Dungeons and Dragons Lore: Mongrelfolk

Originally derived from magical experiments and mishaps, the mongrelfolk are a blend of many different species. These days they live in either violent captivity or the wilds, happy to remain reclusive.
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[@jgr7487]

a Mongrelfolk & a Kenku would be best friends! can you imagine how much they would be able to convey to one another only via a cacophony or seemingly unrelated sounds?

[@AJPickett]

Lol true!

[@psychomrw]

@@AJPickett How many intros do you have?!

[@jgr7487]

@@psychomrw one for each of his series

[@markadams1165]

I played a mongroman in 2nd edition who I named sir uglanis or ugly for short he could dual wield while carrying a shield because of a third arm that protruded from the center of his chest his main goal in life was to extend his life beyond the normal lifespan of Mongol folk which morphed into a desire to obtain God hood on one particular long weekend and through many hilarious hijinks we came across a gentleman with a deck of many things where we ended up in the plains of hell in the middle of a blood war between demons and devils. He single-handedly slew a pit fiend and went from level 3 to 12 and that one battle

[@GallowglassAxe]

This is a way you can reskin the Semic Hybrid for different settings.

[@anthonygorman94]

Oh, I like this idea. Quite brilliant. After watching this, I was wondering if I’d have to homebrew a mongrel folk, but that’s a useful alternative.

[@OakenTome]

Simic Hybrids are generally more orderly and specialized in their appearance & function respectively, but Mongrelfolk would be a great way to represent a transformation gone wrong.

[@GallowglassAxe]

@Darwin Knox Oh look scammers. At least make it somewhat relevant to what relevant to the comments.

[@GallowglassAxe]

@Susann Slack Oh look scammers. At least make it somewhat relevant to what relevant to the comments.

[@nikolasdylan3928]

I guess I am kinda randomly asking but does anyone know a good place to watch newly released series online?

[@psyberklown3434]

mongrel folk with the hedge wizard kit was an awesome combo in the old days.

[@AJPickett]

Ohh nice, I can totally see that!

[@jideoforojukwu4263]

I'm getting a hunchback of Notre dame feel right now. In a dungeons and dragons setting if Quasimodo had to be a monster race this would be it. I'm getting an adventuring group goes into town and over hears rumors of the mysterious man who rings the church bell. They say he is a demon and of course the ignorant townsfolk want to do away with him as they feel he is a blemish on their town. However the kind priest has given him sanctuary. Sadly one stubborn townsfolk decides to go gaze upon the poor mongrelfolk bell ringer and is so horrified by what he sees he runs back to tell the town. This is where the adventurers come in and decide to help this tragic Quasimodo like character or attack the church with the towns people. Attacking the church reveals that the priest is a high level war cleric, the religious statues are stone golems, the other church residents are a mixture of paladins or clerics, gargoyles guard the outside, and the mongrelfolk man is a pretty damn powerful wizard.

[@AJPickett]

Excellent

[@jideoforojukwu4263]

@@AJPickett edited it with a few more details but this a definitely the official baseline for the story encounter. The rest is completely open ended.

[@MindFeather]

i love your interpretation, man, this is right on.

[@jideoforojukwu4263]

@@MindFeather thank you

[@glorbojibbins2485]

I don't even play DND literally ever but once in my life. I just like lore and I watch every single one of this guy's videos. Lol 🤷

[@AJPickett]

I certainly appreciate it!

[@mattnerdy7236]

WoW AJ, this is got to be the biggest compliment. The man doesn't even play D&D and he still watches all your videos.

[@Greenscyth22]

Imagine a poor mongrelfolk who is enslaved as the palace jester for a particularly powerful and cruel Rakshasa. A band of adventures blast through the palace, lay waste to all the goons and sentries...slay the Rakshaas...only to walk right by the mongrelfolk’s cell on their way to loot the vault for all its magical items.

[@agsilverradio2225]

I could see a mongrol-folk being acepted in a halfling, or teifling community, since halfings are so nice, and teflings can probly sympithyse with the hate they get.

[@thespeedkingomega6357]

you got to love the fact that halflings are the most chill communities in dnd.

[@MindFeather]

interesting, i can see both those working out. although at the same time i can see the possibility of tieflings hating on mongrel folk even more, to give themselves a bit of someone to lord it over, too.

[@imlaughing2death]

I think one of the reasons why Mongrelfolk are my favorite D&D monster is the fact their drive for self improvement lends to an amount of humanity that's so incongruent with their appearance. The civilized races reject them, so they're left to be fodder for the more monsterous races that take them as slaves, only for their religion to discourage taking direct action in favor of the hope that someone else will free them in some unspecified time. At first I thought the Races of Destiny lore wouldn't jive with the Monsterous Humanoids entry, but perhaps the "hard to place" ones are just priests of Meriadar, considered the most attractive, and sent into society to spread his message of tolerance and humility. Even the Ecology of Mongrelfolk entry could fit in. That wizard that originally created them? Who's to say they weren't a priest of Baphoment, wishing to create a new race of bestial humanoids in his honour? Followers of Meriadar could be on the look out for Mongrelfolk who go rogue and, bitter from their mistreatment by the other races, embrace their animalistic roots as Totem Barbarians and unknowingly venerate Baphomet? As a PC, a Cleric of Meriadar could be Life, Knowledge or Trickery domains, although "Meriadar's Suggestion" fits well with Trickery. They could be a disciple that's grown tired of waiting for their people to be saved and breaks tradition by taking action themselves. In my head, I imagine him sounding like Mankind form the WWF, first sounding overwhelmed and guilty for leaving his kin behind, but then warming up to the party and making jokes. Taken to the extreme, you could even dust off the Book of Exhaulted Deeds and use a Vow of Hunger, Poverty or Non-Violence, and aim to be Meriadar's Apostle of Peace, proselytizing to goblinkin and building an art gallery (just imagine the Mona Lisa next to that botched Moses painting, because it's the thought that counts). Otherwise, they make great Igors to mad wizards as a Wild Sorceror understudy or have a Mongrelfolk Charlatan's big claim to fame being 1/8124 Dragon blood, only for it to be true and he actually manifests Draconic powers. Mongrelfolk could also find worth as Monks with their unusual anatomy and philosophy of self-reliance. You could even tie their shape-shifting lore in, and give them a resistance to Lycanthropy, coupled with their extreme durability, they'd make tenacious Rangers. Looking forward to see how you use them in later campaigns.

[@imlaughing2death]

Oh yeah, I forgot about my favorite thing about Mongrelfolk diety, Meriadar. One of their Clerical spells is a early level Enchantment (Internal Debate) that makes an enemy waste a few turns just thinking about something. The funny thing is, low intelligence monsters are harder to effect with it, but High intelligence ones are more susceptible. Sounds like it could lead to some fun roleplaying while also stalling for time.

[@TheMightyBattleSquid]

7:09 also seems to be goofy that they'd ALL have the animal voice mimicry, ALL be 5-7 feet tall, etc. For a group whose only common feature is that they're a random mess of features from other groups, it seems off to me that wotc spent so much time locking in specific details.

[@Thagomizer]

I think in the 2e monstrous manual (under the "ogre" entry), it is stated that mongrelmen were simply the end result of generations of breeding between various humanoid and demihuman races. Many are said to have strong strains of orc and ogre blood, since these humanoids are indiscriminate breeders. Of course, I always found this explanation odd, and rather like the lore outlined here better. It helps me to avoid imagining a horrifying sex scene between a human/elf/crabman/bullywug hybrid and an orc/goblin/gnoll/ogre.

[@mist3rmaniac]

I feel like the Fomorian and Mongrelfolk would mix well in an adventure. Maybe they are just a prized type of slave because they make the Fomorian feel less ugly, or maybe the result of someone deformed by the evil eye having children, an evil plot to mass polymorph or mind switch with non-deformed beings of equal strength, ect.

[@AJPickett]

Mongrelfolk also have a remarkable array of abilities, such as flight from wings, darkvision, poison glands... they can have traits from a huge variety of other races.

[@cutterjocky4917]

The first edition module "Dwellers of the Forbidden City" was the first appearance of the mongrelfolk. In a nod to the book "She", the mongrelfolk worship a beautiful elven spell-caster as a goddess. They also have a giant hedgehog as a pet. :D

[@AJPickett]

I did not know that! Thank you.

[@noctusdoesthings]

Fun fact: In the 3.5 splatbook Races of Destiny, a second type of mongrelfolk is mentioned, one that is extremely average to the "civil" races and can blend seamlessly into large crowds with everyone just assuming they're some other race they're familiar with and not giving them a second thought. These mongrelfolk give thanks to the "deformed" ones for giving them a stereotype that they can use to blend in and not be enslaved/cast out.

[@someguycamping9972]

These are great for a post apocalyptic mutant race.

[@AJPickett]

I know teenage mutant ninja turtles became a huge commercial success and very mainstream and watered down... but.. the underlying story, elements, philosophy and story telling of the early years... holy shit, that was powerful stuff. Eric Wujik is a legit genius.

[@anthonygorman94]

I remember the 3(.5 ?) mongrelfolk, and thought they were interesting. I’ll admit I never gave them much thought, after that. But I’m about to make a game that’s heavy with meddling Mages and demigods... I can use mongrelfolk as collateral damage .

[@TheSkeletonVA]

I have a mongrel folk player character in my Curse of Strahd campaign. I used the Simic Hybrid for their racial bonuses and features. My player so far is loving the natural weirdness of the race.

[@harrisondance5220]

really creative reskin!

[@ernestlam5632]

Remind me of Futurama's Mutants and Marvel's Morlocks.

[@AfroChef]

Last Summer running Curse of Strahd, the party was freaked out by the Mongrelfolk presented there, especially when the Paladin who I'd let cure recently bitten werewolf victims, could not heal or reverse the biological Mongrelfolk there. They burned the whole building down

[@AJPickett]

Wow... that took a hell of a dark turn.

[@AfroChef]

@@AJPickett In fairness, they did wait until the boss battle to be that aggressive, I muss that campaign though. Lots of classic horror thats still very effective even for a bunch of 20 year olds

[@dboot8886]

Me: Mongrel folk, the result of millennia of intermixing bloodlines. Can't wait to see what they've done with the loo- Artwork: CRAB. Me: sigh... this smells like some simic b.s.

[@jgr7487]

it's the best player race for veterans who want some new spice in their game! it's the best template for a make-your-own-character race!

[@matthewdylla6090]

Kenku meets a mongrelfolk and quickly becomes their best friend and one of the only people to know their true name outside of their own race due to their shared ability in mimicry. Feel free to steal the idea 😉

[@andresmarrero8666]

In some ways these guys are admirable and with great wisdom tempered by their circumstances, but they are also sad. I can see a caravan of these creatures, mysterious but full of wisdom, more than what is normally found with them.

[@aubreyackermann8432]

I imagine this is why wizards have schools or apprenticeships. Certain alchemical ingredients may be prone to binding themselves to casters who aren't careful enough if a spell fails.

[@marvalice3455]

this looks like a job, for *true Polymorph*!

[@marvalice3455]

_"they have religious reasons to stay as they are"_ this sounds like a job for evangelism!

[@Slechy_Lesh]

This is amazing. I particularly like the tragic backstory of the wizard creating their original ancestors.That they now believe to be their gods - those that can alter their form at will.

[@mal35m]

So this is basically a race of Igors. I could see an evil wizard or other villain seeing a village of them as potential slaves or worse, test subjects. I imagine all their buildings are very well hidden.

[@jacobcochran3197]

They are to all of those things, they also live in old ruins which are well hidden and their love for books makes them potential wizards

[@Banchoking]

My bard has Mongrelfolk as an integral part of his backstory since one found him after his family had a nasty wagon crash and took him in. He started adventuring so he could use his charisma and good looks to send money back home to help out his adopted village.

[@bonefetcherbrimley7740]

W H O L E S O M E

[@Banchoking]

For added wholesomeness, he's a family man. He was the stereotypical bard in his youth but once he found out he had kids he brought them back home and settled down. He's coming out of retirement and family life to adventure again when he encounters the party.

[@Sgt-Wolf]

*looks at thumbnail* "Maybe we wouldn't just murder hobo are way though if somebody didn't try to play with a BIG, MEATY, CLAW"

[@eschaton]

What did you say, punk?

[@movespammerguyteam7colors]

Well these people reminds me of the human chimeras from the Fullmetal Alchemist series, except they can’t take a normal human form or can’t transform back and forth from normal man to man-beast hybrids. And they have Kenku like mimicry which is cool.

[@hangryisangry427]

I could totally see Ilmater becoming a patron god for some of these folk. Maybe they live together in something like a leper colony outside of a city and at some point Ilmater sees there suffering and presents himself to some of the older, wiser, kinder, ones and teaches them his ways.

[@F3nres]

I think you’d be surprised how quickly people can forget about prejudices when gold is involved.

[@AJPickett]

hmmm, you are probably right.

[@mountainking1166]

Perfect! Getting a campaign ready where the main villain is a power-hungry transmutation mage and these guys are sure to show up.

[@DkKombo]

Otherwise known as the little people that hide in my cupboard and steal all my precious wheat thins... Or my weird cousin that smells like feet because he hasn't learned to use deodorant yet. Pretty sure they might be ome and the same, but I cant prove it yet.

[@dbensdrawinvids8390]

I can't think of mongrelfolk without remembering a buddy of mine whose mongrelfolk barbarian survived three doses of black lotus poison in a fantasy version of the ending scene to The Deer Hunter.

[@AJPickett]

Yikes!

[@dbensdrawinvids8390]

@@AJPickett it was all good. He lived and even got some hoochies. We now joke about Sniff Things Night (the BLP was in powder form and contestants were made to snort it.)

[@purplehaze2358]

Poor bois just need a hug.

[@animefan3794]

Origin for a mongrelfolk character: “well… I was a human wild magic sorcerer… I was in a party where no two of us were the same race… My former party members are actually still alive. They’re in pain. They’re screaming all the time. I can hear them in my head as me. Even sleep doesn’t silence them.”

[@snorgonofborkkad]

These creatures are so tragic. I want to make friends with one and make it feel more respected.

[@epiccthulu]

Immediately I’m thinking of the cursed individuals throughout the witcher series and games and series. They seem like must have additions to any fey campaign dealing with courts

[@PaperNESS321]

I'm honestly kicking myself now because the party I DM for is just wrapping up their delve into a mad science lab (thats teeming with various chimera) and I completely forgot to include mongrelfolk.

[@ezekielcarpenter-hyland850]

Thanks for posting AJ. Unfortunately you missed all the background on the origins of the Mongrelmen within AD&D (1st edition) source material. Mongrelmen (what they were originally called) were a slave cast created by the Yuan-ti by mixing various creatures with the humans from the Yuan-ti’s city of origin. The creation of Mongrelmen was due to the Yaun-ti’s demonic curse, one set upon them by Fraz-Urb-Luu, The Prince of Deception. He was a Demon Lord noted for both his hatred of humans, and for the extensive use of polymorphication both in himself and on his victims. All the stuff you mention was essentially correct, just lifted from source material published 39 years ago.

[@AJPickett]

You should probably be making videos on lore, not watching them.

[@frostdragonking5336]

If you want to play something similar to them as a PC, you can pick simic hybrid.

[@black_rabbit_0f_inle805]

Ever since I bought the humanoid book Ive always wanted to play a mongrelman. I love the idea of them.

[@opwith6608]

In 3.5, I used them as a tribe in the sewers of a large city. They cleaned and maintained the sewers in secret and were slaves to the various rat kings in the sewers who would task them with attacking anyone who venturrd below. I had a bunch of small hatches in the walls so they would pop and throw rocks or "excrements" that applied nauseated. My party hated them but felt bad and thought it was interesting hit and run tactics along with giant rat bruisers.

[@guybob548]

I get a real Frankenstein's monster vibe from the mongrel folk, poor fellows just want to be left alone.

[@angrygardengnome8383]

Hybrid vigor is one thing, but outbreeding depression is another. If there isn't enough inbreeding in one group or the other when a mix of different bloodlines takes place, you may end up with the destabilising effects of outbreeding depression. If one set of ancestors have a gene for heart disease but also a counter-gene than creates an enzyme that fixes it, but the other set of ancestors doesn't, life can be short and cruel. Being of mixed blood isn't always a good thing. Even if the genes align, the sense of placelessness - of not belonging to either side - can be crippling. Even within races being of two different ethnic backgrounds can cause dissonance, but being not only of different races but of different species? Talk about hard luck. Being mongrefolk would be like being tiefling on steroids. Very sad, but the makings of a hero lie on that path of hardship.

[@flibbernodgets7018]

I like the art that gives them insect features. I think it was 3.5E monster manual 3 that I first saw them in, and I don't remember anything about insects in the description but I think it really ups the ick factor.

[@AJPickett]

could be crab features, or Ettercaps.

[@SpidermanandhisAmazingFriends]

Without having started this video I'm hoping these things are not inherently violent. I'd love to have these as a weird hidden village of nice folk

[@dangwancie4797]

You can do that on your setting. Your setting, your rules

[@AJPickett]

Yeah, they are not inherently violent.

[@Banchoking]

That's how I'm using them. They're integral to my bard's backstory as they raised him after his family had a nasty wagon crash. His main reason for adventuring is to send money back to the Mongrelfolk village.

[@davidtucker9498]

Not inherently violent, but possibly might be quick to lash out due to violent treatment towards them?

[@CSLow_]

This is incredible. I am about to run my first, personally crafted homebrew campaign which I have spent the last year preparing. In it, I created the "arch-villian" which shares the properties of these mongrelfolk and had named him "The Mongrel." Now I'm finding out there is this entire ecology which already exists... I truly am an unoriginal, vanilla canvas of a human being, lol! Thanks for keeping the unique content flowing, dude!

[@nullvoid4063]

I love these guys! In my under dark campaign, I have a small group of mongrelfolk including a half orc with a bizarre mix of both features, a half tiefling/half aasimar shaman, a failed duegar ceromorphisis victim, several weird amalgamations, among others. They are some of my favorite tragic characters I’ve made so far. Thanks AJ, this video helped spur even more ideas for them.

[@mattnerdy7236]

Hey AJ, I didn't remember the mongrelfolk till I seen that pic from the AD&D MM. These creatures would be great for a Island of DR Monroe type module. I see you hit 70k subs, Congratulations AJ. Thanks AJ & have a wonderful day.

[@AJPickett]

Thanks Matt

[@broke_af_games9661]

I love the shit out of mongelfolk. I'm not sure why but I always wanted to play one since the complete Humanoids handbook in 2e

[@gamelover2222]

I never know how much I never knew until you make a video!

[@AJPickett]

Same.

[@iainzo7]

As always. An inspiration for so many campaign ideas.

[@IndoorAdventures]

In my group's Curse of Strahd campaign, I had my barbarian take on a Jekyll and Hyde style dichotemy where he became more reptilian as he raged, and we used the Simic Hybrid stat block to justify him as a Mongrelfolk for the setting!

[@thinking-ape6483]

Semi-unrelated but do you have any plans of covering the plane of Elysium?

[@AJPickett]

Yes.

[@thinking-ape6483]

@@AJPickett Many thanks. I really enjoy your stuff!

[@Drahjan_TheoryBREAK]

It is so easy make an adventure or campaign with mongrelfolk in them. It would be a devilish way to mess with your players.

[@johngleeman8347]

Mongrelfolk are a fabulous race. Normally I dislike playing races with very short life spans, but how can you say no to a duck foot or a crab claw? Especially playing a monk who pinches and duck kicks people into next week like a drunken kung-fu master!

[@keonikuahuia8538]

My favorite character that I play is a character named Mongrel. He's was a splicing experiment too. Though he was made of angel and devil because I was 16 at the time and thought that was super cool lol. I had no idea Mongrelfolk were a thing way way back when I made him. Though he was lucky and came out looking human with a few strange features. This was really cool to see and learn about as I think on my character. Thank you :D

[@male272]

Going to craft a secret nation of these folk in my 'world', lead by a powerful Wizard...then task my party with a mission to exterminate them. Yes, I'm a 'moral dilemna' DM...whatever they choose, they will lose something and gain something else.

[@mentaljake67]

I think they could really lend themselves to a circle of the moon druid. Since they already have an affinity for animal sounds and want to change their appearance often it seems like a natural fit. The image is great a mongrel folk begins a long confusing song of animal noises to start gathering the local wildlife so he can actually speak to them.

[@AJPickett]

100%

[@Babbleplay]

Can see chat in stream, but, no text box to write in. Other people chatting, though. Stream is JUST beginning, but I already know, in AD&D at least, Mongrelfolk lore is full on depressing. The best compliment in their culture is 'You aren't particularly ugly'.

[@AJPickett]

yeah, very harsh life for them. The chat is from the Premier.

[@brigonion10]

A very interesting race and with a lot opportunity for random traits.

[@theHedgex1]

Me: you're a monster!. Mongrelfolk: So are you!. Mongrelfolk: What other monster would eat the last slice of pizza. You. You monster.

[@minnion2871]

Me: I got Pineapple Pizza if you want some!

[@theHedgex1]

@@minnion2871 Mongrelfolk: see? some people are not as monsterous. Me: don't give him that. it would spoil his dinner. Mongrelfolk: ok mr mom.

[@minnion2871]

@@theHedgex1 Me: You'd be surprised by how many people who would call me a monster for being okay with Pineapple on Pizza....

[@theHedgex1]

@@minnion2871 Me: you're my soul minnion. Mongrelfolk:.... dude.

[@angrygardengnome8383]

Always let the mongrelfolk lad have the last slice, he's got it tough enough already. I'd even let him finish off the sixpack we were drinking with it. That goes double if he has the head of a bear. Terrifying.

[@krispalermo8133]

Years ago I played with a group that ran a Roman Imperial style campaign. One player ran a character that was a " clean freak." Every town they conquer or peacefully intimidate into their rule, he had a fancy style bath house built. Everyone in their control cities had to bath every day and wear clean clothes and rag cloth was not allowed. Long story short, they came across a group of large size mongrelfolk and bribe them with scented soap, their own bath house, and craft training base on each of their given strengths. The Roman lord personal body guard standing 7ft/ 2m. and weighting in around 340lb/ 150 kg. That is a soft spoken diplomat with an over size crab crawl that can snap a human' head clean off makes a very polite company in negotiations. In another campaign we just use mongrelfolk as a stand in for the folk from the Fey Wild. Give each PC or NPC a few class levels in Sorcerer or wizards for innate spell abilities or a few magic items to function as spell like abilities. A group of 4th-level bards can have a wide range of personal spells to create magic items with to trade with each other. In the campaigns groups I ran with, we just turn all GP value M/I in XP value instead payed by the caster. Such as a crud craved frog of really no " artistic " value yet it was Master Craft craved. dump 3,000xp into it, and the user can jump, swim, hold their breath, and climb like a frog. " For some reason your character gain the abilities of a frog.?" In a Ravenloft campaign style setting, the player character has a cruse item that will slowly turn their character into a frog like mongrelfolk creature. Have a good weekend.

[@AJPickett]

ah so in the feywild there were a bit like Fomorians? A bit of a tangent there, but yes, you can deal with wondrous item creation in terms of monetary cost.

[@krispalermo8133]

@@AJPickett A bit like the " Fomorians ?" In White Wolf/ World of Darkness ( WW/ WOD) they have books on RPG " Fairies." Changeling: The Dreaming, where you RPG fairies or ogres/ short giants. Trap on Earth. and Changeling: The Lost. where you RPG humans kidnap/ enslaved by the fairy " Gentry ." The Realm of the Fairy from the Mundane world is divided by a wall called the Hedge. So you could say there are three boards into the Fey Wild. More than a few " hobgoblins" living in the Hedge are a " chimera " of one form or another. As for the " Fomorians " in of themselves, they are a group of " ogres " known to plague Ireland and people of Irish descent. " Living twisted nightmares." As for " mongrelfolk " they can be the result of the fairy Gentry playing with their human " pet " turning them into some form of hunting animal, prize house pet, or zoo animal. Others are self inflicted mutations through " Contracts " help the Lost keep away from the Gentry or to fight off the Hedge hobgoblins. The game shops I went to prefer to run werewolves & vampires in D&D with the style theme with multi-classes to fit with WoD: Vampire & werewolf characters. So any game the DM ran with V. or Ww. it was never a one or two night game, it was always a mini campaign. Werewolf-ism spread through biting are cursed " hell beasts," and not Natural " Druid " base beings. So any " cursed " werewolf will nearly always have an imp following them around, " causing Bad Luck." So the DM can move the plot of the story forward to get better drama. Magic Items: Low Magic vs High Magic campaign. Even with AD&D2e, I never like the gp/ material cost for creating " magic items." Some of the spell materials to cast a given spell, such as " True Seeing " require saffron which is from India. So how would a Viking theme cleric cast True Seeing ? Change the rules or suggestion and use " Magic Mushrooms." Since WoD/ Mage: the Ascension & Werewolf: the Apocalypse had rules about magic items using Xp and spending a dot of attribute/ ability point. So when D&D3e came out stating the M.I had a Gp cost and the caster/ creator also had to pay an " Xp " cost in making a given item. Our groups just switch to needing a basic cost for a master item, up to at lest one days worth of effort of the makers part and pay the rest of it with the caster's current Xp total. This way we ran campaign worlds where you can find Stone Age spears, hand cutters, daggers, all with no Gold/ silver or any fancy gem stones. Crudely fire clay bowels made by ancient sorcerers and adepts that create water or turn water into healing potions tasting like wine were the most prized. We also treated healing potions charge with positive energy as " holy water, " heal a living mortal yet damages the undead.

[@trajanfidelis1532]

Mongrel folk in my homebrew setting are humanoids who were either born mutated or are mutated by the high amount of far realm “radiation” that is located in the settings crystal sphere

[@AJPickett]

Yep, totally legit origin for some for sure.

[@Ready0Set0Create0]

I love this race. Thank you very very much for doing a video about them! and to be clear, I didn't know about them prior to this vid.. I'm already imagining a Mongrelfolk fighter who wears heavy armor match of a patchwork of crudely forged metal plates crafted in a secluded hidden smithy.

[@seanmcfadden3712]

Firstly, great video. Very interesting ideas. I'm still working on getting a group together to have a go at D&D, but if that trial turns into a campaign, I definitely have some ideas for Mongrelfolk like people for part of the story. Oh yes indeed. Including a way to get the player's to notice them. Second, bit of an odd idea, but I was recently struck with inspiration. I was watching some "Bendy and the Ink Machine" lore and theory videos, remembered your video on the Smurfs and how the Infinite Abyss has many (possibly infinite) layers that haven't been discovered, and thought "Hmm... I wonder if Bendy the ink demon would make a decent Demon Lord". I mean, the studio that BatIM is set in could work as an idea for a layer of the Abyss, Bendy himself is powerful and has both loyal minions and rivals to his power that could make for interesting inhabitants of his realm, and there is already a connection between the ink in the game and souls. I'd be interested in hearing your idea as to whether or not it would work.

[@AJPickett]

I'll have to find out who Bendy the Ink Demon is.

[@seanmcfadden3712]

@@AJPickett I recommend looking up Jackscepticeye 's playthrough of Bendy and the Ink Machine. Not only is he a great gaming KZbinr, he actually got to voice a side character in an audio log in the game. The game was released episodically and Jack had played through the first two episodes before he was invited to lend his voice to the game.

[@andresmarrero8666]

@@seanmcfadden3712 you might want to study this Yokai because it is essentially what Bendy is. yokai.com/suzurinotamashii/

[@AJPickett]

@@seanmcfadden3712 Thanks, watching it now.

[@victorvaldez8869]

I can see Mongrelfolk being in an Urban Arcana setting that borrows from Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere. Would you consider running a campaign in London Below?

[@vernonhampton5863]

A London Below campaign? interesting, as long as you mind the gap and don't trust the Marquee.

[@williamturner6192]

I hate to say it but I think I found a use for the orc's dominant genetics. Still Grey orc and not Mountain orc but still almost hard to believe.

[@MindFeather]

did you check out the 2nd edition "monster mythology" book as well? in that, on p56, there's a lot of juicy detail on Meriadar, a god of Mongrel-folk, and also any non-evil goblinoid. the description comes close to sounding almost Buddhist -- or at least the western interpretation of Buddhism. mix that in with the Transcendent Order faction where "body and mind are one" and there are some intriguing possibilities. and so regarding that, i'd think mongrel-folk monks would be a could PC or NPC choice as well. in my campaign i've also given Meriadar the portfolio for "god of secrets," (i swear i read that somewhere, but can't find it just now) and i think of them as allies to the Rilmani of the Outlands (planescape monstrous compendium II.) i imagine them meeting in places where they don't have to look at each other but are able to communicate -- tight alleys, cavern systems, etc, where they can go to a designated spot at a particular time, just around the corner from each other, where they can talk without seeing each other. a group of PCs who somehow picks up the trail of a Rilmani secrets-trader might witness such an encounter from a hidden distance. and who knows, the PCs witnessing the encounter might even be a setup, to get them involved in some larger scheme, especially since neither mongrel-folk nor rilmani like to be "on the front lines," changing the course of planar events directly. but they might let slip a few choice secrets within earshot of a group of heroes before disappearing into the shadows again ...

[@AJPickett]

I could imagine a Mongrelfolk Monk who adopts and masters animal form Kung fu styles, because they actually do have some physical aspects that match the creature the martial art seeks to emulate.

[@MindFeather]

@@AJPickett ah yea, far out. that would be some trippy fun! good idea.

[@MindFeather]

@@AJPickett i'm also considering the possibility now, after reading your research, that perhaps in the long breadth of time in the D&D multiverse there might be some connection between mongrelmen and doppelgangers. your description in particular evokes this. perhaps with all the gene-splicing going on one race grew out of the other, maybe in the alien experimental vats of the illithid, either far in the past or far in the future, as an attempt to create a slave-race of shape-shifters.

[@andresmarrero8666]

@@MindFeather how about a monk/druid multiclass? I would like to imagine that as time went on their form was streamlined and improved so that they no longer look like chimeras. Still a degree of randomness, but now they look appealing.

[@MindFeather]

@@andresmarrero8666 monk/druid sounds fun for sure. i'm thinking of them now as a "failed" illithid experiment that keeps them horrific for maybe hundreds of thousands of years at least, since (time in most D&D worlds is often measured in tens-of-thousands rather than millions of years). and maybe, maybe, at some point evolve into doppelgangers -- but then use the same magic/tech the illithids did to go back in time and populate the multiverse with shapechagers? obviously do what feels right for your campaign! but for me, part of the interest i have in them is their connection to the tragedy of how they look, and from that how they are incorrectly perceived and reviled. their monstrous appearance is wonderfully and tragically at odds with their patient spirits. and the one-in-a-hundred "rotten apple" evil mongrel-person that would occasionally arise in their midst would confirm outsiders stereotypes about the entire race. the exploration of "racism" and "speciesism" has been a part of D&D since day one. at the moment i'm most interested in exploring mongrel-folk as a shunned minority race. in our game there's a riot going on in our home city -- and it has nothing to do with the mongrel-folk who have stayed hidden on the fringes, but once their bodies start turning up on the streets they'll probably be blamed for the mess. i'd like so see how my players deal with that.

[@puckshriekstheim6114]

Yoooo I had a player roll up one of these fellows once. This brought back some cool memories.

[@PinkProgram]

Even one with a high charisma would probably be unnerving due to uncanny valley... could be interesting to explore that. Probably could tell people it is a tiefling ^_^

[@loganlee74]

Illithids: We like this.

[@josephsorrendino9645]

Great video and I too enjoy cheese.

[@anthonyalexander8886]

"Braawk, Polly shouldn't be!"

[@findantu]

This made me laugh more than it should

[@lucaricciardi8253]

This has always been a favorite race of mine (even included them in one of my settings))👍👍

[@taurvanath]

GOD damn AJ. Another spicy morning video? Superb you funky wizard.

[@AzraelThanatos]

You know, I wonder if the mongrel folk were originally descendents of dopplegangers/changelings and humans or other races. Perhaps more of a curse there for those who lost themselves in amongst the non-shapeshifting populations.

[@maurinarobinson3627]

Well he said the origin is something like a wizard trying to make a more controllable Doppler, so it’s possible they have the genetic information

[@TheSteelGuy]

Hmmmm... With all the talk about animal traits makes me think of mongrelfolk druids...

[@DED_MEEM]

I always wondered why AJ doesn't do a little warhammer 40k from time to time? Not that there's a lack of 40k content, but the way he digs into, like, every subject makes me wonder if he might find stuff that others have missed? WH40K lore can be a real bummer though...

[@AJPickett]

Don't Tempt me Frodo! There is only so much information and lore a human brain can contain, surely?

[@DED_MEEM]

@@AJPickett Not according to this massively-pauldron'd space wizard sitting in my living room... . . . ... ... . . . ... ... . . . ... ... . . . ...

[@AJPickett]

@@DED_MEEM OK, good point... I think it may be inevitable considering my passion for 40k

[@zacharygadzinski3147]

So basically they would view changelings as gods or prophets.

[@AJPickett]

Blessed, yes.

[@77wolfblade]

Had a dnd game, That had the antagonist as a mongrelfolk. who wanted to use dark magic to change his people.

[@AJPickett]

yikes, how did that work out?

[@social3ngin33rin]

Wow. Over 1000 of us are still awake at this hour to watch this?!?!?! lolol

[@user-gn3cq6jw4w]

Cant figure out if it's bait or if you genuinely forgot about different timezones. It's about noon where I live.

[@That80sGuy1972]

I love Mongrelmen (sorry, Mongrelfolk now). The once campaign I had them as a big background society also had a "mad scientist" guy that was both a villain and a hero was behind a bunch of Broken Ones. Once my players got really involved in that campaign, half of them retired their original character to create Mongrelfolk characters. I also utilized all the origins of their kind, not having a single origin but multiple origins that ended up blending into one people. You know, from 1st Edition's Orcs that tended to breed with anything which tend to be variants of Half-Orcs descending down the line to being new species, to polymorphing/shapechanging two anythings into the same species and having them breed to give birth to something that could not blend otherwise, to the doppelganger variant, and more. The mad mage creating the Broken Ones saw that his pre-lich days (full flesh lich he was, so he did not seem undead) of creating the Mongrelfolk servant class was a big failure. He became that campaign's version of Victor Frankenstein but politically acceptable because of the "Mongrelman Problem"... and they were the oppressed good guys, even hated by the Elves and Dwarves for no provable reason. Halflings and Gnomes were getting a bad rep for being friendly with them. They "worked with" evil humanoids but, in truth, those humanoids were more exploiting them than working with them. OH! I did add a red herring! A minor portion of them were also Subdiaboli (my version of Tieflings before Tieflings existed in our world's lore) and were mostly evil. They threw lamp oil on the fire of their bad reputation. Yeah, I took Creative Writing in high school and went wild with the brainstorming practice. Only my life-long veterans could predict anything that I did because they knew my methodology. By you reading my comments, I assume you can too now.

[@murkyhydra6351]

Cool

[@EdMcStinko]

These guys are surprisingly admirable

[@PrimordialAnnihilator]

Any chance of some more Hag vids

[@AJPickett]

Yes.

[@OakenTome]

AJ Pickett Yay!

[@blight040]

AJ Pickett, I was going over all your Dragon videos (good stuff, thank you) but did you miss the Battle Dragon (Extraplanar Dragon type) I always wanted to know more about these dragons that are raised to be dedicated to war.

[@skippy9273]

Huh, these just appeared in a campaign I'm playing in.

[@Deathonthesnow]

How does a rare, solitary species made from random interbreeding have a cohesive culture and a standardized meek personality? Shouldn't they be as random in manners as they are in appearance? Maybe I missed something.

[@Menzobarrenza]

The original Infiltrators that spawned them were probably hard-wired with obedience, which the mongrelfolk then inherited. He mentions it in the video, but it's easy to miss.

[@AJPickett]

@@Menzobarrenza Nailed the answer, thank you.

[@Menzobarrenza]

@@AJPickett Yay! 😁

[@OceanGateEngineer4Hire]

Waterdhavian media: "This is what the average Faerûnian will look like by 1545 DR and it's beautiful."

[@zmishiymishi5349]

And so they wait and grow

[@soulfulnihilist]

Hoping aj picks up baulders gate 3 when It comes out.

[@AJPickett]

He will

[@soulfulnihilist]

@@AJPickett like honest to god ill watch you play that to the fullest

[@chriscalvin5083]

great video AJ

[@armjjb5189]

Instead of invisibility, couldn't a mongrelfolk seek out a powerful wizard, or some other arcane force, that'll transform them into another race, like human? I'm new to D&D, but from everything I've seen so far, magic like that doesn't seem so farfetched.

[@owenorceater7845]

Good question! My reasoning why most wouldn't want to go that route is that it seems much of their spirituality is tied to not altering their bodies to be more beautiful or normal. Invisibility would allow them safety and solitude from other races while leaving their bodies themselves unaltered, whereas finding outside help to transform them or using magic themselves to do so would likely be seen either as taboo, or simply, just really sad. I'm sure that it would be possible! And a couple may have done so, but it would probably be a rare occurrence; not necessarily because the magic isn't possible and more because culturally, I think, many mongrelfolk would just not consider it to be an option.

[@sircastic959]

The answer to your question is: Well yes, but actually no. The problem is twofold: First, the Magic needed for the transformation already exists in DnD canon. Wish will do it. True Polymorph could also do the job. Here is the problem: Both are 9th level spells and a caster has a 33% chance of losing the ability to cast wish FOREVER if they use that spell for anything else than copying a spell of 8th level or lower. 9th level spells are practically the pinacle of magic. Beyond that are only gods and the most powerful of entities and grandest of rituals. A Wizard able to cast 9th level spells can topple a Kingdom that lacks such a wizard in an afternoon. In DnD, Magic is very much present, but not ubiquitus. Getting access to 9th level magic is already challenging for a well connected wealthy noble. Second problem: So you actually just want this to be the goal of your mongrelfolk adventurer? Well yeah that works, BUT, that is breaking from the fold just a little (which is fine.) Mongrelfolk don´t want to be some other humanoid. They want true shapeshifting, as the other Commenter has already pointed out. Could some of them want something else? Sure. But getting that 9th level spell, ESPECIALLY if it´s a wish is as hard as getting the ring of invisibility. (if it´s wish it´s harder IMO) So on that note I disagree with the other comment: It´s easier to convince the mongrelfolk than the wizard.

[@KageRyuu6]

I honestly prefer Pathfinder's take on them, Mongrelmen, basically post apocalypse survivors of the first Human empire who hid out in their version of the "Underdark" to escape "the movie Armagedon" and the resulting magical radiation that blanketed the world for the next couple hundred years, mixing with whatever humanoid species were still left and amiable enough while the world above recovered, and they have a crazy stat line to prove it, including an optional random generation table to pick parts with their own benefits and detriments. www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/monstrous-humanoids/mongrelman-tohc/

[@henryboard317]

Someone get these poor things a mask of disguise self....

[@macguyverbond7480]

Interesting, this gives me some ideas for encounters in my 10ish hour session coming up today.

[@AJPickett]

Best of luck! Tell the players I say Hi

[@coreyeaston6823]

Any thoughts Mongrefolk as PC's? They sound fantastic for RP focused groups, and are quite deep. Three attribute points in a single stat offers and interesting twist and I like the idea that there is a physical change around that attribute to reflect the mutation.

[@MindFeather]

it was definitely a thing back in 2nd edition. AJ mentioned using the "The Complete Book of Humanoids" as part of his research here, which was dedicated to giving PCs options to play "monster" races.

[@AJPickett]

Yeah before there was Savage Species, there was the book of Humanoids. A lot of folks have mentioned the Simic hybrids from the Ravnica sourcebook, but if you don't have access to that then you can easily work out a reasonable alternative by picking a base race and swapping out traits on a one for one basis.

[@Bluecho4]

For Abilities, I'd probably say +1 Constitution (for their incredible endurance), +1 Wisdom (connection to the natural world, a cocktail of survival skills, and enhanced animal senses), and +1 in an ability score of your choice. Gaining Proficiency in two of the following (your choice): Intimidation, Perception, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Survival. One or more natural weapons. Teeth, claws, pincers, stingers, hooves, horns, etc. It doesn't really matter if they have one or a half dozen, they'll all do 1d6 damage (of whatever type(s) you choose) and you can only make as many unarmed strikes as you normally can anyway. Maybe some kind of "Hideous Countenance" ability? Once per long rest, as an Action when exposing your terrible appearance, you can force a creature to make a Wisdom save (DC = 8 + Charisma + your proficiency mod) or become Frightened for 1 minute.