For an upcoming online D&D group, I want to make a lizardfolk character, but I feel like that also means I need to pick one of the more nature based classes or subclasses (Druid, Nature Cleric, Oath of Ancients, etc.). Do any of you have any lizardfolk that break away from this trope? I would love to hear some suggestions.
I made a Lizardfolk Monk. Shadow Monk, to be precise. The DM liked it so much that when the game went West March Style, he made his own lizardfolk Monk. Lizardfolk helps the Monk at Low levels a LOT, not so much at higher ones. The theme makes a lot of sense - lizardfolk are not known for armor.
Natural Armor does NOT stack with Unarmored defense, but if you go with a low wisdom (less than 16), the lizardfolk works better than your unarmored armor. The only other thing a Monk needs Wisdom for are Saves - yours and your enemies save against Ki. But Shadow Monk has no Ki saves. So you can make do with an average without much penalty. This makes Monks much less MAD. You are allowed to use your bite as a martial arts weapon, but this only helps for the first 4 levels or so, after that the regular monk attack is just as good. The swim speed, holding your breath, and Frenzy all retain usefullness for the entire game.
An urban thief who has made a den in the sewers only accessible by someone who can hold their breath for long periods of time.
A respected member of the local Butcher's Guild. Class doesn't matter that much, but you're probably very good with a cleaver and a genius when it comes to using every part of a cow. Huh ... would make an iiiinteresting Artificer.
A Champion Fighter and lizard queen of the gladiatorial ring.
A Draconic Sorcerer who has befriended the local pseudodragons and maybe even is working on taming a young wyvern to help defend the tribe.
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Canto alla vita alla sua bellezza ad ogni sua ferita ogni sua carezza!
I sing to life and to its tragic beauty To pain and to strife, but all that dances through me The rise and the fall, I've lived through it all!
Wild Magic Sorcerer. The tribe was settled near a natural portal to the Feywild, he/she became a shaman of sorts for the tribe after a bizzare experience with the portal itself, granting him the use of Wild Magic. Then something happened to the portal, and it engulfed the tribal village, but left the shaman behind. Now he's questing to figure out how to bring the village back.
Made a fighter-gunslinger/ranger-hunter lizardfolk named Thruz that's a bounty hunter (used the outlander origins table for the bounty hunter backstory.) You'd think making a backstory for a clothed lizardfolk would be difficult but it really wasn't. His tribe was killed in a giant attack and Thruz manage to sneak away and find other civilization. He had to adapt to a more civilized lifestyle until he felt he could survive in the wild after seeing the pure might of giants. He stayed true to being a lizardfolk though by only wearing a simple shirt, pants, and all capped off by a stylish cowboy hat.
Recommend taking firearm specialist and crossbow expert feats quick to get out of pesky misfires and being able to shoot far without disadvantage, and take a look at this list of possible boomsticks before taking this though; just to see if you like the idea of it all. I took the pistol sword (shortsword damage andshooting the pistol part as a bonus action is great) and the bayonet rifle for the good close/long range combo. So I was able to get snipes on enemies while running up and able to shoot them more when close range. My DM even allowed the pistol to be a three-barrel revolver. So at 5th level I was able to slash twice, shoot once, action surge and slash another two times and shoot again. By then the enemy usually died from the amount you do and maybe another spellcaster backing you up, so I hardly ever worried about reloading.
Do remember that the DM might or might not let you use this list, so run it by them first before pulling up session one with the heavenly pistol sword. Also if you get an artificer you can easily magic up that pistol sword to do even more damage and be even easier to hit.
*Also quick edit but I forgot to talk about the ranger stuff. Since he's a bounty hunter he can use ranger spells that have to do with communicating with animals to find out where someone went easier and the Unearthed Arcana version of the Natural Explorer class feature is good for any party, because instead of being amazing at only one thing and one enemy you're great at a wide selection of things. That and you can move at a fast pace and still be able to make perception checks normally. Sorry if I swoop in later with another edit, it's been awhile since I played this guy and this post has been a blast to the past to talk about him again.
Could pick something to completely up-end the lizardfolk tropes. I have had a lizardman Wizard that had found some books when young and gotten to learn to read and write common from a prisoner. He grew to become a Lizard Wizard (Wizard Lizard maybe, there were some discussions about which). Few would expect it and you can always make work in role playing. He did not eat intelligent beings and was trying to make himself more presentable.
One time when captured they did not take his headband - spell focus - from him since he had a spear and short bow. When the lieutenant came in to question him they offered him a job as a henchman. Instead the lieutenant was charmed and let him go to rescue everyone else.
C'mon guys, how about a barbarian/artificer(battlemaster) clan crafter background? Barbarian get to add (their homemade) shield to that unarmored a.c.. Artificer combined with the race ability should let him make a "steel" defender from the bones of the foes he has fallen...
I typically run Fighters or Paladins with my lizardfolk. Paladins are especially fun because most of them are exiles (willingly or otherwise) in search of greater callings.
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Formerly Devan Avalon.
Trying to get your physical content on Beyond is like going to Microsoft and saying "I have a physical Playstation disk, give me a digital Xbox version!"
I'm in a group where one of the other players is a lizardfolk Rune Knight with the Noble background. They have a long backstory justifying exactly how their character is a noble.
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Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
I'm in a group where one of the other players is a lizardfolk Rune Knight with the Noble background. They have a long backstory justifying exactly how their character is a noble.
I mean, they could be a "noble" as far as lizardfolk are concerned. the child of the clan chieftan, a "confirmed" descendant of some long dead hero (with the letter of pedigree being indecipherable to non-lizardfolk), etc... but if they're a NOBLE noble, yeah I wanna read that backstory! :D
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Formerly Devan Avalon.
Trying to get your physical content on Beyond is like going to Microsoft and saying "I have a physical Playstation disk, give me a digital Xbox version!"
C'mon guys, how about a barbarian/artificer(battlemaster) clan crafter background? Barbarian get to add (their homemade) shield to that unarmored a.c.. Artificer combined with the race ability should let him make a "steel" defender from the bones of the foes he has fallen...
The artificer was kinda where I was going with the Guild Butcher above.
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Canto alla vita alla sua bellezza ad ogni sua ferita ogni sua carezza!
I sing to life and to its tragic beauty To pain and to strife, but all that dances through me The rise and the fall, I've lived through it all!
I made a Lizardfolk wizard who uses the rune etched bones of her ancestors instead of a spell book!
with a focus on cold spells to be the Blizzard Lizard Wizard?
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Formerly Devan Avalon.
Trying to get your physical content on Beyond is like going to Microsoft and saying "I have a physical Playstation disk, give me a digital Xbox version!"
Another random lizardfolk character idea, and honestly one of my favorites: An albino lizardfolk that was thrown out of the clan because they were too scared to actually try and kill him, but being all white, he's not that good at hiding to hunt.
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Formerly Devan Avalon.
Trying to get your physical content on Beyond is like going to Microsoft and saying "I have a physical Playstation disk, give me a digital Xbox version!"
I think as a lizardfolk, i prefer to keep it to the nature theme, but if i had to play something that was not based on Druid, Nature Domain etc., i would go for a barbarian type, a leader of a tribe, maybe going totem barb to keep the spiritual theme of nature, but that is not up to me. Either a straight up savage lizardfolk warleader, or a soldier of a big city, it would break the stereotype of lizardfolks having low strength, and i think it has some awesome roleplay potential.
I made a Lizardfolk Gloomstalker/Assassin. At first he was a hunter of local "problems" for townsfolk and farmers around villages. He spoke in a thick Cajun accent. Didn't rely on hungry jaws. But would lie in wait in water to surprise prey and get auto crits with sneak attack. Took down a wyvern in 2 rounds with lucky crits and zephyr strikes. He joined a party as a guide due to favored terrain. He stayed with the group due to finding bigger and better game for more rewarding trophies. Campaign has been put on hold due to obvious reasons as of late. Can't wait to get back into character and voice haha.
I made a Path of the Beast Barbarian for my Lizardfolk. Scouting the undergrowth of his Clutch's warrens with others of his tribe, he came across a weird shrine that gave off strange and potent magical energy. It clouded his mind with visions of primal savagery and bloodlust, more so than what his kind is famed for. Resisting, he smashed aside the stone altar with his tail unbeknowst to him setting free the entity inside. This shadow beast of blood and hunger beset him and his party, tearing them apart in animalistic fury until it was just him left. Squaring down with the entity, he lunged at it and wrapped his jaws around the creatures neck, closing tight. Boiling hot blood rushed into his mouth scorching his throat, but he carried on with his deathgrip until finally he snapped the creatures neck. As suddenly as it had appeared it vanished. Cruel laughter whispered faintly amongst the wind.
Battered with even more images of carnage, Tu'rok thrashed and coiled in pain. Pain he had never felt before. Hunger. Desperate hunger. He needed to feed.In a trance like state he slaughtered and ate, but it never satiated him. The hunger was consuming, only gaining a fleeting moment of reprieve when he devoured his hunt. Battling with this darker side of him, he distanced himself from his Clutch. He didnt want to hurt anyone. But they were meat. Fresh meat. Dripping juicy red. Tender. He shook his head to regain his composure. He felt physically stronger but also mentally weak. Faster reflexes but more sluggish in mind. Heightened senses but devoid of clarity. Hhe wasnt sure if he liked his new powers. The thrill of the hunt brought, pleasure? He never felt this emotion before. But the screams, the faces of those he ran down. They haunted his every dream. For the first time in his life he felt remorse. Tu'rok needed help, not for his sake but for others.
So the concept is that he is cursed by Malar, God of the Hunt. When he killed his shadow aspect, Malar awakened inside him his more primal roots. He became more feral looking, his claws lengthened into talons, his jaw grew larger fangs and his tail thickened, laced with spines. But he wasnt fully consumed by the curse. He has moments of clarity (mainly after he has eaten). Ive done him kind of like a Lizardfolk version of Dr Jykell and Mr Hyde, he knows he is a monster and is trying to prevent the other side from taking control. Tu'rok and his dark mirror Mak'to have developed a strange relationship. They hated each other. Tu'rok hates Mak'to because of his pure evil and the power he has over him. He also feels pure horror that Mak'to would probably do something more horrible if he was ever truly unleashed.
Its my taken on a Lizardfolk Lycanthrope. Instead of Malar turning him into a Were-creature, he just taps into his more animalistic side, fanning the flames with hunger. Ive basically taken aspects of what a Lizardfolk is and dialed it up to 11. You wanna survive and eat? Well now your the apex predator.
Check with your DM to see how developed the Lizardfolk are in their game. If there's not a lot to say about them in the game world yet, propose the Lizardfolk are more commonly known to the humanoid races at The Visitors. The Visitors came to the game world some time ago in large saucer shaped ships. Initially they followed their usual humanoid contact protocols which involved wearing encounter suits that gave them the appearance of the local humanoids. Recognizing the accepted species' diversity, the Visitors shed their false skin and walk the world in their true reptilian appearance.
The Visitors are a super techno-magic society. They work with various nation states and civilizations to "advance" them providing assistance in magic and technological infrastructure (agriculture, engineering, etc.). Some Visitors are take up adventuring in the course of assignments as good will ambassadors to the people of the world. A Visitor could take up any class in this context, might even be granted the gunslinger feat or proficiencies with high tech weapons.
In truth the Visitors plan to gut the world of all its resources and use the humanoid stock as food, but it's easier to catch flies with honey than vinegar, past world exploitations have taught them.
What? It worked for about a half decade in the 80s for a TV show, even had a brief reboot in the 20 oughts.
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Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
For an upcoming online D&D group, I want to make a lizardfolk character, but I feel like that also means I need to pick one of the more nature based classes or subclasses (Druid, Nature Cleric, Oath of Ancients, etc.). Do any of you have any lizardfolk that break away from this trope? I would love to hear some suggestions.
I made a Lizardfolk Monk. Shadow Monk, to be precise. The DM liked it so much that when the game went West March Style, he made his own lizardfolk Monk. Lizardfolk helps the Monk at Low levels a LOT, not so much at higher ones. The theme makes a lot of sense - lizardfolk are not known for armor.
Natural Armor does NOT stack with Unarmored defense, but if you go with a low wisdom (less than 16), the lizardfolk works better than your unarmored armor. The only other thing a Monk needs Wisdom for are Saves - yours and your enemies save against Ki. But Shadow Monk has no Ki saves. So you can make do with an average without much penalty. This makes Monks much less MAD. You are allowed to use your bite as a martial arts weapon, but this only helps for the first 4 levels or so, after that the regular monk attack is just as good. The swim speed, holding your breath, and Frenzy all retain usefullness for the entire game.
An urban thief who has made a den in the sewers only accessible by someone who can hold their breath for long periods of time.
A respected member of the local Butcher's Guild. Class doesn't matter that much, but you're probably very good with a cleaver and a genius when it comes to using every part of a cow. Huh ... would make an iiiinteresting Artificer.
A Champion Fighter and lizard queen of the gladiatorial ring.
A Draconic Sorcerer who has befriended the local pseudodragons and maybe even is working on taming a young wyvern to help defend the tribe.
Canto alla vita
alla sua bellezza
ad ogni sua ferita
ogni sua carezza!
I sing to life and to its tragic beauty
To pain and to strife, but all that dances through me
The rise and the fall, I've lived through it all!
Wild Magic Sorcerer. The tribe was settled near a natural portal to the Feywild, he/she became a shaman of sorts for the tribe after a bizzare experience with the portal itself, granting him the use of Wild Magic. Then something happened to the portal, and it engulfed the tribal village, but left the shaman behind. Now he's questing to figure out how to bring the village back.
Made a fighter-gunslinger/ranger-hunter lizardfolk named Thruz that's a bounty hunter (used the outlander origins table for the bounty hunter backstory.) You'd think making a backstory for a clothed lizardfolk would be difficult but it really wasn't. His tribe was killed in a giant attack and Thruz manage to sneak away and find other civilization. He had to adapt to a more civilized lifestyle until he felt he could survive in the wild after seeing the pure might of giants. He stayed true to being a lizardfolk though by only wearing a simple shirt, pants, and all capped off by a stylish cowboy hat.
Recommend taking firearm specialist and crossbow expert feats quick to get out of pesky misfires and being able to shoot far without disadvantage, and take a look at this list of possible boomsticks before taking this though; just to see if you like the idea of it all. I took the pistol sword (shortsword damage and shooting the pistol part as a bonus action is great) and the bayonet rifle for the good close/long range combo. So I was able to get snipes on enemies while running up and able to shoot them more when close range. My DM even allowed the pistol to be a three-barrel revolver. So at 5th level I was able to slash twice, shoot once, action surge and slash another two times and shoot again. By then the enemy usually died from the amount you do and maybe another spellcaster backing you up, so I hardly ever worried about reloading.
Do remember that the DM might or might not let you use this list, so run it by them first before pulling up session one with the heavenly pistol sword. Also if you get an artificer you can easily magic up that pistol sword to do even more damage and be even easier to hit.
*Also quick edit but I forgot to talk about the ranger stuff. Since he's a bounty hunter he can use ranger spells that have to do with communicating with animals to find out where someone went easier and the Unearthed Arcana version of the Natural Explorer class feature is good for any party, because instead of being amazing at only one thing and one enemy you're great at a wide selection of things. That and you can move at a fast pace and still be able to make perception checks normally. Sorry if I swoop in later with another edit, it's been awhile since I played this guy and this post has been a blast to the past to talk about him again.
Could pick something to completely up-end the lizardfolk tropes. I have had a lizardman Wizard that had found some books when young and gotten to learn to read and write common from a prisoner. He grew to become a Lizard Wizard (Wizard Lizard maybe, there were some discussions about which). Few would expect it and you can always make work in role playing. He did not eat intelligent beings and was trying to make himself more presentable.
One time when captured they did not take his headband - spell focus - from him since he had a spear and short bow. When the lieutenant came in to question him they offered him a job as a henchman. Instead the lieutenant was charmed and let him go to rescue everyone else.
C'mon guys, how about a barbarian/artificer(battlemaster) clan crafter background? Barbarian get to add (their homemade) shield to that unarmored a.c.. Artificer combined with the race ability should let him make a "steel" defender from the bones of the foes he has fallen...
I typically run Fighters or Paladins with my lizardfolk. Paladins are especially fun because most of them are exiles (willingly or otherwise) in search of greater callings.
Formerly Devan Avalon.
Trying to get your physical content on Beyond is like going to Microsoft and saying "I have a physical Playstation disk, give me a digital Xbox version!"
I'm in a group where one of the other players is a lizardfolk Rune Knight with the Noble background. They have a long backstory justifying exactly how their character is a noble.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
I mean, they could be a "noble" as far as lizardfolk are concerned. the child of the clan chieftan, a "confirmed" descendant of some long dead hero (with the letter of pedigree being indecipherable to non-lizardfolk), etc... but if they're a NOBLE noble, yeah I wanna read that backstory! :D
Formerly Devan Avalon.
Trying to get your physical content on Beyond is like going to Microsoft and saying "I have a physical Playstation disk, give me a digital Xbox version!"
The artificer was kinda where I was going with the Guild Butcher above.
Canto alla vita
alla sua bellezza
ad ogni sua ferita
ogni sua carezza!
I sing to life and to its tragic beauty
To pain and to strife, but all that dances through me
The rise and the fall, I've lived through it all!
I made a Lizardfolk wizard who uses the rune etched bones of her ancestors instead of a spell book!
Brendan J Casey Jr.
with a focus on cold spells to be the Blizzard Lizard Wizard?
Formerly Devan Avalon.
Trying to get your physical content on Beyond is like going to Microsoft and saying "I have a physical Playstation disk, give me a digital Xbox version!"
I mean....I mean, I HAVE TO now.
Brendan J Casey Jr.
;3 You're welcome.
Another random lizardfolk character idea, and honestly one of my favorites: An albino lizardfolk that was thrown out of the clan because they were too scared to actually try and kill him, but being all white, he's not that good at hiding to hunt.
Formerly Devan Avalon.
Trying to get your physical content on Beyond is like going to Microsoft and saying "I have a physical Playstation disk, give me a digital Xbox version!"
I think as a lizardfolk, i prefer to keep it to the nature theme, but if i had to play something that was not based on Druid, Nature Domain etc., i would go for a barbarian type, a leader of a tribe, maybe going totem barb to keep the spiritual theme of nature, but that is not up to me. Either a straight up savage lizardfolk warleader, or a soldier of a big city, it would break the stereotype of lizardfolks having low strength, and i think it has some awesome roleplay potential.
I made a Lizardfolk Gloomstalker/Assassin. At first he was a hunter of local "problems" for townsfolk and farmers around villages. He spoke in a thick Cajun accent. Didn't rely on hungry jaws. But would lie in wait in water to surprise prey and get auto crits with sneak attack. Took down a wyvern in 2 rounds with lucky crits and zephyr strikes. He joined a party as a guide due to favored terrain. He stayed with the group due to finding bigger and better game for more rewarding trophies. Campaign has been put on hold due to obvious reasons as of late. Can't wait to get back into character and voice haha.
I made a Path of the Beast Barbarian for my Lizardfolk. Scouting the undergrowth of his Clutch's warrens with others of his tribe, he came across a weird shrine that gave off strange and potent magical energy. It clouded his mind with visions of primal savagery and bloodlust, more so than what his kind is famed for. Resisting, he smashed aside the stone altar with his tail unbeknowst to him setting free the entity inside. This shadow beast of blood and hunger beset him and his party, tearing them apart in animalistic fury until it was just him left. Squaring down with the entity, he lunged at it and wrapped his jaws around the creatures neck, closing tight. Boiling hot blood rushed into his mouth scorching his throat, but he carried on with his deathgrip until finally he snapped the creatures neck. As suddenly as it had appeared it vanished. Cruel laughter whispered faintly amongst the wind.
Battered with even more images of carnage, Tu'rok thrashed and coiled in pain. Pain he had never felt before. Hunger. Desperate hunger. He needed to feed.In a trance like state he slaughtered and ate, but it never satiated him. The hunger was consuming, only gaining a fleeting moment of reprieve when he devoured his hunt. Battling with this darker side of him, he distanced himself from his Clutch. He didnt want to hurt anyone. But they were meat. Fresh meat. Dripping juicy red. Tender. He shook his head to regain his composure. He felt physically stronger but also mentally weak. Faster reflexes but more sluggish in mind. Heightened senses but devoid of clarity. Hhe wasnt sure if he liked his new powers. The thrill of the hunt brought, pleasure? He never felt this emotion before. But the screams, the faces of those he ran down. They haunted his every dream. For the first time in his life he felt remorse. Tu'rok needed help, not for his sake but for others.
So the concept is that he is cursed by Malar, God of the Hunt. When he killed his shadow aspect, Malar awakened inside him his more primal roots. He became more feral looking, his claws lengthened into talons, his jaw grew larger fangs and his tail thickened, laced with spines. But he wasnt fully consumed by the curse. He has moments of clarity (mainly after he has eaten). Ive done him kind of like a Lizardfolk version of Dr Jykell and Mr Hyde, he knows he is a monster and is trying to prevent the other side from taking control. Tu'rok and his dark mirror Mak'to have developed a strange relationship. They hated each other. Tu'rok hates Mak'to because of his pure evil and the power he has over him. He also feels pure horror that Mak'to would probably do something more horrible if he was ever truly unleashed.
Its my taken on a Lizardfolk Lycanthrope. Instead of Malar turning him into a Were-creature, he just taps into his more animalistic side, fanning the flames with hunger. Ive basically taken aspects of what a Lizardfolk is and dialed it up to 11. You wanna survive and eat? Well now your the apex predator.
Check with your DM to see how developed the Lizardfolk are in their game. If there's not a lot to say about them in the game world yet, propose the Lizardfolk are more commonly known to the humanoid races at The Visitors. The Visitors came to the game world some time ago in large saucer shaped ships. Initially they followed their usual humanoid contact protocols which involved wearing encounter suits that gave them the appearance of the local humanoids. Recognizing the accepted species' diversity, the Visitors shed their false skin and walk the world in their true reptilian appearance.
The Visitors are a super techno-magic society. They work with various nation states and civilizations to "advance" them providing assistance in magic and technological infrastructure (agriculture, engineering, etc.). Some Visitors are take up adventuring in the course of assignments as good will ambassadors to the people of the world. A Visitor could take up any class in this context, might even be granted the gunslinger feat or proficiencies with high tech weapons.
In truth the Visitors plan to gut the world of all its resources and use the humanoid stock as food, but it's easier to catch flies with honey than vinegar, past world exploitations have taught them.
What? It worked for about a half decade in the 80s for a TV show, even had a brief reboot in the 20 oughts.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
Wizard/Rune Knight who casts dragon's breath.
I have a weird sense of humor.
I also make maps.(That's a link)