How do I justify a Lizardfolk Cleric in lore and RP?

[Zethnos]

Lizardfolk has me completely stumped RP wise. I really like the idea of a Lizardfolk - Cleric of the forge from Xanathar's. The thing is... this race just doesn't care about anything except survival... They don't want or desire anything from what I understand.

Do these creatures have religion? Since they have no moral system or want/need for anything greater than living, would it even be possible to explain how one would be a cleric?

Also, how would I RP them? Do they speak in first or third person? How do they interact with others?

 

[5ekyu]

Lizardfolk has me completely stumped RP wise. I really like the idea of a Lizardfolk - Cleric of the forge from Xanathar's. The thing is... this race just doesn't care about anything except survival... They don't want or desire anything from what I understand.

Do these creatures have religion? Since they have no moral system or want/need for anything greater than living, would it even be possible to explain how one would be a cleric?

Also, how would I RP them? Do they speak in first or third person? How do they interact with others?

To me the idea of lizardfolk is to be playing a different mindset. As Volo describes them, alien is frequently used.

Now we have all seen character, pc, npc, etc who did not develop attachments beyond practical, right? LF take that to the core.

As for how that religion would work, it would be about powrr and the need for power to survive. LF could see the power of enemy clerics and warlocks and realize a goid thing when divines and patrons come with deals.

But it would not be devotion, imo, as much as barter.

Remember how Conan told Crom if Crom couldnt help then to hell with him?

Same thing IMO for LF cleric or warlocks.

As a GM i would approach LF PCs are what i call frontgrounded - not driven by long complex background but ready to react to upcoming events - their story is beginning, not already underway. They have very direct responses, so that should not be tough.

As for exploring their religions, i would look at it from what the divines and patrons want from the deal - as the LF is the more direct drive.

Finally, if i wanted to push a more long term drive, a guiding principle, i might push into LF play the competition for reproduction... Making "survival of fittest" and " breeding by fittests" their primary driver - so the adventuring might be driven by need to impress potential mates by glory and power acquisitions.

Tyr Anastasi of Andromeda, but without the higher education and philosophy, is a model, but there are tons of them in the various fantasy, scifi and even real world lore.

Just some ideas...

 

[Nevvur]

First thing, you don't need to limit your character concept to the guidelines presented in the books. Some of the most enduring heroes in fantasy fiction have defied conventions for their race. Bilbo and Frodo, Drizzt, etc.

That said, assuming you want to play it close to the book... Start with this bit: "Despite their alien outlook, some lizardfolk make an effort to understand and, in their own manner, befriend people of other races. Such lizardfolk make faithful and skilled allies."

I would keep the emotional detachment suggested in VGTE, but if you 'slip up' in your portrayal of the character by having an overt emotional response, you can just play it off as mimicking how he thinks his non-lizardfolk companions would react. Also, it's noted their survival outlook is largely predicated on the hostile environment in which they live. A lizard given the opportunity for leisure may discover other priorities. The text does mention they seek pleasure, they just have a different perspective on it.

You should discuss with your DM a suitable god for a lizardfolk forge domain cleric. They place a high premium on useful objects that can ensure their survival, so it's a sensible domain for their spiritual leaders. I'm just not sure about lizardfolk religion myself, so can't offer more substantial suggestions.

As to your last questions, that's really up to you. There's a lot of guidance in VGTE, read through it. Use what you like, don't use what you don't. If anyone calls you out for playing your character wrong, they're probably douchebags.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Lizardfolk have their own gods and their own clerics. However, Forge would be a very odd choice for a society that is largely pre-metalwork!

But you could always go with a "raised by dwarves" type background.

I had an NPC lizardfolk cleric of Lathander (Light domain) living in Cormyr, in a walk-on part, but as it happened the party didn't engage with them and find out their backstory.

 

[Zethnos]

To me the idea of lizardfolk is to be playing a different mindset. As Volo describes them, alien is frequently used.

Now we have all seen character, pc, npc, etc who did not develop attachments beyond practical, right? LF take that to the core.

As for how that religion would work, it would be about powrr and the need for power to survive. LF could see the power of enemy clerics and warlocks and realize a goid thing when divines and patrons come with deals.

But it would not be devotion, imo, as much as barter.

As a GM i would approach LF PCs are what i call frontgrounded - not driven by long complex background but ready to react to upcoming events - their story is beginning, not already underway. They have very direct responses, so that should not be tough.

As for exploring their religions, i would look at it from what the divines and patrons want from the deal - as the LF is the more direct drive.

First thing, you don't need to limit your character concept to the guidelines presented in the books. Some of the most enduring heroes in fantasy fiction have defied conventions for their race. Bilbo and Frodo, Drizzt, etc.

That said, assuming you want to play it close to the book... Start with this bit: "Despite their alien outlook, some lizardfolk make an effort to understand and, in their own manner, befriend people of other races. Such lizardfolk make faithful and skilled allies."

I would keep the emotional detachment suggested in VGTE, but if you 'slip up' in your portrayal of the character by having an overt emotional response, you can just play it off as mimicking how he thinks his non-lizardfolk companions would react. Also, it's noted their survival outlook is largely predicated on the hostile environment in which they live. A lizard given the opportunity for leisure may discover other priorities. The text does mention they seek pleasure, they just have a different perspective on it.

You should discuss with your DM a suitable god for a lizardfolk forge domain cleric. They place a high premium on useful objects that can ensure their survival, so it's a sensible domain for their spiritual leaders. I'm just not sure about lizardfolk religion myself, so can't offer more substantial suggestions.

As to your last questions, that's really up to you. There's a lot of guidance in VGTE, read through it. Use what you like, don't use what you don't. If anyone calls you out for playing your character wrong, they're probably douchebags.

Thank you both! You guys gave me some ideas already for how I could do it.

Now I'm kind of thinking:
The character in some way has observed one or more cleric(s) performing their magic. It brought great pleasure in way of comfort, food, & healing. It also aided warriors in combat making them stronger, survive longer, and face greater threats. The character thought about what he has witnessed and decided to seek out a temple to become a cleric in search of pleasure and greater resources for survival. They decide to take the LF in and teach him to be a cleric because since they are typically fierce warriors, they could use him to spread the word of the strength and name of their temple and god(s). That would also give me a "call to adventure" the temple sends him out to find a party and take on adventures to advance as a cleric and spread the word. A reason to stay with the party would be that he gets intrigued by the party members and wants to understand more about them and use them to help him become more powerful of a cleric.

As you mentioned Nevvure, I guess I really could break the restrictions a bit like Drizzt. I could over time change his motives to wanting to bring other creatures pleasure and safety (also fitting in with the description of treating humans like hatch-lings), since his people seek it for themselves. I'll have to play around with the idea though

Again thanks guys! It's been a big help.

 

[Zethnos]

Lizardfolk have their own gods and their own clerics. However, Forge would be a very odd choice for a society that is largely pre-metalwork!

But you could always go with a "raised by dwarves" type background.

I had an NPC lizardfolk cleric of Lathander (Light domain) living in Cormyr, in a walk-on part, but as it happened the party didn't engage with them and find out their backstory.

Yeah I didn't really think about the pre-metalwork thing. I think I may have a way to explain that though, tying it in with the reply I just posted

 

[Caliburn101]

Kord as a deity is a no-brainer for a LF, and make them a War Cleric and hey presto -something that fits the racial lore without issue.

 

[Li Shenron]

Not sure how close or far to the canon this is, but in the past I have quite often featured lizardfolks in our homebrew/mixed setting, and I've always had clerics of their deity Semuanya, flavored as savage shamans. The deity is one of the typical racial deities in D&D that seems to care only about their favored race, but since I'm not a fan of that cliche, I always focus on more general philosophical aspects, in this case Semuanya as the "deity of survival and breeding".

The Forge domain might pose a challenge in the fact that lizardfolks are quite primitive, and the domain is almost about technology, so the two are in conflict. But what if Semuanya sees (slow) technology advancement as one of the tools to survival? If it wasn't for the focus on metal, I wouldn't see much problem. Maybe you could try to steer it more towards stone, wood and bone crafting. Or you could limit the Forge domain to selected clerics of Semuanya that belong to a specific tribe of lizardfolks, without any need for the vast majority of lizardfolks in the world to have the same bent.

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

The Forge Domain has some focus on metalwork, but also lot of it is fire-based. I could definitely see a Lizardfolk Forge Domain cleric as worshipping/calling on the Sun.

 

[Bitbrain]

Lizardfolk cleric of the Forge?

Simple. The official lore is that you are a "cold blooded" humanoid whose civilization is concerned about survival. The forge can produce a lot of heat, so I can totally see the Lizardfolk regarding it with something akin to reverence.

The big thing would be that while dwarves primarily see the Forge as a source of creation, the Lizardfolk would probably see it first as a source of staying warm at night or during the winter.