Playable Races - The Koira
Of all the races in D&D, I find it amazing that we still haven’t seen the dog as a playable race. There are many homebrew dog races out there, but WotC has yet to make an official one that we can use. The Tabaxi as a playable race has been around since the 3rd edition, and let’s be honest. We all know there are more dog people out there than cat people. Dogs are goofy and loveable—cats are sneaky and evil.
Whatever the reason, we can add the Dump Stat Koira to the long list of dog homebrew. The word Koira is dog in Finnish, and I liked how it sounded. Plus, it’s a bit more original than Dog or Canine. There are over 195 dog breeds, so making a subrace for all of them would be impossible. Instead of driving myself insane, I broke the koira out into clans that mirror six of the types of dogs.
Lore
We love creature lore here at Dump Stat, so the Koira gets an origin story. Like dogs in the real world, the Koira is a direct descendant of wolves. Now any good origin story has to involve an angry god. The wolves owed their existence to Malar, God of the Hunt, who provided them with all sorts of creatures to stalk, chase and eat. All is well until a small group of wolves decides to watch humans instead of eating them. They broke away from the pack, and Malar got pissed. An angry god is usually a vengeful god, so Malar sends his wolves to kill the humans and the rebel wolves.
It turns out the break-away wolves and the humans have been getting along famously. The humans weren't thrilled when they first saw the wolves, but tensions calmed once they realized they wouldn't be torn to shreds. They grew to enjoy each other's company, with the wolves working in the fields and the humans inviting them into their homes at night. When Malar's wolves appeared, the rebel wolves fought side by side with the humans, eventually driving off the attackers.
Enter our next deity, Torm, god of courage and self-sacrifice. After watching the battle, he decided to remove the rebel wolves' feral traits and transform them into bi-pedal creatures. Why do gods do such things? Usually, they want to punish or reward someone. The wolves changed their name to the Koira and created their settlements. Their society grew throughout the centuries, but they remained close with humans and other humanoid races.
Racial Abilities
Ability Score Increase. Most dogs are relatively agile if you don't include my two pups asleep to me on the couch. They make up for it by being extremely cute—the koira's Dexterity score increases by 1, and your Charisma score increases by 1.
Age. No crazy conversions of dog years to human years. The koira reaches adulthood at an exceptional speed, maturing at age 3. The koira has very short lifespans when compared with other humanoids, living only 30 or so years on average.
Alignment. All dogs go to heaven. Why? Because they are good creatures. Koira tends towards good alignments due to their helpful and loyal nature. I'd lean towards chaotic good for most koira.
Size. Dog sizes vary so that a Koira will be either small or medium.
Speed. Now, the koira are bipedal humanoids, so their base walking speed is 30 feet.
Canine Canines. Most of the koira people meet are friendly and pleasant folk. If you poke them or pull on their ears too many times, you only have yourself to blame when you get bit. Their teeth are natural weapons that do piercing damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier instead of the bludgeoning damage.
Languages. Evolving around humans allowed them to learn common. They can speak, read, and write Common and one other language.
Subraces
There are many dog breeds, and that doesn't even account for crossbreeding. Using the seven types of dogs classification from the AKC (American Kennel Club), we split the Koira race into six clans. They are as follows:
Champion - based on the sporting type of dogs, which includes huskies, boxers, and doberman pinschers.
Hunter - Those cute and loveable terriers.
Tracker - Hound dogs. I’ll admit I missed an opportunity to give them a howling feature.
Urban - Toy dogs. You either love or hate these dogs, which include chihuahua and maltese breeds.
Vigilant - Working dogs that own their keep. This group includes golden retrievers, spaniels, and pointer.
Vigorous - Herding dogs. This classification of dogs is relatively new, as herding dogs were lumped together with working dogs. Fun fact; the corgi is a herding dog.
There we have it, one more addition to the list of homebrew playable dog races. Hopefully, WotC will get around to making an official one. If you can play as a cat, you sure as heck should be able to play as a dog. As always, please share your thoughts in the comments below.
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