The destiny allows you to permanently polymorph into something cr level -2 & I've been kinda curious what fun it could allow so decided to put together a list of interesting low hanging fruit. I limited the list to creatures with some vaguely humanoid body structure capable of fitting normally in a group, filtered out anything too stupid to function, & tried to specifically grab things with an ability that would remain useful as the game progresses. I also filtered out things like the cr2 spined devil with a laundry list of resistannces immune fire/poison, fly speed & more.. That might be ok if the immune/resist bacame DR, but we can't judge the destiny based on what it's not currently.
CR2. This is a great start because it's probably only 1-2 sessions & your gm might be cool with letting you just start as a cr2 creature that doesn't advance as a level 1 whatever till level 3. Plus it's not very jarring if you go from a level1 in a class that seems close to the creature to the creature itself at level 2 if not.
I wanted to go on to list interesting cr1 creatures as well since the -2 means you could start taking class levels at level 2 rather than waiting till third. The vast majority of cr1 stuff was excluded because of god awful stat arrays & not much interesting for abilities not otherwise gained by anyone
I looked at cr3 & up but almost all of them fall into mass energy immune/resist magic resist or nonmagical physical damage resist & gaining way more than is lost by two class levels like "seventh level spellcaster".
I didn't include them, but dragon wyrmlings tend to be in the cr1-3 range with a wide variety of stats that makes them a potentally interesting fit for nearly any spellcaster.
The biggest problem with the various creatures that were omitted from cr 1-3 range is mass energy resist/immune & physical damage resist. Those things are so overused & abused by Wotc that some examples of how they can/should be converted to a5e should be included in the conversion doc & for this metamorphosis destiny should maybe just be flat dr#/thing or a save bonus.
CR2. This is a great start because it's probably only 1-2 sessions & your gm might be cool with letting you just start as a cr2 creature that doesn't advance as a level 1 whatever till level 3. Plus it's not very jarring if you go from a level1 in a class that seems close to the creature to the creature itself at level 2 if not.
- Azer(elemental): This is basically an elemental (fire) dwarf & gets a lot of really cool stuff that will really transform any martial character other than rogue. With 17/12/15/12/13/10 the array is not too far from the standard array with the usual +2. You are immune to fire & poison allowing you to shrug off a fireball and play with baddies while inside your wizard bud's wall of fire so skills & abilities that let you lock down an opponent's movement might be a even more valuable for you than others. You get a 1d10 fire damage shield that tags anything that hits you. Most interestingly you get a heated weapons ability that adds 1d6 fire damage when you attack with a melee weapon.
- Ghast(undead): With 16/17/10/11/10/8 the array is decidedly slanted towards martials. That con will hurt, but being able to force everything that gets within 5 feet of you to make a con save or be poisoned condition might make up for it. The save is only dc10, but your gm might be willing to work with you on bumping that with proficiency over time or something. Allies are protected from your stench by being immune for 24hr after they save once. If your party has other undead or a necromancer & you are likely to encounter turn undead type effects you have a 30ft aura that grants advantage against turn undead. Making up for the four dump stats you have the claw attack that might leave you actually happy to use at 2d6 slashing with a dc10 con save or be paralyzed 1 min, as a GM I'd probably tone that down to shaken or something but could see myself working out something with an interested player.
- Githzerai Monk(humanoid): This is a bit of a double edged sword I may or may not allow. The array is 12/15/12/13/14/10 making it decidedly average but it comes with some abilities that make it a potentially interesting choice for an EK type character & stat array is big bonus point in favor of maybe allowing it. You get at will magehand & 3/day (each) featherfall, jump, see invis, shield but I feel the array offsets the "that's a lot of free spells" factor. You get +wis to ac when not wearing armor plus a 1d8 fist attack that adds on an extra 2d8 psychic damage. I probably wouldn't allow it as is, but I'd be happy to work with a player who wanted to play one
- Gnoll pack lord
humanoid) 16/14/13/8/11/9 is an absolutely normal looking stat array for a player but the gnoll pack lord gets some really neat features that will make it stand out & make other party members shine. That rampage lets you move half your speed & bite someone when you reduce a creature to zero hp is not big damage, but an extra 15 feet of movement could be really useful even if a 1d4 bite is not. Lastly it has a 5-6 ability that lets you choose an ally within 30ft to make a melee attack as a reaction if it has the rampage trait, that pretty much excludes your allies but this might result in an interesting starting point if your GM is willing to work with you on shifting this to something more like commander's strike. - Lizardfolk Shaman(humanoid): 15/10/13/10/15/8 makes a good starting point for a cleric or similar & gets a bunch of interesting spells I'd probably allow once reiterating on why heat metal is nexcusably broken so not allowed. The spell list might need some work bit It's not irreparable. There is an effectove wildshape:crocodile that lasts 1hr making for an interesting twist.
- Merrow(monstrosity): 18/10/15/8/10/9 is a fairly standardish lookig array for a player. Being amphibious is barely worth noting in 99.999% of campaigns. What is notable about this guy is that it has a notable 1d8 bite attack & a multiattack of bite+claw or weapon that could reasonably be bite+attack action later. Given the boons that go with some of the other destinies I can't see a problem with that kind of shift.
- Nothic(aberation): 14/16/16/13/10/8 makes this a pretty neat fit for rogues & other dex monkies. You get a claw/claw multiattack (1d6 claw), for rogues who don't get extra attacks this makes for some potentially really tempting fun. You also get an at will dc12 con save gaze attack that deals 3d6 necrotic & a nifty way f finding secrets about a target. This could be a solid choice especially if your gm is willing to work with you on allowing proficiency to scale the DC.
- Orc eye of gruumsh(humanoid): 16/12/16/9/13/12 is a fairly reasonable array for a pc & it has some abilities that make for an interesting divine slanted EK-type base. guidance/resistance/thaumaturgy cantrips are at will... you also get bless command augury & spiritual weapon spells & a few spell slots for them. Your attacks deal an extra 1d8 damage & you get the aggressive trait that lets you move up to your speed towards a creature. All combined you could have an interesting base here that really justifies going into fighter/paladin/ranger 2 levels late but I'd suggest stripping the capital E Evil Gruumsh stuff & just shift it to something else or your pc wanting to turn away from a dark past.
- Minotaur Skeleton(undead): 18/11/15/6/8/5 Maybe your one of those elite karnathi undead created from the odakyr rites or who knows, but this has some interesting charge related abilities that are notable because the charge related maneuvers seem so lacking. You are vulnerable to bludgeoning so be careful! The gore & charge are not that wow worthy on their own, but if you find some other abilities they can crank up it might be a solid choice, Also you should talk to your gm about the whole "can't speak" thing.
- Ogre Zombie(undead): 19/6/18/3/6/5 & can't speak again so talk to your gm there but that strength & con is pretty nifty. You are size large & that has a lot of nifty possible things, get used to the squeezing into smaller spaces rules though too. The truly notable powerhouse ability here is you get to make a dc5+damage taken con save if something drops you to zero hp & stay at 1 if you pass even round after round making for an interesting base but given there's no raise dead for undead you should really check with your gm first if you plan on using this or any other undead.
- Grung elite warrior(humanoid): 7/16/15/10/11/12 gives this a significantly nicer array than the ghast with some similar abilities hat again make it an interesting fit for rogues. Poison immunity might be useful a little as might a 25ft leap. You get a dc12 con save contact poison on your skin that inflicts the poison condition & can make a dc12 wis save chirr that inflicts stun till end of your next turn on all who can hear on a failed save. Coupled with the size small this might make a pretty nifty sneaky dex monkey poisoner with their own source of poison if the gm is willing to work with you on dcs & maybe effect as you advance
- Hobgoblin iron shadow(humanoid): 14/16/1514/15/11. This is a second level spellcaster with a rather underwhelmig spell list, but it's the first int based spellcaster that fits the criteria & is pretty noteworthy as such because you have good dex/wis & +wis to ac when unarmored plus an at will 30ft shadowstep as a action making for an interesting twist on wizard artificer or even an EK with that strength & dex to match.
- Vegepygmy chief(plant): 14/14/14/7/12/9 is a solid array for any strength or dex based martial type not too badly crushed by size small heavy penalties. Right off the bat you get a claw claw or melee/melee multiattack great for rogues who don't get a second attack. Add to that advantage on stealth checks made with "ample obscuring plant life". You also get an aoe spores nuke 1day. Most impressive is that if you didn't take cold fire or necrotic damage last round you regenerate 5hp at the start of your turn. I don't think i'd allow permanent regeneration like that but could see maybe working something out. It's really kind of a curiosity at best & not really all that great unless your gm is willing to do more than laugh when you ask for the regeneration as is.
- Hybrid flyer(humanoid): 12/16/14/11/10/11 This is a good rogue array that has the added benefit of a multiattack & a "ranged weapon" 4d4 acid spit attack along with a 40ft fly speed. Depending on what you can do with those things using the abilities you gain while leveling this could be pretty interesting for a rogue who can always use acid spit to dissolve stuff from 20/60ft away if needed.
- Cosmotronic Blastseeker(humanoid): 14/15/16/18/9/12 makes for a fairly beefy int based array that has 3/dayeach scorching ray shield thunderwave & fireball. It also gains the ability to 3/day reroll up to 4 damage dice when you cast a spell that deals damage & 1/day make an attack roll ability check or save. Your gm might make you convert those 3/day each to using spell slots that merge in with yours late , but either way this could open a lot of characters that might not be otherwise possible
I wanted to go on to list interesting cr1 creatures as well since the -2 means you could start taking class levels at level 2 rather than waiting till third. The vast majority of cr1 stuff was excluded because of god awful stat arrays & not much interesting for abilities not otherwise gained by anyone
- Bugbear (humanoid): 15/14/13/8/11/9 makes for a fairly standard martial array with good con no matter if you lean strength or dex. It has two nifty abilities. One is that you deal an extra 2d6 when you make a surprise attack. The other is that you deal an exrta weapon die making this a potentially strong choice for things like a now 2d12 greatsword wielder
- Half Ogre (giant): 17/10/14/7/9/10 If strength/con id your thing & you can find a way of making size large useful this cr1 option might work well. Other than size large & a 2d10 battleaxe it doesn't have much going for it.
- Gnoll fleshgnawer(humanoid): 12/14/12/8/10/8 makes a fairly close to normal rogue array. You get the bonus action rampage to move half your speed & make an attack as a bonis action when you reduce a creature to zero hp. As an action you can use sudden rush to bump your move speed to 60ft & your movement doesn't provoke AoOs. Given that this is already a pretty rogue leaning option it's interesting that the multiattack gained is shortsword shortsword bite making for 3 possible attacks & an improved version of using an offhand shortsword.
I didn't include them, but dragon wyrmlings tend to be in the cr1-3 range with a wide variety of stats that makes them a potentally interesting fit for nearly any spellcaster.
The biggest problem with the various creatures that were omitted from cr 1-3 range is mass energy resist/immune & physical damage resist. Those things are so overused & abused by Wotc that some examples of how they can/should be converted to a5e should be included in the conversion doc & for this metamorphosis destiny should maybe just be flat dr#/thing or a save bonus.
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