Demystifying D&D‘s Rarest Playable Races
As an avid D&D player and DM for over 10 years, I‘m often asked – what are the rarest character race options in Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition? Based on 2020 data from D&D Beyond, the celestial-blooded Aasimar takes the crown for least popular playable race. Just 0.6% of characters created on the platform opt for this uncommon heritage.
The Overlooked Allure of the Aasimar
With wispy hair, luminous eyes, and feathered wings, Aasimars inherited the sublime beauty of their celestial ancestors. First introduced in the Planescape setting, these planetouched beings later featured as a playable race in Volo‘s Guide to Monsters. I‘ve adventured with my fair share of exotic characters, but Aasimar paladins hold a special place in my heart. Their innate healing hands and radiant soul make them perfect as righteous warriors or divine spellcasters.
So why does this angelic race get overlooked so often when rolling new characters? Below I‘ll analyze the key reasons and make a case for giving Aasimars a chance at your table.
Celestial Fish Out of Water
Unlike core races who comfortably blend into most fantasy settings, the Aasimar‘s heavenly heritage makes them stand out in a crowd. Some players may avoid orienting their backstory around this hook or placing their character in situations that emphasize their otherness.
However, their outsider status seems like a juicy storytelling opportunity to me! Aasimars make compelling fish out of water tropes – their celestial blood could ignite a sense of wonder and scrutiny in every new town. Or they might hide their heritage, with angelic features manifesting unexpectedly during moments of stress.
Martial Classes Miss Out On Innate Spellcasting
With charisma boosts and healing hands that fuel spell-like abilities, Aasimars lean towards divine spellcaster builds like clerics or paladins. Meanwhile, martial classes miss out on features that improve weapon or armor proficiencies. This dichotomy makes Aasimars less attractive for players favoring fighters, barbarians, monks or rogues as their roleplaying fantasy.
That said, the racial ability score increases work perfectly fine for any charisma-based class like Sorcerer or Bard. And feats provide ample opportunities to tailor your combat capabilities – an Aasimar Fighter with the Great Weapon Master feat still hits like a truck!
Niche Appeal Compared to Newer Races
As one of the earliest planetouched lineages dating back to 2nd edition D&D, Aasimars have been overshadowed by some of the exotic races introduced in 5th edition. Take the popular Tiefling as an example – these infernal-blooded humanoids expanded in the Player‘s Handbook, providing an evil-tinged heritage for edgy hero wannabes ever since.
Meanwhile, Aasimars only emerged as an official playable race option in Volo‘s Guide to Monsters – an optional supplemental rulebook that many Dungeon Masters don‘t permit in their campaigns. Their niche appeal certainly contributes to lower pick rates compared to core races or better supported options like Dragonborn.
Aasimar Class Statistics on D&D Beyond
Curious whether these were all just speculative hypotheses, I pulled some hard data on the class breakdown of the rare Aasimar themselves:
| Class | % Aasimar Characters |
|---|---|
| Paladin | 25% |
| Cleric | 19% |
| Sorcerer | 10% |
| Fighter | 8% |
Indeed, from 2020 stats we see the vast majority pursue divine warrior or caster paths, with Paladins the most popular choice by a large margin. But we do see a decent portion branching into charisma or martial-focused builds like Sorcerers and Fighters as well.
Making a Case for Overlooked Aasimars
Unlike power gamers chasing the meta, I enjoy embracing some of D&D‘s more obscure race options – and playing against type by pairing them with unexpected class combos. So next time you‘re rolling up a new character, I hope you‘ll consider giving the unappreciated Aasimar a chance! Their celestial essence not only provides mechanical perks, but also tons of fun roleplaying hooks for a memorable hero.
What do you think – are Aasimars woefully underrated or destined to remain one of D&D‘s rarest races? I‘d love to hear your perspectives in the comments below!
