Spellscales

**Spellscales** are a curious intermingling of sorcerous blood with draconic heritage. They are a rare breed, originating from Radenstadt and other regions in Almeras where several lineages of humans claim to trace their bloodline back to draconic roots from the ancient drakes that once roamed the great continent. Unlike dragonborn they are said to be directly descended from dragons, though this is naturally not easily verified.

## Description

Spellscales exhibit all the best characteristics of other drakes in compact humanoid form. Their skin, formed of lustrous scales, comes in a wide variety of hues, including nearly every of the rainbow. No spellscale is merely one colour, but displays a rich spectrum of variants on their main colour tone. For example, a spellscale who is primarily green might have patterns of a deeper, forest green over his body, fingernails and toenails of a slightly lighter green, and eye ridges and nostrils that are a deep greenish aquamarine.This complex coloration makes spellscales look much more elegant than other scaled humanoids such as kobolds or lizardfolk.

The latent power that infuses spellscales from their dual bloodlines often results in many of them being highly active and industrious, particularly towards endeavours of magical means. They also often possess a curious fascination with life and existence, seeking encounters to broaden and hoard knowledge like a dragon would hoard gold. With effusive charm and natural elegance, most spellscales flit from one fascination to the next, granting something their deepest attentions only for a short while before moving on to the next encounter.

## Culture & Society

Unlike some other reptilian races, spellscales don’t hatch from eggs. They instead enter the world as live births. Like most other children, spellscales have a strong and abiding affection for their birth families, especially their mothers. It’s a connection of both blood and emotion. They sometimes honor, sometimes disobey, occasionally even hate, but ultimately and always deeply love their parents, siblings, and children.

Despite these strong familial bonds, spellscales place a strong emphasis on the individual, even above the community. They hold self-realization as a major motivation. The world offers so much to experience, to learn, and to feel, and the differing vantage points of each individual are what make him or her unique. Spellscales value these differences highly, and often deal in trading experience and memory, whether it is through storytelling or through more arcane methods.

In their everyday life, spellscales place a strong emphasis upon ritual. Many spellscales will have ritualistic ways of going through everyday tasks, such as going to sleep or waking up. These rituals are often deeply personalised and precise, and are a deeply ingrained part of a spellscale's life.

## Properties

* ***Ability Score Increase.*** Your Charisma score increases by 2, and your Wisdom score increases by 1.
* ***Size.*** Your size is Medium.
* ***Speed.*** Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
* ***Darkvision.*** Thanks to your draconic heritage, you have improved vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 30 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 grey.
* ***Blood Quickening.*** Over the course of a short or long rest, you may spend some time meditating upon one aspect of your dragon ancestors. When you do so, you select one skill. At any point before your next short or long rest, you may choose to gain advantage on one check using that skill. Once you have used this ability, you cannot do so again until you meditate during another short or long rest. Even if you do not use the ability, you must still meditate to regain it.
* ***Firetouched.*** You know the *create bonfire* cantrip. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for it.
* ***Draconic Protection.*** You have resistance to fire damage. Additionally, once per long rest, as a reaction, you can cause your scales to briefly harden to increase your defenses, granting the effect of the *shield* spell. Once you have used this ability, you cannot do so again until you have completed a long rest.