Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition race
Dragonborn
Dragonborn is a race in Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition: Dragon-descended warriors with a recharging breath weapon and resistance to their ancestry's damage type.
Last reviewed
Key facts
- Speed
- 30
- Size
- Medium
- Traits
- Draconic Ancestry, Breath Weapon, Damage Resistance
- Languages
- Common, Draconic
Overview
Dragonborn are the SRD's Strength and Charisma race, a pairing almost nothing else offers, which makes them the natural paladin. Draconic ancestry picks a dragon type, and that single choice sets both the shape and damage type of your breath weapon and the damage type you resist permanently. The breath weapon is an action dealing 2d6, rising to 3d6 at 6th level, 4d6 at 11th, and 5d6 at 16th, against a save DC of 8 plus your Constitution modifier plus your proficiency bonus, and it comes back on a short or long rest. That gives a genuine area attack to classes that otherwise have none, and it matters most in the first few levels, when 2d6 across several targets is a large share of the party's output.
How it works
Ability Score Increase: +2 Strength, +1 Charisma Size: Medium Speed: 30 feet Draconic Ancestry: Choose a dragon type (black or copper for acid, blue or bronze for lightning, brass, gold, or red for fire, green for poison, silver or white for cold). This sets your breath weapon shape and damage type. Breath Weapon: As an action, exhale energy in the shape your ancestry sets. Targets save against DC 8 + your Constitution modifier + your proficiency bonus, taking 2d6 on a failure and half on a success. Damage rises to 3d6 at 6th level, 4d6 at 11th, and 5d6 at 16th. Recharges on a short or long rest. Damage Resistance: Resistance to the damage type of your draconic ancestry.
Tips and playstyle
Best Classes: Paladin (Strength and Charisma from one race), Sorcerer and Warlock (Charisma), Fighter (Strength plus an area option the class lacks). Character Concepts: Clan champion, exiled noble, dragon cult survivor, oath-sworn knight, mercenary captain, sorcerer whose bloodline is not a metaphor. Why Choose Dragonborn: It is the only SRD race granting Strength +2 with Charisma +1, exactly what a paladin wants. The breath weapon fills the area damage gap for martial classes, and the resistance is a permanent defense.
Frequently asked questions
Which draconic ancestry is best?
Fire (brass, gold, red) is the most commonly dealt damage type in the game, so resisting it comes up constantly, though plenty of monsters resist it in return when you breathe. Lightning and cold are safer offensively. Choose for flavor, since the breath weapon loses relative value at higher levels.
Does the breath weapon use my spell save DC?
No. It has its own DC of 8 plus your Constitution modifier plus your proficiency bonus, so it works on a class with no spellcasting at all, and a dragonborn with a decent Constitution keeps it relevant longer.
How often can I use the breath weapon?
Once, then it recharges on a short or long rest, so a day with two short rests gives you three uses. It costs your action, which means a higher-level fighter with multiple attacks often deals more damage by attacking instead.