D&D 5E Can Dragonborn play a flute?

[leinadvirgo]

I had a player that created a dragonborn fighter and was giving him a musical instrument, he wanted to use a flute. I looked at the picture in phb and couldn't decide if they had fully functional lips like humans or if it was more reptilian.

I know there isn't likely to be an official dragonborn anatomy book to use as reference, but it got me thinking that there are probably a few other things that would come up. like can they whistle? I would assume that its possible, but can they change pitch?

 

[delericho]

You'll basically have to decide that for your own campaign.

Personally, I'd be inclined to say they can't whistle as such, but that they have a nasal cavity that allows them a certain approximation of a whistle (with a slightly different range and control). Likewise, I probably wouldn't let them play a flute as we know it, but it's very likely that they would have developed other instruments that fill the same role. So there's probably a Dragonborn flute out there somewhere.

All IMC, of course.

 

[Herobizkit]

From wikipedia:

The flute is a family of musical instrument of the woodwind group. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening.

Dragonborn can breathe energy at people... so maybe they prefer reeded wind instruments?

Maybe a panflute, or some other type of flute with larger air holes?

Or maybe they have some kind of crazy magical instrument that works off their Draconic breath's essence?

 

[n00b f00]

A bunch of decent answers, that they could use similar things but maybe not a normal flute. For the sake of laziness, I would just say "They can talk in all of the various languages using their lips, so they can probably move them well enough to use a flute. Though it's not a instrument dragonborn are generally partial too as it takes a bit more practice than it does for other races." If only so that the player would be happy, I wouldn't have to come up with an alternative, and we could joke anytime he played it.

 

[Mephista]

My answer-

Does it really matter? What does allowing him to have it detract from the game? Is your group going to think its silly enough that they lose immersion? Allowing it makes the player happy. Disallowing it makes the player sad. Therefore, allowing it raises your overall group enjoyment of the game. Why should you not allow it?
From a pure "We're Here To Game and Have Fun!" standpoint, I can't see any reason to not say they can do it.

 

[delericho]

My answer-

Does it really matter? What does allowing him to have it detract from the game?

No, of course not. But little things like this can be an opportunity for world-building and therefore can add value to the game. And if the DM chooses to take the player's request for a quirk for his fighter and says, "Yes, and...", that's a good thing.

So, the Dragonborn Fighter with a flute, yeah, that's cool. But a Dragonborn Fighter with a dragonborn flute, a slightly different instrument built to take advantage of the Dragonborn's slightly different physiology might be more cool.

Or not - as in so many things, YMMV.

 

[AtomicPope]

Dragons can manipulate their nostrils to hold their breath underwater. So why not play a...

Noseflute?

 

[PnPgamer]

How about that annoyingly nasal howling what the raptors did in jurassic park 3?

 

[Klaus]

As commonly depicted, dragonborn have lips (perhaps thanks to brass dragon ancestors?), so I see no reason why not.

If a more elaborate explanation is necessary, a dragonborn could be capable of rolling its tongue into a tube (like some humans can), and use that to channel its breath through the flute.

 

[Jester David]

Dragons can manipulate their nostrils to hold their breath underwater. So why not play a...

Noseflute?

I was about to make that joke/suggestion.
There's an interesting image of a dragonborn playing a flute with a nostril or dragonborn flutes that look like a stethoscope and go over the snout.

 

[DEFCON 1]

NOSEFLUTE!

 

[iserith]

Personally, I'd play a dragonborn musician as continually frustrated at losing flutes and audience members to errant uses of its breath weapon.

"Please enjoy this performance of 'The Minstrel Boy'..."
*blows the first note*
*fire incinerates the flute and burns several people in the first row*
"Dammit, not again!"

 

[jayoungr]

Do you mean a recorder/tin whistle-style flute or a transverse flute? The former should be easier for a creature with a nonstandard mouth than the latter; it can even be stuck in the side of the mouth if necessary.

Or maybe Dragonborn use an extra attachment to channel the air properly?

 

[Tortoise]

"One time at adventurer camp."

It seems likely that a type of flute suitable to their anatomy would exist. Nose flute sounds reasonable. Just make sure when buying tickets to a show you get back row seats.

 

[thalmin]

Ask your player how he envisions it.

 

[jgsugden]

This falls into the realm of: "Which answer is more fun?" Use that answer. For anything that does not impact balance, the answer should always be more fun.

Some games might decide that a dragonborn that can't play flutes but tries is fun, or that there are special flutes designed for dragonborn, or that that flutes are fine for dragonborn as is.... Just ask what seems more like fun and go with it.

However, dragonborn can not play drums. No rhythm.

 

[Dausuul]

I had a player that created a dragonborn fighter and was giving him a musical instrument, he wanted to use a flute. I looked at the picture in phb and couldn't decide if they had fully functional lips like humans or if it was more reptilian.

They can talk. I'd say they can play the flute.

 

[The Grassy Gnoll]

Pan pipes!
Just like the Fast Show (skip to 4:44) http://youtu.be/66MarlzxfW8
Dragonborn ain't got no rhythm.

 

[Jeff Carlsen]

A dragonborn wind instrument would probably need to be carefully made. Depending on the user's breath weapon, I assume reeds would ether char or corrode quickly. A form of metal flute might actually be rather popular due to it's resilience to such things.

 

[Kobold Stew]

The Athenians played the double aulos, a kind of woodwind with a double reed (and so a pipe, though it's often translated as "flute"). Because of the demands of the embouchure (and to prevent unattractive Dizzy-Gillespie-cheeks) they had a strap worn around the head called the phorbeia. I could see some adaptation like that being used to allow lipless individuals to use a flute -- a prosthetic that allowed the instrument to be played.