Rockborn
In their natural forms, rockborn do indeed resemble earth elementals. However, those keen to fit in among Uplanders sometimes endure a lengthy procedure in which parts of their bodies are chiseled away until they resemble the people of the society they seek to enter. Even the most slender rockborn is heavier than the stoutest dwarf, and though they appear brittle, they are rarely so. An individual rockborn’s skin tone often varies, like the striations found in stone. Their facial features, however, tend to settle into a single expression as they age. A reflective and dour rockborn appears sad on their deathbed, while a jovial one meets eternal rest with a smile on their face.
Rockborn Traits
Characters with the rockborn heritage share the following traits:
Age. Physically, rockborn are fully formed from their first moment of consciousness. However, rockborn children may take a century or more to fully mature. Some say that rockborn are immortal, but in truth most live only 1,000 years before they crumble and return to the earth from which they sprang.
Size. Rockborn are between 4 and 6 feet tall and weigh anywhere from 200 to 800 pounds. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your Speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision. 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.
Rock. As a being made from stone, you are immune to the petrified condition.
Roll. You can use a bonus action to curl into a boulder, or an action to uncurl. While in boulder form your Speed is reduced to 0, and you cannot use a shield, make attacks, use your arms, or cast spells with seen components.
While in boulder form you can use an action to roll yourself in a straight line up to 30 feet, or 60 feet down a decline. While rolling you can attempt to enter the spaces of creatures up to one size larger than you, forcing each to make a Dexterity saving throw against your maneuver DC. On a failure, a creature or object takes bludgeoning damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier. If a creature succeeds on its saving throw, you do not enter its space and your movement stops.
Rockborn Gifts
Every rockborn’s connection to the rock is different, granting them a particular talent or defense that sets them apart from less earthly mortals. Choose one of the following.
Rockamouflage
You are proficient with Stealth. You gain an expertise die on Stealth checks made to hide in a rocky environment. Your companions also gain this expertise die , provided you can see them and they are within 30 feet of you.
Stone Armaments
Stone speaks to you in a way that’s hard to describe. You can repair stone weapons and armor by making a DC 15 mason’s tools check. In addition, if you have an expertise die on an attack roll made using a stone weapon, you increase that die one step (from 1d4 to 1d6, 1d6 to 1d8, and so on).
Rockborn Paragon
Starting at 10th level, you become a paragon of rockborn-kind. You gain one of the following paragon gifts.
Rocking Roll
The damage dealt by your Roll trait increases to 1d12 + your Strength modifier. Objects take double damage from your Roll, and a creature that fails its saving throw is also knocked prone . In addition, once on your turn while rolling you can make a DC 15 Acrobatics or Athletics check, changing the direction of the rest of your movement up to 180 degrees.
Stonemeld
You gain a burrow speed equal to half your Speed. You can burrow only through nonmagical, unworked earth and stone, but your movement does not disturb the ground.
Rockborn Culture
Living such an incredibly long time prompts rockborn to carefully consider the implications of every action they take, a mindset utterly alien to more short-lived peoples. This legendary patience has given rockborn a reputation for being dedicated, and indeed rockborn often undertake tasks that require centuries to complete, such as carving a statue from a mountain or terraforming a valley until the river that runs through it changes course.
Rockborn can’t seem to avoid ambitious goals, though not all such tasks involve the carving of stone. Some of the most remarkable spells are the creations of rockborn mages, and rockborn who meddle in mortal affairs may treat entire dynasties as pawns in political manipulations that take generations to reach fruition. Regardless of their interests, it’s always wise to treat a rockborn with respect, as a feud with one can last a lifetime or longer.
Suggested Cultures. While you can choose any culture for your rockborn character, the following cultures are linked closely with this heritage: carven , collegiate , cosmopolitan , deep dwarf , deep gnome , lone wanderer , nomad , stoneworthy , tunnel halfling , underharvester , Underlander .