Baldur’s Gate 3: All playable races, subraces & their abilities

Selecting a race for your character is a significant initial step in Baldur’s Gate 3, with 11 diverse options and several subraces offering unique abilities. Here’s a rundown of all the races and subraces you can choose in this Larian Studios RPG.

Baldur’s Gate 3 allows for deep character customization. Beyond selecting classes and subclasses, players can choose from a variety of races and subraces in the character creator, each contributing to a unique play style and experience in the game.

The sheer amount of options available in Baldur’s Gate 3 can be quite overwhelming, however, and if you’re particularly stuck on which race to make your character, we’ve provided a breakdown of them all including the unique abilities they possess.

So, here are all the playable races & subraces you can choose in Baldur’s Gate 3.

All races available in Baldur’s Gate 3, abilities, best class, & more

In total, Baldur’s Gate 3 gives players 11 different races to choose from in Baldur’s Gate 3.

Each race comes with its own perks, abilities, and features, meaning your choice certainly matters in comparison to your class. Here are all the races and their abilities so you can make an informed decision:

Drow

• Ability: +1 Charisma and +2 Dexterity
• Racial Feature: Base Racial Speed, Fey Ancestry, Superior Darkvision, Proficiency in Rapier, Shortsword, and Hand Crossbow
• Best Class: Rogue, Warlock, Sorcerer, Bard
• Subrace: Lolth-Sworn Drow, Seldarine Drow

Dragonborn

• Ability: +2 Strength and +1 Charisma
• Racial Feature: Draconic Ancestry and Base Racial Speed
• Best Class: Paladin, Fighter, Warlock
• Subrace: Black, Blue, Brass, Bronze, Copper, Gold, Green, Red, Silver, White

Dwarf

• Ability: +2 Constitution
• Racial Feature: Darkvision, Dwarven Resilience, Proficiency in Battleaxe, Handaxe, Light Hammer, and Warhammer
• Best Class: Barbarian, Fighter, Paladin
• Subrace: Gold Dwarf, Shield Dwarf, Duergar

Elf

• Ability: +2 Dexterity
• Racial Feature: Darkvision, Keen Senses, Fey Ancestry, Proficiency in Longsword, Shortsword, Longbow, and Shortbow
• Best Class: Ranger, Fighter, Rogue
• Subrace: High-Elf, Wood-Elf

Githyanki

• Ability: +1 Intelligence and + 2 Strength
• Racial Feature: Githyanki Psionics: Mage Hand Conjuration Cantrip, Choice of skill proficiency, Base Racial Speed, Proficiency in Light Armor, Medium Armor, Shortsword, Longsword, and Greatsword
• Best Class: Wizard, Barbarian, Fighter, Paladin
• Subrace: N/A

Gnome

• Ability: +2 Intelligence
• Racial Feature: Gnome Cunning
• Best Class: Wizard
• Subrace: Deep Gnome, Forest Gnome, Rock Gnome

Halfling

• Ability: +2 Dexterity
• Racial Feature: Lucky
• Best Class: Rogue
• Subrace: Lightfoot Halfling, Strongfoot Halfling

Half-Elf

• Ability: +2 Charisma and +2 Ability to one other ability of your choice
• Racial Feature: Fey Ancestry and Darkvision
• Best Class: Warlock, Sorcerer, Bard, Paladin
• Subrace: Half Drow Elf, Half Wood Elf, Half High Elf

Human

• Ability: +1 Strength, + 1 Dexterity, +1 Constitution, +1 Intelligence, +1 Wisdom, and +1 Charisma
• Racial Feature: Base Racial Speed
• Best Class: Any
• Subrace: N/A

Half-Orc

• Ability: +2 Strength and +1 Constitution
• Racial Feature: Base Racial Speed, Darkvision, Relentless Endurance, Menacing, Savage Attacks
• Best Class: Fighter, Barbarian, Paladin, Cleric
• Subrace: N/A

Tiefling

• Ability: Depends on Subrace
  • Asmodeus Tiefling: +1 Intelligence and +2 Charisma 
  • Mephistopheles Tiefling: +1 Intelligence and +2 Charisma 
  • Zariel Tiefling: +1 Strength and +2 Charisma
• Racial Feature: Darkvision and Hellish Resistance
• Best Class: Bard, Warlock, Wizard, Paladin
• Subrace: Asmodeus Tiefling, Mephisopheles Tiefling, Zariel Tiefling

While choosing your next character, take a look at some of our other handy BG3 guides and content:

Best Sorcerer build | Best Bard build | Best Rogue build | Best Fighter build | Best Ranger build | Best Barbarian build | Best Druid build | Best Warlock build | Best Wizard build | Baldur’s Gate 3: What’s the max level cap? | Best Baldur’s Gate 3 classes tier list | How to revive characters in Baldur’s Gate 3 | Can you multiclass in Baldur’s Gate 3 | Baldur’s Gate 3 Soul Coins: How to get them & what they are | Baldur’s Gate 3: Fastest ways to get XP & level up | Baldur’s Gate 3: How to respec your character | Baldur’s Gate 3 Karmic Dice: What are they?