Oct 19, 2019  Bugbear 5e is similar to a hairy goblin with 7 feet height. It is named after their noses and claws that are akin to those of the sloth bears. Since the claws are not long or sharp, they use the armors to fight against the opponents in the battle field. In addition, they also use purloined gear to deliver killer punch to the enemies. Are bugbears a playable PC race in Adventurers League? Dnd-5e races dnd-adventurers-league bugbear. I am a new D&D player and my DM wants to know if.

I have a player who wants to be a bugbear rogue, I've taken a look at the race and something feels off to me, it seems like way too strong abilities (esp for a rogue) with the 2d6 'sneak attack' damage and the long reach, but the player has assured me that its not that strong. I havent as much experience with the game as he does but I thought it would be best to get some other opinions. Is the race too strong or is it fine? I've found that every race from volos a player has brought up always just looks really strong to me. I have a player who wants to be a bugbear rogue, I've taken a look at the race and something feels off to me, it seems like way too strong abilities (esp for a rogue) with the 2d6 'sneak attack' damage and the long reach, but the player has assured me that its not that strong. I havent as much experience with the game as he does but I thought it would be best to get some other opinions.

Is the race too strong or is it fine? I've found that every race from volos a player has brought up always just looks really strong to me.My feeling is that it's pretty striking at levels one and two, but as the damage potential of the characters goes up, the significance of that 2d6 damage pales. But even so, I don't think it starts out in the same area of usefulness as Sleep or Moon Druid.

I don't think it's overpowered. For bugbear rogues be prepared for 15ft whip sneak attacks using PAM/Sentinel to ensure absurd battlefield control on one opponent. Sneak attack is per turn, so you get one sneak attack on your turn, then an opportunity sneak attack.They can't use whip for PAM, so you should be good.

If the DM doesn't care about Sage Advice (where PAM is intended to only work for opportunity attacks from the polearm), you could take the Dual-Wielder feat to hold a quarterstaff in one hand and a whip in the other. But at that point, you have three feats just to form the combo. Remember, it isn't sneak attack, it is 'surprise' attack. Many DMs use surprise differently but basically RAW it requires a surprise round the same way an assassin's auto crit does. At best that 2d6 get added once a battle.You're close but not seeing the cheese. That 2d6 gets added twice per battle if the rogue is an assassin. A level 3 bugbear rogue hits for 9d6+dex in the first round of combat.I'm AFB so I forget if it will add again if the rogue is dual-wielding, for another 6d6 on the second attack in the first round.

Otherwise it's just 2d6.That's 11d6+dex or 16d6+dex in the first round IIRC (though I could be wrong about the 16d6). At level THREE.And the Bugbear rarely needs to spend his cunning action to disengage because he doesn't need to engage in the first place because of reach. So that cunning action will be to dash or dual-wield always.In my last campaign, I just said 'no bugbear assassins'. It's the first race class combo I've banned in 5e. I've found that every race from volos a player has brought up always just looks really strong to me.None of the races in Volos end up being really that strong.

Even the much-feared-when-it-came-out Yuan-ti doesn't seem to be all that powerful in actual play. When races do have what looks to be overpowered effects, it is usually an easily managed very specific build + strategy. When you look at these races, ask yourself, 'what exactly is it that I think this character is going to do that is so overpowered?' Looking at the bugbear specifically, they get what, reach when attacking and avg. 7 extra damage per fight. What about that strikes you as overpowered? What will that do for them that other races wouldn't?

You're close but not seeing the cheese. That 2d6 gets added twice per battle if the rogue is an assassin. A level 3 bugbear rogue hits for 9d6+dex in the first round of combat.I'm AFB so I forget if it will add again if the rogue is dual-wielding, for another 6d6 on the second attack in the first round. Otherwise it's just 2d6.That's 11d6+dex or 16d6+dex in the first round IIRC (though I could be wrong about the 16d6). At level THREE.And the Bugbear rarely needs to spend his cunning action to disengage because he doesn't need to engage in the first place because of reach. So that cunning action will be to dash or dual-wield always.In my last campaign, I just said 'no bugbear assassins'. It's the first race class combo I've banned in 5e.Assassins both need to surprise the enemy and win initiative.If you have surprised your enemy you are well on your way to trivializing the encounter anyway.The auto crit feature of the assassin is both rare and mostly inconsequential because of this.

The real benefit of an assassin is advantage on winning initiative. This will come up way more often.I actually advise players against playing assassins, not because they are too good, but because they aren't as good as they first appear to be.

You're close but not seeing the cheese. That 2d6 gets added twice per battle if the rogue is an assassin. A level 3 bugbear rogue hits for 9d6+dex in the first round of combat.I'm AFB so I forget if it will add again if the rogue is dual-wielding, for another 6d6 on the second attack in the first round. Otherwise it's just 2d6.That's 11d6+dex or 16d6+dex in the first round IIRC (though I could be wrong about the 16d6). At level THREE.And the Bugbear rarely needs to spend his cunning action to disengage because he doesn't need to engage in the first place because of reach. So that cunning action will be to dash or dual-wield always.In my last campaign, I just said 'no bugbear assassins'.

It's the first race class combo I've banned in 5e.I think you are off on you math.Short sword (d6) + SA (2d6) + bugbear surprise (2d6) means an assassin could start with 10d6 +dex if he hits the first round AND has surprise. If they have a second attack, they don't get more sneak attacks with it (class or racial), so it would be, what, at most 2d6 more damage.Nice, but hardly game breaking.Surprise is not a gimme. When you make a melee attack on your turn, your reach is 5 feet greater than normal. Melee attack means it also applies to 'special melee attacks', which includes grappling and shoving.

The shoving gives a little boost but not much, and the grappling may seem problematic since they could be held out of reach, except. 'When you make a melee attack on your turn'. So you only have the extra reach when you make the melee attack and said attack is on your turn. You cannot grapple at 10 feet (it would be out of reach and thus break once the attack is done) and you cannot use the reach for your opportunity attacks. I have a player who wants to be a bugbear rogue, I've taken a look at the race and something feels off to me, it seems like way too strong abilities (esp for a rogue) with the 2d6 'sneak attack' damage and the long reach, but the player has assured me that its not that strong. I havent as much experience with the game as he does but I thought it would be best to get some other opinions.

Is the race too strong or is it fine? I've found that every race from volos a player has brought up always just looks really strong to me.' 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.'

(Volo's 118)That being said, if you really want to be sure, itemize the Bugbear against one of the normative player races.In doing so, I'd argue the Bugbear is probably fine, if fairly ideal for a Rogue Assassin who already wants to get surprise everytime if they can.All that being said, they also tend to be Chaotic Evil, which is not a good fit for most parties, and they'd need a really good roleplaying backstory to justify a different alignment. I played a bugbear shadow monk, and here are my thoughts.- Surprise attack is nice, but easily taken away by the DM. There's almost always an excuse for someone to not be surprised.-5ft to Xtra reach is nice, but RAW it is only on your turn, so no crazy AoOs from that since it is not on the player's turn. Also, grappling from 10ft away is possible, but since you lose reach at the end of your turn, the grapple breaks.-For RP, the bugbear can work quite well with others if treated as a hired thug. My character, Bugsy the Bugbear Boxer, had a backstory of being a mugger who, while spending time in jail, was told of the many other ways to get money by punching people that don't get you sent to prison.

Boxing, bodyguarding, tavern bouncer, mercenary. He is very much a boneheaded goon, but as long as he gets paid and gets to rough people up, he goes along with whatever his current employer wants.-Don't let him take the martial adept feat. Lunging attack and tripping attack give him a turn one nova where he can do an extra 4d6 from 15 feet away from the target, who is now prone, which IS pretty crazy.' When you make a melee attack on your turn'.

So you only have the extra reach when you make the melee attack and said attack is on your turn. You cannot grapple at 10 feet (it would be out of reach and thus break once the attack is done) and you cannot use the reach for your opportunity attacks./LISTI think you're correct here by strict RAW. You can't even grapple at all with reach technically. I would allow it but I'd insist the creature be within 5 ft of you by the end of your turn or the grapple immediately ends. I've played a bugbear.

They are fun to RP but mechanically underwhelming.Reach is only on your turn when making an attack; no opp attack or grapple shenanigans.2d6 is once per battle, only if you have surprise. At low levels if you have surprise you've killed that enemy anyway. At high levels a very situational 2d6 is of minimal impact.Bonuses to str and dex mean either 1 of those boosts is wasted, or you are pursuing a sub-optimal build anyway; in either case it's actually less powerful than most other races' stat boosts.Bugbears are far less powerful than goblins, yuan-ti, kobolds, orcs, variant half-elves, and of course variant humans.

Just to be clear the character concept is:playable Kobold Minion of PC Dragonborn Pally.I have no issue with doing that, but keep in mind that isnt a Player Character, thats a character being played by a player. Specifically a minion of one of the lowest races.To make said minion into a race equivalent of an actual PC (please note the capitalization), is preposterous.Definately talk to the player before implementing any of the above options to get the feel of what he wants for the character. If he wants to be on par with all other races and your good with it, then by all means use any of the fine above examples. If he wants it to be more like an actual Kobold minion, then do NOT use any of those race equalizing options.Kobold played by a character should have at mostSTR (10) Dex (16) Con (12) Wis (11) Int (11) Cha (11)give feats/skills/abilities if you feel a need to compensate for these low numbers. But the strongest, most wise and intelligent, charismatic Kobold should not be on par with the superior races PC equivalents.

Because the strongest, most clever, and healthy Kobolds are the ones the PC's encounter in the MM. The ones that dont meet those standards are dead.Upping the stats to non-Negative puts that Kobold WAAAAY above the best kobold you will ever see.

AND your going to give him ASI's anyways!The concept of one PC being bossed around or a servant to another does not make them lower or less powerful. The noble with a bodyguard is a fine example of one PC taking orders from another and neither of them being less powerful mechanically.

Following another's lead or doing 'demeaning' tasks does not make you weaker than other PC by any stretch of the imagination.And the monster kobolds you see in the MM are the rank and file, the mooks. PC's are far and above the average.

Deekin Scalesinger was a powerful hero, but he always looked up to the protagonist. He underestimated his own power but was actually very strong and charismatic.5e also has put focus on making sure that races a PC takes are balanced againt each other, give flavorful mechanical benefits, and explicitly (in the DMG) do not have to follow what is presented in the MM. I'm going to go against the grain here and say that you should use the stats straight out of the DMG:. Ability Score Adjustments: -4 Strength, +2 Dexterity. Size: Small.

Speed: Base walking speed 30 ft. Darkvision 60 ft. Sunlight Sensitivity: You have disadvantage on attack rolls and o 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. Pack Tactics: +1 to attack bonus. Languages: Common and DraconicYes, the character will be notably weaker than his fellow party members.

It's a kobold, isn't that the point?100%Note the numbers I gave are inline with this via pointbuy (27). Myzz, you seem to have a real grudge against kobolds.not really. But if you give PC a lesser race as a character it should remain a lesser race.and Kobolds are lesser races.If I wanted to play a Beetle Bard that used his wings to strum a tune, would you give me the same stats as every other PC? I sure hope not.realizing that 10 is average for humans. A Kobold (or any lesser race), that significantly exceeds those is unheard of.Just because your example extremely rare kobold was charismatic does not mean he had above a 12 charisma, thats godly by kobold standards.

A PC Kobold would be above and beyond Kobold standards, not above and beyond human standards.and as i noted the numbers I gave are consistant with the DMG and point buy at 27. Realistically it should be fewer points, maybe 23. Just because your example extremely rare kobold was charismatic does not mean he had above a 12 charisma, thats godly by kobold standards. A PC Kobold would be above and beyond Kobold standards, not above and beyond human standards.I'm pretty sure Deekins Charisma was more than 12, particularly if you instruct him to work on being a bard rather than a rogue, no idea on Meepo since I never played the module he's in. Where are you getting that it's 'godly' for a Kobold to have a decent or even high charisma from anyway, sounds like just arbitrary presupposition on your part. I'm pretty sure Deekins Charisma was more than 12, particularly if you instruct him to work on being a bard rather than a rogue, no idea on Meepo since I never played the module he's in.

Where are you getting that it's 'godly' for a Kobold to have a decent or even high charisma from anyway, sounds like just arbitrary presupposition on your part.Damnit, I don't have NWN installed on my computer at the moment so I can't check.but you're right, Deekin's charisma was more than 12, and actually I think it was something like 16 or 17 or so. It was good by anyone's standards.Meepo shows up in the 3.5 adventure Fantastic Locations: Dragondown Grotto (I know that's not his first appearance, but it's the only one for which I have stats for him) His stats there are Str 14, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 13; without racial modifiers he'd have Str 18, Dex 12, Con 14, and the same mental stat scores. Given that he's a single-classed 8th level Fighter who should be using Charisma as his dump stat, I'd say that Meepo showcases that it's not terribly uncommon for kobolds to have a decent Charisma, by human standards.Edit: On a lark I checked the stats for a basic kobold in Baldur's Gate; it's straight 9s all the way down.

But then I checked the basic hobgoblin and found that they, too, have straight 9s all the way down. So that's not helpful.Also, I can't speak as to 1st and 2nd Edition, but from 3rd Edition on kobolds should not have a penalty to their Charisma (and they didn't in 3rd), due to how strongly associated with the Sorcerer class they are. I love how much discussion came out of this topic so far.I decided to go with:+2 dex+1 cha, as suggested. It just makes sense to me.Light sensitivity30 movement speedPact tactics(from monster manual)Nimble movement (like halfling due to size)Considering a -2 or -4 strengthAlso considering an ability that allows disengage as a bonus option.Let me know what you think!!-DoveI wouldn't go with a negative to a stat as odds are if they want it to be a dump stat it will be an 8 anyway, and if they need it for something having a max of only 15 is already a hindrance.Pact tactics is a very strong ability but should be balanced out a bit by light sensitivity. Racial abilities also tend to be stronger int his edition than I like to think. Seems workable. I'm going to go against the grain here and say that you should use the stats straight out of the DMG:.

Ability Score Adjustments: -4 Strength, +2 Dexterity. Size: Small. Speed: Base walking speed 30 ft. Darkvision 60 ft. Sunlight Sensitivity: You have disadvantage on attack rolls and o 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.

Pack Tactics: +1 to attack bonus. Languages: Common and DraconicYes, the character will be notably weaker than his fellow party members. It's a kobold, isn't that the point?Pack Tactics does not give +1 to attack. That is just what effects it has when you are determining the CR of a monsterThis is what Pack Tactics does. Wouldn't do disengage as a bonus action as that is the Goblins shtick. You could do this as the 'magic' kobold and give them a cantrip from the sorcerer school, or a first lvl spell 1/day.

Proficiency on athletics would be a solid addition. Kobolds can be stealthy but I don't think giving them the hafling ability makes sense. Giving them a resistance based on color is an option and has president with the dragonborn. I don't think they need more as pack tactics can be very strong (if you expand it to friendly allies and not just kobolds, not sure which way you are going with that).If you want multiple variants or subclasses of kobold you could do.Dragonblood Kobold+1 ChaGain one 1st levle sorcerer spell once per long rest.Trap-smith Kobold+1ConDamage Resistance: PoisonOh make sure you include darkvision 60ft as they have sunlight sensitivity! Don't want them blind in all environments. I'm going to go against the grain here and say that you should use the stats straight out of the DMG:. Ability Score Adjustments: -4 Strength, +2 Dexterity.

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Size: Small. Speed: Base walking speed 30 ft.

Darkvision 60 ft. Sunlight Sensitivity: You have disadvantage on attack rolls and o 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. Pack Tactics: +1 to attack bonus.

Languages: Common and DraconicYes, the character will be notably weaker than his fellow party members. It's a kobold, isn't that the point? So just for the record, you both support half elves being forced to have their +1's in dex and int, mountain dwarves get a +2 to wis, multiple races not getting various flavor abilities (high elves don't get cantrips, wood elves don't get their hide in the forest thing, hill dwarves don't have medium armor prof, mountain dwarves don't have +1 hp/ level, gnomes get none of their nice things, half orcs don't get their crit thing, halflings are apparently only lucky, nimble and brave, but don't have the option to be resilient to poison, etc, etc, etc). Oh, and humans apparently don't exist. When did I imply any of this? I'm only talking about the kobold and the racial traits I'd hand to a player who wanted to build one (or a player who wanted one as an NPC sidekick, as the case may be).

Did I miss something in this thread? I mostly came in blind, only really reading the OP and then just skimming the rest.I just think that if you're gonna play a kobold then you should play a kobold. Part of being a kobold means that you're frailer and weaker in comparison to the common races. Much as how if you're a drow, then you're gonna have to deal with sunlight sensitivity.-4 Strength doesn't even mean much in the edition because everyone has Better Weapon Finesse automatically, and if the kobold absolutely must be Kobold the Barbarian, well, that's what the gauntlets of ogre power and belt of giant strength is for.-2 Constitution translates out to a mere 1 less hit point per level then someone else in the same class with the same Constitution score, -20 overall. When did I imply any of this? I'm only talking about the kobold and the racial traits I'd hand to a player who wanted to build one (or a player who wanted one as an NPC sidekick, as the case may be).

Did I miss something in this thread? I mostly came in blind, only really reading the OP and then just skimming the rest.I just think that if you're gonna play a kobold then you should play a kobold. Part of being a kobold means that you're frailer and weaker in comparison to the common races.

Much as how if you're a drow, then you're gonna have to deal with sunlight sensitivity.-4 Strength doesn't even mean much in the edition because everyone has Better Weapon Finesse automatically, and if the kobold absolutely must be Kobold the Barbarian, well, that's what the gauntlets of ogre power and belt of giant strength is for.-2 Constitution translates out to a mere 1 less hit point per level then someone else in the same class with the same Constitution score, -20 overall. Whoop-de-doo.The point I was trying to make is that the DMG examples are not meant for player use. (Imagine there are, like, fifty flashing red arrows pointing at the italicized thing.

My special effects department budget got cut last week, so italics are all I have man.) The races given that appear in the player handbook do not match the DMG races, so why should a PC from monstrous race match the same inacurate and purposefully unbalanced chart when the known humanoid stats do not?That's why I suggest ignoring that part of the DMG when it comes to PC's. It just isn't fun for the players if one member of the party is awful, and isn't fun for everyone else if one is too powerful.As for the stat penalties. Having a -4 str puts you in the 1-shot range for a shadow if you start out with anything less than 11 str. As well, you become more vulnerable to saving throws that target str (having a -3 instead of a -1 is sort of a big deal in that case), and if you happen to not have a finness weapon on hand or simply want to use a weapon that deals more than 1d8+dex damage on a hit, then a -4 str ensures that you will not get a bonus to your hit or damage if you use point buy.And in this edition, every single class likes constitution. Enemies hit more often, death effects that hit your con score and maximum hit point reduction saves are both most commonly targetted at constitution.

As well, that bonus HP? Kiiiiinda important.

The wizard/ sorc starts with 6+con hp at level 1. If they decide to dump con to 10, then (ironically enough) a kobold has a 25% chance to 1-shot them with a dagger or rock. If they decide to play it a little more safe and put, say, a 14 in con, then they cannot be insta-gibbed by a random kobold.

Note, I chose a cr 1/8 critter here, something CR 1 (giant snake) will deal a bit more damage. Which is where having a good con essentially just means that you won't instantly die to a single bite.

A con penalty is honestly the closest thing you can get to 'hard mode, on.' Especially since 5e player races are specifically designed to not have stat penalties.Races should be viable.

It's a simple design principal, but one I feel should be said and adhered to. It doesn't matter if they are kobolds, dragons or humans, PC races should be able to be compared to one another without there being a clear 'best/ worst at all things' showing up. Enforcing an attribute penalty when no other player race has one (especially one as harsh as a -4, which turned away people in 3.5 where you could make up for it easier due to numbers bloat) immediately drops a race into a shallow grave, and then smacking them with small size (no heavy weapons ever, 25' move speed, no bonuses to make up for it) and sunlight sensitivity (hahaha oh god this hurts so much.) on top clubs them over the head with the tombstone and drives the nail in the coffin. It would honestly just be easier to tell your player, 'No, you cannot play a kobold in my campaign.' The point I was trying to make is that the DMG examples are not meant for player use. (Imagine there are, like, fifty flashing red arrows pointing at the italicized thing. My special effects department budget got cut last week, so italics are all I have man.) The races given that appear in the player handbook do not match the DMG races, so why should a PC from monstrous race match the same inaccurate and purposefully unbalanced chart when the known humanoid stats do not?Because it's all we have to go on in absence of system transparency.

Seriously, I'm not the moron at Wizards of the Coast who decided that players and monsters should be built using completely separate systems back in 4th Edition, and I'm definitely not the moron who decided to keep that idea for 5th Edition. The player/monster transparency was one of the things I liked most about 3rd Edition, and I want to hew as close to it as possible, whenever possible.Mostly, it boils down to a problem of logic. Using your kobold as an example, why don't NPC kobolds have Meek and Unimposing or Scavenging, but player kobolds do? This doesn't hold true for other examples in the Monster Manual.

Drow there have all the same traits as PC drow, for example - fey ancestry, sunlight sensitivity, innate magic, and so on. If the biggest hurdle a kobold faces is her lack of strength, then that’s no obstacle at all. The moment a kobold accepts her physical weakness, the more powerful she can become through means other than brute force. If lack of physical strength is still a mental obstacle for you, consider these numbers. While +2 Dexterity, –4 Strength, and –2 Constitution look like an insurmountable deficit, you can apply the elite array of ability scores to a kobold sorcerer to get Strength 8 (from 12), Dexterity 15 (from 13), Constitution 12 (from 14), Intelligence 10, Wisdom 8, and Charisma 15. Charisma and Dexterity are both good.

Low Wisdom means a lower Will save, but this disadvantage is minor, since Will is a good save for sorcerers. The low Strength score is only a problem for damage—the kobold’s Small size cancels the penalty such a low score would normally apply on attack rolls. Carrying items is no problem. Kobold equipment weighs half as much as normal gear from the Player’s Handbook, while kobolds can carry three-quarters of what a Medium creature can.In every edition, every class has loved Constitution. But a paltry -2 to Constitution hasn't ever stopped anyone before, and it shouldn't now. It is not in D&D 5e's design philosophy to have negative mods on PC races.I'm not sure what's so hard to understand about that.The point of the way ability scores work is to let people play any class as any race, rather than pigeonholing specific races to specific classes. This is a good thing.

If you care at all about balance and fairness, then the answer here is to make a race that is similar in power to the PC races. If you're considering making a race that is straight-up inferior to any of the similar races in the PHB, then you should step back and realize that this is first and foremost a game. People play to have fun. Being penalized because the DM has it in his head that NPC stats should be identical to (the generally unique and special) PCs' is not fun. Being forced to use something that is worse in many ways to just using a standard race and refluffing it not fun.If, in your games, you dislike players playing kobolds that much (because I cannot fathom a possible reason why you'd support breaking from 5e's established design in such a negative way), then just say no to the player.