Artificers are magical tinkerers who enjoy creation and revel in learning about new inventions.
While there aren’t many Artificers, the races who most often become Artificers have relatively high Intelligence and exhibit a knack for working with tools.
Best Races for Artificers 5e D&D
5. Gnome
Ability Score Increase – Intelligence by 2.
Age – Gnomes mature the same as Humans, though they settle into adult life at 40 years old and live to around 350 years on average, but it’s not uncommon for them to reach 500 years old.
Alignment – Most Gnomes are Good, tending towards Law or Chaos depending on what they do in life.
Creature Type – Humanoid
Size – Small, ranging between 3 and 4 feet tall and weighing around 40 pounds.
Speed – Base walking speed of 25 feet.
Racial Features – Darkvision and Gnome Cunning.
Languages – Speak, read, and Write Gnomish and Common.
Gnomes are already described as natural craftsmen, fitting perfectly with the Artificer class.
They also gain advantage on most of the ability scores Artificers mainly use with their Gnome Cunning.
4. Variant Human
Ability Score Increase – Two different scores by 1.
Age – Humans mature in their late teens and live less than 100 years.
Alignment – Any
Creature Type – Humanoid
Feat (Variant) – Gain one Feat of your choice.
Size – Medium, from barely 5 feet to well over 6 feet, and almost any varying Human weight.
Skills (Variant) – Gain proficiency in one skill you choose.
Speed – Base walking speed of 30 feet.
Racial Features (Variant) – Depends on the Variant Human you chose.
Languages – Speak, read, and write Common and one language you choose.
Variant Humans give you one Feat of your choice as well as a skill proficiency for free, which already makes them incredibly valuable.
You can even choose a Marked Variant Human if you don’t feel like taking the Feat, as there are a lot of excellent options that will fit well with your Artificer’s abilities.
3. Metallic Dragonborn
Ability Score Increase – One score by 2 and a different score by 1 OR Three different scores by 1.
Age – Dragonborn grow quickly and reach adulthood by the age of 15 and living to be around 80 years of age.
Alignment – Dragonborn make conscious choices between Good and Evil, though some are Neutral, and there are even fewer who choose to be all three alignments.
Creature Type – Humanoid
Size – Medium, Dragonborn are taller than most Humans, being well over 6 feet tall and around 250 pounds.
Speed – Base walking speed of 30 feet.
Racial Features – Metallic Ancestry (Gem), Breath Weapon, Draconic Resistance, and Metallic Breath Weapon.
Languages – Speak, read, and write Common and one other language deemed appropriate by your DM.
Gem Dragonborns have some great offensive features like Breath Weapon and Metallic Breath Weapon, which lets you deal some devastating damage.
You also have Draconic Resistance, which increases your durability against those high-damage, common damage types.
2. Warforged
Ability Score Increase – Constitution score by 2 and one score of your choice by 1.
Age – Most Warforged are between 2 and 30 years old, yet their maximum lifespan is unknown, and most Warforged don’t show signs of deterioration with age. They are immune to magical aging effects.
Alignment – Warforged value discipline and order, tending toward neutrality and law, yet some have absorbed the morality (Good or Evil) of their overlords.
Creature Type – Humanoid
Size – Medium, and your height and weight can be set randomly.
- Size modifier = 2d6
- Height = 5 feet + 10 inches + size modifier in inches
- Weight in pounds = 270 + (4 x size modifier)
Speed – Base walking speed of 30 feet.
Racial Features – Constructed Resilience, Sentry’s Rest, Integrated Protection, and Specialized Design.
Languages – Speak, read, and write Common and one other language you choose.
Warforged are one of the best races in D&D already, and because of their natural Constitution and Constructed Resilience, it becomes increasingly difficult to kill them, which is great for squishier Artificers.
Not only that, Warforged also have Integrated Protection, which has even more defensive features (one of them increasing your AC by 1), and Specialized Design, which helps broaden the skills you have proficiency in.
1. Mark of Warding Dwarf
Ability Score Increase – Constitution by 2.
Ability Score Increase (Mark of Warding) – Intelligence by 1.
Age – Dwarves mature at the same pace as Humans, yet are considered young until reaching 50 and living around 350 years.
Alignment – Dwarves are mostly Lawful, believing in a well-ordered society. Dwarves are usually Good and would like everyone to share in the benefits that order brings about.
Creature Type – Humanoid
Size – Medium, ranging between 4 and 5 feet tall and averaging 150 pounds.
Speed – Base walking speed of 25 feet, though your speed will not be reduced by wearing heavy armor.
Racial Features – Darkvision, Dwarven Resilience, Dwarven Combat Training, Tool Proficiency, Stonecunning, Warder’s Intuition, Wards and Seals, Spells of the Mark, and Mark of Warding Spells.
Languages – Speak, read, and write Dwarvish and Common.
Marking of Warding Dwarves might be rare, but they’re a fantastic fit for the Artificer class.
While Warder’s Intuition might not be that handy unless you go become an Infiltrator Artificer, Spells of the Mark gives you a few extra spells that will definitely come in handy.
Final Thoughts
Artificers aren’t simple, and their best races aren’t that simple either, yet they provide some great opportunities for gameplay and background improvements.
In other words, if you’re looking to play as an Artificer, maybe try one of these races and make them as interesting as possible for you and your campaign.