Detect Balance

Detect Balance: a 5e Homebrew Race Guide

The above link leads to a carefully curated guide that has been extensively peer-reviewed by the third-party
designer community, and is considered to be the best resource for balancing playable races for 5th Edition
D&D. It assigns each trait a numerical value based on how powerful and frequently usable that trait is likely to
be, and includes a guide to roughly assign numerical values to custom traits.
When the values for all traits within a race are added together, that is its total Detect Balance score. In
the modern era of 5e design, an ideally balanced race scores in the 27-30 range, though 24-33 is considered
technically acceptable. Since ASIs have been standardized as the player’s choice of +2/+1 or +1/+1/+1 to the
ability scores of their choice, I’m going to remove them from the calculation, meaning the balance ranges are
as follows:

Acceptable = 12-21

Ideal = 15-18

*My* Ideal = 17-18

If I don’t have a trait listed, it’s because that trait has a balance value of 0, and thereby doesn’t affect a
balance calculation in any way; this is most common with 30-foot walking speeds, but fixed sizes also have no
balance value, even if you can choose them at character creation. If you don’t see an explanation next to a
trait’s value, it means either that I’ve taken the score directly from Detect Balance itself, or that I explained it in
an earlier section of this document.

Astral Elf
Astral Fire (3): A fixed cantrip is a 2, so a choice of cantrip is a 3
Darkvision 60ft (3)
Fey Ancestry (2): Advantage against any single condition is always a 2, since the power of the
resistance is always roughly balanced by that condition’s rarity
Keen Senses (2): A fixed skill proficiency is always a 2
Starlight Step (7): For all intents and purposes, this is the ability to cast the 2nd-level misty step spell
prof bonus times per day without an enemy being able to counterspell it, which is quite strong. It doesn’t deal
or directly prevent damage, though, and most times will just be a Disengage + Dash as a bonus action with
some extra applications in exploration, so I’m not prepared to call it an 8. If it weren’t usable multiple times in a
single encounter, I’d say it were a 6.
Astral Trance (9): Remaining conscious while resting and not being able to be put to sleep by magic is
a 2. Additionally, choice of skill prof is 3, choice of martial weapon or tool prof is 2, and the ability to switch both
adds an additional layer of flexibility and power that I’m going to rate as another 2.

Total = 26
Conclusion: This is well outside even the acceptable balance range that tops out at 21, though that’s hardly a
surprise given that it’s very comparable to the power level of the also overpowered Eladrin and Shadar-Kai
from Monsters of the Multiverse. Not only that, but it’s basically just a lazy smash together of High Elf and
Eladrin without any of the mechanical flavor of the latter, so it’s just boring.
I personally won’t be including this version as an option in my own games, but if you want to, the
easiest way is to remove either Starlight Step or the second paragraph of Astral Trance (with my preference
being the latter because I have a vehement dislike for the completely unnecessary changes they made to
Trance in MotM), either of which shaves off 7 points down to a total of 19, and then also Keen Senses because
it’s the least interesting and flavorful of the remaining traits, cutting a further 2 points and bringing it into the
ideal balance range with 17.
Alternatively, you can replace both Starlight Step and the second paragraph of Astral Trance with the
following trait inspired by the UA version that I liked so much better: “Starlight Soul. When you would make a
death save, you can instead regain a number of hit points equal to your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence,
Wisdom, or Charisma modifier (the same choice you made for your Astral Fire trait). Once you use this trait,
you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.” That trait is about a 6, and we cut 14 points worth of features,
so the net change is -8, instantly making the total an ideal 18. This is the version I’ll be adding to my games
because this one trait distinguishes it so much from the other elves.

Autognome
Construct Type (-2): A non-Humanoid type is a +2 because it makes you immune to a small group of
spells that only affect Humanoids like charm person and hold person, but not being able to benefit from the
healing spells that don’t affect Constructs (which is just about all of them) is a -5. However, Constructs
specifically are totally immune a few negative effects, which adds back +1.
Armored Casing (3): Natural 13 + AC armor
Built for Success (5): This is a frequently useful feature, especially because you can choose to use it
after seeing the d20 result, but it’s not terribly powerful and doesn’t scale, which is a textbook 4. Adding a +1
for being usable multiple times per encounter.
Healing Machine (6): The first paragraph is only a 2 because mending still takes 1 minute to cast and
it still uses your limited Hit Dice resource, so it’s sometimes useful in a dungeon, but most of the time just
taking a short rest will be more beneficial to you and your party. The second paragraph, though, almost
completely removes any drawback from being a Construct, though not quite entirely, so that’s a 4.
Mechanical Nature (14): Resistance and advantage against poison together is a 5. Immunity to
disease is a 2, and the advantage against paralyzed (like any single condition) is a 2. Not needing to breathe is
a 4, and not needing to eat or drink is a 1.
Sentry’s Rest (2): Remaining conscious while sleeping is a 2.
Specialized Design (2): Each tool proficiency is worth 1 point

Total = 30
Conclusion: Massively overpowered, somehow even more so than Warforged from the Eberron book, which I
evaluate as a 28 adjusting for the removal of ASI. Not to mention how lazy the design is, with more than half
the traits being copied almost directly from that version of Warforged, just reorganized and not using bullet
points.
With that said, let’s do some balance recommendations. Let’s remove the second paragraph of Healing
Machine to make that Construct creature type mechanically interesting and shave off 4 points down to 26.
Then, I’m going to cut Sentry’s Rest because I like that better as a Warforged-exclusive trait for 2 down to 24.
Then, because we still have at least 6 points to remove, let’s start butchering Mechanical Nature - I’d
personally cut the poison resistance for 3 points (it would normally be 4, but it was adjusted for being alongside
poisoned advantage), and the paralyzed advantage for 2 more. To get rid of that last point, I’ll cut one of the
tool proficiencies from Specialized Design.
All of those changes together bring the Autognome down to the ideal range with 18 points while
maintaining its most flavorful and interesting aspects - its Construct type (-2), Armored Casing (3), Built for
Success (5), the first paragraph of Healing Machine (2), advantage against poisoned (2), immunity to disease
(2), not needing to eat, drink, or breathe (5), and still getting one tool proficiency (1). With these changes, I
actually think this is distinct enough from my balanced version of Warforged that I’ll actually be adding this to
my own games. I know; it surprises me, too.

Giff
Swim Speed = Walking Speed (2): New standard for swimming speeds, so rated at the same power
level a 30-foot swimming speed used to be
Astral Spark (2): This is basically the same as MotM Goblin’s Fury of the Small, just without a size
restriction and only affecting weapons instead of also spells. I’d say those two factors roughly cancel out, so
I’m going to rate it at the same balance level of 2.
Firearms Mastery (8): This is basically the Gunner feat from Tasha’s without the +1 to Dex and
exchanging the 5ft non-disadvantage with a long range non-disadvantage, with that exchange being of roughly
equally powerful mechanics. Firearms are a small subset of martial weapons, so gaining proficiency with them
is around a 2. Ignoring both the loading property and long range disadvantage with those weapons are both
frequently useful abilities for the build this entire trait is pushing giff characters towards, so I’d say altogether
with the proficiency that this is an unusually powerful feature and therefore an 8. I suspect that it could be even
more powerful than that, maybe as high as a 10, but I’d need to test it before I feel comfortable calling it
anything higher for now.
Hippo Build (10). Strength is a “weak” save, so static advantage for it is a 2. Strength checks,
however, are something you can initiate yourself and that come up a lot in exploration, so advantage with them
is at least a 6, if not possibly up to an 8; going to be generous for now and go with the lower number before
testing. The final sentence is just the Powerful Build trait, which is a 2.

Total = 22
Conclusion: Definitely overpowered, but only just slightly outside of the acceptable range. Luckily, it’s pretty
easy to fix in my opinion. The two least flavorful/interesting mechanics to me are Astral Spark and the Strength
save advantage, so I’d cut both of those to bring the total down to an ideal 18.
However, “static” advantage effects really bother me because I believe that advantage should always
be temporary (such as from a spell or limited-duration feature) or situational, so I want to do something about
that Strength ability check advantage, too. I’d change it to something like “When you make a Strength check,
you can add your proficiency bonus to the roll, even if the check uses a skill or tool that already allows you to
add your proficiency bonus.” This is a bit weaker of an effect at early levels, but now stacks with temporary
advantage, and it’s actually stronger than advantage once you hit level 17, so I’d say it’s overall roughly the
same power level of 6. Also, since there’s in-built rules language in 5e that says you can’t add your proficiency
bonus to a roll more than twice, we don’t need to put a rider in saying how it interacts with expertise (hint: it
doesn’t apply if you have expertise).
After testing, I’ll have to figure out if Firearms Mastery and Hippo Build are more powerful as I
somewhat expect, meaning more may need to be cut, but for now I’m happy with these recommended
changes.

Hadozee
Climb Speed = Walking Speed (2): New standard for climbing speeds, so rated at the same power
level a 30-foot climbing speed used to be
Dexterous Feet (8, or 2 with the “exploit patch”): As Taron and I discovered during an Eyepatch &
Monocle episode (you can find the VOD here), there’s a couple serious exploits with this trait that make it far
more powerful than I believe WotC intends. The exploit becomes inert (and this trait’s power level becomes a
2, basically a ribbon with niche applications) if you include the text “It must be a different object from the one
you interact with for free this turn.”
 Glide (28+, or 12 with the “exploit patch”): The reaction to reduce fall damage to 0 is already quite
strong, especially since it gives you the agency to decide to fall and makes the first bullet point even more
abusable (which we’ll get to in a moment). Since there’s no limit to how many times you can use this reaction, I
have no choice but to call just the second bullet point an 8.
The first bullet point, though, is considerably more problematic. With Xanathar’s clarifying that creatures
fall 500 feet per round without intervention (such as through feather fall), the first bullet point can literally allow
you to travel at Mach 2, up 2500 feet horizontally per round. Even if you start your turn on the ground, you can
use your climbing speed combined with this first bullet point to travel up to 150 feet per round (or 300 feet if
you Dash with your climbing speed). It doesn’t provide all the benefits of a flying speed, but it’s still clearly
exploitable and just an outrageous level of mobility. Considering that just a 40-foot movement speed is rated as
a 5, I have to consider that what is functionally a 150-foot walking speed is at least a 20, but probably even
higher. In any case, it absolutely should not work this way. The easiest “exploit patch” is just to remove the “at
no movement cost to you” text so that it costs speed to use, which brings this bullet point’s score to only about
4 points.
Hadozee Resilience (4): The Goliath’s Stone’s Endurance trait from MotM is an 8, but this uses a d6,
applies proficiency bonus instead of ConMod, so it’s significantly less powerful, but still frequently useful, so it’s
a 4.

Total = 42+, or 20 with the “exploit patches”

Conclusion: I’ve already harped on about the exploits, so I’m just going to consider this with the “patches”
implemented. It’s still slightly overpowered, though technically within the acceptable range. Probably the
easiest change to make would be to only allow the Glide trait to be used if what you’re wearing and carrying
has a total weight no greater than half your carrying capacity, which takes off 2 points and makes the total an
ideal 18.
If you want even more unique changes, you can make them have a Beast creature type for +3 points
(Beasts have that +2 from being non-Humanoid, and an additional +1 thanks to a number of beneficial effects
that can be applied) given the their lore, and then nerf the entire Glide trait to “When you fall and aren't
incapacitated, you can extend your skin membranes and glide. While gliding this way, subtract up to 100 feet
from the fall when calculating falling damage, and you can move up to 2 feet horizontally for every 1 foot you
descend. You can’t use this trait if you're wearing or carrying objects with a total weight greater than your
carrying capacity.” That changes the feature from being a 12 to a 6, while also allowing for the use of heavy
armor given that it doesn’t exceed your carrying capacity. With those two changes, the net change is a -3, so a
total of 17. This is definitely the version I’ll be using.

Plasmoid
Ooze Type (2): Non-Humanoid types are worth roughly 2 points for granting immunity to a small
category of effects.
Amorphous (9): The ability to squeeze through gaps up to 1 inch wide is an exceptionally powerful
exploration and scouting tool, but not being able to take anything with you drastically reins it in, to only about a
4. Advantage on ability check to escape grapples is only about a 1 since it doesn’t help prevent being
grappled, but advantage on initiating a grapple is frequently useful, so a 4.
Darkvision 60ft (3)
Hold Breath (2): Same as Tortle’s Hold Breath
Natural Resilience (8): Poison resistance and advantage is a 5, and acid is a medium resistance, so a
3
Shape Self (17, or 5 with the “exploit patch”): The first paragraph is basically just a ribbon since you
need to have a humanlike shape to use most of your gear, so I’m rating it at a 1. The second bullet point,
though, lacks clarification text that makes it pretty exploitable, as well as just not work the way you’d expect
(more info in an Eyepatch & Monocle VOD here). As written, you can have as many pseudopods as you want
that can each be holding a Tiny object that weighs up to 10 pounds, in effect being able to completely ignore
carrying capacity altogether, even though you can’t then move or use any of those pseudopods without
reabsorbing it. It’s just very bad and immersion-breaking design. It’s basically just an unlimited storage system,
and being able to functionally ignore carrying capacity and carry as many Tiny objects as you want with no
upper limit feels like I have to rate it at an 8 for being an unusually powerful feature, but not higher because
there’s only so much you can so with a whole bunch of Tiny objects that can’t be used for attacking. Also, since
this is a bonus action, you can technically use it for the same exploits that Hadozee’s Dexterous Feet trait can
be used for, adding another 8 points.
I’d “patch” this by changing the second paragraph to the following: “As a bonus action, you can extrude
a pseudopod that is up to 6 inches wide and 10 feet long or reabsorb it into your body. As part of the same
bonus action or as a bonus action on a subsequent turn while you have a pseudopod, you can use it to
manipulate an object, open or close a door or container, or pick up or set down a Tiny object. You can’t have
more than one pseudopod at a time. The pseudopod contains no sensory organs and can’t attack, activate a
magic item, or lift more than 10 pounds, and the object it interacts with must be different from the one you
interact with for free this turn.” This patch turns the second paragraph from having two major exploits worth 16
points to only about 4 points as a frequently useful feature.

Total = 41, or 29 with the “exploit patch”

Conclusion: Pretty darn overpowered, the second most overpowered so far, both with exploits or without them.
It’s such an interesting and unique race, though, so let’s get cutting! Once again, we’ll be balancing after the
“patch” is applied. First, let’s change all of the grapple stuff in Amorphous to only be “You have advantage on
ability checks you make to avoid or escape a grapple” which cuts a net 3 points down to 26. Then, by far the
least interesting/flavorful trait to me is Natural Resilience, so let’s just cut that whole thing to shave off 8 points
and get down to an ideal 18.

Thri-Kreen
Monstrosity Type (2): Non-Humanoid type, as discussed several times above
Chameleon Carapace (6): Natural 13 + DexMod AC is a 3. The Stealth advantage is situational and
requires continual action economy to make proper use of, plus is only good for Stealth checks made to hide
(only a subset of what Stealth checks can be used for) so I’d say it’s in between frequently and sometimes
useful at a 3.
Darkvision 60ft (3)
Secondary Arms (12, or 2 with the “exploit patch”): The fact that these arms can wield weapons
and make attacks with light weapons is immensely exploitable (discussed in-depth in this Eyepatch & Monocle
VOD), but the gist is that you can do a high level of martial damage while also benefiting from a shield and still
have an arm free for somatic components or grappling. Remove the ability for these arms to wield light
weapons and this trait is only a 2.
Sleepless (2): Functionally, this is about the same as remaining conscious while sleeping, which is a 2
Thri-Kreen Telepathy (13): 30ft telepathy with a language barrier and needing to see the recipient is a
6. This has a range of 120 feet, doesn’t require you and the target to share a language, and also allows you to
maintain the telepathic connection even when the target leaves line of sight so long as they remain within
range. The range increase is roughly a +2, removing the language barrier is a +4 (because it’s like you always
have the 3rd-level tongues spell active, so long as the target is willing), and the ability to maintain the
connection is a +1.
Because of this telepathy, the inability to verbally speak any language other than Thri-Kreen is
completely immaterial and won’t affect balance.
Total = 38, or 28 with the “exploit patch”
Conclusion: Once again, very overpowered, though still quite cool. Using the “patched” version once again,
let’s cut this down to balance. First, removing the “translation” and sightless parts of the telepathy cuts 5 points,
bringing the total down to 23.
From there, we have to make extremely difficult cuts because all of the others are mentioned directly in
the lore and are shared by most of the thri-kreen stat blocks in the edition. Then again, most of those also have
a Leap ability that is no way utilized in this race, so there’s precedent. Of the traits that remain, I find the natural
armor and Sleepless to be the least interesting/necessary, so I’d cut both to shave off 5 more points and bring
the total to the ideal 18.

Final Thoughts
It’s pretty clear to me that the development of these races was either rushed or wasn’t given a great deal of
priority. Perhaps even both. Many of these either contain a bunch of copied and pasted traits or contain huge
exploits that would have been caught with minimal playtesting and/or editing, and the balance absolutely
suffers for most of these as a result. Not a single one was even within the “acceptable” range, and most were
wildly outside of it, even after their exploits were addressed; most were even more powerful than the races in
MotM if you adjust for the 12 points allotted for ASI, which is concerning to say the least. The “unpatched”
Hadozee, Plasmoid, and Thri-Kreen are among the most broken races they’ve ever printed, and Hadozee is
perhaps the most powerful one due to the outrageous Glide trait.
The mechanical design is, frankly, disappointingly lazy. And given the caliber of designers credited in
the book, it’s especially so. Looking at the rules for and the number of types of Spelljamming ships, it’s
abundantly clear to me where the effort in this book went. I don’t know why WotC have stopped caring about
player options when it’s what so many players always clamor for whenever a new setting or book is released,
but hey, at least it drives more people towards the third-party designers. So thanks for the business, I guess?
In any case, most of the races have at least interesting aesthetics and mechanical ideas, and were
easy enough to fix, so I’m glad to have more cool options to introduce to my tables. After rebalancing them, of
course.