This new player wants to have a talking horse. I as the DM should say no. I was about to. But before I could speak, he gave this logistical argument.
Player(P): Here's the thing. I want a horse as a rogue/thief because no one will suspect the horse as the culprit.
Me: Probably ...
P: But there's no magical way that I was made. My mother was a human, and my father was a horse-headed minotaur. They had 2 kids, a full horse (ME) and a normal human girl.
Me: Why don't you be the sis...
P: Imagine, we're fighting orcs. 'There's a knock on the door and the orc knows that he's not supposed to leave his post, but curiosity overtakes. The orc approaches and opens the door. When he looks out, a horse is standing there. Before he can come up with a logical explanation of why a horse appeared, the horse leans in and says 'NO ONE WILL BELIEVE YOU' while the intimidation settled in.'
Me: *Dying of laughter* Good point, I'll consider it.
Should I let him have a talking horse rogue/thief or not. PLEASE DO NOT SAY 'It's your choice' I KNOW THAT. I WOULD LIKE YOUR OPINIONS!
I doubt the phrase "No one will believe you." holds any weight in a world where Druids can other magic users have familiars and awakened animals that have intelligence and can talk are not unheard of. Also, it's not like D&D is devoid of illusion and transmutation magics that couldn't mimic this sort of thing really easily.
That said, it seems like a silly character concept and I'm not sure why you'd want to encourage it other than because your friend likes it and it might fit the humorous feel of your game.
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"The mongoose blew out its candle and was asleep in bed before the room went dark." —Llanowar fable
The majority of the time players are sitting down to play D&D because they want to be the heroes in one of those movies. There's something about the risk and reward, the heart pounding action, the chance to do something epic. There's an expectation that certain things will be certain ways. You're allowing something that is going to be used for humor, and for strangeness. You set a precedence from the very beginning of the game that things aren't going to be taken seriously. This will change the whole dynamic of the game, going from an epic fantasy into something that, most likely, will devolve into more slapstick.
I'm the epic fantasy type of DM, I throw in the humor to lighten tension and break the silence. I would be very hard pressed to allow something of the caliber you've described happen. The only caveat is the new Centaur UA.
I have to agree with Metamongoose here. The character is trying to play up the horse as this improbable thing, but the general reaction in most D&D worlds isn't one of disbelief. Awakened trees exist. Shapeshifting druids. Pegasi and nightmares. Familiars.
My general concern, however, is that this is kind of stepping on the toes of the ranger's animal companion, wizardly / warlocky familiars, and the paladin's Find Steed spells. Its a special companion that can be leveraged to do things like scout or combat, without any investment.
Is the character Really, and I mean REALLY, prepared for the consequence of playing a large creature with no hands? Or are they going to whine and moan every time they encounter a cliff that needs climbing, or when you point out they can't actually pick locks, or when the party is squeezing through a narrow passage and they need polymorph magic or they're left behind, or when (since they're planning on playing it like they're a normal horse most of the time) they get left behind at the castle stables and can't participate in the social encounter, or when they don't EVER get magic weapons or items they can use, and instead need custom crafted magic horseshoe weapons or else they're using base unarmed attacks at like level 8+. etc?
In short, do they realize what a challenge this would be, and are they willing to play it out for the long game, and actually deal with and overcome the MANY challenges such a character would encounter? Or is this just a gag they want to explore for a week, and then they'll get bored and upset you're not handwaving those challenges away? If the former, I'd allow it. If the latter, I'd just say no. Just mho.
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This new player wants to have a talking horse. I as the DM should say no. I was about to. But before I could speak, he gave this logistical argument.
Player(P): Here's the thing. I want a horse as a rogue/thief because no one will suspect the horse as the culprit.
Me: Probably ...
P: But there's no magical way that I was made. My mother was a human, and my father was a horse-headed minotaur. They had 2 kids, a full horse (ME) and a normal human girl.
Me: Why don't you be the sis...
P: Imagine, we're fighting orcs. 'There's a knock on the door and the orc knows that he's not supposed to leave his post, but curiosity overtakes. The orc approaches and opens the door. When he looks out, a horse is standing there. Before he can come up with a logical explanation of why a horse appeared, the horse leans in and says 'NO ONE WILL BELIEVE YOU' while the intimidation settled in.'
Should I let him have a talking horse rogue/thief or not. PLEASE DO NOT SAY 'It's your choice' I KNOW THAT. I WOULD LIKE YOUR OPINIONS!
Thanks!
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I doubt the phrase "No one will believe you." holds any weight in a world where Druids can other magic users have familiars and awakened animals that have intelligence and can talk are not unheard of. Also, it's not like D&D is devoid of illusion and transmutation magics that couldn't mimic this sort of thing really easily.
That said, it seems like a silly character concept and I'm not sure why you'd want to encourage it other than because your friend likes it and it might fit the humorous feel of your game.
My opinion is that it depends on your campaign and group - things you didn't describe.
Is your game and group all about the laughs? Then no problem.
Is it a gritter or more "serious" group / campaign where a talking horse character would be distracting / damaging to the immersion? Then problem.
The majority of the time players are sitting down to play D&D because they want to be the heroes in one of those movies. There's something about the risk and reward, the heart pounding action, the chance to do something epic. There's an expectation that certain things will be certain ways. You're allowing something that is going to be used for humor, and for strangeness. You set a precedence from the very beginning of the game that things aren't going to be taken seriously. This will change the whole dynamic of the game, going from an epic fantasy into something that, most likely, will devolve into more slapstick.
I'm the epic fantasy type of DM, I throw in the humor to lighten tension and break the silence. I would be very hard pressed to allow something of the caliber you've described happen. The only caveat is the new Centaur UA.
I have to agree with Metamongoose here. The character is trying to play up the horse as this improbable thing, but the general reaction in most D&D worlds isn't one of disbelief. Awakened trees exist. Shapeshifting druids. Pegasi and nightmares. Familiars.
My general concern, however, is that this is kind of stepping on the toes of the ranger's animal companion, wizardly / warlocky familiars, and the paladin's Find Steed spells. Its a special companion that can be leveraged to do things like scout or combat, without any investment.
It depends on the following question, for me:
Is the character Really, and I mean REALLY, prepared for the consequence of playing a large creature with no hands? Or are they going to whine and moan every time they encounter a cliff that needs climbing, or when you point out they can't actually pick locks, or when the party is squeezing through a narrow passage and they need polymorph magic or they're left behind, or when (since they're planning on playing it like they're a normal horse most of the time) they get left behind at the castle stables and can't participate in the social encounter, or when they don't EVER get magic weapons or items they can use, and instead need custom crafted magic horseshoe weapons or else they're using base unarmed attacks at like level 8+. etc?
In short, do they realize what a challenge this would be, and are they willing to play it out for the long game, and actually deal with and overcome the MANY challenges such a character would encounter? Or is this just a gag they want to explore for a week, and then they'll get bored and upset you're not handwaving those challenges away? If the former, I'd allow it. If the latter, I'd just say no. Just mho.