The Best Class for New Spelljammer 5e Races
Navigating Class Building For A New Dungeons & Dragons World
Giving build tips regarding the best class for the new Spelljammer 5e Races is a much more subjective journey compared to past racial additions. There are 6 new Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition races in Spelljammer and ALL follow the new system of “Lineage Build”. Lineage Build is a system where you create your character from scratch, including languages and ability scores.
The departure from the traditional system established for the fifth edition in 2014 establishes a variety of class options for players. This is ideal for many players who don’t want to be locked into a specific class optioned solely based on static racial traits.
Change is scary and not easy for some players but this is a “good change” for the long-term life of Dungeons & Dragons. KNOWING the days of obvious class/race combos may be over – here are the best classes to try with the new Spelljammer 5e races!
Racial Categories For The Next Generation Of Game Players
What are the best classes for the New Playable races in the Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition Spelljammer: Adventures in Spacepace adventures? In the Lineage era – is there such a thing as a “Best Class”? Nerd Night News believes that there is still enough meat on the racial trait bone to say YES – There are better classes than others for every race.
This includes the brand new playable Astral Elf, Autognome, Giff, Hadozee, Plasmoid, and Thri-kreen races.
The Below races can all be found in the Spelljammer: Adventures in Space Guide and work hand in hand with the Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual, and Dungeon Master’s Guide. Spelljammer is a unique Adventure that takes place in Wildspace (and beyond) but is compatible with ALL 5e sourcebooks and adventures like Radiant Citadel, Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, or even Curse of Strahd.
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Astral Elf: Wizards Presents a New Breed of Fey
Their trance proficiencies features go hand in hand with classes that use and gain bonuses from tool use. Classes like Bard or Rogue benefit from an ability like that. The ability to easily master martial weapon proficiencies also broadens the possibilities for new combat options. Especially when combined with the sneak attack feature. Finally, the radiant soul trait gives a degree of durability that is usually only found in the Half-Orc Race. Spellcasting classes like an artificer or a warlock that also want to be a melee threat will love playing as the astral elf.
Astral Elf Traits
Creature Type
You are a Humanoid. You are also considered an elf for any prerequisite or effect that requires you to be an elf.
Size
You are Medium.
Speed
Your walking speed is 30 feet.
Astral Fire
You know one of the following cantrips of your choice: dancing lights, light, or sacred flame. Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma is your spellcasting ability for it (choose when you select this race).
Darkvision
You can see in dim light within 60 feet of yourself as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You discern colors in that darkness only as shades of gray.
Fey Ancestry
You have an advantage on saving throws you make to avoid or end the charmed condition on yourself.
Keen Senses
You have proficiency in the Perception skill.
Starlight Step
As a bonus action, you can magically teleport up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space you can see. You can use this trait a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
Astral Trance
You don’t need to sleep, and magic can’t put you to sleep. You can finish a long rest in 4 hours if you spend those hours in a trance-like meditation, during which you remain conscious. Whenever you finish this trance, you gain proficiency in one skill of your choice and with one weapon or tool of your choice, selected from the Player’s Handbook. You mystically acquire these proficiencies by drawing them from shared elven memory and the experiences of entities on the Astral Plane, and you retain them until you finish your next long rest.
Astral Elf found in Spelljammer: Adventures in Space • Astral Adventurer’s Guide, pg. 10
Autognome: Another Construct to Self Identify As
With Lineages, you create your character’s ability scores so there aren’t any pure stat-based “optimal” classes anymore. Your autognome could be a Bard just as easy as it could be a Bloodhunter. With that being said, the “boosting” cantrip mending will lead many players toward choosing a spellcasting class. Artificers, Bards, Clerics, Sorcerers, and Wizards can cast mending and would greatly benefit from the Mending Boost Cantrip. Spellcasters are notoriously armor free as well so the autognome’s natural AC feature is a huge selling point as well. You really can’t go wrong with ANY spellcasting class.
Autognome Traits
Creature Type
You are a Construct.
Size
You are Small.
Speed
Your walking speed is 30 feet.
Armored Casing
You are encased in thin metal or some other durable material. While you aren’t wearing armor, your base Armor Class is 13 + your Dexterity modifier.
Built for Success
You can add a d4 to one attack roll, ability check, or saving throw you make, and you can do so after seeing the d20 roll but before the effects of the roll are resolved. You can use this trait a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
Healing Machine
If the mending spell is cast on you, you can spend a Hit Die, roll it, and regain a number of hit points equal to the roll plus your Constitution modifier (minimum of 1 hit point). In addition, your creator designed you to benefit from several spells that preserve life but that normally don’t affect Constructs: cure wounds, healing word, mass cure wounds, mass healing word, and spare the dying.
Mechanical Nature
You have resistance to poison damage and immunity to disease, and you have an advantage on saving throws against being paralyzed or poisoned. You don’t need to eat, drink, or breathe.
Sentry’s Rest
When you take a long rest, you spend at least 6 hours in an inactive, motionless state, instead of sleeping. In this state, you appear inert, but you remain conscious.
Specialized Design
You gain two tool proficiencies of your choice, selected from the Player’s Handbook.
Autognome is found in Spelljammer: Adventures in Space • Astral Adventurer’s Guide, pg. 11
Giff: Something Cool for Players and Dungeon Masters
First the Bad News. Straight spellcasters and any campaign that doesn’t allow firearms will cancel out most of the giff’s racial traits. Now the Good News. Many class options benefit from the Giff racial traits even when the Spellcasters are excluded. Fighters and Rangers will benefit from Astral Spark and Firearm Proficiency whether they use strength or dexterity-based bonuses.
Giff Traits
Creature Type
You are a Humanoid.
Size
You are Medium.
Speed
Your walking speed is 30 feet, and you have a swimming speed equal to your walking speed.
Astral Spark
Your psychic connection to the Astral Plane enables you to mystically access a spark of divine power, which you can channel through your weapons. When you hit a target with a simple or martial weapon, you can cause the target to take extra force damage equal to your proficiency bonus. You can use this trait a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, but you can use it no more than once per turn. You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
Firearms Mastery
You have a mystical connection to firearms that traces back to the gods of the giff, who delighted in such weapons. You have proficiency with all firearms and ignore the loading property of any firearm. In addition, attacking at long range with a firearm doesn’t impose a disadvantage on your attack roll.
Hippo Build
You have an advantage on Strength-based ability checks and Strength saving throws. In addition, you count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.
Spelljammer: Adventures in Space • Astral Adventurer’s Guide, pg. 12
Hadozee: Something Fresh From Wizards Of The Coast LLC
I won’t lie. I’m extremely excited to add the hadozee to ALL of my campaigns. On the surface, it feels like the role-play options here are endless. From a Character creation standpoint, the hadozee has some really cool features that will work beautifully with so many player strategies. The Dexterous Feet ability allows you to “use an object” as a bonus action. This opens the door for Rogues to utilize their skills and actions in a whole new way. The other Hadozee racial features are neat, like gliding and resilience, but honestly can benefit most if not all class options.
Hadozee Traits
Creature Type
You are a Humanoid.
Size
You are Medium or Small. You choose the size when you select this race.
Speed
Your walking speed is 30 feet, and you have a climbing speed equal to your walking speed.
Dexterous Feet
As a bonus action, you can use your feet to manipulate an object, open or close a door or container, or pick up or set down a Tiny object.
Glide
If you are not incapacitated or wearing heavy armor, you can extend your skin membranes and glide. When you do so, you can perform the following aerial maneuvers:
• You can move up to 5 feet horizontally for every 1 foot you descend in the air, at no movement cost to you.
• When you would take damage from a fall, you can use your reaction to reduce the fall’s damage to 0.
Hadozee Resilience
The magic that runs in your veins heightens your natural defenses. When you take damage, you can use your reaction to roll a d6. Add your proficiency bonus to the number rolled, and reduce the damage you take by an amount equal to that total (minimum of 0 damage).
You can use this trait a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus. You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
Spelljammer: Adventures in Space • Astral Adventurer’s Guide, pg. 13
Plasmoid: No Armor, No Tools, No Clothes – NO PROBLEM
The plasmoid is an intriguing (and ONLY) ooze option to play and has many unique traits that will create many hilarious role-play memories. Gamer humor possibilities are endless here. The amorphous feature alone makes dungeon crawling a thing of joy with options like spilling through keyholes, under doors, or through cracks at a moment’s notice. Barbarians and Monks would benefit from this trait the most as both of these classes remain combat-ready even without armor and weapons.
Plasmoid Traits
Creature Type
You are an Ooze.
Size
You are Medium or Small. You choose the size when you select this race.
Speed
Your walking speed is 30 feet.
Amorphous
You can squeeze through a space as narrow as 1 inch wide, provided you are wearing and carrying nothing. You have an advantage on ability checks you make to initiate or escape a grapple.
Darkvision
You can see in dim light within 60 feet of yourself as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You discern colors in that darkness only as shades of gray.
Hold Breath
You can hold your breath for 1 hour.
Natural Resilience
You have resistance to acid and poison damage, and you have an advantage on saving throws against being poisoned.
Shape Self
As an action, you can reshape your body to give yourself a head, one or two arms, one or two legs, and makeshift hands and feet, or you can revert to a limbless blob. While you have a humanlike shape, you can wear clothing and armor made for a Humanoid of your size. As a bonus action, you can extrude a pseudopod that is up to 6 inches wide and 10 feet long or reabsorb it into your body. As part of the same bonus action, you can use this pseudopod to manipulate an object, open or close a door or container, or pick up or set down a Tiny object. The pseudopod contains no sensory organs and can’t attack, activate magic items, or lift more than 10 pounds.
Spelljammer: Adventures in Space • Astral Adventurer’s Guide, pg. 14
Thri-kreen: Fresh Monsters For Your Game Play Story
The Thri-Kreen is perhaps the most straightforward as far as racial abilities. Firstly, the Thri-Kreen has a Dexterity specific natural armor ability. This is important for classes that focus on Dexterity and don’t have proficiency in medium armor. Their extra arms provide the ability to equip dual light weapons AND a shield. The most intriguing Thri-Kreen traits are their telepathy and camouflage abilities which is a no-brainer for any character that uses stealth. Fighters, Rogues, and Rangers with high Dexterity and a focus on dual wielding are excellent class choices here.
Thri-kreen Traits
Creature Type
You are a Monstrosity.
Size
You are Medium or Small. You choose the size when you select this race.
Speed
Your walking speed is 30 feet.
Chameleon Carapace
While you aren’t wearing armor, your carapace gives you a base Armor Class of 13 + your Dexterity modifier.
As an action, you can change the color of your carapace to match the color and texture of your surroundings, giving you an advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made to hide in those surroundings.
Darkvision
You can see in dim light within 60 feet of yourself as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You discern colors in that darkness only as shades of gray.
Secondary Arms
You have two slightly smaller secondary arms below your primary pair of arms. The secondary arms can manipulate an object, open or close a door or container, pick up or set down a Tiny object, or wield a weapon that has the light property.
Sleepless
You do not require sleep and can remain conscious during a long rest, though you must still refrain from strenuous activity to gain the benefit of the rest.
Thri-kreen Telepathy
Without the assistance of magic, you can’t speak the non-thri-kreen languages you know. Instead, you use telepathy to convey your thoughts. You have the magical ability to transmit your thoughts mentally to willing creatures you can see within 120 feet of yourself. A contacted creature doesn’t need to share a language with you to understand your thoughts, but it must be able to understand at least one language. Your telepathic link to a creature is broken if you and the creature move more than 120 feet apart, if either of you is incapacitated, or if either of you mentally breaks the contact (no action required).
Spelljammer: Adventures in Space • Astral Adventurer’s Guide, pg. 15
The Best Class For New Spelljammer 5e Races
Dungeons & Dragons is truly committing to a bold new direction with Spelljammer: Adventures in Space. This Lineage based character creation model was introduced in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything and will be solidified further in future adventures. As a long-time player of Dungeons & Dragons, I welcome any change that increases the ability to create characters with less barriers.
At the end of the day – even if the class doesn’t fit perfectly – so what? Make the character you want and enjoy the Role Play scenarios that come with being perfectly “unique”.
What Class are you excited to try with the Spelljammer races?
Are you ready for the rules changes with Character Creation?
Let us know in the comments!
While you’re here go ahead and check out some other D&D articles LIKE THIS ONE – Dragonlance: A New War For Dungeons and Dragons 5e
