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<blockquote data-quote="Kobold Stew" data-source="post: 8516243" data-attributes="member: 23484"><p><strong>3 Reptiles (Kobold, Lizardfolk, Tortle, Yuan-Ti)</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Lizardfolk. </strong>The Natural Armor (13+DEX) has always been the most appealing aspect of the 5e Lizardfolk to me, in part because it provided a solution for the Druid that won’t wear metal armors. I like playing Druids, and natural armor allows me to skirt the bit that makes them non-fun for me. There’s more to it than that, and while the Tortle offers a better AC (see below), it doesn’t have the appeal that Lizardfolk holds. VGTM even had Cunning Artisan, which let the Lizardfolk make his own wood/bone/hide shields (which are otherwise unpriced). The loss of Cunning Artisan is therefore keenly felt, if only because it allowed me as a player to completely circumvent an obstacle I didn’t like, without needing to negotiate it with my DM.</p><p></p><p>Given the way AC is calculated, Lizardfolk supports a low-constitution Barbarian: you don’t need to build up CON for Unarmored Defense, because it’s already covered. But it will impact your hit points, and perhaps discourage you using Reckless Attack (if you weren’t already discouraged).</p><p></p><p>Apart from that, the changes to Lizardfolk are mostly minor. Two free skills are a great perk, and most characters will draw from Perception, Stealth, or Survival I suspect. The bite is now slashing damage; Hungry Jaws is tweaked; medicine is added to the skills one can choose (no one ever chooses medicine). The bite doesn’t feel like it would be a primary weapon for anyone: it could be for those classes like some Clerics and Druid who do not get martial weapons automatically, but for them a strength build is unlikely, with the need for a casting stat, Dexterity (for AC) and Constitution. I don't think people would choose to use the bite for a barbarian's primary weapon, but they could and be down ~2hp.hit. With the free choice of stats, a Warlock, Sorcerer, or Wizard Lizardfolk is much more likely now than it was before. I’m sticking with my Druid.</p><p></p><p><strong>Kobold</strong>. Draconic Cry gives free advantage with a bonus action, which is useful for anyone, but particularly rogues. That’s fine, but it affects anyone within 10’, with no save. That argues for melee range, which is not what we might expect from the kobolds of olde (Tucker’s Kobolds, trapping and sneaking). But it is huge when they’re in groups, since a single kobold can run into a group, scream, disengage or attack each round, and give advantage against multiple opponents who are sniping at range. Kobolds in groups become frightening again, creating a kind of swarm effect.</p><p></p><p>Compare this to what was in VGTM with Pack Tactics (you have advantage if there’s a distracting ally nearby) and Grovel Cower and Beg (which lets you give advantage to others once per short or long rest) – so like Draconic Cry but without the implication of cowardice. Pack Tactics was excellent, and encouraged a really unique type of play, requiring players to balance its benefits with the challenges provided by sunlight sensitivity. That is lost now, and the kobold is poorer for it.</p><p></p><p>Kobold Legacy gives three choices. Craftiness gives as skill (fine); Defiance gives advantage on saves against being frightened (also fine, but it goes against the tradition that kobolds are scaredy-rats); Draconic sorcery is the most interesting choice, because it gives you a sorcerer cantrip, with any casting stat you choose. That’s awesome: Poison Spray or Fire Bolt give the most damage. This also allows sorcerer cantrips to be cast with wisdom, allowing a free option for kobold clerics, druids and (especially) ranger, who otherwise need to give up other options to get their cantrips.</p><p></p><p>[ooc]<strong>Kobold Clerics and Rangers.</strong> Indeed, the most interesting change for me to the Kobold is the possibility of adding a sorcerer cantrip and use Wisdom as its casting stat (there are no Sorcerer cantrips that aren't on the Wizard list, so casting a Sorc cantrip with Intelligence is not unusual. With wisdom, it is.</p><p></p><p>A kobold Cleric can have access to Mage hand, Minor Illusion, shocking grasp, and many ranged attack cantrips that require a roll. All the ranged attack cantrips either require a roll to hit or a save. Each has its advantages: the ones with save are bettter for getting around cover, and the onese to hit are easier to get bonuses on the to hit roll (you benefit from advantage, for example). Clerics normally do not have access to the to-hit cantrips (the Arcane domain gave it to them, and Magic Initiate for Druid with Produce flame does, but that's it; High elves have cantrips that key off of Intelligence, but not Wisdom). A Kobold cleric can take a sorcerer cantrip, and cast it using wisdom, giving them a solid reliable attack. A kobold Ranger might also choose to take an attack cantrip, and still be effective without needing to invest in Int or Cha.</p><p></p><p>Similarly, <strong>Water Genasi</strong> have Acid splash, that cqn be keyed to any casting stat. <strong>Air Genasi </strong>have shocking grasp. <strong>Fire Genasi</strong> have Produce flame.[/ooc]</p><p></p><p><strong>Tortle. </strong>The core of the tortle is the natural armor, which is a flat AC 17 and can’t benefit from dexterity. This is helpful for several builds, as long as you don’t need to go first in combat. Other features (1d6+STR claws, holding breath) might be useful, but won’t be used at the core of a build. While not over-powered, it does mean that a tortle character does not need to invest in dexterity at all, and this can lead to some interesting, unexpected builds. Classes that normally depend on Dexterity – Ranger, Rogue – can dump it completely and still be viable in melee combat with a Strength build; classes without heavy armor proficiency but with shields can comfortably do without Dexterity as well: non-shapeshifting druid, light or knowledge cleric, valor bards all can maintain a respectable AC 19 with a shield. Spellcasters too – warlock, wizard, sorcerer, bard – all can ignore the need for developing dexterity. While there are interesting possible synergies for a paladin or Barbarian build, nowhere is this breaking more ground than with a non-dex melee rogue, who can attack with a finesse weapon using strength for sneak attack, but also develop a range of skills building off of intelligence, wisdom, or charisma; curiously, the rogue’s Cunning Action means you might still be the swiftest and most agile in your party, even if you have an 8 dex. In contrast, the least effective build is probably a tortle monk, so no ninja tortles for you.</p><p></p><p>The range of skills provided by Nature’s Intuition is unexpectedly broad (shared with Lizardfolk). Perception, Stealth, and Survival are all as useful as they are out of place (“as stealthy as a tortle” seems an odd phrase to me). But then again, it’s also odd to me that the creature’s natural attack is on par with a scimitar. The decision to normalize all of these to 1d6+STR seems to me bizarre.</p><p></p><p><strong>Yuan-Ti</strong>. Magic Resistance is an incredibly powerful benefit, even if it is now explicitly only against spells. The fact that you also have advantage on poison saves and resistance to poson stacks up to some strong benefits that will be handy at some points in your adventuring career, even if not all the time. The big gain is the ability to cast Suggestion once/long rest, using your most advantageous casting stat. That’s nice to have in your pocket, and does not limit build choice. The herpetological theme (posion/snakes) is creepy but also makes them uninteresting to me to play.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Kobold Stew, post: 8516243, member: 23484"] [B]3 Reptiles (Kobold, Lizardfolk, Tortle, Yuan-Ti) Lizardfolk. [/B]The Natural Armor (13+DEX) has always been the most appealing aspect of the 5e Lizardfolk to me, in part because it provided a solution for the Druid that won’t wear metal armors. I like playing Druids, and natural armor allows me to skirt the bit that makes them non-fun for me. There’s more to it than that, and while the Tortle offers a better AC (see below), it doesn’t have the appeal that Lizardfolk holds. VGTM even had Cunning Artisan, which let the Lizardfolk make his own wood/bone/hide shields (which are otherwise unpriced). The loss of Cunning Artisan is therefore keenly felt, if only because it allowed me as a player to completely circumvent an obstacle I didn’t like, without needing to negotiate it with my DM. Given the way AC is calculated, Lizardfolk supports a low-constitution Barbarian: you don’t need to build up CON for Unarmored Defense, because it’s already covered. But it will impact your hit points, and perhaps discourage you using Reckless Attack (if you weren’t already discouraged). Apart from that, the changes to Lizardfolk are mostly minor. Two free skills are a great perk, and most characters will draw from Perception, Stealth, or Survival I suspect. The bite is now slashing damage; Hungry Jaws is tweaked; medicine is added to the skills one can choose (no one ever chooses medicine). The bite doesn’t feel like it would be a primary weapon for anyone: it could be for those classes like some Clerics and Druid who do not get martial weapons automatically, but for them a strength build is unlikely, with the need for a casting stat, Dexterity (for AC) and Constitution. I don't think people would choose to use the bite for a barbarian's primary weapon, but they could and be down ~2hp.hit. With the free choice of stats, a Warlock, Sorcerer, or Wizard Lizardfolk is much more likely now than it was before. I’m sticking with my Druid. [B]Kobold[/B]. Draconic Cry gives free advantage with a bonus action, which is useful for anyone, but particularly rogues. That’s fine, but it affects anyone within 10’, with no save. That argues for melee range, which is not what we might expect from the kobolds of olde (Tucker’s Kobolds, trapping and sneaking). But it is huge when they’re in groups, since a single kobold can run into a group, scream, disengage or attack each round, and give advantage against multiple opponents who are sniping at range. Kobolds in groups become frightening again, creating a kind of swarm effect. Compare this to what was in VGTM with Pack Tactics (you have advantage if there’s a distracting ally nearby) and Grovel Cower and Beg (which lets you give advantage to others once per short or long rest) – so like Draconic Cry but without the implication of cowardice. Pack Tactics was excellent, and encouraged a really unique type of play, requiring players to balance its benefits with the challenges provided by sunlight sensitivity. That is lost now, and the kobold is poorer for it. Kobold Legacy gives three choices. Craftiness gives as skill (fine); Defiance gives advantage on saves against being frightened (also fine, but it goes against the tradition that kobolds are scaredy-rats); Draconic sorcery is the most interesting choice, because it gives you a sorcerer cantrip, with any casting stat you choose. That’s awesome: Poison Spray or Fire Bolt give the most damage. This also allows sorcerer cantrips to be cast with wisdom, allowing a free option for kobold clerics, druids and (especially) ranger, who otherwise need to give up other options to get their cantrips. [ooc][B]Kobold Clerics and Rangers.[/B] Indeed, the most interesting change for me to the Kobold is the possibility of adding a sorcerer cantrip and use Wisdom as its casting stat (there are no Sorcerer cantrips that aren't on the Wizard list, so casting a Sorc cantrip with Intelligence is not unusual. With wisdom, it is. A kobold Cleric can have access to Mage hand, Minor Illusion, shocking grasp, and many ranged attack cantrips that require a roll. All the ranged attack cantrips either require a roll to hit or a save. Each has its advantages: the ones with save are bettter for getting around cover, and the onese to hit are easier to get bonuses on the to hit roll (you benefit from advantage, for example). Clerics normally do not have access to the to-hit cantrips (the Arcane domain gave it to them, and Magic Initiate for Druid with Produce flame does, but that's it; High elves have cantrips that key off of Intelligence, but not Wisdom). A Kobold cleric can take a sorcerer cantrip, and cast it using wisdom, giving them a solid reliable attack. A kobold Ranger might also choose to take an attack cantrip, and still be effective without needing to invest in Int or Cha. Similarly, [B]Water Genasi[/B] have Acid splash, that cqn be keyed to any casting stat. [B]Air Genasi [/B]have shocking grasp. [B]Fire Genasi[/B] have Produce flame.[/ooc] [B]Tortle. [/B]The core of the tortle is the natural armor, which is a flat AC 17 and can’t benefit from dexterity. This is helpful for several builds, as long as you don’t need to go first in combat. Other features (1d6+STR claws, holding breath) might be useful, but won’t be used at the core of a build. While not over-powered, it does mean that a tortle character does not need to invest in dexterity at all, and this can lead to some interesting, unexpected builds. Classes that normally depend on Dexterity – Ranger, Rogue – can dump it completely and still be viable in melee combat with a Strength build; classes without heavy armor proficiency but with shields can comfortably do without Dexterity as well: non-shapeshifting druid, light or knowledge cleric, valor bards all can maintain a respectable AC 19 with a shield. Spellcasters too – warlock, wizard, sorcerer, bard – all can ignore the need for developing dexterity. While there are interesting possible synergies for a paladin or Barbarian build, nowhere is this breaking more ground than with a non-dex melee rogue, who can attack with a finesse weapon using strength for sneak attack, but also develop a range of skills building off of intelligence, wisdom, or charisma; curiously, the rogue’s Cunning Action means you might still be the swiftest and most agile in your party, even if you have an 8 dex. In contrast, the least effective build is probably a tortle monk, so no ninja tortles for you. The range of skills provided by Nature’s Intuition is unexpectedly broad (shared with Lizardfolk). Perception, Stealth, and Survival are all as useful as they are out of place (“as stealthy as a tortle” seems an odd phrase to me). But then again, it’s also odd to me that the creature’s natural attack is on par with a scimitar. The decision to normalize all of these to 1d6+STR seems to me bizarre. [B]Yuan-Ti[/B]. Magic Resistance is an incredibly powerful benefit, even if it is now explicitly only against spells. The fact that you also have advantage on poison saves and resistance to poson stacks up to some strong benefits that will be handy at some points in your adventuring career, even if not all the time. The big gain is the ability to cast Suggestion once/long rest, using your most advantageous casting stat. That’s nice to have in your pocket, and does not limit build choice. The herpetological theme (posion/snakes) is creepy but also makes them uninteresting to me to play. [/QUOTE]
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