Does Conjure Fey Centaurs work?

[LordShade]

Can you use Conjure Fey to summon NPC statblocks with the humanoid (any race) tag, by summoning Centaur or Satyr versions of them? Assuming such beings do exist somewhere in the multiverse? Some people on the Internet think this is possible:

https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25057843&postcount=1135
https://www.reddit.com/r/powergamermunchkin/comments/n5z375/why_cast_any_other_spell_when_you_can_cast/
https://www.reddit.com/r/RavnicaDMs/comments/bdwk7m/list_of_what_does_affect_centaurs_since_they_are/

I have no idea if this works or not because I don't know what the relevant RAW and RAI are. I'm just curious.

As a DM, I might allow this situationally or with some roleplaying prerequisite.

[Rukelnikov]

IMO it doesn't work RAW.

Here's my reasoning. Warlock of the Archfey creature statblock says Humanoid (any race), a Satyr, Centaur or Hexblood is not a Humanoid, so even when it is "a race" it's not a humanoid(any race), its a Fey(any race).

[Gale]

I'm not sure how you would be able to make say, a Gladiator Centaur, if the rules state that it must be a medium humanoid and a centaur is a fey creature, not a humanoid. It simply doesn't work.

Perhaps there was an NPC who was a gladiator before they became a hexblood. Now we have a fey creature whom ostensibly has the gladiator stat block. Can you summon them? Maybe. It's ultimately the DM's decision. When you summon a creature with a spell like Conjure Fey you explicitly do not get to choose what shows up. Sometimes you can choose the number of creatures that appear and their CR, but for Conjure Fey, "the DM has the fey creature's statistics." This was reaffirmed in Sage Advice that the DM chooses what appears. Simply put, the player does not have precise control over what is summoned.

Any attempts to summon hexblood versions of NPC statblocks lies solely in the realm of houserules. Your DM might decide a hexblood gladiator shows up or they might not. They might let you choose exactly what shows up, and they may even let you summon fey versions of NPCs; but they could just as easily say no as well. No one can really say for sure what is going to happen at your table other than the DM.

[LordShade]

Hmm, these are good points. I didn't consider that although Satyrs and Centaurs are "races", they aren't humanoids. One weird thing, though, is that the Centaur monster statblock is a Monstrosity while the PC race version is a Fey. Wonder why that is.

[JackPhoenix]

Hmm, these are good points. I didn't consider that although Satyrs and Centaurs are "races", they aren't humanoids. One weird thing, though, is that the Centaur monster statblock is a Monstrosity while the PC race version is a Fey. Wonder why that is.

Because the MM statblock is a proper D&D large sized half-horse centaur, while the PC race is the MtG medium sized half-ass version. MtG settings don't have the D&D centaurs, and D&D settings don't have the MtG ones.

[Chronos]

Well, yes, asses are smaller than horses, so a half-ass centaur would be smaller than a half-horse one, but it'd be hard to tell, because the most noticeable difference between an ass and a smaller-than-normal horse is in the ears. And I'm not sure why asses would be more associated with fey than horses.

[KorvinStarmast]

Because the MM statblock is a proper D&D large sized half-horse centaur, while the PC race is the MtG medium sized half-ass version. MtG settings don't have the D&D centaurs, and D&D settings don't have the MtG ones. Thank you for saving me the post. I saved Theros for one shots and a possible "you went through a portal" side quest.

[PhantomSoul]

And I'm not sure why asses would be more associated with fey than horses.

Actually, that part checks out... :P

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But yeah, they're just different versions (and potentially different lore) of the same archetype basically

[JackPhoenix]

Well, yes, asses are smaller than horses, so a half-ass centaur would be smaller than a half-horse one, but it'd be hard to tell, because the most noticeable difference between an ass and a smaller-than-normal horse is in the ears. And I'm not sure why asses would be more associated with fey than horses.

It's more that between forcing them to be medium-sized (because everything playable must be) and not only ignoring the fact the every playable race until then has been humanoid, but also changing them from monstrosity and fey, the PC centaurs seems somewhat half-assed. And donkeys being medium instead of large is a happy coincidence supporting the pun.