D&D 5E How do you handle using a different race for common Monsters?

[iserith]

I'm in general agreement with not mookifying the gith guards. That there is a threat of the jailers descending en masse is a problem for the players to consider and solve, not really for the DM to essentially solve for them ahead of time by weakening the threat.

As long as you make clear that these guys aren't pushovers by some hopefully evocative yet reasonably clear description, then it's a fair challenge in my view and the players will have to plan and set their expectations accordingly.

The only thing I might do is create some kind of "threat meter" mechanic that the players can see that ticks up or ticks down based on character actions. That way they can judge how effective or ineffective they are being as they conduct their business. Dead in Thay has something like this.

 

[Hriston]

Also a great idea - take the Gith PC stats Gith - Giger's 5e D&D and add them to an NPC stat block, anything from Guard to Veteran.

This is what I’d do. Someone mentioned there’s a Gith PC race in MToF. I don’t have it, but I would use the racial traits from that and apply them to any NPC stat block.

 

[iserith]

This is what I’d do. Someone mentioned there’s a Gith PC race in MToF. I don’t have it, but I would use the racial traits from that and apply them to any NPC stat block.

I do this quite a lot. I just don't do it to turn things into mooks. To some extent I share the sentiment that iconic badasses should get a little more respectful treatment.

 

[Hriston]

I do this quite a lot. I just don't do it to turn things into mooks. To some extent I share the sentiment that iconic badasses should get a little more respectful treatment.

I agree that in some cases it isn’t appropriate and that this may very well be one of those cases. I’d have to think about it. For example, I’d never make a bugbear commoner. The bugbear in the MM is the commoner!

 

[Oofta]

I modify monsters all the time, but it's almost always to increase threat level, not lower it. When I have done it, I've given some in-world explanation. If it really makes sense for the group to be fighting a dragon, it's been beaten up and is half dead or it's been shackled (with it's mouth chained shut) to limit what it can do.

In a case like this, I could justify it as the guards being "commoner" gith. The only gith people normally encounter are the best of the best, raiders that are significantly more dangerous than the typical guard. Normally the only gith people encounter are part of the special forces.

Or just use slave races like the others are saying.

 

[Swarmkeeper]

I'd go with what @Paul Farquhar and @S'mon have said: the Gith have hired/indentured/enslaved other lower level creatures to help with the guarding. Maybe start by focusing on lawful evil humanoids as your options: hobgoblins, kobolds, human cultists, duergar, or maybe even meazels (kind of a Dr. Seussified Gith-ish-looking creature in MTF).