Currently homebrewing a race for PC characters: bit higher bonuses than regular races. However, the race has two heads (Each with its own personality) and I'm having a huge time thinking of a racial bonus that makes sense with it. So far I have:
+4 concentration checks (Harder to inturrupt two heads from a spell cast).
+2 Will saves (Same as before only with willpower)
Roll every round to act normally during a compulsion (Battle for control between heads)
Are there any others folks can think of? The race will primarily comprise of clerics, fighter classes, and the tougher classes.
I made an anthropomorphic cerberus race and got to play it in a friend's game. The race's heads work like a hive mind. I modeled the multiple heads in three ways:
1) They get Alertness as a bonus feat. This seemed like a good fit because any class feature that grants a mentally linked companion (familiars, blackblades, etc) gives Alertness as a bonus feat.
2) They get a +2 racial bonus to illusions because conflicting images between the heads give hints when something isn't real. I originally opted for Dual-Minded (+2 bonus to Will saves) but my race was already powerful enough.
2) They get the ability to sleep with one head awake. This is the write-up I did for this:
Cerebri can sleep with one head awake, remaining aware of their surroundings and still get the benefits of an 8 hours rest. During this time, a cerberus loses the benefits of the Alert and Illusion Resistance traits and takes a -2 penalty to saving throws against sleep effects. This ability does not apply when under the influence of sleep-inducing effects.
All-around sight? They can't be flanked because they can look in two directions at once?
Two standard actions per round? REALLY super-brokenly powerful, but definitely flavorful.
Counts as 2 hags for the purpose of a coven.
Vorpal resistance.
Harmony. Can use two Bardic Performance features at once.
Superior Two-Weapon fighting. Each had has its own BAB and iterative attacks.
Vulnerability to gaze attacks? Rolls twice on Saving Throws vs. Gaze attacks and take the worst die roll (5th Ed. Disadvantage).
Advantageous Perception. Roll twice on Perception check and take the better roll.
I agree with the Alertness bit.
Maybe make it so that in order to be flanked, they require a third opponent threatening them. This third opponent does not to be opposite any of the other threatening opponents, just threatening the character in addition to the current two opponents flanking.
You could work up some complicated racial feature having to do with the two minds resisting enchantments and illusions, but it would be much easier to grant a +2 to the save, or to allow the player to roll twice and take the higher result.
I don't know about "cannot be flanked", but how about the attacker doesn't gain the bonus to attack when flanking?
I suggest against giving it two standard actions per round, but there might be some compromise, such as allowing a second try on a failed knowledge check
Cannot be flanked is basically Improved Uncanny Dodge as a racial... which would be very overpowered.
Having two heads doesn't make it much easier to fight two people on opposite sides of you. Unless the heads are facing opposite directions and each have their own set of arms. In fact, I'd think it would be harder because now you got two vulernable spots instead of one.
I pretty much disagree with all of SmiloDan's suggestions. All of those are pretty broken for a PC race.
Yeah, pretty much all of my ideas for a two-headed PC are pretty overpowered.
There's gotta be some kind of way to make two heads are better than one?
I would look at the Ettin for inspiration. Maybe Death Dogs and Demogorgon. And then totally tone it down by 99%.
Hydras don't have all-round vision or immunity to flanking. They simply get a +2 racial bonus to Perception. This was another reason why I choose Alertness for my three-headed race.
Great point, Cyrad! :-)
Two heads and possibly a primitivistic society? What with mostly going war and worship.
Confusion weakness then.
On a side note it would surely help if you developped it from a theme rather than from a single trait. Or are we not getting full information?
What's their mindset like, how do their societies behave, what's that races place in the world and their history.
I for one thing made a race basing on the egyptian deity Anubis - a race constructed by a few deities to serce as guardians of final restong places and hunters of those who despoil them.
What does your race do ?