Custom Species: Revisting Urchins

In 5e, you have the ability to create your own species. You can do this on paper, and even make a playable species in DDB. You can express your creativity by coming up with anything you want. But there actually is a simple way to make your own species without a lot of work.
Using the Human species you can create a lot of different abilities or features for what you can describe as a different one of your own. We already showed how you can do this with a character in the land of Taluma: Vey. She is a were-being similar to the Shifter species in a 5e supplement.
We already detailed the smalfolk of Taluma, the Urchins, as a fully custom species you can read about here. But, you can easily make an urchin character using the Human species template. We will show how to do so and introduce you to one named Ghil.

Using ‘Humans’ to Make Other Species

The human species, in the 2024 5e rules, are very versatile in options, allowing you to create your own being. Using tips we have already shared here in under the character tag, you can use the options to make something other than human. These are the Traits that a Human gets:

Creature Type: Humanoid

Size: Medium (about 4–7 feet tall) or Small (about 2–4 feet tall), chosen when you select this species

Speed: 30 feet

Resourceful: You gain Heroic Inspiration whenever you finish a Long Rest.

Skillful: You gain proficiency in one skill of your choice.

Versatile: You gain an Origin feat of your choice.

Since they can be size M or S, and get a Proficiency and an Origin Feat, depending on the selection, you can simulate other existing species or make your own.

The Origin Feat is where you can really define the unique traits that another species has such as Alert, Lucky, Savage Attacker, and Tough. The Magic Initiate Origin Feats are especially good at giving a species special abilities as with Vey’s wereraven origin where we could give her her beast-like traits.
Blade Ward and Resistance and False Life can represent the ability to shrug off damage maybe from tough skin or other grit. Chill Touch could be an undead or similar type of creature and Shocking Grasp and Witch Bolt, Fire Bolt and Burning Hands, and Ray of Frost and Ice Knife could be used for elementally-tied beings. Friends, Command, and Charm Person and Sleep can show the species’ influence over others. Make a vegetal or nature-connected species with Thorn Whip, Shillelagh and Entangle; or Animal Friendship or Speak with Animals. Disguise Self could be for a shape-shifter. Jump and Longstrider can give mobility. The possibilities are endless.

Ghil ‘Grimeye’

Ghil is an Urchin sorcerer. He wields the pure, unfettered power of eldritch magic: the primordial essence of the oldest beings unbound from the constraints of elements, formulas, or divinities. He manifested his power in an accident.

To make him as an Urchin, you could use our template you can find here, but we will create him using the Human species and its options to show how you can make your own race without having to do as much work.

Urchin species

To make an Urchin, these would be recommended Traits:
Size: S

Skillful: Select something like Animal Handling, Deception, Perception, or Stealth.

Versatile: One choice here really works to give an Urchin the other traits: Magic Initiate: Druid. With that we can select two Cantrips and one 1st Level spell. Select Messenger and Speak with Animals. The second cantrip is up to you but Magic Stone can help with using a sling, a favored weapon, or Guidance or Resistance are generally useful spells.

For Ghil, I went a different direction, in order to give him abilities I want him to have as a sorcerer.
His Proficiency is Insight (he will get Perception another way) and then I gave him Magic Initiate: Wizard and selected Message, True Strike, and Mage Armor. Still giving him Message gives him at least one of the traits of the Urchin people, but as you will see, his upbringing, his nurture overruled his nature.

Ghil’s Background

Ghil is a roguish urchin, who followed in his father’s footsteps as a messenger, a pigeoneer who also would take packages if need be. After growing up in the quaint town of Greenburg, he was apprenticed to a scribe in the city of Gaithewaite where he was able to gain some higher education from the scholars in the city. His father, who lived in Greenburg, would use the Chassel river to take messages between the town and Gaithewaite. When he was old enough to be on his own, Ghil remained in Gaithewaite and he took on a job as a messenger at the University. He would use his small size and stealthiness to gain access to usually private, even prohibited, areas of academic institutions where he would make deliveries. He was found out, but his curiosity was rewarded instead of punished. His appetite for more knowledge endeared him to professors and they would allow him to attend classes--unofficially--and also gave him keys and access to libraries, archives, and study rooms. He also learned to play dragonchess with the professors in the quad, and proved to be a cunning opponent to even the smartest of academics.

For his Background I select Scribe. This gives him the Proficiencies: Investigation and Perception. He also gets the tool proficiency: Calligrapher’s Supplies. His Granted Feat is Skilled which gives him three more proficiencies and I select: Dragonchess Set, History, and Sleight of Hand. Finally, for his Ability Scores I select the +2/+1 option and could select +2 to Dexterity and +1 to Intelligence, but I would like to add to his Charisma and use the Custom Background option in the DMs Guide and use the rest of Scribe but give him +1 to Charisma and +2 to Dexterity.

Ability Scores

Using our recommended Array of 16/14/13/12/10/8 I assign his abilities as:
STR 8, DEX 18 (16+2), CON 10, INT 13, WIS 12, CHA 17 (16+1)

Sorcerer Initiation

So, how did Ghil end up as a Sorcerer, wielding innate magic? Well, you will have to wait for his full story, but to sum up: he was injured by an aberrant creature, his left eye clawed by it. The eye was permanently affected and he was given a scar though it for the rest of his life. He nearly died, but was healed with magic. The eldritch injury to his eye gave him the ability to see and manifest pure eldritch energy.

At 1st Level he gets two Proficiencies and I select: Arcana and Intimidation.

He gets the Innate Sorcery trait to empower his sorcerous magic.

He learns magic and get four Cantrips and two 1st Level spells. I select:
Blade Ward, Booming Blade, Sorcerous Burst, Thunderclap
For 1st level spells I give him: Detect Magic and Shield.

Summary

The plan is for Ghil to be a melee, or at least weapon-wielding, sorcerer. Using True Strike to attack (for now) and having Mage Armor, both of which he got from his Background and didn't need to select as Sorcerer spell, he can safely be in combat. Notably, True Strike can be used with weapons so he could attack from range with dagger, an urchin sling, or any other simple ranged weapon. He doesn’t have any other concentration spells so he can concentrate on the Blade Ward spells for extra defense, and if an attack would his he can pop Shield as a reaction to hopefully avoid it.
How will he progress in levels and power? What sorcerous subclass will he be? Stay tuned for more updates on Ghil’s character traits throughout his career.