Homebrew Insectoid Race Details

Kindness Before Beauty.

Insectoid are shunned by humans and many other races due to their uncanny appearances, and have adapted to such prejudice by being unnaturally kind. They tend to help strangers with anything asked of them without pay in an effort to win over the uncertain. Those who get close with Insectoids almost always end up with a lifelong friend.

Travelers by Instinct

Energetic by nature and twitchy, Insectoids have no true homeland as they are always moving from one land to the next. They desire to know what's over the next hill or around the next corner. Entire clans of them are known to get up and go at a moment's notice with no other reason than to journey. As a result, they learn languages with immense speed.

Swarmers

Insectoids naturally gather into clans that they affectionately call "Swarms." If they become separated from their Swarm, either by fate or by exile, they will seek out any group of people to call their Swarm, whether Insectoid or not. When they call a group their Swarm, they are intensely loyal to them despite how they are treated in return. Because of this, Insectoids are naturally inclined to be part of an adventuring team.

Language and Names

They do not have a native language, using those of whichever land they currently dwell in at any given time. Their names are based off of names they have heard in their travels, and they often use a separate name for each race they have met. When they speak, their voices are very alike those of humans, but tend to be slightly higher in pitch with occasional vocal cracks when excited.

Insectoid Traits

Carapace

Your partial shell grants a permanent +1 to Armor Class.

Natural Variation

You can choose to be an Agile type, Burrowing type, or Winged type. Agile grants +10 Walking Speed, Advantage on Dexterity Saving Throws and +1 to Dexterity Score. Winged grants +20 Flying Speed and 30ft Darkvision. Burrower grants +20 Burrowing Speed, +1 to AC and +1 to Strength Score.

Age

Insectoids reach adulthood at about the age of eight and only live to about sixty years.

Alignment

Insectoids, in an attempt to compensate for prejudice, tend to be Chaotic Good, doing all they can for strangers and friends alike in order to earn favor. Some, however, take the prejudice to heart and become either stone-hearted True Neutral or, in extreme cases, Chaotic Evil. There are no Lawful Insectoids.

Size

Insectoids vary widely in height and build, from barely 5 feet to well over 6 feet tall. Regardless of your position in that range, your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base Walking Speed is 30 ft.

Languages

Insectoids travel much and depend on their ability to learn languages very quickly. You know the most common languages, Common, Elvish, Dwarvish, Halfling, and one extra language of your choice. The extra language should be tied to an experience you have endured.

Among all varieties, Insectoids share some common traits.