When it comes to character creation in Dungeons & Dragons, players are able to choose a plethora of aspects for their character. One element of character building that has a notable degree of 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. While these abilities are often very useful, one of the most overlooked elements of races in D&D are a race’s size and weight. As the characters of D&D come in a variety of shapes, it would only make sense that their weight would vary.
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 April 18, 2022 by Paul DiSalvo: A character’s choice of race in D&D can have a wide range of potential impacts on their character, impacting elements including movement speed or even spells that may be naturally cast. Among the most easily overlooked elements of a race is their average size and weight. While far from the most integral elements of gameplay, there are several instances in which character weight is actually a relevant factor that can limit or enable the use of various strategies.
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 are 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 to being easier to carry, notably light characters can make incredible use out of the likes of various magic items. Most notably, the standout flight-enabling Broom of Flying can carry up to 400 pounds, though its speed is halved when its carrying weight that exceeds 200 pounds. Similarly, the iconic Bag of Holding is an Item that contains ten minutes’ worth of oxygen and can contain fifty pounds’ worth of contents. When trying to carry one’s party members discretely through the use of a bag of holding, lighter characters can fit with ease.
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 making use of these types of magic items.
11 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 two-hundred fifty pounds to three-hundred fifty 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 bonus’s in strength and dexterity, Bugbears gain proficiency in stealth, and even get an ability akin to a rogue’s sneak attack!
10 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 forty to eighty pounds. Classified as small size, goblins are one of the few races in the game that have access to an ability that directly utilize 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 its attacking, as long as that creature is of a larger size.
9 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 three-hundred, seventy-five 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!
8 Lightest: Halfling
Halflings are among the oldest races in Dungeons & Dragons, being part of the game since the game’s first edition. Traditionally standing around three feet tall while weighing around forty pounds, this race is the most traditional option for a small-sized character.
Halflings are a dexterous race that is home to two sub-races, the lightfoot and stout halflings that are based around stealth and sturdiness respectively.
7 Heaviest: Loxodon
Appearing in the Guildmaster’s Guide to Ravnica, Loxodons are a massive race of elephant-like beings. Weighing an impressive four-hundred 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!
6 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 a small-sized race that tend to weigh around forty 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.
5 Heaviest: Tortle
Tortles are a turtle-like race that despite standing around the height of a human, weigh around four-hundred fifty 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!
4 Lightest: Grung
On the other side 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 thirty pounds!
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.
3 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 six-hundred 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 to 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 of this list, a centaur could likely carry an entire party at once!
2 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 twenty-five to thirty-five 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’s nothing that a pair of sunglasses can’t solve.
1 Lightest: Fairy
Introduced in Wild Beyond the Witchlight and featured within Monsters of the Multiverse, Fairies are a small-sized race that are most commonly found within the fae realm of the Feywild. Fairies are a potent race that are capable of flight and have 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.
