D&D 5E (2014) All a single or thematic racial party

[gyor]

I was just wondering if anyone was concidering the possiblity of playing a game based around a single monsterous race or a group of monsterous races tied to a theme?

Example playing a game where all the PCs are Yuan Ti Purebloods living in Najara were being human or elf would make a person an outsider. Maybe open it up to Lizardfolk too.

Or a game set in a Hobgoblin Tribe, with Goblins, Hobgoblins, and Bugbears.

Or an Aquatic game in Myth Nentir with Water Genasi and Tritons.

Skullport with an all Drow Party.

Or as a Tabaxi Troupe, that doubles as an adventurering party.

Or a Liches reseach facilities, were captive Aasimar are bred with other Aasimar, in the hopes of developing a race of Vampires immune to daylight and resistant to Radiant Damage.

A Tiefling and Fire Genasi merc company based out of Memmon in Calimshan.

Dragon themed game with Kobolds and Dragonborn.

A Giantish game with Goliaths and Firbolgs.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Purely by accident, our group's first 4Ed campaign looked a lot like a "funhouse mirrorverse" version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, with the human in an almost all dwarf party being a wizard who mostly had cold-themed powers.

 

[Shiroiken]

I've played a few games like this. It can be a lot of fun if everyone is into it, but a total disaster if someone objects. Probably best for a mini-campaign or one-shot.

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

An all-goblin party would be fantastically fun.

 

[gyor]

I think Volo's Guide perfectly sets this up, its gives you all this info on say Yuan Ti, culture, history, magic, pysology, stats for various Yuan Ti, and the stats for playable Yuan Ti, so you can play a group of scheming Yuan Ti in Najara, plotting to be the one to go through the ritual to become a more powerul caste.

 

[Charles Rampant]

I've been thinking of a short campaign - say a month or two - where the players are directed to pick from the 'evil' races; Kobolds, Orcs, Goblins, Half-Orcs, Bugbears, Hobgoblins, evil barbarian Humans, Duergar and Drow. The setting would be in the upper Underdark, say, with the players being a group of evil adventurers assembled by their peoples to handle the dual pressures of a Shield Dwarf incursion/mining dig, and a push from the Beholders and Mind Flayers below. Probably I'd do a map of the tunnels and surface area that would be part of the campaign, and let the players have a lot of freedom to decide how they approach the various dangers that are encroaching on their peoples, sort of like Curse of Strahd - a bunch of locations each with a built-in storyline.

This setup means that we can have a sort of Dungeon Keeper style 'stop the dastardly do-gooders from entering our realm!' storyline. It would let the players have free usage of the evil races without having to bother trying to incorporate them into a 'normal' storyline. It also has the benefit that the players can play Bad Guys without having to face committing murder of innocents and children, since all the 'good guys' that they'll face are part of the Shield Dwarf mining outfit, and thus combatants, just like Dungeon Keeper.

 

[delericho]

Sure. Though most of the times it has happened, it has been by happenstance - the players chose the same races for their PCs.

I did an all-Goblin one-shot for 3e at one point, which was huge fun.

 

[Krachek]

Or an all human party?

 

[Horwath]

Or an all human party?

In Underdark


But, we thought about single race even signle class party.

5×wood elf assassins. Alpha strike team. If it's not done if 1st round it can't be done.

5×beast master rangers. it's 10 characters almost. beware of fireballs.

5×bards, oh wait...

5×shadow monks, stealth,stun,stealth,stun,stun,stun...teleport,teleport,stun...

5×moon driuds, how come I have 5 bears in my underwater hideout?

5×wizards, Gandalf, Sauron, Saruman, Radagast and Alatar walk into a bar...

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Back in 2e, I started a campaign using monstrous races, though it never went very far, alas. The idea was a riff on Tolkien’s Mordor, with heavy shades of the old Wormy comic from Dragon. The PCs weren't really evil, just trying to survive. Eventually I had planned on exploring themes of villainy masquerading as heroism, but never got there.