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Races of Faerûn
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T ABLE OF C ONTENTS
Contents
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aerûn is home to hundreds of intelligent peoples, divided
into thousands of tribes, clans, nations, and ethnicities.
Some of these races are monstrous predators armed with
terrible powers and some are bloodthirsty marauders who ter-
rorize more civilized folk, but most are good-hearted folk who
wish to live in peace in whatever manner they find most pros-
perous and fulfilling. This great diversity in physical nature,
magical talent, beliefs, and values creates an incredible patch-
work of cultures that spans the entire continent, a tapestry so
complex and wondrous that no one mortal can hope to ever
comprehend it in its entirety.
Races of Faerûn examines almost 50 of the most important,
noteworthy, or widespread peoples to be found in the lands of
Faerûn, focusing on races that are most likely to give rise to ad-
venturing characters. While giants and dragons are certainly
intelligent and can wield enormous influence over the portions
of the world they claim as their own, they are not usually found
among adventuring bands. At the other end of the spectrum, a
creature such as a troglodyte or quaggoth might be inclined to
take up the wandering life of an adventurer, but their numbers
are so few and their societies so reclusive and isolated that they
simply haven’t made much of a mark on the face of Faerûn.
Therefore, this book concentrates on eight major races (humans,
dwarves, elves, gnomes, half-elves, half-orcs and orcs, halflings,
and planetouched) and a number of minor races ranging from
aarakocras to yuan-ti.
characters, but you should refer to Monsters of Faerûn if you
need their monster entries for your game.
Races of Faerûn also complies with the revised Player’s Hand-
book, D UNGEON M ASTER ’ S Guide, and Monster Manual. Some
rules revisions have been included in this product, such as the
changes in the lycanthrope template, how monsters acquire feats
and skills, name changes of feats, spells and skills, and details of race
and class abilities. If you have difficulty in identifying a feat, skill,
or spell, it’s most likely a change of nomenclature for the revision.
Ethnıc Group
Throughout this book the terms race, subrace, and ethnic group
(or ethnicity) are used to describe various peoples of Faerûn.
These terms have a specific meaning in the context of the
D UNGEONS & D RAGONS game.
A race is a distinct species of intelligent creatures who share
many of the same qualities. In Faerûn, creatures of different
races can often produce children who can in turn have children
of their own, so the term “race” does not quite measure up to the
strict scientific definition of what constitutes a species. Race is
important in game terms because it describes a set of rules shared
by all characters of that race. While appearance, class, skills, and
talents may vary wildly from individual to individual, all
humans share the same racial adjustments and advantages—a
bonus feat at 1st level and extra skill points as compared to other
races, reflecting the human drive to excel and achieve.
While all humans have the same game advantages, not all
dwarves or elves are the same. These races have a more marked
adaptation to their respective lifestyles, and over a relatively
short time, distinctive racial characteristics appear in isolated
populations. A subrace consists of those individuals within a race
who share a distinctive and unique set of racial advantages and
drawbacks. For example, sun elf culture focuses on learning and
What You Need to Play
This sourcebook requires the D UNGEONS & D RAGONS ® Player’s
Handbook, D UNGEON M ASTER ’s Guide, Monster Manual, and the
F ORGOTTEN R EALMS Campaign Setting. You will also find it help-
ful to have a copy of Monster Compendium: Monsters of Faerûn,
although you do not need that book to make use of this one.
The following races mentioned in this book are described
in Monsters of Faerûn : aarakocra, arctic dwarf, urdunnir, wild
dwarf, fey’ri, tanarukk, Dekanter goblin, wemic, and yuan-ti
(tainted one). In this book, you will find sufficient information
in the racial descriptions of these races to play them as player
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Race, Subrace, and
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I NTRODUCTION
lore over the games of agility and balance other elves favor, and
so sun elves have a bonus to their Intelligence scores instead of
their Dexterity scores. In game terms, a subrace is, for all intents
and purposes, a race of its own, but all the subraces of a particu-
lar race share many of the same qualities and are related. When
parents of different subraces have a child, the child almost
always “takes after” one parent or the other.
An ethnic group is a group of people of the same race who
share some minor physical characteristics and common cultural
heritage. Unlike a subrace, two ethnic groups of the same race are
identical to each other in game terms. Humans of Chondathan
stock are not any stronger, tougher, smarter, or more skilled
than humans of Rashemi stock—but any native of Faerûn can
tell a Rashemi from a Chondathan at a glance. While distinct
ethnicities are only described for the human nations in this book,
it’s safe to assume that any race not differentiated by distinct
subraces has a wide variety of physical characteristics. For exam-
ple, a centaur’s human half might have pale skin, or copper skin,
or skin of a rich mahogany hue.
H ISTORY
A summary of the history of each race, subrace, or ethnic group
appears here. In several cases, the history of a particular group is
covered in the description of a nation or race in the F ORGOTTEN
R EALMS Campaign Setting, so you may be referred back to
that book.
O UTLOOK
An overview of how people of the race in question carry them-
selves, conduct their business, and view the world around them.
This will naturally be a gross generalization for most races. Some
Calishites are murderous cutthroats, some are shy scholars, and
others are crusading heroes. But, taken as a whole, the typical Cal-
ishite can be expected to be cosmopolitan, urbane, and prone to
some amount of indolence. The outlook of a race centers on what
people of that race find important and worth striving for.
Characters: Character classes particularly appealing to mem-
bers of the race are described here, along with some of the expla-
nation for why this is so.
Favored Class: The race’s favored class is noted here, along
with a brief discussion of the reasons why the race tends to follow
the class. Humans and half-elves have a favored class of “Any,”
and do not count their highest-level class when determining
whether a multiclassed character suffers an experience penalty.
Prestige Classes: Prestige classes popular among characters of
this race or subrace are noted here, along with the reasons why.
Racial Entry
Each major race chapter is broken into a number of entries based
on ethnic group or subrace. The information presented in these
entries generally follows the order described here.
If a race does not have an entry for a category (such as racial
feats), the header is omitted.
M AJOR R ACE I NFORMATION
The eight major races described in this book each begin with a
general overview of the race’s culture, outlook, and history. Each
subrace or ethnic group description contains more specific and
detailed information on these topics for the specific race.
S OCIETY
This section is a brief description of how folk of the race organ-
ize their lives, families, and governments, and what social struc-
tures surround the individual.
R ACIAL D ATA
Each ethnic group, subrace, or minor race begins with a short set of
entries offering a quick synopsis of the race’s game characteristics.
Regions: Regions in which the subrace or ethnic group is found.
A character of this race or ethnicity may choose a region listed
here as his or her home region, as described in the F ORGOTTEN
R EALMS Campaign Setting. In the case of a human ethnic group,
any region in which the group is present as the primary or sec-
ondary population may be selected. New regions are italicized and
appear at the end of the racial entry.
Automatic and bonus languages are determined by your choice
of home region.
Racial Feats: Any new feats introduced in this book that are
specific to the race at hand are listed here.
Racial Prestige Classes: If there are any prestige classes specif-
ically associated with the race, these are noted here.
Level Adjustment: If the race or subrace comes with a level
adjustment, it is given here. If that race or subrace has racial Hit
Dice (that is, a typical member of that race starts play with more
than the single HD of most player character races), its effective
character level is given as well, combining its level adjustment
and racial Hit Dice. See page 6 for details on how level adjust-
ments and ECL affect character level and advancement.
L ANGUAGE AND L ITERACY
This section discusses the primary language used by a race, includ-
ing its origins and evolution. Secondary languages particularly
common among the people of that race are mentioned also.
Characters of all player character classes except barbarian are
literate, but this is not universally true of characters with NPC
classes. In general, experts and nobles will almost always be liter-
ate, and adepts usually so. Literacy among commoners and war-
riors tends to vary greatly by culture. Characters who are not
literate by their choice of class or race may become literate by
spending 2 skill points to do so.
A BILITIES AND R ACIAL F EATURES
Any racial adjustments to ability scores, racial proficiencies in
particular weapons, racial bonuses to specific skills, and the like
are listed in this section in bullet-point format. Any extraordi-
nary (Ex), spell-like (Sp), or supernatural (Su) ability is described
here, as well as level adjustments and effective character level
(ECL) of more powerful races.
When this information has already been provided in the
Player’s Handbook or F ORGOTTEN R EALMS Campaign Setting ,
this section is omitted.
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How to Read a
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I NTRODUCTION
M AGIC AND L ORE
Most races have their own traditions of spellcasting and favored
spells and items. As with the racial outlook, this is a generaliza-
tion; while Calishites are renowned for their skill with elemental
spells, any particular Calishite wizard might choose to specialize
in any of the schools of arcane magic.
Spells and Spellcasting: Any new racial spells or any feats
related to spellcasting from the Appendix are noted here under
Spellcasting Tradition and Unique Spells.
Magic Items: Many races have a particular affinity for magic
items of a particular sort. Common items are devices whose man-
ufacture is almost institutionalized among those people. Due to
the prevalence of common items in places where the race lives,
they may be purchased at a 10% discount in any place where folk
of that race gather.
Iconic items are specific magic items that are the specialty of
item-crafters of that race. They include a 10% discount in the
listed price, reflecting the fact that the spellcasters of that race
or group have handed down unusual training and tradition in
the manufacture of those items, and so it is simply easier for
such an item to be crafted by a caster who meets the racial pre-
requisite. Since it is easier for a character of the proper race to
make the iconic item, he tends to charge less for it. Other folk
beside shield dwarves make +1 keen battleaxes, but the shield
dwarves’ Foesplitter axes are simply the most prevalent +1 keen
battleaxes around .
E QUIPMENT
While most equipment in the Player’s Handbook equipment
chapter is available in any sufficiently large city, many races
have a particular affinity for equipment of a certain type.
Equipment listed as a common item in this section is generally
available for a 10% discount in cities or settlements of that race.
This does not apply to magical versions of those items unless the
item happens to be an iconic magic item for the race.
Any unique items or new items mentioned in this section are
described in detail in the Equipment section of the Appendix.
Arms and Armor: Traditions of weapon manufacture and
armorsmithing are some of the most distinctive characteristics
of a race’s technology and society. In some cases, these preferred
weapons and arms were derived long ago for very good reasons.
Elves, due to their keen hand-eye coordination and frail builds, have
always favored ranged combat over melee, and therefore are among
Faerûn’s best archers. In other cases, the preference is based on
nothing more than taste. Calishites admire curved swords, and thus
favor scimitars and falchions over longswords and greatswords.
Animals and Pets: While animals are not really equipment,
working animals and pets common to a race are described here.
Some of these creatures are described in Monsters section of
the Appendix.
R EGION
Finally, races or ethnic groups without a character region from
the F ORGOTTEN R EALMS Campaign Setting are provided a char-
acter region here. A character must choose one of the preferred
classes for the region to qualify for the regional feats and bonus
equipment listed as a 1st-level character. A higher-level charac-
ter may choose feats specific to a region even if that region is not
her home region or her class is not preferred there, but she must
gain at least 2 ranks in Knowledge (local), specializing in that
region, in order to do so.
R ACIAL D EITIES
A brief discussion of deities particularly important to the race
appears here. While most races may venerate many more gods
than those that are listed here, these are the ones most important
to the race.
R ELATIONS WITH O THER R ACES
This section describes how the race or subrace gets along with
other groups around it. Once again, this is something of a stereo-
type, since individuals may sometimes form strong bonds with
folk of races their own race does not normally get along with—
or harbor hatred for folk normally allied to their own race.
Level Adjustments and ECL
Some races are significantly more powerful than the standard
character races. To provide the Dungeon Master with a tool
for balancing characters of these races with characters of the
Acquiring a Template
On occasion, a character may in the course of play acquire a
monster template. In many cases, such as the transformation
into a vampire, the character becomes a monster under the
DM’s control, but some templates (such as lycanthrope) do
not mandate the loss of the character. If the template carries
a level adjustment, the character’s effective character level
instantly increases to the new total of her character level and
level adjustment. Until the character earns enough experience
points to “catch up” to her increased ECL, she can’t add any
more class levels. In effect, becoming a werewolf and gaining
2 racial Hit Dice and a level adjustment of +1 means that a
character will be stuck at her current class level until she
acquires enough experience points to qualify for the next
character level, based on her new ECL. A character in this sit-
uation gains a short-term edge in the benefits of her new tem-
plate, but pays for it with a long wait until she can add her
next class level.
Example: Tauroc is a 6th-level dwarven fighter with 17,700
XP. He needs 21,000 XP to reach 7th level. However, Tauroc is
bitten by a werewolf and contracts lycanthropy. Since the effec-
tive character level modifier for werewolf is +3, Tauroc now has
an ECL of 9. He can’t add another class level until he reaches
45,000 XP, which is what a 9th-level character needs to achieve
10th level.
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