Chrono Trigger is one of the greatest video games of all time, if not the greatest. One of the reasons why gamers are still talking about Chrono Trigger after all of these years is because of its memorable cast, and few characters are as forgettable as Frog — the valiant knight who was cursed into becoming a human-sized frog.
On the surface, Frog seems like a joke character. He is clearly inspired by The Frog Prince fairy tale, with the joke being that he turned into a man-sized frog that could fight with a sword and shield. It soon becomes apparent that Frog's amphibian form doesn't slow him down in the slightest, as he still performs his knightly duties with gusto. Frog remains the pinnacle of valor and courtly manners, despite his ridiculous appearance. The fact that he is worthy to wield the legendary Masamune is proof within the game that he has the qualities of being a hero, and that he might have what it takes to defeat Magus and Lavos. There are many honorable knights in the Dungeons & Dragons multiverse, whose character is similar to that of Frog, but Frog's unique form offers some challenges for using him in a tabletop game.
Frog's Race?
The first question we need to ask ourselves when creating a version of Frog from Chrono Trigger in Dungeons & Dragons is what race do we chose? Frog starts out as a human, but he is cursed by an evil mage and turned into a frog-sized humanoid. There is an equivalent to this in the Dungeons & Dragons multiverse, in the form of a monster called the bullywug, which are frog-like humanoids. There are no playable versions of the Bullywug in the official rules for the game as of the time of writing, so we'll have to get creative.
For our custom version of the bullywug race, we're going to use forest gnomes as a base, as Frog would be a small-sized creature. The Bullywug form will retain the +2 INT/+1 DEX bonus and small size from the gnome, but the Gnome Cunning, Darkvision, and Natural Illusionist features will be replaced with Amphibian (can breathe on land & water,), Standing Leap (can leap up to 20ft forward/10ft in the air with no starting run), Swamp Camouflage (Advantage on Stealth checks when hiding in swampy terrain), and a swim speed of 25ft, even in heavy armor. The Speak with Small Beasts feature will be replaced with Speak with Frogs and Toads. Clear any homebrew material with your DM first if you want to use them in their game, especially if it doesn't come from Wizards of the Coast.
The version of Frog we have created uses material from the Player's Handbook and the homebrew Bullywug mentioned above. Frog is a Bullywug paladin who takes on the Oath of Vengeance when he reaches level three. Using the basic stat spread listed on page 13 of the Player's Handbook and taking his race into account, Frog's starting stats would be STR 15, DEX 11, CON 13, INT 10, WIS 12, and CHA 14. Frog is a frontline fighter with the power to augment his combat abilities with spells, but he can also heal his allies when necessary.
Frog's Powers
Frog served as a squire to a knight named Cyrus during his youth, so he would suit the Soldier background. His starting skills would be Athletics, Intimidation, Insight, and Persuasion. If the variant Feat rules are used, he would benefit from Charger, Great Weapon Master, Mage Slayer, Mobile, Sentinel, or Shield Master. Once he reaches level two, he would choose Dueling as his Fighting Style. In terms of alignment, Frog is clearly Lawful Good, as he is the living embodiment of what it means to be a knight. Frog certainly has a dark side to him, especially when it comes to dealing with Magus, but he never lets it get in the way of fighting for the greater good.
Oath of Vengeance paladins have access to several awesome buffing spells that will augment Frog's fighting abilities, such as haste and protection from energy, as well as some great movement spells, like misty step and dimension door. When it comes to the general paladin spell list, Frog would benefit from compelled duel, cure wounds, wrathful smite, aid, magic weapon, create food and water, elemental weapon, revivify, locate creature, aura of life, staggering smite, circle of power, and destructive wave. The DM will hopefully let the player shape their destructive wave spell like a giant frog crashing into the ground, referencing the Frog Drop ability from Chrono Trigger.
Frog's backstory is incredibly easy to include in a Dungeons & Dragons campaign. He started out as a squire for a famous knight but had to watch as that knight was slaughtered by an evil mage. The mage then cursed Frog, turning him into his current form, and no magic seems to be able to break it. This gives Frog the motivation to start adventuring, as he needs to gather allies & experience if he hopes to take on this evil mage and get revenge for his former mentor.
The player should discuss this backstory with the DM beforehand, as it's something that they could incorporate into the game. If the DM is using a pre-made campaign, then the evil mage could be substituted for one of the villains, or one of the existing villains might have had a run-in with Frog in the past. The backstory can still be used even if the DM doesn't want to incorporate it into the game, as hunting down the evil mage can be Frog's long-term goal, with whatever adventure he is currently taking part in acting as a stepping stone towards his final quest.
The character might have to deal with mistrust and suspicion from the common folk, based on the fact that they now look like a monster, which means that they will have to work harder in order to prove themselves, and that can be a quest unto itself for many players.