Warlocks are the most misunderstood D&D class out there, often being attacked for their demonic origin and feared by those who don’t understand them.
Races with Charisma are the best candidates for Warlocks, and depending on the Warlock, certain races might draw other reactions out of the public than others.
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Best Races for Warlocks 5e D&D
5. Drow / Dark Elf
Ability Score Increase – Charisma by 1.
Age – Drow reach maturity at the same age as Humans do. They usually claim adulthood at around 80 to 100 years of age and live to be 750 years old. However, because of their violent society, most don’t live past 400 years of age.
Alignment – Although Drow are quite Chaotic, most of them lean towards a Neutral Evil alignment.
Creature Type – Humanoid
Size – Medium, ranging from under 5 to over 6 feet tall, having slender builds.
Speed – Base walking speed of 30 feet.
Racial Features – Superior Darkvision, Sunlight Sensitivity, Drow Magic, and Drow Weapon Training.
Languages – Speak, read, and write Common and Elvish (Actually, Drow, but it’s just a dialect of Elvish anyway).
Dark Elves gain access to quite a few spells throughout their early game because of Drow Magic.
They even have Superior Darkvision, though their Sunlight Sensitivity is a bit annoying at times.
Note: Drow make perfect Evil characters.
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 Warlock’s abilities.
3. Eladrin
Ability Score Increase – One score by 2 and a different score by 1 OR Three different scores by 1.
Age – Elves reach maturity at the same age as Humans do. They usually claim adulthood at around 100 years of age and live to be 750 years old.
Alignment – Alignment differs depending on what the season is, but their core values don’t change as much, so it’ll differ from Eldarin to Eladrin.
Creature Type – Humanoid
Size – Medium, ranging from below 5 to above 6 feet, with slender builds.
Speed – Base walking speed of 30 feet.
Racial Features – Darkvision, Fey Ancestry, Fey Step, Keen Senes, and Trance.
Languages – Speak, read, and write Common and one other language the DM deems appropriate.
Eladrin might be quite temperamental, but their various bonuses make them a good choice for a Sorcerer.
Even though they have a lot of features, one of their best is Fey Step, which allows Sorcerers, who usually struggle with movement, to easily escape dangerous situations.
Their other features, like Trance, Keen Senses, and even Fey Ancestry, also provide some great additions, like not needing sleep, having advantage against charms, and having proficiency in Perception.
2. Gem 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 – Gem Ancestry (Gem), Breath Weapon, Draconic Resistance, Psionic Mind, and Gem Flight.
Languages – Speak, read, and write Common and one other language deemed appropriate by your DM.
Gem Dragonborn are quite rare and choose between various uncommon damage-type resistances (Force, Radiant, Psychic, Thunder, and Necrotic).
Some of its most interesting features are Psionic Mind, which lets you telepathically communicate, and Gem Flight, which gives you a flying speed that lasts 1 minute.
1. Tiefling
Ability Score Increase – Charisma by 2.
Age – Mature the same as Humans but live a few years longer.
Alignment – Tieflings have no innate tendency towards Evil, though many become Evil, and their independent nature pushes them towards a Chaotic nature.
Creature Type – Humanoid
Size – Medium, the same size as Humans.
Speed – Base walking speed of 30 feet.
Racial Features – Darkvision, Hellish Resistance, and Bloodline (choose).
Languages – Speak, read, and write Infernal and Common.
Tieflings might seem quite dark, but they actually make excellent Artificers (or mad scientists), especially because of the increased Charisma score.
Hellish Resistance is good when facing a lot of Fire damage, and the fact that you have a ton of Bloodlines furthermore increases your versatility.
Honorable Mentions
Kenku: Kenku have the look of a powerful Warlock. They also get two skill proficiencies with Kenku Recall, and their Mimicry feature can get them out of trouble.
Fairy: Fairies might not have the look of a Warlock, but their innate flying with Flight and already-present Fary Magic make them good candidates to pick if you want to play as a Warlock.
Changeling: Changelings make excellent social manipulators, and since Warlocks mainly use Charisma, they fit quite well. Their Shapechanger and Changeling Instincts also provide them with a mini Polymorph spell and two free skill proficiencies.
Final Thoughts
Warlocks might be perceived as Evil, and many of the best Warlock races might be more drawn to Chaos, but that doesn’t mean they’re only doomed to be Evil.
In fact, this means that their backgrounds can implement some truly humane struggles and even provide the player with some great gameplay benefits.