The Devolution of Lizardfolk

 Posted by on February 7, 2011  Filed as: World-Building  Add comments  Topic(s):
Feb 072011
 

The Lizardfolk (or Lizardmen in earlier editions) have been part of Dungeon and Dragons since 1975, first appearing in the Greyhawk Supplement written by Gary Gygax and Robert Kuntz. That makes the Lizardfolk a part of D&D far longer than myself. I really got to know them when I was DMing my first campaign in 3X. Not even knowing their history, they struck me as a classic and interesting monster.

At some point between editions, the Lizardfolk went from being an aquatic creature to semi-aquatic. When I got my hands on it in 3x, it was a reptile with a bonus to swimming, that could hold its breath a really long time. This hardly equals aquatic or even amphibious any more.  I had no idea the previous versions were aquatic, but its abilities hinted strongly enough at its past that I latched onto the idea anyway. Here was a missing link in action. The fish that walked out of the sea, but never quite forgot.

I should note that an Ecology was released for the Lizardfolk in Dragon 335, that I do not own. It may build on this further or speak to something completely different.

The official books placed the Lizardfolk in the swamp – that seemed natural enough. I threw a few tribes down in my own swamps. I couldn’t settle for this alone, though. These were savage people at times, sure. I mean they eat other intelligent humanoids. However, they were certainly not unintelligent. They keep a tribal structure. They could be nomadic or village-based, depending on need. They use tools, proper weapons and armor. This all led me to believe they likely trade with other races under certain circumstances. They also used different tactics in battle, based on location, ability, and command structure. These were a people that would move based on necessity, and adapt to their environment. Naturally, I placed them in the desert.

No, no, don’t close your browser tab vowing never to return again! Would a race that thrives near water be happy in a desert? Of course not, but who wants to interact with happy people? Humans are known for settling in places that make us miserable (take Canada, for example). In the desert, Lizardfolk can maintain a nomadic, tribal structure. Nomadic desert people are a staple of fantasy and classic tales of adventure. They can trade under the right circumstances, but also act as raiders to be feared. After all, they can hold their breath for inordinate amounts of time. Think about how frightening it would be if you’re guarding a caravan through the desert and suddenly armed lizard people leap from the sand all around you, and from under your feet! As an added bonus, later that night, when your players have all gone home, they will be reminded of Star Wars, and link the encounter with even more happy thoughts.

Now, if you started with the 4th edition of Dungeons and Dragons, and stuck with me this far, you’re probably very confused. Lizardfolk are swamp people, sure, but they’re not even remotely aquatic. While there is a mention in the descriptive text of the Monster Manual of their swimming skill and ability to hold their breath, there are no mechanics to represent it. None of the Lizardfolk even get a bonus to Endurance in the stat block.

It would seem Wizards of the Coast has also been following the course of guiding the Lizardfolk away from their watery roots. You may argue that this article is mis-titled. Man was a fish once, some say, and we call that Evolution. The difference here is that man continued to acquire new traits, traits we all share, that helped guide us toward civilization. The Lizardfolk have only lost traits. They are, in fact, one of the few monsters appearing in more than one Monster Manual without any unifying racial ability. The only thing that Lizardfolk share these days is the word scale in their names and swampwalk. On top of that, they were one of the few intelligent humanoids in Monster Manual 1 that did not receive playable stats in the back of the book. These days you can easily play a kenku and bullywug, but not a proud lizardman. The wizards have marked them shamefully as monsters only, not capable of becoming an adventurer in this world. They simply don’t have it in them.

To this I say Nay! NAY!

You might be expecting playable race stats, now that I’ve preached for so long, but alas, no. I have some worked up, but in my experience such content is hardly worth bringing to the table. There’s already a wealth of races, feats and paths facing players. Anything that can’t be pulled up in the Character Builder is considered not worth the effort. I can hardly blame them –  instead I implore you to support the Lizardfolk with two practices.

  1. First, encourage your players to play Lizardfolk, by reskining existing races. I recommend the Gnoll, because it’s pack mechanics can help represent a tribal culture, you can have working claws, and WotC has added enough support in the way of feats and options to keep it engaging. The Bullywug can also work, but has nearly no options. A few other races might work as well, so use your discretion. The point should be to allow Lizardfolk players to exist!
  2. Second, remind your players that Lizardfolk are not to be taken lightly – by using engaging social and combat encounters. These are people who could be valuable allies, but will eat you if it’s in their best interest. They’re outsiders, looking in, who were cast out for unclear reasons. There’s plenty to play with.

I’ll discuss some combat tactics and introduce a few new Lizardfolk stat blocks this week with Steal this Monster articles. Keep your eyes out for it. We’ll also have a Hold Breath ability that you can add quickly to the existing Lizardfolk.

Brian Liberge

Brian Liberge is a father of one, living in Boston, MA. Introduced to AD&D at an early age, he’s continued to update with the editions, and new games. He loves home-brewed ideas, is honest to a fault, and thinks that ideas and mechanics should absolutely be shared between systems. With a B.S. Degree in Theatre Arts, a job in Information Technology, and a love of strategy gaming, he tries to bring the best of each into his new creations for StufferShack. Check out his latest book the Midgard Bestiary for 4e, available now. Profile Page / Article Portfolio

  11 Responses to “The Devolution of Lizardfolk”

  1. […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Brian A Liberge, RPG Bloggers Network. RPG Bloggers Network said: The Devolution of Lizardfolk from STUFFER SHACK http://goo.gl/fb/rRmcR #RPG […]

  2. I am all for looking at things from a different angle. I wonder if Wizards was ever going to allow Lizardfolk as playable races.

  3. Nice article Brian.

    I’ve just started a new Castles and Crusades campaign set in a desert environment and one of my players wanted something a bit different so I he’s gone for a Lizardman Cleric (more like a shaman really).

    I wanted the lizardfolk as a race to be generally peaceful so they are an unusual but accepted race in the towns and villages the party will visit. So I have two distinct sub-species the desert dwelling red lizardmen nomads who prey on the mysterious creatures of the desert and trade furs and skins with humans, and the green lizardmen fishermen who live in the marshlands and jungle swamps.

    Give that birds and reptiles share some common bone structure details I made them thinner than normal so they have a +1 DEX and a -1 CON modifier. The hold breath ability crosses over to CnC nicely from D&D, I gave them a poison spit special defense which they can use once a day like a spitting cobra and claws.

    The thing I struggled with is that they are cold blooded so they are affected more by the ambient temperature, which for a PC could be limiting but my player seems happy with his choice so far.

  4. @Tony10 Well there are more Lizardfolk coming out in the new Monster Vault. Since they’re developing different brands of Lizardfolk for different level schemes maybe one of these will be playable.

    Either that, some excellent preview/Beta content for DDI folks. Wink, wink wizards. . .

    @TonyB That sounds like it would work well. Lizardfolk need these opportunities to stand on their own!

  5. They are lizardmen 🙂

  6. My favorite instance was for the Spelljammer setting where apparently closeness to a fire body (sun) had a beneficial effect on the race making them smarter and more civilized. There were a number of lizardmen ships that were designed just for incubating the eggs while in orbit around the Sphere’s sun.

  7. @ Darktouch

    Woah! What kind of setting have been missing out on?!

  8. Spelljammer was an awesome setting which I continue to steal from to this day. Definantly check it out Charisma http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spelljammer

  9. I love the idea of lizardfolk in the desert. I think it fits really well. Great write-up; a nice history lesson is always appreciated. Its easy to forget that a lot of monsters we take for granted in 4e often have a pretty colorful past in our favorite game.

  10. Good call, Brian. We have all kinds of lizards in the desert, Bluebellies, Gila Monsters, Horned Toads – they thrive here!

  11. Lizardfolk actually have been given stats once that I can think of. In the 3.5 Monster Manual, the lizardfolk entry includes the standard monster stats, but follows it up with a “Lizardfolk as Characters” section. Sadly, 4th edition and Pathfinder, aka D&D 3.75, have not followed up on this.

    I personally think the 3rd Edition / 3.5 take on lizardfolk, namely a semi-aquatic reptile that can swim well and hold its breath for a long time, makes quite a bit of sense, giving them a feel akin to a crocodile, water monitor or marine iguana (and 3E did give them a very crocodilian vibe). Even so, I like your idea of the desert-based lizardfolk, which could be more like Gila monsters or something similar.

    I’ve actually played lizardfolk characters twice now, a Lizardfolk Druid in 3.5 and a conversion of that character for Pathfinder (for which I used a brief, kind of generic mention in the Advanced Race Guide), and I’ve actually built a third lizardfolk character which I’d love to use in the future Pathfinder campaign (a Hunter with a Megalania animal companion). Granted, for the third character I had to use the race building rules to port over the racial bonuses and whatnot from D&D 3.5, since the entry in the Pathfinder ARG lacks several traits that the Bestiary version has (like the Hold Breath ability).

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