Also a case of potentially undermining everyone else in the game who is not playing a categorically unbalanced species. That sort of concern is really the only "balance" that one should pay attention to. A DM can game around it, yes - but the decisions she has to make to do so could well have knock-on deleterious effects for the rest of the party.
Anyways.
Hobgoblins also fall afoul of being part of Volo's Guide to DM Headaches (dear gods I hate that book so god damn much...), and their super odd and ultrahostile culture almost mandates the DM reflavoring them if a player wants to run one of the dumb things in their game. Mechanically potent, and people go apeshit over the INT/CON combo, but it smacks a bit of munchkinry to me, I suppose.
Heh. Which, thinking about it, I guess means it's a valid answer for 'Best' species, but man. The munchkinry just rubs me the wrong way.
Also a case of potentially undermining everyone else in the game who is not playing a categorically unbalanced species. That sort of concern is really the only "balance" that one should pay attention to. A DM can game around it, yes - but the decisions she has to make to do so could well have knock-on deleterious effects for the rest of the party.
Anyways.
Hobgoblins also fall afoul of being part of Volo's Guide to DM Headaches (dear gods I hate that book so god damn much...), and their super odd and ultrahostile culture almost mandates the DM reflavoring them if a player wants to run one of the dumb things in their game. Mechanically potent, and people go apeshit over the INT/CON combo, but it smacks a bit of munchkinry to me, I suppose.
Heh. Which, thinking about it, I guess means it's a valid answer for 'Best' species, but man. The munchkinry just rubs me the wrong way.
Do you draw the line at hobgoblins, or is important to you that your orcs stick to canon as well.
Depends on the setting. In Faerun, as written, if I had to run that for whatever reason? Orcs would not be valid PCs in my game unless the player had a fan-goddamned-tastic reason why a member of a species known to be a sworn enemy of civilization and kithkind would be wandering around slaying basement rats alongside the elf, the dwarf, and the halfling. In Exandria or Eberron, or other settings that make sense/are actually written down and laid out properly? Obviously orcs are a different matter, as are hobgoblins.
it's worth noting, though, that yuan-ti don't show up in Eberron, and when they showed up in Exandria they were evil snake cultists the way Faerun writes them to be. Even in those settings, magic-resistant turbo deth snek PCs are a no-go.
I just straight up ban Yuan Ti Pureblood altogether. Play lizardfolk if you want to play an emotionless reptilian, but Yuan Ti fall into an "always the villain" circle even bigger than the orcs do. I would allow an orc pc if the player had given them a good backstory (such as, raised by a different family, came from a more peaceful orc tribe, feels they owe a blood debt to a party member after they saved their life). The Yuan Ti are evil, psychopatic cultists who seek to bring about the end times and bring back their gods (usually eldritch abominations). I would allow them in an evil campaign (begrudgingly, and would remove magic resistance from them without a second thought) but not anything else. They are too coded into "snake people cultists" for my sake. Perhaps it is restrictive, but if one is playing a Yuan Ti Pureblood for a reason other than mechanics, then I would suggest Lizardfolk, or try to work something out, perhaps coming up with some extra reason and a hard nerfed race. if one is playing a yuan ti pureblood for the mechanics, they can **** right off.
I allow players to be Yuan-ti Purebloods if and only if they give a good reason why they want to. Build a giant backstory around why your character is a Yuan-Ti and why you are an adventurer, and I'll probably allow it, unless it is totally just for the stats.
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Even then, remove the magic resistance. Like, seriously, I don't give a shit about how volo's says you have it, you do not have a tier 3 ability permanently active from the start.
In order for anyone else to have the same abilities without being a Yuan-Ti Pureblood they need a Mantle of Spell Resistance or Spellguard Shield, a Periapt of Proof Against Poison, and some spell scrolls to cast spells.
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How to make yuan-ti less stupid is probably a discussion for another thread. Doubtless one that's already happened, this cannot be the first time somebody's looked at that race and said "excuse me, what."
Power wise hobgoblins are about on par with PHB options. Along the same lines as dwarfs, most of the time at least some of the features are redundant.
As far as being ultrahostile as a culture I don't think that is an issue. The only difference between hobgoblins in 5e and other races with expanded empires is the arbitrary alignment giving to each.
Full agreement.
Flavour is arbitrary. For those who would impose a "backstory" restriction, I ask why you must punish those who simply wish to use races outside of convention. Fantasy is infinite and you're worried about something that can be handwaved?
By all means, ban Yuan-Ti if you must (I have a self-imposed rule as such and most tables I have played at have the same) but don't arbitrarily lock some players out of using it and not others.
The thing about not having a human in the party, is if the world is mostly human, they're likely going to be discriminated against, not just a few players, but all of them as a whole. Sure, Alter Self and Disguise Self can help, but being human in most games is underrated, because racism, which is very prevalent in most D&D worlds.
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YMMV. Is equally possible that humans are the minority In any giving campaign.
It's hard to give a value to liking or disliking a race purely on aesthetic value but it is a factor to consider.
I wouldn't say it is equally possible, nearly every published campaign setting ever has more humans than any other race. Sure, homebrew worlds exist, but even then, DMs tend to stick to the normal formula for D&D worlds. In Eberron, where House Cannith exists, it is definitely beneficial to have at least one human.
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Even then, remove the magic resistance. Like, seriously, I don't give a shit about how volo's says you have it, you do not have a tier 3 ability permanently active from the start.
You ever get the yuan-ti Barbarian powergamers at your tables?
Also a case of potentially undermining everyone else in the game who is not playing a categorically unbalanced species. That sort of concern is really the only "balance" that one should pay attention to. A DM can game around it, yes - but the decisions she has to make to do so could well have knock-on deleterious effects for the rest of the party.
Anyways.
Hobgoblins also fall afoul of being part of Volo's Guide to DM Headaches (dear gods I hate that book so god damn much...), and their super odd and ultrahostile culture almost mandates the DM reflavoring them if a player wants to run one of the dumb things in their game. Mechanically potent, and people go apeshit over the INT/CON combo, but it smacks a bit of munchkinry to me, I suppose.
Heh. Which, thinking about it, I guess means it's a valid answer for 'Best' species, but man. The munchkinry just rubs me the wrong way.
Please do not contact or message me.
Do you draw the line at hobgoblins, or is important to you that your orcs stick to canon as well.
Depends on the setting. In Faerun, as written, if I had to run that for whatever reason? Orcs would not be valid PCs in my game unless the player had a fan-goddamned-tastic reason why a member of a species known to be a sworn enemy of civilization and kithkind would be wandering around slaying basement rats alongside the elf, the dwarf, and the halfling. In Exandria or Eberron, or other settings that make sense/are actually written down and laid out properly? Obviously orcs are a different matter, as are hobgoblins.
it's worth noting, though, that yuan-ti don't show up in Eberron, and when they showed up in Exandria they were evil snake cultists the way Faerun writes them to be. Even in those settings, magic-resistant turbo deth snek PCs are a no-go.
Please do not contact or message me.
How restrictive, gotcha.
I just straight up ban Yuan Ti Pureblood altogether. Play lizardfolk if you want to play an emotionless reptilian, but Yuan Ti fall into an "always the villain" circle even bigger than the orcs do. I would allow an orc pc if the player had given them a good backstory (such as, raised by a different family, came from a more peaceful orc tribe, feels they owe a blood debt to a party member after they saved their life). The Yuan Ti are evil, psychopatic cultists who seek to bring about the end times and bring back their gods (usually eldritch abominations). I would allow them in an evil campaign (begrudgingly, and would remove magic resistance from them without a second thought) but not anything else. They are too coded into "snake people cultists" for my sake.
Perhaps it is restrictive, but if one is playing a Yuan Ti Pureblood for a reason other than mechanics, then I would suggest Lizardfolk, or try to work something out, perhaps coming up with some extra reason and a hard nerfed race.
if one is playing a yuan ti pureblood for the mechanics, they can **** right off.
I allow players to be Yuan-ti Purebloods if and only if they give a good reason why they want to. Build a giant backstory around why your character is a Yuan-Ti and why you are an adventurer, and I'll probably allow it, unless it is totally just for the stats.
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
Even then, remove the magic resistance.
Like, seriously, I don't give a shit about how volo's says you have it, you do not have a tier 3 ability permanently active from the start.
Yeah, that is too powerful.
In order for anyone else to have the same abilities without being a Yuan-Ti Pureblood they need a Mantle of Spell Resistance or Spellguard Shield, a Periapt of Proof Against Poison, and some spell scrolls to cast spells.
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
How to make yuan-ti less stupid is probably a discussion for another thread. Doubtless one that's already happened, this cannot be the first time somebody's looked at that race and said "excuse me, what."
Please do not contact or message me.
Yeah, different thread, if you still want to continue this discussion.
Back to topic.
Besides broken races, what are the best races for Artificer?
I like Mark of Making human as well, the bonus to tools is really nice, and the hour long magic weapon no concentration is amazing.
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Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
Full agreement.
Flavour is arbitrary. For those who would impose a "backstory" restriction, I ask why you must punish those who simply wish to use races outside of convention. Fantasy is infinite and you're worried about something that can be handwaved?
By all means, ban Yuan-Ti if you must (I have a self-imposed rule as such and most tables I have played at have the same) but don't arbitrarily lock some players out of using it and not others.
The thing about not having a human in the party, is if the world is mostly human, they're likely going to be discriminated against, not just a few players, but all of them as a whole. Sure, Alter Self and Disguise Self can help, but being human in most games is underrated, because racism, which is very prevalent in most D&D worlds.
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
I wouldn't say it is equally possible, nearly every published campaign setting ever has more humans than any other race. Sure, homebrew worlds exist, but even then, DMs tend to stick to the normal formula for D&D worlds. In Eberron, where House Cannith exists, it is definitely beneficial to have at least one human.
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
You ever get the yuan-ti Barbarian powergamers at your tables?
Blank
Why?