Monster Manual Suggests Changes Are Coming to Some Playable Species

More non-humanoid playable species are coming to the new edition of Dungeons & Dragons. In videos released over the last two weeks to promote the 2025 Monster Manual, Wizards of the Coast has revealed they have reclassified several creatures that doubled as playable races in the previous version of 5th Edition as non-humanoid species. The goblin is now a fey creature, the kobold is now a dragon, and the kenku is now a monstrosity. It's likely that the hobgoblin and bugbear (both of which are goblinoid creatures in D&D) will also be reclassified in the Monster Manual. The 2024 adventure Vecna: Eve of Ruin reclassified the Warforged as a construct rather than as a humanoid, a change from the 2018 Eberron sourcebook. Lycanthropes are also reclassified as monstrosities in the 2025 Monster Manual, which could also have an impact on playable species.

There are 14 different creature types in D&D 5E, although it took D&D years to include non-humanoid creature types as an option. Centaurs (from Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica) was the first non-humanoid creature type, followed by satyrs in Mythic Odysseys of Theros. Both of those books were Magic: The Gathering crossovers and classified those races as fey creatures. The Wild Beyond the Witchlight added Fairies and Haregon as playable fey creatures. Spelljammer added playable construct, monstrosities, and oozes via the Autognome, Thri-kreen, and Plasmoid. Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse also changed the Changeling from Eberron into a fey creature.

D&D hasn't stated their plans for the goblin, kobold, kenku, and warforged playable species rules, but these classifications should be reflected if/when the D&D team updates those species for the 2024 rule set.

Creature classifications matter in 5E D&D because certain spells only impact humanoids. Hold Person, Charm Person, Dominate Person, Finger of Death's zombification effect, Reincarnate, Calm Emotion, Friends, Crown of Madness, Magic Jar, and Simulacrum are all spells that only impact humanoids, for instance. Some of these spells have equivalents that can be used on any creature type but often require a higher level spell slot to be used.

On the flip side, one immediate impact is that, once the 2025 Monster Manual comes out, a bard PC will no longer be able to Charm Person their way out of tense encounter with a goblin or a kobold. Mind manipulation is no longer in vogue (or mechanically possible) when interacting with the game's beloved trash dragons.

 

[Weiley31]

Are you talking "has the literal type"? Because... Reborn and Dhampyr are clearly undead, and Tieflings cover Fiends.

Like literally change.

WoTC either needs to show some guts and take a crap in the toilet or just continue standing their with their legs crossed and looking awkward about it.

 

[Parmandur]

I have a feeling that most creatures that are designed for PCs to play will be humanoids. That may include PC versions of species where the monster version have different types.

Well, no. What the PHB says specifically on page 177 is "Every species in this chapter is Humanoid; playable non-Humanoid species appear in other D&D books."

 

[humble minion]

Goblinoids being fey is one of my least favourite Monsters of the Multiverse innovations, and it makes me sad to see WotC doubling down. But i'll accept a nil-all draw if this time they make the PC goblin species decent. It had some good features, but the goblin rogue is as iconic a combination as you could hope for and there was far too much duplication of abilities between class and species. And the less said about Fury of the Small the better.

But yeah, the Banishment etc thing is a big issue, and it's kinda emblematic of my issues with D&D 2024 in general. It just looks a bit like there's a few too many tweaks going on in disparate parts of the rules which are perfectly understandable in isolation, but which are problematic in the larger context of the game.

 

[Chaosmancer]

Like literally change.

WoTC either needs to show some guts and take a crap in the toilet or just continue standing their with their legs crossed and looking awkward about it.

And other than being immune to a handful effects, and vulnerable to others... what difference do you suspect having an undead type and fiend type PC to make?

 

[humble minion]

And other than being immune to a handful effects, and vulnerable to others... what difference do you suspect having an undead type and fiend type PC to make?

That's enough, surely?

I mean, a creature's type doesn't matter now anything like as much as it did in, say, 3e, where it largely dictated whether you had darkvision, and provided a package of immunities etc, and (for monsters) their attack bonus, saves, hit dice size, etc etc. But if 'type' doesn't provide a handful of immunities/vulnerabilities, then what else does it do? We might as well remove it as a concept completely.

 

[Corinnguard]

It was a good 3pp to my mind. Lots of great worldbuilding.

If you go to GM Binder, you can find a number of homebrewed WoW material for 5e.

 

[Remathilis]

Well, no. What the PHB says specifically on page 177 is "Every species in this chapter is Humanoid; playable non-Humanoid species appear in other D&D books."

MOST and MAY being operative words. I don't know if I'd take that as proof PC kobolds are going to be dragon type ..

 

[Parmandur]

MOST and MAY being operative words. I don't know if I'd take that as proof PC kobolds are going to be dragon type ..

Maybe, maybe not...but it leaves the possibility wide open. And Spelljammer had non-Humanoid PC options.

 

[RedSquirrel]

Constructs, elementals, humanoids . . . story trumps arbitrary categories.
A lot of real world myths tell how the people were created out of clay or dirt and how the gods breathed life into them.

SO MUCH this.
This needs to be said, repeated, and reiterated. Loudly, and often. And once more time for the people at the back.
Editions have been changing for the last 50 years. And that's not gonna stop.
The more important part than random mechanical ways that lore is translated into game stats, is that the general lore behind a character ought to remain (relatively more) constant.
Categories, types, subtypes, level, CR, HD, and even specific abilities aren't as important as the story/fluff elements.

If they use mechanics to represent the story in various ways over the editions, what does it matter?
It's when mechanics start impacting lore that people care more.

 

[RedSquirrel]

"Shapeshifter" would be an unnecessary creature type, if it were in 5e. But, even back to third edition 25 years ago, lycanthropes acquired the subtype "Shapeshifter" when they acquired the lycanthrope template.
Now they don't use extraneous, unnecessarily specific types or subtypes ... they just call them all a "monstrosity".
In my brain, a shapeshifter is a monstrosity. And, insofar as lore goes, always has been.
Calling them that is just finally catching up.
Which makes perfect sense to me.