Races

Race Summaries

Monster Races: The races listed under Monster Races are considered monsters by most player races. Playing such a race can be a considerable challenge as persecution, racism, and violence is often the result of being discovered in a civilized area. Check with your DM before choosing ones of these races for your character.

Faerun is home to many races, some of them immigrants from other worlds who found their way here in ancient times when gates and portals were more plentiful, and easier to traverse. Others are relative newcomers to the world, still finding a place for themselves among the long established races. The civilizations of the elder races have declined, while those of the younger races are flourishing and spreading ever outward.

General Reactions

In the cosmopolitan cities of the D&D multiverse, most people hardly look twice at members of even the most exotic races. But the small towns and villages that dot the countryside are different. The common folk aren’t accustomed to seeing members of these races, and they react accordingly.

• • Aasimar. Most city people have seen aasimar before and treat them as a passing curiosity. In the countryside, aasimar are rarer and might be met with stares, probing questions, and even fear.

  • Dragonborn. It’s easy to assume that a dragonborn is a monster, especially if his or her scales betray a chromatic heritage. Unless the dragonborn starts breathing fire and causing destruction, though, people are likely to respond with caution rather than outright fear.

  • Drow elves. Drow are feared and hated as the underdark bogeyman that come to murder in the night

• Gnome. Gnomes don’t look like a threat and can quickly disarm suspicion with good humor. The common folk are often curious about gnomes, likely never having seen one before, but they are rarely hostile or fearful.

  • Half-Elf. Although many people have never seen a half-elf, virtually everyone knows they exist. A half-elf stranger’s arrival is followed by gossip behind the half-elf's back and stolen glances across the common room, rather than any confrontation or open curiosity.

  • Half-Orc. It’s usually safe to assume that a half-orc is belligerent and quick to anger, so people watch themselves around an unfamiliar half-orc. Shopkeepers might surreptitiously hide valuable or fragile goods when a half-orc comes in, and people slowly clear out of a tavern, assuming a fight will break out soon.

  • Tabaxi. We had a tabaxi come through once, a few tiners back. She kept the taproom packed each night with her stories and spent most days napping in a chair in front of the fireplace. We thought she was lazy, but when Linene came around looking for a missing broach, she was out the door before I could blink an eye.

  • Tiefling. Half-orcs are greeted with a practical caution, but tieflings are the subject of supernatural fear. The evil of their heritage is plainly visible in their features, and as far as most people are concerned, a tiefling could very well be a devil straight from the Nine Hells. People might make warding signs as a tiefling approaches, cross the street to avoid passing near, or bar shop doors before a tiefling can enter.