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Message: <blockquote data-quote="occam" data-source="post: 9637317" data-attributes="member: 39815">OK, it's clear that WotC developed a set of design constraints for 2024 which were revised to some extent from those for 2014. Among those constraints are the following:<ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Creatures only have one Type. (carried over from 2014)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">"Humanoids are people defined by their roles and professions, such as mages, pirates, and warriors. They include members of varied species." (Monster Manual)<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Corollary: There are no Humanoid stat blocks in the Monster Manual for species (e.g. goblins, kobolds, lizardfolk, etc.).</li> </ul></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">All the rules elements (monsters, races/species, spells, magic items, etc.) that appeared in the 2014 books must appear somewhere in the 2024 books so that D&D players have a current reference.*</li> </ol>Thus:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Orcs appear in the PHB, and don't need to (or shouldn't, apparently) also appear in the MM.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Goblins, kobolds, lizardfolk, etc. don't appear in the PHB, so they must be in the MM, but with non-Humanoid stat blocks.</li> </ul>Now, one doesn't have to like those particular constraints, or can speculate about the reasons for them, but their existence is manifestly obvious. Goblins appearing in the MM as Fey isn't some baffling violation of logic; it's the natural outcome of a design based on certain rules. (And in the case of Fey goblins in particular, on pre-established lore going back to 4e, at least.)Will the same constraints be in place for products after the Big Three? Might there be Humanoid stat blocks for an Orc Blade of Ilnevaal or a Drow Matron in the FR setting guide? We don't know yet. (Although I doubt it; they'd probably be made Fiends or something.) If a Humanoid goblin shows up as a playable species (again) in a future product, does that invalidate the Fey goblins in the MM? Of course not.It's worth remembering that the stat blocks in the MM are interpretations, not definitions. The existence of Fey goblin stat blocks doesn't negate the possibility of Humanoid or Fiend or Celestial goblins; those just aren't the ones in the MM. And as a DM, if you want goblins that are Humanoids or Fiends or Celestials, it's super easy; after all, "You can alter a creature’s... type as you please" (Dungeon Master's Guide).* Apart from half-elves and half-orcs, where they apparently ran into trouble developing a solution they liked. A topic for many other threads.</blockquote>

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