The Cleric class has been a mainstay since the very first days of Dungeons & Dragons. D&D 5e‘s Cleric more than lives up to that long reputation, being one of the very best classes in the game. It’s a full caster with some of the most versatile subclasses in the game.

However, you can always improve your Cleric build in D&D 5e. Despite its strength – and the very forgiving nature of building one – some things can push your character even further. In particular, the choice of race can be vital for your D&D 5e Cleric.

With how versatile the Cleric is, and how many party roles it can fill, it can be hard to suggest blanket races for every possible Domain. However, there are still some standouts as the best overall races for Clerics in D&D 5e.

Updated October 6th by Artificial Twenty: The DnD 2024 Cleric may have changed the class for many, but the original D&D 5e version remains well-liked. As a result, I’ve updated this article to defend the strongest choices even more – and you bet I did some boring technical tweaks as well.

Variant Human and Custom Lineage Continue to Shine

I have written thirteen of these best race lists in D&D 5e, covering each class. In each and every one of them, Variant Human and the very similar Custom Lineage have been first and foremost. Cleric doesn’t do anything to break that tradition.

Variant Humans is one of the best Cleric races in D&D 5e for a very clear reason. A free feat is invaluable for any character, including most Cleric builds. This is doubly true for weapon-focused Clerics, who have to juggle an additional ability score on top of their Wisdom and Constitution.

A Variant Human or Custom Lineage Cleric in D&D 5e can excel with War Caster or Resilient: Constitution from first level. This way, they can preserve their devastating Concentration spells while still providing combat support from the front line. Resilient: Constitution can bolster hit points while War Caster allows for a greater combat focus.

Alternatively, many D&D 5e Cleric builds benefit from feats that boost their magic. Take utility spells with Magic Initiate, unique combat options with Strixhaven Initiate, or improve your mobility with Fey Touched.

Any of these feats are every bit as invaluable as the best Cleric race features in D&D 5e. Few races offer the flexibility or versatility of Variant Human (or Custom Lineage), regardless of your build.

I’d personally take a Custom Lineage with Darkvision, but there’s nothing wrong with an extra skill instead for your D&D 5e Cleric build.

Earth Genasi Are Almost Unbreakable

Many D&D 5e Cleric builds want to be on the front lines, even though they’re not martial characters. The class has many excellent short-range spells for devastating enemies or bolstering allies.

Some Clerics in D&D 5e get heavy armour and/or martial weapons to reinforce this. Others are more delicate but still have spells that encourage close-range violence. The Earth Genasi suits either type well.

It gives Blade Ward, which is not a Cleric cantrip. In particular, the Cleric can get use out of it by maintaining a powerful Concentration spell (such as Spirit Guardians), using their bonus action to heal or use Spiritual Weapon, and casting Blade Ward to bolster their toughness. A d8 hit die is less of a concern if you’re halving most damage you take.

The ability to cast Blade Ward as a bonus action also synergises with combat cantrips or powerful spells that repeatedly use an action (such as the D&D 5e Tempest Cleric’s Call Lightning).

Pass Without Trace is an invaluable stealth spell that most Clerics lack. It can even overcome their dreaded disadvantage from heavy armour. On top of this, Earth Walk prevents a Cleric from getting bogged down in terrain.

Overall, Earth Genasi is one of the best D&D 5e Cleric races because it bolsters the class’s durability. A melee Cleric in heavy armour can have even less fear of harm, while a more fragile Cleric can use it to survive in a tight spot. The other benefits are just the icing on the cake.

Aasimar Provides Flight Without Many Drawbacks

Flight is an invaluable tool for any D&D 5e character. Aside from its utility in general travel, it’s ideal for bypassing obstacles and enemies in combat, hunting down enemies, and exploiting the terrain.

Certain Cleric subclasses, such as the Tempest Domain, get flight innately. However, most lack access to Fly or similar spells. Worse, most flying races in D&D 5e can’t wear anything heavier than light armour to fly.

This is devastating for most Clerics who rely on heavy armour. It’s also a significant inconvenience for subclasses like Trickery Domain that wear medium armour and struggle to boost their Dexterity (without sacrificing Wisdom or Constitution).

The Aasimar is a top-tier Cleric race in D&D 5e because it gives limited flight per day with none of these drawbacks. A Cleric can take to the skies in full plate mail (or half-plate) with no downsides (besides an action or bonus action to activate). On top of that, it gets a damage boost to its spells or weapon attacks.

You do need to take the D&D 5e Protector Aasimar for your Cleric (if using Volo’s Guide to Monsters) or the Radiant Soul Celestial Revelation (if using Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse), but these are almost always the best options anyway.

Healing Hands provides a spell slot-free way to heal allies. Celestial Resistance comes up more often than expected against a Cleric’s typical foes. All of these only add to the Aasimar’s status as one of the best Cleric races in D&D 5e.

Eladrin Suits the Cleric’s Mix of Spellcasting and Durability

One of the few holes in the D&D 5e Cleric’s spell list is the lack of easy teleportation. It lacks Misty Step and other low-level teleport spells. Higher levels are a bit better, but you still don’t want to burn those spell slots to move around in a fight.

Fortunately, the D&D 5e Eladrin’s Fey Step fills this gap for a Cleric build. It’s not a spell, leaving the Cleric free to use their devastating magic on the same turn they teleport.

Even better, the Eladrin’s Fey Step stands out as one of the best race features for a D&D 5e Cleric for its riders. Charming NPCs, frightening enemies, or doing damage make a teleport even better.

The Cleric can almost uniquely use Fey Step to its full effect in D&D 5e. This class has both high durability and a good spell save DC, a hard balance to strike. A Cleric has little fear dive-bombing a group of enemies for Fey Step’s rider effects.

Eladrin also gives proficiency in Perception, one of D&D 5e‘s best skills that synergises with high Wisdom. So too does Fey Ancestry, making it almost impossible to charm a well-built Cleric.

A few Clerics even benefit from Trance’s floating weapon proficiencies. Some D&D 5e Cleric subclasses, such as Order Domain and Life Domain, get heavy armour but not martial weapons. An Eladrin can arm themselves with a greatsword or warhammer in short order and excel.

The Eladrin is an even better Cleric race in D&D 5e than it is for most other classes, despite being an excellent option for almost any Cleric character build.

Autognome Cleric Can Stack Too Many Buffs

Autognome remains one of the best races for Cleric in D&D 5e even though they’re unlikely to use one of its central features. Many Clerics neglect Dexterity or raise it to a mediocre 14, meaning Armored Casing isn’t useful.

This isn’t enough to hold a D&D 5e Autognome Cleric build back. In terms of more minor benefits, Healing Machine lets a Cleric restore hit points without spell slots, without preventing more conventional healing from also working.

Mechanical Nature provides resistance to D&D 5e‘s very common Poison damage type, ideal for a front-liner. Its advantage on certain saving throws is always welcome. Tool proficiencies are always situational, but they’re better than nothing.

However, Built for Success is the main reason Autognome is such a good Cleric race in D&D 5e. A d4 may not seem like a significant bonus until you stack it. Guidance and Bless are the bread-and-butter of most Cleric builds in D&D 5e. Together, this is a potential 2d4 bonus to any attack roll, ability check, or saving throw the Cleric might make.

More obscenely, this also stacks with a D&D 5e Peace Domain Cleric’s Emboldening Bond. 3d4 is a huge, reliable buff for players looking to build around it. You can make almost any vital ability check, saving throw, or attack roll (think a big Inflict Wounds) with only a little prep time.

An Autognome can risk being a one-trick pony. If you’re okay leaning into that one trick (and still enjoying a range of spells), it’s still one of the strongest races for D&D 5e Cleric builds.

Goblin Can Fight on the Front Lines Without Being Bogged Down

The Goblin isn’t a stereotypical D&D 5e Cleric lineage. It’s not the first thing to come to mind when imagining a battle-preacher or devout healer. Nonetheless, its features suit well for either a front-line or more fragile Cleric.

Nimble Escape replicates some of the best parts of the Rogue’s Cunning Action. Even in heavy armour, a Goblin Cleric in D&D 5e can slink away from enemies without risking an opportunity attack. You can go from the front lines to anywhere you need with near-impunity.

For medium armour Cleric builds in D&D 5e trying to avoid the front line, Nimble Escape is an invaluable tool should an enemy close. Alternatively, if there isn’t a crisis, you can hide as a bonus action each turn to preemptively avoid danger.

Fury of the Small is another invaluable feature for a D&D 5e Cleric. It works on attacks, including Spiritual Weapon, or the Cleric’s wide array of damaging spells. Although the bonus damage may seem minimal, it helps the Cleric emphasise themselves as a combat threat several times a day.

Fey Ancestry continues to be invaluable for a Cleric to avoid charm effects. However, it’s the combination of Nimble Escape and Fury of the Small that really makes Goblin such a good Cleric race in D&D 5e.

Yuan-Ti Combines Durability and Spellcasting

Clerics are reasonably durable thanks to healing magic and good armour. However, a d8 hit die remains perilous for any frontliner build. The Yuan-Ti bolsters a D&D 5e Cleric’s survivability among other desirable traits.

Poison Resilience is useful. Poison is a common damage type and the Poisoned condition is fairly devastating. Cutting the damage in half and getting advantage on saving throws to resist the status effect is an excellent durability buff.

More significant, however, is Magic Resistance. Advantage on all saving throws against spells is incredibly powerful in D&D 5e. A Yuan-Ti Cleric goes from being mediocre at avoiding spells to being excellent – particularly if they take feats to improve common saves like Dexterity or Constitution.

A Yuan-Ti Cleric in D&D 5e doesn’t have to worry much about physical or magical danger.

Serpentine Spellcasting is also a welcome boost for most D&D 5e Cleric builds. Poison Spray is a situational high-damage cantrip that suits a Cleric’s close-range playstyle well. Animal Friendship is too situational to be useful, but Suggestion gives invaluable social utility.

Magic Resistance is the main reason Yuan-Ti is one of the best Cleric races in D&D 5e, but it’s far from the only thing.

Shadar-Kai Provides Ideal Combat Teleportation

The Shadar-Kai is the dark mirror of the D&D 5e Eladrin, including in its abilities. Blessing of the Raven Queen fills a similar gap in the Cleric’s toolkit to Fey Step. It’s a bonus action thirty-foot teleport that costs no spell slots.

Blessing of the Raven Queen also comes with a powerful rider. From third level onwards, it provides resistance to all damage for a turn. Not just certain elements, not just non-magical attacks, but all damage.

This is a huge boost, particularly for a frontline class with a d8 hit die. A Shadar-Kai Cleric in D&D 5e can cover half the battlefield with a bonus action and then shrug off return fire. If they do it with close-range spells like Spirit Guardians or Inflict Wounds, even better.

Resistance to Necrotic damage is useful for a Cleric, given the high chance they fight undead, spellcasters, and other dark foes. Perception proficiency is still one of the best things a D&D 5e Cleric can have.

Much like the Eladrin, a D&D 5e Shadar-Kai Cleric can get weapons from Trance if their subclass doesn’t provide them, all the better to hold the frontline with.

For players who want more versatility in their teleportation, Eladrin is the way to go. Players who just want a powerful combat tool that especially suits a heavily-armoured character will find Shadar-Kai the best Cleric race in D&D 5e.

These have been eight of the best races for Clerics in D&D 5e. This has also been the thirteenth and final class-lineage guide for Artificial Twenty unless I tackle something like the Blood Hunter. Please share this with your friend and check out some others, linked below. Thank you.

Some of Artificial Twenty’s similar guides include this list of the best Sorcerer races in D&D 5e and this guide on D&D 5e‘s best Warlock races.

For other character-building tips, check out articles like ‘DnD 5e Stats: The Best Ways to Roll Up a New Character‘.