Best Cleric Races in D&D 5e
Published on December 6, 2024
Discover the best Cleric races in D&D 5e! Maximize Wisdom, enhance divine spellcasting, and choose your style of versatile play.
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What is this guide?
This guide is meant as a deep dive into the best races for the 5e cleric. For the full overview of the cleric class, check out our cleric 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 Clerics
Harbingers of divine power and unwavering faith, Clerics are the beating heart of any adventuring party. In Dungeons & Dragons, these champions of the gods channel divine magic to heal the wounded, smite the wicked, and safeguard the faithful.
Clerics are one of the most versatile classes in the game, capable of thriving as healers, damage dealers, or battlefield controllers. With access to the entire Cleric spell list and the ability to prepare new spells each day, they can adapt to almost any situation. Their choice of divine domain defines much of their playstyle, ranging from Heavy armor-wearing warlike protectors to spell-focused scholarly spiritualists.
Tips for Choosing Your Cleric’s Race
When choosing the race for your Cleric, it’s important to consider the mechanical benefits they’ll gain. whether you’re playing with rules that allow for customized ability scores (like post-Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything races) or static ability scores from races, prioritize Wisdom, as it’s the main factor of your spellcasting’s effectiveness. Secondary attributes like Constitution for survivability or Strength for melee-focused clerics should also play a role in your decision.
Races that grant bonus spells or Resistances can provide a significant boost to your utility and survivability. Similarly, traits like flight can make you more mobile in combat, allowing you to reach allies in need or get into position for AoE spells.
Standard Races
Dragonborn:
- Standard: The STR bonus is okay but the lack of WIS and CON makes this a suboptimal choice.
Dwarf:
Dwarves are your stereotypical cleric race. They get a CON bonus ensuring you will live long enough to heal your teammates. Their speed isn't reduced by heavy armor which allows you to ignore the STR component when choosing a subclass with heavy armor proficiencies.
- Hill: Adding an increase to WIS makes the Hill Dwarf the perfect choice when it comes to Clerics.
- Mountain: You won't need STR if you're going to be using heavy armor because of the caveat under the dwarf's Speed trait. The extra STR can be useful if you're going to be a melee-focused cleric like the Forge Domain.
Elf:
DEX is good for initiative and light armor capabilities and Perception pairs well with the Cleric's presumably high WIS score. Advantage on saving throws against being charmed and immunity to being put to sleep keeps you healing and buffing your party in dangerous situations.
- Aereni Wood: DEX is good for initiative and light armor capabilities and Perception pairs well with the cleric's presumably high WIS score. Advantage on saving throws against being charmed and immunity to being put to sleep keeps you healing and buffing your party in dangerous situations. Clerics will more often than not prefer the Aereni's skill expertise over the weapon proficiencies granted by the PHB race.
- Mark of Shadow: Even though the ASIs don't align with the cleric's priorities, the spells learned are too good to ignore. If you want some stealth options as an cleric, the Mark of the Shadow is one of the best ways to get it. This can even be beneficial to heavy armor builds because it allows for a d4 bonus to your disadvantaged Stealth checks and allows you to cast pass without trace to help offset your negative bonus.
Gnome:
Clerics need WIS to be effective.
Half-Elf:
The CHA bonus is largely unproductive for Clerics, but increasing two ability scores by 1 allows you to boost WIS and CON/STR/DEX to create a rather well-rounded character. Advantage on saving throws against being charmed and immunity to being put to sleep keeps you healing and buffing your party in dangerous situations. The +2 WIS bonus offered by the Mark of the Detection subrace is very tempting for Clerics as it is not offered by many other races. The spells and racial traits are an added bonus.
Half-Orc:
No WIS for clerics is tough, but some melee clerics will make great use out of the STR and CON bonuses.
Halfling:
+2 DEX and +1 WIS is a solid start for light armor Clerics.
Human:
- Mark of Finding: Provides WIS and some decent spells.
- Mark of Handling: Provides more flexibility with some nature-based spells and access to extremely powerful spells that aren’t typically on the cleric’s spell list.
- Mark of Sentinel: Will make an extremely tanky cleric but has a lot of overlapping spells.
- Standard: A middle of the road pick because they increase all their ability scores by 1.
- Variant: Variant human clerics will be able to take WIS and either STR, DEX, or CON, while having access to useful feats like War Caster or Healer.
Tiefling:
Only one subrace comes with a WIS bonus.
- Bloodline of Fierna: Fierna tieflings do get WIS, but clerics typically don’t want to waste precious ASI on CHA. It’s passable and will make for an interesting character, but won’t be particularly optimized.
Non-Standard Races
Aarakocra:
Good racial bonuses and flight is powerful, especially for DEX-based builds.
- Updated: 1st level, concentrationless flight, an extra spell, and a beneficial ASI array make this an extremely attractive option for ranged clerics. Melee clerics will likely be wearing heavy armor, which will restrict the Aarakocra's flight.
Aasimar:
Protector aasimar would work fairly well because of the +1 to WIS. Radiant Soul isn't negated by heavy armor like the aarakocra so it could be a great choice if you want to fly and wear heavy armor.
Aasimar (2024):
Extra healing, Fly Speed, and some badass Radiant damage emanation for when you want to get up close and personal. Very on theme and powerful for Clerics.
Air Genasi:
Shocking grasp, feather fall, and levitate are all useful spells not normally found on the cleric's spell list. The extra movement speed, Darkvision, and damage resistance are all additional benefits.
Astral Elf:
Getting an extra cleric cantrip isn't the end of the world, though there aren't many choices and sacred flame is easily the best cleric cantrip damage option. Misty step will be extremely useful, as will the proficiency in Perception and free daily skill/tool proficiency.
Auto Gnome:
Seeing as clerics already get medium armor, they won't usually stack into DEX beyond the +2 they need for AC. They also already have plenty of ways to heal and access to bless, which can make some of the auto gnome's biggest assets irrelevant.
Bugbear:
STR and DEX are good, but mostly wasted together. The racial traits don't work well for a class that wants to cast a lot of spells, but can work if you are more focused on weapon damage.
- Updated: Not much has changed for cleric bugbears as they do not have Extra Attacks to take advantage of the buffs.
Centaur:
Seeing as +2 to WIS is rare, the +1 will do here. A +2 to STR will help if you plan on wading (or galloping) into battle.
- Updated: You can now choose more WIS than STR, making a hybrid melee attacking and spellcasting cleric a solid choice here.
Changeling:
Depending on your build you can pick up STR, DEX, or WIS with the free ability score increase. The Trickery Domain or even the Knowledge Domain would be good choices if you want to play a character that is the face of the party. You could also use Guidance on yourself to make social interactions even more likely to succeed. Despite this interesting combination, a changeling cleric won't be as effective as a race that gets something more useful than CHA.
- Updated: Taking a combination of WIS and STR, DEX, and/or CON as a Trickery or Knowledge Domain cleric makes the updated changeling better than the original for this class.
Deep Gnome:
Apart from advantage on saves against some spells, the main thing deep gnomes offer clerics is out-of-combat utility. Disguise self, improved Darkvision, and advantage on Stealth checks all can help with things clerics usually aren't awesome at.
Dragonborn (2024):
The breath weapon is a decent backup, but the damage resistance and flight are the real stars, helping the Cleric avoid damage and keep a safe distance. Darkvision is a nice extra.
Duergar:
You get to grab invisibility, which you don't normally have access to. Also, the survivability is nice for melee clerics.
Dwarf (2024):
Dwarves’ durability make them a natural fit for Clerics, especially those in who prefer to wade into battle. Dwarven Resilience ensures you can stay on your feet to heal your allies or deal radiant justice.
Earth Genasi:
The blade ward bonus action casting is probably best for martial clerics who are wading into battle. That said, it may interfere with spiritual weapon. Apart from that, pass without trace can help offset your heavy armor or add to your out-of-combat usefulness.
Eladrin:
Clerics don't normally get access to misty step and it can be quite useful for zipping around the battlefield and bestowing healing, buffs, or debuffs. The bonus action may conflicts with other staples like spiritual weapon but usually using your Fey Step will be of higher importance than pumping out a bit of additional damage. Plus, you get a free proficiency in Perception, which goes great with your pumped WIS.
Elf (2024):
While nothing in the Elf's kit is particularly synergistic with Clerics, their base features combined with the High Elves spellcasting offers a great foundation for any caster.
Fairy:
A solid choice for cleric builds that won't be using heavy armor.
Firbolg:
+2 to WIS is quite a rare racial bonus, and the extra spells are great. The STR will help if you are going for a heavy armor cleric build.
- Updated: The updated firbolg will likely still choose WIS, but the improvements to the racial traits makes it even better for a cleric, giving you access to spells and effects clerics otherwise wouldn't have.
Fire Genasi:
Some decent damage spells to complement your array of healing and buff spells, as well as an excellent damage resistance. Flame sword is also an awesome spell for martial clerics who don't want to stack fully into STR for their regular weapon attacks.
Genasi:
- Water: The water genasi provides the WIS Clerics need, and CON and Acid Resistance help for assuming a tanking role.
Giff:
Nothing here for a cleric.
Gith:
INT is useless for a cleric.
- Githyanki: Githyanki is great for those that want to swing a lot of weapons due to the STR bonus.
- Githzerai: WIS and the racial traits here are suited to those that want to hang back, cast spells, and play defensively.
Gnome (2024):
Gnome Cunning boosts mental saves. Forest Gnome’s spells give minor utility, while Rock Gnome’s tinkering can add unique roleplay options. Darkvision is a welcome bonus.
Goblin:
While there are Cleric builds centered around DEX, the lack of WIS is a steep price to pay.
- Updated: Clerics are an excellent candidate for the updated goblin as they receive a boost to their spell and weapon damage with Fury of the Small, and can use Nimble Escape to move into position to save their allies with a spell or distract enemies.
Goliath:
STR builds are quite good for this class, and the Goliath will make for one tanky cleric. The main issue here is that clerics are a full caster class, so without WIS you are at quite a handicap until you can boost it to a comfortable level with ASIs.
- Updated: An excellent choice for any tanking cleric. Stone's Endurance will keep you on your feet much longer, allowing you to heal and assist your allies as they deal big damage.
Goliath (2024):
Cloud’s Jaunt is excellent in combination with Spirit Guardians, while Stone’s Endurance can add a bit of survivability for frontline builds.
Hadozee:
A bit of damage reduction, a climbing speed, and the ability to negate falling damage isn't particularly exciting for a cleric.
Halfling (2024):
Not much here for a Cleric, besides Luck, which will work best for a Cleric running Heavy armor and Martial weapons.
Harengon:
The free proficiency in Perception will go well with your WIS modifier and the Rabbit Hop ability will provide a decent evasion opportunity for when you're caught in the thick of it.
Hobgoblin:
Clerics need some STR, DEX, or WIS to be effective.
- Updated: Fey Gift provides an additional support ability to the cleric, who is often considered a supporting character in a party. Temporary hit points from Fey Gift aid in tanking for your party.
Human (2024):
Humans are a strong choice for Clerics. Heroic Inspiration supports important spellcasting or saving throws, and the extra skill proficiency improves your versatility. For an Origin feat, Healer increases your support options, while Magic Initiate allows you to grab utility cantrips or a level 1 spell to complement your divine abilities.
Kalashtar:
The huge WIS boost and increased survivability due to the racial traits are ideal for clerics. A kalashtar cleric will have a very easy time with WIS saving throws, ensuring that they can stay in battle to support their teammates with healing and buffs.
Kender:
Most clerics will be wanting to use spiritual weapon with their bonus action, which competes with the kender's Taunt.
Kenku:
DEX based clerics can be quite strong, and the WIS bonus here is perfect for spellcasting. To get those most out of a kenku cleric, choose one of the Domains that doesn’t care about heavy armor, such as the Trickery Domain or the Light Domain.
Kobold:
Clerics need WIS to be at their best, but a DEX-based Cleric can be viable. Pack Tactics is less enticing without Extra Attacks.
- Updated: Not all clerics like to be in the frontlines, but a tanky melee-based one will do well with Draconic Cry and booming blade or green-flame blade from Draconic Sorcery.
Leonin:
Nothing here for a caster cleric. Melee clerics can make use of the Daunting Roar if they get their CON high enough.
Lineage:
- Hexblood: While the extra spells from Hex Magic and utility offered by Eerie Token are great, clerics can't make great use of the hexblood's biggest asset, hex. Cleric's are typically a lot more concerned with keeping spiritual guardians or a party buff up than the bit of extra damage that hex provides.
Lizardfolk:
CON and WIS is a great combination to start off with for a cleric. A DEX-based cleric would pair very nicely with Natural Armor.
Loxodon:
Loxodon come with great stat distribution for a cleric. They will likely forgo Natural Armor because most builds come with heavy armor proficiency. Loxodon Serenity makes clerics even tankier and is useful to stay ready when allies need healing.
Minotaur:
Clerics aren’t a bad choice for minotaurs because the stat bonuses do line up. However, clerics do best with some kind of WIS boost. Also consider that the minotaur’s traits eat up bonus actions when you would potentially want to use them for spells like healing word, sanctuary, or shield of faith.
Orc:
Heavy armor clerics with STR weapons are pretty decent as orcs, but the lack of WIS is not ideal when it comes to spellcasting. Interestingly, Primal Intuition offers mainly WIS skill proficiencies which slots in nicely for a cleric.
Orc (2024):
Orcs make solid Clerics, especially for melee-focused builds. Adrenaline Rush allows swift engagement or retreat, and allows you to self heal so you don't waste necessary spell slots. Relentless Endurance keeps you standing to heal or lay down your Spirit Guardians.
Plasmoid:
As long as you're not a heavy armor cleric, plasmoids are actually a really good choice for clerics. Their defensive bonuses can help your cleric stay up healing your party and the pseudopod from Shape Self can help deliver touch healing spells at a distance. Just be careful of using your Amorphous trait if you need to hang on to spell components or your spellcasting focus.
Shadar-kai:
Clerics don't normally get access to misty step and it can be quite useful for zipping around the battlefield and bestowing healing, buffs, or debuffs. The bonus action may conflicts with other staples like spiritual weapon but usually using your Blessing of the Raven Queen will be of higher importance than pumping out a bit of additional damage. Plus, you get a free proficiency in Perception, which goes great with your pumped WIS.
Shifter:
- Beasthide Shifter: No WIS, but DEX and CON can work for a melee-oriented cleric that tanks for the party.
- Longtooth Shifter: No WIS, but STR and CON are great for clerics that want to do a lot of close-up fighting.
- Wildhunt Shifter: Clerics focused on casting can choose the wildhunt shifter for the WIS boost and some nice ranger-like abilities.
Simic Hybrid:
Clerics are usually pretty MAD (multi-ability dependant). While CON is always worthwhile, many clerics would prefer to +2 WIS. That said, the simic hybrid’s ability score is still solid and their features are stellar. Keep in mind that Carapace won’t work with heavy armor and, if you’re going for a heavy armor build you will likely be in melee more often, so pick up Grappling Appendages instead.
Tabaxi:
Being a full caster class, clerics really need a WIS bonus to be at their best. There are clerics that build around DEX, but the lack of WIS is simply too much of a handicap.
Thri-kreen:
Clerics already get medium armor, which if you're wearing a breastplate, can make the thri-kreen's natural armor a downgrade. This doesn't even take into account heavy armor clerics, who will certainly want to suit up instead of taking the thri-kreen's Chameleon Carapace. Unfortunately, Secondary Arms don't offer much either because clerics can have their spellcasting focus on their shield.
Tiefling (2024):
Chthonic Tieflings synergize best with the Cleric's strategies. You get a free casting of False Life once per day, which helps make sure you keep your slots available for dishing out healing spells. You also get Chill Touch as a potent ranged cantrip and Ray of Enfeeblement when your Fighter friend is getting their ass kicked. Wrap that together with Resistance to Necrotic damage, and you've got a nice package for a Cleric.
Tortle:
This is a class that just feels bad choosing a tortle. The ability score bonuses are perfect for clerics, but most STR clerics want to use heavy armor, completely negating the intended use for Natural Armor. The build will work, it just won’t be using the tortle’s traits to their full potential.
Triton:
Clerics would really like to see WIS on their race’s ASI, but STR and CON work well if you plan to use heavy armor.
Vedalken:
WIS helps with the cleric’s spellcasting, Vedalken Dispassion helps with avoiding nasty effects, and the rest of the racial features compliment any build nicely.
Warforged:
A warforged cleric focused on WIS will have an incredible AC score, and a sizeable chunk of hit points to boot.
Water Genasi:
Not much here beyond a couple situational spells.
Yuan-ti Pureblood:
Clerics need some amount of STR, DEX, or WIS to be effective.
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 Cleric Guides
- Cleric 5e Overview
- Best Feats for Clerics
- Cleric Spells
- Death Domain
- Twilight Domain
- Peace Domain
- Forge Domain
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