In the fantasy role-playing game Baldur’s Gate 3, you can create your own character and a guardian in the character editor at the beginning of your adventure. You can choose between a total of eleven different races and twelve classes. In our guide to the game, we’ll introduce you to the races and their subgroups in more detail, making it easier for you to choose and get started with the game.
More: The twelve classes in Baldur’s Gate 3 and their subclasses.
The races in Baldur’s Gate 3: The subgroups and advantages at a glance
The fantasy video game Baldur’s Gate 3 is based on the Dungeons & Dragons pen & paper role-playing game of the same name and was brought to the common gaming platforms by the Belgian developer studio Larian Studios. It was released on August 03, 2023 for the PC as well as the PlayStation 5, with an Xbox Series X/S release coming at a later date.
In the game you can choose one of the eleven races and one of the 12 classes including subclasses. In order to simplify the decision of choosing the people, we present them to you in this guide in more detail.
| People | Dragonborn |
| Description | The Dragonborn descend from the dragons, but how exactly you changed physically so, no one knows exactly. Their skin color gives an indication of the respective element and thus the strength and weakness of the dragon-blooded. |
| Subgroups of the people | – defines the resistance and damage depending on the color/element. |
| Folk Features | – Blue: lightning – Bronze: Lightning – Gold: Fire – Brass: Fire – Red: Fire – Silver: cold – White: cold – Green: Poison – Copper: acid – Black: Acid |
| Battle | elementary damage |
| People | People |
| Description | Humans, as a race, have spread the most across the planet in Baldur’s Gate 3 and can be found in a wide variety of body sizes and appearances. |
| Subgroups of the people | – none |
| Folk Features | – Charisma +1 – Dexterity +1 – Intelligence +1 – Strength +1 – Constitution +1 – Wisdom +1 – People basic movement rate |
| People | Dark Elves (Drow) |
| Description | The Dark Elves are the counterpart to the Elves, and they are more bloodthirsty in order to achieve their goals. Because of their actions and completely different views, they are often in conflict with the elves. They prefer to stay underground because they can see better in the dark. |
| Subgroups of the people | – none |
| Folk Features | – Lolth-surrendered Drow – Seldarine-surrendered Drow |
| People | Elves |
| Description | Elves have many talents, are perceptive and are skilled in combat as well as magic. Besides their body size, they can be recognized especially by their pointed ears. |
| Subgroups of the people | – High elves – Wood elves |
| Folk Features | – Dark vision – Fairy blood – sharpened senses – Dexterity +2 |
| Battle | practiced with: Long swords, short swords, longbows, shortbows |
Characteristics of the High Elves:
- Intelligence +1
- 1 High elf magic trick
- People Basic Movement Rate
Wood Elf Characteristics
- Cloak of wilderness
- People Basic Movement Rate
- Wisdom +1
More: Baldur’s Gate 3 Guide: Romances with companions and sex in the role-playing game.
| People | Githyankis |
| Description | The Githyankis are known as the best fighters of the Astral Plane, wielding their silver swords like an arm extension in battle and holding red dragons as allies. They have been enslaved for years by the mind flayers and are now rebelling against them. |
| Subgroups of the people | – none |
| Folk Features | – Dark vision – Fairy blood – sharpened senses – Dexterity +2 |
| People | Gnome |
| Description | Gnomes have a small appearance and have a high level of technical knowledge. They preferably remain among his peers. |
| Subgroups of the people | – Rock gnomes – Depth gnomes – Forest gnomes |
| Folk Features | – Intelligence +2 – Dark vision – Spell: “Talking with animals |
Rock Gnome Characteristics:
- Constitution +1
- Darkvision
- Werkmeister knowledge
Features of the depth gnomes
- Dexterity +1
- Superior darkvision
- Stone camouflage
Features of the forest gnomes
- Dexterity +1
- Darkvision
- Spell: “Talking with animals
| People | Half-Elf |
| Description | The generations of half-elves arose from the intermingling of humans and elves. They are a little smaller than humans, but they can enjoy the advantages of both races. |
| Subgroups of the people | – Drow half elves – Half high elves – Half forest elves |
| Folk Features | – Charisma +2 – Dark vision – Fairy blood – freely selectable distribution of two attribute improvements |
Drow Half-Elf Characteristics:
- Dancing Lights Magic Trick
- People Basic Movement Rate
Characteristics of the Half-High Elves:
- 1x High elf magic trick
- People Basic Movement Rate
Characteristics of the Half-Forest Elves:
- Nimbleness
- Cloak of wilderness
| People | Half-orc |
| Description | As the name suggests, half-orcs are a cross between humans and orcs. They go into battle more deliberate and less cocky than normal orcs, but they can harness your strength. |
| Subgroups of the people | – none |
| Folk Features | – Dark vision – Perseverance – Menacing – People basic movement rate – Wild attacks |
More: Baldur’s Gate 3 Guide: How to successfully steal from NPCs
Halflings: Halflings are small humanoid beings who are just about the size of human children. They are characterized by a calm and friendly nature and avoid confrontation when possible.
| People | Halflings |
| Description | Halflings are small humanoid beings, which are just as tall as human children. They are characterized by a calm and friendly nature and avoid confrontation when possible. |
| Subgroups of the people | – Light-footed semis – tribal halflings |
| Folk Features | – Dexterity +2 – Lucky devil – Courageous |
Characteristics of light-footed semilings:
- Charisma +1
- Congenital furtiveness
- People Basic Movement Rate
Features of the sturdy halfling
- Constitution +1
- Stem resistance force
- People Basic Movement Rate
| People | Tieflings |
| Description | Once a noble bloodline of humans made a pact with a devil to acquire his strength. This gave rise to the Tieflings, who were given a devilish appearance by the pact. |
| Subgroups of the people | – Asmodeus tiefling – Mephistopheles tiefling – Zariel Kinglet |
| Folk Features | – Dark vision – Infernal resistance |
Characteristics of the Asmodeus tiefling:
- Charisma +2
- Intelligence +1
- Transformation magic trick “Thaumaturgy”
- People Basic Movement Rate
- Level 3: “Hellish Rebuke” – once per long rest.
- Level 5: “Darkness” – once per long rest.
Characteristics of Mephistopheles tiefling
- Charisma +2
- Intelligence +1
- Summoning Magic Trick “Mage Hand
- People Basic Movement Rate
- Level 3: “Burning Hands” – once per long rest
- Level 5: “Flame Blade” – once per long rest
Features of the Zariel tiefling
- Charisma +2
- Strength +1
- Transformation magic trick “Thaumaturgy”
- People Basic Movement Rate
- Level 3: “Searing Smite” – once per long rest
- Level 5: “Branding Smite” – once per long rest
| People | Dwarfs |
| Description | The dwarves should already be familiar to most gamers, as they find their place in many books, series and movies. They have a small but stocky physique, are good fighters and even better craftsmen. Orcs and goblins often see them as their enemies. |
| Subgroups of the people | – Duergar – Gold dwarfs – Shield dwarfs |
| Folk Features | – Constitution +2 – Dark vision – dwarven indestructibility |
| Battle | practiced with: Hatchets, light hammers, battle axes, war hammers. |
Characteristics of the Duergar:
- Charisma +2
- Intelligence +1
- Transformation magic trick “Thaumaturgy”
- People Basic Movement Rate
- Level 3: “Hellish Rebuke” – once per long rest.
- Level 5: “Darkness” – once per long rest.
Gold Dwarf Characteristics:
- Wisdom +1
- People Basic Movement Rate
- dwarven toughness
Characteristics of Shield Dwarfs:
- Strength +2
- People Basic Movement Rate
- skilled in combat with light and medium armor
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