Good race for controller spellcasters?

[DarkMoon250]

My next character is a Cleric within Critical Role's setting. I'm playing a moonlight-themed domain from a book released by the creators of CR, and it's mostly themed around being a battlefield controller: Channel Divinity to give someone Pack Tactics, Channel Divinity dual-concentrate on domain spells like faerie fire or hypnotic pattern (with disadvantage, of course), 60 ft radius saving throw disadvantage and lowered speed for enemies... good stuff like that.

And before you ask, yes, I managed to get the ok from my DM for this, but I'm expecting them to pull a Sans Undertale and give me a bad time in combat.

All the other players are going to use MotM races, so that's what I'm going to work with as well. For those who are more experienced with the game than I am, which of these updated races might benefit a caster built for control? Should I try something defensive like orc or shifter? Something that helps me move around the battlefield? A flying race like aarakocra? Or just pick shadar-kai, since I'm hearing that it's the lord of the races after this new book?

I'd love to hear what ideas this forum has

[RogueJK]

As a Controller caster, maintaining Concentration is very important to your role.

Therefore, going Variant Human/Custom Lineage to pick up Warcaster or Resilient CON right off the bat at Level 1 is a very solid option.

Goliath is another potential option, as it gives you the Stone's Endurance racial Reaction to reduce incoming damage by 1d12+CONMOD, which can take an amount of damage that would cause a challenging Concentration check and reduce it down to a more easily manageable level.

Similarly, Hobgoblins have the Fortune of the Many ability to boost a failed save by up to +3, potentially turning a Concentration check near-miss failure into a success.


Shadar-Kai's BA teleport with damage resistance is certainly strong, but requires you to anticipate ahead of time that you're going to be taking damage in the coming round, rather than being usable in reaction to actually taking damage like a Goliath.

[Psyren]

What RogueJK said - Dual-Concentrate is quite powerful and disadvantage on your concentration save is a steep downside, so ideally you'll want ways to protect that.

All four five of the races listed are solid options. I'd also add Githzerai as a great option as they can get shield onto your cleric spell list, letting you avoid some damaging hits entirely (and do so for the rest of the round, not just vs. 1 attack.)

[DarkMoon250]

As a Controller caster, maintaining Concentration is very important to your role.

Therefore, going Variant Human/Custom Lineage to pick up Warcaster or Resilient CON right off the bat at Level 1 is a very solid option.

Goliath is another potential option, as it gives you the Stone's Endurance racial Reaction to reduce incoming damage by 1d12+CONMOD, which can take an amount of damage that would cause a challenging Concentration check and reduce it down to a more easily manageable level.

Similarly, Hobgoblins have the Fortune of the Many ability to boost a failed save by up to +3, potentially turning a Concentration check near-miss failure into a success.


Shadar-Kai's BA teleport with damage resistance is certainly strong, but requires you to anticipate ahead of time that you're going to be taking damage in the coming round, rather than being usable in reaction to actually taking damage like a Goliath.

I had thought about Vhuman or hobgoblin, but the DM has said they're letting us take a free feat alongside an ASI at every level that it comes up, so I'm not worried about getting 1 extra feat. Also, there are only 2 players besides me, so I'm not sure how worth it hobgob would be, since I'd only get +2 (assuming the other 2 are even within 30 ft. of me).

You've made a very good case for goliath. It doesn't match the theme I had in mind, but I might be willing to overlook that for such a helpful race.

[solidork]

I'd consider Harengon - the bonus on initiative is pretty huge, specifically for a control caster. You've also got a pretty good mobility racial that is useful defensively in combat and also has out of combat applicability since it lets you jump vertically much further than you normally can.

The best way to keep concentration is to not get hit at all - Goblin would let you drop your control spells and then hide as a bonus action. As a cleric, you don't have an attack roll cantrip so your at will DPR doesn't really benefit much from being able to hide for advantage so it's not as good as it would be on, say, a wizard. Firbolg can kind of do the same thing, but on a much more limited basis.

[RogueJK]

I had thought about Vhuman or hobgoblin, but the DM has said they're letting us take a free feat alongside an ASI at every level that it comes up, so I'm not worried about getting 1 extra feat. Also, there are only 2 players besides me, so I'm not sure how worth it hobgob would be, since I'd only get +2 (assuming the other 2 are even within 30 ft. of me).

You've made a very good case for goliath. It doesn't match the theme I had in mind, but I might be willing to overlook that for such a helpful race.

In that case, I'd definitely give Goliath a hard look, and take both Warcaster and Resilient CON at 4 and 8.

[DarkMoon250]

I'd consider Harengon - the bonus on initiative is pretty huge, specifically for a control caster. You've also got a pretty good mobility racial that is useful defensively in combat and also has out of combat applicability since it lets you jump vertically much further than you normally can.

Harengon is another I had a feeling would be good in this role, but the last character I played with this group was a Bugs Bunny-styled one (because how else does one play a harengon)? Granted it was like... fewer sessions than I have fingers on my hands, so they probably wouldn't mind a 2nd rabbitman for a longer campaign.

[Bobthewizard]

I like all of the choices listed. I also like goblin for this build if that's more the theme you are going for. BA disengage and hide can get you out of a lot of trouble, and unlike Shadar-kai or Herengon, it's unlimited.

[solidork]

Harengon is another I had a feeling would be good in this role, but the last character I played with this group was a Bugs Bunny-styled one (because how else does one play a harengon)?

You can do a lot with characterization if you get creative. I'm playing a human noble who was disinherited when he was turned into a harengon by a curse. Even if you're a normal Harengon, you could play one that is kind and clever, but anxious and still be playing into "I'm a rabbit person" stereotypes.

[Naanomi]

Depending on the campaign, a flying race can get a lot of milage out of being a controller on the fringes of the battlefield

[DarkMoon250]

Depending on the campaign, a flying race can get a lot of milage out of being a controller on the fringes of the battlefield

How good might fairy be for a flier? My DM said they thought that was a race I could probably RP well, along with shifter and firbolg. Do I need to invest in a lot of Dex?

[RogueJK]

Do I need to invest in a lot of Dex?

Yes, if you want to fly. They can only fly while wearing no armor or Light Armor. Either option will require a high DEX to compensate.

[Naanomi]

Yes, if you want to fly. They can only fly while wearing no armor or Light Armor. Either option will require a high DEX to compensate.

'high dex' being 14-16 probably

[RogueJK]

'high dex' being 14-16 probably

14 DEX with Light Armor is only a 14 AC, or a 16 AC with a shield. That's fairly low for a Cleric, who lacks many of the additional defensive options of a Wizard/Sorcerer...

[DarkMoon250]

If I may ask, is there any good case to make for a shifter? I mean, divine lunar magic on a character with werewolf blood sounds like it could be quite the fun and fitting RP combo, but I'm not sure if I want to keep it on my list if it's not too good for this build and role.

[Rashagar]

Just chiming in to say hares are often associated with the moon too in myth/folklore, if you did want a reason to go harengon then looking into that could give some nice character inspiration.

[RogueJK]

If I may ask, is there any good case to make for a shifter? I mean, divine lunar magic on a character with werewolf blood sounds like it could be quite the fun and fitting RP combo, but I'm not sure if I want to keep it on my list if it's not too good for this build and role.

It's not terrible... It just doesn't get you anything directly applicable to being a better Controller caster.

Longtooth's BA melee attack won't really benefit you at all.

Swiftstride's increased movement speed is okay, but not great. Keep in mind that the Reaction escape ability only applies after an enemy ends their turn, so they can close with you and still hit you with their complete melee attack routine before you would have the chance to move 10' away.

Wild Hunt could further boost your already high WIS skills like Perception/Survival/Insight/Animal Handling/Medicine, and negating enemy advantage could be situationally useful, although it only applies to close enemies.

Beasthide's extra Temp HP and +1 AC is handy, but it's a fairly generic bonus that probably won't feel that impactful.


Still, as you noted, it's thematically appropriate.

[strangebloke]

Goliath's been mentioned already, though depending on how your DM rules it, it could negate the need for a save altogether. The downside here is that this conflicts with counterspell, absorb elements, and shield, so its more of a niche use case than you might expect. Still very good though when it comes up. Adds a lot of HP resources over the course of a day.

The oldschool hobgoblin had the 'saving face' ability which granted a max of +5 to saving throws 1/sr, which made them a truly excellent wizard along with everything else they got.

For a more out there option, go for a tiefling with fiendish resilience. The number of resistances really will make you a lot harder to bring down.

[Chaos Jackal]

If I may ask, is there any good case to make for a shifter? I mean, divine lunar magic on a character with werewolf blood sounds like it could be quite the fun and fitting RP combo, but I'm not sure if I want to keep it on my list if it's not too good for this build and role.

Shifter is similar to goliath, a mostly defensive-oriented race with a few extra perks going with its transformations. While it's not outright damage reduction like the goliath, and the number of effective hit points it generates is generally smaller until pretty high levels or if your Con is low (outside of beasthide), the transformation makes up for that by always getting full value out of those temporary hit points as well as its extra perks. The races are pretty close overall, and both are good survivability-wise, though if you're really worried about blowing concentration checks goliath is ultimately better in that regard. Githzerai is also an additional option here; it adds shield to your spell list, essentially always prepared, and gives you a free cast of it every day. One of the best ways to not take any damage.

With all those free feats, getting concentration boosts is certainly not going to be hard. That Moonlight domain or whatever it's called has a strong perk in circumventing the limitations of concentration, so you want to leverage that. But better than Resilient and War Caster is just not getting hit at all. The goliath's damage reduction can do that to an extent, but flight or tactical teleportation are arguably even better in that regard, and will also help you position yourself more easily in combat, which can also be important to a controller. So shadar-kai, eladrin, fairies, aarakocra and owlin are your best bets, and they all bring some nice extras in addition to their teleportation or flight. Finally, winged tiefling is also an idea if you're willing to pick something outside of MPMM; unlike the other flying races, it can fly in medium armor, a nice plus for what you're doing. Also, Infernal Constitution adds a lot defensively.

Special mention to the harengon; initiative is huge for dedicated controllers.

Personally, I'd go with either a flying race or shadar-kai. But there's a lot of good options and you'll still be happy with basically anything mentioned above. Normally I don't suggest playing whatever you like in optimization questions, as it is an off-topic non-answer, but in this case it's applicable. All of the aforementioned races can be considered and be helpful, so really, whatever floats your boat.

[Naanomi]

14 DEX with Light Armor is only a 14 AC, or a 16 AC with a shield. That's fairly low for a Cleric, who lacks many of the additional defensive options of a Wizard/Sorcerer...

Fair, winged tiefling can fly in medium armor if it is a concern I suppose

[DarkMoon250]

So shadar-kai, eladrin, fairies, aarakocra and owlin are your best bets, and they all bring some nice extras in addition to their teleportation or flight.

Special mention to the harengon; initiative is huge for dedicated controllers.

Eladrin, fairy, owlin and harengon are all relatively appropriate lore-wise, as the deity that provides the moon domain in the setting is also one of the two gods of the Feywild, so I'm glad to hear those are all good options. Especially eladrin, since this god is also the patron of autumn.

I'll still keep shifter in mind, though. Since I last posted here, my DM sent me a message detailing the benefits of beasthide and swiftstride, so I think they want me to pick a beasty boi, lol.