D&D Next - Classes
A visit to one of the great cities in the world of Dungeons & Dragons overwhelms the senses. Voices chatter in countless different languages. The smells of cooking in dozens of different cuisines mingle with the odors of crowded streets and poor sanitation. Buildings in myriad architectural styles display the diverse origins of their inhabitants.
And the people themselves - people of varying size, shape, and color, dressed in a dazzling spectrum of styles and hues - represent many different races, from diminutive halflings and stout dwarves to majestically beautiful elves, mingling among a variety of human ethnicities.
Scattered among the members of these more common races are the true exotics: a hulking dragonborn here, pushing his way through the crowd, and a sly tiefling there, lurking in the shadows with mischief in her eyes. A group of gnomes laughs as one of them activates a clever wooden toy that moves of its own accord. Halfelves and half-orcs live and work alongside humans, without fully belonging to the races of either of their parents. And there, well out of the sunlight, is a lone drow - a fugitive from the subterranean expanse of the Underdark, trying to make his way in a world that fears his kind.
Racial Traits
- Ability Score Increase: Every race increases one or more of a character’s ability scores.
- Age: The age entry notes the age when a member of the race is considered an adult, as well as the race’s expected lifespan. This information can help you decide how old your character is at the start of the game. You can choose any age for your character, which could provide an explanation for some of your ability scores. For example, if you play a young or very old character, your age could explain a particularly low Strength or Constitution score, while advanced age could account for a high Intelligence or Wisdom.
- Alignment: Most races have tendencies toward certain alignments, described in this entry. These are not binding for player characters, but considering why your dwarf is chaotic, for example, in defiance of lawful dwarf society can help you better define your character.
- Size: Characters of most races are Medium, a size category including creatures that are roughly 4 to 8 feet tall. Members of a few races are Small (between 2 and 4 feet tall), which means that certain rules of the game affect them differently. The most important of these rules is that Small characters have trouble wielding heavy weapons, as explained in "Equipment."
- Speed: Your speed determines how far you can move when traveling ("Adventuring") and fighting ("Combat").
- Languages: By virtue of your race, your character can speak, read, and write certain languages.
- Subraces: Some races have subraces. Members of a subrace have the traits of the parent race in addition to the traits specified for their subrace. Relationships among subraces vary significantly from race to race and world to world.
| Race | Ability | Age | Height | Weight | Speed | Darkvision | Subraces | Source |
| Aarakocra | DEX+2 WIS+1 |
3 - 30 Yrs | 4 ft 6 in + 2d4 in | 75 lbs + (2d4 * 1d4) | 25 ft / 50 ft Fly | - | - | PC 3 |
| Aasimar | WIS+1 CHA+2 |
18 - 120 Yrs | 4 ft 9 in + 2d8 in | 110 lbs + (2d8 * 2d4) | 30 ft | 60 ft | - | DMG 286 |
| Dracon | STR+2 | 100 - 3500 Yrs | 5 ft 10 in + 2d8 in | 160 lbs + (1d4 * 1d6) | 30 ft | 60 ft | Winged, Tailed, Scaled, Breath | HB |
| Dragonborn | STR+2 CHA+1 |
15 - 80 Yrs | 5 ft 6 in + 2d8 in | 175 lbs + (2d8 * 1d4) | 30 ft | - | - | PHB 32 |
| Dwarf | CON+2 | 50 - 350 Yrs | 4 ft + 2d4 in | 130 lbs + (2d4 * 2d6) | 25 ft | 60 ft | Hill, Mountain, Duegar | PHB 18 |
| Elf | DEX+2 | 100 - 750 Yrs | 4 ft 6 in + 2d10 in | 90 lbs + (2d10 * 1d4) | 30 ft | 60 ft | High, Wood, Drow | PHB 21 |
| Genasi | CON+2 | 18 - 120 Yrs | 4 ft 8 in + 2d10 in | 110 lbs + (2d10 * 2d4) | 30 ft | - | Air, Earth, Fire, Water | PC 7 |
| Gnome | INT+2 | 40 - 500 Yrs | 2 ft 11 in + 2d4 in | 140 lbs + (1d6 * 1d4) | 25 ft | 60 ft | Forest, Rock, Deep | PHB 35 |
| Goliath | STR+2 CON+1 |
18 - 100 Yrs | 6 ft 10 in + 2d8 in | 275 lbs + (2d8 * 1d4) | 30 ft | - | - | PC 10 |
| Half-Elf | CHR+2 OTH+1 * |
20 - 180 Yrs | 4 ft 9 in + 2d8 in | 110 lbs + (2d8 * 2d4) | 30 ft | 60 ft | - | PHB 38 |
| Half-Orc | STR+2 CON+1 |
14 - 75 Yrs | 4 ft 10 in + 2d10 in | 140 lbs + (2d10 * 2d6) | 30 ft | 60 ft | - | PHB 40 |
| Halfling | DEX+2 | 20 - 250 Yrs | 2 ft 7 in + 2d4 in | 35 lbs + (2d4 * 2d4) | 25 ft | - | Lightfoot, Stout | PHB 26 |
| Human | ALL+1 or VAR |
18 - 100 Yrs | 4 ft 8 in + 2d10 in | 110 lbs + (2d10 * 2d4) | 30 ft | - | - | PHB 29 |
| Kender | CHR+1 | 20 - 200 Yrs | 2 ft 6 in + 2d8 in | 35 lbs + (2d4 * 2d4) | 25 ft | 60 ft | Elven, Gnomish | HB |
| Kitsune | CHR+2 | 16 - 150 Yrs | 4 ft 5 in + 2d8 in | 75 lbs * 1d6 | 30 ft / 35 ft | - | Zenko, Yako | HB |
| Kreen | DEX+2 | 5 - 30 Yrs | 5 ft 3 in + 2d12 in | 135 lbs + (1d6 * 2d8) | 35 ft | 60 ft | Manti, Scara, Vespi | HB |
| Lupine | STR+2 WIS+1 |
15 - 40 Yrs | 5 ft 6 in + 1d12 in | 140 lbs + 8d20 | 30 ft | 60 ft | - | HB |
| Satyr | DEX+1 CHR+2 |
50 - 500 Yrs | 4 ft 9 in + 2d8 in | 110 lbs + (1d8 * 2d4) | 45 ft | 60 ft | - | HB |
| Tiefling | INT+1 CHA+2 |
18 - 120 Yrs | 4 ft 9 in + 2d8 in | 110 lbs + (2d8 * 2d4) | 30 ft | 60 ft | - | PHB 42 |
| * | Any 2 other abilities increase by 1. |
| PHB = Player's Handbook | PC = Player's Companion | DMG = Dungeon Master's Guide | HB = Home Brew (internet submission) |