Hello, so until a couple days agao my Stranger Things was the extent of my D&D knowledge lol my cousin asked me to play with him so id like to start but it seems like there are so many options of what you an do for your charachter its hard to know where to start. I have a few general ideas in mind for charachters and would really appreciate some help with what to do to makke these charachters and how to improve them etc.
Hobgoblin (maybe dragonborn, Centaur, tortle, lizardfolk, loxodon, Gith, Kalashtar) battle mage: I loved playing a battle mage role in skyrim so this will probably be my first charachter. Id like to focus on a martial weapons background then gravitate towards magic and becomes more proficcient in it. Heavy armour
Minatour Warrior/Tank: Relentless heavy weapons and armour
Vampire Necromancer: I don't even know if this would be possible but a vampire with high dex and charisma with a spell casting, persuasion, stealth focus conjuring an army of the dead and feeding off victims for sustenance sounds pretty awesome lol light or medium armour
Goblin (maybe kenku) rogue: fast stealth charachter, light armour knives/bow/magic
Tank Goliath maybe loxodon or a tortle focus on a paladin/cleric. Heavy armour, restoration spells
Not sure if this is a thing but a class that can call on/ride animal pets espescially those of a tooth and claw nature dinosaurs, dragons, more relistically wolves lol. Light or medium armour, use of a bow
Also not sure if this is a thing but darker more monsterous races demons, undead etc.
Any and all help will be much appreciated. Thank you
I do not have the rules yet thank you neither me nor my cousin have anything for it yet but I planed on buying the 5th edition starter set for my cousin.
What is a GM, since we don't have any books or anything yet I'm assuming the game will either be found online or made up.
Do races have restrictions on classes or are some classes not allowed in certain campaigns?
After a lil research I thought id start in fighter so i can be proficient in heavy armour then go to mage.
The starter set has limited character options. I know the basic classes are available and each base class has a pathway. My honest recommendation is to try with the starter set but once you hit 3rd level be ready to get at least the players handbook (or at least the character options you like). Let one of you get a Master Tier subscription and buy the options you like together. This will subtract for buying the whole book.
Example lets say you want to be a Dwarf Fighter and you really like the Champion Martial Archetype. At 3rd level you have to pick a martial archetype: Battle Master (the Champion path is part of the Basic rules so is free) This would cost you $1.99 for just that Archetype. You could also buy the whole players handbook and get all the options as well as the text of the book.
If you have a master level subscription you can share with up to 3 campaigns with 6 characters in each.
There is a battle mage Martial Archetype but not in the basic set so you will probably want to actually pick up the Players Handbook.
One of the best aspects of DnD 5th edition is if you play with a first level character and make your way upward it will slowly expose you to the complication within the rules.
The nice thing is if you work your way up and buy a few things at a time you lower the price of everything up that chain. IE your Players Handbook would be $1.99 cheaper if you had already bought the Martial Archetype and the legendary bundle would be cheaper by that same $1.99 or if you had already bought the Players Handbook by the cost of the Player's Handbook. A note if you use a coupon it only lowers by the amount you actually played.
GM=Game Master, the person who "runs" the game. In DnD they are more often called the DM (as in Dungeon Master).
If you are both new to the game, I would encourage you to start with simpler classes and races until you get a handle on the mechanics, and then move to more complex ones. A Battle Mage as you envision it would probably require multi-classing, which adds a lot of complexity to the game. If you started with a fighter character, you could take Eldritch Knight as your archetype at 3rd level and/or multiclass into wizard when you have a handle on the basics. The blade singer subclass for wizards from Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide is another option, but there are race restrictions for that one (elves and half-elves only), and my guess is it will be more vulnerable in combat than you want. The War Mage might be an option; I'm away from "my" (actually my son's) books, and I don't have Xanathars here on DDB to look at it, so I'm not sure it would be martial enough for you by itself.
The Starter set includes an adventure, a rules booklet, pre-generated characters that you can use or not, and one set of dice. If you and your cousin can find a few other willing individuals, one of you can serve as DM and the rest of you can play. The adventure and the rule book in the Starter set are made for folks who are new to DnD and do a good job of helping the DM and the players learn as they go.
If I were to go the option of sticking to the books would I get by with one player charachter book, one monsters book, and one campaign book then? If so which would you recommend?
Thank you, we'll probably make a few quick charachters for small games to get the hang of it and work on better charachters for when we are more comfortable with the game. I saw a hobgoblin sheet and it says they have animal handler proficiency, does this mean they can have an animal companion or acquire one on their journey? I tried looking it up but there seemed to be a good bit of debate on the subject and with the "roll for this or that" part of the game and the players freedom of interaction with the environment seems like itd be perfectly acceptable for a race that is proficient in the handling of animlas. Lol
In adition so I planned what charchter I wanted then made a background story around it and have been filling out the charachter sheet according to my background story. So for my proficiencies I have Tools: Blacksmith tools - hobgoblin and then for being a soldier Tools: gaming set skull dice or deck of cards, vehicle (land). So my question is A. For the soldier tool proficiency do I choose between a gaming set (and is there a difference between the 2) or land vehicles (and what does that mean for the game)? B. Do I get two proficiencies in the field of tools or do I have to pick between the soldier alotted ones or the hobgoblin?
If I were to go the option of sticking to the books would I get by with one player charachter book, one monsters book, and one campaign book then? If so which would you recommend?
The standard starter kit is the Players Hand book, Dungeon master's guide, monster manual, and an adventure book (DMG and MM are not 100% necessary, but the campaign may reference an item or monster in them. All campaign books assume you have them).
I highly recommend Xanathar's guide to everything for more races, subclasses, and feats, as well as a deeper look at some rules.
Thank you, we'll probably make a few quick charachters for small games to get the hang of it and work on better charachters for when we are more comfortable with the game. I saw a hobgoblin sheet and it says they have animal handler proficiency, does this mean they can have an animal companion or acquire one on their journey? I tried looking it up but there seemed to be a good bit of debate on the subject and with the "roll for this or that" part of the game and the players freedom of interaction with the environment seems like itd be perfectly acceptable for a race that is proficient in the handling of animlas. Lol
Hobgoblins are a race option from Volo's guide to monsters. They do not gain skill proficiencies from their race, bit do gain bonus weapon and armor proficiencies. Some races gain 1 or 2 bonus skills, but most skill proficiencies come from classes and backgrounds. "Animal companions" is a feature of the beast master ranger, a DM may allow you to have a pet or trained animal ally and make checks to command it, but there are very few rules regarding this, thus the debates.
In adition so I planned what charchter I wanted then made a background story around it and have been filling out the charachter sheet according to my background story. So for my proficiencies I have Tools: Blacksmith tools - hobgoblin and then for being a soldier Tools: gaming set skull dice or deck of cards, vehicle (land). So my question is A. For the soldier tool proficiency do I choose between a gaming set (and is there a difference between the 2) or land vehicles (and what does that mean for the game)? B. Do I get two proficiencies in the field of tools or do I have to pick between the soldier alotted ones or the hobgoblin?
A. Their is a negligible difference between gaming sets. Gaming set proficiency gives you an edge in gambling, or might give you advantage in social interactions made during a game (ie an interrogation disguised as small talk). Land vehicle proficiency gives you advantage on checks made to control a land vehicle (for example a wagon).
B. You can have multiple tool proficiencies, but can only pick each tool once (you can't get proficiency in vehicles (land) from somewhere else for example). Hobgoblins don't have a tool proficiency, so I wonder where you're getting that (class maybe?).
The homebrewery link doesn't work for me. But I can say with confidence that neither are official Hobgoblin races in 5e; they fall into the category of homebrew. There is an official hobgoblin race, which is detailed in Volo's Guide to Monsters. If you decide to use DDB to build your character, you don't have to buy all of Volo's, just that race.
SInce you are all new, I strongly recommend that you avoid homebrew races for the time being, as you learn the game.
You can find a listing of official races here. Note that you won't be able to see details of many of the races unless you purchase them. The Races are organized by source, so you can see which book they are from. [Unfortunately that listing does not separate out the monstrous races in Volo's from the other races in Volo's, which can be an important distinction depending on the DM. The monstrous races in Volo's are: Orc, Bugbear, Hobgoblin, Goblin, Kobold, and maybe Yuan-ti; I'm away from my books at the moment and don't have Volo's on DDB to check on Yuan-ti.] Also, Eberron races are currently only semi-official, as they are still technically considered to be playtest material.
You should know that if you choose to find an experienced DM to teach you/run the game for you, that DM may or may not be open to homebrew (or only open to homebrew), and may even have restrictions on what official races they will allow. (By 5e rules, that's their call). Some races (like the Kalashtar) are specific to a setting (e.g. world), so some (many?) DMs may not allow those races if they run their game in a different setting.
I, for example, don't normally allow monstrous races (the Hobgoblin race falls into that category, as does the Goblin race.) I allow Kenku, Gith, and Aarakocra only by special approval, which I would be hesitant to give to someone brand new to 5e. I also don't allow races from Ravnica or Eberron in my current games, as they aren't set in either of those settings.
All that's to say, if you are going to work with an experienced DM, don't get your heart set on the builds you outlined above, as the DM may not allow them. (Many of them, for example, would not be allowed at my table)
Thanks, I am fully ready to start from scratch and do whatever. DM says its a no go, I no go lol I fully understand not allowing races that would not exist on the planet in the DM's story is set in but if its a race that coincides with the story and it isn't a mindless monster with a backstory that makes since why not allow it? Many of the monstrous races I could understand them seeming too feral and not making since but some not as much. The hobgoblins have keen military minds, with intelligence comes, morals, principals, beliefs etc. There could be any number of backstory situations that causes a hobgoblin to defect from its legion and seek a living by other means. They could be a mercenary for hire, banished for a crime, betrayed and seeking vengence, simply not agree with the social norm of their ken. Whatever path led them to the party their own personality could explain why they stay as well, loyalty, a mission, they became close friends. If their was a compelling or even decent story why this being left its own kind and sought to travel with the companions in the party and were of the same mindset/purpose working together why not allow it?
It's just a preference thing, there's no right or wrong answer. Maybe the rest of the players don't want to be faced with the moral quandary of "maybe not all hobgoblins are evil." Maybe the DM doesn't want to devise a plot that includes having otherwise neutral NPCs be hostile because a hobgoblin is in their midst, where that player has to stay behind every time they reach civilization because the rest of the group wants to avoid the typical pitchfork and torch response. That one character suddenly takes up a lot of real estate in the narrative, which could edge out the other characters.
Doesn't make it wrong, just not right for a lot of tables. Many other tables will embrace that sort of thing, particularly if multiple players pick similar races, or will play more loosely with their game's lore to hand-wave the potential conflict.
To be perfectly honest, the other reason why it might not be accepted is because the typical player who seeks a monstrous race tend to be the opposite of those who make compelling or decent character stories. It's far from universal and I'm not saying anything about you personally, but it's definitely the norm in my experience.
Granted I'm new but for a game thats seemingly based around creativity in interactive choices made and story writing not allowing a now legitimte race that can easily be seen as a sentient beign just because you think it'll be more complex is...well.. lazy and unimaginative. Want to avoid the illiterate pitchfork wielding peasants? Here's a cloak, or a hood, or cast a spell of illusion or transfiguration. Don't want to do that ok how about simple naritive that says "tho they are frowned upon they aren't a completely and uncommon sight that results in conflict as soon as sighted". Hobgoblins, Tritons, other monstrous races that can easily be seen as sentient beings making choices outside the norm of their ken could be considered outcasts, the outcast treatment is used all the time in rpg games like dragon age. As to a moral quandry, why would there be one? Its now a playable race so you can infer the worlds of D&D are seeing these odd balls here and there more frequently. In the case of hobgoblins per the races backstory theres a ton of them and they are very intelligent so why wouldn't individual hobgoblins be seen at a regular basis, maybe to an extent where other races think they are better but surely not "why is it not evil" and "KILL IT, KILL IT WITH FIRE". At the worst a particularly racist npc may ask that the monstrous race stays outside, this could lead to that player eves dropping from the roof or taking the opportunity to stealthily rob the racist npc etc.
For me my background came in at 1.5 pages and thats after I shortened it so that it wouldn't be too long (not sure if that is still considered too long or hell too short, 1st time) hell the whole reason I went hobgoblin is beacsue I wanted to play a battlemage and thought the mechanics of the race would work well. Also I found the prospect of a charachter that leans toward the side of evil but isn't evil himslef would be more interesting. My soon to be dm said he loved the depth and layers to the charachter and was totally fine to have a hobgoblin in the party. In your experience do your typical monsterous race players go completely evil and want to destroy everything or something?
To me the shining human knight that seeks to do good is boring, throwing in a race that is possibly a bit outcastish to some npc's and makes decisions outside "this is clearly the most obvious answer siding with good" allows for a ton of possiblities and creativity on both sides of the table. Personally I hate superman but love batman, flaws, preserverance, overcoming obstacles all make for a far more interesting charachter and a monstrous race creates an opportunity to write great material. Also the Dragonborn, you're honeslty gonna tell me that any of the monstrous races make less sence to be played lore or plot wise than a damn bipedal armour clad dragon that speaks, flys, and breaths fire? Sure their probably not used in quests as enemy creatures anywear near as often but im sure there are thousands of dead bandits, barbarians, mercenaries, and other militant groups laying at the feet of adventurers and not just creatures, doesnt mean the rest of their kind should be treted as a potential enemy.
I fully understand not wanting an individuals charachter that is monsterous when they believe its an excuse to do as they please in the game or bring death and destruction to all. But I have seen just a ton of people that outright dismiss these now legitimate races from being played whilst researching the game. To me, a person with very little experience, it just baffles me as to why theyd outwardly dismiss them because it seems lazy/unimaginative, extremely rigid and suggesting they don't want to change a single thing about their game, and this seems like the pinacle of games to encourage active imaginations, creativy, and change.
So if the reason for their omission is a corelation between monsterous races and players that see it as an excuse to do horrible things or go way too evil it must happn a lot and that must suck but wouldnt it be just as easy and even more so benificial to say "monsterous races are alowed but contingent on a review and approval of the backstory". Flat out omission just robs everyone the possiblity of an awesome game outside the norm or suggests the fault lies with the dm.
Like I said, there's no right or wrong answer here, just differences of preference. There isn't anything wrong with the monstrous races themselves, nor is restricting them inherently lazy writing. You can find merit, such as creative storytelling, in both, and you can find issue, such as lazy writing, in both.
And that's what I meant by the typical player who chooses monstrous races. Not that they use it as an excuse to do horrible things or go overboard with being evil, but because it's most often used as a crutch, a shortcut to an "interesting" character that fails to have anything deeper. More often than not, it's the monstrous race that is the example of lazy storytelling or unimaginative roleplay, and typically by not playing them as evil. They end up being examples of super special characters with pages of over the top, shallow background that are fun for one person at the table only.
That's definitely not going to be the case all the time, as Sam Riegel's goblin character Nott is a pretty popular example of it not being the case, and people do love Drizz't. But I've seen enough people come across enough circumstances where that is the case, that they tend to close the door automatically on the idea of it.
It's entirely possible that your DM felt similar. It doesn't mean that any fault lies in him or in you. There's every possibility that he may change his stance, after playing for a while shows that you wouldn't be that kind of player.
So is it my understanding that i have to pay $454 to unlock other Martial Archetype other than "Champion"? I already own most of the books. I bought them on Amazon or second hand.
$454 is for all available content on D&D Beyond but you can pay $2 per individual items. Since you already have some books I'd buy the books with the content you want.
So is it my understanding that i have to pay $454 to unlock other Martial Archetype other than "Champion"? I already own most of the books. I bought them on Amazon or second hand.
As Cages2Clouds said, the $454 is only if you want to buy every office 5e book that has been published to this point. There are lots of purchase options. The Buyer's Guide that is linked in my signature may be of help is sorting out the options.
Hello, so until a couple days agao my Stranger Things was the extent of my D&D knowledge lol my cousin asked me to play with him so id like to start but it seems like there are so many options of what you an do for your charachter its hard to know where to start. I have a few general ideas in mind for charachters and would really appreciate some help with what to do to makke these charachters and how to improve them etc.
Hobgoblin (maybe dragonborn, Centaur, tortle, lizardfolk, loxodon, Gith, Kalashtar) battle mage: I loved playing a battle mage role in skyrim so this will probably be my first charachter. Id like to focus on a martial weapons background then gravitate towards magic and becomes more proficcient in it. Heavy armour
Minatour Warrior/Tank: Relentless heavy weapons and armour
Vampire Necromancer: I don't even know if this would be possible but a vampire with high dex and charisma with a spell casting, persuasion, stealth focus conjuring an army of the dead and feeding off victims for sustenance sounds pretty awesome lol light or medium armour
Goblin (maybe kenku) rogue: fast stealth charachter, light armour knives/bow/magic
Tank Goliath maybe loxodon or a tortle focus on a paladin/cleric. Heavy armour, restoration spells
Not sure if this is a thing but a class that can call on/ride animal pets espescially those of a tooth and claw nature dinosaurs, dragons, more relistically wolves lol. Light or medium armour, use of a bow
Also not sure if this is a thing but darker more monsterous races demons, undead etc.
Any and all help will be much appreciated. Thank you
Hello Cages2Clouds and welcome to forums! (Your posts is 1 at the moment)
If you dont have rules yet check this: http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/basicrules
Depending on your GM and campaign setting some race choises may not be available. Especially exotic races such as Kenku.
Battlemage sounds good. I recommend to start with fighter or mage and start to level up fighter/mage.
I do not have the rules yet thank you neither me nor my cousin have anything for it yet but I planed on buying the 5th edition starter set for my cousin.
What is a GM, since we don't have any books or anything yet I'm assuming the game will either be found online or made up.
Do races have restrictions on classes or are some classes not allowed in certain campaigns?
After a lil research I thought id start in fighter so i can be proficient in heavy armour then go to mage.
Thanks for your help!
Here is a level 1 Hobgoblin Battle Mage.
https://ddb.ac/characters/6774407/ehZnYu
Welcome.
The starter set has limited character options. I know the basic classes are available and each base class has a pathway. My honest recommendation is to try with the starter set but once you hit 3rd level be ready to get at least the players handbook (or at least the character options you like). Let one of you get a Master Tier subscription and buy the options you like together. This will subtract for buying the whole book.
Example lets say you want to be a Dwarf Fighter and you really like the Champion Martial Archetype. At 3rd level you have to pick a martial archetype: Battle Master (the Champion path is part of the Basic rules so is free) This would cost you $1.99 for just that Archetype. You could also buy the whole players handbook and get all the options as well as the text of the book.
If you have a master level subscription you can share with up to 3 campaigns with 6 characters in each.
There is a battle mage Martial Archetype but not in the basic set so you will probably want to actually pick up the Players Handbook.
One of the best aspects of DnD 5th edition is if you play with a first level character and make your way upward it will slowly expose you to the complication within the rules.
The nice thing is if you work your way up and buy a few things at a time you lower the price of everything up that chain. IE your Players Handbook would be $1.99 cheaper if you had already bought the Martial Archetype and the legendary bundle would be cheaper by that same $1.99 or if you had already bought the Players Handbook by the cost of the Player's Handbook. A note if you use a coupon it only lowers by the amount you actually played.
GM=Game Master, the person who "runs" the game. In DnD they are more often called the DM (as in Dungeon Master).
If you are both new to the game, I would encourage you to start with simpler classes and races until you get a handle on the mechanics, and then move to more complex ones. A Battle Mage as you envision it would probably require multi-classing, which adds a lot of complexity to the game. If you started with a fighter character, you could take Eldritch Knight as your archetype at 3rd level and/or multiclass into wizard when you have a handle on the basics. The blade singer subclass for wizards from Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide is another option, but there are race restrictions for that one (elves and half-elves only), and my guess is it will be more vulnerable in combat than you want. The War Mage might be an option; I'm away from "my" (actually my son's) books, and I don't have Xanathars here on DDB to look at it, so I'm not sure it would be martial enough for you by itself.
The Starter set includes an adventure, a rules booklet, pre-generated characters that you can use or not, and one set of dice. If you and your cousin can find a few other willing individuals, one of you can serve as DM and the rest of you can play. The adventure and the rule book in the Starter set are made for folks who are new to DnD and do a good job of helping the DM and the players learn as they go.
There is not an official vampire player race.
Welcome to the game! Keep asking questions!
Trying to Decide if DDB is for you? A few helpful threads: A Buyer's Guide to DDB; What I/We Bought and Why; How some DMs use DDB; A Newer Thread on Using DDB to Play
Helpful threads on other topics: Homebrew FAQ by IamSposta; Accessing Content by ConalTheGreat;
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If I were to go the option of sticking to the books would I get by with one player charachter book, one monsters book, and one campaign book then? If so which would you recommend?
Thank you, we'll probably make a few quick charachters for small games to get the hang of it and work on better charachters for when we are more comfortable with the game. I saw a hobgoblin sheet and it says they have animal handler proficiency, does this mean they can have an animal companion or acquire one on their journey? I tried looking it up but there seemed to be a good bit of debate on the subject and with the "roll for this or that" part of the game and the players freedom of interaction with the environment seems like itd be perfectly acceptable for a race that is proficient in the handling of animlas. Lol
In adition so I planned what charchter I wanted then made a background story around it and have been filling out the charachter sheet according to my background story. So for my proficiencies I have Tools: Blacksmith tools - hobgoblin and then for being a soldier Tools: gaming set skull dice or deck of cards, vehicle (land). So my question is A. For the soldier tool proficiency do I choose between a gaming set (and is there a difference between the 2) or land vehicles (and what does that mean for the game)? B. Do I get two proficiencies in the field of tools or do I have to pick between the soldier alotted ones or the hobgoblin?
The standard starter kit is the Players Hand book, Dungeon master's guide, monster manual, and an adventure book (DMG and MM are not 100% necessary, but the campaign may reference an item or monster in them. All campaign books assume you have them).
I highly recommend Xanathar's guide to everything for more races, subclasses, and feats, as well as a deeper look at some rules.
Hobgoblins are a race option from Volo's guide to monsters. They do not gain skill proficiencies from their race, bit do gain bonus weapon and armor proficiencies. Some races gain 1 or 2 bonus skills, but most skill proficiencies come from classes and backgrounds. "Animal companions" is a feature of the beast master ranger, a DM may allow you to have a pet or trained animal ally and make checks to command it, but there are very few rules regarding this, thus the debates.
A. Their is a negligible difference between gaming sets. Gaming set proficiency gives you an edge in gambling, or might give you advantage in social interactions made during a game (ie an interrogation disguised as small talk). Land vehicle proficiency gives you advantage on checks made to control a land vehicle (for example a wagon).
B. You can have multiple tool proficiencies, but can only pick each tool once (you can't get proficiency in vehicles (land) from somewhere else for example). Hobgoblins don't have a tool proficiency, so I wonder where you're getting that (class maybe?).
Heres a link to what I was building my character off, I take it this isnt d&d but a well made custom or another game. https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/VyozXRYFe
Is this a legit d&d hobgoblin character race page?
http://www.eberron5e.com/creating-a-character/races/hobgoblin
All the help is very much appreciated, thank you!
The homebrewery link doesn't work for me. But I can say with confidence that neither are official Hobgoblin races in 5e; they fall into the category of homebrew. There is an official hobgoblin race, which is detailed in Volo's Guide to Monsters. If you decide to use DDB to build your character, you don't have to buy all of Volo's, just that race.
SInce you are all new, I strongly recommend that you avoid homebrew races for the time being, as you learn the game.
You can find a listing of official races here. Note that you won't be able to see details of many of the races unless you purchase them. The Races are organized by source, so you can see which book they are from. [Unfortunately that listing does not separate out the monstrous races in Volo's from the other races in Volo's, which can be an important distinction depending on the DM. The monstrous races in Volo's are: Orc, Bugbear, Hobgoblin, Goblin, Kobold, and maybe Yuan-ti; I'm away from my books at the moment and don't have Volo's on DDB to check on Yuan-ti.] Also, Eberron races are currently only semi-official, as they are still technically considered to be playtest material.
You should know that if you choose to find an experienced DM to teach you/run the game for you, that DM may or may not be open to homebrew (or only open to homebrew), and may even have restrictions on what official races they will allow. (By 5e rules, that's their call). Some races (like the Kalashtar) are specific to a setting (e.g. world), so some (many?) DMs may not allow those races if they run their game in a different setting.
I, for example, don't normally allow monstrous races (the Hobgoblin race falls into that category, as does the Goblin race.) I allow Kenku, Gith, and Aarakocra only by special approval, which I would be hesitant to give to someone brand new to 5e. I also don't allow races from Ravnica or Eberron in my current games, as they aren't set in either of those settings.
All that's to say, if you are going to work with an experienced DM, don't get your heart set on the builds you outlined above, as the DM may not allow them. (Many of them, for example, would not be allowed at my table)
Trying to Decide if DDB is for you? A few helpful threads: A Buyer's Guide to DDB; What I/We Bought and Why; How some DMs use DDB; A Newer Thread on Using DDB to Play
Helpful threads on other topics: Homebrew FAQ by IamSposta; Accessing Content by ConalTheGreat;
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Thanks, I am fully ready to start from scratch and do whatever. DM says its a no go, I no go lol I fully understand not allowing races that would not exist on the planet in the DM's story is set in but if its a race that coincides with the story and it isn't a mindless monster with a backstory that makes since why not allow it? Many of the monstrous races I could understand them seeming too feral and not making since but some not as much. The hobgoblins have keen military minds, with intelligence comes, morals, principals, beliefs etc. There could be any number of backstory situations that causes a hobgoblin to defect from its legion and seek a living by other means. They could be a mercenary for hire, banished for a crime, betrayed and seeking vengence, simply not agree with the social norm of their ken. Whatever path led them to the party their own personality could explain why they stay as well, loyalty, a mission, they became close friends. If their was a compelling or even decent story why this being left its own kind and sought to travel with the companions in the party and were of the same mindset/purpose working together why not allow it?
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ModeratorIt's just a preference thing, there's no right or wrong answer. Maybe the rest of the players don't want to be faced with the moral quandary of "maybe not all hobgoblins are evil." Maybe the DM doesn't want to devise a plot that includes having otherwise neutral NPCs be hostile because a hobgoblin is in their midst, where that player has to stay behind every time they reach civilization because the rest of the group wants to avoid the typical pitchfork and torch response. That one character suddenly takes up a lot of real estate in the narrative, which could edge out the other characters.
Doesn't make it wrong, just not right for a lot of tables. Many other tables will embrace that sort of thing, particularly if multiple players pick similar races, or will play more loosely with their game's lore to hand-wave the potential conflict.
To be perfectly honest, the other reason why it might not be accepted is because the typical player who seeks a monstrous race tend to be the opposite of those who make compelling or decent character stories. It's far from universal and I'm not saying anything about you personally, but it's definitely the norm in my experience.
Granted I'm new but for a game thats seemingly based around creativity in interactive choices made and story writing not allowing a now legitimte race that can easily be seen as a sentient beign just because you think it'll be more complex is...well.. lazy and unimaginative. Want to avoid the illiterate pitchfork wielding peasants? Here's a cloak, or a hood, or cast a spell of illusion or transfiguration. Don't want to do that ok how about simple naritive that says "tho they are frowned upon they aren't a completely and uncommon sight that results in conflict as soon as sighted". Hobgoblins, Tritons, other monstrous races that can easily be seen as sentient beings making choices outside the norm of their ken could be considered outcasts, the outcast treatment is used all the time in rpg games like dragon age. As to a moral quandry, why would there be one? Its now a playable race so you can infer the worlds of D&D are seeing these odd balls here and there more frequently. In the case of hobgoblins per the races backstory theres a ton of them and they are very intelligent so why wouldn't individual hobgoblins be seen at a regular basis, maybe to an extent where other races think they are better but surely not "why is it not evil" and "KILL IT, KILL IT WITH FIRE". At the worst a particularly racist npc may ask that the monstrous race stays outside, this could lead to that player eves dropping from the roof or taking the opportunity to stealthily rob the racist npc etc.
For me my background came in at 1.5 pages and thats after I shortened it so that it wouldn't be too long (not sure if that is still considered too long or hell too short, 1st time) hell the whole reason I went hobgoblin is beacsue I wanted to play a battlemage and thought the mechanics of the race would work well. Also I found the prospect of a charachter that leans toward the side of evil but isn't evil himslef would be more interesting. My soon to be dm said he loved the depth and layers to the charachter and was totally fine to have a hobgoblin in the party. In your experience do your typical monsterous race players go completely evil and want to destroy everything or something?
To me the shining human knight that seeks to do good is boring, throwing in a race that is possibly a bit outcastish to some npc's and makes decisions outside "this is clearly the most obvious answer siding with good" allows for a ton of possiblities and creativity on both sides of the table. Personally I hate superman but love batman, flaws, preserverance, overcoming obstacles all make for a far more interesting charachter and a monstrous race creates an opportunity to write great material. Also the Dragonborn, you're honeslty gonna tell me that any of the monstrous races make less sence to be played lore or plot wise than a damn bipedal armour clad dragon that speaks, flys, and breaths fire? Sure their probably not used in quests as enemy creatures anywear near as often but im sure there are thousands of dead bandits, barbarians, mercenaries, and other militant groups laying at the feet of adventurers and not just creatures, doesnt mean the rest of their kind should be treted as a potential enemy.
I fully understand not wanting an individuals charachter that is monsterous when they believe its an excuse to do as they please in the game or bring death and destruction to all. But I have seen just a ton of people that outright dismiss these now legitimate races from being played whilst researching the game. To me, a person with very little experience, it just baffles me as to why theyd outwardly dismiss them because it seems lazy/unimaginative, extremely rigid and suggesting they don't want to change a single thing about their game, and this seems like the pinacle of games to encourage active imaginations, creativy, and change.
So if the reason for their omission is a corelation between monsterous races and players that see it as an excuse to do horrible things or go way too evil it must happn a lot and that must suck but wouldnt it be just as easy and even more so benificial to say "monsterous races are alowed but contingent on a review and approval of the backstory". Flat out omission just robs everyone the possiblity of an awesome game outside the norm or suggests the fault lies with the dm.
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ModeratorLike I said, there's no right or wrong answer here, just differences of preference. There isn't anything wrong with the monstrous races themselves, nor is restricting them inherently lazy writing. You can find merit, such as creative storytelling, in both, and you can find issue, such as lazy writing, in both.
And that's what I meant by the typical player who chooses monstrous races. Not that they use it as an excuse to do horrible things or go overboard with being evil, but because it's most often used as a crutch, a shortcut to an "interesting" character that fails to have anything deeper. More often than not, it's the monstrous race that is the example of lazy storytelling or unimaginative roleplay, and typically by not playing them as evil. They end up being examples of super special characters with pages of over the top, shallow background that are fun for one person at the table only.
That's definitely not going to be the case all the time, as Sam Riegel's goblin character Nott is a pretty popular example of it not being the case, and people do love Drizz't. But I've seen enough people come across enough circumstances where that is the case, that they tend to close the door automatically on the idea of it.
It's entirely possible that your DM felt similar. It doesn't mean that any fault lies in him or in you. There's every possibility that he may change his stance, after playing for a while shows that you wouldn't be that kind of player.
So is it my understanding that i have to pay $454 to unlock other Martial Archetype other than "Champion"? I already own most of the books. I bought them on Amazon or second hand.
$454 is for all available content on D&D Beyond but you can pay $2 per individual items. Since you already have some books I'd buy the books with the content you want.
As Cages2Clouds said, the $454 is only if you want to buy every office 5e book that has been published to this point. There are lots of purchase options. The Buyer's Guide that is linked in my signature may be of help is sorting out the options.
Trying to Decide if DDB is for you? A few helpful threads: A Buyer's Guide to DDB; What I/We Bought and Why; How some DMs use DDB; A Newer Thread on Using DDB to Play
Helpful threads on other topics: Homebrew FAQ by IamSposta; Accessing Content by ConalTheGreat;
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