Dungeons & Dragons: Species/Races
The species/races of DnD are varied and colourful. Whilst most are typically associated with a particular culture or nature, they’re not tied to them. Feel free to experiment and switch things up. A great example is in the DnD based game “Baldur’s Gate 3”, where the leading underground researcher is a Hobgoblin. Hobgablins are usually warlike and ferocious, but Blurg is kind and highly intelligent.
Goblins can be civilized and elves can be savage, but it’s best to justify your charaters uniqueness within the world they live in, such as a wise, civilized goblin being kicked out of his tribe for not fitting in, or a human raised by beasts, explaining his savage temperament!
There’s also no rule saying that you can mix 2 together.
The button below contains a great video on DnD species! and a full list with details.
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Humans
In the reckonings of most worlds, humans are the youngest of the common races, late to arrive on the world scene and short-lived in comparison to dwarves, elves, and dragons. Perhaps it is because of their shorter lives that they strive to achieve as much as they can in the years they are given. Or maybe they feel they have something to prove to the elder races, and that’s why they build their mighty empires on the foundation of conquest and trade. Whatever drives them, humans are the innovators, the achievers, and the pioneers of the worlds.
Elves
Based on the “Lord of the Rings” version of elves.
Elves are a magical people of otherworldly grace, living in places of ethereal beauty, in the midst of ancient forests or in silvery spires glittering with faerie light, where soft music drifts through the air and gentle fragrances waft on the breeze. Elves love nature and magic, art and artistry, music and poetry.
Elves come in several varieties you can read about using the button below.
Dwarves
Kingdoms rich in ancient grandeur, halls carved into the roots of mountains, the echoing of picks and hammers in deep mines and blazing forges, a commitment to clan and tradition, and a burning hatred of goblins and orcs – these common threads unite all dwarves.
Dwaves come in two varieties you can read about using the button below.
Dragonborn
Born of dragons, as their name proclaims, the dragonborn walk proudly through a world that greets them with fearful incomprehension. Shaped by draconic gods or the dragons themselves, dragonborn originally hatched from dragon eggs as a unique race, combining the best attributes of dragons and humanoids. Some dragonborn are faithful servants to true dragons, others form the ranks of soldiers in great wars, and still others find themselves adrift, with no clear calling in life.
There are Varieties you can read about using the button below.
Tiefling
To be greeted with stares and whispers, to suffer violence and insult on the street, to see mistrust and fear in every eye: this is the lot of the tiefling. And to twist the knife, tieflings know that this is because a pact struck generations ago infused the essence of Asmodeus, overlord of the Nine Hells (and many of the other powerful devils serving under him) into their bloodline. Their appearance and their nature are not their fault but the result of an ancient sin, for which they and their children and their children’s children will always be held accountable.
There are Varieties you can read about using the button below.
Halfling
The comforts of home are the goals of most halflings’ lives: a place to settle in peace and quiet, far from marauding monsters and clashing armies. Others form nomadic bands that travel constantly, lured by the open road and the wide horizon to discover the wonders of new lands and peoples. Halflings work readily with others, and they are loyal to their friends, whether halfling or otherwise. They can display remarkable ferocity when their friends, families, or communities are threatened.
There are Varieties you can read about using the button below.
Aasimar
Whether descended from a celestial being or infused with heavenly power, aasimar are mortals who carry a spark of the Upper Planes within their souls. They can fan that spark to bring light, ease wounds, and unleash the fury of the heavens.
There are Varieties you can read about using the button below.
Aarakocra
A winged people who originated on the Elemental Plane of Air, aarakocra soar through the sky wherever they wander. The first aarakocra served the Wind Dukes of Aaqa — mighty beings of air — and were imbued with a measure of their masters’ power over winds. Their descendants still command echoes of that power.
There are Varieties you can read about using the button below.
Kenku
Feathered folk who resemble ravens, kenku are blessed with keen observation and supernaturally accurate memories. None of them can remember the origin of the first kenku, however, and they often joke that there are as many kenku origin stories as there are kenku. Some of them paint their genesis as a curse, being a flightless bird people doomed to mimic other people’s creations. Other kenku recite cryptic but beautiful poems about their advent being a blessed event in which they were sent into the multiverse to observe and catalog its many wonders.
There are Varieties you can read about using the button below.
Owlin
Distant kin of giant owls from the Feywild, owlin come in many shapes and sizes, from petite and fluffy to wide-winged and majestic. Owlin have arms and legs like other Humanoids, as well as wings that extend from their back and shoulders.
Like owls, owlin are graced with feathers that make no sound when they move or fly, making it easy for them to sneak up on you in the library.
There are Varieties you can read about using the button below.
Leonin
The leonin guard the shining lands of Oreskos, a golden plain where even the gods rarely trespass. Prides of these nomadic, lion-like humanoids rarely interact with other peoples, having all they need in their shimmering homeland and knowing the treachery of strangers. Still, some leonin wonder what lies beyond Oreskos’s border mountains and seek to test themselves in a wider world.
There are Varieties you can read about using the button below.
Tabaxi
Created by the Cat Lord—a divine being of the Upper Planes—to blend the qualities of humanoids and cats, tabaxi are a varied people in both attitude and appearance. In some lands, tabaxi live like the cats they resemble, naturally curious and at home in playful environments. In other places, tabaxi live as other folk do, not exhibiting the feline behavior the Cat Lord intended.
There are Varieties you can read about using the button below.
Harengon
Harengons originated in the Feywild, where they spoke Sylvan and embodied the spirit of freedom and travel. In time, these rabbitfolk hopped into other worlds, bringing the fey realm’s exuberance with them and learning new languages as they went.
There are Varieties you can read about using the button below.
Kobold
Some of the smallest draconic creatures in the multiverse, kobolds display their draconic ancestry in the glint of their scales and in their roars. Legends tell of the first kobolds emerging from the Underdark near the lairs of the earliest dragons. In some lands, kobolds serve chromatic or metallic dragons — even worshiping them as divine beings. In other places, kobolds know too well how dangerous those dragons can be and help others defend against draconic destruction.
There are Varieties you can read about using the button below.
Changeling
With ever-changing appearances, changelings reside in many societies undetected. Each changeling can supernaturally adopt any face they like. For some changelings, a new face is only a disguise. For other changelings, a new face may reveal an aspect of their soul.
There are Varieties you can read about using the button below.
Hexblood
Where wishing fails, ancient magic can offer a heart’s desire—at least, for a time. Hexbloods are individuals infused with eldritch magic, fey energy, or mysterious witchcraft. Some who enter into bargains with hags gain their deepest wishes but eventually find themselves transformed.
There are Varieties you can read about using the button below.
Dhampir
Poised between the worlds of the living and the dead, dhampirs retain their grip on life yet are endlessly tested by vicious hungers. Their ties to the undead grant dhampirs a taste of a vampire’s deathless prowess in the form of increased speed, darkvision, and a life-draining bite.
There are Varieties you can read about using the button below.
Goliath
The first goliaths lived on the highest mountain peaks — far above the tree line, where the air is thin and frigid winds howl. Distantly related to giants and infused with the supernatural essence of their ancestors’ mountainous home, goliaths stand between 7 and 8 feet tall and have a wide array of skin tones resembling different types of stone.
There are Varieties you can read about using the button below.
Orc
Orcs trace their creation to the one-eyed god Gruumsh, an unstoppable warrior and powerful leader. The divine qualities of Gruumsh resonate within orcs, granting them a reflection of his toughness and tenacity that can’t be matched, and the god equipped his children to be able to live above or below ground.
There are Varieties you can read about using the button below.
Eladrin
Eladrin are elves of the Feywild, a realm of perilous beauty and boundless magic. Using that magic, eladrin can step from one place to another in the blink of an eye, and each eladrin resonates with emotions captured in the Feywild in the form of seasons — affinities that affect the eladrin’s mood and appearance. An eladrin’s season can change, though some remain in one season forever. Choose your season or roll on the Eladrin Seasons table. Your Trance trait lets you change your season.
There are Varieties you can read about using the button below.
Fairy
The Feywild is home to many fantastic peoples, including fairies. Fairies are a wee folk, but not nearly as much so as their pixie and sprite friends. The first fairies spoke Elvish, Goblin, or Sylvan, and encounters with human visitors prompted many of them to learn Common as well.
There are Varieties you can read about using the button below.
Goblin
A subterranean folk, goblins can be found in every corner of the multiverse, often beside their bugbear and hobgoblin kin. Long before the god Maglubiyet conquered them, early goblins served in the court of the Queen of Air and Darkness, one of the Feywild’s archfey.
There are Varieties you can read about using the button below.
Hobgoblin
Hobgoblins trace their origins to the ancient courts of the Feywild, where they first appeared with their goblin and bugbear kin. Many of them were driven from the Feywild by the conquering god Maglubiyet, who marshaled them as soldiers, but the fey realm left its mark; wherever they are in the multiverse, they continue to channel an aspect of the Feywild’s rule of reciprocity, which creates a mystical bond between the giver and the receiver of a gift.
There are Varieties you can read about using the button below.
Genasi
All Genasi can trace their elemental ancestry back to genies. Whether they have a genie relative or were born somewhere overflowing with genie magic, each Genasi is shaped by the powers of the Elemental DnD Planes.
There are Varieties you can read about using the button below.
Warforged
The warforged were built to fight in the Last War. The first warforged were mindless automatons, but House Cannith devoted vast resources to improving these steel soldiers. An unexpected breakthrough produced fully sentient soldiers, blending organic and inorganic materials. Warforged are made from wood and metal, but they can feel pain and emotion. Built as weapons, they must now find a purpose beyond the war. A warforged can be a steadfast ally, a cold-hearted killing machine, or a visionary in search of purpose and meaning.
There are Varieties you can read about using the button below.