Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="kalani" data-source="post: 6859503" data-attributes="member: 88085">It appears I misunderstood the initial question (and thought that the majority of the questions were relating to player choices). In respect to a monster which says race (any humanoid), you can pick any that you have racial abilities for. In respect to most non-PC races however, it is not always clear where the line between racial abilities and monster abilities are drawn. If you choose a goblin for example, does their ability that grants them similar benefits to a rogues Cunning Action come from their race, or their training? As such, I recommend sticking to PC races, although feel free to use winged tieflings or aarakocra (as we have stats for those).Pauper's advice is solid however. As a general rule, only focus on the things that will be relevant and have a mechanical impact on the combat, and ignore the rest. If you choose a forest gnome for example, don't worry about its "speak with small beasts" ability unless it has relevance to the combat.... The gnomes "Natural Illusionist" however should be factored in, as minor illusion has combat-applicable uses.It is also fine to leave the race blank, and the NPC unmodified from its listed statblock..... As a general rule, that is the approach I take unless I feel the need to spice things up with a handful of variant humans for the purpose of showcasing a specific feat or two. Even in those cases, I never bother to adjust their ability scores (too much work to do on the fly), and instead simply slot in the chosen feat.I find that if you can't make the changes on the fly and keep track of those changes in your head, you are probably overthinking things. Feel free to make more significant changes if you like, but I find that it is easy to mess yourself up with everything else that you need to focus on.....I choose races to provide a specific effect (and only worry about that specific effect as a rule)...... I might choose "High Elf" because I feel like adding a cantrip to the creature, or "Variant Human" because I want to use "Mage Slayer" or "Charger" or any other feat (esp. feats that are rarely chosen by PCs). I might also choose Halfling because I want to take advantage of their ability to make hide checks behind allies, etc.Take the feature that is meaningful, and take any restrictions that are equally meaningful - and ignore the rest..... Don't for example, take a Drow and ignore their sunlight sensitivity....</blockquote>

Verification