Each race’s description in this chapter includes information to help you roleplay a character of that race, including personality, physical appearance, features of society, and racial alignment tendencies. For example, a halfling could be a good choice for a sneaky rogue, a dwarf makes a tough warrior, and an elf can be a master of arcane magic. Your character race not only affects your ability scores and traits but also provides the cues for building your character’s story. It establishes fundamental qualities that exist throughout your character’s adventuring career. When making this decision, keep in mind the kind of character you want to play. Your choice of race affects many different aspects of your character. Other races and subraces are less common as adventurers. Dwarves, elves, halflings, and humans are the most common races to produce the sort of adventurers who make up typical parties. Your character belongs to one of these peoples. Not every intelligent race of the multiverse is appropriate for a player-controlled adventurer. Humans are the most common people in the worlds of D&D, but they live and work alongside dwarves, elves, halflings, and countless other fantastic species. The Player’s Handbook has more information about these unusual races. And there, well out of the sunlight, is a lone drow-a fugitive from the subterranean expanse of the Underdark, trying to make his way in a world that fears his kind. Half-elves and half-orcs live and work alongside humans, without fully belonging to the races of either of their parents.

A group of gnomes laughs as one of them activates a clever wooden toy that moves of its own accord. Scattered among the members of these more common races are the true exotics: a hulking dragonborn here, pushing his way through the crowd, and a sly tiefling there, lurking in the shadows with mischief in her eyes. And the people themselves-people of varying size, shape, and color, dressed in a dazzling spectrum of styles and hues-represent many different races, from diminutive halflings and stout dwarves to majestically beautiful elves, mingling among a variety of human ethnicities. Buildings in myriad architectural styles display the diverse origins of their inhabitants. The smells of cooking in dozens of different cuisines mingle with the odors of crowded streets and poor sanitation.

Voices chatter in countless different languages. A visit to one of the great cities in the worlds of Dungeons & Dragons-Waterdeep, the Free City of Greyhawk, or even uncanny Sigil, the City of Doors-overwhelms the senses.

D&d player races