A visit to one of the great cities in the worlds of Dungeons & Dragons - Waterdeep, the Free City of Greyhawk, or even uncanny Sigil, the City of Doors - overwhelms the senses. Voices chatter in countless different languages. The smells of cooking in dozens of different cuisines mingle with the odors of crowded street and poor sanitation. buildings in myriad architectural styles display the diverse origins of their inhabitants.

And the people themselves - people of varying size, shape, and color, dressed in a dazzling spectrum of styles and hues - represent many different races, from diminutive halflings and stout dwarves to majestically beautiful elves, mingling among a variety of human ethnicities.

Scattered among the members of these more common races are the true exotics: a hulking dragonborn here, pushing his way through the crowd, and a sly tiefling there, lurking in the shadows with mischief in her eyes. A group of gnomes laughs as one of them activates a clever wooden toy that moves of its own accord. half-elves and half-orcs live and work alongside humans, without fully belonging to the races of either of their parents. And there, well out of the sunlight is a lone drow - a fugitive from the subterranean expanse of the Underdark, trying to make his way in a world that fears his kind.

Standard Lineages

These races are included in the Player's Handbook, though variants exist for specific settings that may be used with DM permission, and are considered the standard races allowable for player use in any Dungeons & Dragons setting.

Dragonborn Dwarf Elf
Gnome Half-Elf Half-Orc
Halfling Human Tiefling

Custom Lineage

Typical character lineages in D&D include little or no choice. A Custom Lineage addresses that lack of versatility by allowing you to come up with your own combination of lineage abilities to create a unique lineage for your character.

Custom

Exotic Lineages

Aarakocra Aasimar Changeling
Deep Gnome Duergar Eladrin
Fairy Firbolg Genasi (Air)
Genasi (Earth) Genasi (Fire) Genasi (Water)
Githyanki Githzerai Goliath
Harengon Kenku Locathah
Owlin Satyr Sea Elf
Shadar-Kai Tabaxi Tortle
Triton Verdan

Monstrous Lineages

Bugbear Centaur Goblin
Grung Hobgoblin Kobold
Lizardfolk Minotaur Orc
Shifter Yuan-Ti

Setting Specific Lineages

Eberron

Kalashtar Warforged

Plane Shift

Aetherborn Aven Khenra
Kor Merfolk Naga
Siren Vampire

Ravenloft

Dhamphir Hexblood Reborn

Ravnica

Loxodon Simic Hybrid Vedalken

Theros

Leonin

Unearthed Arcana

Lineage Source
Autognome Unearthed Arcana 80 - Travelers of the Multiverse
Giff Unearthed Arcana 80 - Travelers of the Multiverse
Hadozee Unearthed Arcana 80 - Travelers of the Multiverse
Kender Unearthed Arcana 82 - Heroes of Krynn
Kender Revised Unearthed Arcana 83 - Heroes of Krynn Revisited
Owlfolk Unearthed Arcana 77 - Folk of the Feywild
Plasmoid Unearthed Arcana 80 - Travelers of the Multiverse
Rabbitfolk Unearthed Arcana 77 - Folk of the Feywild
Revenant Unearthed Arcana 15 - Gothic Heroes
Thri-Kreen Unearthed Arcana 80 - Travelers of the Multiverse
Viashino Unearthed Arcana 53 - Races of Ravnica