D&D General Dragonborn In Your Game (A Poll)

[Minigiant]

Yep, that's what I was thinking about. A paragon Dragonborn could eventually learn multiple breath weapons, gain a tail slap, grow wings and learn to fly, get a bite and claw attack, learn draconic magic, etc.

Feat chains might be easier, but some folks might prefer a paragon route.

I always felt that someone could print an simpler RPG where you can choose to level your class or level your species and that's the only multiclassing that was allowed. And make $$$.

And the Dragonborn class would be like the 5e Playtest Gishy Dragon Sorcerer.

 

[Micah Sweet]

In my setting, the primary dragonborn culture is a caste system, and dragonborn who develop wings are a higher caste, regardless of how skilled at flying they are. They all have tails though, and they are usually considered a point of pride.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Yeah, I find Lizardfolk more interesting personally.

I love Lizardfolk in D&D. I first got really interested in them in Spelljammer, where they had a species-wide imperative to get their eggs to hatch as close to a aystem's sun as possible, because they believed that being born close to the sun made the resulting hatchlings smarter. I also love the idea of hyper-advanced ancient Lizardfolk civilizations, and the later fall from that state that often results in fiction.

Plus, the alien roleplay opportunities to play a reptile are pretty cool.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I have three species - Dragonborn, Tyres Haul and Al'Galue.

The Al'galue came to Amberos from another realm, fleeing some ancient disaster to their old world. They brought strange machines with them and were persecuted by humanity for these devilish devices. Those that survived these ancient purges isolated themselves in remote regions and developed clannish tendencies. Al'Galue have cosmetic tails and wings. Some Al'galue can fly, though many of the surviving tribes have lost their ability to fly. Al'Galue cannot use their maws for biting and their claws are too weak to use for combat. However, they are naturally talented in illusion magic, having used it to hide their appearance from other races.

Dragonborn are the result of alchemical infusions that eventually led to the appearance of a new race that bred true. Others claim to be the children of dragons, manipulated into human form for reasons now long lost and forgotten. Most Dragonborn come from the Federation, the homeland of the dragons, and they were born and bred originally for the First Dragon Wars. The dragonborn are varied, though they have claws and a bite

The Tyres Haul claim they are the direct offspring of elvin and dragon unions, or in some tales spawned from alchemical attempts by elves to emulate the dragon form. There is inconclusive evidence for either origin, though it is clear that the Tyres Haul have existed as a distinct race for many millennium. The Tyres Hauls are natural fliers. They rarely have tails, though some can use their claws or maw in combat.

Dragonborn (and Kobolds) in my setting were the result of magical genetic manipulation of Lizardfolk by the Dragons, who wanted servants. The Dragonborn eventually rebelled and went underground where most of the Dragons couldn't easily chase them, but the Kobolds (who were created as less dangerous replacements) stuck around (from their perspective, they had a pretty good thing going on), and most of them still serve the Dragons.

 

[ART!]

I love Lizardfolk in D&D. I first got really interested in them in Spelljammer, where they had a species-wide imperative to get their eggs to hatch as close to a aystem's sun as possible, because they believed that being born close to the sun made the resulting hatchlings smarter. I also love the idea of hyper-advanced ancient Lizardfolk civilizations, and the later fall from that state that often results in fiction.

Plus, the alien roleplay opportunities to play a reptile are pretty cool.

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I've been into lizard folk ever since this:

 

[Stormonu]

Surprisingly, this was the one that made me think lizardmen were cool - for their ability to work together and threaten heroes....

 

[el-remmen]

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I've been into lizard folk ever since this:
View attachment 414220

Me too! (See previous post)

 

[Chaltab]

I mean Dragonborn from 2024 PHB and Gem Dragonborn get wings and a flight speed (temporarily) at 5th level so if my player picks one of those versions they can (temporarily) have wings... but yeah otherwise not by default.

 

[Corinnguard]

You might be thinking of paragon classes. I can't remember if they were base classes or prestige classes but they allowed you to become more dwarfy or more elfy. Pretty sure they were in 3.5, I know they had some in the WoWrpg.

The racial paragon classes appeared in 3.5's Unearthed Arcana. These 3 level classes were meant to blur the line between race and class. Racial paragon classes represented individuals of a particular race who possessed powers that superseded those of normal members of their race.

Unearthed Arcana 3.5 had paragon classes for Drow, Dwarves, Elves, Gnomes, Half-Dragons, Half-Elves, Half-Orcs, Halflings, Humans, Orcs and Tieflings.

As for the Dragonborn, tails (even if they are just cosmetic) are a must IMO. If they were to have wings, I prefer flesh-and-blood wings that can be created via magic. Spectral wings made from the same energy as their breath weapons don't cut it for me.

 

[jmartkdr2]

By default: tails but no wings.

Tail-less could be a genetic variant or the result of losing one's tail, but most dragonborn have one. Tails are not prehensile and don't give any specific benefits, but a dragonborn can make tail-strike unarmed attacks (with full Martial Arts features for monks)

Wings might be available via feat or class feature; but unless you got a fly speed or something similar it's assumed you don't have wings.

These rules can be broken in service of an interesting story, however.