Fixing the D&D 5e Dragonborn | Nerd Immersion

The "Fixing It" series is back! This time I take a break from classes to focus on what is in my opinion, one of the weakest races in 5e, the dragonborn. You get the least amount of racial features, and I feel it is out shined by most other races, especially the newer ones. So here are ides for how you make this race more viable and more interesting at higher level play. What do you think?
Fixes:
-Give Darkvision to 60 feet
-Give proficiency with Athletics
-Make Breath Weapon scale at cantrip levels (3d6 at level 5, 4d6 at level 11, 5d6 at level 17).
-Either make Breath Weapon's DC based on Charisma or change the ability score to +2 Strength, +1 Constitution.
-Make Breath Weapon a Bonus Action
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[@ddranimestyle]

New DM here, we just made characters and one PC is a Dragonborn, another is a Half-Elf Sorcerer. What's hilarious to me is that Draconic bloodline gives Sorcerers 1 bonus HP per level and an unarmored AC of 13 + Dex (flavor text says scales), while literal Dragonborns don't.

[@WhyYouMadBoi]

Then 3rd level the sorcerer can get dragon's breath which is a 15 foot cone of any of the breath weapons. Dealing 3d6 for 10 rounds. They can normally cast with a bonus action. The meaning they get breath weapon is stronger at lower level plus at 6th level when the draonborn gets 3d6 if the sorcerer use the same damage as the color adding Cha score to the damage. So 3d6+5 (If max cha) for 10 rounds.

[@Aplesedjr]

There is a distinct difference between having a dragon in your bloodline and what Dragonborn are. They’re an artificial race created by dragons. Dragons getting it on with mortal races usually results in half dragons or draconic sorcerers, but never a Dragonborn.

[@WhyYouMadBoi]

@@Aplesedjr Trueee

[@Quackra]

@@Aplesedjr It also states that Dragonborn scales are not actually that strong in the player's handbook. That is the reason they don't have natural armor.

[@Aplesedjr]

GamingTenderizer yeah. People make a lot of assumptions about what Dragonborn are without actually learning anything. I can understand that the race overall is fairly weak mechanically and should definitely be buffed, but people act like they should be these all powerful humanoid dragon hybrids.

[@5-Volt]

The weaknesses are super apparent when you compare a green Dragonborn to a Yuan-Ti pureblood. It's actually kinda hilarious.

[@LordZeebee]

@Lance Clemings A 1 in 6 chance to just die outright seems really cheap. Unless the player actively chose to try to become one i guess but forcing a player to just die is a bit yikesy.

[@isaactoburen1622]

Something I've thought about giving them was the feat in xanathar's guide that gives them claws and 13 base armor class. Feel like that feat should have just been apart of the base race.

[@NerdImmersion]

I'd say the claws maybe but the AC I'm not sure. I'd have to compare it to Loxodon/Tortle/Lizardfolk

[@kylethomas9130]

Considering the charisma classes are spellcasting, that could be a tad unbalanced with the AC bonus. But I do like the idea of implementing the racial feats more liberally.

[@ShirakuUkashi]

I give my players this in my campaigns, i also thought about buffing the breath to 3d6 to make it a sudo burning hands

[@isaactoburen1622]

Maybe you're right, I'm not sure. Maybe just give them the claws and make it so the feat gives them the AC and something else. Edit: spelling

[@felixrivera895]

@@NerdImmersion I'm personally a big fan of the +1 to AC when not wearing heavy armor mechanic that was implemented in one of the natural armor races. It's always useful, not op, and not outweighed by magical armaments

[@MisterSmith00]

Had a Dragonborn Sorcerer who's whole purpose was to become a "true" dragon. They were a Divine Soul, and believed that they were the chosen of Bahamut to turn the tides of the cosmic struggle against Tiamat. They're character progression was mastering the metamorphosis into a true dragon... They took the racial feat of "Dragonborn Hide" to toughen their scales and gain dragon claws...they use the "Dragon Breathe" spell as their signature attack...then, with "Divine Soul", they gain their permanent draconic wings. Then, upon gaining 9th Level spells, he can use "Wish" or "True Polymorph" to become a "true" dragon. He's a tough and determined dude, too...he particularly wants to kill Tiamat, and has "Sic Semper Tiamat" tattooed on his back. He will deliberately seek out evil Chromatic dragons to slay, and oppose any cults of Tiamat. He beseeches Bahamut as a war-cry in battle. He's pretty fun to play.

[@danielmclellan1522]

I had a Black Dragonborn Grave Cleric of Chronepsis, who was very similar. Great guy, most of the time. But obsessed with his driving goal of becoming a true dragon. He was very much based on the Hindu concept of a Kapalika. Right down to taking Dragon Hide as a blessing from Chronepsis for taking a vow of poverty (flavor for his feat at at 4th level) and giving up his weapons (except for a quarter staff with the skull of a saint from his order affixed at the top, for his khatvanga, which doubled as a Reliquary holy symbol). Traveled from community to community, living in the graveyards, and offering his services as a cleric for free (if it required material components his vow of poverty meant he didn't have on-hand, he WAS allowed to ask for the things he'd need). He couldn't ask for payment, but could accept charity. He believed that becoming a dragon would be his reward for asceticism here and now.

[@aster5767]

I have a dragonborn ranger in my Curse of Strahd campaign. When he asked if he should use his breath weapon attack I advised him that it would only be doing 3d6 at max which is worse than doing one attack with his hunters mark, colossus slayer, etc. He took it the first turn, hitting twice with one of them being a Crit, doing aprox 40ish damage total. His next turn he used his breath weapon and doing a total of 3 acid to the creature. I was happy he was able to use it, but seriously theres no reason to use it outside of a puzzle scenario or anything to that extent.

[@whiskeyhound]

I've had maybe 2 good uses of it myself, when I was playing a kobold that managed to mutate himself enough to get access to it as a lvl 17 blade bard, both times were crowd control since it was 2 Pcs vs about 6-10 enemies and I figured that spending a turn to soften most or all of them instead of just 3 was a better use of my action since spell slots were running low.

[@danielmclellan1522]

A campaign I was in, the rogue's lighting breath got used a decent amount, but that was because they fought dirty. DM ruled that using electrical attacks on targets in water attack everyone else in the water, too. So the rogue prioritized a Decanter of Endless Water.

[@An_Ian]

What if you had a poison breath and just used it in a bucket/barrel? free money

[@luckyj.7951]

My personal fix for Dragonborns goes like this: -The breath weapon is still an action but you can use it a number of times equal to your CON modifier before needing a short or long rest. You also add your CON modifier to the damage on top of the dices. I like your idea for the cantrip scaling so I'll stick it here as well. -They gain Darkvision up to 60 feet, like you said 85/90% of the races in the game gets it. As well as any remotly Draconic creatures in the game so I don't see why Dragonborns wouldn't get it naturally. -I give them the Dragon Hide Feat from Xanathar, ASI included. 1d4+STR claws is neat but nothing fantastic. The 13+DEX Unarmored AC is pretty nice, essentially free Mage Armor on your 24/7 and if you can use a shield, it still works, which can make high DEX Fighters/Paladins fun if you don't want to wear armor (I don't know why you would do that but I like more unconvencionable builds). It doesn't work for Barbarians or Monks with their Unarmored AC, you either go 13+DEX, 10+DEX+CON or 10+DEX+WIS, whichever is the highest. And the +1 ASI in STR, CON or CHA is neat as well, you can put it in CON and synergize it more with the breath weapon or just put it in STR for a nice +3 in STR.

[@0MidnighttheDragon0]

as someone who plays almost exclusively dragonborn: it really, REAAAAAAAAAAAAALLY needs to be a bonus action for the breath weapon. if you dont even use it more than 1-2 times in an ENTIRE campaign ove over 10+levels...why would you need to use it more htan once per short rest? as a bonus action, you really woudl use it sometimes. but as an action, you almost always have better options.

[@quincybriley4113]

DMs/groups who don't incorporate short rests into their games are seriously hampering several racial abilities like dragonborn breath weapon and some elves misty step. But more importantly they are heavily nerfing several classes entirely. Warlocks and Fighters both rely heavily on short rests

[@TheSlickster65]

quincy briley also Monks, ive never heard of groups that don’t take 1-2 short rest between long rests. I’ve never had a DM that doesn’t allow short rests or makes them difficult, yeah they roll for potential encounters but we usually find a place to hide in while we do it. Heck my DM’s have always been strict on time between long rests RAW you can only long rest every 24hours so if we wanted to long rest halfway threw our day our DM would make us kill the rest of the day(a shit ton of encounter rolls) before we can long rest

[@Ripslash1]

At the start of the current campaign that I'm running, one of the players who had played in the previous campaign said that I needed to give them more long rests. I never stopped them from taking short rests in the previous campaign. They just... Didn't short rest except like, once. I ended up telling him that he'd have to talk to other people about it because I never stopped them from taking rests. Sometimes it's the players that choose not to short rest, not the DM.

[@TheSlickster65]

Timothy Boseman i wonder if that’s a cause of DM’s not enforcering the rule for long rest that you can’t benefit from more then 1 every 24 hours. I have had to correct players before who just wanted to keep long resting. If you don’t force your players to do proper intervals in long resting and short resting in between, encounters are much easier, the rule is there to enforce resource management

[@Ripslash1]

@@TheSlickster65 They didn't take a lot of long rests, though. They just went through the day and rested at the end of it

[@TheSlickster65]

Helgamond Ratbone your comment makes zero sense, especially considering that taking 1-2 short rests in a day is more realistic

[@Bendem47]

I'll throw my hat in the ring: * +2 Strength, +1 to one other * +1 AC (natural armor) * Breath weapon scales like a cantrip * If you are able to make multiple attacks with the Attack action, your breath weapon can replace one of them * Proficiency in Athletics or Intimidation (your choice)

[@flopps1051]

My only complain is that it seems a bit busted since it makes Dragonborn more of an... all around race, if that makes sense. It’s a bit too good with the AC and choice ASI.

[@Bendem47]

@@flopps1051 I think dragonborn will never be popular with all players the same way (for example) half-elves are, even with these customizable options. I think the breath weapon as a bonus action (as many suggest) is overall stronger than replacing an attack when using the Attack action, as I suggest here.

[@talongreenlee7704]

Personally, I’d give Dragonborn 60ft. of dark vision and one skill proficiency based on their color. Green dragons are notoriously conniving, so green Dragonborn get proficiency in deception, etc.

[@BrendanThomasMusic]

In our campaign, our DM ruled that the breath weapon is an attack, not an action. It helps a lot

[@Quackra]

@@talongreenlee7704 Dragonborn don't act like Half-Dragons or Dragons so it doesn't fully makes sense in lore, but I understand what your view point is without explaining it. So I honestly wouldn't use that personally, but I won't stop you from doing what you want.

[@lukethegamingkiwi662]

Typically people I know (including myself) play dragonborn we just have their scale colour reflect their draconic origins

[@anthonynorman7545]

Same

[@KZBluCaesar3]

Facts. I think this is every Dragonborn player, despite the fact that they say their ancestry doesn’t always get reflected in their scales. Most IGNORED rule in any race....I do it myself. It just makes sense. This is the one race that needs the biggest overhaul, their origin and history included. They are too underpowered to carry the namesake of the game. Something has to be done to correct this.

[@fredilhos2]

My fixes: Following the Dragonborn Lore, that states that they are driven to perfection, i would change the bonus to: STR+2 and +1 to a choice of the player (That +1 would be justified on his training). For the breath weapon, you can use a number of 1+Cha (minimum of 1) per Short/Long Rest, And use Bonus Action. i Wouldnt give Darkvision. I'd give them Proficiency to Simple Weapons AND Shield, and a Tool(or Language).

[@fredilhos2]

@@malmasterson i had a wrong draft typed, and the number of uses would be per Long rest, not Short/Long rest. My fixes were not to be "clever" or "differente". Just to make it better to my games, and that's why they may seem Lazy. Next time try adding to the commentary other than just for your pleasure to call someone else Lazy.

[@elijuhtobler1470]

like the mind set

[@josephwilliams5292]

Denying Dragonborn darkvision is a crime.

[@zerocold1924]

Here's an idea: Chromatic DB get Intimidation proficiency while Metallic get Persuasion. Gives a bit of a distinction between the 2 types that's not just a color that gets mentioned once at character intro and never again.

[@HughRGlen]

"and I feel it is out shined by most other races, especially the newer ones. " The power creep is real. Which is scary when there are less than a dozen official books...

[@Boundless-Boredom]

Its really not though. A lot of PHB races are fine compared to others. Dragonborn is jsut a weaker race. I doubt its power creep. They just fucked up a race

[@anthonynorman7545]

@@Boundless-Boredom to be clear, are you saying that the newer races aren't more powerful on average than the older ones?

[@Boundless-Boredom]

Anthony Norman some are some arent. Phb has plenty of good races. Imo the base human and dragonborn are just weak. Plenty of halflings and elves and half orcs running around. Base tiefling is nice. Id admit all new races are probably better than bade human and dragonborn but not compared to all phb races

[@Boundless-Boredom]

Basically Dragonborns jsut got the short end of the stick and deserve a revise or new subraces to fix the problem. Other races are fine how they are and aren’t progressively getting out of hand as a power creep implies. new features need to be implimented to keep the game fresh but with how much they try and keep 5e “balanced” i dont see any single race(or couple races) being absolutely superior in any way

[@Boundless-Boredom]

sum body that isnt the base human that is a variant.

[@seanbailey1234]

Just a thought. What about giving the Dragonborn +2con/+1cha? Con is a useful for everyone and there are already several races with str/con.

[@unwithering5313]

Makes sense and its more unique I think

[@lrioje1]

I think they should get the Triton treatment and get +1 to Con, Cha, and Str

[@seanbailey1234]

The triton treatment could definitely work.

[@killianduggan8730]

They need the "Eberron Orc" treatment imho. The upcoming book they are testing UA for might be a promising candidate for that.

[@joeyfish5]

I'd def suggest the option either intimidation or athletics. I'd be way more scared of a dragon born then a half orc. But great video. I agree! Dragon born need a buff. Its sad!

[@kylethomas9130]

Who wants to grapple a guy that could scar/kill you with a sneeze?

[@solitudeguard3196]

@@kylethomas9130 well those are are just anti vaxxers

[@unwithering5313]

An HP boost that works like Dwarven Toughness could make sense

[@sixty5202]

All I've changed in the game I run is scaling the breath weapon every other level, similar to sneak attack. Means the breath weapon actually feels badass to use, and it hasn't felt overly unbalanced so far.

[@sovelisholimion]

Yeah, it scales like burning hands,but starting with one less die of damage... nothing crazy OP

[@xxmagixxgamer1741]

I’m a Dragonborn Paladin(6)/Sorcerer(11) I’ve used my breath weapon offensively on two occasions: at level 1 to weaken a group of bandits At level 10 to non-lethally scare away some bandits instead of kill them Other than that I’ve used it to light fires or get advantage in intimidation friendships

[@Xtra_Medium]

I've tried giving Dragonborn a rechargeable breath weapon and found the players will often get overwhelmed and have a difficult time remembering to make the additional roll on their turn I believe Davvy Chappy's solution was more elegant Breath Weapon can be used CON MOD number of times (min of 1) between rests

[@anthonynorman7545]

I like that

[@malmasterson]

Disagree completely, a racial trait/ability should be rarely seen/used but be more impactful than a regular attack or cantrip, so giving it more uses or using it as a bonus action loses the pop and/or just makes it feel like an add-on for action economy. Here's my solution that's worked out great in my games: change the d6's to d8's and double the proficiency/give expertise to it. This will give it just a slight damage boost that will be more noticeable over time and make it so that when it is used it's more likely to actuly hit without you having to invest to much in con.

[@whiskeyhound]

@@malmasterson You'd have a point if it wasn't the case that a good % of player race options give a reusable damage dealing trait.

[@malmasterson]

@@whiskeyhoundFirst, this is just how I personally see it. Second, I'm talking about like big attacks. Like the frenzied hunger ability on the Lizardfolk or the acid spit on Simic Hybrid. I also have a reworked version of the Lizardfolk where I eliminate the bite, and make the hunger attack a one time use super bite that heals. If you don't like my ideas that's fine, but it's just my viewpoint.

[@Quackra]

@@malmasterson Are you sure you read it correctly because it already was one attack. Here is the ability word for word from the Volo's Guide to Monsters: Hungry Jaws: In battle, you can throw yourself into a vicious feeding frenzy. As a bonus action, you can make a special attack with your bite. If the attack hits, it deals its normal damage, and you gain temporary hit points (minimum of 1) equal to your Constitution modifier, and you can't use this trait again until you finish a short or long rest.

[@Reyn_Roadstorm]

I'd break out the draconic types the same way subraces have been for the other races. All dragonborn have some base stats the same like the +2 STR, and a choice of one of the following: +1 AC when unarmored, a bite attack or a claw attack. Then based on draconic heritage they get the appropriate damage resistance and an additional +1 to a stat that makes thematic sense. Additionally, metallic dragonborn would have advantage vs. effects akin to the secondary breath attack metallic dragons can use, while chromatic dragonborn would gain an ability based on the lair actions or regional effects of the appropriate type of chromatic dragon. For example: Brass dragons have fire breath AND sleep breath, so brass dragonborn would gain advantage vs. sleep effects, silver dragonborn advantage vs. paralysis, etc. Green dragonborn would innately know Entangle and Spike Growth and could cast each once per day without expending a spell slot. White dragonborn would know Ice Knife and Fog Cloud, etc. Something along those lines anyway. Finally, for the breath weapons, I'd revamp that entirely and actually make it work similar to a Monk's Ki points. The dragonborn would gain 1 Breath Weapon Point per character level. When using the Breath Weapon, the dragonborn is able to choose how many Breath Weapon Points are expended, up to half their total level worth of points rounded up (minimum of 1) per use. (Basically it's the same as spell levels vs. caster class levels: 1 at 1&2, 2 at 3&4, etc.) At 7th level you could expend 3 points per use and at level 20 up to 10 points per use. Because of this, I would NOT make the Breath Weapon a bonus action, but keep it as an action as it currently stands. Breath Weapon Points regenerate over time, but the rate at which they regenerate depends on the dragonborn's activity during that time. While resting, points regenerate at a rate of 1 per hour, performing light activity reduces the rate to 1 every 2 hours and heavy activity 1 every 4 hours. If conditions become extreme enough, such as a starvation scenario, points may stop regenerating altogether. Using the breath weapon for minor role play purposes, such as starting a campfire (with dry wood) or blowing a foul smelling cloud at an annoying party member, would not consume any points. To me this makes sense in the same way as being able to choose how many points to spend. Superman can blow out a burning building or the candles on a birthday cake. He doesn't have to send the birthday cake into the next state when doing so. Starting a campfire with dry kindling and some oil or other accelerant, no big deal. Starting a campfire with rain soaked wood... well now you're gonna start burning points before you start burning logs.

[@charlottewalnut3118]

Reyn Roadstorm that’s bloody brilliant

[@legithopecrew]

This got me thinking on how I would do this. Bonus action breath weapon, unlimited uses, change the way the save works, offer a feat that allows you to gain wings, darkvision, and a better breath weapon. Or just make a set of sub classes that directly build on features to the existing race benefits.

[@christianacquasanta1472]

I d say those changes should be fine - +2 Str 1 Cos 1 Ch - Breath bonus action - Claws 1d4 Also you can pick one of the following - Attuned to the Weave: Advantage on arcana checks to recognise magic usage ("magic sense" as dragons are weave imbued essentially) - Draconic Terror: Advantage on intimidation checks against population (as tales of destroyed cities are passed down the village)

[@christianacquasanta1472]

@sum body that's why in every UA there's a disclaimer at the start 😂 You can't really expect an deep power level evaluation on a post written in 30 seconds. Also to be honest I think it's about on par with elven races which granted are on the upper side of the spectrum

[@Lurklen]

For Dragonborn changes, I like those suggested, in addition one option could be: Gain the speed of your dragon type (Climbing, swimming, burrowing) and/or that feat that gave them wings, but a slow fly speed. Though I'd change it to a glide feature (Gargoyles represent).

[@GoatKnife]

great video man.would love to see more of these maybe fixing a certain class like artificer or some spells/feats etc

[@NobodyDungeons]

So I tend to let my players go crazy with the colors of the dragon born telling them to think of exotic birds for inspiration which has lead to some pretty interesting characters such as Dracin Goldface the blue dragon born storm sorcerer who was a mix of green blue and purple with a face of solid gold in color who wielded the powers of the storm

[@TyranusRex721]

Here is my Dragonborn rework: Names, Walk speed, alignment, height, weight are all the same. Dragonborn take on some physical aspects of their ancestry (ie color, tail, tendrils, fin, horn, etc.) Age: They still age very quickly reaching adulthood by the age of 15. However, their draconic ancestry allows them to stay in their prime for a long time and many dragonborn have been able to reach the age of 400. Attributes: +2 Consitution, +1 to either Strength or Charisma (your choice) Scale Hide: Your armored scales help protect you in combat. Your AC increases by 1 and this bonus even stacks with the armor that you are wearing. Draconic Magic: You gain a small amount of magical heritage from your draconic ancestry. You can choose 1 damaging sorcerer cantrip that corresponds to the damage type of your Dragonborn. Ancient Knowledge: Your draconic blood grants you unique knowledge of the world. You gain proficiency in either History or Arcana (your choice). Draconic Resistance: Choose a dragon corresponding to your ancestry: Black, Green, Blue, White, Red, Gold, Copper, Bronze, Silver, Brass. They still give you their corresponding damage resistance and breath weapon. Breath Weapon: The line and cone stuff is still the same, but now the damage scales like a cantrip, you get to use it as a bonus action, and you get to use it equal to your Con modifier per long rest. I was also thinking of either giving Chromatic Dragonborn proficiency in Intimidation and Metallic Dragonborn proficiency in Proficiency, but that might be too much.

[@fraidnaught9067]

I have rather conservative fixes for dragonborn. Breath Weapon is a bonus action and adds the highest of you Con, Str, or Cha mods to damage, and same for the DC.(basically the 4e version) +1 HP per level(stolen from dragon sorcerer and mildly synergistic with it) And that's it, doesn't make them particularly strong, but hopefully makes it so that you don't feel like you're shooting yourself in the foot by playing one.

[@Z03Y_1S_H3R3]

My fix for dragonborn would be: +2 STR, +1 free proficiency on perception. choose 1 from the following -wings with a flying speed equal to the winged tiefling bloodline -Make the breath weapon same as cantrip levels. up the damage a little bit. and make it an 1/turn with 1+con uses per short rest attack option, that you can use it as part of a multi attack. Also gain resistance to thats attacks damage type. -advantage or expertise on perception. kind of showing that you are a dragon, half wild beast, and your instincts are good. I know, this seems to be much at first glance, but hear me out. it makes the race open for nearly any class. spellcasters can take flight and perception bc they have the ranged option anyways with their spells and cantrips. meele combat classes will have constitution and now gain a ranged attack, that they can combine with their mutliattack.

[@elgatochurro]

"In some games they dont even short rest" Sounds like a personal problem

[@Dawning_Light]

elgatochurro I as the GM would be more willing to give a short rest. Because I know traits like these require a short rest.

[@Dawning_Light]

Or I’ve considered giving the Dragonborn breath weapon a 5 to 6 recharge trait. Each turn you roll a 5 or 6, you get another use.

[@NerdImmersion]

Again, it doesn't happen all the time but it's happened enough that several people have told me this

[@elgatochurro]

@@NerdImmersion still its not a GMs doing, it's the players. I view it the same way as players never using or buying health potions once having the money to do so.

[@TriariusMetzer]

You should give dragon born the ability to pick a dragon born feat at level one.

[@unwithering5313]

Yes

[@Zeromegas]

To the fanart of the Dragonborn is more close to the halfdragon without wings and keeping the tail. Im faver to that!

[@thereaIitsybitsyspider]

I say go all in and give the Dragonborn +2 Strength, +1 Charisma, and +1 Constitution.

[@1AmGroot]

Oh boy, I would not want to be a warlock in a party that doesn't use short rests

[@kylethomas9130]

I remember when I read about the Dragonborn build and lore, I had a terrific idea for a character. A teifling cinnamon roll bard that thinks she's a dragonborn.

[@bosinclaire7670]

Hell just reflavour/reskin all hellish aspects and you have yourself an ok dragon heritage character...

[@rallaa]

I think their stat bonus should be +2 Con, +1 to any. (Allowing a +3 Con, if they want to.) Bonus action Breath Weapon, but leave the damage the same. With their Con Mod in uses per Long Rest. Give them Dark Vision. As well as a choice between +1 AC when not wearing heavy armor; *or* Proficiency with Intimidation/Athletics. And as a flavor ribbon, Advantage on checks to determine the value of objects.

[@jacobjosephgoudreault3114]

Love your take on the Dragonborn; I’ll definitely be using these ideas. Thanks man!

[@blturn]

Have a look at the art of the Dragonborn in “A Young Adventurer’s Guide - Warriors and Weapons. They’ve had an overhaul in design and look so much better anatomically than the fish tendril haired people they had before. Although o don’t mind the lack of tail or wings, I wish they didn’t all look muddy copper, browns, yellows and sometimes blues. I wish their scales reflected what their breath weapon is.

[@rubyseverinwhitworth9066]

Most people do that anyways

[@BespokeFoil]

Wait it doesn’t

[@Exisist5151]

BLT You can have them be any color of the table. The muddy brown/copper is just the look of an average Dragonborn. Certain ones that have purer bloodlines retain the color of their ancestor.

[@blturn]

Exisist that’s what I mean by “I wish they all didn’t look like that” I want the colour diversity to be the average, not the one off.

[@Exisist5151]

BLT I think it just makes sense though. It implies that the Dragonborn among themselves don’t segregate and the current look they have is the most common one they have. It also shows either copper Dragonborn reproduce more than the other types or it shows that the copper color is a dominant trait in terms of genetics.

[@johnmabe3496]

Remember the module, Council of the Wyrms? I loved that, let's play a dragon outright.

[@RickarRickani]

They Should give them one of the Dragonborn Feats from the get-go. The Dragonhide as a Sorcerer is sweet.

[@jimmybob7873]

Here's my modifications to the Dragonborn: 1) Change the Ability Score Increase so Strength, Constitution, and Charisma are each increased by +1. (The Triton has this same unusual ability score spread.) 2) Change the Breath Weapon trait to use a bonus action rather than an action. 3) Add the the Imposing Presence trait (originating from the Minotaur), which grants the Dragonborn proficiency in either the Intimidation skill or the Persuasion skill. (I mean, come on: what's more imposing than a dragon?) 4) Add the Powerful Build trait, which doubles the Dragoborn's carrying capacity and the weight it can push, drag, or lift. (The Orc already gets this trait and is actually smaller than the average Dragonborn.)

[@charlottewalnut3118]

Jimmy Bob I kind of hate that they won’t do large races like it’s really stupid you can balance it out easily any ranged attack has advantage in comparison to hit you and get to say +3 to +5 depending on the type of ranged attack certain spaces you can’t fit in in certain places will crack with you in it your armor and weapons will cost more so making actually large player races or even huge player races isn’t really that difficult to make it’s just about creativity

[@JustinTotino]

I've had the exact same idea about the breath weapon; bonus action and scale like a cantrip. I'm okay with it being CON based because that's how it is for dragons and genasi too. It makes sense, since it's coming from the creature and not from say the Weave like the extra cantrip for high elves. I'm also okay with them having +1 CHA, the idea being that the race is uncommon as it is, so that +1 CHA represents a commoner's "oh look a dragon-person!" reaction. Same for tieflings. But I also like the +1 CON idea too. However, the recharge on short rest bit is assuming, as stated in (I think) the DMG that a single session has about 8 encounters, so the party would need to take multiple shorts rests. Which is also why a warlock's spell slots recharge on short rest. I thought that was crazy, 8 encounters per session, haha. But then you also have to take into account that no matter how you try to spin any version of a "what D&D is about" rhetoric, fact of the matter is that a majority of the gameplay is about combat.

[@Deathmvp1]

I made 3 changes to dragon born in my Game. 1) breath is a bonuses action to use. 2) Breath recharges on a 6 instead of being short rest. Yes this means you may get multiple used in 1 combat. 3)Their scales add a +1 AC on top of other ac bounes you get from gear or class ability. So far the player that has it has liked it (started at level 1 now is 5th) and even when the party ran into npc they did not feel it was broken when used agenst them.

[@wacpas]

In the campaign I currently play (Dragonborn Sourcerer) our DM allowes Breath Weapon as bonus action, which works pretty well.

[@DMPolmoharaPlays]

I did also had a talk with my co DMs here locally and I also totally agree, We kinda all agreed that the best way to fix a Dragonborn is to add 1 more D6 damage dice on the breath weapon and usable on a recharge basis (recharge 6), we can give it Darkvision since all dragons do but if we do it its will be a bit OP nevertheless to balance it was to have the recharge be a use of action economy so to do we had the recharge roll done by spending a bonus action

[@PhluXx1]

I'd seriously recommend for DM's to consider allowing their Dragonborn players to start with 1 of the Dragonborn feats and to remove the saving throw for the breath weapons as well as make it a bonus action.

[@DarthSoto78]

The only time I saw the Dragonborn's breath weapon have any use was a conquest paladin who took the feat that adds frightened to the breath weapon.

[@gavincleveland]

All the reasons at the start of the video is why I made my own revised version of Dragonborn for me and my friends to use. I made the breath weapon charges linked to the characters con mod and just gave them the dragon hid feat from Xanathar’s guide and increased the damage die for the breath weapon. I also changed the ability score increases so that it’s increases are more universally useful instead of only being useful for Paladin.

[@ihave2cows]

I like the idea of just making their breath weapon a bit more strong and having it recharge like a normal dragon's breath weapon does. As is, martial characters are almost never going to want to use it over their standardattacks, and spellcasters are almost always going to have better options. Breathing fire is pretty iconic, it'd be fun to have it actually feel as satisfying as it should be.

[@NegatveSpace]

After watching a lot of breath weapon critiques online what I did is give my dragonborn fighter player a magical dragon scale breast plate that boosts his breath damage. It also counts as +1 of whatever medium armor he has now and if he finds more pieces it will count as +1 plate armor and maybe also have other bonuses if he finds the whole suit.

[@Saturn_orange]

I agree Dragonborn need something. I would take away Strength and give Con as the bonus 2. Make the breath weapon a bonus action that can be used once per short rest. Instead of darkvision, I would give them blind sight out to 10 ft then give them proficiency in charisma saving throws

[@TheOtherWhiteNerd]

Couple ideas I had. 1) Instead of giving them 60 ft Darkvision, they could get 10 ft Blindsight. I think it makes them a very unique ancestry while still preserving the struggle of not having Darkvision. 2) Perhaps the issue with the Breath Weapon is that it has only one use. Were it more powerful it would justify being limited in this way; with its current power, I feel it’s only worth it for the first 1-4 levels maybe if you hit multiple targets. I’d say start it at 3d6 and then give it 2d6 more when it scales. Alternatively, it could gain additional uses but scale as it does now. I think it should be something to consider instead of making multiple attacks; making it more powerful and more often usable helps that. It could even recharge like a Dragon’s breath weapon does, or they could just gain an extra use at the previous levels. I’m also totally down for making it scale with CHA.

[@crushcreate1461]

The way I did the breath weapon was keep it an action and constitution based. The base damage was increased to 2d8, increasing at 5th (3d8), 9th (4d8), 13th (5d8), and 17th (6d8).

[@Travis5857]

one of the things i pushed for with dragonborns is them getting thier breath weapon back at the beginning of their turn by rolling a d6 and them getting it on a 6 and honestly the players loved it, and i think im gonna incorporate the bonus action with it and i won't mind the power of it because i rather see someone doing the fun thing as a dragonborn and getting to do the one thing dragons do best

[@Fugax357]

I would give them proficiency in Intimidation since in 4e they had +2 to the Intimidate and Endurance skills

[@calebchristensen900]

Best thing I’ve thought about is to up the die number, or number of die (2d8/3d6) at the base level, and have the breath weapon available to a number of times equal to the constitution modifier. It’s not overly powerful but it still dopes it up a bit more then a weak can trip.

[@KadarianLord]

some fixes my group has used: bonus action, treated as immune to energy type instead of resistant, scaled it up to damage of a 1st level spell then allowed it to increase in power when they would gain a new spell level. (3d6 1st, 4d6 3rd, 5d6 5th so on and so forth) the first two came of the player misunderstanding how it worked and us running with it. The second was us trying to make it worth using instead of an action.

[@Stabu]

I've played several campaigns with Dragonborns under the same DM and he added two house rules for them (otherwise playing with Adventures League rules): natural armor AC 13 and Dark vision to 60ft. Those seemed to even things out pretty well for the race. The breath weapons were practically never used, only in the first few battles, then once when defending a bridge and then a few times when role playing and you had to "accidentally" set up things on fire like a cart or a roof.

[@Altyrell]

I've allowed the players in my campaigns that want to play Dragonborn along with Dragonborn NPC's to gain a Darkvision that functions similar to that of the Fire Genasi, where the Fire Genasi sees in shades of red instead of grey. For my Dragonborn Players, I allow them to choose whether the shades they see in is tied to their dragonic ancestry type [breath weapon] with Fire is Red, Poison is Green, Cold is Blue, etc or based on their dragonic ancestry [red dragon - red; gold is gold, silver is silvery sheen, with white & black their darkvision is white & black respectively however for White Dragonborn terrain & whatnot are outlined with black lines, so if they look at an "L" wall, the the wall's outline & where the two walls meet is outlined with black lines. For the Black, it's reversed. I've been slowly allowing the Dragonborn Breath Weapons to recharge on a "5/6" at the start of their turns like the Full Dragons. I've been slowly introducing new type of Dragonborn NPC's, I haven't allowed them to be playable yet because of the rarity of them, & they're descendant from Bahumat (Platinum, Radiant), Tiamat (chaos, the breath weapon type is determined by a 1d6 [fire, poison, lightning, cold, acid, necrotic; the color of their scales is either in layers reflecting the 5 chromatic dragons or mixed together randomly], & Ao [Force]. Bahumat Dragonborns & Tiamat Dragonborns, I'm more likely to allow to become playable eventually, but the Ao Dragonborns I'm unlikely to ever allow to be playable in my campaigns

[@kendrajade6688]

One option I saw was that Dragonborn as a base race gets +2 to CON, with two subraces: Chromatic and Metallic. Metallic gets +1 STR and Chromatic +1 CHA, with other features on top of that.

[@ryanmeakins2993]

i've been playing a dragonborn paladin in my main campaign and really enjoyed it but i totally agree with all your points, i've been working on developing some home-brew dragonborn sub-types when i run my first long term campaign. i've made four, one has altered breath weapon rules, one is based having a tail (as many draw dragonborn with tails [including myself]) and the other two based around the two dragonborn racial feats. im still working on them to keep them balanced, mostly cause most of the negative parts of my balancing is based on roleplay elements, such as the Hoarder type gets the dragon hide feat, but they are obsessed with something anyway cool video and i like your thinking

[@bsmaster5714]

we gave breath weapons a use of con mod +1 (min 1) as well as usable as bonus action and a base ac of 13. as well as changed the damage from d6s to d8s +2x con mod (min 2)

[@whitleypedia]

They need a hard rule for short rests. It should be once per day (ie a lunch break)

[@kylethomas9130]

I've been seeing more fantasy stories that include what I'd call short rests, and don't have to be a meal break. I think it's from the writing of recent decades that value wrapping up activities in a solar cycle. In warzones people rarely get a good 8 hour rest on a whim. If dragons and other monsters are that much more dangerous than human warfare, you'd think adventurers would be wary taking a week vacation in Chult, or some other place.

[@Khaons]

@@Jk-zv6tz just don't make a short rest in the middle of the dungeon, try and make some preparations beforehand, shutdown the doors, barricade it (you can use pytons for it) and ask the dmg if your character feel like it would be safe to rest over there, most DMs like to play the trope of "the world is dangerous" and don't like to give it up unless the players is on the verge of death and insist on doing rests without proper preparation, so show your DMs that you are wary of their world. Also, DMing is a pretty thankless job and whenever things doesn't go the players way there's always a smartass player claiming he is a "playing against" type DM, don't do that. He just want to keep the verisimilitude of the world.

[@Khaons]

@@Jk-zv6tz a good trick that I once saw players using in front of a goblin lair was setting up camp right in front of the lair, filling the bedrolls with stuff like grass or their own bags and hide and rest on the nearby folliages, not only did they manage to rest but they also got the drop in the goblins when they attacked the stuffed bedrolls.

[@AdmiralDoodad]

I think I'd take the breath weapon in a different direction; Keep the weapon a CON save, its thematic, since your breath weapon is coming from your own body, but CON is also a universally useful ability score across all classes. I'd also keep the breath weapon a normal action to activate, but make it scale much better, so 2d6 initially and an additional d6 at 3rd level and every 2 levels thereafter. This makes it an interesting option across each level.

[@quincybriley4113]

The only time I ever played a Dragonborn, I only really used my breath weapon for utility. Setting structure fires etc. In combat I used it once or twice against swarms and that was it.

[@binolombardi]

Dragonborn breath weapons as written only effect creatures. Another reason why its weak.

[@quincybriley4113]

@@binolombardi which is a stupid rule ignored by every dm I've ever met. Fire is fire

[@noname-do5wo]

@@binolombardi rules as written vs rules as intended my friend

[@binolombardi]

no name Rules as written vs rules as lightly read over and ignored due to the way most people playing how they want to play anyways.

[@binolombardi]

no name The wording honestly doesn’t matter for creatures and objects until people start trying to figure out the shatter spell or start playing an artificer artillerist.

[@kamuuz6595]

In our homebrew campaign I play a white dragonborn and this is what our DM did >Normal bonuses to stats and Dragonborn features >Darkvision >The armour and unarmed strike in Xanathars guide >Breath weapon now recharges on a 5 or 6 like a Dragon but only in combat otherwise it recharges on a short or long rest This is really balanced for us also Dragonborns have tails and look more like dragons on our world but are also treated how Tieflings are treated

[@Torthrodhel]

I'd make it useable at will, actually reduce the damage to 1d6 and not even have it scale but give it some utility that'll be useful beyond the early levels. Add this. Whoever gets hit by it, permanently downgrade their resistance to that damage type. Immune? Now they're resistant. Resistant? Now they aren't. No listed resistance? Now they're vulnerable. Already vulnerable? In that case you impose a status effect until the start of your next turn that depends on the damage type. Cold = stunned. Fire = blinded. Lightning = deafened. Poison = poisoned. Acid = frightened. Now the damage isn't the point. Now your breath weapon is a slow burn (pun intended) control tool that's unique and remains useful (arguably getting even more useful) at higher levels. You could leave the rest of the racial abilities as limited and clunky as they already are since this is powerful enough to want to pick just for its own sake. Possibly, you could add a "draconic blessing" ability that as a bonus action lets you "touch" any number of creatures within 10ft of you with an inhalation, in order to tag them as immune to the effects of your breath weapon until the end of this turn. That would ensure that you don't go around risking permanent immunity reductions to your allies, especially if you're worried about your attack being redirected or something like that. You could even add a resistance to being charmed as an ability too, in order to bolster the sureness of this (which would synergize nicely with the charisma bonus). And honestly, how exactly do you be a dragon and not be able to breathe until you rest? That just never made thematic sense to me. Whatever that breath weapon does, they should be able to do it all the time.

[@serkankerimoglu9834]

I had the same problem in one of my games. So we made our homebrew fix for dragonborn. -Breath Weapon Damage Equals to ( Dragonborn Level + Prof Bonus ) X 5 . So at lv5 you get a 40dmg AoE attack. I think a Dragon Breath attack should be consistent. Rolling 3dmg on a skill that you can only use once per combat sucks so much. Yes it scales up to 120dmg at lv 20 but thats the whole points of being a dragon. After lv 11 you can use this ability twice per short rest. -Athletics Prof. and being able to use Long Jump without the requirement of runing 10ft first. -You have advantage on saving throws against Frightened effects. -Dragon Scales: All Damage recieved is reduced by 2 - 4 - 6 - 8 . level 1- 5 - 11 - 17. He was also playing a fighter and using his Breath attack to clear small foes every fights and it was satisfiying for everyone. He even said ' Fck Darkvision and spells, Dragonborn is the Best' .

[@lordnul1708]

To be fair, some classes kinda suck without that short rest as well. Warlock, for example, will not get to use most of their spells after a couple hexes and Barbarian, after a while, will run out of abilities they can use.

[@HughRGlen]

100%. Tables which don't use the short rest mechanic are making a choice to change game balance and the fallout of that is on them, not the game design. (though dragonborn are unquestionably a mechanically inferior race)

[@WexMajor82]

Druids don't get back wild shape uses, bards don't get back inspirations, wizard don't have the recharge; a lot of classes use the short rest.

[@Dutchofclass]

Yes!!! Thank you for recognising that they need to be fixed :) i have my own homebrew variant of them but this seems quality too

[@Dutchofclass]

to show the difference: i gave them a natural armor class (12 + con mod, like loxodon) the ability to either use their breah weapon in a normal way or to frighten enemies (and both are bonus actions like you suggested) and I gave them a +2 to con and either +1 to str or cha (player's choice) plus a feature from 4th edition called strength of the clan (adv vs being frightened)

[@deaconvelos8352]

Here's another excellent class build for Dragonborn, Drakewarden Ranger, you get a second breath weapon based on the color of your Drake

[@YaBoiMeatBallze]

My group has the breath weapon as a Bonus Action and usable 1+ Constitution modifier per short rest. Been working for us so far.

[@martinpat94]

Hey so this being an old video I doubt any will see this, but I have an idea to run by everyone. What about using some of the bits from 3.5 and make the Dragonborn similar to the Tiefling subraces? We kind of already get something similar to Wildmount so just like make one or two more? Also for something else to give them, maybe a once per long rest Frightful presence? I don’t know what do you guys think

[@NerdImmersion]

Funnily enough, that's what I did my homebrew campaign. Here's what I did: homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/H1jnVqj7W

[@KevinVideo]

My fixes were as such: +1 Str, +1 Con, +1 Cha Darkvision 60 ft. Draconic Ancestry as-is Advantage to saves vs. paralysis and sleep effects Proficiency with History and Intimidate skills. Using that Excel sheet document I had showed you last year, that puts the dragonborn at around 30 pts instead of the original 21. Then I made a homebrew feat that let you use your breath weapon as a bonus action. it also increased the breath weapon damage by 1d6 per increment to a total of +3d6 at 17th level (so a grand total of 8d6) and the distance by 5 feet per increment (+15 feet; 45 ft. line or 30 ft. cone). I didn't increase the Con score because I thought that'd be too much for the feat. Having played a dragonborn back in 3.5, I wanted to recapture that feeling of playing such a fun race again.

[@Quackra]

That does look a lot better though I think I am going to personally go with what I am planning on my own stuff which is actually quite similar. But, it isn't for 5e directly and would require a bit of conversion to move it over.

[@runicdragon3183]

I know different subject but I feel it's relevant in this subject. But if you only use the long rest mechanic then class features like Second wind,Action surge(fighter),Channel divinity(cleric),Wild shape(druid),etc. Are practically useless cause if you use the feature(however many times you're allowed). Then until you take a long rest you can't use them again

[@ltmuffler3482]

I know I'm late to the party but; The way I would rework the dragonborn is as follows: Give them darkvision 60ft, regardless. Change the ability modifiers to +2 Con base. The +1 and all other features would be based on their Ancestry. They get their elemental resistance and breath weapons as normal, the DC stays 8 + Con + Prof. It stays 1 use per short or long rest. But it would be a bonus action and would scale from 2d6 to 3d6 at 5th level, 4d6 at 11th level, and 5d6 at 17th level. They also get a skill proficiency and the associated +1 ability bonus: Black gains +1 Dex and Stealth; Blue gains +1 Cha and Deception; Brass gets +1 Cha and Persuasion; Bronze gets +1 Int and Investigation; Copper gets +1 Dex and Acrobatics; Gold gets +1 Str and Athletics; Green gets +1 Wis and Insight; Red gets +1 Cha and Intimidate; White gets +1 Wis and Perception. Not sure what Silver gets without doubling up one one, and I don't feel like Survival perfectly fits Silver, but if that's what Silver gets, then it's +1 Wis and Survival.

[@jgr7487]

•Str: +2 •Cha: +1 •Con: +1 •Natural weapon: claws (because biting is so uncivilized) •Breath Weapon: Bonus Action; scales as Cantrips •Darkvision: yes, because Mike Mearls said so on the 1st episode of Heroes of the Vale

[@Zahnpuppy]

I think keep it as a full action but give it upgrades as they level up. -creatures that fail their dex save take full damage and are set on fire 1d6 per turn -Wisdom saving throw on enemies that are on fire or become frightened with a save at the end. -Double the area 30 foot cone - unlock the ability to make it singe target, deal double damage and apply the effect of 'heat meal' at the same level that a bard/druid would get it. (as well as the other abilites) maybe once per day.

[@storyteller9944]

So from my experience playing dnd (which admittedly isn’t that much, only about a year so far) I’ve seen 4 Dragonborns played, so to spice it up bit I would add *dragon hide* (from xananthar’s guide to everything) as a normal ability, instead of a feat they have to take.

[@AzraelThanatos]

Ontop of everything else, Dragonborn (Like the Fire Genasi) suffer from playing to type. If you want to play a dragonborn as a "dragon," most would go with the dragon sorcerer...and lose out on the resistance feature because they don't stack and your +1 Cha is something that pushes it. And the pyromancer sorcerer has the same issue where the special class ability becomes useless there. I've been playing with a few different options for a generic alternate option there

[@ColtNomad]

I've always thought that the d6 mechanic regular dragons use to regain their breath weapon could synergize with the dragonborn, but maybe instead of the d6 use a d20 and regain on a nat 20? Also thinking that maybe instead of athletics, give them the d4 claws or the unarmored defense like the sorcerer subclass has, though they are strength based so maybe the claws is better than something relying on dex.

[@gamingknight94]

The new Dragonborn Ability Score: ±2 Str +1Cha (or maybe +1 Str, Con, Cha) Dragon Ancestry: add gem dragons Breath Weapon: counts as 1 attack so you can use it on multi attacks (or it's a BA) but deals 1d6 and scales to cantrips, S/LR Darkvision: 60ft The last feature is hard to figure out

[@dicorockhimself]

Give them a +1 to armor at all times even if they are wearing armor or using unarmored defense from their scales

[@dicorockhimself]

Also for the abillity score improvement id suggest +2 str, +1 of your choice.

[@ticozayas6430]

1.) for base race stats: +2 str +1cha is fine, but if you feel this needs changing i say either use +2str +1con or +2str +1(players choice) 2.) for the breath weapon: i say you make it a bonus action, use cantrip scaling, tie it to your charisma score, and you can do it a number of times equal to your charisma modifier per long rest (if race stats are shifted from cha to a different stat use that stat instead) 3.)regular darkvision and natural armor

[@orestesbastos]

I had a draconic sorcerer dragonborn, my DM gave me an item that scaled my breath weapon and it became based on my CHA, but afterwards he gave 60 ft of drakvision and 10 of blindsight as a fix. Doesn't make sense for the DRAGONborn to not have that. Breath weapon as BA may be a bit op, bit you can only use it once right? Maybe not too powerful. Unless you use potions or magic to recharge, but the dragon breath magic doesn't do that. Ps: in our games we let the players put the status bonuses wherever they want so we can make weird characters.

[@MetaMdad]

orestesmkb I think you are mistaking the dragonborn with the half dragon. dragonborn are a separate race that mutated from proper dragons. half dragons are the ones directly related and they do get those traits.

[@kylethomas9130]

Draconic sorcerer is a solid subclass, it would be funny if it was a different color dragon than your character.

[@orestesbastos]

@@MetaMdad not really, I just think that of they mutated from they should have some of the characteristics

[@satiricalandcynical3790]

What I do with their breath weapon is I make their DC based off strength and that it can be used as a bonus action. I add one thing to them called Dragons hoard: for every 100 gp gem you have you gain a +1 to attack to a maximum of +5

[@Coyote-pj8ur]

I had the thought of giving a minimum of 10ft blindsight as opposed to dark vision like the majority of other races. Playing the whole enhanced sense of smell.

[@ascapedgoat8462]

I typically go for giving them dragonhide feat for free (without the ability score buff), darkvision, and proficiency in perception or insight and persuasion or intimidation. The breath weapon also only takes a bonus action. I typically let it stack with effects like dragons breath, elemental affinity. potion of dragons breath, etc., if the means or available. I’m still torn between on weather I let it scale like a rogues Sneak attack and used once per long rest, or keep its current progression and make it usable a number of times equal to ones CON mod per long rest.

[@TheKillerman3333]

Before this video starts, the first thing that i thought of about the dragon born that i think should be fixed is the breath weapon. I think you should be able to use it at will like a cantrip and that it should scale with your level. Also give a tail and have the tail be able to attack and scale with strength.

[@TheKillerman3333]

Also how would you compare dragonborn from dnd4e to that of dragonborn in 5e?

[@anthonynorman7545]

An area of effect cantrip with that much damage throws off the balancing. It's the same as a level 1 spell.

[@TheKillerman3333]

@@anthonynorman7545 I was thinking that it not be that strong. It runs on constitution, but there is already an area of effect cantrip that deals alot of damage depending on how you use it. Words of radiance. It has the potential to deal almost 100 damage if the placement is good.

[@anthonynorman7545]

@@TheKillerman3333 that cantrip has much more risk though.

[@TheKillerman3333]

@@anthonynorman7545 yes it does. however it also scales with level. the current breath weapon doesn't. all damage cantrips after a certain level out damage the breath weapon. even toll the dead out damages it at level one. depending on your cleric class toll the dead can hit two people. then you have edritch blast which can deal 1d10 of damage and scales with level that can later deal more damage then the breath weapon. The biggest problem with dragon's breath is that you can't choose who you want to hit inside that cone or line.

[@skullsquad900]

I like the idea of giving them +2 Con +1 Cha. Which is perfect for a Bard, Sorcerer, Paladine or Warlock! They should be able to use their Breath Weapon equal to their Con Modifier, and it's damage goes up a Damage Die whenever Fire Bolt does. Also give them frickin Natural AC (10 + Con), they're DRAGONS! Heck throw in some Claws (1d4 Slashing) while we're at it!

[@backgroundcharacter3153]

I do things weird anyway, like you flat out get +2 and +1, or +1 to three scores. This replaces race ASI and made it more easier for players to choose based on preference than build. Dragonborns I gave them both racial feats (Without the ASI's) and allow breath weapon use as bonus action with limit equal to 1+con mod(min 0) per short or long rest. I will add the suggestions mentioned though since I do feel that is really lacking. Thanks for the great vid.

[@felixrivera895]

If you look at dragons they have: tail attacks, claw attacks, bite attacks, dark vision and blindsight, damage immunities, wings, scales, and a breath attack that recharges. So the dragon born should have: Either a bite or claw attack, or if not those then a climb speed because of their claws. Darkvision, and maybe a short short range blindsight. The resistance that they do gladly have. A +1 to AC when not wearing heavy armor or at least natural armor And a breath weapon that recharges on a 12/12 (because the d12 needs love and that means there's a small chance it will recharge but it can definitely happen). That combined with the breath attack scaling like a cantrip would also be good. Now I want to write my overhaul into my setting but my setting only has like, a handful of dragons at all. There are no dragon born and there's like, one of each true dragon. Maybe.

[@tyeklund7221]

Felix Rivera I understand where you are coming from, but in lore Dragonborn are not related at all to dragons. They are similar, but not related. They don’t need to have the same abilities dragons do

[@TyranusRex721]

@@tyeklund7221 Then having the name Dragonborn is stupid. We should have just gotten something like the half dragon race instead of dragonborn.

[@ryansprenkle6356]

I think all I would do it +1 Str, +1 Con, +1 Cha. And scale the breath weapon basically the same as the dragon breath spell. So you'd get an extra dice at the level would would get a new spell slot. 3d6 at level 3, 4d6 at level 5, 5d6 at 7.....10d6 at level 17. I'm coming around the the bonus action idea but I'm not positive

[@codynevel1944]

Hi! First video of yours I’ve watched. I’ve been playing/DMing for a few years now, and have always wondered about people aversion to Dragonborn. I currently have a player in my party that hates that he’s one (TLDR ; wasn’t his choice). I might have to incorporate some of these changes, to make him more useful. Great video, well thought out changes that don’t break the game, or make the character OP. And subscribed! 🤙🏼

[@geoffreyperrin4347]

My changes (I see a lot of people doing this, haha) 1. ASI = +1 Str +1 Con +1 Cha 2. Give the player the Dragon Hide racial feat (xanathar) minus the ability score bump 3. Free skill proficiency (choice of Athletics, Persuasion, or Intimidation) 4. Create 3 new racial feats for dragonborn. Each one gives a + 1 Str, Con, or Cha (choice, max 20) and they do the following: 1. Double range and BW uses d10s 2. +1 to DC and can focus one creature instead of AOE to impose disadvantage 3. Can use as a bonus action, and recharges after 1 hour rather than a short rest (in case they don't rest but am hour passes)

[@vernonhampton5863]

All I do for Dragonborn in my world is: 2x fire breath per long rest, choice of the racial feet for free. Maybe blindscense at lvl 10. But I dig most of what you're saying. My main campaign uses the breath weapon as a bonus action and I pears well with my eldritch blast follow up. Good video.

[@jadenlustre4612]

I haven’t finished the video but here’s what I would’ve done: 1. Give them a +2 to Strength and a +1 to any other stat 2. Give them Darkvision 3. Proficiency in a weapon of their choosing 4. The “Powerful Build” race ability 5. Advantage on being Feared

[@Deathwhisper2]

Here is a house rule I've run into in one of my games: You can use a breath weapon amount of times equal to your CHA/CON mod per long rest. (Min once) Once you are out of Dragon breath uses you can instead cast Acid Splash which deals type of damage based on your ancestry. Kind of mini breath. And for Dragon resistance: upon being hit with the damage you have resistance to you can use your reaction to become immune to it, till the start of your next turn. You can use this feature amount of times equal to your CON mod per long rest. (Min once)

[@HmmWelp]

I was thinking allowing breath weapons three times per long rest, instead of once per short. I've also been playing with adding the ability to imbue weapons with the type of your ancestor, basically a bonus action ability that allows you to coat your weapon with similar rules to poison application. other ideas that make sense thematically would be resistance to bludgeoning or natural armor, a knockdown tail attack, or possibly a couple spells at higher levels based on ancestry similar to drow inate casting. Obviously all of these would be broken, but 2 of them on top of the base seems ABOUT right.

[@caspianbchalphy]

For me it would probably be something like: -Make the breath weapon Con or Cha (and it it’s con increase con instead of cha). -Make the breath weapon a bonus action and you’re able to use it twice per short or long rest. -Give them blindsight up to 30 ft (they are supposed to be very similar to dragons so their sense of smell and hearing should be top notch (if not give them darkvision). -give them proficiency on perception (again they are related to dragons so their senses should be some of the best) -I would like to see them get a feature that’s basically the tabaxi claws just flavor it to dragons -at a higher level give them wings and a flying speed This may seem too strong idk. I’m thinking it seems to be on o Po at with some of the better races and I think a dragon race should be one of the better ones in the game.

[@mattf967]

Literally the only feature of any worth after level 5 is the damage resistance. Dragon's breath gets outclass by literally every class at level 5 either by multiattack, sneak attack or cantrip scaling. There's a homebrew called Greater Dragonborn that I really like and I advise anyone wanting usable dragonborn to gander at.

[@noctusdoesthings]

Frightful presence, the choice of flight at later levels, and/or a cantrip based on the type of dragon?

[@Syenthros]

My fix was to make it recharge on a 6 on 1d6, rolled at the start of each of his turns. It could also be used to substitute one of the dragonborn's attacks if you get additional attacks.