What races change the playstyle of a class?

[Rfkannen]

I was thinking about hobgoblins wizards, and how hobgoblins let almost any wizards get a little bit gishy, with light armor, a rapier, and green flame blade you already play vastly different than your average human wizard.

What other races are good for this, changing up the play-style of a class and opening up new possibilities?

[Iskande]

One of my players made a goblin barbarian. He doesn't get to use great/heavy weapons, but the one goblin racial Nimble Escape is basically cunning action of rogues. He uses sword and board and is a very slippery tank to lock down, compared to a blindly rages and used great weapon master feat typical barbarian.

[Cybren]

I was thinking about hobgoblins wizards, and how hobgoblins let almost any wizards get a little bit gishy, with light armor, a rapier, and green flame blade you already play vastly different than your average human wizard.

What other races are good for this, changing up the play-style of a class and opening up new possibilities?

In the same vein, githyanki wizards.

[LudicSavant]

I was thinking about hobgoblins wizards, and how hobgoblins let almost any wizards get a little bit gishy, with light armor, a rapier, and green flame blade you already play vastly different than your average human wizard.

What other races are good for this, changing up the play-style of a class and opening up new possibilities?

Goblin is a big one, basically giving you Cunning Action-lite and thus making you play more like a Rogue-dipping multiclass.

VHuman is one too; getting in an extra early feat can make certain playstyles much more viable than they were before.

The races that let you pick up Wizard cantrips (like High Elf and SCAG-variant Half-Elf) can nab you Booming Blade and Elven Accuracy on classes that only had a single attack, like Rogue.

All of the flying races, for obvious reasons.


I was thinking about hobgoblins wizards, and how hobgoblins let almost any wizards get a little bit gishy, with light armor, a rapier, and green flame blade you already play vastly different than your average human wizard.

Just toss in the Moderately Armored feat and you're basically a single-class Wizard tank getting 24+ AC from medium armor + shield + Shield.

Svirfneblin are sometimes also mentioned for Abjurer Wizards because of their feat that lets them recharge their ward for free, but personally I prefer the Hobgoblin Abjurer to the Svirfneblin one.

[SLOTHRPG95]

In the same vein, githyanki wizards.

Githyanki or Mountain Dwarf Wizard is spread a little more thin, caring about Str to melee, as well as Dex for AC, and Con and Int as normal. Of course, that's assuming you're using your racial weapon proficiencies. Not saying you can't do it, especially if you're rolling for stats and roll well, but Hobgoblin gets to choose Rapier and hence stick with just Dex.

Bit of a niche gimmick, but Air Genasi or Warforged Sorcerer/Wizard is immune to their own Stinking Cloud. Use it defensively to make sure enemies don't want to get near you, or offensively if you want to try and gish it up. It's always safer in melee as a d6 class if your enemies waste their action retching and reeling instead of attacking you back.

[JellyPooga]

The Half-Orc gives low-level Wizard or Sorcerer a lot of additional impetus to jump into melee in a similar regard to Hobgoblin; I had a lot of fun playing a Half-Orc Abjurer in a Tier-1 game, without fear of getting knocked out because of a crit.

I actually think Half-Elf giving "free" +2 Charisma is a good contender for any Class that wants to excel in not only their own field, but also get some Face-time. Want to be a Fighter, but also a leader? Half-Elf. Want to be an Enchanter that doesn't rely solely on magic? Half-elf. Want to be a Cleric the congregation actually likes? Half-Elf. Want to be a Barbarian that is actually intimidating? Half-Elf. Half-elf also giving two additional skill proficiencies is like having a whole extra Background worth of diversity; add Stealth to your Outlander Wizard or some Arcana to your Rogue Noble...the sky's the limit. Half-Elf gives you a lot of variety to change the way you might otherwise be forced to play a Class.

[sambojin]

Forest Gnome or Firbolg
Having speak to animals always on is very handy and adds an entirely different subset of stuff to interact with, that most characters don't have. Firbolgs also give such a reasonable magic package that they can turn non-casty characters into quite versatile micro-mages in a non-combat sense. Popping bonus action one-turn invis at the end of your turn 1/sr can also make lots of characters be a bit tanker (saves shield slots for a Wiz so they can thunderwave/ burning hands/ whatever more, or makes fighters more shield-castery).

It's not really a "changes what you'll be doing entirely" race, but you'll certainly be doing a lot more things in between face-punching or casting, so is a lot of extra flavour to what you can do. Extra pseudo spell slots are godly in character creation and during play. Sort of auto-Druid-lite for any character by choosing Firbolg as a race.

[Aett_Thorn]

Goblin spellcasters can bonus action hide, and then lob off spell attack rolls with Advantage pretty much at-will. Doesn’t necessarily change the class, but might make you change your spell selection to ones that involve an attack roll more often.

A Goblin hurling Scorching Rays from the shadows, or Guiding Bolts from behind a rock could be fun.

[Damon_Tor]

A mountain dwarf has an unusual +2 to two different stats, which means someone could start with two 17s and get 18 str and 18 con at level four. That's a pretty big deal for a barbarian.

On the social side of things, the Changeling is a game changer not just because of its shapeshifting, but also because it can have an unprecedented +3 to charisma, which makes it start at 18. For social and political shenanigans you can't really do better.

[Teaguethebean]

Mountain dwarf rogue let's you play a far more strength focused build, same for tortle monks.

[Agent-KI7KO]

More of a game enhancer than game changer, but Elves with Samurais, and Rogues.

Elven Accuracy is pretty insane if you can trigger it pretty often.

[stoutstien]

More of a game enhancer than game changer, but Elves with Samurais, and Rogues.

Elven Accuracy is pretty insane if you can trigger it pretty often.

EA is surprisingly not that much of a boost over normal advantage. Unlike SS I couldn't see taking it until after maxing primary stat.

[Grod_The_Giant]

Kobolds with Pack Tactics and Sunlight Sensitivity will change your tactical calculus.

Loxodons get Con-based natural armor, which opens up the possibility of Strength-based unarmored builds and low-Dex arcane casters.

Kenku might not change the mechanical side of your character that much, but I can't think of anything that affects your roleplaying that much.

[Bobthewizard]

EA is surprisingly not that much of a boost over normal advantage. Unlike SS I couldn't see taking it until after maxing primary stat.

EA is great if you are using point buy since you can start with a 17 DEX as an elf and then EA is basically free as you get your DEX to 18 at level 4 (or 8 if you take SS at 4).