Monstrous PCs
- Thread starter MerricB
- Start date
Jürgen Hubert
First Post
AereonBlaze said:
For Urbis, I've decided to make hobgoblins a standard PC race. They certainly got their own powerful nation, and they don't wage war against their neighbors all the time...
Tonguez
A suffusion of yellow
IMC I started with everyone as a 'human*' (*half-elves and Half-Orcs are all 'human' imc) new settlers on an island already inhabited by gnomes, goblins, a family of ogres and with a Sahuagin lair off the edge of the reef.
Now that they have been encountered and worked into the game Gnomes and Goblins are a PC race (I think Goblins should be playable in the PHB too) and half-oges/giants might be as well. Sahuagin might be allowed with a good backstory (they are the main badguys imc and take the place of Orcs - which don't exist)
Gnolls will be available once the PCs encounter that race
and I have allowed a Dolphin Ranger PC
(currently an NPC)
Now that they have been encountered and worked into the game Gnomes and Goblins are a PC race (I think Goblins should be playable in the PHB too) and half-oges/giants might be as well. Sahuagin might be allowed with a good backstory (they are the main badguys imc and take the place of Orcs - which don't exist)
Gnolls will be available once the PCs encounter that race
and I have allowed a Dolphin Ranger PC
(currently an NPC)
Deadguy
First Post
My own Shattered World game allows for Half-fiend, (Brown) Orc and Bolgan (Half-hobgoblin) PCs. If someone really wanted to play a Goblin or Grey Orc (equiv to a MM hobgoblin) then I might allow it. My world doesn't have any of the other standard PC races other than Human and Half-orc, but the cities do have some populations of the races I mention intitally instead.
The ECL system allows the relatively easy incorporation of monster races but I think some DMs allow some of the wierder, more wayout, choices too readily. Even if for no other reason than they don't follow through on the ideas of racism and practical interaction that are entailed in most settings. It seems to me that before you allow any additional races in think about how people treat them and let the players know. Of course, if you tell them that Trolls are universally reviled and still allow someone to play one, then it's their own lookout for how they're treated...
The ECL system allows the relatively easy incorporation of monster races but I think some DMs allow some of the wierder, more wayout, choices too readily. Even if for no other reason than they don't follow through on the ideas of racism and practical interaction that are entailed in most settings. It seems to me that before you allow any additional races in think about how people treat them and let the players know. Of course, if you tell them that Trolls are universally reviled and still allow someone to play one, then it's their own lookout for how they're treated...
Dark Dragon
Explorer
Yes, I'd allow it (if the player likes it to see his PC advancing slower than a normal PC ). And in most cases, Reincarnate produces a monstrous PC. The group I currently dm has a satyr cleric and a boar rogue (now in form of an elf via Poly other) due to reincarnation; in an other group, I play a centaur druid (former human).
). And in most cases, Reincarnate produces a monstrous PC. The group I currently dm has a satyr cleric and a boar rogue (now in form of an elf via Poly other) due to reincarnation; in an other group, I play a centaur druid (former human).
Desdichado
Hero
Some are more interesting than standard PC races! I'd replace halflings and gnomes with goblins, for example, in a heartbeat for some campaigns.
It really depends on the campaign, though. And I usually would only allow humanoid, goblinoid or possibly a few monstrous humanoids. I also wouldn't want ECLs much over +2, although I might be talked into a +3 if it made sense in my campaign world.
HOWEVER, I think there are TOO MANY humanoidish races around. For all my campaigns I always trim them down somewhat. No reason to have so many different types of humanoidish races -- it just becomes an illogical patchwork of cultures that are thrown up for convenience, not for any sensible reason. So, I usually limit campaign settings I do to about half a dozen or so humanoid races -- including PC and NPC (monster) races. So, if you keep fantasy staples like the elves, dwarves, halflings, humans and orcs, you don't have room for much more.
It really depends on the campaign, though. And I usually would only allow humanoid, goblinoid or possibly a few monstrous humanoids. I also wouldn't want ECLs much over +2, although I might be talked into a +3 if it made sense in my campaign world.
HOWEVER, I think there are TOO MANY humanoidish races around. For all my campaigns I always trim them down somewhat. No reason to have so many different types of humanoidish races -- it just becomes an illogical patchwork of cultures that are thrown up for convenience, not for any sensible reason. So, I usually limit campaign settings I do to about half a dozen or so humanoid races -- including PC and NPC (monster) races. So, if you keep fantasy staples like the elves, dwarves, halflings, humans and orcs, you don't have room for much more.
I once let a player play a Psionic Vampric Half Black Pudding / Half Terrasque.
Just kidding. I would allow anyone to play a monstrous character as long as they had a good backstory, & understood that just because a Gnoll has higher strength doesn't necessarily mean that it is going to be easier to play, that there are going to be huge consequences to being a monster.
On that note, I have played in an entire Orc one-shot campaign. I have also played as a Kobold Sorcerror, a wizard that was polymorphed into a talking dog, & a goblin ranger.
Most of those did not last all that long, but they were fun while I played them. One of my friends also gave me a somewhat funny idea of playing a Fey'ri who was raised by their elf parents. The thing is, that the elf parent didn't want the child to know of it's demonic heritage, so he/she convinced the Fey'ri child that they were an Avariel. I thought roleplaying that character would kind of be funny when people would be like "You have bat wings & glowing eyes & claws!"
Just kidding. I would allow anyone to play a monstrous character as long as they had a good backstory, & understood that just because a Gnoll has higher strength doesn't necessarily mean that it is going to be easier to play, that there are going to be huge consequences to being a monster.
On that note, I have played in an entire Orc one-shot campaign. I have also played as a Kobold Sorcerror, a wizard that was polymorphed into a talking dog, & a goblin ranger.
Most of those did not last all that long, but they were fun while I played them. One of my friends also gave me a somewhat funny idea of playing a Fey'ri who was raised by their elf parents. The thing is, that the elf parent didn't want the child to know of it's demonic heritage, so he/she convinced the Fey'ri child that they were an Avariel. I thought roleplaying that character would kind of be funny when people would be like "You have bat wings & glowing eyes & claws!"
Tonguez
A suffusion of yellow
Joshua Dyal said:
Well I've dropped Elves (can't stand them), Halflings and Dwarfs (they didn't fit the setting) off the PC race list. Elves and Halflings are now Fey and get a few more abilities - I might allow Halflings as a Monster Race later and as I said Half-orcs and half-elves are both considered human
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