looking for some feedback on one of the races I made for my homebrew setting, Nosstrach. Dragonkin were created millennia ago by dragons to act as officers and shock troops for their armies.
Dragonkin (Humanoid (Reptilian))
Attributes +2 Str, +2Charisma, -2 Wisdom
Dragonkin are strong and posses a natural charm but are quick to act and often don't think through their actions.
Medium Dragonkin are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to size.
Hatred Dragonkin have a longstanding racial hatred of Giants and Orcs. They gain a +1 to hit rolls against creatures of the Giant and Orc subtypes.
Low Light Vision
Natural Armor Dragonkin have scales covering their body, they gain +1 Natural armor.
Skill Bonus Dragonkin have a +1 racial bonus to Intimidate and Knowledge (History)
Breath weapon Dragonkin have a breath weapon that deals 2d6 damage in either a 15ft cone or 30ft line, pick one of fire, cold, acid or electricity for damage type. Those affected can make a reflex saving throw (DC 10 +1/2 level + Con bonus) This ability can be used 2/ day.
Languages Dragonkin speak common and Draconic. Dragonkin with a high intelligence can choose from Elven, Dwarven, Gnome, Halfling, Celestial, Abyssal and Infernal.
Dragonkin are about 6ft tall on average, with males being about 2in taller than females on average. They tend towards large, bulky builds. They have thick, scaly skin that can have colors similar to any true dragon, like a true dragon their color and the damage dealt by their breath weapon are linked. Dragonkin live to about 140 years on average and mature by the time they are 20 years old.
You might want to try running this through the official rules for creating new races. For example, they have the base for creating a dragon race that includes low-light and darkvision, which makes them consistent with actual dragons.
Failing that, here's my thoughts:
All of it looks pretty good, but I don't know why they get hatred. Is that a campaign rule for your home game?
My main problem is the breath weapon. That's pretty cool at first level. Imagine the kobolds and goblins they'll roast with that. But by 5th level they won't ever use it anymore. It will be too weak. Nobody wants to do 2d6 (average 7) damage at that level, even if they can get a few enemies in the area.
Since it doesn't scale (no pun intended) with level, it becomes a worthless ability very soon. But it shouldn't scale - if it did, it would be way, way too powerful at upper levels.
Which means, it's probably not a good idea at all. To make it more clear, by 5th level you have a race that has low-light vision, a little bit of natural AC, hatred against giants (they won't be fighting orcs by then) and a tiny bonus on Intimidate (I bet they don't roll enough Knowledge(History) checks to care about this bonus). The ability scores are ordinary, every race gets two +2 and one -2 modifiers so that's not special.
That list is a little short. I would want a better race by the time I'm 5th level.
It looks good. Though, I think you have some room to make the breath weapon better. I'd make it work more like burning hands with a max 5d4 at 5th level.
Thanks for taking the time to comment guys.
@DM_Blake I looked at the rules for creating races and specifically decided not to make them actual dragons, mainly because I wanted to keep their RP at the same level as the core races and making them dragons eats that whole amount of RP.
Hatred makes sense in setting. Dragons and Dragonkin fought a centuries long war against Giants and the giants used armies of Orc slaves.
Why assume that you aren't fighting Orcs by level 5, now that Paizo has released the monster codex it is easier than ever to use higher level orcs and other low level classic creatures at higher levels.
@Cyrad The rules for the breath weapon are taken directly from the offical race creation rules. But treating it like burning hands is an option.
I'm not a big fan of the breath weapon trait from the rules. It's too complicated and I honestly can't think of any official race that follows that formula. It's also easy to twink into something that's way too strong for a 1st level character.
Treating it like burning hands makes it simpler. Alternatively, I think you could make it 1d6 per odd level.
I see no major problems. With a bit of fluff, it could be fine. Obviously we only have a few sentences to go on, so in the absence of some unique mechanical feature, it's not terribly different from anything else.
One way to spice them up would be to modify the breath weapon, possibly by making it scale in some way. Maybe you could even add an additional breath weapon in the style of a cantrip, allowing them to use a little bit of breath without blowing their load for the day. Great for starting campfires and lighting candles.
You could also add race feats, giving access to other dragon-like qualities, such as wings and claws.
And finally, I always like seeing non-combat features. Other than a tiny a bonus to a knowledge skill, there is nothing granting flavor rather than power. Give them something for appraise, a knack with languages, or maybe something a bit out there, like the ability to sniff out the metal associated with their type of dragon as if they had the scent ability. Something that does little to make them more powerful, but makes them feel different from other races.