Now that the 5th Edition D&D Players Handbook is out, we can see that Dragonborn are included. Unlike Tieflings I am having a hard time figuring out how to allow them in my game world.
I’d like some way to have the possibility of having a Dragonborn PC in my world, because I don’t like just “saying no” to a player request, but a couple things would have to be addressed.
1) The stupid name. That is probably my biggest stumbling block at the moment. Surely these beings have some other name they call themselves, even if others might refer to them as “Dragonborn?” (Which itself would be unlikely in my opinion, as how many people would have any experience of Dragons except from legends and rumors?)
2) My game world goes back almost 30 years. Clearly, since Dragonborn did not exist back then, they were not included in the initial design of the world. There are no nations of Dragonborn, or cities, villages, or even families. They would have to be individuals that came from some other place and have no way back.
So my idea was to reskin Dragonborn as some type of extra-terrestrial species. (I did leave open the possibility of crashed alien spacecraft in the world, inspired by S3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks.)
Maybe a starship or spelljamming vessel broke up above my world, and a handful of survivors bailed out and were scattered to different places.
Now, another concern I’d have at this point would be, if “Dragonborn” have nothing to do with Dragons and are not even called “Dragonborn,” would potential players be able to adjust their conception & expectations away from what the “standard” idea of a Dragonborn is?
Any input or suggestions on alternate names for Dragonborn (must not include word “Dragon”) or how potential players might react to this reskinning would be welcomed.