Baldur's Gate 3 races & subraces: All ability bonuses & racial features

Baldur's Gate 3 races & subraces: All ability bonuses & racial features
Images via Larian Studios

Written by 

Tarran Stockton & Amy Eastland

Published 

7th Sep 2023 15:22

Contents

Baldur's Gate 3 has an extensive amount of races and subraces for the player to choose from if the pre-made characters aren't really your style.

After the game has spent an extensive amount of time in early access, it is now fully out and playable on both PC and PS5 with it soon coming to Xbox

If you need a refresher on the available races, subraces and all of the unique abilities as well as racial features they come with, make sure to keep reading as we break it down.

How many races are there in Baldur's Gate 3?

the Baldur's Gate 3 character creation screen showing a half-orc race
Click to enlarge

Baldur's Gate 3 contains 11 unique races, and a further 27 subraces, all of which come with unique ability bonuses and racial features that affect what actions they can perform in the game.

Here are all of the races in BG3, alongside their subraces where applicable:

Race Subraces
Dwarf Gold Dwarf, Shield Dwarf, Duergar
Dragonborn Black Dragonborn, Blue Dragonborn, Brass Dragonborn, Bronze Dragonborn, Copper Dragonborn, Gold Dragonborn, Green Dragonborn, Red Dragonborn, Silver Dragonborn, White Dragonborn
Drow Lolth-Sworn Drow, Seldarine Drow
Elf High Elf, Wood Elf
Half-Elf Half Drow Elf, Half Wood Elf, Half High Elf
Half-Orc N/A
Halfling Lightfoot Halfling, Strongfoot Halfling
Human N/A
Githyanki N/A
Race Subraces
Gnome Deep Gnome, Forest Gnome, Rock Gnome
Tiefling Asmodeus Tiefling, Mephistopheles Tiefling, Zariel Tiefling

All Baldur's Gate 3 races & subraces

Now that you know all of the different races that can be picked from, before creating your character, it's worth knowing exactly what sets apart each of the game's races in Baldur's Gate 3 and why you'll want to pick one over the other.

Below, we've listed each race alongside their abilities and racial bonuses:

Dragonborn

an image of a Dragonborn in Baldur's Gate 3
Click to enlarge

Bonus Type Description
Ability Bonus +1 to Charisma and Strength
Racial Features

Breath Weapon: Exhale destructive energy, with the damage type and area of effect determined by your Dragonborn subrace

Dragonborn subraces

Subrace Bonus Description

Black

Class Action: Acid Breath

Draconic Ancestry: Resistant to acid damage

Blue

Class Action: Lighting Breath

Draconic Ancestry: Resistant to lightning damage

Brass

Class Action: Fire Breath

Subrace Features: Resistant to fire damage

Bronze

Class Action: Lighting Breath

Subrace Features: Resistant to lightning damage

Copper

Class Action: Acid Breath

Subrace Features: Resistant to acid damage

Gold

Class Action: Fire Breath

Subrace Features: Resistant to fire damage

Green

Class Action: Poison Breath

Subrace Features: Resistant to poison damage

Red

Class Action: Fire Breath

Subrace Features: Resistant to fire damage

Silver

Class Action: Frost Breath

Subrace Features: Resistant to cold damage

White

Class Features: Frost Breath

Subrace Features: Resistant to cold damage

Drow

an image of a Drow, one of the Baldur's Gate 3 races
Click to enlarge

Bonus Type Description
Ability Bonus +1 to Charisma and Dexterity
Racial Features

Fey Ancestry - Advantage on saving throws against being Charmed, and magic can't put you to sleep

Weapon Proficiencies - Rapier, Shortsword, and Hand Crossbow proficiency

Superior Darkvision - Grants the ability to see in the dark out to a range of 24 metres

Drow subraces

Subrace Bonus Description
Lotlh-Sworn Drow

Darkness - Create a cloud of magical darkness that Heavily Obscures and Blinds creatures within

Seldarine Drow

Darkness - Create a cloud of magical darkness that Heavily Obscures and Blinds creatures within 

Dwarf

an image of a Dwarf in Baldur's Gate 3
Click to enlarge

Bonus Type Description
Ability Bonus +2 Constitution 
Racial Features

Darkvision: Grants the ability to see in the dark out to a range of 12 metres

Dwarven Resilience: Advantage on saving throws against Poison, and resistance against Poison damage

Weapon Proficiencies: Battleaxe, Handaxe, Light Hammer, and Warhammer proficiency

Dwarf subraces

Subrace Bonus Description
Duergar

Duergar Resilience: Gain Advantage on Savings Throws against Illusions and being Charmed or Paralysed

Superior Darkvision: Can see in the dark up to 24m

Gold Dwarf

+1 Wisdom

Dwarven Toughness: Hit Point maximum increases by one, and increases by one every new level 

Shield Dwarf

+2 Strength

Armour Proficiencies: Light Armour and Medium Armour proficiency

Elf

an image of an Elf, one of the Baldur's Gate 3 races
Click to enlarge

Bonus Type Description
Ability Bonus + Dexterity
Racial Features

Darkvision: Grants the ability to see in the dark out to a range of 12 metres

Keen Senses: Proficiency in the Perception skill

Fey Ancestry: Advantage on saving throws against being Charmed, and magic can't put you to sleep

Weapon Provision: Longsword, Shortsword, Longbow, and Shortbow proficiency

Elf subraces

Subrace Bonus Description
High Elf +1 Intelligence
High Elf Cantrip: Select from one of 13 Cantrips
Wood Elf +1 Wisdom
Fleet of Foot: Base walking speed is 10.5 metres
Mask of the Wild: Proficiency in the Stealth skill

Githyanki

an image of a Githyanki race in Baldur's Gate 3
Click to enlarge

Bonus Type Description
Ability Bonus +1 to Intelligence, Strength
Racial Features

Armour Proficiencies: Light Armour and Medium Armour

Githyanki Psionics: 

  • Mage Hand: Create an invisible spectral hand that can manipulate and interact with objects
  • Jump (Level 3 unlock): Jump in a long arc
  • Misty Step (Level 5 unlock): Teleport to an unoccupied space you can see

Skill Proficiencies: Choose a Skill proficiency

Weapon Proficiencies: Shortsword, Longsword, Greatsword

Gnome

an image of a Gnome in Baldur's Gate 3
Click to enlarge

Bonus Type Description
Ability Bonus +2 Intelligence
Racial Features Gnome Cunning: Advantage on Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws

Gnome subraces

Subrace Bonus Description
Deep Gnome +1 Dexterity
Superior Darkvision: Grants the ability to see in the dark out to a range of 24 metres
Stone Camouflage: Advantage on Stealth checks
Forest Gnome

+1 Dexterity

Darkvision: Grants the ability to see in the dark out to a range of 12 metres

Speak with Animals: Gain the ability to comprehend and verbally communicate with animals

Rock Gnome

+1 Constitution

Artificer's Lore: Add twice the proficiency bonus to History checks

Darkvision: Grants the ability to see in the dark out to a range of 12 metres

Half-Elf

an image of a Half-Elf, one of the Baldur's Gate 3 races
Click to enlarge

Bonus Type Description
Ability Bonus

+2 Charisma

+2 additional Ability points

Racial Features

Darkvision: Grants the ability to see in the dark out to a range of 12 metres

Fey Ancestry: Advantage on saving throws against being Charmed, and magic can't put you to sleep

Half-Elf subraces

Subrace Bonus Description
Drow Half-Elf Dancing Lights: Create wisps of light that illuminate a 12-metre radius
High Half-Elf High Elf Cantrip: Select one from a list of 13 Cantrips
Wood Half-Elf Fleet of Foot: Base walking speed is 10.5 metres
Mask of the Wild: Proficiency in the Stealth skill

Halfling

an image of a Halfling race in Baldur's Gate 3
Click to enlarge

Bonus Type Description
Ability Bonus +2 Dexterity
Racial Features Lucky: Reroll the die when you roll a one for an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw

Halfling subraces

Subrace Bonus Description
Lightfoot Halfling +1 Charisma
Naturally Stealthy: Proficiency in the Stealth Skill
Strongheart Halfling + Constitution
Strongheart Resilience: Gain Advantage on saving throws against Poison and resistance against Poision damage

Half-Orc

an image of a Half-Orc, one of the Baldur's Gate 3 races
Click to enlarge

Bonus Type Description
Ability Bonus +1 to Constitution & Strength
Racial Features

Darkvision: Grants the ability to see in the dark out to a range of 12 metres

Relentless Endurance: When reduced to 0 Hit Points but not killed outright, you can drop to one Hit Point instead

Menacing: Proficiency in the Intimidating skill

Savage Attacks: When you score a critical hit with a melee weapon, roll one of the weapon's dice damage one additional time and add the extra damage

Human

an image of a Human, one of the Baldur's Gate 3 races
Click to enlarge

Human Bonuses
Ability Bonus +1 to Charisma, Constituion, Dexterity, Intelligence, Strength, and Wisdom

Tiefling

an image of a Tiefling in Baldur's Gate 3
Click to enlarge

Bonus Type Description
Ability Bonus Subrace dependant
Racial Features Darkvision: Grants the ability to see in the dark out to a range of 12 metres
Hellish Resistance: Resistance to Fire, and only take half damage from it

Tiefling subraces

Subrace Bonus Description
Asmodeus Tiefling +1 to Charisma and Intelligence

Darkness - Create a cloud of magical darkness that Heavily Obscures and Blinds creatures within

Hellish Rebuke - The next time you take damage, you use your reaction to surround your attacker n hellish flames that deal 2d10 Fire 

Thaumaturgy - Manifest a sign of supernatural power that grants you an advantage on Intimidation and Performance checks

Mephistopheles Tiefling

+1 to Charisma and Intelligence

Burning Hands - Shoot fire from your outstretched fingers and ignite anything flammable

Cania: Flame Blade - Conjure a flaming scimitar in your hand that deals 3d6 Fire damage, and sheds Bright Light in a 3-metre radius and Dim Light in a 6-metre radius

Mage Hand - Create an invisible spectral hand that can manipulate and interact with objects

Zariel Tiefling

+1 to Charisma and Strength

Legacy of Avernus: Branding Smite - Your weapon gleams with astral radiance, causing targets hit to be marked with light that prevents them from turning Invisible

Searing Smite - Your weapon flares with heat and deals an extra 1d6 Fire damage and marks the target with Searing Smite, causing them to take 1d6 Fire damage every turn

Thaumaturgy - Manifest a sign of supernatural power that grants you an advantage on Intimidation and Performance checks

That's our full breakdown of the Baldur's Gate 3 races and subraces, and now you know what sets them all apart with their different ability bonuses and racial features.

For more guides, check out our Baldur's Gate 3 homepage, or check out our explainer on how to solve the Flower Key quest in BG3.

Tarran Stockton
About the author
Tarran Stockton
Tarran is a Senior Guides Writer at GGRecon. He previously wrote reviews for his college newspaper before studying Media and Communication at university. His favourite genres include role-playing games, strategy games, and boomer shooters - along with anything indie. You can also find him in the pit at local hardcore shows.
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