In other words, things like ability scores, size and speed, vision, language, skills, and special abilities. In the end though, personality and physical description aside, the most important aspects of a character's race are probably the things that are only mentioned while out of character. For instance, the player's handbook 2 says that Dragonborn are best suited for heroic, leaderlike Thaneborn Barbarian builds, but in reality, they are just as well suited to the bloodthirsty Rageblood Barbarian builds, and since the average Dragonborn is an honorable warrior, a Dragonborn who is a savage brute is much harder to forget, and much more interesting to play. Remember, the most fun and memorable characters are usually unique in some way. Often however, the 'average' example of a race is only useful as a basic blueprint or starting point of a character. Many races (like Dragonborn or Goliaths) have certain characteristics drilled into them all their life, which means that they are almost guarenteed to act in a certain way, either because of a racial reputation that needs to be upheld, or a cultural responsibility.

Your character's race does more than tell what they look like however, it also gives people a basic idea of what your character's personality is like. Your character's race determines their physical dimensions and traits, such as height weight, musculature, and other aspects of their physical appearance. Mechanically, also known as gamewise, your character's race is one of the most important things about them.

D&d bugbear race