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Message: <blockquote data-quote="clearstream" data-source="post: 8385392" data-attributes="member: 71699">I think the mechanics you are referencing from VGtM are these. (I agree that it is a good example of a race with contradictory features.)Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increase by 2, and your Wisdom score increases by 1.Bite. Your fanged maw is a natural weapon, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with it, you deal piercing damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.Cunning Artisan. As part of a short rest, you can harvest bone and hide from a slain beast, construct, dragon, monstrosity, or plant creature of size Small or larger to create one of the following items: a shield, a club, a javelin, or 1d4 darts or blowgun needles. To use this trait, you need a blade, such as a dagger, or appropriate artisan's tools, such as leatherworker's tools.Hold Breath. You can hold your breath for up to 15 minutes at a time.Hunter's Lore. You gain proficiency with two of the following skills of your choice: Animal Handling, Nature, Perception, Stealth, and Survival.Natural Armor. You have tough, scaly skin. When you aren't wearing armor, your AC is 13 + your Dexterity modifier. You can use your natural armor to determine your AC if the armor you wear would leave you with a lower AC. A shield's benefits apply as normal while you use your natural armor.Hungry Jaws. In battle, you can throw yourself into a vicious feeding frenzy. As a bonus action, you can make a special attack with your bite. If the attack hits, it deals its normal damage, and you gain temporary hit points (minimum of 1) equal to your Constitution modifier, and you can't use this trait again until you finish a short or long rest.As you say, it's very mixed. Their traits give them CON and WIS, and mechanically call upon every ability bar CHA (albeit INT only matters to Nature, and thus only if you choose that skill.) The physical abilities are their core, of course. (What makes you think Bite doesn't work with Rage? It's a melee attack that uses STR.)Lizardfolk really are an interesting example for the discussion here. Off the top of my head -<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">In the early discussion some posters felt fixed ASIs represented demographic truths. It's interesting to contemplate the demographic truths of a race whose ASIs do not connect with its natural traits. It's almost like we need to imagine that lizardfolk have changed over time so that their lore (their skill choices) have mattered more than their physical capabilities.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">If we go along with the idea of demographic truths, then lizardfolk ought to have over-representation in the classes that suit them. CON and WIS speak to barbarians, clerics, monks and rangers. CON is kind of a secondary for every class, and WIS useful to most, but those four might be expected to land well albeit monks wouldn't benefit from bite, and barbarians probably prefer their own AC calculation given their CON might end up better than +3. The skills are the barbarian list minus Athletics and Intimidation.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">So perhaps we land on a people who are wise - naturally adept with clerical magics - and hearty. I bet they're long-lived, with healing magics and that CON increase!</li> </ul>Age. Lizardfolk reach maturity around age 14 and rarely live longer than 60 years.Alignment. Most lizardfolk are neutral. They see the world as a place of predators and prey, where life and death are natural processes. They wish only to survive, and prefer to leave other creatures to their own devices.Ah, back to primitivism. Of course their lives are short and brutal - predators and prey. We're really going against type here. I guess that is a note I would make for the going-against-type crew: it's a nice idea. So how would floating ASIs change that? Funnily enough, the example in TCoE is literally that of a lizardfolk - +2 CON, +1  WIS. They suggest INT +2, CHA +1. Now that really would be going against type.</blockquote>

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