When creating your character in Baldur's Gate 3, you'll need to choose which race to be. Your race is the foundation for your character, giving you additional bonuses or feats to further benefit your class and play style.
There are 11 available races to choose from, some having multiple subraces. The race and the subrace will give you additional bonuses, making both choices equally important. Every choice when creating your character is very important, so it's best to know exactly which race is right for your build.
Human
Humans are the most common people to be seen in the region of Faerun. Humans come with the bonuses Civil Militia and Human Versatility. Civil Militia gives proficiency with Spears, Pikes, Halberds, Glaives, Light Armor, and Shields. Human Versatility lets you select one additional skill to be proficient in and increases your carry capacity by 25%.
Half-Elf
Half Elves have one elf parent and one human parent, giving them some traits of an elf and landing between the two races. Half-Elves come with the innate features Fey Ancestry and Dark Vision. Dark Vision allows them to see up to 12 meters in a dark space, while Fey Ancestry gives an advantage on saving throws against being charmed while also not being able to be put to sleep through magic.
Half-Elfs have three subclasses, High, Wood, and Drow. High Half-Elfs learn a cantrip from the Wizard Spell List. Wood Half-Elfs have a proficiency in stealth and have a movement speed of 10.5 meters. Drow Half-Elfs come with the cantrip Dancing Lights.
Elf
Elves come with the unique features Dark Vision and Fey Ancestry. Fey Ancestry keeps them from being put to sleep with magic while also giving them advantage on saving throws against being charmed. Dark Vision allows them to see up to 12 meters in the dark, making cave exploration much easier. Elves also have Elven Weapon Training, making them proficient with Longswords, Shortswords, Longbows, and Shortbows.
Elves also come in two subraces, Wood Elf and High Elf. High Elves learn a cantrip from the Wizard's spell list. Wood Elves get the ability Fleet Of Foot, increasing their movement speed to 10.5 meters.
Githyanki
Githyanki come from the Astral Plane, with their old empire being wiped out by the Mind Flayers. Githyanki come with multiple features: Astral Knowledge, Martial Prodigy, Githyanki Psionics, and the spell Misty Step. Astral Knowledge gives characters proficiency in all skills under one ability. Martial Prodigy gives proficiency with Shortswords, Longswords, and Greatswords. Githyanki Psionics gives them access to the cantrip Mage Hand, a level 3 jump, and the spell Misty Step, no matter your class.
Gnome
Gnomes come with a unique feature called Gnome Cunning, giving them advantage on Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws. Gnomes also come in three different subraces, Deep Gnome, Forest Gnome, and Rock Gnome.
Deep Gnomes have Superior Dark Vision, letting them see in the dark up to 24 meters, and Stone Camouflage which gives advantage on Stealth Checks. Forest Gnomes have Darkvision and the spell Speak With Animals. Rock Gnomes have Dark Vision and Artificers Lore, doubling your proficiency bonus on History checks.
Halfling
All Halflings come with the features Brave and Lucky. Brave gives advantage on saving throws against being frightened, while Lucky lets you reroll a roll of 1 on an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw. Halflings come in two subraces, Lightfoot Halfling, and Strongheart Halfling.
Lightfoot Halflings have the bonus Naturally Stealthy, which gives them proficiency in Stealth checks. Strongheart Halfings have Strongheart Resilience, which provides them with an advantage against poison or poison damage saving throws.
Half-Orc
Half-Orcs come with a very useful racial feature, Relentless Endurance. Once a day, when you reach zero hit points, you'll instead only drop to one hit point and survive a potentially deadly attack. Half-Orcs also have Darkvision, letting them see in the dark up to 12 meters, and Menacing, which gives proficiency in Intimidation. Half-Orcs also have Savage Attacks, which roll an additional damage dice on critical hits, making them great options for melee-focused characters.
Tiefling
All Tieflings come with the racial feature Darkvision and Hellish Resistance. Darkvision lets them see in the dark up to 12 meters, while Hellish Resistance gives them resistance to fire damage and only take half damage from fire-based attacks. Tieflings come with three different subraces, Asmodeous Tiefling, Mephistopheles Tiefling, and Zariel Tiefling.
Asmodeous Tieflings start with the cantrip Produce Flame and learn Hellish Rebuke at level 3 and Darkness at level 5. Mephistopheles Tieflings start with the Mage Hand cantrip, also learning Burning Hands at level 3 and Flame Blade at level 5. Zariel Tieflings start with the cantrip Thaumaturgy, learning Searing Smite at level 3 and Branding Smite at level 5.
Drow
All Drow come with the racial features Drow Weapon Training, Fey Ancestry, Superior Darkvision, and Drown Spellcasting. Drow Weapon Training gives proficiency with Rapiers, Shortswords, and Hand Crossbows. Superior Darkvision lets characters see in the dark up to 24 meters. Fey Ancestry gives advantage on all saving throws against being charmed and can't be put to sleep with magic.
Drow Spellcasting gives all Drow access to the cantrip Dancing Lights at level 1, Faerie Fire at level 3, and Darkness at level 5. While there are two subraces for the Drow, neither gives any different features or stats, making their only different role-playing options for your character's background.
Dwarf
Dwarfs come with the racial features Dwarven Combat Training, Darkvision, and Dwarven Resilience. Dwarven Combat Training gives proficiency in Battleaxes, Hand Axes, Light Hammers, and Warhammers. Darkvision lets your character see in the dark up to 12 meters. Dwarven Resilience gives advantage on poison and poison damage saving throws. Dwarves come with three different subraces, Gold Dwarf, Shield Dwarf, and Duergar.
Gold Dwarves get one more maximum hit point and gain one more with each level on top of the usual increases. Shield Dwarves gain armor proficiency with light and medium armor. Duergar have Superior Darkvision, letting them see in the dark up to 24 meters, and advantage on saving throws against illusions and being paralyzed or charmed.
Dragonborn
Dragonborns are very unique in that they have ten different subraces to choose from. Dragonborns don't have any universal racial feats beyond their additional breath attack, with its element being decided by your subrace. This breath attack is an action dealing AOE damage that scales as your character level increases. Here is a breakdown of each subrace and their elemental breath attack.
|
Subrace |
Element |
|---|---|
|
Brass, Gold, and Red |
Fire Breath |
|
Silver And White |
Cold Breath |
|
Blue And Bronze |
Lightning Breath |
|
Black And Copper |
Acid Breath |
|
Green |
Poison Breath |