D&D General Animal PCs?
- Thread starter abe ray
- Start date
LuisCarlos17f
Legend
They are broken. Without clothes, no shoes (think about walking on the snow without a good boots), and without opposible dumbs.
And animals have got better senses than humans to sense predators or prey. And in the real life apes are really strong. A chimpancee as two humans and a gorilla as eight. Elephants can't jump but push carriots.
A little squirrel or a monkey can climb very fast, sometimes too fast in a D&D game. A feline, big or little, can jump very good. Birds and bats can cross a dungeon without touching floor and walls, avoiding the traps, or to be used to send a written message to the lady in the window from the tallest tower.
My suggestion is only as monster pet allies, demi-PCs.
And animals have got better senses than humans to sense predators or prey. And in the real life apes are really strong. A chimpancee as two humans and a gorilla as eight. Elephants can't jump but push carriots.
A little squirrel or a monkey can climb very fast, sometimes too fast in a D&D game. A feline, big or little, can jump very good. Birds and bats can cross a dungeon without touching floor and walls, avoiding the traps, or to be used to send a written message to the lady in the window from the tallest tower.
My suggestion is only as monster pet allies, demi-PCs.
Rikka66
Adventurer
That depends on exactly what you want out of it. What kind of animals? And are the species just the race, or do you want an entirely new badger class?
As an example, let's say a player is inspired by Sif of Dark Souls. They want to be a wolf with a sword in its mouth. I'm going to assume magic is involved in some way and give the wolf higher intelligence and the ability to speak languages. I'll allow them to wield a weapon, even a two-handed one since wolves are medium sized, in their mouth.
Stat wise we can do a +2 Dex, and a +1 to whatever is appropriate based on the backstory. Maybe they don't care, and we can just do +1 to Str. We'll give them a bite as a natural weapon, and a once per encounter save against prone. Keen Hearing and Smell, Pack Tactics, 13 AC from natural armor and choice between perception and stealth proficiency. We can talk briefly so between us we understand the various advantages and disadvantages that come from being a quadruped and how NPCs will generally react to a talking wolf strolling into town.
Is this totally balanced? I don't know. I think it's neither too powerful or too weak, which is all I'm worried about for a personal homebrew. I'd take this approach for just about any medium or small sized animal.
As an example, let's say a player is inspired by Sif of Dark Souls. They want to be a wolf with a sword in its mouth. I'm going to assume magic is involved in some way and give the wolf higher intelligence and the ability to speak languages. I'll allow them to wield a weapon, even a two-handed one since wolves are medium sized, in their mouth.
Stat wise we can do a +2 Dex, and a +1 to whatever is appropriate based on the backstory. Maybe they don't care, and we can just do +1 to Str. We'll give them a bite as a natural weapon, and a once per encounter save against prone. Keen Hearing and Smell, Pack Tactics, 13 AC from natural armor and choice between perception and stealth proficiency. We can talk briefly so between us we understand the various advantages and disadvantages that come from being a quadruped and how NPCs will generally react to a talking wolf strolling into town.
Is this totally balanced? I don't know. I think it's neither too powerful or too weak, which is all I'm worried about for a personal homebrew. I'd take this approach for just about any medium or small sized animal.
WayOfTheFourElements
Hero
As a PC, I use animals the same way I do in real life: dinner.
Talking sentient animals can be fun to play but come with significant challenges do to social status and lack of opposable thumbs . So long as these can be dealt with, it can be pretty fun actually.
Also give this is D&D , there are some already in game options that might work. Winged cats with levels in a class that grants Mage Hand say work just fine.
In my last 3.5 campaign I had an adventure where the PCs had all been turned to stone and the players spent the game session role-playing their familiars and animal companions: a raven, an eagle, a timber wolf, and a dire wolf (plus the elderly NPC henchman who often groomed them). Together, they had to figure out who had done this to the PCs and find a way to undo it. (That was made much easier once they freed the female fire elemental familiar of another PC, but I didn't want the group starting out with her from the get-go.)
It was a fun one-shot, but nothing I'd want to do on a longer basis.
Johnathan
It was a fun one-shot, but nothing I'd want to do on a longer basis.
Johnathan
ccs
41st lv DM
If the game in question was 3x/pf1/5e? Then I'd just use the PF ogl book Nobel Wild as the works already done.
Might have to convert a little bit for 5e use though.
For anything prior to OD&D - 2nd? Its a very arcane process - I'd just eyeball things as needed, Making S(omething) Up, until everyone involved was happy.
There'd be no attempt for 4e as I wouldn't be involved in a game of that edition.
Btw, I've played a Sorcerer Parrot in PF before.
Might have to convert a little bit for 5e use though.
For anything prior to OD&D - 2nd? Its a very arcane process - I'd just eyeball things as needed, Making S(omething) Up, until everyone involved was happy.
There'd be no attempt for 4e as I wouldn't be involved in a game of that edition.
Btw, I've played a Sorcerer Parrot in PF before.
thealmightyn
Explorer
I think the best way to try out animal races would be to run a campaign, one-shot, whatever where all of the player characters were animals to get things like "animals have better senses" out of way. One possibility would be to use the materials provided by the team that does the Animal Adventures Kickstarters.
ccs
41st lv DM
Was not aware of that as I had very few Dragon issues of the 2e era.
So I will amend my answer concerning 2e:
If I were unaware of the issue? Then I'd make stuff up.
If I were aware? Then I'd give it a look. Maybe I'd use it, maybe I'd mod it, or maybe I'd be making it up anyways as Dragon content isn't exactly the gold standard....
TiwazTyrsfist
Adventurer
Currently playing in a pathfinder game where one of the Party is a Goat that was Awakened and then gained levels in Bard. Ramuel L Jackson is an important part of our team.
So, in general, I would assume an animal used as a PC would be Awakened.
So, it has Human level Intelligence and can speak at least one language (if you don't take Common you're being deliberately difficult)
Basically any CR 1 or lower Animal would be acceptable IMO. At level 3 a Moon Druid is gonna spend every combat as a CR 1 monster anyway so it's not to broken.
The main drawback, balancing the things like multi-attack, is that they can't use a lot of magic items.
It depends on the base animal, but mostly it's determining what types of magic item they CAN use. Also keeping in mind that any Large or larger animal probably isn't conducive to many games. Hard to fit an Elephant, no matter how well spoken, inside a dungeon hallway or a castle.
So, in general, I would assume an animal used as a PC would be Awakened.
So, it has Human level Intelligence and can speak at least one language (if you don't take Common you're being deliberately difficult)
Basically any CR 1 or lower Animal would be acceptable IMO. At level 3 a Moon Druid is gonna spend every combat as a CR 1 monster anyway so it's not to broken.
The main drawback, balancing the things like multi-attack, is that they can't use a lot of magic items.
It depends on the base animal, but mostly it's determining what types of magic item they CAN use. Also keeping in mind that any Large or larger animal probably isn't conducive to many games. Hard to fit an Elephant, no matter how well spoken, inside a dungeon hallway or a castle.
Weiley31
Legend
Well for 5E ya have a couple of options.
For Dogs and Cats: Dungeons and Doggies and Cats and Catecombs. Both are part of the Animal Adventures series. You can pretty much use the dog rules and make a Wolf ala Great Wolf Sif. Love the idea of a Grey Wolf Rune Knight though.
Then you have Humblewood: there you have rules for birdfolk and Humblefolk(forest critters basically.)
The Birdfolks can be reflavored to various bird breeds such as Canadian Geese(so Canadian Goose Monk FTW) and the Humblefolk cover foxes, racoons, mice, deer, hedgehogs and stuff. You can reflavor the Humblefolk too. So you can reflavor the mice as Chinchillas for example or the deer like Cervans into Goats.
For Dogs and Cats: Dungeons and Doggies and Cats and Catecombs. Both are part of the Animal Adventures series. You can pretty much use the dog rules and make a Wolf ala Great Wolf Sif. Love the idea of a Grey Wolf Rune Knight though.
Then you have Humblewood: there you have rules for birdfolk and Humblefolk(forest critters basically.)
The Birdfolks can be reflavored to various bird breeds such as Canadian Geese(so Canadian Goose Monk FTW) and the Humblefolk cover foxes, racoons, mice, deer, hedgehogs and stuff. You can reflavor the Humblefolk too. So you can reflavor the mice as Chinchillas for example or the deer like Cervans into Goats.
Fanaelialae
Legend
If I were running an all animal campaign, I would impose the limitations that you'd expect for an animal. I've never run this kind of campaign myself, but a friend has mentioned that he has an idea for one that he'd like to try someday.
If the animal is an awakened PC amongst a more standard party, then I'm liable to be far more generous, allowing them to wield weapons along the lines of Sif from Dark Souls or Koromaru from Persona 3. Effectively, they can do a lot of the things a human could do with one hand; albeit fine manipulation would be at disadvantage. As I see it, an intelligent animal with a class would have found ways to adapt to a humanoid-centric world.
I've actually had a player who ran an awakened cheetah monk all the way up to 19th level. He was an effective and fun character. The player often played up his cat-like personality, and the character was intensely curious and prone to getting distracted by small moving things. In combat he excelled at getting to the back line and wrecking the enemy squishies.
If the animal is an awakened PC amongst a more standard party, then I'm liable to be far more generous, allowing them to wield weapons along the lines of Sif from Dark Souls or Koromaru from Persona 3. Effectively, they can do a lot of the things a human could do with one hand; albeit fine manipulation would be at disadvantage. As I see it, an intelligent animal with a class would have found ways to adapt to a humanoid-centric world.
I've actually had a player who ran an awakened cheetah monk all the way up to 19th level. He was an effective and fun character. The player often played up his cat-like personality, and the character was intensely curious and prone to getting distracted by small moving things. In combat he excelled at getting to the back line and wrecking the enemy squishies.
Tonguez
A suffusion of yellow
I'd impose a -10 No Thumbs penalty to any animals without thumbs trying to use a sword with its mouth, much better to use its bite (and trip) and allow its pack ability to apply with non-wolf allies.
Players wanting to be animals are interested in the challenge and possibilities of playing animals, not mimicking humanoids, I'd let the animals be awakened but otherwise accept the limitations and animal abilities
Weiley31
Legend
Ya but somebody FORGOT to tell Sif and Artorias bout that.
Tonguez
A suffusion of yellow
So how did you do the gorilla bits or was he just a hairy human?
Im genuinely interested in how you portray a gorilla rather than him just being faux Tarzan/planet of the Apes
Eltab
Lord of the Hidden Layer
Somewhere along the line during 3e a section for Anthropomorphic Animals was printed (probably in a DMG). I xeroxed it but forgot to write in the original book's title.
Look into Gamma World, which pretty much ignores such petty details as No Thumbs and figures you start with all human capabilities on Day One of play.
For 5e there are a bunch of animals already statted up. Use them (or re-fluff as needed: Hawk = falcon, peregrine, &c). You could probably compile a list of already-printed monster powers/abilities to help create any other animal you want to play. Although I haven't seen anything that says "use this for porcupine quills" yet...
Look into Gamma World, which pretty much ignores such petty details as No Thumbs and figures you start with all human capabilities on Day One of play.
For 5e there are a bunch of animals already statted up. Use them (or re-fluff as needed: Hawk = falcon, peregrine, &c). You could probably compile a list of already-printed monster powers/abilities to help create any other animal you want to play. Although I haven't seen anything that says "use this for porcupine quills" yet...
