Animal PCs?

[Mr. Crowbar]

So, I'm pretty new to D&D. I joined a game as a Bard, had loads of fun, then joined a second game as a Druid only to have so many anxiety problems with social interactions that I dropped out mid session and later from the campaign entirely. I found it easiest to play the Druid when they were in beast form because there wasn't the expectation of having to talk, I was limited to using actions to interact.

Now I'm wondering if it would be feasible to play an intelligent animal PC.

I could think of a few different ways for it to be feasible, like an awakened animal (with the caveat they only understand the chosen language, and can't speak it), reincarnate gone wrong, or some shmuck that got cursed or true polymorphed into an animal (so I could change to humanoid if the animal schtick got old). Limited verbal interaction could be made if someone had Speak With Animals or I had Speak With Humanoids, maybe graduate into something more permanent if/when I felt like it.

But then, like, would spellcasting be viable? Custom armour? Could the animal be treated like a humanoid in the sense of rolling for stats, having racial modifiers and abilities, given that beasts tend to have less? What about use of magic items? NPC interaction might get a bit odd with other PCs having to get me stuff on my behalf... but if I was a mundane animal I could hide in plain sight kind of thing. I don't want to inadvertently put myself into something that's too limiting.

I know a lot would be up to the DM but I'd appreciate having some advice from more seasoned folks to help pitch the idea.

[Addaran]

Spellcasting would most likely be out.

Custom armor should be possible ( there's barding for mounts). Easiest would probably be to use one of the normal race and refluff it as an animal, stat-wise. Half-orc could work well for some ape/gorilla. Halfling for a spider monkey (too small maybe?).

For classes, barbarian (totem get the speak with animal ritual right? could become speak with humanoids with DM approval), fighter (champion or BM) or rogue (thief). Maybe open hand monk?

edit: A lot of races have weird abilities that wouldn't work well for animals, but if you don't mind being a bit weaker, you can just ignore them. Or play a normal human/ variant human (with a feat like tough or resilience). Would probably be the best option if you want something not really humanoid like a wolf. Human stats, and a natural weapon of 1d6 finess or 1d8 str-based.

[TrinculoLives]

Spellcasting would most likely be out.

Custom armor should be possible ( there's barding for mounts). Easiest would probably be to use one of the normal race and refluff it as an animal, stat-wise. Half-orc could work well for some ape/gorilla. Halfling for a spider monkey (too small maybe?).
According to a brief web search, the male spider monkey is only 4.4 lbs. So I think's right out.

There was a homebrew on reddit that had playable animal races in it, but as I recall they were more in the style of Redwall, and less just regular animals. I can't seem to find it unfortunately.

[Renvir]

Obviously, you should play as a heroic mouse that lived in Redwall and was magically transported to another dimension.

Jokes aside, I would suggest deciding on whether you want your animal form to be anthropomorphic or like a real animal. For the real animal approach, you can use the appendix of animals in the source books "species" abilities. Things like keen hearing and smell, poison bite, natural claws, climbing/swimming speeds, pounce, pack tactics, amphibious, etc. can easily be balanced against normal racial abilities. For stat boosts I'd suggest the normal 2 and 1 allotment using common sense on what bonuses certain animals would have (Dex for a panther, strength for a bear, and whatnot).

If you're going anthropomorphic then I would just take an existing race like Addaran suggested and re-fluff it as an animal. Maybe switch out one or two abilities for some of the things I mentioned above. Anthropomorphic would also make custom armor easier since it would be similar to most armor but with some modifications for ears, tails, etc. Talking and spell casting could still be done with this style too. Just picture yourself like a talking animal character from a kids movie like Robin Hood or the Jungle Book. Or you can talk but its eerie and uncomfortable since you are working with a mouth that isn't meant for humanoid languages. Disadvantage on Persuasion checks, perhaps?

Also, I'm taking all of this and playing as a Badger Warrior in my next campaign.

[Sigreid]

If I were DM I would perhaps let you play an awakened animal that was a monk.

Honestly though, there's no reason for you not to play a strong silent type or shy character. Just tell the other players and the DM that that portion of the game makes you uncomfortable and you'd prefer to have your character stand there silently in those situations. Heck, I would think it would not be particularly uncommon for the people who choose the druid or ranger lifestyle or have the outlander background to be extreme introverts who don't like to talk to people any more than necessary.

If the party are the ones trying to get you to talk in character, just grunt or ignore them until they stop.

Edit: Of course there's always writing into your character's background that he's mute. :smallbiggrin:

[Mr. Crowbar]

Thanks for the advice, everyone! To clarify, I want the character to be, physically, entirely animal, leaning towards one of the big cats or a bear. My favourite moment as the Druid was acting as a mount for another character and charging into a horde of zombies together so I'd like that to be an option.


There was a homebrew on reddit that had playable animal races in it, but as I recall they were more in the style of Redwall, and less just regular animals. I can't seem to find it unfortunately.

I think I've seen that! A mix-and-match beastfolk guide. That could probably be adapted to beastly beasts.


Honestly though, there's no reason for you not to play a strong silent type or shy character. Just tell the other players and the DM that that portion of the game makes you uncomfortable and you'd prefer to have your character stand there silently in those situations. Heck, I would think it would not be particularly uncommon for the people who choose the druid or ranger lifestyle or have the outlander background to be extreme introverts who don't like to talk to people any more than necessary.

Edit: Of course there's always writing into your character's background that he's mute. :smallbiggrin:

My druid was shy with little social experience, but I got into a situation where the DM ignored my wishes to run & hide from another character and a bad situation got worse for it. So that makes me hesitant to try for shy again. Everyone already knew I was having problems at that point. :smallfrown:

Mute, there's an idea. I might try for that if the animal idea is a no-go.

[Gastronomie]

Apart from the many good ideas given above, it might actually be interesting to re-fluff a Moon Druid as a beast that magically gained the power to turn into a human and cast spells. That way you can play a Druid while not being expected to talk.

[Mr. Crowbar]

Apart from the many good ideas given above, it might actually be interesting to re-fluff a Moon Druid as a beast that magically gained the power to turn into a human and cast spells. That way you can play a Druid while not being expected to talk.

I'd imagine wild shaping into various naked humanoids would be a little awkward. :smalltongue: I think there'd be expectation to use humanoid shape to interact in that case... but it could act as a nice limiter.

[Mellack]

Some considerations you may want to think about and discuss with your DM beforehand.
You will have little to no social interactions. Even if you understand a language, not being able to speak is extremely limiting. Think of the old Lassie movies.
Restrictions on where you can go. Most cities are not going to let in a bear or tiger, even with a party of people. If they do, it will not be going into a tavern. It certainly will not be let in to a meeting with the mayor. You may be cutting yourself out of many encounters.
Lack of equipment and movement. Even if you are carrying rope (saddlebags?), how are you going to climb it up the cliff face? What about ranged combat? Bears can't use bows or ranged weapons. Can it wear magical cloaks/rings/etc? Is the party planning on using horses for travel?

[Temperjoke]

I'm sorry that the DM interpreted your character's shyness as "I need to work more to make sure this character doesn't get neglected in interactions" instead of the "I'm not comfortable with social stuff so this is a way I can be comfortable playing" you intended.

If you do wish to go with the awakened animal route, it might be better to pick something based on where the campaign is going to take you. If you're going to spend a lot of time in various cities, then going with an animal that you'd commonly see in a city would be better. On the other hand, if your group are a bunch of circus folk who've taken up the adventuring life, then you'd have a reason to be something more exotic. As for class, Barbarian would probably be the most compatible with an animal. Might I suggest a Nature Cleric though? The background story is that you are a favorite of a god/goddess of nature in your setting, who has granted you a greater mentality than others of your species, and answers your prayers. Just because they can't understand what your growls/howls/barks mean, doesn't mean you aren't matching the verbal requirements; and you swirling your paws on the ground are the somatic gestures. When your deity enhanced you, they placed a symbol on a magic chain around your neck so all would know that you were favored.