Using magic is just fun. They offer a lot of power and variety, especially when combined with metamagic, making Sorcerers a fascinating class inBaldur’s Gate 3.you may give your character many exciting builds, and one thing that helps you optimize your character is combining their class with a fitting race.
Truth be told, no races in this game will make your spells hit harder, as you’re able to freely choose which ability scores to improve, and they don’t offer extra magical damage. Still, you have interesting options to choose, from increasing your magical repertoire to bolstering your defenses.
7Human
Let’s start with the most basic of all choices: us. Humans will give you a few proficiencies, from certain weapons to armor proficiencies. The interesting ones for you here are light armor and shield proficiency, so you can get a better defense set than casting Mage Armor and hoping not to get hit.
You’ll also get a skill proficiency of your choosing, so you’re able to complement the options you’ll get from your class and background. Pretty good start for your Sorcerer overall.
6High Elf
If being a Human is no longer fun for you, you can always try something else. Enter the Elf. Though there won’t be interesting armor proficiencies this time — there are weapon proficiencies, but nothing worth mentioning — you’ll get a few perks, such as a free Perception proficiency, 12mDarkvision, advantage against being charmed, and immunity from being put to sleep through magic, which is a good start already. That’s something every Elf will get.
High Elves will also geta free cantrip.Sure, you’ll get some of those just like any Sorcerer, but that increases your number of cantrips by one, helping you deal different types of damage depending on the situation, circumventing enemies' resistances or immunities. Just keep in mind that this cantrip will rely on your Intelligence rather than your Charisma, so you may use it for cantrips that don’t cause damage, such as Light, or increase your Intelligence through items, so you won’t ruin your build.
5Drow
For some reason, Drows are classified as a separate species, though they’re still Elves. It’s worth mentioning here as they’re also a fun choice to play with. They’ll get all the Elf perks mentioned before: Proficiency in certain weapons, Perception, Darkvision, charm resistance, and sleep immunity.
What changes here are the extra spells. You’ll getDancing Lightscantrip — which is not very useful — along withFaerie Fireat level three and Darkness at level five. You’ll be able to use these once per long rest — except for the cantrip, which is just free to use whenever — and they won’t cost you spell slots. You’ll also have Superior Darkvision, 24m this time, which will allow you to safely fight from afar in dark areas.
Plus, Drows get interesting dialogue options, where most people will assume you’re evil, giving you a unique narrative playthrough.
4Half-Elf (Any)
Let’s mix things up. Half-Elves get a little bit of the previous options, and you still get to choose a specific Subrace, giving you a lot of versatility during character creation. From the Human side, you’ll get weapons, light armor, and shield proficiency, with the last two being quite helpful, as mentioned before. From the Elvish side, you’ll get Darkvision,an advantageagainst being charmed, and sleep immunity.
Then, you’re able to still choose another bonus from your Elvish subrace. We’d recommend High Elf for the cantrip or Drow for the extra spells, but the extra movement from Wood Elves is pretty good, too. At the end of the day, all of these are helpful, so it’s up to you to see which fits your character better.
3Asmodeus Tiefling
Using devil ancestry as the reason behind your magic is a narrative goldmine, but alas, that’s not what we’re here to discuss. At first, Any Tiefling will get Darkvision and resistance to fire damage. Taking less damage is always good, so that’s a start. We’re here for the subraces, though.
Asmodeus Tiefling will give you theProduce Flamecantrip,Hellish Rebukeat level three, andDarknessat level five. Just like Drows, you’ll be able to use them once per long rest, except for the cantrip, which you can use any time. Of all these options, Hellish Rebuke is quite helpful, as its damage is high, and it’ll give you something to do with your reaction — unless you need to be ready to Counterspell someone, of course.
Alternatively — and if you’re not afraid of getting close to your enemies — Mephistopheles Tieflings will give you Burning Hands at level three and Flame Blade at level five, which are good close-range spells. We don’t recommend Zariel Tieflings, though, as they’ll give you two Smite spells, which are not very useful unless you intend to attack with your weapons. Save the smitesto the Paladins.
2Forest Gnome
The little ones have much to offer. First, any Gnome has Darkvision and an advantage against any saving throw that will use your Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma. That means most spells with psychic effects, such as mind control, will have a harder time affecting you.
We recommend Forest Gnomes mainly because they’ll get youSpeak with Animalsfor free, an excellent spell in this game, as the animals have quite a lot to say around here. Deep Gnomes are an interesting second choice, as they have advantage on stealth rolls, allowing you to get a few surprise rounds for you and your companions.
1Halfling (Any)
Halflings are a powerful choice for pretty much any class. You’ll get an advantage against being frightened, which is useful given that the frightened condition is stronger here than in D&D. But the real fun part is Lucky, which will let you re-roll the die every time you hit a one in Ability Checks, Attack Rolls, or Saving Throws. It’ll be a lot harder for you to mess up badly.
They have two Subraces here, Lightfoot and Strongheart, and either is good for you. Lightfoot has an advantage on stealth rolls like the Deep Gnome, while Strongheart will be resistant to poison damage, as well as have an advantage against being poisoned in the first place. Given how common poison damage is, that’s also a wonderful choice. But the main selling point here is Lucky, and every Halfling gets that.
Baldur’s Gate 3
WHERE TO PLAY
Baldur’s Gate 3 is the long-awaited next chapter in the Dungeons & Dragons-based series of RPGs. Developed by Divinity creator Larian Studios, it puts you in the middle of a mind flayer invasion of Faerûn, over a century after the events of its predecessor.
