ExpanD&D Modifications for Ancestry & Culture (Patreon)

The following is a breakdown of the races in the ExpanD&D Document for use with Arcanist Press's Ancestry & Culture: An Alternative to Race in 5e document, as well as a quick modification to that ruleset's system for mixed-ancestry characters to make a consideration for ED&D's unique mechanics.

Mixed Ancestry: Fatty Abilities

If one or more of the Ancestries of your mixed Ancestry characters is a Fatty Ability (defined here as any racial ability that affects the Eating Skill or any of the mechanics unique to ExpanD&D such as Bulk Limits, eating capacity, or other such traits), you may choose one of them for your character, this is separate from the additional ancestry abilities you normally get from a Mixed Ancestry character.

ExpanD&D Races

Fatspawn Ancestry

Age. Fatspawn mature at the same rate as humans but live a few years longer.

Size. Fatspawn are about the same size as humans, but tend to be much heavier in weight. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision.  Thanks to your otherworldly lineage, you have excellent vision in dark and dim conditions. 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. 

Enduring Stomach.  You have resistance to damage caused by ingested substances, such as poisoned food or drinks, or caused by overeating. 

Fatspawn Culture

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2, and your Charisma score increases by 1.

Alignment.  Fatspawn tend toward extremes of law or chaos. Whether they accept their nature or attempt to control it, the decision often leans them toward Lawful or Chaotic alignments.

Natural Glutton. You have proficiency in the Eating skill.

Heritage of Hunger.  Your nature is one influenced by supernatural gluttony. You have disadvantage on checks and saves made to resist food or drink when it is offered, even when eating would push you past your natural full limit, but in return you have learned some of the magics associated with this gluttonous heritage. You know the Sex Appeal cantrip. Once you reach 3rd level, you can cast Stretch Stomach once per day as a 2nd level spell. Once you reach 5th level, you can also cast the Abyssal Stomach spell once per day. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells. 

Languages.  You can speak, read, and write Common and your choice of Infernal, Abyssal, or Sylvan. 

Fatling Ancestry

(The original Fatling racial rules already had some of the choices and variations of potential ancestry included in its race block, so this ancestry will focus on a baseline of what you get from the fiendish side of your heritage.)

 Age. Fatlings mature at the same rate as their mortal parent but usually live two or three times as long. 

Size. The fiendish heritage present often causes extreme fluctuations in natural size, but the size you would inherit from this ancestry is medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision. Thanks to your fiendish heritage, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. 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.

Dual Nature. You have two creature types: humanoid and fiend. You can be affected by a game effect if it works on either of your creature types, or on the specific race of your humanoid parent.

Wings. As an action, you can summon or dismiss a pair of wings on your back that give you a flying speed equal to your walking speed. If you choose to fly using your wings, you must stay within 5 feet of the surface below your feet. Your wings might be accompanied by short horns, a narrow tail, or other features usually associated with Succubi. You can’t manifest your wings while wearing armor unless the armor is made to accommodate them, and clothing not made to accommodate your wings might be destroyed when you manifest them.

Fatling Culture

 Ability Score increase. Your Charisma score increases by 2 and your Constitution score increases by 1. 

 Alignment. Fatlings raised among their own kind or other fiends often experience a polarizing effect. Many dive deep into the debauchery and evil of their fiendish ancestry, but just as many adopt a more neutral and Chaotic world-view, often wanting little more than to watch themselvs and their neighbors grow as fat as possible.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and your choice of Infernal or Abyssal.

 Fiendish Legacy. Three times each day, you can cast Create Fattening Food and Drink, limited to 2 pounds of food and 2 cups of drink each cast and it does not restore hit points. When you reach level 3, you can cast Stretch Stomach at its lowest level once per day, and when you reach level 7 you can cast Hypnotic Hunger at its lowest level once per day. Your spellcasting ability is Charisma for these spells. 

Gluttonous Suggestion. As an action, one creature that you can see within 30 feet of you must succeed on a Charisma saving throw against a DC of (8+ your Charisma modifier + your Proficiency bonus) or be affected by this trait for one minute. Creatures immune to being charmed or that do not need to eat automatically succeed. A creature can also choose to voluntarily fail this saving throw. An affected creature is under all of the following effects while the user is not incapacitated:

• Any saving throws made to resist eating food or drinking nourishing drinks, or effects that otherwise put food into the target’s stomach (such as the Overabundance spell) are made with disadvantage.
• Attack rolls and ability checks made by other creatures to feed the targeted creature are made with advantage.
• The target has advantage on Eating checks.

You can have only one creature affected by this ability at a time. If a creature you target succeeds on the saving throw, you must finish a long rest before using it again.

Gelatinfolk

Gelatinfolk have a wide variety of physiological racial traits, and so have been separated into two ancestries, Viscogelatin and Vivagelatin, that are somewhat similar but do have some differentiation. A note as well for Mixed Ancestry: Because of the complicated nature of gelatinfolk, their physiology is separated into a number of ancestry traits that have a mixed bag of both good and bad effects. If you choose Food Composition, Homogenous, Slime Capacity, or Amorphous body as either an Additional Ancestry Trait or a Fatty Ability, you gain all four of these abilities as a single package.

Viscogelatin Ancestry

Age.  Gelatinfolk don’t follow normal patterns of age or maturity, though most are not sentient when they are born. The time that they awaken this way is usually considered their “birthday.” Some know that they will “expire” one day, while others do not, and gelatinfolk as old as a thousand years have been recorded. 

Size.  Gelatinfolk come in a variety of shapes and sizes, from small ones once treated as pets to great ones using their bodies as a food hoard. With proper care a small one could become medium and a medium one large. Your size is Medium, but if you weigh less than 60 pounds, you take up the same space as a Small creature. Except for this, you follow the normal rules for taking up the space of larger creatures as a result of high body weight. 

 Speed. Your base walking speed is 30  feet. 

 Food Composition.  Any creature that hits you with a bite attack eats 1d4 pounds of fatty food, doubled on a critical hit, and you lose an equivalent amount of mass. Additionally, gaining and losing weight through diet and exercise is harder for you. Halve the number of pounds of fat you gain or lose at the end of a long rest from an excess or deficit of diet points.  

Homogenous. Without a solid frame or definite organs, variations in weight affect you differently.

• You do not have a base weight. Instead, if your weight falls below 25 pounds, you fall unconscious until your weight is restored above 25 pounds.
• When you are burdened, your walking speed is reduced by 10 feet in addition to normal effects.
• When you are impeded, you do not suffer disadvantage on Athletics checks.
• When you are immobilized, you are not restrained, but your walking speed is reduced to 5 feet and you cannot dash.

Slime Capacity.  Due to the Gelatinfolk having stretchy, adaptive bodies, their eating capacity is equal to their Constitution score, but they can't make stuffing rolls and take overindulging damage as normal. 

Amorphous Body.   Gelatinfolk are made of a gelatinous substance, and can cast Alter Self, only choosing the change appearance option but not limited to the body structure you have, once per short rest. You cannot change your size, weight, color, or texture to anything other than what it normally is. When you Squeeze to fit into a smaller space, you fit through a gap as small as 6 inches in both directions, regardless of your size. At the DM’s discretion, it may take several turns to squeeze through it. 

Additionally, any armor you wear has to be tailored to fit on your body and mold with you, requiring a 25% cost increase, and if you squeeze into a space smaller than your normal size or a shape significantly different from your normal shape, non-magical armor tailored this way falls off.

Viscous Body.  ViscoGelatin are not particularly fast or slow. Given that they are quite sticky, however, they are able to scale even sheer walls with ease, albeit slowly. You gain a climbing speed of 10ft and can climb vertical surfaces as smooth as glass without making an Athletics check. 

 Ooze Resilience.  ViscoGelatin are notoriously hard to kill. You have advantage on death saving throws. In addition, strikes against you while you are unconscious do not critically hit, though they do still have advantage.  

Vivagelatin Ancestry

 Age.  Gelatinfolk don’t follow normal patterns of age or maturity, though most are not sentient when they are born. The time that they awaken this way is usually considered their “birthday.” Some know that they will “expire” one day, while others do not, and gelatinfolk as old as a thousand years have been recorded.

 Size.  Gelatinfolk come in a variety of shapes and sizes, from small ones once treated as pets to great ones using their bodies as a food hoard. With proper care a small one could become medium and a medium one large. Your size is Medium, but if you weigh less than 60 pounds, you take up the same space as a Small creature. Except for this, you follow the normal rules for taking up the space of larger creatures as a result of high body weight. 

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30  feet.

Food Composition.  Any creature that hits you with a bite attack eats 1d4 pounds of fatty food, doubled on a critical hit, and you lose an equivalent amount of mass. Additionally, gaining and losing weight through diet and exercise is harder for you. Halve the number of pounds of fat you gain or lose at the end of a long rest from an excess or deficit of diet points. 

 Homogenous. Without a solid frame or definite organs, variations in weight affect you differently.

• You do not have a base weight. Instead, if your weight falls below 25 pounds, you fall unconscious until your weight is restored above 25 pounds.
• When you are burdened, your walking speed is reduced by 10 feet in addition to normal effects.
• When you are impeded, you do not suffer disadvantage on Athletics checks.
• When you are immobilized, you are not restrained, but your walking speed is reduced to 5 feet and you cannot dash.

Slime Capacity.  Due to the Gelatinfolk having stretchy, adaptive bodies, their eating capacity is equal to their Constitution score, but they can't make stuffing rolls and take overindulging damage as normal. 

Amorphous Body.   Gelatinfolk are made of a gelatinous substance, and can cast Alter Self, only choosing the change appearance option but not limited to the body structure you have, once per short rest. You cannot change your size, weight, color, or texture to anything other than what it normally is. When you Squeeze to fit into a smaller space, you fit through a gap as small as 6 inches in both directions, regardless of your size. At the DM’s discretion, it may take several turns to squeeze through it. Additionally, any armor you wear has to be tailored to fit on your body and mold with you, requiring a 25% cost increase, and if you squeeze into a space smaller than your normal size or a shape significantly different from your normal shape , non-magical armor tailored this way falls off. 

Pudding Power.  Vivagelatin are particularly hard to keep down. If you are reduced to 0 hp you can instead drop to 1 hp. Once you use this ability you must take a long rest before you can use it again. 

Viscogelatin Culture

Ability Score Increase.  Your Constitution score increases by 2 and your Dexterity score increases by 1. 

Unarmored Defense. Viscogelatin have developed a method of defending themselves that focuses more on absorbing and redirecting blows than taking them head-on with armor, and augment that with a little natural magic. Your Unarmored AC is 10+your Dexterity modifier +your Constitution Modifier. If a class ability or spell offers a new way to calculate your AC, such as offered by the Barbarian, Monk, or Sorcerer classes, or the Mage Armor spell, you must choose which one you want to use. 

Body Blaster. You have developed the ability to create food from your natural essence. You are able to cast the Feed spell once with this trait as a 1st-level spell, and you regain the ability to cast it this way when you finish a long rest. Constitution is your spellcasting ability for this spell.

 Languages. Common and Primordial 

Vivagelatin Culture

Ability Score Increase.  Your Strength score increases by 2 and your Charisma increases by 1. 

 Unarmored Defense. Vivagelatin have developed a method of defending themselves that focuses on forcing blows away and absorbing impact rather than taking them on the surface with armor, and augment that with a little natural magic.  Your Unarmored AC is 10+your Strength modifier +your Constitution Modifier. If a class ability or spell offers a new way to calculate your AC, such as offered by the Barbarian, Monk, or Sorcerer classes, or the Mage Armor spell, you must choose which one you want to use.  

Sweet(Savory) Snare. As an action you can attempt to restrain a creature you can touch, using natural magics to fortify and stretch your body to encompass them. The target must make a Strength saving throw. On a failure, the target is restrained, takes 1d4 bludgeoning damage, and is forced to consume a number of pounds of fatty food equal to the damage dealt, and you lose an equal amount of weight. The damage increases to 1d6 at level 6, 1d8 at level 11, and 1d10 at level 16. While restraining a creature this way, you can use your action to make it repeat the saving throw or suffer the same effect, you are unable to grapple another target, and your movement speed is reduced to 0. The target is no longer restrained if a creature that can touch it succeeds on a Strength check, if the target succeeds on an Athletics or Acrobatics check, or if you use your action to do anything but stuff the target. The DC for this feature is 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Strength modifier. After you successfully restrain someone on the initial save once, you must finish a short or long rest before using this feature again. 

Languages. Common and Primordial

Kitchenforged Ancestry

Age. Kitchenforged are created and do not age.

Size.  Crafted in the likeness of common mortal races, your size is Medium. Kitchenforged have a base weight 2 times that of the race they are crafted in the likeness of.

Additionally, Kitchenforged use double their Strength score when calculating their Bulk thresholds.

Cast-iron Resilience.   Crafted of animate stone, metal and other such materials, your ability to absorb blows far exceeds that of your mortal counterparts, and even your Warforged cousins. Your hit point maximum increases by 1, and it increases by 1 every time you gain a level. 

Masterwork.  Kitchenforged are individualized works of art, and each incorporates a feature unique to their creation. Choose one of the following: 

• Iron Chef.  The namesake of your kind, you are outfitted with a masterworked array of utensils, cutlery and dishware for working in any kitchen. You have a built-in set of Cook’s Utensils and can raise your voice up to three times it’s normal volume. 
• Porter.  You are refreshingly cool to the touch at all times, and have spaces in your figure to accommodate up to 20 pounds of food. As a free action, once per turn, you can cause spaces you occupy or are adjacent to to be lightly obscured by fog, or end the effect if it’s active. Non-magical food stored on your person takes quadruple the normal amount of time to spoil. 
• Stonehearth.   You are comfortably warm to the touch at all times, and glow with an inner hearthfire, magical heat or similar effect. You can be used in place of a campfire to prepare meals, and give off light equivalent to a torch. You can quench this light, focus it as though from a bullseye lantern, or return it to normal as a free action. 

Kitchenforged Culture

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score and two other ability scores of your choice increase by 1.

Alignment.   Kitchenforged have little in the way of alignment leaning. Some crave order and live for the purpose they were constructed for, while others wish to discover and see things beyond their original purpose and embrace chaos.

Culinary Arts. You are proficient in the Eating Skill and with Chef's Utensils.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language of your choice, likely one of the languages of the culture that created you.