Best Bard Races in D&D 5e
Published on December 7, 2024
Discover the best Bard races in D&D 5e! Maximize Charisma, enhance spellcasting, and boost utility with races tailored for versatile play.
Justyna Gil - Wizards of the Coast - Valor Singer
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What is this guide?
This guide is meant as a deep dive into the best races for the 5e bard. For the full overview of the bard class, check out our bard class guide.
To allow you to scan through the options quickly, we use the following color rating scheme:
- Red : Isn’t going to contribute to the effectiveness of your character build at all
- Orange : Situationally good, but a below-average option otherwise
- Green : A good option
- Blue : A great option, you should strongly consider this option for your character
- Sky Blue: An amazing option. If you do not take this option your character would not be optimized
Best Races for Bards
Masters of melody and magic, Bards are the quintessential storytellers and charmers of Dungeons & Dragons. These versatile adventurers wield their wit and charisma as deftly as their instruments, weaving words and tunes into potent magic that can inspire allies, sway enemies, and shape the narrative around them.
Bards are one of the most adaptable classes in the game. As full spellcasters with a d8 Hit Die, they balance magical prowess with moderate survivability. Their spell list emphasizes utility, buffs, and debuffs, and their Bardic Inspiration ability is one of the most unique party-support resources in 5e. Add in their unmatched skill versatility and their knack for social interaction, and you have a character who thrives both in and out of combat.
Tips for Choosing Your Bard’s Race
Choosing the best race for your Bard can amplify their strengths or shore up their weaknesses. While every race can suit the Bard’s creative spirit, those that enhance Charisma and Dexterity, or provide features like bonus spells, skill proficiencies, or mobility, tend to synergize most effectively. If your game uses races without fixed ability score increases (post Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything), you can prioritize races with features that align with your Bard’s intended role—whether that’s a battlefield controller, a master negotiator, or the life of the adventuring party.
Standard Races
Dragonborn:
- Standard: STR and CHA could work for a College of Valor bard.
Dwarf:
Bards won’t be tanking any time soon, even if they are going Valor or Swords College.
- Hill: A bonus to WIS can occasionally help with Wisdom saves, but otherwise there are no redeeming qualities here.
- Mountain: STR on a Bard could be useful for Valor builds
Elf:
Elves get a DEX bonus which can somewhat help the AC of a Bard, and can give melee Bards a boost with attacking. Proficiency in Perception and having Darkvision is useful.
- Aereni High: +2 DEX isn't bad as it can help with AC and stealth. The INT will likely be wasted but the free cantrip is decent.
- Eladrin: Great ASI array and the misty step's effect will be potent due to your stacked CHA modifier.
- Mark of Shadow: Awesome ASIs, stealth and performance bonuses are always welcome, and a free cantrip and casting of invisibility makes this an excellent pick for most bards. The spell list has some overlap, but there are quite a few options that make it worthwhile. Namely pass without trace.
Gnome:
INT is useless for a bard.
Half-Elf:
The +2 CHA, ASI, and skill versatility make this is one of the better races for the Bard class.
Half-Orc:
No CHA for a bard. The STR and CON will be helpful for a College of Valor bard, but typically those bards are more interested in DEX.
Halfling:
+1 to CHA and +2 to DEX is an attractive array for Bards. The rest of the racial abilities, whether you choose MoH or Lightfoot are icing on the cake.
Human:
- Standard: A middle of the road pick because they increase all their ability scores by 1.
- Variant: Getting bonus CHA plus a proficiency and a feat at first level is typically pretty good. Feats aren’t great for bards that aren’t going to run with the College of Valor or Swords, which makes this choice a bit less appealing if you do not plan on going for that option and picking up the War Caster feat.
Tiefling:
Bards love CHA so tieflings are a great choice.
- Bloodline of Asmodeus: +2 CHA, good spells, and useful racial traits.
- Bloodline of Baalzebul: +2 CHA like other subraces, but with less effective spells.
- Bloodline of Dispater: DEX and CHA is a great combination for bards. Good spells for a sneaky character.
- Bloodline of Fierna: WIS is useless, but CHA combined with the social spells here will make for a persuasive character.
- Bloodline of Glasya: +2 CHA, good spells, and useful racial traits.
- Bloodline of Levistus: CHA, CON, and defensive spells will make a hardy bard.
- Bloodline of Mammon: +2 CHA like other subraces, but with less effective spells.
- Bloodline of Mephistopheles: +2 CHA, good spells, and useful racial traits.
- Bloodline of Zariel: Great option for a melee bard running College of Valor or Swords due to the STR bonus and offensive spells.
- Variant – Devil’s Tongue: Free vicious mockery means you can learn more spells.
- Variant – Hellfire: Replacing hellish rebuke with burning hands is personal preference, so this subrace is just as good as the Asmodeus.
- Variant – Winged: Having flight is amazing, and you get to keep the +2 CHA.
Non-Standard Races
Aarakocra:
Free concentration-less flight is great for a spellcaster like the bard. The ASI spread isn’t great though.
- Updated: 1st level, concentrationless flight, an extra spell, and a beneficial ASI array make this an extremely attractive option for bards.
Aasimar:
+2 to CHA means the bard can take their pick of subclasses and it will almost always turn out good.
Aasimar (2024):
Bards will like the Fly Speed offered by Celestial Radiance, but the extra damage might not be applicable as Bards don't often make attacks.
Air Genasi:
Shocking grasp and levitate are two useful spells not normally found on the bard's spell list. The extra movement speed, Darkvision, and damage resistance are all additional benefits.
Astral Elf:
Sacred flame and misty step are both great spells to add to your repertoire, as is the extra skill/tool proficiency.
Auto Gnome:
Being skill monkeys, bards will love the extra tool proficiencies and d4 that Built for Success offers. They also don't normally get access to medium armor (unless you're going with a Valor or Swords build), which makes the auto gnome's natural armor a good AC boost. They also learn the mending cantrip, which can allow you to self-heal outside of combat.
Bugbear:
Nothing here for a bard.
- Updated: Two artificer subclasses gain Extra Attacks, namely the College of Swords and the College of Valor, which works well with the new Surprise Attack buff. Going early in combat shouldn't be too tough if you pick up some DEX and use your Jack of All Trades to boost up your initiative rolls.
Centaur:
Nothing here for a bard.
- Updated: Nothing here for a bard.
Changeling:
Bards are the perfect choice for changelings. The CHA is perfect for spellcasting, and bards are naturally the big talkers of the group so they will love the free CHA skill proficiencies.
- Updated: With the slight improvements to the changeling, bards are still a fantastic choice here.
Deep Gnome:
Bards are used to being effective out-of-combat and deep gnomes can help them improve on this. Disguise self, improved Darkvision, and advantage on Stealth checks are all useful abilities for a skill monkey bard to have.
Dragonborn (2024):
The breath weapon provides a rare AoE option, while Resistance and flight help protect the Bard from harm while maintaining Concentration on buffs or debuffs. Darkvision adds useful utility.
Duergar:
Some spells and survivability are nice, but nothing here is particularly compelling.
Dwarf (2024):
Bards won’t be tanking any time soon, even if they are going Valor or Swords College, so the extra Hit Points and resiliency aren't amazing. They're really looking for something that will add to their utility toolbox, and Dwarves aren't it.
Earth Genasi:
The blade ward bonus action casting may interfere with Bardic Inspiration, though would likely take precedent if you're sure you're going to take a fair amount of physical damage in the next turn. Apart from that, pass without trace can add to your skill monkey bag of tricks.
Eladrin:
Even though you have a semi-regular bonus action in Bardic Inspiration, eladrin are still an effective race to start with. The misty step castings can allow you to spend your spell slots elsewhere, and the Autumn ability can act as a charm effect, which can combo with certain features like the Glamour bard's Mantle of Majesty.
Elf (2024):
High Elves pair beautifully with Bards, thanks to the flexibility of swapping cantrips. This allows Bards to pick up potent damage options, like Fire Bolt, when they just want to output some damage.
Fairy:
Most bard builds will love the free, concentrationless flight and the access to a couple more spells.
Firbolg:
No CHA and no DEX would be a hard choice for a bard.
- Updated: With the free choice of ASI, the firbolg becomes an excellent bard. Getting disguise self, detect magic and saves you from learning them, and Hidden Step saves you from learning invisibility, opening up many more options for choosing spells.
Fire Genasi:
Some decent damage spells to complement your array of debuffs, as well as an excellent damage resistance. Flame sword is also an awesome spell for Swords and Valor bards who don't want to stack fully into DEX for their regular weapon attacks.
Genasi:
Bards need CHA to be effective.
Giff:
Nothing here for a bard.
Gith:
Bards need CHA to be effective.
Gnome (2024):
Gnome Cunning’s spell save advantage helps Bards avoid charm and mental control. Forest Gnome’s Minor Illusion enhances out-of-combat utility, while Darkvision and Small size are always helpful for positioning.
Goblin:
Bards need CHA to be effective.
- Updated: Melee as well as spell-based bards will benefit from the boosted damage by way of Fury of the Small as many of their best spells are focused on support and crowd control rather than raw damage. Nimble Escape will come in handy as bards aren't known for their ability to tank damage.
Goliath:
Bards really want that CHA boost for their spells, and melee bards are better off going for a DEX build.
- Updated: Goliaths do increase the bard's durability, though they should not be trying to tank damage in the first place. Melee bards could find some utility here.
Goliath (2024):
If you want a free, multiple times per day use of Misty Step, this is a solid option. Not much else here for a Bard though.
Hadozee:
A bit of damage reduction, a climbing speed, and the ability to negate falling damage isn't particularly exciting for a bard.
Halfling (2024):
While Luck and the Halfling's stealthy nature make this an okay pick in social and exploration circumstances, they don't really line up with the Bard's abilities in combat.
Harengon:
Bard's will love being able to go first in initiative to drop a hypnotic pattern or other AoE debuff before the enemy gets a chance to react. They will also be able to make great use of the Rabbit Hop ability in order to avoid getting into melee combat with tankier enemies.
Hobgoblin:
Bards need CHA to be effective.
- Updated: The hobgoblin creates an even more support focused bard with Fey Gift, combining nicely with Bardic Inspiration. With your large number of proficiencies, Fortune from the Many makes it even less likely that you will fail an ability check or saving throw.
Human (2024):
Humans’ extra skill proficiency is a natural fit for Bards, whose versatility is enhanced by the Jack of All Trades feature. Heroic Inspiration ensures you’ll shine during crucial performances or when saving allies with healing spells. For your Origin feat, Magic Initiate is excellent, granting you access to cantrips like Fire Bolt for combat or Prestidigitation for flair, along with a level 1 spell like Disguise Self. Alternatively, Skilled amplifies your role as a jack-of-all-trades.
Kalashtar:
Because the kalashtar’s racial traits are so good, having only +1 to CHA is acceptable.
Kender:
A fast-talking bard that throws insults at their foes is what kender do best and they already buff CHA for their spellcasting. That said, their Taunt ability may get in the way of your Bardic Inspiration because they both use bonus actions.
Kenku:
Bards really want that CHA boost for their spells, although the DEX would help for a melee bard build. Mimicry relies on CHA, so the fact that bards focus on CHA would make it that much more effective.
Kobold:
Bards need CHA to be effective, although College of Valor and College of Swords Bards do get Extra Attacks to benefit Pack Tactics.
- Updated: Bards in the College of Valor or Swords that like to be in the thick of things can benefit from Draconic Cry, otherwise steer clear. Draconic Sorcery is nice to get something like booming blade or green-flame blade.
Leonin:
Nothing here for a bard.
Lineage:
- Hexblood: While the extra spells from Hex Magic and utility offered by Eerie Token are great, bards can't make great use of the hexblood's biggest asset, hex. Bard's are typically more concerned with keeping a powerful buff or debuff up, rather than the small damage boost hex would provide.
Lizardfolk:
None of the lizardfolk’s ability score increases interest bards.
Loxodon:
Natural Armor lets bards get away with a low DEX score so they can focus on their CHA. CON further helps survivability.
Minotaur:
This just won’t work, even when trying a STR-based bard. The lack of DEX or CHA will hurt right from the start.
Orc:
A melee STR-based bard is attainable, though you’d be much better served going for DEX. Without CHA an orc also hurts the bard’s spellcasting prowess.
Orc (2024):
While not an obvious choice, Adrenaline Rush can help position a Bard for support or escape. Relentless Endurance offers a safety net in combat, but other races may align better with a Bard’s abilities.
Plasmoid:
Unless you plan on sticking to spells that require only verbal spell components, the Amorphous trait can only be used for it's advantage to escape grapples. Also, other than for delivering touch spells, the pseudopod is a strictly worse mage hand, which you already have access to.
Satyr:
Perfect ASI array, synergistic skill proficiencies, magic resistance, and extra movement. This race is one of the best available for bards.
Shadar-kai:
Even though you have a semi-regular bonus action in Bardic Inspiration and have misty step in your spell list, shadar-kai are still an effective race to start with. The misty step castings can allow you to spend your spell slots elsewhere, and the damage resistance will help keep you alive with your d8 hit dice.
Shifter:
- Swiftstride Shifter: A swiftstride shifter can make a good melee-focused College of Swords bard. The College of Swords gives even more mobility on top of the swiftstride shifter’s traits, and access to the Dueling Fighting Style will bring up damage output closer to the martial classes.
Simic Hybrid:
Bards will want to choose CHA as their +1 ability score. Melee bards could enjoy Grappling Appendages but Carapace is usually a smarter pickup.
Tabaxi:
While there are many races that give a +2 CHA bonus, most bards can get away with the +1 CHA, especially if they can make use of the tabaxi’s DEX bonus with a melee build (in which case a tabaxi will be a fantastic choice). Bards also love skill proficiencies, so the two free skills that tabaxi get is very tempting.
Thri-kreen:
A free armor upgrade, advantage on Stealth checks, Darkvision, telepathy, and extra arms for extra instruments make the thri-kreen a solid start for most non-martial bard builds. As far as Swords and Valor bards, they already get access to medium armor and while the Secondary Arms can help make it so they don't have to juggle swords, shields, and their spellcasting focus, they'll usually pick up War Caster to nullify this issue.
Tiefling (2024):
Abyssal and Infernal Tieflings are a great look for Bards because of their extra spells. Infernal Tieflings will help give you a bit of Fire power with Fire Bolt and Hellish Rebuke. On the other hand, Abyssal gives you some nasty debuffs, like Ray of Sickness and Hold Person, to send your enemies' way.
Tortle:
Even a melee bard won’t be too happy playing a tortle, although the free AC lets them go all-in on STR.
Triton:
CON and CHA are both favorable ASIs for bards. Typically you’d want a +2 to CHA for a bard, but the triton has enough racial benefits to make this a decent pick, especially if you are going for a College of Valor bard.
Vedalken:
None of the vedalken’s ability score increases interest bards.
Warforged:
If you want to play as a warforged bard, you will get the most bang for your buck in one of the melee-oriented bard colleges. As a ranged spellcaster, the boosted CON and increasing CHA is serviceable.
Water Genasi:
Unless your campaign is strictly based around water, there's not much for bards here.
Yuan-ti Pureblood:
INT is the biggest dump stat for bards, though the +2 CHA is just what they need. Combined with some more spells at their disposal and of course Magic Resistance, a pureblood is a good choice for a bard.
Sources Used in This Guide
- : 2014 Player's Handbook
- 2024 PHB: 2024 Player's Handbook
- BR: Basic Rules
- GotG: Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants
- SotDQ: Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen
- ERLW: Eberron: Rising from the Last War
- EEPC: Elemental Evil Player’s Companion
- EGtW: Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount
- FToD: Fizban's Treasury of Dragon
- GGtR: Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica
- MotM: Monsters of the Multiverse
- MToF: Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes
- MOoT: Mythic Odyessys of Theros
- PAitM: Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse
- PHB: Player's Handbook
- SAiS: Spelljammer: Adventures in Space
- SCoC: Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos
- SCAG: Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide
- TCoE: Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything
- TTP: The Tortle Package
- WBtW: The Wild Beyond The Witchlight
- : Unearthed Arcana
- VRGtR: Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft
- VGtM: Volo's Guide to Monsters
- XGtE: Xanathar’s Guide to Everything
Other Bard Guides
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