D&D General What if we gave dragonborn four arms?

[EzekielRaiden]

we get to many dumb, brutish, stupid and ugly.
plenty of people want to be monstrous just not the above.

Exactly.

Like there seem to be more-or-less three archetypal paths for "not entirely human, but loosely human-shaped":

• Strong, tough, and warrior-inclined...but also at least one out of stupid, brutish, or ugly
• Intelligent and/or compelling...but also at least one of cowardly, evil, or ugly
• Dextrous and adroit...but also at least one of cowardly, skinny, or small

It's like there's this idea that if a species is to exist, it must have aesthetic badness/weakness in order to counter whatever archetype it contains. It can't just be...more dextrous and also different.

Part of why I like 5e's firbolgs, for example, is that they don't do that. Yes, they're clearly nonhuman, but they aren't ugly or brutish.

 

[Mind of tempest]

Exactly.

Like there seem to be more-or-less three archetypal paths for "not entirely human, but loosely human-shaped":

• Strong, tough, and warrior-inclined...but also at least one out of stupid, brutish, or ugly
• Intelligent and/or compelling...but also at least one of cowardly, evil, or ugly
• Dextrous and adroit...but also at least one of cowardly, skinny, or small

It's like there's this idea that if a species is to exist, it must have aesthetic badness/weakness in order to counter whatever archetype it contains. It can't just be...more dextrous and also different.

Part of why I like 5e's firbolgs, for example, is that they don't do that. Yes, they're clearly nonhuman, but they aren't ugly or brutish.

It also does not let us have the cool monster or the freaky good guy horror.

There is a difference between monstrous and ugly.
this is monstrous

now this guy is ugly