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Adventurers in the realms of Dungeons & Dragons come in many shapes and sizes and from as many backgrounds as you can imagine. A character's class is only half of the equation; their race plays an equal part in determining that character's history, how they view the world, and how the world views them.
Dungeons & Dragons has a Massive Race Selection to choose from. While there are countless creatures in the bestiaries that could be considered 'races', this page is for specifically detailing the ones intended for players; creatures without racial hit dice that have specific entries for their use as characters.
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This page is intended to serve as a collection for all playable races in D&D, regardless of their setting of origin. Thus, githzerai are here, whilst their githyanki relatives remain on the Planescape Races page.
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These races represent the archetypical player character options in D&D, having been present in every single edition.
Dwarf
Elf
Halfling
Human
Gnome
Half-Elf
Half-Orc
Tiefling
Dragonborn
Aasimar
Genasi
DrowD&D's classic dark elves, the drow are a scheming, devious and cruel lot in eternal enmity with their surface-dwelling elven kin.
Githzerai
GoliathLarge, powerfully built tribal humanoids who favor the rugged mountainous regions of the world.
TritonWater-breathing humanoids who may have originated on the Elemental Plane of Water.
HengeyokaiNot so much one race as many, the hengeyokai are a collection of magical animals that can assume partially or wholely humanoid form. Introduced in AD&D 1st edition's 'Oriental Adventures', they were updated to 2nd edition when Kara-tur was updated & transferred from the Greyhawk setting to the Forgotten Realms setting. In 3rd edition, they appeared in the early sourcebook 'Oriental Adventures' (which used Rokugan instead of Kara-tur). In 4th edition, they appeared in issue #404 of Dragon tied into Kara-tur, although their existence in the Nentir Vale was also addressed.
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Setting-Specific Races
These races are specifically linked to a given world and/or campaign setting. While some have appeared in settings beyond the ones they debuted in, they have not seen a broader appeal in subsequent editions.
AraneaRulers of Herath on the Savage Coast of Mystara, the Aranea are a race of shapeshifting giant spiders with a powerful affinity for magic.
Bariaur
Origin: Planescape
Natives of the Plane of Ysgard, the Bariaur are centaur-like beings who possess the upper body of humanoids and the lower bodies of mountain sheep or goats.
DevaAngels from the Astral Sea who became so enamored with mortal life and the world they lived in that they chose to give up their connections to the heavenly realms. Now, they reincarnate over and over, roaming the world that they grew so fascinated with. As a playable race, the devas largely replace the aasimar following the shift from 3.5e to 4e.
Lupin
Origin: Mystara
A canid race native to Mystara, where they inhabit various regions, particularly the faux-French kingdom of Renardie. First introduced in the
RakastaA race of feline humanoids native to Mystara, where they have both a kingdom of their own on the planet itself, called Bellayne, and a separate culture on the moon, called Myoshima. They first appeared in the modules X1: Isle of Dread and X2: Castle Amber, then went on to appear in Dragon
Kender
Origin: Dragonlance
A race of small, elf-like humanoids native to Krynn, kender are similar in some ways to the halflings of other worlds, and yet in others are very different.
GiffHumanoid hippos who roam Wild Space as mercenaries, selling their considerable skills at battle to the highest bidder.
Scro
Origin: Spelljammer
Descendants of spelljamming orcs defeated during the First Unhuman War, scro forsook their traditional lifestyle and reverence for Gruumsh, instead rallying around the visionary leader Dukgash and restyling themselves so as to transcend their former weakness and defeat the elves.
MulA hybrid of human and dwarf first introduced on the world of Athas.
Thri-KreenPredatory, humanoid mantids who are most associated with the world of Athas, where they were first given a major role as a playable character race. They are also known to exist in the Shining South of the Forgotten Realms.
Warforged
Origin: Eberron
Sapient constructs created as soldiers in the Last War, the Warforged were granted legal freedom after peace was declared and now seek meaning in their new lives.
Shadar-kaiList Of Playable Races In D&dOne of the more complex-to-explain races in D&D, the Shadar-kai initially began as an unplayable species of monster in 3rd edition, then changed into a culturally different species of playable humanoids in 4th and 5th. The 3e version are a race of fey who became trapped in the Plane of Shadow after a failed attempt to use it to enslave the mortal races, which causes it to begin eating their souls. The 4e version are a race of once-humans native to the Shadowfell who, through a combination of a pact with the Raven Queen and migration to the Shadowfell, achieved immortality at a cost. The 5e version are former elves who became bound to the Shadowfell during the great civil war between Corellon and Lolth as a result of their attempt to stay neutral and broker peace.
Diabolus
Origin: Mystara
Refugees from the Realm of Nightmares, the Diaboli are fiendish-looking but benign beings who believe in the principles of benevolent anarchy and find humans as frightening-looking as humans find them. The diabolus mindset is naturally aligned towards the chaotic; their society exists in what is essentially anarchy because they believe that as no one government style is provably better than the rest, then it's best to just not have anything to do with the hassle of government whatsoever. The diabolus society, such as it is, holds together mostly through strong customs and traditions that have proven repeatedly to be helpful, and a strong sense of fair play; the guiding philosophy of the diaboli can be summed up as 'do what thou wilt, but harm none', the foundational 'great truth' that unites their people and which provides the roots from which all taboos, traditions, and customs ultimately grow.
Appearing as a monster in AD&D, they received a playable writeup in 3rd edition courtesy of Dragon.
Orc
Goblin
Runty, vicious, cowardly and sneaky, the goblins are some of the weakest and most common of the game's traditional set of evil races, and alongside kobolds tend to form its bottom rung both in-universe and out. They're also the first â and usually least â of the goblinoids, an extensive series of evil humanoid species that are among the most common foes faced by adventurers.
Hobgoblin
Human-sized, militaristic goblinoids, the hobgoblins are distinguished from their smaller kin by their strict organization, their immense discipline and the considerably greater threat they pose both individually and as groups. A culture of slavers and warmongers, the hobgoblins hate their diminutive relatives almost as much as they hate the elves.
Bugbear
The largest, fiercest and most vicious of the common goblinoids, bugbears are far more dangerous and feared than any of their relatives. Luckily for everyone else, they're also among the least numerous and advanced and most disorganized of their kind, limiting the threat they can pose to other cultures.
KoboldA species of small, reptilian humanoids, the kobolds are individually some of the weakest and squishiest enemies in the games. To make up for this, they tend to rely on ambushes, misdirection, complex and elaborate traps and the confusing, maze like layouts of their warrens. Somewhat ironically, they're also distantly related to some of D&D's most powerful and impressive creatures, the dragons.
GnollHumanoid hyenas known mostly for their use of slavery, their indiscriminately carnivorous appetites, and their long-standing allegiance to the demon prince Yeenoghu. Yet, at the same time, gnolls have deeper potential; they are fiercely loyal to their packmates, and actually have a long tradition of being viable Monster Adventurers, with PC stats in every edition bar the 5th.
MinotaurBestial creatures that resemble a bipedal hybrid of man and bull. Their depiction has changed considerably over the years.
Duthka'githA mutant offshoot of the githyanki race created at the order of the lich-queen Vlaakith CLVII, duthka'gith bear the essence of the fiendish red dragon Ephelomon in their veins, adding draconic and fiendish might to the power of the githyanki. Duthka'gith were introduced in Polyhedron #159, which was first printed in Dungeon #100.
Lizardfolk
Savage and primeval, the lizardfolk are swamp-dwelling reptilian humanoids, often portrayed as primitive even compared to orcs and goblins. Large, thick-skinned and powerful, they are not necessarily hostile, but are territorial and often have a rather alien morality.
Index
An Elf as inspired by Tolkien.
In tabletop role-playing games, the character race represents the people to which a player character (PC) or a non-player character (NPC) belongs. 'People' is to be taken in the broader sense, and may encompass ethnic groups, species, nationality[1] or social groups.[2]
In this fantasy world, the word âraceâ means the same as and replaces âspeciesâ.
ââEarthdawn (1993) p.38[3]
It can be a fictitious species from a fictional universe, or a real people, especially in case of a history-based universe (even if it has a given level of fantasy), e.g. Call of Cthulhu (1981),[4]Boot Hill (1975)[5] or Bushido (1979).[6] The term âraceâ is even broader than the usual meaning, as it also includes extraterrestrial beings; vegetal beings, e.g. the Aldryami in Glorantha (1978),[7] or the Sylvanians in Fantasy Craft (2010);[8] and robots, e.g. Artificials in Fantasy Craft or the Forgeborn/Dwarf-forged optional race in 13th Age (2013).[9]
This notion is also present in most fantasy or science-fiction works: novels, comics, video games (especially role-playing video game), board games, LARP, etc. The transmediality is obvious in case of consistent universes, e.g. the Middle Earth or the Star Wars universe.
Not all works use the term 'race': in Tunnels and Trolls 7th ed. (2005),[10]Ken St. Andre uses the term 'kinship (kin)'; the term is 'Spezies' (species) in Das Schwarze Auge 5th ed. (2014),[11] and 'éthnie' (ethnicity) in EW-System 2.0 (2004).[12]
In the heroic fantasy games, the races are usually humans, elves, dwarves, orcs, goblins, immaterial being (spirits, ghosts), etc. The main influence is the work of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. Some fantasy or steampunk games also involve 'artificial creatures' (alchemical homunculus, golems and mechanical creatures).
In science-fiction games, especially space opera and cyberpunk, the races are humans, extraterrestrials, mutants, cyborgs, transhumans, robots, and artificial intelligences (AI).
In some universes, it is possible to have hybrid characters. For example, in Dungeons & Dragons, it is possible to play a half-elf (hybrid of a human and an elf) or a half-orc (hybrid of a human and an orc).
History[edit]
The first role-playing game, âoriginalâ Dungeons & Dragons (1974),[13] stems from the wargameChainmail (1971).[14]Chainmail was especially designed to include fantasy races. The race is therefore a core notion present at the very beginning of the role-playing games.
The races in Dungeons & Dragons are strongly inspired by the fantasy literature of the 1930s-1960s.[15] It thus includes the Tolkienian archetypes, but the game makes a difference between:
In the first science-fiction role-playing game, Metamorphosis Alpha (1976),[16] it is possible to play humans and mutated creatures.
In 1975, Tunnels & Trolls[17] allows for the first time to play âmonstersâ, i.e. a player character can be any race, including possibly a âmonsterâ, but the races are not described in this game; in the 1979solo adventureGoblin Lake,[18] the player character is a goblin. The 1983 game Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game[19] also allows 'monsters' as PCs (e.g. goblin or a kobold), and these races are described in the same way as the ânon-monsterâ races.
The first fantasy game that breaks with the D&D conventions is RuneQuest:[7] the âelvesâ (Aldryami) are vegetal beings, it is possible to play a duck [sic], but the game also takes into account the cult (pantheon and system of beliefs such as animism) and the cultural background of the character's people: primitive, barbarian, nomadic or civilized. As opposed to Dungeons & Dragons, the character is not totally defined by race and class, but by a list of skills (what the character can do); the cultural background defines the basic value of the skills, and the cult the access to magic. The race is thus less important in a functional point of view (how the character can interact with the fictional world), but more important in a mimetic point of view (roleplay). The âbasic bricksâ of the character are more flexible (see § The race, a brick of the character below).
Generic races[edit]
The âoriginalâ Dungeons & Dragons(OD&D), and the first Advanced Dungeons & Dragons manuals (AD&D), do not describe any particular universe. The universe is only described through the game rules (magic, gods, fantasy races), and it outlines a generic universe inspired by popular fantasy novels of the 1930s-1960s.[15] The race is essentially a list of capabilitiesâfunctional partâand a rather thin description that is often limited to the visual appearance, with an illustration, and some elements of moeursâmimetic part (see § Function, mimesis and roleplay below). The way the race takes place in the fictional universe is described in optional books, the âcampaign settingsâ or âworld booksâ. The race is thus mainly a âfunctional toolâ, a set of functions that the player can implement in the adventure: the elves can see in the dark, and in OD&D hobbits can only be fighting men.[20] The Player's Handbook[21] also provide a table of âRacial preferencesâ and racial restrictions to the alignment, i.e. some races are intended to behave in a given moral way.
TSR Hobbies assumed anyone buying D&D knew what Hobbits are, there was no real description and the only reason they seemed to have been included was to reinforce the game's connection with Tolkien's stories.
ââRonald Mark Pehr, A Change of Hobbit[20]
The player thus has to pick from his own knowledge of other works, particularly in what is now called the âgeek cultureâ; according to Isabelle Périer, PhD in comparative literature:[22]
[this intertextuality] is a concision toolâit allows to quickly get into the middle of the actionâand an opening towards variationsâyou can then play with the stereotypes.
French: [Cette intertextualité] est un outil de concision â ça permet d'aller au cÅur de l'action très vite â, et une ouverture vers la variation â après on peut jouer avec les stéréotypes.
ââIsabelle Périer, Role-playing games: another form of youth literature? (Le jeu de rôle : une autre forme de littérature de jeunesse ?)[23]
Race-driven campaign[edit]
In 1989, Jean-Luc Bizien [fr] creates Hurlements [fr] (French for âhowlsâ) in which players characters are âerrantsâ, âwanderersâ, i.e. were-animals that form a caravan. The race of were-animals, and their relationship with the humans, become the main subject of the adventures, and not only a functional element or a flavour to the universe. Other games are then published, where the race of the player characters is itself the main topic of the adventures, especially Vampire: The Masquerade (1991)[24] and Nephilim (1992)[25]
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Depiction of real peoples[edit]
As aforementioned, some campaign settings are based on real world events, and thus depict real peoples. The way the people are described can be problematic and may sometimes be considered as offending. For example, French articles[26]·[27] criticised the way the Soviets were depicted in The Price of Freedom (1986).[28]
Game design[edit]
Race selection screen in Falcon's Eye.
According to Coralie David,[29] in role-playing games (as well as in youth literature), the characters are defined by âbricksâ; they are in fact âsyntagms of fictional paradigmsâ (French: syntagmes de paradigmes fictionnels). This makes the immersion of the player (or reader) easier, as anyone can build his own character in a way that is consistent with the fictional universe.[30]
[As they describe various archetypes,] the authors of Dungeons & Dragons draw paradigms, the gears and bricks that compose them. It is possible to play Hobbits, Elves, Humans [⦠The players] will use bricks to build their own characters. The characters will be in fact structured like a set of gears that are both fictional and ludic. French: [En décrivant différents archétypes,] les auteurs de 'Donjons & Dragons' dégagent des paradigmes, les rouages et les briques qui les composent. Il est possible d'y incarner des hobbits, des elfes, des humains [⦠Les joueurs] vont utiliser des briques pour construire leurs propres personnages, qui vont être en fait structurés comme un ensemble de pièces d'engrenage qui sont à la fois fictionnelles et ludiques
ââCoralie David, Role-playing game and fictional writing (Jeux de rôle et écriture fictionnelle)[30]
Thus, the race is one of these bricks, as it provides a set of predefined parameters (diegetic paradigms) and of characteristicsâin the broad sense: physical characteristics, cultural background, moral values and social relationships. The fictional world is built as a consistent system made of âexposedâ bricks[31] that can be easily identified, and this promotes creativity and sharing; it also promotes the imaginary creation by the player (or reader).[30]
The race itself can be made of âsub-bricksâ the player can choose, e.g. in After the Bomb 2nd ed. (2001),[32] the player can build his own race by a combination of a basic animal race and mutations.
Function, mimesis and roleplay[edit]
As aforementioned, a character is mainly defined by two things:
The functionalities are often a set capabilities and impairments which the game designer try to keep balanced. In some games, the choice of a given race has a cost in generation points, to reflect the advantages a race can give.
In race-driven campaigns, the functionalities can play a central role. For example, in Cats ! (La Mascarade) (2010),[33] the PCs are cats, with the following consequences:
Playable Races In D&d 5e
4: The cats have powerful powers, but always in a feline point of view.
5: Cats can hardly understand the way humans understand things. 6: The domestic felines do not have an opposable thumb! 7: What is easy for a human is complicated for a cat.French: 4 : Les pouvoirs des chats sont puissants, mais toujours rapportés à une optique féline. 5 : Les chats ont du mal à comprendre lâesprit humain. 6 : Pas de pouce préhenseur chez les félins domestiques ! 7 : Ce qui est facile pour un humain est compliqué pour un chat.
ââTlön Uqbar (Vincent Mathieu), The Universe and the scenarios as sub-systems (Lâunivers et les scénarios comme sous-systèmes)[34]
This influences the decisions of the player, i.e. the roleplay. In some games, the race has an influence on the choices made by the player. The influence can be prescribed by descriptions of the cultural background: the âRacial preferencesâ in AD&D impels the character to behave in a given way with other characters, and each cult and culture in RuneQuest Glorantha describe the way the character sees the world. In some other games, the influence on choices is impelled, and sometimes enforced, by the rules.
Playable Races In D D 5e Curse Of Strahd
Some game designers consider that creating a rule to induce a role-playing choice is suitable:
In role-playing games, there is a balance between functionalism and mimesis, that is to say that at the beginning, a character is functional: he knows 1. How to fight or 2. How to chat up people [â¦] What can I do at that game table? How can I interact with the world that surrounds me? All this is transcribed by a list of characteristics or attributes [â¦] Furthermore, [we impose the role-playing character to have a] given mimetic wrapper: who I am, what my name is [â¦] what my past life is [â¦] There is a balance; the balance is found, in my opinion, when the mimetic part echoes to the functional part. For example in Vampire, you have main traits of personality, called âNatureâ, and when you play according to your Nature, you earn points of Willpower that allows you to make better dice rolls.French: Dans le jeu de rôle, on a un équilibre entre fonctionnalisme et mimétique, à savoir qu'un personnage de jeu de rôle, à l'origine, est fonctionnel : il sait 1. Se battre ou 2. Baratiner des gens [â¦] Qu'est-ce que je vais faire autour de la table ? Comment est-ce que je vais agir sur le monde autour de moi ? Tout cela est retransmis par des listes de caractéristiques ou d'attributs [â¦] Par ailleurs, [on impose aussi au personnage de jeu de rôle] une certaine enveloppe mimétique : qui je suis, comment je m'appelle [â¦] quel est mon passé [â¦] On est dans un équilibre, l'équilibre étant à mon avis trouvé lorsque le mimétisme renvoie à du fonctionnalisme. Par exemple dans 'Vampire', vous avez des traits de caractère principaux, qu'on appelle la « Nature », et quand vous jouez votre Nature, vous regagnez des points de 'Volonté' qui vous permettent de faire de meilleurs jets.
ââIsabelle Périer, âRole-playing games: another form of youth literature?â (Le jeu de rôle : une autre forme de littérature de jeunesse ?)[35]
Some other consider that such rules limit the freedom of choice of the player and impedes the immersion:
Typically, if you want to create game situations where the players don't know whether their characters are losing their minds, or whether this NPC is actually going to betray them, you shall make sure not to tell them. This means to make sure that what you envision for your game to be played is not that obvious, or that there is no explicit statistic that will let them know for sure what is going to happen next. [..] Indeed, some issues are much more well addressed through play if they are not explicit or if they emerge during the play without being felt as mandatory.French: Typiquement, dans un jeu où on veut créer une dynamique où les joueur se demandent si leurs personnages sont fous ou si tel ou tel PNJ vont les trahir ou pas, il serait bien malvenu de ne laisser aucun doute à ces sujets, que ce soit par une vision trop explicite ou une statistique trop évidente. [â¦] De fait, certaines thématiques parlent dâautant plus fort en jeu quâelles sont tues ou ne sont pas obligatoires.
ââJérôme Larré, De la vision au jeu : 10 pièges[36]
For example, in many role-playing games based on medieval Japan, the notion of honour is specific to the Japanese people (âraceâ); it is handled in different ways:
See also[edit]References[edit]
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