Baldur’s Gate 3: All 16 Races & Sub-Races Available in Early Access

The early access for Baldur’s Gate 3 will be starting on October 6th, 2020, and Larian Studios has begun detailing exactly what players can expect when they dive in. Most recently, Larian Studios has unveiled the races that will be available to choose in the early access character creation.

Baldur’s Gate 3 is the latest entry in the highly successful Baldur’s Gate franchise, which are based on the world of Dungeons & Dragons. Developer Larian Studios has promised a fairly massive amount of content for Baldur’s Gate 3’s early access, with 600 characters and nearly 46,000 lines of dialogue. There will also be five companions available to recruit, which will also eventually serve as Origin Characters, pre-built characters players can choose instead of creating a custom character.

Larian Studios has announced a total of 8 races that players can choose from in character creation for Baldur’s Gate 3, with additional sub-races that bring the total options to 16. Here’s a look at what will be available in early access.

Human

The most common race in the world of Baldur’s Gate 3 and perhaps the most flexible in terms of playstyle. No sub-races have been announced for this category.

Githyanki

A race from the Astral Plane who were enslaved by mind flayers for centuries. They are known for using dragons as mounts in battle.

Elf

Players can either choose a High Elf or a Wood Elf. High Elves are highly attuned to magic, even without formal training. Wood Elves, as the name implies, live in the forest and rely on archery and camouflage for survival.

Drow

History and religious warfare have divided the drow into two factions. Seldarine Drow travel the world and seek allies in their quest to end their conflict with the elf goddess Lolth. Lolth-Sworn Drow on the other hand, fervently worship Lolth and can be spotted by their bright red eyes.

Half-Elf

Half-Elves come with three sub races: High Half-Elves, Wood Half-Elves, and Drow Half-Elves.  The first two subraces share traits with their respective Elf sides. Drow Half-Elves are almost always are the result of relationships Seldarine Drow had during their travels, and therefore lack the red-eyes of the Lolth-Sword drow.

Dwarf

Gold Dwarves are very traditional and place high stock on family, ritual and craftsmanship. Shield Dwarves, meanwhile, are cynical from generations of losing wars with goblins and orcs, which resulted in the destruction of their kingdoms.

Halfling

The Lightfoot Halflings are are sneaky and good at talking, and have a penchant for travel. Strongheart Halflings, by contrast, are built for endurance and resistance.

Tiefling

Tieflings break down into three sub-races, depending on which devil they are descended from. Asmodeus Tieflings have power rooted in fire and darkness. Mephistopheles Tieflings are particularly gifted at arcane magic. And lastly, Zariel Tieflings are strong, while also able to channel fire.

Larian Studios has said that this is not the limit of the races and subraces that will eventually be available in the 1.0 version of Baldur’s Gate 3. With the studio promising to constantly update and add new things over the course of early access, its possible that more races will become available over time. Larian Studios has also stated that dialogue interactions will be affected by a character’s race and encourage players to try multiple playthroughs to see how interactions are different depending on the race. A tiefling, for instance, might not receive a warm welcome in a city that was recently teleported and stuck in Hell for a time. Combined with the six classes that will be available for players to choose from, the Baldur’s Gate 3 early access is looking to provide plenty of customization to players.

Source: Larian Studios

Baldur’s Gate 3 releases in Early Access on PC and Google Stadia on October 6th, 2020.

About The Author

Caitlin Grieve
(198 Articles Published)

Caitlin has been writing about video games and sci-fi/fantasy books since 2018. Her video game adventures began a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away as an Imperial pilot in Star Wars: TIE Fighter. When she’s not gaming, she’s reading, and when she’s not reading, she’s writing. But she is ALWAYS plotting her next D&D escapades.

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