Play Your Next 5E D&D Game as a Scaled Skald

Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted had an enlightening visit from Kraul the Lizardfolk as a special guest who helped explain how unorthodox character builds for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons can become fun, effective characters to play. The Scaled Skald character emerged through a combination of unexpected class and background choices when we set out to illustrate how 5E D&D characters are much more than a collection of optimized numbers on a character sheet. Let’s get into it.

Behind the CBG — Scaled Skald

Every CBG we create considers the journey as much as the final outcome. We aim to present a guide suitable for any level of 5E D&D play whether you’re pursuing an epic campaign from start to finish, starting beyond 1st level or choosing a character for a one shot. Then we take those concepts and develop an NPC or creature version of the character build for DMs to incorporate into their games. All of this gets packaged up and laid out in a PDF you can find over at Dungeon Master’s Guild. We’ve got dozens of pay what you want products at DMG, many of them best sellers so if you want to check those out start with the Scaled Skald here.

All about the character story

Each CBG starts with a character concept sticking to a particular schtick, from the Mind Breaker’s psyche crushing smites to the Scaled Skald’s warrior-poet vibe. Sometimes puns and pop culture references instigate the creation of a CBG too. At every step of the way we considered options for playing against type as sort of an ambassador or diplomat of the swamp.

For us it’s important to consider who these characters are as individuals and why they follow these particular paths. One special thing to note with this CBG is while we always aim to make the journey to 20th level as practical as possible — none of these characters “come online” after an awkward slog through many levels — the Scaled Skald is good to go right out of the gate and really coalesces very early at 4th level when they choose the College of Valor. This particular CBG is very rare (almost unique) by sticking to a single class the rest of the way to 20th level.

Another very early title in the series the Scaled Skald comes in at No. 5 and for me represents a benchmark of sorts because of how strongly the theme, concept and narrative elements informed our choices more than anything else. We found ourselves in some ways more deeply considering our choices than we did for more mechanically complex characters. Truth be told the noble background was a great way to play
against type and the Knight variant gave us some ideas for the character’s backstory and roleplaying elements with the retainers making a great addition to this character.

“Weird costume, cool build.” — This comment from Nerdarchy the YouTube channel succinctly sums up the general consensus from the video where the Scaled Skald’s origin resides

Keep in mind this CBG emerged long before the embarrassment of riches we have now when it comes to 5E D&D character options. Early CBGs also followed what were at the time Adventurers League rules so choosing the lizardfolk race precluded options from any other sources beyond the Player’s Handbook since our +1 source had to be Volo’s Guide to Monsters. With all the myriad options we enjoy today along with Adventurers League easing their restrictions the Scaled Skald would almost certainly be much different. Interestingly enough though since creating a character who plays against type was the goal and their race, class and background choices fulfilled this goal the Scaled Skald might be our most flexible CBG out of all 60+ titles (which incidentally are all PWYW along with our D&D Encounters). What classes, subclasses and multiclass options come to mind for your own version of this character?

Scaled Skald NPC for 5E D&D

Full disclosure — the NPCs and creatures we make in CBGs are some of my favorite bits of 5E D&D content to create. We step back and look at the character build to find the standout features that feel like signature abilities. The juice! From there we consider what sort of person or people would possess or gain these abilities and build a stat block around them. More often than not the section of a CBG For Dungeon Masters presents a generic creature.

You can see us starting to flex our creative muscles more with this particular CBG’s DM version of the character build. The Lizardfolk Skald stat block combines features of both the lizardfolk and bard but without the much more dynamic traits and actions you’ll find on more recent creatures. However this one is notable for including a secondary creature stat block too, like the Night Parade Performer that came later. Our lizardfolk warrior poet wouldn’t be the same without their Bullywug Squire!

New Action! Like I did for the Library Agent in a recent post here on the website I’ll create a new action for the Scaled Skald for you to add onto their stat block. Since Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons just released and this character is scaly that’s enough of a connection for me to find some inspiration from the pages of the book. The new Scaled Ornament magic item looks like a great place to start.

“Rousing Rhetoric. As a bonus action on its turn the Scaled Skald can recite a spirited bit of prose to stir the hearts of its allies. Until the start of the Scaled Skald’s next turn it gains a +1 bonus to AC. In addition they and any friendly creatures within 30 feet who can hear them have advantage on saving throws against being frightened or charmed or to end those conditions on itself.”

If your next 5E D&D game needs an adventurer who plays against type as a knightly swamp ambassador — whether you’re the DM or a player — check out the Scaled Skald Character Build Guide here.

*Featured image — The lute strumming reptilian humanoid may be dragonborn but this Wandering Troubadour from Magic: The Gathering’s Adventures in the Forgotten Realms expansion sure checks all the boxes for our Scaled Skald. They’ve even got an amphibian sidekick dutifully at their side for whatever adventure lies ahead! [Illustration by Rudy Siswanto]

New videos every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel here