Guide:Races Guide by Phantomsplit: Difference between revisions

== Flexible Ability Scores ==

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 old build guides out there 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 However those recommendations will be out of date when launch comes around and you will be able to put the ability scores wherever you want.

== Racial Spellcasting ==

This section applies to [[Elf#High_elves|High elves]], [[Drow]] a.k.a. Dark Elves, [[Half-Elf#High_Half-Elves|High Half-Elves]], [[Half-Elf#Drow_Half-Elves|Drow Dalf-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.  

== [[Dragonborn]] ==

==== Lore ====

The {{FRWiki|Dragonborn}} are beyond a doubt the most unique appearing races with a very strange history going back to the origin of the Forgotten Realms world. To understand the lore of Dragonborn in this setting, you need to first understand the lore of the world of Toril itself. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAHM99biirU A 10 minute video by Spell&Shield also summarizes these events.]

== [[Drow]] ==

==== Lore ====

Drow is pronounced like "cow"

After her exile, Lolth went on to rule the demon inhabited domain of the Abyss in a realm now known as the {{FRWiki|Demonweb_Pits|Demonweb Pits}}. From there she has plotted against Corellon and her former elven god kin by trying to steal the worship of the dark elves and have them go to war with Corellon's remaining elven worshippers. This primarily took the form of working behind the scenes to cause wars known as the Crown Wars between the dark elves of {{FRWiki|Ilythiir}} and other elven groups. Then Lolth would ''just happen'' to be there willing to aid the dark elves when they were in these dire times of war. After enough occurrences of this she became popular among the dark elves. As the dark elves then grew more powerful over time and became more violent under the influence of Lolth and other evil gods, the original elven Seldarine pantheon sought to stop these wars by cursing all dark elves; even those who were not involved in Lolth's wars. The Dark Elves were cursed to become [[Drow]] making it difficult for them to tolerate the sun's light on the surface and magically drawing them to the great underground network known as the [[Underdark]]. This did stop the conflicts so long as the surface elves stayed away from the underdark, but also drove many neutral or good Drow into the arms of Lolth who was there to care for them. As the Drow moved underground they conquered many locations including the Dwarven Kingdom of {{FRWiki|Bhaerynden}}, displacing the dwarves that remained and sending them into exile.

Drow occasionally return to the surface as raiding bands to fulfill some desire of Lolth or another, and these Drow leave disaster in their wake. This has been the state of things for over 10,000 years. Over this time Lolth's influence grew further to the point where most underdark dwelling Drow are fanatically [[Drow#Lolth-Sworn_Drow|Lolth-Sworn]]. There do remain some Drow that try to mend relations and coexist with surface races, to separate themselves from Lolth's influence, and to redeem their evil kin. These are referred to in BG3 as [[Drow#Seldarine_Drow|Seldarine Drow]], which is the name of the original elven pantheon of Gods led by Corellon. They will very likely worship Eilistraee for coming down from godhood to live among them and sharing her similar goals of redeeming the fallen Drow taken by her mother Lolth.

==== Mechanical Traits ====

* [[Keen Senses]] which grants them [[Proficiency|proficiency]] in [[Perception]].

* [[Fey Ancestry]] making them impossible to put to sleep magically and granting [[advantage]] on saving throws to avoid being [[Charmed (Condition)|charmed]].

== [[Dwarf|Dwarves]] ==

====Lore====

{{FRWiki|Dwarf|Dwarves}} in the Forgotten Realms compare to the typical Dwarves in other conventional fantasy settings. They tend to develop underground kingdoms where they amass treasure and might, and develop clan like societies that respect their elders and gods such as the good aligned god of crafting [[Deities#Moradin|Moradin]]. Dwarven commerce largely revolves around mining and blacksmithing. They have great appreciation for finely crafted weapons, armor, and other objects such as chalices, jewelry, and architecture. They feel a natural draw towards the stone and have an intuitive understanding of it to an extent. The Dwarven disciplined structure causes them to come at odds with the elves who are seen as flippant and emotionally driven. However Dwarves tend to get along with [[human|Humans]], [[halfling|Halflings]] (primarily Strongheart Halflings), and especially [[Gnome|Gnomes]].

== [[Elf|Elves]] ==

====Lore====

{{FRWiki|Elf|Elves}} initially came to Toril about 30,000 years ago (relatively shortly after Tearfall as described in the [[Guide:Baldur's Gate 3 Races Guide#Dragonborn|Dragonborn Lore]] section) from the plane of the {{FRWiki|Feywild}}. This plane is known for harboring often mischievous magical creatures with attachment to nature such as satyrs, brownies, and sylphs. This helps explain the elves emotional and relaxed temperament. They include several subraces we will see in BG3 such as moon and sun elves (which are considered [[Elf#High_Elves|High Elves]]) and [[Elf#Wood_Elves|Wood Elves]] and dark elves which would later become [[Drow]] as described in the [[Guide:Baldur's Gate 3 Races Guide#Drow|Drow Lore]] section. They also included other subraces which we will likely not see in BG3 such as wild elves and sea elves as the more common options, and a few additional more rare elven subracees. With the exception of Drow, modern day elves still maintain their relaxed lifestyle with a focus on enjoying life and the world, maintaining nature's balance, and are known for their prowess and dance as well as the bow and sword. Elves were the first races to exist on Toril and had the time to build up their society, but as a race they were not inclined to building great cities with few exceptions. Events such as conflicts with the Drow, the rise of [[Human|Humans]], and catastrophes over the centuries have resulted in elven influence in the world diminishing in the world.

====Lore====

{{FRWiki|Half-Elf|Half-elves}} don't particularly have too much lore behind them. They are born from [[Human]] and [[Elf]] parents, often in a Human or Elf dominated society, where they go on to adopt the culture of that society. They have existed in small numbers for tens of thousands of years. They typically are not viewed with any particular scorn or hatred by any.

====World Interactions====

====Build Synergy====

In tabletop the Half-Elf is the second most common race for players to pick behind variant human. This is largely due to their ability score bonuses where they get a +2 to [[Charisma]] (as well as flexible ability scores they can put elsewhere) in combination with Charisma focused classes like [[Bard]], [[Warlock]], [[Sorcerer]], [[Paladin]], and possibly even some charming [[Rogue|Rogues]]. They are also desired in tabletop for their [[Darkvision (Passive Feature)|Darkvision]] and Skill Versatility options. Of the above three features (ability score bonuses, darkvision, and skill versatility), only Darkvision will be available to Half-elves in BG3. This significantly shakes them up. The [[Fey Ancestry]] is a nice feature, but rather niche and by no means a reason why most people pick this class in tabletop.

Now half-elves keep their [[Darkvision (Passive Feature)|darkvision]] and niche [[Fey Ancestry|fey ancestry]] feature, but the extra armor, shield, and weapon [[proficiency|proficiencies]] they are likely to obtain are intended to make up for the loss to traditional half-elf ability score bonuses as discussed in the [[Guide:Baldur's_Gate_3_Races_Guide#Flexible_Ability_Scores|Flexible Ability Scores]] section. Like with human these features make half-elf a slightly more tempting target for something like a squishy [[Warlock]] or [[Bard]] since they can throw a shield on and slightly boost their AC. And this is especially the case for [[Sorcerer]] and [[Wizard]] Characters who by default do not even get light armor proficiency. I still think a one level dip into a class that grants medium armor and shield proficiency like Cleric, Fighter, Ranger, or Druid would be better for such characters, but playing a half-elf is a way to get some defensive boosts without multiclassing.  

The subrace features synergize just like the same features do for the base Elf race:

* High Half-Elf's Cantrip goes great with [[Intelligence]] based casters such as the [[Wizard]], [[Eldritch Knight]] [[Fighter]], or [[Arcane Trickster]] [[Rogue]]. But if the character will not have a high Intelligence then Light, Minor Illusion, and to an extent Mage Hand can also be good options as described in the [[Guide:Races_Guide_by_Phantomsplit#Build_Synergy_4|Elf Mechanics]] section of this guide.

* Wood Half-Elf movement speed bonus is nice on all characters, but especially nice on melee characters who can use this to get into range of their target. Their stealth proficiency is nice on sneaky characters as it opens you up to put proficiencies from [[background]] and your starting class elsewhere.

Overall if Half-Elf is implemented as they are expected to be then they are still a very flexible choice which anyone will get at least some benefit out of. There is a very good chance that a more specialized race exists for a specific build. But anyone will at least get some decent use from their half-elf features.

The lightfoot halfling's naturally stealthy could be nice on a character who is doing some sneaking about and allow them to focus proficiencies they get from their class and/or background in other areas. While a strongheart halfling's resilience will help them resist the very common poison damage and associated effects in combat.  

== [[Human|Humans]] ==

Normally in D&D 5e there is an optional rule whicha allows a player to use a set of features for humnans referred to as "variant human." This is seen as the most powerful race mechanically due to the variant human's feature which grants them a [[Feats|feat]] at level 1. However variant human will not be in BG3 (without mods) and therefore I'll go no further here.

====Build Synergy====

== Remaining Races are Work in Progress ==