Gritborn

Humanoid, Medium

Available with DM subscription

Racial Traits

Speed —

Age Mature at 16; rarely live beyond 90 years

Languages Common, Dwarvish

Alignment Tendencies Any, Often Lawful Neutral, Often Neutral

Ability Score Increases

Quarry-Born

STRENGTH

CONSTITUTION

Pit-Born

DEXTERITY

CONSTITUTION

Ash-Born

STRENGTH

CONSTITUTION

Tide-Born

DEXTERITY

CONSTITUTION

CHARISMA

Freehold Gritborn

CONSTITUTION

WISDOM

CHARISMA

Racial Features

Deep-Sighted

Your dwarven blood sharpens your eyes for the dark. You have Darkvision with a range of 60 feet. Within that range, you see in dim light as though it were bright light, and in darkness as though it were dim light, though you discern no color in darkness, only shades of grey.

Usage: Always active

Dwarven Resilience

Stone and forge blood runs in you, and it turns aside what would sicken a softer body. You have Resistance to Poison damage, and you have Advantage on saving throws you make to avoid or end the Poisoned condition.

Usage: Always active

Tireless Frame

Your lungs and back are built for long shifts. You have Advantage on Constitution saving throws made to resist Exhaustion caused by forced marches, hard labor, extreme environments, or going without rest. In addition, you can perform strenuous labor for up to 16 hours in a day without needing a Constitution saving throw to avoid Exhaustion from the work itself.

Usage: Always active

Heavy-Built

Dwarven bone density anchors you where you stand. You have Advantage on Strength and Constitution saving throws made to avoid being knocked Prone or moved against your will. You also count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.

Usage: Always active

Endure

Once per Long Rest, when you fail an ability check or a saving throw, you can tap a knuckle against stone, iron, or your own sternum, name the thing you are enduring, and reroll the d20. You must use the new roll. This is the Counting, the small daily prayer of a people who have outlasted worse.

Usage: Once per Long Rest

Rules Compatibility

Primary Ruleset D&D 5.5 / SRD 5.2

Compatible Rulesets D&D 5.5 / SRD 5.2, D&D 5e / SRD 5.1

Ability Scores Flexible SRD 5.2-style bonuses. Every gritborn gains +1 Constitution from their base lineage. Each lineage then contributes exactly +2 more, either as +2 to one listed ability or +1 to two listed abilities, so the full base-plus-lineage package is always exactly +3 and never exceeds +2 in any one ability. Quarry-Born: +1 Strength, +1 Constitution (total Strength +1, Constitution +2). Pit-Born: +2 Dexterity (total Dexterity +2, Constitution +1). Ash-Born: +1 Strength, +1 Constitution (total Strength +1, Constitution +2). Tide-Born: +1 Dexterity, +1 Charisma (total Dexterity +1, Charisma +1, Constitution +1). Freehold: +1 Wisdom, +1 Charisma (total Wisdom +1, Charisma +1, Constitution +1). A table that prefers fully flexible species bonuses may instead let a player assign their lineage's +2/+1 across that lineage's listed abilities, keeping the same totals.

Balance Notes The Gritborn sit at roughly the power level of an SRD dwarf with one small extra: darkvision, poison resistance, an exhaustion-focused saving throw advantage, stability plus powerful build, and a single once-per-long-rest reroll. Lineages add only narrow, situational benefits — skill and tool proficiencies, advantage on specific checks, one short-rest damage reduction, one cantrip-scale fire retaliation, and one short-rest gift of Temporary Hit Points to a single ally. No lineage grants flight, extra spellcasting, armor training, or a repeatable Bonus Action attack, and every base-plus-lineage combination lands at exactly +3 total ability increases with no single ability above +2.

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