D&D General Dragonborn Physical Features

[sevenbastard]

why, hell why not allow full orcs to let the parent bond with the child?
why no gnomes?
why stay with the smallest possible

Honestly I shouldn't have derailed a thread about dragonborn, as I have nothing to add about them.

I don't spend a lot of my D&D play with parents bonding with children or even understand how not having orcs impacts the half orc player to bond with its parents? Wouldn't the parent be an NPC? Is your argument if I allow Teifling PC I should allow Demon PCs?

Now I get how Orcs as portrayed in classic D&D are problematic. So I will accept that by not having them or goblins as PC races I am stuck in the past and should do better.

As for gnomes? Well I just don't need a bunch of funny humanoids running around. My list of intelligent humanoids is orcs, goblins, ogres, trolls, giants, elves, dwarfs, and halflings.

But I'd probably let a player run a gnome as a type of dwarf from a diffrent part of the world. I mean I use hobgoblin and gnoll stats as types of orcs, so why not? But it wouldn't be a separate species.

 

[Seramus]

If they are not actually like a Draconian (Dragonlance, the original kind) visually they are no different from a Lizardman or Yuan-Ti, they just have a breath attack.

Personally speaking, I think Draconian and Dragonborn have more name traction than Lizardman or Yuan-Ti. I mean, I would prefer actual Draconians over Dragonborn, but I'm happy with either. The words are just fun to say!

 

[Tonguez]

How is this not simply a Lizardman or more likely even some type of Yuan-Ti.

This is my problem with Dragonborn at all. If they are not actually like a Draconian (Dragonlance, the original kind) visually they are no different from a Lizardman or Yuan-Ti, they just have a breath attack.

yeah I agree with this, Draconians are pretty much what can be done with humanoid dragon without it just being a type of Lizardman or making them actual mediumsized dragons.

Draconians worked due to their backstory but I too have been very iffy about Dragonborn as a concept

 

[jmartkdr2]

yeah I agree with this, Draconians are pretty much what can be done with humanoid dragon without it just being a type of Lizardman or making them actual mediumsized dragons.

Draconians worked due to their backstory but I too have been very iffy about Dragonborn as a concept

My main issue witht htis is that dragonborn and lizardfolk have very different lore. So if I want to play a dragon-person but don't want to powergame to get there, if I could only choose a lizardfolk I would be stuck playing something that has no dragon theme at all and a ton of completely unrelated lizard-based rp baggage.

Because if I play a lizardfolk with any amount of emotional intelligence, I'm cheating. But dragons don't have that issue, because dragons aren't lizards.

I do wish they'd have more dragonborn feats to let me really dive into it, but as it stands the race as-is comes so much closer to what I want than anything else I would be allowed to play.

 

[Scribe]

My main issue witht htis is that dragonborn and lizardfolk have very different lore. So if I want to play a dragon-person but don't want to powergame to get there, if I could only choose a lizardfolk I would be stuck playing something that has no dragon theme at all and a ton of completely unrelated lizard-based rp baggage.

Because if I play a lizardfolk with any amount of emotional intelligence, I'm cheating. But dragons don't have that issue, because dragons aren't lizards.

I do wish they'd have more dragonborn feats to let me really dive into it, but as it stands the race as-is comes so much closer to what I want than anything else I would be allowed to play.

I think I've come to the conclusion (just this afternoon due to this topic and thinking about it in relation to my own rules/setting) Dragonborn need wings. The Breath Attack isnt sufficient for me, and without it they are just Lizardmen, which I find cooler anyway because I'm older and Lizardmen were a Trope before Dragonborn (or Draconians) existed.

So yeah, my Dragon-men (name a WIP) will have wings, and a tail, because so do Dragons.

 

[Mister Infinite]

Mine don't have wings or tails, but if a player takes a feature that grants wings or really wants a tail I won't stomp their fun, but in canon it's no tails. I like the 4e frills look but horns are cool too- what I want to know is do your dragonborn have digitigrade or plantigrade legs?

Half-dragon Template

Ranger: Drakewarden subtype.

Beastmode ultra.

 

[Mister Infinite]

I'm firmly a Human, elf, dwarf, halfling, and half orc allowed kind if DM.

Diversity encourages imagination.

 

[Mecheon]

How is this not simply a Lizardman or more likely even some type of Yuan-Ti.

Because lizardmen are lizardmen and yuan-ti are yuan-ti. Different vibes. Lizardfolk got their whole swimming and swamp-living which, by design, tends to pidgeon-hole them in a very specific subset of lizards so you can't even really get the crazier stuff like chameleons out of them, and yuan-ti work best when they're the snake people from He-man or the serpentine from Ninjago

Also I let 'em have horns all they want, and you aren't going too really have horns on any 'relevant to the stats provided' lizards or on snakes. Mind, my go-to for dragonborn appearances tends to start at "Drakonid from Warcraft" and you sure would not confuse one of these with your average lizardfolk

 

[Scribe]

Because lizardmen are lizardmen and yuan-ti are yuan-ti. Different vibes. Lizardfolk got their whole swimming and swamp-living which, by design, tends to pidgeon-hole them in a very specific subset of lizards so you can't even really get the crazier stuff like chameleons out of them, and yuan-ti work best when they're the snake people from He-man or the serpentine from Ninjago

Also I let 'em have horns all they want, and you aren't going too really have horns on any 'relevant to the stats provided' lizards or on snakes. Mind, my go-to for dragonborn appearances tends to start at "Drakonid from Warcraft" and you sure would not confuse one of these with your average lizardfolk

Appreciate the perspective, my comment about Lizardmen/Yuan-Ti was in response to a suggestion that you could 'humanize' or downplay any number of features, and still have 'Dragonborn' which to me just doesnt work at all.

Even the Drakonid, I prefer the Vanilla/Classic versions, if you removed the horns are just bipedal/humanoid Lizards to me.

Lizards exist in many environments, I wouldnt remain married to the Lizardfolk 5e rules, just keep the Bite or something honestly because Shadowdark style.

 

[Tonguez]

Because lizardmen are lizardmen and yuan-ti are yuan-ti. Different vibes. Lizardfolk got their whole swimming and swamp-living which, by design, tends to pidgeon-hole them in a very specific subset of lizards so you can't even really get the crazier stuff like chameleons out of them, and yuan-ti work best when they're the snake people from He-man or the serpentine from Ninjago

Also I let 'em have horns all they want, and you aren't going too really have horns on any 'relevant to the stats provided' lizards or on snakes. Mind, my go-to for dragonborn appearances tends to start at "Drakonid from Warcraft" and you sure would not confuse one of these with your average lizardfolk

Itys always amused me that Komodo Dragons live in arid rocky habitats rather than the Aligator habitat of the standard DnD Lizardfolk and thus I allow for non-aquatic Lizardfolk types (keep the hold breath for immersion in sand and change swim to stealth (camouflage) as well as dipping in to the plethora of Dinosaur traits (Pack hunting Troodonfolk are fun). Even without Dinos there are easily Lizards that let you have horns and spikes too - really the only difference between Lizardfolk and Dragonborn are the Cultural traits you allow...