them according to the new rules set out in Tasha’s. I’ll admit I’m not the biggest fan of the new look races and will continue to approach racial traits as I had before the change, but since this is the direction things are heading, the format mirrors that of the Spelljammer race UA.

The races that were cruelly left behind were the Dracons, Grommans, Hurwaeti, Rastipedes, Scro, and Xixchil. Here’s our translation of each race for use in the 5th edition.

Dracons

Dracons only recently appeared on the fringes of Wildspace, but their ships have quickly become a fixture throughout the vast Astral Sea. The dracons are commonly thought of as dragon-centaurs, although that description isn't very accurate. Their upper torso resembles that of a dragonborn but is gray in color. Their hands are talon-like claws with six fingers on each hand. The dracon's lower torso is broad and thick, resembling an elephant with a long, wide tail. Dracons surprise many people with the grace and speed with which they can move.

Dracons are a herd race, traveling in packs usually composed of family members. A dracon will adopt non-dracons if they are without a family of their own and are fiercely protective of them. It surprises many that dracons are primarily a pacifist race. They prefer to talk things out and will run away if the fighting becomes too intense. This does not mean they cannot defend themselves, as they are masters of close contact fighting, employing a form of grappling passed down through the centuries.

Dracons Traits

You have the following racial traits.
Creature Type. You are a Humanoid.
Size. You are Medium.
Speed. Your 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 discern colors in that darkness only as shades of gray.
Dracon Wrestling. You are an expert in the art of Dracon Wrestling, a unique form of grappling developed by your race, granting you the following abilities.
- You do not need a free hand to attempt to grapple a creature, using your tail instead.
- When grappling a creature, you maintain you normal movement speed.
- You have advantage on attempts to escape a grapple.
Powerful Build. You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.

Grommans

Grommams are humanoid creatures that resemble giant great apes. Their arms and shoulders are incredibly muscular, and a gromman's hands are enormous compared to other humanoids. Their feet have three toes on each and can be used to grab onto tree branches when climbing, providing extra balance, in turn allowing them to move faster. Most have chocolate brown skin and short rust-colored fur over the entirety of their bodies.

The gromman homeworld is a dense forest world. Grommans climb with incredible speed and can leap from tree to tree with the same grace as if they were walking on the ground. Gromman ships are some of the tallest in the Astral Sea, with grommans crew moving up and down the giant masts that are a signature of their spelljammers.

Gromman society is female-dominated, holding all of the positions of power in any governing body. Males are considered equals, but it was decided long ago they were not to be trusted with such responsibility. Lore tells of a time when the male gromman controlled all aspects of their society, leading their species to the brink of extinction with their foolish laws and petty political squabbles.

Gromman Traits

You have the following racial traits.
Creature Type. You are a Humanoid.
Size. You are Medium.
Speed. Your walking speed is 30 feet, and you have a climbing speed equal to your walking speed.
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 discern colors in that darkness only as shades of gray.
Massive Mits. You can use two-weapon fighting even when the one-handed melee weapons you are wielding aren't light.
Landspeed. You can use your muscular arms to propel yourself forward when you run. If you are not holding anything in your hands, you can double your speed as if you had taken the Dash action.
Raw Strength. You have proficiency in the Athletics skill.

Hurwaeti

Centuries long ago, the hurwaeti sailed the Astral Sea on the mightiest of ships, traveling to worlds on the outer edges that few, if any, had ever visited. A proud and intelligent reptilian race, they were also arrogant and blind to those who coveted their ships. Besieged by the combined forces of the beholders, illithids, and neogi, the hurwaeti could not run far or fast enough to escape their inevitable doom. Their population decimated and scattered amongst the stars, the hurwaeti languished over time, regressing into their current form.

Also known as wiggles, the hurwaeti are now echoes of their former selves. They are covered with small, thick, dull green scales, scrawny froglike legs, and webbed fingers and toes. Their faces are gaunt and petite, dominated by large ears and pointed noses. Their attire is as basic as it is limited, with most hurwaeti wearing only brightly colored loin cloths and necklaces made from shells.

Hurwaeti Traits

You have the following racial traits.
Creature Type. You are a Humanoid.
Size. You are Medium.
Speed. Your walking speed is 30 feet.
Ancestral Rage. You have advantage on your first attack against beholders, illithids, and neogis.
Hurwaeti Magic. You can cast the fog cloud spell with this trait. Once you cast the spells with this trait, you can’t cast it again until you finish a long rest. You can also cast these spells using any spell slots you have.
Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells when you cast them with this trait (choose when you select this race).
Leaps and Bounds. Your long jump is up to 20 feet and high jump is up to 10 feet, with or without a running start.

Rastipedes

Rastipedes are the most prolific traders of the Astral Sea. They deal in everything from everyday goods to spelljammer helms, for if a commodity has a value, the rastipedes will attempt to broker a sale. Unlike the Arcane, rastipedes could care less about such niceties as fair pricing and equitable deals. Anyone who deals with rastipedes should check their inventory before they depart, lest they find their new wares cost more than just the coin they spent on it.

Rastipedes are inherently peaceful and avoid combat whenever possible since they have found that bloodshed often reduces their profits. However, they are not cowardly and can use most melee weapons. You can rest assured that a rastipedes under attack will use any magical items in their inventory but will be willing to sell the same item to you once the fighting has ended.

Rastipedes are insectoid creatures with eight walking limbs and a vaguely humanoid torso. They have two upper "arms" covered in a dense exoskeleton. Their heads have two solid black eyes, a fanged mandible, and a pair of long antennae.

Rastipedes Traits

You have the following racial traits.
Creature Type. You are a Humanoid
Size. Your are Medium.
Speed. Your walking speed is 30 feet.
Antennae Sense You have proficiency in the Perception skill.
Hard Shell. When you aren't wearing armor, your AC is 13 + your Dexterity modifier. You can use your natural armor to determine your AC if the armor you wear would leave you with a lower AC. A shield's benefits apply as normal while you use your natural armor.
Incisors. Your mouthful of pointed teeth is a natural weapon you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with them, you can deal slashing damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.

Scro

When the orcs first encountered spelljammer ships, a curious few joined their crews, quickly becoming some of the bravest and most feared creatures throughout the Astral Sea. As their numbers grew, the orcs took it upon themselves to learn how to construct and pilot their own ships. These orcs were feared by all they encountered, whether it be gnome or neogi, and were known as the most ruthless race of space pirates alive. Other orcs began to refer to them as the Scro, or scourge of the orc clans.

The scro are larger, stronger, and more intelligent than their land-bound orc cousins. Their skin is a dark green, bordering on black, and they have long, sharp teeth filed to a point. Tiny gems are implanted in the skin on their arms, each representing a successful raid on a rival spelljammer ship. A scro's eyes have a phosphorescent glow which can be seen in dim light.

Scro Traits

You have the following racial traits.
Creature Type. You are a Humanoid
Size. You are Medium.
Speed. Your walking speed is 30 feet.
Aggressive. As a bonus action, you can move up to your speed toward an enemy of your choice that you can see or hear. You must end this move closer to the enemy than you started.
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 discern colors in that darkness only as shades of gray.
Menacing. You are proficient in the Intimidation skill.
Pirate Combat Training. You have proficiency with the rapier, longsword, scimitar, and whip.
Tool Proficiency. You gain proficiency with the artisan’s tools of your choice: smith’s tools, carpenter tools, or cartographer’s tools.

Xixchil

The Xixchil life philosophy is only the strongest survive. Their homeworld's hostile environment, teeming with horrific creatures, is brutal and deadly. Therefore, the xixchil learns at an early age it is kill or be killed. Xixchils have learned to survive through a combination of medical study and artificial body modification techniques.

While all xixchil have some rudimentary skills, surgeons specializing in augmentation procedures are in high demand. The end goal of each xixchil is to build the best body possible to survive the harsh world they live in and maintain a one-of-a-kind appearance.

Xixchil are six-limbed insectoid beings with an appearance that closely mirrors that of a praying mantis. Their top limbs are long and end in sharp retractable blade-like structures. Their middle limbs are shorter, and most xixchil adorn the ends of these limbs with some sort of device that allows them to wield melee weapons. Various gems, metals, and other precious materials are typically added to their exoskeletons, therefore providing each xixchil with its own unique look.

Xixchil Traits

You have the following racial traits.
Creature Type. You are a Humanoid
Size. You are Medium.
Speed. Your walking speed is 30 feet.
Decorated Exoskeleton. Your unique body type prevents you from donning armor, but your exoskeleton provides you with tough natural armor. You have a base AC of 15 (your Dexterity modifier does not affect this number). You gain no benefit from wearing armor, but if you are using a shield, you can apply the shield's bonus as normal.
Poisonous Mandibles. Your mandibles are natural weapons. When you make an unarmed strike with your mandibles, you deal poison damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier on a hit. Additionally, the target must make a Constitution saving throw, the DC of which is equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Strength modifier, or be poisoned until the end of your next turn.
Surgical Skills. You have proficiency in the Medicine skill.

With any luck, next week’s release will have some, if not all, of these wonderful races available as official content for the 5th edition. But if they aren’t, you can use the Dump Stat homebrew to be an insect-centaur or orc space pirate as you fly around the Astral Sea on your brand new spelljammer.

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