Rules & Terminology

Complete Race List

Common Races

Dwarf

Bold and hardy, dwarves are known as skilled warriors, miners, and workers of stone and metal. Though they stand well under 5 feet tall, dwarves are so broad and compact that they can weigh as much as a human standing nearly two feet taller. Their courage and endurance are also easily a match for any of the larger folk.

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Source: Basic Rules | Player's Handbook

Elf

With their unearthly grace and fine features, elves appear hauntingly beautiful to humans and members of many other races. They are slightly shorter than humans on average, ranging from well under 5 feet tall to just over 6 feet. They are more slender than humans, weighing only 100 to 145 pounds. Males and females are about the same height, and males are only marginally heavier than females.

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Source: Basic Rules | Player's Handbook

Halfling

The diminutive halflings survive in a world full of larger creatures by avoiding notice or, barring that, avoiding offense. Standing about 3 feet tall, they appear relatively harmless and so have managed to survive for centuries in the shadow of empires and on the edges of wars and political strife. They are inclined to be stout, weighing between 40 and 45 pounds.

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Source: Basic Rules | Player's Handbook

Human

With their penchant for migration and conquest, humans are more physically diverse than other common races. There is no typical human. An individual can stand from 5 feet to a little over 6 feet tall and weigh from 125 to 250 pounds. Humans reach adulthood in their late teens and rarely live even a single century.

Full Race Information

Source: Basic Rules | Player's Handbook

Uncommon Races

Dragonborn

Dragonborn look very much like dragons standing erect in humanoid form, though they lack wings or a tail. The first dragonborn had scales of vibrant hues matching the colours of their dragon kin, but generations of interbreeding have created a more uniform appearance. Their small, fine scales are usually brass or bronze in colour, sometimes ranging to scarlet, rust, gold, or copper-green. They are tall and strongly built, often standing close to 6 and a half feet tall and weighing 300 pounds or more. Their hands and feet are strong, talonlike claws with three fingers and a thumb on each hand.

Full Race Information

Source: Player's Handbook

Gnome

A gnome's energy and enthusiasm for living shines through every inch of his or her tiny body. Gnomes average slightly over 3 feet tall and weigh 40 to 45 pounds. Their tan or brown faces are usually adorned with broad smiles (beneath their prodigious noses), and their bright eyes shine with excitement. Their fair hair has a tendency to stick out in every direction, as if expressing the gnome's insatiable interest in everything around.

Full Race Information

Source: Player's Handbook

Half-Elf

To humans, half-elves look like elves, and to elves, they look human. In height, they're on par with both parents, though they're neither as slender as elves nor as broad as humans. They range from under 5 feet to about 6 feet tall, and from 100 to 180 pounds, with men only slightly taller and heavier than women. Half-elf men do have facial hair, and sometimes grow beards to mask their elven ancestry. Half-elven coloration and features lie somewhere between their human and elf parents, and thus show a variety even more pronounced than that found among either race. They tend to have the eyes of their elven parents.

Full Race Information

Source: Player's Handbook

Half-Orc

Half-ores' greyish pigmentation, sloping foreheads, jutting jaws, prominent teeth, and towering builds make their orcish heritage plain for all to see. Half-orcs stand between 5 and 7 feet tall and usually weigh between 180 and 250 pounds.

Full Race Information

Source: Player's Handbook

Rare Races

Drow

Descended from an earlier subrace of elves, the drow were banished from the surface world for following the goddess Lolth down the path of evil. Now they have built their own civilization in the depths of the Underdark, patterned after The Way Of Lolth. Also called dark elves, the drow have skin that resembles charcoal or obsidian, as well as stark white or pale yellow hair. They commonly have very pale eyes (so pale as to be mistaken for white) in shades of lilac, silver, pink, red, and blue. They tend to be smaller and thinner than most elves.

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Source: Player's Handbook

Exotic Races

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 arise among any population of mortals and resemble their parents, but they live for up to 160 years and often have features that hint at their celestial heritage. These often begin subtle and become more obvious when the aasimar gains the ability to reveal their full celestial nature.

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Source: Volo's Guide To Monsters | Mordenkainen Presents Monsters Of The Multiverse

Genasi (Air)

Air genasi are descendants of djinn, genies from the Elemental Plane Of Air. On top of similar physical characteristics, air genasi share the ability to control the winds with their predecessors. Typically, their skin is blue, and their hair can range from wispy white tufts to dark, thundering tangles. While the temperament of air genasi can vary, the naturally lean towards easy-going, well-natured individuals.

Full Race Information

Source: Elemental Evil Player’s Companion | Mordenkainen Presents Monsters Of The Multiverse

Tiefling

Tiefiings are derived from human bloodlines, and i n the broadest possible sense, they still look human. However, their infernal heritage has left a clear imprint on their appearance. Tiefiings have large horns that take any of a variety of shapes: some have curling horns like a ram, others have straight and tall horns like a gazelle's, and some spiral upward like an antelopes' horns. They have thick tails, four to five feet long, which lash or coil around their legs when they get upset or nervous. Their canine teeth are sharply pointed, and their eyes are solid colours-black, red, white, silver, or gold-with no visible sclera or pupil.

Full Race Information

Source: Player's Handbook

Monstrous Races

Aarakocra

A winged people who originated on the Elemental Plane Of Air, aarakocra soar through the sky wherever they wander. From below, aarakocra look like large birds and thus are sometimes called birdfolk. Standing upright, they are typically about 5 feet tall, and they have long, narrow legs that taper to sharp talons. Feathers cover their bodies-usually red, orange, yellow, brown, or grey. Their heads are also avian, often resembling those of parrots or eagles.

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Source: Elemental Evil Player’s Companion | Mordenkainen Presents Monsters Of The Multiverse

Bugbear

Bugbears are large goblinoids. They are known for their vicious, antagonistic behaviuor. Bugbears tend to live in family groups that operate like packs of wolves, with a pack alpha. They mainly coexist peacefully, but when moods towards the alpha turn sour, other strong members of the clan may try to oust the alpha and claim rule for themselves.

Full Race Information

Source: Volo's Guide To Monsters | Mordenkainen Presents Monsters Of The Multiverse