When it comes to character creation in , players are able to choose a plethora of aspects for their character. One element of character building that has a notable impact is a character's race. Each race in the game alters a character's stats and can provide one's character with special racial abilities. As the characters of D&D come in a variety of shapes, it would only make sense that their weight would vary as well.
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Weight can often play a larger role than one may expect, as lighter characters have the potential to be carried, while the heaviest characters can function like immovable walls. So today, we're going to examine the races of D&D and see which are the lightest and heaviest.
Updated on April 5, 2023, by Doruk Kaptan: Dungeons & Dragons is a game where your wildest dreams can be fully realized. You could play a towering giant warrior or an unassuming tiny fey with a prankster-like attitude, both to great effect.
The customizability and array of options is a key thing about the game that attracts new players every day. No matter the size, ability, or innate skills of the DnD race you chose to play, D&D is ready to accommodate it. Here are the extremes in terms of size.
Impacts Of Size And Weight
While the size and weight of a D&D character may seem innocuous at first, it can have a notable impact on certain types of characters and those looking to make the most out of certain types of magic items. First and foremost, it's important to note that each of the lightest races that players can use in D&D's fifth edition is classified as small-sized. When playing a small-sized creature, one should make note of the fact that small-sized creatures make attacks with weapons with the heavy feature at disadvantage.
While this may seem like a downside, there are many advantages to being a small and light character. As characters have set carrying capacities that are dictated by their Strength ability score, a lighter character is easier for one's party to carry in the case that they are incapacitated, paralyzed, or having some other type of difficulty moving on their own.
In addition, light characters have strategic advantages in certain situations, such as sneaking around, hiding inside barrels and the like, or just fitting into tight spaces. They make for great rogues and/or spellcasters who generally prefer to stay out of the front lines. This means that while heavier characters like Centaurs may be able to reliably wield heavy weapons and are harder to forcibly move, they will have much more difficulty keeping a low profile.
14 Heaviest: Firbolg
Contrary to Goliath, Firbolg are proof that a giant body can house a gentle and timid soul. These forest giants are the definitions of the literary trope of a giant brute with a heart of gold. While they may look intimidating, they prefer isolation and peace above all else, spending their days with mundane tasks in their forests.
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Firbolg make for amazing druids, thanks to their fey connection. They weigh between 240 and 300 pounds on average, and they have the Powerful Build racial feat. Despite all that mass, they have the kindest of lives.
13 Lightest: Aarakocra
Aarakocra are humanoid birdfolk that have the ability to fly. They prefer to live in isolation atop high mountains and tall trees. They make great rogues, fighters, and rangers, thanks to their ability to keep away from threats via flight.
While they are medium size, meaning they're bigger than a lot of other races, they are literally birdfolk, meaning they are among the lightest of the available races. According to the Elemental Evil Player's Companion, the book that introduces Aarakocra as a playable race in the fifth edition, they only weigh about 80 to 100 pounds.
12 Heaviest: Goliath
Goliath is your quintessential brute in D&D. Goliaths are usually living atop mountains, molded by cold, harsh living conditions and challenges. It's no surprise that they are as sturdy as races come.
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A goliath's strong stature is represented in-game mechanics too, with racial features such as Natural Athlete, Stone's Endurance, and Powerful Build. Thanks to Grog, the iconic Goliath Barbarian, this is among the most popular races for Barbarians, and for good reason.
11 Lightest: Goblin
Another race that was made playable in Volo's Guide to Monsters, Goblins are a traditionally diminutive race that can range anywhere from 40 to 80 pounds. Classified as small size, goblins are one of the few races in the game that have access to an ability that directly utilizes their size.
With their "Fury of the Small" ability, once per short rest, a goblin can deal extra damage equal to its level to a creature it's attacking, as long as that creature is of a larger size. While the +2 Dexterity bonus makes them fit for being a rogue, they can also become great fighters and spellcasters.
10 Heaviest: Bugbear
The fifth-heaviest playable race in D&D, Bugbears were made playable in Volo's Guide to Monsters and can weigh anywhere between 250 pounds to 350 pounds. Standing above an average human's height at six to eight feet tall, Bugbears tend to excel in offensive or dexterity-based roles.
Gaining bonuses in strength and dexterity, Bugbears gain proficiency in stealth, and even get an ability akin to a rogue's sneak attack! All these feats make them prime candidates for fighters, rogues, or even rangers.
9 Lightest: Halfling
.jpg "The Largest And Smallest Races You Can Play In Dungeons & Dragons (7)")
Halflings are among the oldest, most iconic races in Dungeons & Dragons, being part of the game since the first edition. Traditionally standing around three feet tall while weighing around 40 pounds, this race is the most traditional option for a small-sized character.
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Halflings are a dexterous race that is home to two sub-races, the lightfoot and stout halflings which are based around stealth and sturdiness respectively. Their racial feat Lucky makes them amazing, and they easily fit into any class, with rogue being the most optimized.
8 Heaviest: Minotaur
While minotaurs had originally been tested in an unearthed arcana in 2015, they have since made official appearances in the Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica and Mythic Odysseys of Theros. Originally stated to weigh 375 pounds with an unearthed arcana, Minotaurs are an excellent race option for players looking to build a physically offensive character.
Minotaurs gain additional strength and constitution, and even gain abilities that allow them to utilize their horns in combat! These Greek Myth legends are a perfect fit if you're planning to play as a fighter or barbarian.
7 Lightest: Gnome
Like halflings, Gnomes are a cornerstone race of modern D&D, appearing as one of the playable races within the Player's Handbook. Gnomes are small-sized and tend to weigh around 40 pounds. Gaining additional intelligence and having advantage on wisdom and charisma saves against magic, they can make excellent spellcasters such as wizards.
They even come in numerous distinct subraces such as deep gnomes and rock gnomes. While you could obviously experiment, they are perfect candidates for being wizards and artificers, which also fit their lore perfectly well.
6 Heaviest: Loxodon
Appearing in the Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica, Loxodon are a massive race of elephant-like beings. Weighing an impressive 400 pounds, Loxodons are incredibly sturdy, gaining natural armor from their tough skin, and gaining +2 constitution.
Loxodons bring along a great deal of distinct utility such as the ability to use their trunks as a functional third arm and having advantage on any checks that involve the sense of smell. Despite being a brute in essence, they also make for great druids or clerics.
5 Lightest: Grung
On the other end of the weight spectrum, the grung are an amphibious race that resemble poisonous dart frogs. Standing anywhere between two and a half feet to three and a half feet, an average grung only weighs about 30 pounds.
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Grung come along with numerous notable benefits such as complete immunity to poison, the ability to breathe both water and air, and the ability to jump great distances. Unfortunately, this all comes at the cost of their water dependence, inflicting them with a point of exhaustion every day that they don't spend at least one hour immersed in water.
4 Heaviest: Tortle
Tortles are a turtle-like race that despite standing around the height of a human, weigh around 450 pounds. Their shells are notably the source of one-third of this weight, and provide tortles with natural armor that provides them with a base armor class of seventeen.
Tortles even possess the ability withdraw into their shells, further increasing their AC by four, and allowing them to make strength and constitution saves at advantage. They are amazing frontline fighters for sure, but you could also go with a monk and play as Master Oogway or even a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, if that's your thing.
3 Lightest: Kobold
Even lighter than the grung, the iconic kobolds are one of the lightest races that one can play in D&D. Made playable in Volo's Guide to Monsters and recently updated in Monsters of the Multiverse, these undersized creatures can weigh anywhere between 25 to 35 pounds!
Despite being traditionally weak monsters, Kobold characters are deceptively powerful. Kobolds are able to roll their attacks at advantage as long as one of their allies is within five feet of the target, and they can provide their allies with advantage on their attack rolls by causing a distraction. While these excellent abilities come at the cost of Sunlight Sensitivity, it rarely comes up in dungeons or closed environments.
2 Heaviest: Centaur
Centaurs are easily the heaviest playable race in D&D, being made up of one-half-human and one-half-horse. Thanks to a chart provided in the Mythic Odyssey of Theros, players are able to calculate the weight of their centaur. Each centaur's base weight is a staggering 600 pounds, and it can be further increased based on a given character's height.
Centaur's equine build even provides them with a substantial increase in their carrying capacity, allowing them to carry other party members with ease. If the rest of one's party is made up of some of the lightest entries on this list, a centaur could likely carry an entire party at once, and quite fast too, at a base speed of 40ft. Just keep in mind that stealth becomes a pipe dream when you're as big as a horse naturally.
1 Lightest: Fairy
Introduced in Wild Beyond the Witchlight and featured within Monsters of the Multiverse, Fairies are a small-sized race that is most commonly found within the fae realm of the Feywild. Fairies are a potent race that is capable of flight and has access to several useful spells regardless of their class.
Most notably of these spells, Fairies are capable of casting Enlarge/Reduce. As Fairies are already small-sized, if a fairy targets themselves with the shrinking effects of Enlarge/Reduce, they can become tiny-sized, easily functioning as the lightest playable race in D&D, regardless of their class or build.
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