D&D 5E Out of the Abyss PC Races

[SunGold]

Well, you could try what my DM did (I'm playing OotA here on the boards). To paraphrase him, "I'm not going to tell you what to play, but I will tell you that this will be a lot more fun and interesting for you all if you play surface races." So we did.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Selling it as "you'll really only be cheating yourselves" rather than "you can't, because I'm the DM and I said so" was really smart.

 

[Cody C. Lewis]

Totally agree with a lot of the suggestions given here; specifically [MENTION=6801670]Istbor[/MENTION] and [MENTION=6801671]itcomeswithamap[/MENTION]

Basically, the point of a setting like this one is that it can be a unique experience. Sell them on it if you believe you can deliver something memorable. The underdark, especially if foreign to both player and characters, can be that change of pace that will get your group's juices going.

So just be honest with them. "Guys I really think this can be amazing and am afraid that a bunch of characters that are familiar with the setting might take away some of the fun. But ultimately play what you want."

 

[Werebat]

Maybe a character who has really deep ties with the myconids. Or maybe a Warlock who made a pact with that gigantic fungus? Just reskin a Fey pact to be mushroom-related...

Tell me more about this gigantic fungus... The one Zuggt is fixing to marry? Would it have a reason to want the party to prevent that from happening? I haven't read that section yet. As it turns out, one of the players wants to play a Warlock with the Fey pact and was actually talking about having a pact with some kind of spore mushroom thing (this was a half baked idea of his, but if it would WORK...)

 

[Celtavian]

Half my group are drow. It hasn't caused any alterations in the adventure. Underdark races fit fine into Out of the Abyss. In fact, I find it more interesting because I can use them as a replacement for a prisoner to deliver information an Underdark denizen may know such as the various places the PCs can choose to travel to. I would let the players play the races they feel like playing. They don't often get to play a drow or duergar and have it be appropriate to the environment. I'd let them have fun playing one now that they're in a place where they don't have to justify the reason why they're there.

I do not think it makes it any less interesting to play an Underdark race. The environment is still strange for the players. I think it would be exceptionally fun for a player that's always wanted to play a denizen of the Underdark in the Underdark because that experience is extremely rare as well.

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

So I'm about to start the Out of the Abyss campaign. While discussing character generation, one of my players actually said they wanted to play a drow ranger with two scimitars.

Immediately after, another expressed an interest in a deep gnome, and then another, and then a fourth player wanted to play a myconid.

Did he want to play a Myconid whose hands had been chopped off by the drow ranger, and the deep gnome would be polymorphed into a Hook Horror?

 

[Pjack]

It's mostly quiescent, and would be opposed to the "marriage". The pact could come in the form of dreams.

 

[Werebat]

It's mostly quiescent, and would be opposed to the "marriage". The pact could come in the form of dreams.

Auramycos? I see a little blurb about it but not much else. I wondered if it would be opposed - most likely. I could see it being a Great One sort of warlock patter as well.

Where can I read more about Auramycos?

 

[Pjack]

Not sure; there's a little detail in the Foetid Wedding chapter, but not much. Just make it weirdly alien. Maybe it encourages its followers to mulch their enemies.

 

[CapnZapp]

Hmm. Personally I would tell the players that Underdark races are off-limits to start with. The initial premise of the adventure is set around the PCs being surface races who've been kidnapped and brought down into the Underdark.

If you allow players to choose Underdark races, it'll take away a lot of the mystery. They'll know how to survive in the Underdark. They'll probably know their way around as well. They'd also probably have a better sense of what was going on in the Underdark.

I suppose you could rule that they're all from far-off Underdark realms and thus aren't familiar with the Darklake region. But even so, I'd be inclined to say no Underdark races to start with. Once the PCs escape from Velkynvelve and make their way to various Underdark locales, however, I think it would be fine to let the players replace dead or recaptured PCs with locals.

This is what I would have said had it not already been posted.

I'm quite content I managed to get three out of five players to choose a surface race w/o darkvision.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

After picking up the SCAG, I suspect that someone is going to want to play a Duergar, but that most will be playing surface races. If so, I’ll admit, I’ll be looking forward to the “halftime” break in the module when they can return to the surface…that disadvantage on attack rolls in sunlight will be a nasty surprise.