Campaign Input - Monster PC's

[Dave G]

I just wanted to open a dialogue about playing a campaign with monsters as PC's. I need tips and pointers for making it fun without being impossibly hard on the players...

The Cast:
Lizard Man Druid
Winged Aasimar Barbarian
Spider-eye Goblin Rogue
NPC Dactyl Wizard

Most common people will want to kill them on sight so I'm going to have to be really careful. They're going to get caught up in some events going on around them in the world and this kind of confrontation could come up a lot...

Have any of you tried a campaign like this, have any advice?

 

[Undead Pete]

What level are they at?

In my campaigns, the PC's reach "name level" at 10th. Every encounterwith someone new, there is a pretty good chance that someone will have heard of them.

In D&D, adventurers are the celebrities of the world. Eventually, people are bound to hear of their exploits....if they're good, of course.

A bizarre group like that doing "good deeds" is even more likely to be famous.

I would even give them a few NPC's who idolize them and want to follow in their footsteps....perhaps some human farmboys who rebel against their parents and want to be like the cool monsters

....sort of like teens emulating their favorite rock stars.

Marilyn Manson, anyone??

Of course this will cause another set of problems for them

 

[Dave G]

Well at the moment they are 1st level PC's (all with an ECL of 2 due to some fudging to make it all balance out) I think their reputation locally will grow as they have more adventures...

 

[Xarlen]

What's a Dactyl?

I would say that it's not Unreasonable. Lizardfolk are generally neutral. Aasimar aren't 'evil', since they're celestial ancestory (Atleast, people will think better seeing them then a tiefling), so that isn't a problem.

Spidergoblin, okay you MAY have some trouble there. But, he could be seen as a 'pet', to one of the other partymembers, until he does something heroic.

I love playing Kobolds, or other monster races.

Try and be as unexpectedly powerful as possible. WHO expects that kobold dressed in scrappy rags of dropping a Cone of Cold on them? They're going to think 'Oh, another minotaur', before getting shot up with 3 arrows from that Mighty Compoisit +8 Huge bow. Most people would see a goblin and shrug it off. That's where the strenght is.

Once you've made a name for yourself, you will be accepted. I hate to bring it up, but Drizzt is respected in many FR communities, after saving many towns' bacon from the fire..

Not to mention, you Might have a way of getting a shoe-in in encounters. Are the lizardmen going to charge a fellow lizardfolk? You may be able to go in and talk to the Chieftan of the Spidereyes.

Offer opportunities where the people whom oppress them turn around. The town wants to lynch you? Save them from the BBEG, and they'll atleast have to consider you a hazy ally.

But, at first, it Isn't unreasonable that they're forced to sleep in the stables.

And, it allows you to introduce other monster NPCs as fellows in their trade. Think of it: After their exploits, other monsterous races could come out, with their own individuals looking to gain gold the Adventurer way! Behold, Ak'iss the Kobold Wizard, Shralak the Hobgoblin Cavalier, Grawkul, Gnoll Bard, the Howling Minstrel.

 

[Dave G]

Dactyl are from Liber Beastaurus from Eden Studios. They are "intelligent, bipedal, winged, reptilian humanoids"