Two years ago I had worked on a homebrew document to play draconids in Dungeons and Dragons. I realized it included a bunch of lore information on draconids, which could be helpful for people wanting to know more about them, or create their own draconid characters. I'm currently playing  kothu using the draconid rules below in a D&D campaign (instead of the dragonborn ruleset I usually go with), but of course, the gameplay features in "Draconid Traits" are to be taken with a pinch of barely-playtested salt.

Feel free to share feedback or ask questions on topics you'd want more info on!

Thumbnail artwork is my draconid OC  Kothu by  exoticD :) You can see it in full here.

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In the middle of the night, the draconid jolted awake. In a hurry, half-awaken, she reached out to her bag. The orc, on her guard watch, looked over at the dark orange silhouette of the reptilewoman, who whispered with a drowsy smile to reassure her companion.

“I’m all good, don’t mind me…!”

The orc replied with a nod and went back to her watch. The draconid took out a notebook and rummaged about in her bag ; from between several models of flutes, all from various sizes, colors and origin, she pulled out a bottle of ink looking quite tiny and fragile in her large hands. She opened it, dipped a claw into it, and started to scribble some music notes on a scale in her notebook.

She scribbled in a hurry for a moment, and then stopped. She looked up at the starry night sky, and remained there, head up, for a moment. Her emerald irises shone under the moonlight, the flickering light of the campfire reflecting in her black sclera. Here she was, facing the vastness of the universe…

Suddenly, in a flash of silver, a pointy object flew up to her and hit her throat - a dagger. The weapon, however, bounced off the scaly, elastic hide, and landed a couple of feet away on the grass. In a glimpse, the draconid’s gaze swept through the trees, focusing on any strange heat point ; she grabbed the dagger, and threw it upwards with a mighty speed and dexterity, the weapon flying and piercing through the foliage. A second later, a soft groan was heard, until a humanoid, hooded body dropped dead on the ground with a loud thud. The startled orc immediately unsheathed her weapon, and stood up while turning to the draconid. The reptilian beast smiled at her.

“It’s okay, they were alone. Good night.”

And the draconid went back to sleep.

 
CHARACTERISTICS

For as far as they remember, draconids have always been in small numbers, living as a rare minority in villages and cities dominated by other races. They share in claw-scribbled books and parchments tales of the Draconid Dawn, a collection of epic poems written in draconic narrating the moment where draconids, whether called by dragons or born from the stars, arrived on this world to find a home, do their best, be proud of who they are and learn from the races who have been living there for longer than them.

Impressive, uncommon reptiles

Draconids are tall, bipedal, beastly-looking, hot-blooded reptilian creatures with features reminiscent of dragons, lizards, iguanas and prehistoric reptiles. They hatch from white, gray, or black eggs that can bear specific patterns or shine differently depending on individuals. Draconid groups living in a dragonborn-dominant culture may give importance to the look of the shell and bless the egg in different ways. After hatching, draconids grow, are taken care of by their parents, become sexually mature at 20 years old and can live up to 200 years. Both male and female draconids stand from 7 to 8 feet tall when mature. Their body weight and bulk can vary a lot depending on the training they received, going from lean bodies of 200 lbs to large, massive bodies of 450 lbs.

They have a saurian head and a few apparent teeth who can grow to be similar to orcish tusks. They have “eyebrorns”: scaly eyebrows that grow up and past their head like horns, that can wave and move slightly, giving them a dragon-like profile. Their eyes usually have a black sclera, and irises of various, vibrant colors. That same color is found on a few internal organs, such as part of their tongue, genitalia, and inside their eyebrorns. They bear four thick, clawed fingers at each hand and walk on theropodian feet, left bare most of the time.

It can be relevant to note that there can be very few differences in appearance between a male and a female draconid. Traditional representations usually associate thick eyebrorns, tall and wide bodies, and U-shaped mouth with masculinity, and narrow eyebrorns, thin dorsal spikes and V-shaped mouth with femininity, but males and females come in all shapes and sizes. On a biological standpoint, draconids have genital slits, usually sorted into two kinds: males have penises coming out when urinating or during erection, while females have a clitoris. Reproduction is sexual, and only individuals with female reproductive organs lay eggs.

An alien, adaptable anatomy

Draconids have multiple antomical specificties, starting with their tails. Growing at the bottom of their backs, they are prehensile: draconid can grab items with it, and some train to be dextrous enough to be able to pick a lock with it. The tail grows and, under natural conditions, usually falls down after one month, letting a new one regrow naturally. The tail can be severed without hurting them, or fall unintentionally under damage or tugging. It’s not uncommon for draconids to see these shed tails as material to use: their scaly hide may find many uses, such as clothing and furniture.

One of the draconids’ main features is their thick, elastic, scaly hide covering their body which provides an extraordinary natural protection. Their neck is covered with a soft, elastic hide with a spotted pattern, forming a dewlap that can swell as an intimidation display, when experiencing pride or under positive emotions.

Unknown to many, draconids rely heavily on an innate, outstanding ability: their thermosense. They can make out sources of heat in their close environment and, as they grow up and learn the subtlety of it during their training, can hone this sense to assess vitals like the heartbeat and the blood pressure of an individual, and thus make out an individual’s emotional state. Some say draconids can guess one's feelings simply by looking at them.
Last but not least, the draconid digestive system is impressively effective. Their stomachs and intestines will work hard to digest a wide variety of organic substances, resulting in a greater resistance to poisoning compared to other species, at the expense of a more important waste generation and a high body heat.

In general, draconid anatomy is very adaptable and receptive to their training and environment: with the right teaching, draconid physical abilities can be improved and extended up to impressive extents.

The draconid training: become, be proud and learn

Most draconids aren’t concerned by the survival of their race or by keeping a sense of community: they embrace each individual’s talent, skill, and dreams, learn from the other people sharing the world with them, and empower themselves to live their own destiny.

During their youth, draconids follow an intense training under one or several mentors, which may be a family member or someone living where they are born. The goal of a mentor is to teach draconid philosophy to the young draconid and help them become the best version of themselves, be proud of themselves, and learn from others. It is worth noting that the mentor may not be draconid, but may follow these 3 pillars of draconid teaching.

“Becoming the best version of themselves” means discovering a draconid’s talents and honing them to the maximum of their capabilities. A draconid with a strong physique and a desire to fight can be trained to become a fearsome warrior, one with a talent at magic and a appetite for learning can be trained to become a powerful wizard, one with an artistic talent who enchants others can be trained to become a skillful bard… Mentors should always strive to encourage their draconid protégé to explore many paths until they find the most suitable one.

“Being proud of themselves” alludes to the notion of draconid pride: a strong feeling of self-accomplishment and right of being. Draconids value individuality, teach each other to love who they are and what they’re capable of, respect one’s decisions, and encourage not having any regret. While many achieve a right balance of pride and humility while having a lot of self-esteem thanks to this philosophy, draconid pride may also lead draconids to stubbornness, and, in worse cases, to arrogance. Some draconids can also struggle to be proud of what they accomplish and to feel like they never do enough, putting themselves under a lot of pressure.

“Learning from others” means being accepting of others and assimilating the dominant culture traits. As they've always been in minority, draconids value assimilation and learning from the other races who "walked the land before". During their training, a draconid will learn the dominant culture’s language, but also habits, traditions, and special abilities: a mature draconid’s culture is always a mix of their draconid culture and the dominant culture in which they grew up. As a result, even though draconids don't follow any peculiar religion or god, some of them can be influenced by the dominant culture in which they grew up and follow their beliefs, even up to changing their name accordingly. Similarly, draconids can be of any alignment: the training they have received, the species the grew up with, their home culture, their backstory, or their personality, all exacerbated by their draconid pride, might lead them to a wide range of paths - and it is often difficult to change a draconid’s moral tracks because of their cultural stubbornness.

When draconids are judged to have finished their training by their mentors, they must leave their hatchplace and go on their own journey to discover the world and use their talents. Of course, some of them become mentors themselves or might end up returning to their home, if that’s what they’re destined to do, but most draconids usually take on a journey first to learn more about this world they live in.
 
DRACONID TRAITS

The draconid anatomy is unique and adaptable in many ways, granting them uncommon abilities. Draconid individuals are shaped by the dominant culture they grow up with and the people they meet.

Base walking speed

Draconids have a base walking speed of 30 feet.

Draconid Training

As part of your draconid training, you have learnt Draconic.

Depending on where you grew up, the species you lived the most with in your childhood, or on the training you received, you can choose one of the following Draconid Trainings as a trait:

Body Training
● You exercised to push your strength to its full potential. You might have trained with fighters, barbarians, monks, or learnt from powerful orcs, goliath, bugbear, loxodon or filborg.
● You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.

Martial Training
● You practiced the use of specific tools - whether they are of death or of creation. You might have trained with fighters, barbarians, bards, paladins, rogues or learnt from hobgoblins, humans or dwarves.
● You are proficient with one martial weapon and one tool of your choice.

Explorer Training
● You explored tough environments and pushed beyond your athletics limits. You might have trained with rangers, druids, monks, or have learnt from tortle, lizardfolk, aarakocra or tabaxi adventurers.
● You can hold your breath for up to 30 minutes at a time. Your swimming or climbing speed is improved to 30 feet, and you are not hindered by your armor when swimming or stealthing.

Arcane Training
● You studied arcane ways and secrets. You might have trained with wizards, sorcerers, warlocks, bards, clerics or druids, and have learnt from genasi, elves, tiefling, drow, dragonborn or fey.
● You know one cantrip of your choice, and can use them the number of times your level per Long Rest.

Species Traits

Draconid Hide
● You have an impressively thick, elastic, scaly skin that can take in many kinds of blows. When you aren’t wearing armor, your AC is 13 + you Dexterity modifier + your Constitution modifier. You can use your natural armor to determine your AC if the armor you wear would leave you with a lower AC. A shield’s benefits apply as normal while you use your natural armor.

Thermosense
● When you’re conscious, you can feel and localize any body warmth or source of heat 15 feet around you.
● You can more easily make out an individual’s emotional state. As such, you have proficiency on Insight checks.

Iron Stomach
● Upon eating or drinking anything that could inflict a negative status, you have advantage on saving throws against said effect.

Languages
● In addition to your knowledge of Common and Draconic, you can speak, read, and write another language of your choice related to the dominant culture you lived with or relevant to your Draconid Training.