D&D 5E Dragonborn Interspecies Pregnancy

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Sunseeker

Guest

• Aug 26, 2015

• #21

In the comics that were released that were, I think loosely 4th edition, which is perhaps the heyday of Dragonborn, there is a conversation wherein some dragonborn guard specifically mentioned that dragonborn lay eggs.

I would argue that remains true for 5th edition and therefore makes dragonborn breeding too different from humans, elves, orcs, dwarves and so on as to be compatible.

To those saying "well dragons can do it!" Dragons have been long noted to reproduce magically. If you want to say that dragonborn also reproduce magically then fine, the answer if magic and don't bother stretching for a biological answer.

In my campaigns, dragonborn cannot reproduce with the more mammalian humanoids. They can reproduce with other reptillian races.

I will also comment that I think romance is fine in the game, when treated fairly and the players don't expect the DM to ERP with them or assume that any NPC will always fall for them because they're NPCs. "Fade to black" tends to be the best way to handle intimacy IME though.

 

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Dkase

First Post

• Aug 26, 2015

• #22

Would you believe that I also had this come up at one point? I am also inclined to agree that they are unable to reproduce with members outside of their species, but then again as the DM you can rule what ever you wish. It may set up an interesting drama in that they can't have a family, but wish to remain lovers and I'm sure there will be a fair bit of gawking and knee-jerk specie-ism when some people become aware of their relationship. Might add a bit of spice to the down time of adventuring.

Also, why is it the Dragons breed with dang near anything? Their the like scaly Kirk's getting their mac on with anything they can shape-shift into!

 

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Scorpio616

First Post

• Aug 26, 2015

• #23

With a human, I'd say no. With an Orc, I'd say yes. But I'm a fan of 1e's high fecundity, breeds with anythings except elves type Orcs.

 

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Azurewraith

Explorer

• Aug 26, 2015

• #24

Another thing to take into consideration with the rulings is the affect a child will have in the game. I mean if said female is a PC well there goes that char you ever seen a pregnant women walk up a hill? Now imagine that same women lugging around a 150lbs pack marching for 8hours a day and all other adventure based things. Now think about the male (im assuming he is the PC) will he give up his career as an intrepid adventurer to get a steady job with less risk of death? just my 2p

 

EzekielRaiden

Follower of the Way

• Aug 26, 2015

• #25

In response to the question, I'll return a different question:

Is there a cool story you can tell as a result of answering this question?

Not all of the potential cool stories result from answering 'yes.' If the romantic partners can't, but truly wish to, then perhaps they will want to seek out magical assistance, or will be interested in adoption--both of which could be very interesting stories (setting up the possibility of at least one PC settling down). Perhaps they like the fact that they don't have to worry about an unexpected surprise coming along; maybe this has secondary considerations for the world in which the game is set, e.g. some cultures see cross-species relationships as "not cheating" or even "not really a relationship" specifically because they're convenient and largely risk-free (no kids to make lives and successions messy, reduced risk of STDs, what-have-you).

On the other hand, there are all sorts of challenges that could be faced by an interspecies pregnancy. Will the child be healthy? Does it need intervention at some point in order to survive to birth/hatching? How do the other people in their community--human and dragonborn both--feel about the pregnancy? What about their families (or the equivalent, if 'family' is not a meaningful concept in their culture)? Is this a relatively normal event, or is it something never seen before? Does the child exhibit a blend of characteristics, e.g. softer skin with a fine tracery of scales or hair in addition to cheek-frills, or is it a binary "the child is either pure human or pure dragonborn," or something else entirely?

All of these concepts--whether you answer yes or no--are interesting developments of your world.

However...you probably want my opinion, the option I'd take. My knee-jerk reaction is "yes" simply because I like the "yes, and..." or "yes, but..." style of backstory creation. My second-thoughts reaction is more or less the above: "maybe; sell me on what you think" (being said to the players). I've said before and almost surely will say again, it is a bad idea (to the point of me not being sure it's ever a good idea) to quash things that get a player enthusiastic and excited. If they're excited to tell a story about forbidden love and being responsible for your choices, awesome--how do we go about that? If they're excited about having a deep connection with another sentient being without having it mucked up by family (the old or the potential-new), society, law, or whatever else--how do we go about that? That's where the answer really lies.

So...I guess I'd summarize my answer as "Yes, if the player sells me on it, or no, if they un-sell me on it." And if the player has no specific preference either way, and just want to see what I come up with? Probably yes. I feel that has the greater number of open-ended, drama-creating questions that can be answered through play.

 

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AriochQ

Adventurer

• Aug 26, 2015

• #26

As many have stated before, you can make whatever ruling you want at your table. There is no clear ruling on your question. At my table, I would allow it if I wanted it to happen (i.e. if it furthered the story in some way and didn't bugger up the rest of the world). If I were to make a ruling based on current, and prior, edition rules...I would say no.

[Disclaimer: There has been tons of material published over the years from a variety of sources, but I am focusing on the core-game rules/mechanics]

Assuming that interspecies breeding leads to 'half' races, the only ones we see with any regularity are half-elves and half-orcs. We also see half-ogres and half-dragons on occasion. The first two imply that elves, humans, and orcs can interbreed. Apparently ogres can also breed with something, presumably humans I guess. Dragons can shape shift in order to breed, so they differ from the other groups.

We have no half dwarfs, half gnomes, etc. I would posit that these races are much closer to humans than are dragonborn (biologically). If they can't interbreed, I can't see dragonborn being able to interbreed.

I am sure that somewhere in the D&D publishing history we could find a half version of almost every major race. So an argument could also be made to allow it, based on prior rules. I just don't think it is as strong of an argument.

 

Minigiant

Legend

Supporter

• Aug 26, 2015

• #27

In my setting, polymorph allow interspecies breeding as long as the baby is in not in a polymorphed mother.

This is a major plot point as there is a gold dragon who can't take on her true from as she is pregnant with a human prince's triplets. So she needs to be escorted.

 

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Fishing_Minigame

First Post

• Aug 26, 2015

• #28

I would say probably not without some magical assistance. Have they considered adoption? Lots of little urchins out there who need love and XP so they can grow up big and strong!

 

The Grassy Gnoll

Explorer

• Aug 27, 2015

• #29

Well, it worked in "V" and they were basically Space Dragonborn ("Spagonborn")...

 

jgsugden

Legend

• Aug 27, 2015

• #30

I agree with: What is the most fun answer? That is correct.

However, I'm going to go with: This requires research. Do you own a pet iguana?