I am about to start a campaign and one of my players wants to be a, wait for it, half minotaur of krynn/ half lizardfolk. How the hell do I deal with that? I myself don't think the minotaur's that good and he should just be a damn lizardfolk. Any suggestions as to what I might do?
Tell him no?
Seriously though, maybe it's a cool combination that's just not obvious right now. Work up a character and if the character sucks or is not fun to play for either you or the player, then let him change after a few levels.
Well yeah I suppose... I myself have a habit of making my gnomes amazingly indepth in background detail and particular unique traits they have from birth or curses etc. (i am only ever a gnome)
I say you should at least have the player present the character to you. If you take a look at the Half-Minotaur template itself, that will probably be enough to change your mind.
Why is it that dating pools and lizardfolk seem strangly matched?
I am about to start a campaign and one of my players wants to be a, wait for it, half minotaur of krynn/ half lizardfolk. How the hell do I deal with that? I myself don't think the minotaur's that good and he should just be a damn lizardfolk. Any suggestions as to what I might do?
You have not really covered why this is a problem. Is it a problem because the character would be too powerful? Because the character does not fit into your campaign world? Becuase your pretty sure Lizard Folk don't date Minitours or...?
Its hard to suggest solutions when one is not sure what the problem is.
I don't see the problem with letting a player choose what he wants to play, as long as its feasible. While a half minotaur/half lizardfold is pretty out there I've seen and allowed worse. I've had player game with everything from a Treant to a Pixie. I once gamed as a half dragon drow. It was great because he wrestled down a fellow player who was trapped in a barbarian range...oh yeah and did i mention that the character was a half ogre? I didn't let him live that down for a long time.
Hey
Thanks I'll definetly take into account all you've said. The reason I don't want it would be because firstly it's awkward for the campaign I'm running. I wouldn't mind him being just a plain lizardfolk (he's obsessed with them). Thanks!
#Mike
That's the crazy thing about 3e and the way you can mix the races to create wild original and sometimes strange things like a human lich halfdragon vampiric werewolf half troll out of control wombat eater.
Yeah, our group thought it was pretty cool when third ed. came out and we realized Wizards had caught up with what we had been doing for years. Very few of our PCs were of the "standard" races, and most were part this and part that. It's when I went back to buying D&D products instead of using other game system stuff and cannibalizing, even though we still use the 2nd ed rules system.
If he has a really good story and is willing to play the awkward part, more power too him. If he is just trying to powergame with no thought to story, say no. I've got a player who used to love wierd races. When he started playing, he wanted to look through the MM for races almost before he had even looked through the PHB. He loves templates more than anything else- when he sees a template, he judges it by how useful it is to his characters, like it was made for him. The bad thing about templates it low HD.
He finally stopped after the gnoll wearbear samauri, who had such a high level adjustment for the lycanthrope part, nad thus horrible saves, that he was mauled to death by a pack of advanced ghasts.
If he does want to play a good story with it, or if he doesn't and it's not a big deal, and you still don't like it, then let him play it and find what's wrong with it. It's been my experience that playing level adjusted creatures stronger than drow or so, generally are weaker than a "standard" character of the same ECL.
the choice to allow the half minotaur/half lizardfolk is yours. If it is (with class levels) not stronger than the other PCs it should be fine if it fits withing your campaign. The group I'm playing with right now, one of the campaigns we just finished the DM would not allow a drow or derro because of all the drow and minotaur withing the campaign but did allow for an ogre which just died this past friday and a plane touched character which died at the hands of a lich
I'm glad to see some mention on this thread of the mechanics (for lack of a better word) that would be necessary to create such "half-" creatures and the likelihood of such matings. A different thread on this board questions the number of templates but I think it's useful to consider that when a horse and a donkey mate (two very similar creatures - both equines) they produce a sterile hybrid - a mule. In this case mating something reptilian (the Lizardman) with something mammalian (the Minotaur) is not just unlikely but logically impossible. I know the argument to follow will be about half-orcs, half-elves, etc. and so my mule example can't be taken too strictly. I understand and I am mindful that this IS fantasy. But lizardmen lay eggs and minotaurs have live births. Reptiles are cold-blooded and mammals warm. I personally would judge such a mating impossible. Of course, this is your campaign and you can do whatever you like.
Except that the whole reptile/mammal thing has been in D&D since at least the introduction of the yuan-ti, and half-dragons have been hinted at for quite a while (though its always been assumed to happen with dragons that are shape shifters and can assume the shape of a human, elf, etc.)
I know what you are saying however. Several speies I have looked at and wondered, "how" just . . . how. Half-giants in Dark Sun, for example, were always explained as "half" by magical experimentation, not natural . . . development. I would assume many other half species are from this as well, but most people go the quick and easy route and say "my mother was X, father was Y" rather than saying they were bred in a mad wizards lab and escaped when a band of druids torched the place, or whatever.
Good point. I've always accepted half-dragons under the shapeshift theory. I like your mad wizard's lab idea but would then prompt the player to run his/her character appropriately - hates wizards (or conversely druids), etc. That might lead to some interesting role-playing ...hmmm.
That's the crazy thing about 3e and the way you can mix the races to create wild original and sometimes strange things like a human lich halfdragon vampiric werewolf half troll out of control wombat eater.
Also PrCs.
WaterdhavianFlapjack
I do believe there is a Reptilian template in one of the books. Add it to Minotaur.
Problem is there would be a high level adjustment.
Hey
Thanks I'll definetly take into account all you've said. The reason I don't want it would be because firstly it's awkward for the campaign I'm running. I wouldn't mind him being just a plain lizardfolk (he's obsessed with them). Thanks!
#Mike
I'll be the note of disent on this thread (excepting Sir Marcus) and say I'd simply not allow it. Your issue with it is it does not fit in within your campaign world. I'd think being true to the concept of your world and your campaign is a pretty important.
I have a feeling you'd get more support if you were, for example, specify that your player wanted to play a half lizardman half Krynn Minitour when your campaign is based around the City of Greyhawk. We all know that Krynn Minitours don't normally hang out in Oerth mating with any lizardfolk they happen to cross paths with. Waterdeep does not really desperatly need a Tinker Gnome college etc.
I'd insist that the player stick to races that make sense for your campaign world. Better yet define for your players what races are acceptable. If your players encounter some race in your campaign world directly or indirectly (that is they hear about it) they can maybe petition you to allow them to play that race if its not on the list.
Outside of that I'd say no - unless you have defined your campaign as freeform with anything and everything being welcome this sort of thing just shatters the mood - constantly as the PC interacts with every NPC they meet. Its like an endless strain on the suspension of disbelief for your campaign world.