I've been fascinated by Rakshasa ever since 3rd edition and recently was wondering if you would allow, as a re-skin of another race of course, player character Rakshasa? The idea I'm playing around with, as Rakshahsa are supposedly very powerful is a Rakshasa sent to Faerun to help the party of adventurers deal with a common enemy but due to it being new to the plane and far removed from his patron/plane not yet to full strength.
I've got two questions really. First would you allow or like playing together with a Rakshasa? And secondly which race would you use for the re-skin? Myself I was thinking of the Eberron Changeling or the Dispater Tiefling. I havent looked yet into the the Eberron shifter.
Going to be honest....I probably would not allow it. They are a purely evil fiend that is essentially immune to magic. Even if you are willing to skip the immunity to magic, there is the problem of running into good Clerics/Paladins. Rakshasa's are cruel, wicked evil things, and a Cleric/Paladin would have a serious problem joining forces with something like that. Not to mention any Wizard/Magic user powerful enough/NPC to know what one is, would completely shift the dynamic of the game.
it would cause more problems than it would be worth trying to get around in my opinion.
I suppose it does depend on how it's going to be played. Rakshasa are typically Evil creatures and might clash with the party dynamic. I'm a fan of Rakshasa and constantly look to including them in one form or another. The idea of a Common Foe works well but after that, then what?
Perhaps a curse that changed alignment, but then what happens when that curse is removed? Perhaps shackled by a god into servitude? Or maybe it's just an evil party. I would love one that had been bound by contract into servitude to protect a family. Lost a lot of power in the process but still decent. 100% talk to your DM because it's their call at the end of the day. Make sure they know what Rakshasa are to avoid RL conflicts later. If you link it to an existing PC somehow then it could lead to some great RP.
Either way, I think Dispater Tiefling Sorcerer is a top choice for the reskin base.
Do you want to play someone who looks like a cat? Play a Tabaxi. Do you want to play something with fiendish heritage? Play a Tiefling. Shape-shifty that doesn't OP the rest of the party? Shifter.
Cosmetically, in my game, you can look like whatever you want through reskins and custom lineage. What you're not going to get out the gate is innate magic resistance and spellcasting per the MM, feel free to build those through your character class.
But the bigger problem, Rakshasa's aren't exactly team players on the level of adventurers. They're manipulative and deceitful. They reside in Hell and travel to the prime material to exploit mortals for evil agenda and "feed on flesh." How's that going to fit into the party? And while corporeal death is unpleasant for you, you get to reconstitute in the Hells when you're killed. Is your DM cool with that (though the reconstitution can take years so maybe it would be de facto PC death if it came to that).
I guess, if you drop the magic resistance and innate spellcasting, what are you when you say you're "playing a Rakshasa" when the key traits to a Rakshasa (it will low to mid tier magic resistance, heavy deceit and manipulation magic set) have been pulled out.
You want to be cat-like and a master of intrigue, Tabaxi rogue mastermind would be an easier approach that won't give the impression you're character is somehow more special or prestige lineage that the rest of the party. Maybe a Tabaxi warlock or warlock/rogue if you really want the concept (in mainland Faerun, Tabaxi are pretty exotic so a Rakshasa could probably pass as one ... except for the shape shifter thing).
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Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
If you want to make it happen, you absolutely can with 5E. As long as the player is on the same page with helping make your games fun and interesting, and as long as you're comfortable accommodating something that's non-core to D&D at the moment.
I really like your concept that your player's Rakshahsa is a lesser fiend that lost their powers because of a sudden disconnect from their hosting entity or patron.
For your questions, 1: Yes I would absolutely do it. I just want the player to still be engaging with helping the table have fun, just as everyone else should be. 2: Your thoughts around Changeling and Dispater Tiefling are really good. Now, combining their primary abilities would make the character race a bit overpowered. If others are good with it, then it should be fine for your table, but it may make some feel a bit uncomfortable. I'd see what your Rakshasa players wants the most, and work from there. It may also be worth substituting a proficiency skill for the 1d4 unarmed claw attack if that's appealing to your player.
Personally? I'd set it up as a base of Changeling. Then I'd substitute the Changeling Instincts feature for Magic Resistance seen in the Satyr race, and then the standard languages at the end. Two pretty powerful features that are core to who the Rakshasa is, but substituted for the fact that there's not a lot of features there compared to other races.
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First would you allow or like playing together with a Rakshasa?
As a DM, I would be hesitant to allow a player to have a rakshasa (or other fiend) as their character. Being creatures that are supposed to be living embodiments of types of evil, they aren't really going to be conducive to an adventuring party...unless the other characters are also evil, perhaps. However, I like the concept that you're trying to develop, and it could certainly work in the short term at least. Common goals can take a group pretty far, but how long before the rakshasa's fiendish qualities become too much for the other humanoid characters?
Or, as some of the others suggested, are you adding some components to subdue some of the fiendish aspects so it better meshes with the group?
And secondly which race would you use for the re-skin? Myself I was thinking of the Eberron Changeling or the Dispater Tiefling. I havent looked yet into the the Eberron shifter.
Being a fiend, I would lean toward tiefling being the reskin of the rakshasa. Not that they're fiendish themselves, they're fiend-touched enough that it could fit with the idea that your rakshasa is in a much lesser "humanoid" form as it's regaining the fiendish powers it lost during the transition to the prime material plane. The Dispater tiefling would be a pretty close match with their innate spell-like abilities. However, if your DM is willing to allow some bigger "homebrewed" changes, then I would suggest the following:
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 1, and your Charisma score increases by 2.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 35 feet.
Darkvision. Thanks to your infernal heritage, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Magic Resistance. You have advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects. [Replaces Hellish Resistance, since rakshasa have limited magic immunity and no fire resistance/immunity.]
Rakshasa Legacy. You know the minor illusion cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the disguise self spell once with this trait and regain this ability to do so when you finish a long rest. When you reach 5th level, you can cast the detect thoughts spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells. [Basically using the Dispater Legacy but taking minor illusion in place of thaumaturgy, since rakshasa's have minor illusion as one of their innate spells.]
Language. You can speak, read, and write Common and Infernal.
So, not much different than playing a Dispater Legacy tiefling. We're swapping out the cantrip to get a more a more delicate and misdirecting spell. We're also changing the fire resistance to magic resistance to get more of the rakshasa "magical immunity" aspect. Finally, rakshasa's are agile and fast, so we keep the +1 bonus to Dexterity and increase the base speed slightly to 35 feet, which gives them a slight edge to get in and/or out of situations. Definitely a "homebrewed" interpretation (and only my own), but it would get you closer to that rakshasa feel without being too overpowered versus everybody else.
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Hi all,
I've been fascinated by Rakshasa ever since 3rd edition and recently was wondering if you would allow, as a re-skin of another race of course, player character Rakshasa?
The idea I'm playing around with, as Rakshahsa are supposedly very powerful is a Rakshasa sent to Faerun to help the party of adventurers deal with a common enemy but due to it being new to the plane and far removed from his patron/plane not yet to full strength.
I've got two questions really.
First would you allow or like playing together with a Rakshasa?
And secondly which race would you use for the re-skin? Myself I was thinking of the Eberron Changeling or the Dispater Tiefling. I havent looked yet into the the Eberron shifter.
Thanks in advance for your input.
Going to be honest....I probably would not allow it. They are a purely evil fiend that is essentially immune to magic. Even if you are willing to skip the immunity to magic, there is the problem of running into good Clerics/Paladins. Rakshasa's are cruel, wicked evil things, and a Cleric/Paladin would have a serious problem joining forces with something like that. Not to mention any Wizard/Magic user powerful enough/NPC to know what one is, would completely shift the dynamic of the game.
it would cause more problems than it would be worth trying to get around in my opinion.
The best part of dnd is creating new things! Hell, you could reskin the monster! Reskin the lore! I am very much so into this idea
This is going to sound like an odd question but what about a character that is half Rakshasa? Would that even be possible/ interest you?
Half-Rakasha? Guess if you can have Tieflings and Aasimar it could be possible.
Maybe try making a character that is half if your DM wont agree to a fall one?
I suppose it does depend on how it's going to be played. Rakshasa are typically Evil creatures and might clash with the party dynamic.
I'm a fan of Rakshasa and constantly look to including them in one form or another. The idea of a Common Foe works well but after that, then what?
Perhaps a curse that changed alignment, but then what happens when that curse is removed?
Perhaps shackled by a god into servitude? Or maybe it's just an evil party.
I would love one that had been bound by contract into servitude to protect a family. Lost a lot of power in the process but still decent.
100% talk to your DM because it's their call at the end of the day. Make sure they know what Rakshasa are to avoid RL conflicts later.
If you link it to an existing PC somehow then it could lead to some great RP.
Either way, I think Dispater Tiefling Sorcerer is a top choice for the reskin base.
It should technacly be possible to make a tiefling variant of a Rakshasa with the same ups but weaker
Do you want to play someone who looks like a cat? Play a Tabaxi. Do you want to play something with fiendish heritage? Play a Tiefling. Shape-shifty that doesn't OP the rest of the party? Shifter.
Cosmetically, in my game, you can look like whatever you want through reskins and custom lineage. What you're not going to get out the gate is innate magic resistance and spellcasting per the MM, feel free to build those through your character class.
But the bigger problem, Rakshasa's aren't exactly team players on the level of adventurers. They're manipulative and deceitful. They reside in Hell and travel to the prime material to exploit mortals for evil agenda and "feed on flesh." How's that going to fit into the party? And while corporeal death is unpleasant for you, you get to reconstitute in the Hells when you're killed. Is your DM cool with that (though the reconstitution can take years so maybe it would be de facto PC death if it came to that).
I guess, if you drop the magic resistance and innate spellcasting, what are you when you say you're "playing a Rakshasa" when the key traits to a Rakshasa (it will low to mid tier magic resistance, heavy deceit and manipulation magic set) have been pulled out.
You want to be cat-like and a master of intrigue, Tabaxi rogue mastermind would be an easier approach that won't give the impression you're character is somehow more special or prestige lineage that the rest of the party. Maybe a Tabaxi warlock or warlock/rogue if you really want the concept (in mainland Faerun, Tabaxi are pretty exotic so a Rakshasa could probably pass as one ... except for the shape shifter thing).
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
If you want to make it happen, you absolutely can with 5E. As long as the player is on the same page with helping make your games fun and interesting, and as long as you're comfortable accommodating something that's non-core to D&D at the moment.
I really like your concept that your player's Rakshahsa is a lesser fiend that lost their powers because of a sudden disconnect from their hosting entity or patron.
For your questions,
1: Yes I would absolutely do it. I just want the player to still be engaging with helping the table have fun, just as everyone else should be.
2: Your thoughts around Changeling and Dispater Tiefling are really good. Now, combining their primary abilities would make the character race a bit overpowered. If others are good with it, then it should be fine for your table, but it may make some feel a bit uncomfortable. I'd see what your Rakshasa players wants the most, and work from there. It may also be worth substituting a proficiency skill for the 1d4 unarmed claw attack if that's appealing to your player.
Personally? I'd set it up as a base of Changeling. Then I'd substitute the Changeling Instincts feature for Magic Resistance seen in the Satyr race, and then the standard languages at the end. Two pretty powerful features that are core to who the Rakshasa is, but substituted for the fact that there's not a lot of features there compared to other races.
As a DM, I would be hesitant to allow a player to have a rakshasa (or other fiend) as their character. Being creatures that are supposed to be living embodiments of types of evil, they aren't really going to be conducive to an adventuring party...unless the other characters are also evil, perhaps. However, I like the concept that you're trying to develop, and it could certainly work in the short term at least. Common goals can take a group pretty far, but how long before the rakshasa's fiendish qualities become too much for the other humanoid characters?
Or, as some of the others suggested, are you adding some components to subdue some of the fiendish aspects so it better meshes with the group?
Being a fiend, I would lean toward tiefling being the reskin of the rakshasa. Not that they're fiendish themselves, they're fiend-touched enough that it could fit with the idea that your rakshasa is in a much lesser "humanoid" form as it's regaining the fiendish powers it lost during the transition to the prime material plane. The Dispater tiefling would be a pretty close match with their innate spell-like abilities. However, if your DM is willing to allow some bigger "homebrewed" changes, then I would suggest the following:
So, not much different than playing a Dispater Legacy tiefling. We're swapping out the cantrip to get a more a more delicate and misdirecting spell. We're also changing the fire resistance to magic resistance to get more of the rakshasa "magical immunity" aspect. Finally, rakshasa's are agile and fast, so we keep the +1 bonus to Dexterity and increase the base speed slightly to 35 feet, which gives them a slight edge to get in and/or out of situations. Definitely a "homebrewed" interpretation (and only my own), but it would get you closer to that rakshasa feel without being too overpowered versus everybody else.