Dungeons And Dragons 5e: Ultimate Loxodon Guide

Loxodon are one of the lesser played races in the 5th edition of Dungeons and Dragons. They were introduced as part of the Ravnica campaign, a steampunk city trapped in a cold war. But what are Loxodon?

What features do they have? And why should you choose this race for your next Dungeons And Dragons character? Keep reading to find out more.

What Are Loxodon?

Loxodon are a race of bipedal elephant humanoids, with elephant heads and human bodies. They stand on two legs and their bodies are large and strong and adults tend to be between 7 and 8 feet tall.

Loxodons do not reach adulthood until they are around 60 years of age. Whilst they mature at the same rate as humans, their average lifespan is 450 years.

Loxodons have leathery skin, just like an elephant, and they have four digits on each hand rather than five. Loxodons have strong trunks and large ears, as you would expect from an elephant head, and many of them have tusks that vary in size.

Loxodon females tend to be thicker set than the males, which have a slimmer profile. Some are completely hairless, others have thick brown hair, and some have tufts of black hair.

The History Of Loxodons

The ancient history of loxodons is a mystery to many other races. They are believed to be one of the first races after dragons and giants, with the gods having a direct involvement in their creation.

Loxodons are matriarchal, just like elephants, which means that their leaders (see also: The Complete Guide To Inspiring Leader In DND 5e)are female. The leaders are chosen at birth by a sacred ritual. Communities of loxodons tend to be made up of mostly females, who stick together and share knowledge.

Male loxodons are often driven out of the cities or prefer a more solitary lifestyle. Loxodon names tend to have a deep meaning, but they are hard to be spoken in any other language.

They tend to use the common translation of their name in social settings, or even go by nicknames which are often based on distinctive physical features. Loxodons don’t have surnames, but use the name of their leader instead.

What Traits Do Loxodons Have?

Loxodons might be big and strong, but they are known for their wisdom and peaceful nature. This is why they are not considered fully mature until they are 60 – they need to gain life experience to make them wise.

Their intelligence and insight is a core part of loxodon culture and they have a very strong sense of community. They also have an excellent memory, and hardly ever forget a face.

Their memory is particularly good over a span of 10 years, and for each minute you spend thinking you will be able to recall more detail about an event or location etc. Loxodons are also very loyal and they make excellent allies.

Whilst they prefer a peaceful life, they will fiercely defend those closest to them so you don’t want to get on the wrong side of a loxodon! It takes a lot to rile them up and break their stoic composure. They have brute strength which makes them useful in battle.

Loxodons are skilled craftsmen and make some of the finest stonework in the world. This might be surprising given their cumbersome build, but they are capable of producing very fine art. This is their main role in the city of Ravnica.

Loxodons also have an excellent work ethic – once they are given a task they will see it through to the very end, being sure to complete it to the highest standard possible. Given the traits of a loxodon, it is no surprise that they tend to fall into the lawful good alignment.

They try to avoid violence and would rather solve a dispute with a rational conversation, using their wisdom to guide them. You can also get some loxodons that are more neutral.

What Are The Useful Features Of A Loxodon?

There are lots of excellent features of the loxodon race which make them a great choice for your next Dungeons And Dragons character. Some of their features depend on the loxodon subrace – Ravnica, Mirrodin or Tarkir.

Size And Speed

Your walking speed as a loxodon is 30 feet, which is the same as a human. This means that your size and strength won’t slow you down. Loxodons are categorized as medium sized creatures and weigh between 300 to 400 pounds.

This is quite large for a playable race, but is also not so big that you will struggle to navigate different areas. You have a good carrying capacity and your strength allows you to drag, lift and push items.

Advantage

When playing as a loxodon, your constitution score increases by 2 and your wisdom score increases by 1. You also have advantage against being frightened or getting charmed, due to your serene nature.

Your trunk gives you an excellent sense of smell, which means that you have advantage on checks that involve smell such as wisdom (perception), wisdom (survival) and intelligence (investigation).

Language

The loxodon language is not very widely spoken – it is unusual for creatures other than loxodons to speak it. However, all loxodons can speak, read and write in common as well. This opens up the number of races that you can communicate with.

There are some words from the orc, dwarven and giant languages that have made their way into loxodon, but the races still struggle to communicate with each other in their own tongue.

You can also communicate with elephant and mammoth creatures in a very basic manner using your trunk.

Armour & Tusks

A great feature of a loxodon is that the leathery skin acts as a natural armor. Without any additional armor, your armor class is 12 plus your constitution modifier. You can also benefit from a shield whilst using your natural armor.

You can use your tusks to attack an opponent and cause piercing damage (d6 plus your strength modifier). Loxodons tend to be very efficient with their tusks.

Trunk

Another benefit of playing as a loxodon is the trunk. The loxodon trunk is not a third arm – you cannot use it to wield weapons or do any tasks that require precision. However, it can still be very useful.

You can use it as a snorkel for going underwater, but its main use is for grasping things. If both of your hands are full, you can pick something up with your trunk. It has a 5 foot reach and can pick up anything that is up to five times your strength score.

You can also open and close doors, push and pull objects (or creatures), hold or drop items and lift items. Whilst you cannot use your trunk to wield a weapon, you could use it to make an unarmed strike or to grapple your opponent.

The amount of tasks that you are able to use your trunk for may depend on how strict your DM is.

Ravnica Loxodon

Ravnica loxodon are known for their intelligence, which allows them to speak an extra language. They also have deep magic and can choose one cantrip from the wizard’s spell list.

Mirrodin Loxodon

Mirrodin loxodon are very wise and also gain proficiency in persuasion. They have good skills with armor and shields as well as smith’s tools.

Tarkir Loxodon

These loxodon look more like mammoths and are accustomed to cold conditions. They have a greater constitution and carrying capacity, and can trample their enemies to knock them into a prone position.

Loxodon Guilds

Guilds are organizations of like-minded individuals that work together to protect their shared interests. There are three main types of guilds in Dungeons and Dragons – merchant guilds, craft guilds and religious guilds.

Not all loxodons are members of a guild, but the ones that are tend to be part of one of these three guilds based in the city of Ravnica.

Selesnyan

Selesnyan is a harmonious community that co-exists with nature. The members are striving for a deep, spiritual connection with the world. It sounds idyllic, but is viewed by outsiders as a cult.

There is a military arm of the selesnyan guild that will use force to silence dissenters. Loxodon clerics and druids are drawn towards the spiritualism of the selesnyan, and their wisdom is gratefully received.

They would not get involved in the enforcement side of the guild, and they may not even be aware of it. Loxodons in the Selesnyan guild will likely be dressed in flowing materials and may even incorporate elements of nature into their clothes. This is the most appealing guild to the loxodon race.

Azorious

Azorious is the law and order guild made up of judges and lawmakers. This fits in with the loxodons peaceful nature and wisdom.

Their patience and strong work ethic will also help them to navigate the bureaucratic and often tedious tasks required of them as part of the azorious guild. This guild is also associated with magic, especially law-magic. Loxodons in the Azorious guild may have a mage-like appearance, with magical carvings in their tusks.

Orzhov

The Orzhov guild uses intimidation to gather wealth, all under the guise of religion. Peaceful loxodons may be drawn into the religious element of the guild, and the higher ranking members will exploit the loxodon’s loyalty and use them for their dirty work.

Loxodons in the Orzhov guild will be dressed in a more luxurious manner than the others, as they will benefit from the riches of the guild. They will likely be adorned with gold jewelry – earrings, rings, bracelets etc.

Which Class Should A Loxodon Character Be?

If you have decided to build a loxodon character, you will need to pick a class that makes the most out of their traits and natural abilities. There are different ways that you do this depending on which class you choose.

Druid

A druid is a great class choice for a loxodon, and what many players consider to be the best choice. Druids often struggle with armor class, but the leathery skin of a loxodon is a big help in this area.

The plus 2 on constitution also makes up for what the druid class lacks in durability. This means that you can focus on adding ability points to your wisdom, improving your skill to become an amazing druid.

Cleric

A cleric is also an excellent choice for a loxodon character. Clerics already tend to have a good armor class, so you aren;t making full use of your skin.

However, the loxodon serenity is incredibly useful when it comes to being resistant to charms and not scaring easily. This is very important if you are going to survive as a cleric.

Bard

A bard is an interesting class for a loxodon character. Your natural armor means that you can overlook dexterity, allowing you to direct all of your ability points into constitution and charisma which is very helpful for a bard.

Ranger

If you are playing a long campaign, it might be worth choosing the ranger class. The high constitution and wisdom will be a great help to a ranger. However, there will be a bit of a clash between dexterity armor class until you are able to get your constitution up to 20.

Monk 

There is a split opinion in the Dungeons and Dragons community as to whether the monk class is a good fit for a loxodon. Monks benefit from constitution and wisdom which pairs well with the loxodons natural traits, and being strong is also helpful.

However, the unarmored defense of a monk is superior to the natural armor of the loxodon, so you are not making the most of your leathery skin.

Once you reach level 7 as a monk you will benefit from stillness of mind, which will make your loxodon serenity redundant. However, there is something very amusing about using your trunk for martial arts with unarmed strikes.

Paladin

The paladin class can work well for loxodons but you need to make the right choices when it comes to your stats.

Your increased wisdom is not really needed, but the high armor class means that you can overlook dexterity and spend your points on strength and charisma instead. The plus 2 on constitution and the loxodon serenity will both come in handy for paladins.

Barbarian

The main issue with this class is that the barbarians’ unarmoured defense and the loxodon’s natural armor clash, so you are losing one of the best benefits of playing as a loxodon.

Barbarians work best with a race that is very strong, and whilst loxodons have a good constitution it’s not really a good fit. The only benefit to becoming a loxodon barbarian is that the serenity will help with some of the barbarians weaknesses.

Fighter

This is a less specific class which some beginners like to play as it tends to be a bit more simple to follow. It might come in handy to use your trunk for unarmed attacks and for grappling, but this is more of a novelty and won’t give you much of a tactical advantage.

Constitution and serenity could be helpful, but the fighter class isn’t a great match for the loxodon race.

Rogue

The rogue class is a poor choice for a loxodon. One of the most important features of a rogue is their stealth, and an 8 foot 400 pound elephantine is certainly not stealthy. Once again, the serenity and constitution could be helpful, but not enough to make it a worthwhile choice.

Sorcerers, Warlocks And Wizards

None of these classes are a good fit for a loxodon. Sorcerers and warlocks need charisma and wizards need intelligence, neither of which are natural traits of a loxodon.

Sorcerers and wizards can use mage armor which removes the need for natural armor, and warlocks can use light armor.

Summary

Loxodons are a fascinating race of creatures in Dungeons and Dragons and they would make an excellent addition to any campaign.

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