D&D 5E Player Races in Upcoming Volo's Guide to Monsters

[Parmandur]

Perhaps. To me, it explicitly read as a race without the capacity to form attachments or feel things like love and hate.

Or that's how Volo, notoriously unreliable, understands them.

 

[Enevhar Aldarion]

We have enough emotional intelligent reptiles in kobolds and dragons and Yuan-Ti, etc.

I see nothing wrong with there being one intelligent, non-emotional reptilian race. I would play one like a Vulcan. Or more specifically like Spock, which gives the chance of a very unexpected emotional outburst happening.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

We have enough emotional intelligent reptiles in kobolds and dragons and Yuan-Ti, etc.

I see nothing wrong with there being one intelligent, non-emotional reptilian race. I would play one like a Vulcan. Or more specifically like Spock, which gives the chance of a very unexpected emotional outburst happening.

Ah, but Vulcans experience emotions. The writeup says lizardfolk don't. They experience no internal emotional reactions. The closest they get is a protective instinct toward beings who are useful but weaker than the lizardfolk.
Vulcans are interesting because of that duality in their nature. They experience emotions so deeply and strongly that they must sublimate them in order to have an advanced society, and as a result present as coldly logical and emotionless.

 

[gyor]

We have enough emotional intelligent reptiles in kobolds and dragons and Yuan-Ti, etc.

I see nothing wrong with there being one intelligent, non-emotional reptilian race. I would play one like a Vulcan. Or more specifically like Spock, which gives the chance of a very unexpected emotional outburst happening.

At first glance I can see the Vulcan reaction, but its more a combination of hyperpragmatism them formal logic. Its all focused on survival and current and future concerns, and the Lizardfolk aren't burying extreme bid for self control, the Lizardfolk's emotional brains are likely less advanced, mostly what'd refered to as the lizard brain, but more evolved then in normal reptiles, less then humans. But the upside is potentially greater clarity in the moment, free from emotional biases, which creates a rational, but not logical mind, because logic requires a type of curiousity Lizardfolk don't have normally and a drive to refine the mind.

 

[gyor]

Yuan Ti Purebloods lean towards humans more, but Malisons probably are more reptilian in thinking like Lizardfolk, Dragonkin like Kobolds and Dragonborn are far more evolved reptiles having warmblood and advanced emotional abilities, like well Dragons, which are like more evovled dinasuars with inherient magic.

If one could convince a Lizardfolk that intellectual advanced were key to survivial they'd be potentially a major force eventually, but they still wouldn't be vulcans, because Lizardfolk have an innate emotional control, that Vulcans have to work their whole life towards.

 

[gyor]

Ah, but Vulcans experience emotions. The writeup says lizardfolk don't. They experience no internal emotional reactions. The closest they get is a protective instinct toward beings who are useful but weaker than the lizardfolk.
Vulcans are interesting because of that duality in their nature. They experience emotions so deeply and strongly that they must sublimate them in order to have an advanced society, and as a result present as coldly logical and emotionless.

I interrupt what they wrote as weaker and more primative emotions, like a distant echo compared to loud screaming in your ear of Vulcan emotions.

 

[Parmandur]

I much prefer "from our perspective, they are all sociopaths with a narrow focus on subsistence level survival" to "-2 Int, their society is primitive because they are dumb.". Much more potential for RP when playing them.

Having read the fluff page for them, I now wonder, are the Lizardfolk the race [MENTION=697]mearls[/MENTION] saw as filling the role of Gnolls for those who wanted a savage unbound by social norms...?

 

[Parmandur]

So, at this point, we have the following confirmed races:

-Aasamir
-Firbolg (Full write-up per previews)
-Goblins
-Goliath (full write-up per previews)
- Kenku (full write-up per Stan!)
- Kobolds
- Lizardfolk (full write-up per previews)
- Orcs
- Tabaxi (full write-up per Stan!)
- Triton (Full write-up per Stan!)

So, ten known races; we also know that there is a table for "quick rules" for a bunch of races.

 

[gyor]

Once again this is way more interesting then making them scaly humans. And Lizardfolk are not reptiles they are their own intelligent species. They are not humans, nor are they reptiles. Like I don't get why you would want to change this.


Uh it states in the page that they form attachments.

Reptiles aren't a species. Lizardfolk are reptiles, the same way humans, elves, ect..., are mammals.

 

[GreenTengu]

Having read the fluff page for them, I now wonder, are the Lizardfolk the race @mearls saw as filling the role of Gnolls for those who wanted a savage unbound by social norms...?

That will probably be Orcs, I imagine. There really isn't all that much difference between Gnolls and Orcs besides the fur and claws. Maybe you could argue that Orcs are a bit more civilized.. but both end up with hide armor and, inexplicably, iron or steel weapons.


I noticed on the latest previews... looks like Goblin is going to be specifically a Dex/Cha race... while Hobgoblins are specifically going to be lacking in Charisma.

I don't quite get the thought process in that at all. In what way are Goblins Charismatic? They are specifically looked down upon and if they don't stir up aggressive hostile behavior towards them, at best they get away with being below everyone else's contempt. Wisdom would be a better attribute as while they don't have much book learning, to survive they have to be sensible and aware enough of the constant dangers that they manage to see the next day. A goblin lacking in perception or insight isn't going to survive long enough to breed, even with their accelerated lifespans.

Meanwhile, hobgoblins are the bosses among humanoids smaller than giants and when they don't inspire fear and respect, they are only out-politicized by Drow.

But... apparently WotC thinks otherwise. The two goblins in the preview both have +2 bonus to intelligence with most other stats being fairly lack-luster and the hobgoblin has good stats across the board except a comparatively crappy Charisma.