D&D 5E What would you put in monster manual 2?

[Ath-kethin]

Rules for using monsters as PC races.

Like the ones on page 282 on the Dungeon Master's Guide? Oh, right, those are for N-PCs. Totally different.

 

[MechaPilot]

Like the ones on page 282 on the Dungeon Master's Guide? Oh, right, those are for N-PCs. Totally different.

Those rules cover Medusas, Mind Flayers, Dragons, and Fiends, right? No, they don't. So maybe your snark was unwarranted and you should actually ask people what people mean instead of immediately jumping to the conclusion that they're idiots.

 

[The Crimson Binome]

I want something entirely new. Give me a psychic giraffe that can bite you with its tail, or a hedgehog that can breathe fire.

 

[Ath-kethin]

If you are expecting dragons as a PC race in a WotC publication, I'm not sure the jump was unwarranted.

I don't think you're an idiot, for what it's worth. And after all, this thread is a wishlist, not a discussion of what realistically might appear.

And I expect you are in the minority for wanting PC options for insanely powerful creatures. Though it would be entertaining to see the cries of "BROKEN!" that would result immediately from any attempt to produce them.

 

[MechaPilot]

If you are expecting dragons as a PC race in a WotC publication, I'm not sure the jump was unwarranted.

I don't think you're an idiot, for what it's worth. And after all, this thread is a wishlist, not a discussion of what realistically might appear.

And I expect you are in the minority for wanting PC options for insanely powerful creatures. Though it would be entertaining to see the cries of "BROKEN!" that would result immediately from any attempt to produce them.

Hasn't WotC given us rules for dragon PCs before? I seem to recall hearing something about that in 3e. Something about racial monster levels.

That said, I don't think all these creatures are "insanely powerful." Are they beyond the norm? Absolutely. That's part of why rules, or at the very least well-considered advice, would be helpful for those who want to include them.

 

[Ath-kethin]

I don't know about WotC, but TSR produced a rules option for playing dragons as PCs. It's actually the original source of half-dragons as PCs, too, if memory serves. Since you had the option to play a dragon or a complete chump, basically.

When I say "insanely powerful," I am referring to the capabilities of these creatures vs. the PHB baseline, in which case all of them - dragons in particular - are indeed insanely powerful.

Though again, this is a wishlist, so power to you. I doubt I would buy a book with dragon (or illithid, or medusa, etc) options for PCs, but they don't make the game for me specifically.

 

[Sunseeker]

Hasn't WotC given us rules for dragon PCs before? I seem to recall hearing something about that in 3e. Something about racial monster levels.

That said, I don't think all these creatures are "insanely powerful." Are they beyond the norm? Absolutely. That's part of why rules, or at the very least well-considered advice, would be helpful for those who want to include them.

I've experimented with it several times, and still do, and here's some thoughts:

Typically CR is a good guideline for a PC, 1-1. Anything less than 1 is typically on par with a base race with NO racial features. But anything around 1 will usually be on par with a base race. However above CR1 it's very hit-and-miss. For the most part, I use CR as "LA", so a Mind Flayer is equal to a level 8 PC, with it's spells. Without, well, you gotta do some math on your own there. Creatures with weapons typically make acceptable PCs, since their power is not from innate bonuses, but from magical weapons, such as how many angels, demons and giants deal multiple damage die per attack. This covers most humanoid creatures. Creatures with natural weapons are a bit more difficult. You have to gauge what their damage is equal to on the weapon chart, how many attacks they get and any additional special features to find out if they're on-par with characters and classes.

Monsters as PCs chart applies mostly to CR 1 or lower creatures which as I already mentioned, work pretty well as base races.

Honestly, I would recommend that anyone attempting to make a playable race start off in the minds with generally treating CR as the lowest level you can be that race. But from there on out, create a custom progression path, much like there are for classes, for that creature. This is what I did in my current campaign.

 

[MechaPilot]

I don't know about WotC, but TSR produced a rules option for playing dragons as PCs. It's actually the original source of half-dragons as PCs, too, if memory serves. Since you had the option to play a dragon or a complete chump, basically.

When I say "insanely powerful," I am referring to the capabilities of these creatures vs. the PHB baseline, in which case all of them - dragons in particular - are indeed insanely powerful.

Though again, this is a wishlist, so power to you. I doubt I would buy a book with dragon (or illithid, or medusa, etc) options for PCs, but they don't make the game for me specifically.

I do agree with you that dragons can be, especially at the more advanced ages, much, much more powerful than the usual PC races. However, I would expect any rules for dragon PCs to focus on young dragons since the younger dragons usually have to go out and find their place in the world while the older ones are more established and often tend to be fairly sedentary once they have a lair and a treasure-horde of their own.

 

[Jediking]

And I expect you are in the minority for wanting PC options for insanely powerful creatures. Though it would be entertaining to see the cries of "BROKEN!" that would result immediately from any attempt to produce them.

Is doesn't have to fully reflect the power of a single creature, but draw inspiration and use a new race. Use the Minotaur from the UA as an example. They have some Minotaur traits (Horns, Labyrinth recall), bonus to appropriate stats, and a unique culture. Now a racial option rather than letting a player start as an individual CR 2 badass.

 

[werecorpse]

Aurumvorax
Bodak, barghest,
Choker, cave fisher
demodands, derro, dinosaur (velociraptor/deinonychus), dark creepers,
frogemoth
Hullathoin, hellwasp swarm
Moon calf
Troll varieties,