D&D: Five Of The Best ‘Legacy Species’ You Can Use In 5.5E
5.5E D&D is backwards compatible with the old edition. So here are five species that let you really leverage that compatibility.
In D&D 5.5e, you are not limited to the ten playable species included in the PHB 2024. Far from it. You can in fact call upon the catalogue of player character options from previous books, including the deathless Reborn, the Gem Dragonborn, and others. Because D&D 5.5E is backwards compatible with 5E.
In fact, on page 38 of the Player’s Handbook (2024), you can find a sidebar that tells you how to use the old species in the new system:
[S]pecies in older books include ability score increases. If you’re using a species from an olde rbook, ignore those increases and use only the ones given by your background.
It’s as easy as that. So you’ll still gain things like proficiencies and abilities which means there are still plenty of potent options left in the legacy content of D&D. Which ones you ask? Well…
Genasi
Genasi are elemental people. One of the four elements runs through their veins or imparts some kind of power upon them that makes them like a regular human but with elemental powers. If you’re bored of just being a vanilla human, it’s hard to go wrong with a genasi – there are four variants, Earth, Fire, Air, and Water. As of yet there hasn’t been a Heart genasi discovered, but don’t stop believing, hold on to that feeling and one day WotC might release one.
At any rate, each Genasi comes with a variety of elemental effects. They all can cast spells, some have other effects, including elemental resistance or the ability to cast Blade Ward as a Bonus Action a few times per day.
Yuan-Ti
Yuan-ti were considered one of the more powerful species options in 5E, and for good reason. Each Yuan-ti is naturally resistant to magic, gaining Advantage on all saves vs. spells. They also gain a few spells, including the revamped Suggestion, and resistance to poison. All told, potent stuff for a character of basically any stripe. Er. Scale.
Fairy
It cannot be oversaid just how much a difference having wings make. Being able to fly lets you literally soar above your problems. And fairies have a fly speed equal to their walking speed, so any mobility enhancing effects cast on them really double down.
On top of their magical wings, fairies also have a handful of spells they can bring with them, and are one of the few nonhumanoid creatures you can pick. Fairies are classified as fey, which makes sense. But it also means that spells like Hold Person won’t work on you.
Bugbear
Bugbears are an extremely versatile species option. A single bugbear can be well suited to a number of things. Especially classes who get a lot of benefit in that first round of combat. Assassins and Gloomstalker Rangers synergize extremely well with the bugbear’s surprise attack, letting you pile on damage in round 1.
They’re also sneaky, by default, and are naturally proficient with stealth but they can also move through a space that ordinarily shouldn’t fit someone of your size. That plus a reach of five extra feet when attacking on your turn makes for an excellent legacy species.
Shifter
Finally one of my favorites from Eberron, the Shifter. Shifters can partially transform into bestial-like creatures. That’s right, they can literally go beast mode. And doing so gets them potent benefits. Anything from “nobody can attack you with Disadvantage” to increased movement speed.
What old species would you play in one of your campaigns?
