Dwarves and elves, gnomes and halflings, we all know that every single damn D&D setting makes use of these somehow. But there's a huge array of potential races to play around with in D&D, from the obvious (orcs, goblins), to the less obvious (kobolds, gnolls), to the obscure (aranea, xixchil).
So, I want to hear from folks who've made use of non-standard races in their D&D games. What did you use? How did you use it? Ever done so more than once?
Likewise, I'm challenging any user to come up with ideas for incorporating non-standard PC races into any generic setting you can think of.
A theoretical addition to this thread, but my boyfriend is getting into a game as a young white dragon, dragged into the party due to a blood debt and masquerading as a human.
He's nicknamed Yabbo and sounds like a chav, what with his 8 Intelligence and accent.
Dominic Howard
in my current B/X D&D game, the following race/classes supplement the existing 3 (I don't use the Thief class): Pan-dimensional Aliens with Psionic abilities. Meant to look like a cross between a thri-keen and a Gray... I keep making them look like Invader Zim OC rejects. Their seedship crashed into the world, tore up a bunch of stuff and may have indirectly lead to a Goblinish invasion of the Dwarven mountain-homes
Mice ripped from Narnia. Sort of paladin-ish race/class.
Songbirds ripped from Narnia/Disney's Robin Hood. Somewhere between a bard and a jongleur, I'm still nailing down their specific stuff.
Mushroom-folk, modified druids. Created when the above aliens crashed. Bogleech's Awful Hospital had a part in things, as well.
Cameron Hill
In 4e I played a kobold knife thrower. I started playing a goblin pryomancer in 5e that only speaks in goblin
Elijah Foster
Is this a thinly-veiled monstergirl/boy thread?
Tyler Miller
Why is that monsterboy wearing a bra?
Julian Perry
because it matches his hair and did you see those frills
Dominic Perry
Personally I'm more curious about the two heads.
Owen Johnson
Refering to my opening post, Arachnes are a race from AD&D's Red Steel; magically adept neutral-aligned spiderweres. In a more modern setting, would one have a hard time swallowing them as an experiment by drow clergy to break the power of the male-dominated sorcerer's schools in drow society, only for the aranae to take one look at the clusterfuck that is Lolth's hand-crafted society and flee from it en masse?
Um... I dont know. Will Veeky Forums get pissy if it is?
Jeremiah Peterson
That's not overwhelmingly hard to swallow, though I have to wonder if everything spider related has to be drow stuff necessarily.
Jose Barnes
How about mixed stunties?
Half dwarf-half gnome comes to mind most obviously, but a half gnome-quarterling seems very conceivable too. No idea why those aren't around when there's all those bastard elves out there.
Or, a bit beyond that, why not a half elf half gnome?
William Torres
They are kind of the "big name" in spiders. There's ettercaps too, I suppose, but who really remembers them all that often? I bet nobody here remembers where they came from, according to Dragon Magazine.
Andrew Parker
Well, I guess half-dwarfs and half-gnomes are rare enough that I'd count them. Except for gully dwarves, Dragonlance's canonical "dwarf/gnome crossbreed".
Asher Sanders
You realize we don't have to play settings as written, right?
My drow aren't related to spiders - there are driders in my world, but they're just neighbors of the drow, not actually drow. Common mistake.
Liam Rogers
I want to play a qt spidergirl in 5e. Is there a reasonable homebrew my DM won't instantly shoot down?
Cooper Harris
I've tried my hand at a 5e conversion for the Aranea race, working under the assumption that you'll stay in "hybrid" form instead of trying to wrangle the giant spider/human/hybrid form. Maybe it'd be of use to you?
Ability Score Increase: +2 Intelligence, +1 Charisma Size: Medium Speed: 30 feet Darkvision Arcane Birthright: You know the Prestidigitation cantrip and 1 other cantrip of your choice from the Wizard spell list. Intelligence is your casting ability score when using these cantrips Spider Climb: You have a Climb speed of 30 feet and do not need to make an ability check to climb difficult surfaces, including upside down underneath ledges or along a ceiling. Venomous Bite: You may choose to bite a target as an Unarmed Strike. This changes your damage to piercing, and allows you to inflict a further d6 points of Poison damage. You can deliver a Venomous Bite to a target you have grappled. Fling Webbing: You may attempt to project webbing at a target. Treat this as an Unarmed Strike, except it is a ranged attack with a range of 30/60ft. On a hit, the target is Restrained until it passes a Strength check (DC 12 + 1/2 your level). Your webbing can be attacked as an object by someone seeking to cut through it, in which case it has AC 10, HP 5 + your level, vulnerability to fire, and immunity to bludgeoning, poison and psychic.
Daniel Diaz
My game uses spiderpeople.
+2 DEX +1 INT, 25ft walking speed, 25ft spiderclimb, produces spidersilk which is functionally identical to rope up to 2*CON feet per round (or one net attack), darkvision.
Ethan Kelly
This looks good. Much appreciated.
Carson Ramirez
If you want the lore behind the aranea, it's up on 1d4chan. Even if you don't want it *exactly* the same, by the lore as written, you can easily portray a hybrid-form aranea female as a qt spidergirl, whether in the "classic" drider form, the "girl with spider legs on her back and extra eyes" cosplayer tier form, or something more like Isaac Horne's Ettercap MG.
Actually, would it be on topic to also ask people to share their most-liked "monstrous humanoids" here? Or what they'd hope to see get a PC profile in the upcoming Volo's Guide?
Juan Rodriguez
Dragon Hatchlings are standard RCCs in the Rifts RPG corebook.
Mason Anderson
I've played Lizardfolk before. Civilized urbanite psionic. Yes, I was playing against type. Really, I just wanted the aesthetic.
Also played Kushiban in a Star Wars campaign. Yes, those fuzzy little rodent creatures. She was a dark sider and it was GLORIOUS.
Young dragons are fun.
I like the idea of young dragons growing up in urban environments and becoming inculcated with mortal culture, thus becoming estranged from their parents and older ancestors while being superior in most ways due to their willingness to make use of mortal contrivances (where older dragons stick strictly to their natural abilities and whatever magic items they get their hands on).
Yet to play a game about this particular subject though. Would have to be the entire point of the campaign, really.
Adrian Brooks
My current 5e character had a (rather scandalous) relationship with a Lamia and has a daughter by her. More campaigns need adorable snek daughterus
Playing the doting father/husband to characters of races rejected by (most society) is a lot more fun than the usual "elf-fucker" dynamic. Are there any good Lamia homebrews out there? I have a feeling I'll want to play said daughter in a future campaign if we use the same setting once the campaign wraps up
Also if anyone has the picture of the qt lamia taking a bath in a bucket I'd be most grateful
Cameron Brooks
BUT WHY DOES IT HAVE TEN LIMBS???
Sebastian Nguyen
Well, I have yet to get any feedback on how balanced this first draft is, but here's an attempt at a 5e Lamia that I did loosely based on the "Lamia Commoner" fan-race from Pathfinder.
Lamia Ability Score Increase: +2 Charisma, +1 Strength Size: Medium Speed: 30 feet Vision: Darkvision Snake Body: A lamia has a Climb Speed of 20 feet and a Swim speed of 30 feet. A lamia can Crawl at its normal speed. A lamia cannot use magical items based on footwear, such as Boots of Elvenkind. Crushing Coils: A lamia may attempt to grapple a creature that is no more than two sizes larger than itself, and has Advantage on the Strength (Athletics) check to successfully grapple the target.
Jace Evans
Pedipalps, dumbass.
Robert Gomez
Much obliged. Looks OK to me but I'll run it past my GM.
Wyatt Gomez
GRAPPLE BARD SNEK
All the stats and bard buffs with expertise Athletics. Shield-Master and college of Valor.
Run up to things, Grapple them, Shove them prone, Stab them. Laugh because they will never escape your crushing grasp.
Luis Sanchez
you fools
that's kumoko from an isekai webnovel called 'I was born as a spider, now what'
