Races

A Race is a type of humanoid creature that a player can choose for their Player Characters. Although in D&D there are many "monster races", in DDO the term "race" generally refers only to Player Character options.

Each Race has certain innate modifiers that make them different. These modifiers can include higher or lower abilities, skills, feats, and special modifiers. This page gives a brief overview of each race's capabilities, but you should look at each race's page for full information.

As of Update 53 there are a total of 22 possible races in the game: 14 basic races plus 8 "iconic" races, based on the Eberron and Forgotten Realms campaign settings from Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 and 4th editions. Free to Play players can freely choose from the basic races of Dragonborn, Drow, Dwarf, Elf, Gnome, Halfling, Half-Elf, Half-Orc, Human, Tiefling or Wood Elf, but must purchase any or all of Aasimar, Shifter, Warforged, and all Iconic races that they care to play. The Warforged race can also be easily unlocked on a server for free by achieving 400 favor with any single character.

Racial Ability Modifiers
Most Races have innate changes to their abilities (with Human as the "unmodified" norm) - Orcs are stronger but less charismatic, Elves are more dextrous but have less constitution, and so on. These changes are applied after building a character, so are "free" modifiers - you don't pay more to get more, it's just "more" (or "less", as the case may be).

Besides these innate racial modifiers, each race has access to its own Racial Enhancement Tree. Within these, characters of different races have the option to spend Action Points to gain additional ability increases. These are optional and separate from the innate modifiers mentioned previously.

When creating a character in Dungeons & Dragons Online, it's important to consider how a given race would aid your desired build. Any race in DDO can be any class, and they all can multiclass as well. However, some races are better suited for certain classes, while some may be somewhat less ideal for certain others. For instance, if you want a "strong" character, a half-orc (+2 Str) might be a better choice than a Halfling (-2 Str). However, there are more differences than just "ability modifiers" to consider when choosing a race - it is recommended to view each individual race's page before deciding on the race and the class(es) you wish to play.

Note that in DDO there are no differences at all between female and male characters, except cosmetic (i.e. their appearance).

Racial summary chart
Summary of the races and their allowed starting ability ranges and maximum potential enhancement modifiers:


 * Notes:
 * 1) F = "Free to Play" (aka Basic); P = Premium, I = Iconic Race
 * 2) Warforged are not available to starting accounts, however they are available "for free" once any character on that server earns 400 favor. Warforged and all other non-Free-to-play races can be bought in-game via the DDO Store. (See Warforged and Favor for more information.)

= Race Overviews=

Aasimar

 * Stats: +2 Wisdom
 * Benefits: Racial Lay On Hands (Healing Hands). +2 Racial Bonus to Heal, Listen, and Spot. +5 Resistance to Cold, Acid, and Electricity.
 * Flaws: None.
 * Favored Classes: With +2 to Wisdom and an optional racial healing boost, Aasimar make excellent Clerics, Druids, and Favored Souls. Their racial enhancements can also aid fighting "evil", so any class that can claim that, especially Paladins, also benefits. The wisdom bonus (and potential strength bonus) also make Aasimar viable Monks and Rangers.
 * Deity: None
 * Inherent racial feats: Either +1 Charisma and +1 to Will Saving Throws, or +1 to Strength and +1 to Reflex Saving Throws.
 * Free to Play: No. This race must be purchased from the DDO Store to be able to create one at the character creation screen. Once purchased it unlocks the race on all servers.

Aasimar Scourge

 * Stats: +2 Wisdom
 * Benefits: Favored Enemy: Undead, Racial Lay On Hands. +2 racial bonus on Heal, Listen, and Spot checks. +5 Resistance to Cold, Acid, and Electricity.
 * Flaws: None.
 * Favored Classes: Mandatory first level is Ranger. With +2 to Wisdom and an optional racial healing boost, Aasimar make excellent Clerics and Favored Souls. Their racial enhancements can also aid fighting "evil", so any class that can claim that, especially Paladins, also benefits.
 * Deity: None
 * Inherent racial feats: +1 Constitution, +1 to Fortitude Saving Throws.
 * Free to Play: No. This race must be purchased from the DDO Store to be able to create one at the character creation screen. Once purchased it unlocks the race on all servers.

Bladeforged

 * Stats: +2 Constitution
 * Benefits:Immune to Poison, Sleep Effects, Negative Levels, Paralysis, Hold Person/Monster, Flesh to Stone, Disease, Nausea, Fatigue & Exhaustion. Sorcerers and Wizards (including Hirelings that can Repair Warforged) can use Repair spells to heal Warforged. Do not breathe underwater and have an inherent stacking 25% fortification. Has the effects of the Diehard feat by default. Swapping docents is instantaneous and they do not have to wait for the timer that other races get when changing armor.
 * Flaws:Cure and Heal spells from Divine Casters have a -50% penalty when cast upon Warforged. Rust monsters will do more damage against a Warforged, have a chance to stun them with every attack, and will seek them out in battle. Warforged are vulnerable to the Deconstruct spell that is carried by artificers.
 * Favored Classes: Mandatory 1st level of Paladin. Good melees and arcane casters.
 * Deity: Lord of Blades
 * Inherent racial feats: Uses a special kind of armor only, called Docents. The armor bonus and onus depends of the body feat you choose.
 * Free to Play: No. This race must be purchased from the DDO Store to be able to create one at the character creation screen. Once purchased it unlocks the race on all servers.

Deep Gnome (Svirfneblin)

 * Stats:
 * Benefits:
 * Flaws:
 * Favored Classes: Mandatory 1st level of Wizard.
 * Free to Play: No. This race must be purchased from the DDO Store to be able to create one at the character creation screen. Once purchased it unlocks the race on all servers.

Dragonborn
Dragonborn can have the unique ability to channel elements into a Breath Weapon attack.


 * Stats: +2 Strength, +2 Charisma, -2 Dexterity


 * Benefits: Stacking bonus to one Energy Resistance equal to your Character Level via chosen Draconic Ancestry.
 * Optional: Breath weapon via racial enhancements.


 * Flaws: Lower Dexterity makes Armor Class, Reflex save, and some skills slightly lower. May have difficulty meeting dex-based Feat requirements.
 * Favored Classes: With +2 to Charisma, dragonborn make good bards, favored souls, sorcerers and warlocks, and strength-based melee combatants.
 * Deity: (tbd)
 * Free to Play: Yes! This race is free to all players.

Drow Elf
The Drow of Eberron are not like the Drow of Faerun (aka Forgotten Realms), they are more akin to the normal Elves of Eberron but have different starting ability scores. They cannot be created as a 32-point build because of the extra ability scores they receive at character creation.
 * Stats: +2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, +2 Charisma, -2 Constitution.
 * Benefits: +2 to saves against Enchantment spells, inherent Spell Resistance, +2 to Listen, Search, and Spot skills, and bonus racial weapon proficiencies (rapier, shortsword, and shuriken).
 * Flaws: Lower Constitution, averaging fewer hit points than most other races, and having a score of less than 12-14 will make characters more fragile than average.
 * Favored Classes: They make great Sorcerers, Wizards, Artificers, or Rogues with their extra stat points, they also excel at being a Bard, Ranger, or even a Paladin.
 * Deity: Vulkoor, Sovereign Host, Silver Flame.
 * Inherent Racial Feats: Shuriken Expertise
 * Free to Play: Yes! This race is free to all players.

Dwarf

 * Stats: +2 Constitution, -2 Charisma.
 * Benefits: Racial Toughness enhancements, Spell Point enhancements, bonuses to saves against spells and poisons, bonuses when fighting giant or goblinoid type creatures, bonuses to Search and Balance.
 * Flaws: Penalty to Charisma makes them less attractive to Charisma-based classes, like Sorcerers.
 * Favored Classes: Because of their extra Constitution, Dwarves make great Fighters and Barbarians. They can also do well as a Cleric, or as a Monk since they do not use Charisma.
 * Deity: Sovereign Host, Silver Flame.
 * Free to Play: Yes! This race is free to all players.

Elf

 * Stats: +2 Dexterity, -2 Constitution.
 * Benefits: Immune to Sleep, +2 to saves against Enchantment spells, +2 to Listen, Search and Spot skills, racial weapon proficiencies (longsword, rapier, longbow, and shortbow). Elven Wizards also gain access to the Elven Arcanum enhancement line for more spell points, and Elven Clerics can take the enhancement Undying Call by being a Follower of the Undying Court, gaining the ability to raise dead party members at level 6. Elves also have their own Arcane Archer prestige class, independent from the Ranger class.
 * Flaws: Lower Constitution, averaging fewer hit points than most other races, and having a score of less than 12-14 may exclude you from some parties due to your inability to meet hit point requirements.
 * Favored Classes: They make great Rangers with their extra dexterity. They also excel at being Clerics, Rogues, and Wizards.
 * Deity: Sovereign Host, Silver Flame, Undying Court.
 * Free to Play: Yes! This race is free to all players.

Gnome
Gnomes are small, clever, and insatiably curious, yet not as strong as others. They are skilled with magic (UMD) and illusions. They can carry the Dragonmark of Scribing. They are particularly skilled with various light weapons and one-handed hammers.
 * Stats: +2 Intelligence, -2 Strength
 * Benefits:
 * Flaws:
 * Favored Classes:
 * Deity:
 * Free to Play: Yes! This race is free to all players.

Halfling
One of the smallest of all the playable races, dexterous and agile. Able to sneak about and hide in corners if they so choose.
 * Stats: +2 Dexterity, -2 Strength.
 * Benefits: +1 size bonus to Armor Class, +1 bonus to attack rolls with thrown weapons, +2 to Jump, Listen and Move Silently skills, and +4 to Hide. Halfling also get +1 to all saves and +2 bonus to saves against Fear. They also gain limited healing abilities with the Mark of Healing Dragonmark feats. In addition, Halflings gain the Cunning and Guile enhancement lines, which greatly increase their attack bonus when flanking and their Sneak Attack damage, respectively.
 * Flaws: Halflings only have 75% carrying capacity when compared to other races, and their racial penalty to Strength can be a slight detriment to their damage dealing ability.
 * Favored Classes: Halflings have great synergy with the Rogue class due to their bonuses to Hide and Move Silently as well as their +1 to all saves/attack rolls, and several specialized enhancements lines. They can also excel at the Monk class.
 * Free to Play: Yes! This race is free to all players.

Half-Elf
A combination of Human and Elven parents, Half-Elves are typically shunned by the Elven community. They mainly live in Human cities.
 * Stats: No changes.
 * Benefits: Half-Elves receive a free Dilettante feat, which they may select to provide some of the abilities of a class. They also have access to both Human and Elven enhancements.
 * Flaws: None.
 * Favored Classes: Half-Elfs, due to their Dilettante Feats, make a good racial choice for any class, just like Humans. Like Elfs they can become Arcane Archers via race, which allows for interesting class combinations.
 * Deity: Sovereign Host, Silver Flame, Undying Court.
 * Free to Play: Yes! This race is free to all players.

Half-Orc
The product of Human and Orc parents, savage and brutish in their nature. They boast extra Strength over the other races, but are not as intelligent or charismatic.
 * Stats: +2 Strength, -2 Intelligence, -2 Charisma.
 * Benefits: Higher Strength provides bonuses to attack and damage melee rolls. Also enhancements favor the use of two handed weapons.
 * Flaws: Penalty to Intelligence and Charisma result in less effective to some classes like Sorcerer, and Wizard.
 * Favored Classes: Half-Orcs make good all-round melee characters with bonuses to strength and very high damage, they are particularly good at two handed fighting Barbarians, Fighters.
 * Deity: Sovereign Host, Silver flame.
 * Free to Play: Yes! This race is free to all players.

Human
A well-rounded race that can excel at any class, with no outstanding benefits and virtually no flaws they are an excellent choice for any player new to the Dungeons & Dragons gaming system and the world of Eberron.
 * Stats: No changes.
 * Benefits: One extra Feat at 1st Level. Also, Humans get 4 additional Skill Points at creation and 1 additional skill point per level. Humans get race-specific enhancement lines such as Human Adaptability and Human Greater Adaptability, and Human Versatility.
 * Flaws: None.
 * Favored Classes: Being the only race that can unlock the full potential of the Chimera's Fang, Humans make particularly good Fighters or Paladins. They make great Clerics due to the ability to take an extra point in Wisdom with Human Adaptability or Human Greater Adaptability, but a Human can do well as any class in the game.
 * Deity: Sovereign Host, Silver Flame.
 * Free to Play: Yes! This race is free for all players

Morninglord (Sun Elf)

 * Stats:
 * Benefits:
 * Flaws:
 * Favored Classes: Mandatory 1st level of Cleric.
 * Deity: Amaunator
 * Free to Play: No. This race must be purchased from the DDO Store to be able to create one at the character creation screen. Once purchased it unlocks the race on all servers.

Purple Dragon Knight

 * Stats:
 * Benefits:
 * Flaws:
 * Favored Classes: Mandatory 1st level of figther
 * Deity: Amaunator.
 * Free to Play: This race must be purchased from the DDO Store to be able to create one at the character creation screen. Once purchased it unlocks the race on all servers.

Shadar-kai

 * Stats: +2 Dexterity, -2 Charisma
 * Benefits:
 * Flaws:
 * Favored Classes: Mandatory 1st level of rogue.
 * Deity: Amaunator, Helm, Silvanus
 * Free to Play: No. This race must be purchased from the DDO Store to be able to create one at the character creation screen. Once purchased it unlocks the race on all servers.

Tiefling
Tieflings have only recently been allowed passage in Stormreach (U41.4, March 28, '19). Their distinctly diabolic/infernal appearance makes them stand out in most any crowd.
 * Stats: +2 Charisma
 * Benefits: Immune to Fear, racial fire resistance
 * Flaws:
 * Favored Classes: Tieflings excel as casters, especially Charisma/fire-based casters, so Fire-Savant Sorcerers and Fiend-pact Warlocks, but are also naturals as Bards or even fire-based Wizards.
 * Deity: Eberron deities
 * Free to Play: Yes! This race is free to all players.

Tiefling Scoundrel

 * Stats: +2 Charisma
 * Benefits: Immune to Fear, racial fire resistance, Fiendish Arpeggio SLA
 * Flaws:
 * Favored Classes: Mandatory 1st level of bard.
 * Deity: Eberron deities
 * Free to Play: No. This race must be purchased from the DDO Store to be able to create one at the character creation screen. Once purchased it unlocks the race on all servers.

Warforged
These are known as living constructs and are unique to the world of Eberron, the Warforged that a player plays are sentient beings and are regarded as a race on equal footing with the same rights as any other race. Warforged do not wear the body armor that other races are able to wear, instead they have inherent armor and use Docents to give them extra abilities.
 * Stats: +2 Constitution, -2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma.
 * Benefits: Immune to Poison, Sleep Effects, Negative Levels, Paralysis, Hold Person/Monster, Flesh to Stone, Disease, Nausea, Fatigue & Exhaustion. Sorcerers and Wizards (including Hirelings that can Repair Warforged) can use Repair spells to heal Warforged. Do not breathe underwater and have an inherent stacking 25% fortification. Has the effects of the Diehard feat by default. Swapping docents is instantaneous and they do not have to wait for the timer that other races get when changing armor.
 * Flaws: Cure and Heal spells from Divine Casters have a -50% penalty when cast upon Warforged. Rust monsters will do more damage against a Warforged, have a chance to stun them with every attack, and will seek them out in battle. Warforged are vulnerable to the Deconstruct spell that is carried by artificers.
 * Favored Classes: With their bonus constitution they make good Fighters and Barbarians. They also make excellent Sorcerers, Artificers, and Wizards because of the arcane caster's ability to use Repair spells which are effective on Warforged. While a somewhat niche choice, Warforged Favored Souls can attain multiple types of DR, since their level 20 DR works with their DR from enhancements and the various Warforged DR feats.
 * Deity: Sovereign Host, Lord of Blades, Silver Flame.
 * Inherent racial feats: Uses a special kind of armor only, called Docents. The armor bonus and onus depends of the body feat you choose.
 * Free to Play: Warforged are not available to Free to Play accounts, however they are available "for free" once any character on that server earns 400 favor. As with any Premium race, Warforged can be bought in-game via the DDO Store.

= Subraces = Subraces are racial variants that have new look and somewhat tweaked racial feats and enhancements. However, they share racial past lives with the main race.

Wood Elf

 * Stats: +2 Dexterity, -2 Intelligence.
 * Benefits: Immune to Sleep, +2 to saves against Enchantment spells, +2 to Listen, Search and Spot skills, racial weapon proficiencies (longsword, rapier, longbow, and shortbow). Elven Wizards also gain access to the Elven Arcanum enhancement line for more spell points, and Elven Clerics can take the enhancement Undying Call by being a Follower of the Undying Court, gaining the ability to raise dead party members at level 6. Elves also have their own Arcane Archer prestige class, independent from the Ranger class.
 * Flaws: Lower Intelligence, averaging fewer skill points to spend.
 * Favored Classes: They make great Rangers with their extra dexterity.
 * Deity: Aureon, Blood of Vol, Olladra, Onatar, Silver Flame, Sovereign Host, Undying Court.
 * Free to Play: Yes! This race is free to all players.