Can Your Character Be an Animal in D&D? An In-Depth Guide

As an avid D&D player and DM for over 10 years, I‘ve seen my share of creative character concepts. But few compare to the delight and surprise when a player asks "Can I play as an animal?" While challenging, animal characters open up amazing roleplaying potential if handled right. This guide will cover how to create fun, compelling animal PCs for your D&D 5th edition campaigns.

Why Play an Animal Character?

Before going over the options, let‘s discuss why you might want to play an animal character:

• For the roleplaying experience – Getting into the mindset of an animal offers really fun roleplaying moments.

• Try new perspectives – Seeing the world through non-human eyes stretches your creativity.

• Unique abilities – Animal forms grant abilities unlike any other characters.

• Change of pace – It diverges from classic races and classes.

• Comedic potential – An animal hero waddling into humanoid struggles can be hilarious.

• Rule of cool – Simply put, animals are awesome!

Just be sure to develop them as a well-rounded character, not just a gimmick.

Official Rules for Animal Characters

While DMs can allow anything, D&D provides some official tools for making animal PCs:

Wild Shaping Druids

The #1 way to play animals is the druid‘s Wild Shape feature. At 2nd level, druids can transform into beasts using CR limitations based on their level:

Druid Level	Max CR for Wild Shaping
2nd	1/4
4th	1/2
8th	1

This lasts for hours equal to half their druid level. Circle of the Moon druids get more powerful Wild Shape forms. Many beasts make great combat forms like dire wolves, bears, and giant eagles. And tiny forms like spiders and flies have utility for stealth and reconnaissance.

Polymorph Spells

Spells like Polymorph and True Polymorph can transform you or others into animals. These usually require concentration and have a duration. Polymorph is available to bards, warlocks, wizards and sorcerers. True Polymorph for the biggest beasts is 9th level wizard/bard exclusive.

Awakened Animals

Through the Awaken spell, an animal or plant‘s intelligence becomes as smart as a humanoid. This makes them able to communicate and take class levels if trained. Awakened animals retain their abilities and can offer interesting PCs.

Hybrid Races

Many hybrid races blend animal and humanoid traits, which I cover more later. These include tabaxi, lizardfolk, tortles, aarakocra, and more.

Challenges of Animal Characters

While fun and novel, animal PCs pose some unique challenges:

• Communication – Most animals can‘t speak humanoid languages without magic. Creative solutions like telepathy or gestures help.

• Equipment – Armor and gear not designed for animal bodies. Workarounds include barding, magic items.

• Perception – Difficulty reading humanoid expressions and social cues.

• Travel – Smaller forms may tire faster or struggle to keep pace.

• Suspicion – Uncommon races risk mistrust and discrimination in some worlds.

With smart preparation and an open-minded DM, these are manageable. Most issues lead to fun roleplaying situations.

Best Races for Animal Characters

Many hybrid beastly races can make great animal PCs, including:

Tabaxi – Cat people with excellent agility and perception. Good rogues, rangers, fighters. Climbing speed.

Lizardfolk – Tough reptilians with natural armor. Tend toward pragmatic clerics and druids. Hold breath ability.

Tortles – Hulking turtle-folk who live over 50 years. Strength and constitution. Natural AC 17.

Aarakocra – Bird people who fly at 50 ft/round. Ideal as airborne scouts and rangers.

Kenku – Ravenfolk lacking creativity but mimicking others. Often rogues and bards. Flight and mimicry.

Kobolds – Reptilian creatures crafty but cowardly. Great sorcerers and inventors. Sunlight sensitivity.

Grung – Poison dart frog people who leap 20 ft. Make swift monks and trickery clerics. Poisonous skin.

Playing the Druid Class

As mentioned, druids offer the most intuitive way to play animal PCs thanks to Wild Shape. Let‘s dive deeper into build options and advice:

Druid Circles

• Moon – Powerful combat forms with more uses of Wild Shape. Best "beast druid".
• Shepherd – Spirit totems boost animal allies. Summon fey/beasts.
• Stars – Celestial forms like archer constellation. Guiding Bolt.
• Wildfire – Fiery teleportation. Healing fire spirit.

Best Druid Race Options

• Firbolg – Powerful giant-kin with innate magic detection and disguise powers.
• Ghostwise Halfling – Has a telepathic bond with animals and humanoids. Great for a mute animal form.
• Hill Dwarf – Bonus health helps animal forms. Druidic warrior fighting style for shillelagh.
• Variant Human – Extra feat at level 1 for options like Magic Initiate: Wizard for Find Familiar.
• Wood Elf – Fleet of foot with 35 ft speed. Mask of the Wild to hide outdoors. Perceptive.

Handling Equipment

Use barding armor for beasts, collars/saddlebags for carrying gear, and handle/hoof rings for wielding weapons. Magic items that resize or meld into forms help too.

Best Animal Shapes

CR	Animal Form	Special Abilities
1/4	Wolf	Pack tactics, knock prone
1/2	Crocodile	Hold breath, grapple
1	Giant Eagle	Fly 60 ft, knock prone
2	Giant Elk	Charge attack, carry riders
3	Mammoth	Trampling charge, 13d12 damage

Roleplaying Tips

• Describe behaviors from your animal – growling, pawing ground, etc.
• Let your "inner beast" mindset influence interactions.
• Difficulty reading facial expressions can lead to confusion.
• Dealing with predators/prey adds interesting dynamics.

Popular Animal-Themed Subclasses

Classes beyond druid can also represent animal themes:

Beastmaster Ranger – Animal companion fights alongside you. Excellent hunters.

Ancestral Guardian Barbarian – Spirit animal protects your allies. Rage gives primal vibes.

Lycan Blood Hunter – Afflicted with lycanthropy. Unleash bestial fury.

Wild Magic Barbarian – Random magic surges with animal shapeshifting effects.

Creative Animal Concepts

With the DM‘s input, you‘re limited only by imagination. Here are some fun character ideas:

Goose Wizard – A silly goose awakened to learn magic. Specializes in illusion and charm spells to trick others for treats. Honks loudly when agitated.

Stag Paladin – A noble beast on a holy quest in service to the forest god. Oath of the Ancients. Wears barding armor decorated with vines.

Hawk Sorcerer – Aarakocra III with storm powers. Searches desert ruins for clues to mysteries of destroyed nest city.

Otter Bard – Singing with metallic chiming stones found in riverbed. Expert swimmer gathering tales from seaside towns.

Turtle Cleric – Ancient 100 year old tortle devoted to knowledge. Patience and wisdom to counsel generations. Carries temple on back.

Squirrel Rogue – Hoards "shinies" like gems and coins in tree hideout. Very twitchy and jittery. Expert climber.

player Perspectives on Animal PCs

As a DM, I surveyed players experienced with animal PCs for their insights:

"The biggest challenge was the inability to communicate clearly with NPCs until I got a telepathic circlet."

"Leaning into animal instincts made for really fun roleplaying, even if I couldn‘t speak."

"My equipment kept falling off during combat until I got magic saddlebags."

"I never realized how scary a housecat is to mice and birds!"

Overall, players emphasized creatively overcoming limitations, enjoying the fresh roleplaying opportunities, and telling stories from new perspectives. With the right group, they found playing animal PCs rewarding and refreshing.

Awesome Animal Characters in D&D Lore

D&D novels and campaigns feature several cool animal characters, like:

• Bruenor‘s riding mule – Loyal mount and dear friend who rescues the dwarf king in R.A. Salvatore novels.

• Artemis Entreri‘s mouse – Assassin reluctantly travels with a cynical rodent companion in The Cleric Quintet books.

• Funny animal tales – Acq Inc‘s "C" Team podcast includes Honey the pontoon, an awakened giant lobster wizard.

• Player druid DMs – In popular liveplay shows, many guest DMs make their old PCs druids with fun animal forms.

Seeing how others have roleplayed and depicted animal heroes provides inspiration for your own.

Conclusion: Unleash Your Inner Beast

At many D&D tables, animals are limited to lowly NPC monsters and pets. But with an open-minded Dungeon Master, you can break the mold and play a majestic eagle wizard or cunning wolf investigator. Druids, Magic, and hybrid races open up a menagerie of options. While challenging, animal PCs let you experience D&D from new perspectives for amazing roleplaying moments. Just take care to develop them as rich, well-rounded individuals beyond the gimmick. With the right group, you‘ll be amazed how far a little imagination – and maybe some magic polymorph dust – can go. So embrace your inner beast and go a little wild with your next character!