Guide:Races Guide by Phantomsplit: Difference between revisions

In BG3's Early Access different races have fixed [[Ability Scores|ability score]] increases. For example, [[Githyanki]] have a +2 bonus to [[Strength]] and a +1 bonus to [[Intelligence]]. This leads many to recommend Githyanki for character builds that use at least one if not both of these abilities, so they may be recommended for something like an [[Eldritch Knight]] [[Fighter]] or a [[Wizard]]. However at launch this is going to change and all races will have a floating +2 that they can put into any ability score, and a +1 they can put into a different ability score. So you may see builds saying that a [[Elf#Wood_Elf|Wood Elf]] is a bad choice for say a [[Paladin]], while [[Dragonborn]] would be a bad choice for [[Monk]] based off the ability score increases for these races vs. the ability scores that the respective classes focus in. However those recommendations are going to be out of date when launch comes around and you will be able to put the ability scores wherever you want.

There are three races that lose out by this change however. [[Human|Humans]] used to get a +1 to all ability scores. [[Half-Elf|Half-elves]] used to get a +2 to [[Charisma]] and then a +1 they could put in any two other ability scores of their choosing. And a [[Dwarf#Shield_Dwarves|Shield Dwarf]] (a.k.a. Mountain Dwarf) would get a +2 to Strength as well as a +2 to Constitution. As of the time of writing we know that Larian intends to buff Humans and Half elves for this change, and this will likely include proficiency in [[spears]], [[pikes]], [[Halberds|halberds]], [[glaives]], and [[shields]] as well as possible additional features. We so far have no indication on how the Mountain Dwarf will be implemented with these changes.

This section applies to [[Elf#High_elves|High elves]], [[Drow]] a.k.a. Dark Elves, [[Half-Elf#High_Half-Elves|half high-elves]], [[Half-Elf#Drow_Half-Elves|drow half-elves]], [[Tiefling|Tieflings]], and ''possibly'' [[Githyanki]]. Rather than repeating the same information for each of these I will cover this aspect of racial spellcasting for all the above at once, and when I discuss those individual races I will refer back to this section when discussing their spellcasting.  

The [[Races|races]] that this section applies to all have racial features that allow them to cast spells which may require either an [[Attack Roll|attack roll]] or [[Saving Throw|saving throw]]. An [[Attack Roll|attack roll]] means that you will have to roll a 20 sided die (often referred to as a d20) and apply applicable bonuses and penalties to the result to see if the attack hits the target. A target rolling a [[Saving Throw|save]] means that the target will roll a d20 and apply relevant modifiers to try and avoid the effect of something like a spell, and how difficult this will be for your target to avoid for your target will depend on your character's relevant modifiers. For more information see the [[Die Rolls]] page.

So your character's relevant spellcasting modifier will have an effect on how useful these racial spells that require attack rolls and saving throws are. If say you are a Drow but have a low Charisma then enemies will be able to more easily avoid your racial [[Faerie Fire]] spell, or if you make a High Elf with a low Intelligence and select [[Fire Bolt]] as your racial cantrip, then you will miss more of your attacks. Spells which are affected by this mechanic and their relevant spellcasting ability modifier are:

  [[Mage Hand]] should use your spellcasting ability modifiers for things such as trying to [[Shove|shove]] creatures, but I have not tested this to verify

Lately in the tabletop realm of D&D 5e the rules have begun shifting towards letting a player choose what the racial spellcasting ability modifier is. However there are no signs of these rules lateraling over to Baldur's Gate 3 at the time of writing.