The biggest draw to making a Dragonborn Barbarian is the +2 Strength and damage resistance. I included the Dragonborn because they can make okay Barbarians. Dragonborn Dragonborn are okay because of their Breath Weapon & 1 st-level resistance | Source: Aide DD So, while the Human might not be the best choice it still really good. So, a lot of people go with Savage Attacker, Tough, Great Weapon Master, or some other option that buffs their physical prowess. This way, you get to pick a Feat at 1 st-level rather than waiting until 4 th. This way, you still get +1 to two Ability Scores of your choice AND you get a Feat at 1 st-level.Ī lot of Barbarian character builds (and character builds in general) use the Variant Human. The biggest benefit for choosing a Human Barbarian is using the Variant rule. So, Humans are amazing for pretty much any class. Human Once again, a Human’s versatility with the starting feat makes them a good choice for a Barbarian in 5e | Source: DnD Beyond HumanĪlright. I put the Dwarf so low on the list because while it has the right Ability Scores the features don’t exactly line up with an optimal Barbarian build. But, you’ll already have proficiency with light and medium armor from your class. The +2 bonus to your Strength is awesome. On the other hand, the Mountain Dwarf has the opposite problem. An extra point to your Hit Point Maximum is nothing to scoff at. But, their Dwarven Toughness racial feature is great for your survivability. Hill Dwarves don’t give you an Ability Score bonus to your most important stats. Now, either subrace is good for their own reasons. But, so many other races get it that I can hardly count that as a major part of choosing to play a Dwarven Barbarian. And, their resistance to poison damage and advantage on saving throws against the Poisoned condition is a nice feature.īut, that’s about as far as the base race helps.ĭon’t get me wrong, Darkvision is great. Their +2 to Constitution makes them sturdy. Dwarf Dwarves make decent Barbarians with their increased Hit Points or poison resistance | Source: DnD Beyond Dwarf But, these are the more common races that you’ll probably encounter.

I’ll probably update this once I finally get my hands on all the sourcebooks. Here’s how I’d rank the top 10 best races for a 5e Barbarian: Either race is a great pick for your Barbarian. But, the choice comes down to either the Half-Orc or the Goliath. The best race for a Barbarian in 5e depends on which DnD party role you want to fill, Damage or Tank, and which Barbarian subclass you plan on playing. That being said I will include the Elemental Evil Player’s Companion and Volo’s Guide to Monsters. So, no Guildmaster’s Guide to Ravnica, Mythic Odysseys of Theros, or Eberron: Rising from the Last War. For our purposes, I’m excluding specific setting books.

D&d 5e human races