Summary

• Baldur's Gate 3 adapts fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons, but does not include all the races that are canonically part of the Forgotten Realms.
• Adding more races could bring unique dialogue choices, enhancing gameplay variety, while not affecting game balance, since they don't introduce stat differences.
• Expanding race options through updates could further enrich the vast world of BG3.

mods that allow Tav to be more races beyond those included in-game, official additions from Larian Studios could bring with them even more unique dialogue choices based on the races added.

Races in Baldur's Gate 3 don't have the stat differences that determine how powerful they are when combined with various classes, or if they're viable at all. However, racial traits can still make a difference when selecting a class. This means that adding more classes still allows any race and class combination to be viable, but can give some classes more of an edge depending on which races are chosen. This set of races makes sense to add not only based on the lack of stat differences, but most of them already exist in-game as NPCs.

10 Goblins Could Add To Evil Playthroughs

Or Simply Add Humor

Goblins already exist in BG3, and they play a fairly large role in Act 1. The party can even poison the goblin party, which offers the chance for a goblin Tav to avoid suspicion when adding the poison as a unique feature, among other possible new interactions. Since the character models already exist in-game, this feels like a strong contender if more races are officially added, and it could bring new flavor to an evil playthrough.

9 Explore Faerûn As A Yuan-Ti

Innate Magic Makes Great Wizards

Yuan-ti are essentially snake-human hybrids, and they tend to have a bonus to Intelligence along with a natural talent for spellcasting, which makes them great choices for wizards. Their Poison Resistance could also be useful in some cases throughout the game without becoming overpowered. As a race typically seen as corrupt, they could fit right in with other evil-leaning races like the drow.

8 Tabaxi Are A Classic Option

Purrfect For Stealth

Feline humanoids are a staple in a lot of fantasy games now, especially games like Final Fantasy XIV. Since they exist in the form of tabaxi in the Forgotten Realms, they'd be the perfect addition to BG3. Given their high speed, they make amazing monks, but they also have a talent for staying hidden, which means that classes like rogue are also a great choice.

7 Reborn Could Add Unique Story Options

Especially For The Dark Urge

Reborn are an undead race that tend to be humanoid in appearance. They've died at some point, but usually don't have memories of their lifetime or what happened to them. Considering the Dark Urge's story, they'd be a perfect choice of race for that Origin, but also fitting for a regular Tav, since it wouldn't be surprising if Tav died during the Nautiloid crash, the abduction, or from being infected and ended up as a reborn.

6 Fly Through BG3 As An Aarakocra

A Race From Beyond The Material Plane

Aarakocra are creatures that look like a cross between humans and birds, but they don't actually come from the Material Plane. Aarakocra aren't prevalent in Faerûn, but they still have four major outposts there. As such, it wouldn't be too unbelievable if one happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and ended up aboard the Nautiloid that leads into the prologue of BG3. Plus, their ability to fly without using spells would be really useful.

5 Kobolds Could Complement Goblins & Dragonborn

Or Get Along With Drow

Kobolds, like goblins, often end up enslaved or bullied given their small stature, which leads to them hating larger creatures. This makes kobolds aggressive, humorous, or tricky in order to compensate for their height, and that means they can be great for a range of classes. Aggressive kobolds could be decent barbarians, while humorous and tricky ones would make fine bards or rogues.

4 Genasi Aren't An Impossible Addition

There's One Djinn In-Game Already

Since there's a djinn in Act 3, it's possible that there could be more of them hanging around Faerûn, or that they visited in the past and stayed long enough to have a child. A genasi is the child of a djinn and a human, which gives them some elemental abilities depending on the elemental nature of their djinn parent. Because they're half-human, they aren't too strong to include them in-game for mechanical purposes, but it'd also make sense that the Absolute would want to test the Tadpoles on a variety of species in preparation for their plans.

3 Bring The Power Of The Seasons With Eladrin

Celestials That Aren't Aasimar

Eladrin look similar to elves, but they're actually celestials who come from the Feywild. Each one is related to a specific season, which opens up four subclasses for them. They could blend in well enough with the rest of Faerûn since they appear similar enough to elves, but then they could be used to create powerful spellcasters. Plus, their unpredictable emotions and inherent magic talents sound like the perfect combination for a Wild Magic Sorcerer.

2 Dhampir Seems Logical With All The Vampires Around

And Could Bring Unique Interactions With Astarion

Dhampir are the child of a vampire and a mortal, which is possible to create if the vampire drinks enough blood at one time. Vampires play a large role in BG3 because of Astarion's storyline, so a Dhampir seems like the perfect addition to the game. Plus, playing as a Dhampir could open up a lot of unique interactions and dialogue with Astarion, and perhaps even Cazador.

1 Aasimar Exist In-Game With Aylin

There's Already A Precedent

Dame Aylin, also known as the Nightsong in Baldur's Gate 3, is an Aasimar, the child of a god. In this case, she's the child of Selûne, but an Aasimar could be the child of any deity. In of being playable, their immortality would need to be removed or plausibly denied, which could be done by explaining it as a side effect of being infected by the Tadpole. However, even Dame Aylin shows that Aasimar aren't all powerful, especially since she's been trapped and repeatedly killed for about a century. As such, there are ways to get around them being too strong.

Baldur's Gate 3 includes a lot of content from Dungeons & Dragons, but the world of the Forgotten Realms is so massive that it's nearly impossible to include every detail in a single game and have it released within a reasonable time frame. However, it's easier to handle such a large task by adding content through updates, DLC, and expansions, which is much more reasonable to ask of a studio. There's no way to tell if Larian will add more races or large content updates in the future, but the potential is certainly there in a world as large as Baldur's Gate 3.