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Who’s got four arms, an exoskeleton, and a love of adventure? The thri-kreen, one of the newest species to joinDungeons & Dragons5E. Thri-kreen characters offer exciting new options for building characters thanks to their many hands–four of them, to be precise. This allows thri-kreen players to wield many weapons simultaneously, and even sling a few spells while they’re at it.
Related:Dungeons & Dragons: How To Build An Eldritch Knight
But having many arms is but one of the many benefits players will get from the mighty thri-kreen. You’ll also gain the benefit of playing a space cockroach. Some might not see that as much of a benefit, but wise players know that cockroaches always survive. Here’s how you should build your thri-kreen character.
Thri-kreen info can be found in theSpelljammersourcebook.
The History Of The Thri-kreen
They came from outer space. Or more accurately, theAstral Sea. These lovable space cockroaches have colonized the stars,traveling from world to world in search of adventures.
Although they can’t actually speak verbally in a language that other humanoids would understand (thri-kreen mandibles are really only good for clicking and hissing), these space bugs haveinnate magic that lets them communicate telepathicallywith other humanoid species.
Thri-kreen also havetough exoskeletonsthatcan change colorto better suit their surroundings, segmented eyes that cansee in the dark, andmultiple armscapable of doing multiple things. They also never sleep.
Thri-kreen aremediumorsmall creatures(your choice) with awalking speed of 30 feet. When selecting thri-kreen as your character,increase one ability score by two pointsandanother ability score by one point.
Thri-kreen Features
Chameleon Carapace
While you aren’t wearing armor, your carapace gives you a base Armor Class of 13 + your Dexterity modifier. As an action, you can change the color of your carapace to match the color and texture of your surroundings, giving you advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made to hide in those surroundings.
A free armor boost isexcellent for most charactersthat don’t expect to wear heavier armor, but your carapace doesn’t preclude you from wearing something that might provide a greater AC.
What Chameleon Carapacereally helps with is being stealthy. Advantage on hide checks is a huge boon to Rogues or any player that just wants to remain hidden.
Darkvision
You can see in dim light within 60 feet of yourself as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You discern colors in that darkness only as shades of gray.
You can never go wrong with Darkvision. Even though you’ve got plenty of hands to hold a torch, not having to spend money to replace torches is a nice economic bonus, and it saves you a cantrip if you’re playing a magic character.
Secondary Arms
You have two slightly smaller secondary arms below your primary pair of arms. The secondary arms can manipulate an object, open or close a door or container, pick up or set down a Tiny object, or wield a weapon that has the light property.
Two extra armsvastly increase your options as a weapon-wielding character, and can even be useful for some spellcasters too.
For martial characters, you can wield atwo-handed weapon in your main hands, and then wieldtwo light weapons in your secondary hands. Or you canwield a shieldin your main hand whilesimultaneously dual-wielding shortswordsin your secondary hands. Or you can have abow in your main handsandtwo short swords in your secondary hands.
Or you can have atwo-handed weaponin your main hands and ahand crossbow in your secondary hands. Or ashield in one hand, alongsword in the other, andtwo daggersin your secondary arms. You’re basically a walking armory.
Secondary arms areless useful for spellcastersas they typically don’t care about wielding weapons and few of them can hold a shield. That said, there are a few spellcasters that can use an extra pair of hands, which we’ll discuss in the next section.
Sleepless
You do not require sleep and can remain conscious during a long rest, though you must still refrain from strenuous activity to gain the benefit of the rest.
Thri-kreen are often thedefault watch charactersas they don’t need to sleep. Useful for all, but not necessarily a defining feature.
Thri-kreen Telepathy
Without the assistance of magic, you can’t speak the non-thri-kreen languages you know. Instead, you use telepathy to convey your thoughts. You have the magical ability to transmit your thoughts mentally to willing creatures within 120 feet of yourself. A contacted creature doesn’t need to share a language with you to understand your thoughts, but it must be able to understand at least one language. Your telepathic link to a creature is broken if you and the creature move more than 120 feet apart, if either of you is incapacitated, or if either of you mentally breaks the contact (no action required).
Mandibles aren’t great for most languages. Thri-kreen get around this by being able to telepathically communicate with other characters. The bonus here is that you’re not actually making sounds, soyou can communicate orders while remaining silent.
Keep in mind thatyour target can’t respond telepathically, so they’d have to respond verbally.
Related:Dungeons & Dragons: Best Spells For Mobility
Best Classes For Thri-kreen Characters
Thri-kreen features can benefit basically every class in Dungeons & Dragons, so feel free to play whatever class you wish. That said,there are a few classes that synergize particularly wellwith the thri-kreen’s Chameleon Carapace and Secondary Arms.
Ranger
Of all classes,Rangers probably benefit the most from thri-kreen features. Secondary Arms allows you to dual-wield swords while simultaneously wielding a bow. Chameleon Carapace also allows thri-kreen Rangers to hide when they’re feeling sneaky.
Rogue
Advantage on hide checks is particularly useful for Rogueslooking to maximize their damage via sneak attacks. Having extra arms to wield weapons isn’t quite as useful here, but it’s never a bad thing to have an extra dagger or hand crossbow handy.
Fighter
Thri-kreen make excellent fighters. Being able to dual-wield weapons and simultaneously hold a shield gives a huge AC boost that can make you incredibly hard to hit. Chameleon Carapace is less useful, but still a good bonus to AC before you’re able to find heavier armor.
Consider specializing as aDexterity-based fighter with the Two Weapon fighting styleif you choose Thri-kreen as your species.
Paladin
Like fighters, Paladins can benefit from having an extra set of arms by holding secondary weapons at the ready.Dual-wielding can be useful for extra attempts at Divine Smite, but Chameleon Carapace is less useful with heavier armor.
Barbarian
Dual-wielding Barbarianswillgainaccess toa shieldas a thri-kreen, improving their AC and making them that much tankier. Two-handed weapons like the greatsword will generally do more damage than dual-wielding hand axes, but then you’d sacrifice the AC offered from a shield.
Avoid subclasses that monopolize your bonus actionif you use this strategy, such asPath of the BerserkerorPath of the Totem Warrior.
Bard
Martial bards, such as theCollege of SwordsandCollege of Valor, canbenefit from dual-wielding while also receiving an AC boost from Chameleon Carapace. Note that only College of Valor Bards receive shield proficiency, however.
Druid
It’s better for a Druid to turn into a tiny animal when they want to be sneaky, soChameleon Carapace is just providing some extra AC(not that we’re complaining). Being able to hold a shield and spell focus in your primary hands while dual-wielding sword shorts or daggers is less useful, but still a neat party trick.
