Help me balance a homebrew Gorilla race

[Cadburylion]

Hello everyone!

I'm a bit new to D&D (having played one long campaign in Pathfinder, and probably 30 hours of 5e), and am performing as the Dungeon Master in 5e for my brothers' first time playing.

One of them is playing the Dragonborn race, but his favorite animal is a Gorilla and wants to play as a Gorilla humanoid. Using the Dragonborn race from the PHB as a template, I quickly came up with the following (lacking finalized names and flavor). Please help me balance it!

Gorilla Humanoid (calling it a Simian for now)

+2 Strength
+1 Constitution
Age: Equivalent to Dragonborn
Speed: 30
Size: Medium
Ragepound: You can us your action to make a leap attack at a nearby enemy. When you use your ragepound, you leap up to 15 feat and pound a creature with your simian fists. Target creature must make a saving throw. The DC for this saving throw = 8 + your Constitution modifier + your proficiency bonus. A creature takes 2d6 damage on a failed save and is knocked prone, and half as much damage on a successful one and is not knocked prone. The damage increases to 3d6 at 6th level, 4d6 at 11th level, and 5d6 at 16th level. After you use your ragepound, you can't use it again until you complete a short or long rest.
Languages: You can speak, read, and write Common and Simian. Simian script is hieroglyphic, and the spoken language sounds similar to the grunts and screeches of gorillas, which prevents most other races from understanding it.
You have advantage on saving throws against grapple effects.
You have proficiency in the Acrobatics skill.

[eleazzaar]

Since you can only attack one enemy at a time, while the dragonborn can attack everybody in their cone. However, you do inflict "prone" which is a nasty status.

You need to mention what kind of saving throw victim of ragepound needs to make,

On the other hand, you give them adv vs grapple and a skill which is better than the dragonborn's resistance.

I'd say this is stronger than the dragonborn, but still weaker than the strongest PHB races.

[Ninja_Prawn]

I'd say this is stronger than the dragonborn, but still weaker than the strongest PHB races.

That's my assessment too. Working up from the dragonborn is probably a good way to approach this, though it kind of feels like ragepound should be an attack roll rather than a saving throw (I'd go for Dex if you stick with the save).

Or, perhaps make it more like "you pound the ground around you, creating a minor earthquake" and it's like an area attack that affects multiple targets. Could be fun.

And the gorilla men should totally look like the guys in this (http://dresdencodak.com/2008/01/07/machine-messiah/) comic. Activate the gorilla gun!

[Cadburylion]

Thank you both! I'm glad you feel I got it reasonably balanced.

Ninja_Prawn, that's a good idea! I was actually thinking about having two sub-races of Simian. Perhaps the other could have that AoE ground pound you mentioned.

And that comic pretty much captures what they look like to me, haha.

Eleazzaar (Biblical mighty man?), I totally forgot to pick a saving throw type! Thank you! As Ninja_Prawn said, Dexterity sounds appropriate.

The reason I wanted a saving throw versus an attack roll is I wanted it, like the Dragonborn's Breath Weapon, to at least always do some damage.

I got the idea for the ability from this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAQmYuvUgOs) video.

Does anyone have other ideas that sound like good candidates for incorporation? I chose proficiency in Acrobatics because it's essentially an anthropomorphized monkey, and advantage on saving throws against grappling effects because their natural upper body strength seemed like it would make them incredibly difficult to wrestle down (I think of bursting out of holds, ropes, vines, etc., with its relatively massive arms). What other sorts of features or traits might make sense?

[Ninja_Prawn]

Does anyone have other ideas that sound like good candidates for incorporation? I chose proficiency in Acrobatics because it's essentially an anthropomorphized monkey, and advantage on saving throws against grappling effects because their natural upper body strength seemed like it would make them incredibly difficult to wrestle down (I think of bursting out of holds, ropes, vines, etc., with its relatively massive arms). What other sorts of features or traits might make sense?

Well, if you're doing subraces, you could break out the skill proficiency and the (not) breath weapon. Give the ground-pounder proficiency in athletics maybe, to represent a super-buff, hulky gorilla.

Oh, and you'd have to break out the +1 stat. +1 Con to the hulk and +1 Dex to the jumping monkey sounds good.

[Cadburylion]

Excellent ideas. If I do sub-races, I'll move one of the +1 attributes to them. Thanks for your evaluation!

As well, I may give the race a tool proficiency of some sort, and perhaps move the DC on Ragepound from Constitution to Strength.

[Ninja_Prawn]

and perhaps move the DC on Ragepound from Constitution to Strength.

Oh, yeah. I was going to suggest that before but totally forgot.

[Cadburylion]

Primian

Ability Score Increase: Your Strength score increases by 2.
Age: Young primian grow quickly. They walk and tumble about days after being born, attain the size and development of a 10-year-old human child by the age of 5, and reach adulthood by 15. They live to be around 85.
Speed: Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Size: Primian are a little taller than humans, standing at full height several inches over 6 feet tall, though their mildly stooped posture typically obscures this, and are heavier, averaging 285 pounds with the majority of their weight found in their oversized arms and torso. Your size is Medium.
Languages: You can speak, read, and write Common and Primian. Primian script is hieroglyphic, and the spoken language is composed of grunting, screeching, and gesturing similar to that found in animal apes, which prevents most other races from understanding it.
Primal Gesture: The similarity between the primian language and that of their animal counterparts allows you to communicate simple ideas with every species of ape.
Unbound Strength: Possessing disproportionately strong arms, you have advantage on saving throws against grapple effects.

Subrace: Two subraces of primian are found among the worlds of D&D: lowland primian and mountain primian.

Lowland Primian

As a lowland primian, you have grown accustomed to life in the thick jungle. Your hair is typically very dark and uniform.

Ability Score Increase: Your Dexterity score increases by 1.

Jungle Pathfinding: You have proficiency in the Acrobatics skill.

Pounding Rage: You can use your bonus action to go into a pounding rage. When you use your pounding rage, you gain +2 damage and -2 attack for 1 minute. It ends early if you are knocked unconscious. You can also end your pounding rage on your turn as a bonus action. After you use your pounding rage, you can't use it again until you complete a long rest.

Mountain Primian

As a mountain primian, you are familiar with the rocky terrain of the mountain steppes. Your hair is typically dark, with swathes of gray or silver.

Ability Score Increase: Your Constitution score increases by 1.

Mountain Climbing: You have proficiency in the Athletics skill.

Rage Pound: You can use your action to make a leap attack at a nearby enemy. When you use your rage pound, you leap up to 15 feat horizontally and pound a creature with your large primian fists. The target creature must make a Dexterity saving throw. The DC for this saving throw = 8 + your Strength modifier + your proficiency bonus. A creature takes 2d6 bludgeoning damage on a failed save and is knocked prone, and half as much damage on a successful one and is not knocked prone. The damage increases to 3d6 at 6th level, 4d6 at 11th level, and 5d6 at 16th level. After you use your ragepound, you can't use it again until you complete a short or long rest.

How does this sound? I have no idea how underpowered, balanced, or overpowered the Pounding Rage ability is, but I like the idea of it. If its flawed even conceptually (for instance, I don't want to step on the Barbarian's toes), I'll replace it with an AoE damage ability like which has been suggested in this thread. I chose this ability because I like the idea of an ape going, well, ape on his foes.