Monstrous Races
In some campaigns, humanoids normally regarded as sinister threats can emerge to adventure alongside humans and the other standard races. This section is aimed at DMs who wish to expand the race selections for their campaigns beyond the typical folk of D&D.
Why a Monstrous Character?
Creating characters as creatures normally cast as villains offers up some interesting roleplaying possibilities. Whether played for comedy, as a tragic story of betrayal and loss, or as an antihero, a monstrous character gives a player a chance to take on an unusual challenge in the campaign. Before allowing monstrous characters in your campaign, consider the following three questions.
Rare or Mundane?
Consider how common orc, goblin, and similar adventurers are in your setting. Are they regarded as no stranger than elves or dwarves? Are they met with suspicion? The role these races play in your setting should determine the kinds of reactions that such characters meet.
Don't be afraid to push things to an extreme. An orc character might have to venture into town in disguise or remain in the wilderness, for fear of imprisonment or mob violence. Be sure to talk to the group about how such characters can expect the world to treat them. Some players like the challenge of taking on an outcast, but don't set up one expectation and deliver another.
You can establish a monstrous creature as just another culture in your campaign, one that has alliances and rivalries with humans, elves, and dwarves. A hobgoblin kingdom might serve as a buffer between a human kingdom and a blighted region overrun by the spawn of Kyuss. Kobolds might be city builders, the architects of grand, heavily fortified edifices, which other folk dwell in for a price. The cultural notes in chapter 1 are the standard D&D depiction of these creatures, but by no means do they define them for your campaign. Use them as a starting point for your own ideas.
Outcast or Ambassador?
Consider how a monstrous character's native culture views the character. Is the character an outcast, a spy, an ambassador, or something else? Work with the player to determine how the character ended up as an adventurer.
The character's bond is a great starting point to consider for this question. How did the bond drive the character to adventure? The character's trait, flaw, and ideal can also play a role in fleshing out the story.
Friends or Enemies?
Figure out what special ties the character has to other members of the adventuring party. An orc warlock might be the dwarf ranger's sworn enemy, but the two are forced to work together to defeat a mutual foe. Perhaps the kobold sorcerer was the tiefling wizard's familiar, transformed by an irate archmage in return for some petty insult. The hobgoblin paladin might have been human once, but crossed the wrong hag and was cursed to take on an evil guise. A creative tie betw,een a monstrous character and the rest of the party helps make for a memorable campaign.
The Monstrous Origin table gives a number of ideas for adding a monstrous character to the campaign.
Monstrous Origin
| d8 | Origin |
|---|---|
| 1 | You are a spy sent to undermine your enemies from within. |
| 2 | You are the victim of a curse or polymorph spell. |
| 3 | You were raised by humans, elves, or dwarves and have adopted their culture. |
| 4 | At a young age, you adopted a human religion and now serve it faithfully. |
| 5 | You received divine insight that sent you on your path, and occasionally receive new visions that guide yoq, |
| 6 | Your sworn enemy is an ally of your people, forcing you to leave your tribe to gain vengeance. |
| 7 | An evil entity corrupted your people's society. |
| 8 | An injury or strange event caused you to lose all memory of your past, but occasional flashes of it return to you |
Racial Traits
The game traits of the monstrous races are given here. Refer to chapter 1 of *Volo's Guide to Monsters" for their cultural and roleplaying notes. Some of these races are unusual in that they have a reduction to an ability score, and some are more or less powerful than the typical D&D races-additional reasons for the monstrous races to be used in a campaign with care.
Bugbear Traits
Your bugbear character has the following racial traits.
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2, and your Dexterity score increases by 1.
Age. Bugbears reach adulthood at age 16 and live up to 80 years.
Alignment. Bugbears endure a harsh existence that demands each of them to remain self-sufficient, even at the expense of their fellows. They tend to be chaotic evil.
Size. Bugbears are between 6 and 8 feet tall and weigh between 250 and 350 pounds. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision. 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.
Long-Limbed. When you make a melee attack on your tum, your reach for it is 5 feet greater than normal.
Powerful Build. You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.
Sneaky. You are proficient in the Stealth skill.
Surprise Attack. If you surprise a creature and hit it with an attack on your first turn in combat, the attack deals an extra 2d6 damage to it. You can use this trait only once per combat.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Goblin.
Goblin Traits
Your goblin character has the following racial traits.
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and your Constitution score increases by 1.
Age. Goblins reach adulthood at age 8 and live up to 60 years.
Alignment. Goblins are typically neutral evil, as they care only for their own needs. A few goblins might tend toward good or neutrality, but only rarely.
Size. Goblins are between 3 and 4 feet tall and weigh between 40 and 80 pounds. Your size is Small.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision. 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.
Fury of the Small. When you damage a creature with an attack or a spell and the creature's size is larger than yours, you can cause the attack or spell to deal extra damage to the creature. The extra damage equals your level. Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Nimble Escape. You can take the Disengage or Hide action as a bonus action on each of your turns.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Goblin.
Hobgoblin Traits
Your hobgoblin character has the following racial traits.
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2, and your Intelligence score increases by 1.
Age. Hobgoblins mature at the same rate as humans and have lifespans similar in length to theirs.
Alignment. Hobgoblin society is built on fidelity to a rigid, unforgiving code of conduct. As such, they tend toward lawful evil.
Size. Hobgoblins are between 5 and 6 feet tall and weigh between 150 and 200 pounds. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision. 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.
Martial Training. You are proficient with two martial weapons of your choice and with light armor.
Saving Face. Hobgoblins are careful not to show weakness in front of their allies, for fear of losing status. If you miss with an attack roll or fail an ability check or a saving throw, you can gain a bonus to the roll equal to the number of allies you can see within 30 feet of you (maximum bonus of +5). Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Goblin.
Kobold Traits
Your kobold character has the following racial traits.
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and your Strength score is reduced by 2.
Age. Kobolds reach adulthood at age 6 and can live up to 120 years but rarely do so.
Alignment. Kobolds are fundamentally selfish, making them evil, but their reliance on the strength of their group makes them trend toward law.
Size. Kobolds are between 2 and 3 feet tall and weigh between 25 and 35 pounds. Your size is Small.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision. 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.
Grovel, Cower, and Beg. As an action on your tum, you can cower pathetically to distract nearby foes. Until the end of your next turn, your allies gain advantage on attack rolls against enemies within 10 feet of you that can see you. Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Pack Tactics. You have advantage on an attack roll against a creature if at least one of your allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally isn't incapacitated.
Sunlight Sensitivity. You have disadvantage on attack rolls and on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight when you, the target of your attack, or whatever you are trying to perceive is in direct sunlight.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Draconic.
Orc Traits
Your orc character has the following racial traits.
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2, your Constitution score increases by 1., and your Intelligence score is reduced by 2.
Age. Orcs reach adulthood at age 12 and live up to 50 years.
Alignment. Orcs are vicious raiders, who believe that the world should be theirs. They also respect strength above all else and believe the strong must bully the weak to ensure that weakness does not spread like a disease. They are usually chaotic evil. Orcs are tribal warriors, who are spiritually intune with the natural world and hold a deep respect for it's stability. Orcs also highly value freedom and strength and view their place in the world as one to respect and defend the balance of nature. They are usually chaotic good or chaotic neutral.
Size. Orcs are usually over 6 feet tall and weigh between 230 and 280 pounds. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision. 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.
Aggressive. As a bonus action, you can move up to your speed toward an enemy of your choice that you can see or hear. You must end this move closer to the enemy than you started.
Menacing. You are trained in the Intimidation skill.
Powerful Build. You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Orc.
Subraces:
Desert Orc
Orcs who live predominantly in the desert have acclimated to the harsh hot and dry conditions and are typically well trained in utilizing the stars as guides.
Heat Resistance: Desert Orcs have resistance to fire damage and are not affected by high atmospheric temperatures up to 120 degrees.
Lunar Guide: Desert Orcs are proficient in Survival and have advantage on checkes to determine their location if they have a clear view of the sky.
Sea Orc
Orcs who have chosen to live their life on the open ocean have developed a natural capacity for ship work and navigation as well have developed an affinity for the water.
Webbed Feet: Sea Orcs have a swim speed of 30 feet.
Oceanic Training: Sea Orcs have proficiency in Vehicles (Water) and Navigator's Tools.
Forest Orcs
Orcs who lived predominantly in forests and jungles. They have developed an even closer affinity with the land.
Natural Attunement: Forest Orcs can increase their Wisdom instead of their Constitution by 1 as part of their racial ability score increase.
Animal Friend: Forest Orcs have proficiency in Animal Handling.
Denizens of the Woods: Forest Orcs have a 30 ft. climbing speed.
Yuan-Ti Traits
Your yuan-ti pureblood character -called a pureblood for short- has the following racial traits.
Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 2, and your Intelligence score increases by 1.
Age. Purebloods mature at the same rate as humans and have lifespans similar in length to theirs.
Alignment. Purebloods are devoid of emotion and see others as tools to manipulate. They care little for law or chaos and are typically neutral evil.
Size. Purebloods match humans in average size and weight. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision. 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.
Innate Spellcasting. You know the Poison Spray cantrip. You can cast Animal Friendship an unlimited number of times with this trait, but you can target only snakes with it. Starting at 3rd level, you can also cast Suggestion with this trait. Once you cast it, you can't do so again until you finish a long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Magic Resistance. You have advantage on all Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws against magic.
Poison Resistance. You have advantage on saving throws against poison, and you have resistance against poison damage (explained in chapter 9 of the Player's Handbook).
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common, Abyssal, and Draconic.
Homebrew Changes
Orc Traits
- Ability Score Increase - Removed INT reduction
- Alignment - modified to no longer be inherently evil
- Subraces - added Sand, Sea, and Forest subraces
Yuan-Ti Traits
- Magic Resistance - reduced to only mental saves against magic. Identical to Gnome Cunning.
- Poison Immunity - Reduced to resistance and advantage vs. condition. Identical to Dwarven Resilience