Bad breath and a tough hide, learn how to play as a Gem Dragonborn with our detailed guide
What are Chromatic Dragonborn?
Dragonborn are humanoid creatures with traits similar to those of a dragon such as scaly skin and elemental breath abilities. Chromatic Dragonborn are those that trace their lineage back to chromatic dragons with different colours providing the Dragonborn with different damage types for their breath weapons and resistances; black (acid), blue (lightning), green (poison), red (fire) and white (cold).
Dragonborn were originally released in the Player’s Handbook as one of the original races in D&D 5e. They’ve since been updated in Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons which has made some vital improvements along with distinguishing the 3 types of Dragonborn a little more; Chromatic, Metallic and Gem. Our guide will help you make the most of your Dragonborn character.
Is a Chromatic Dragonborn the right character for me?
Dungeons and Dragons lets you take a flexible approach to building a character, but if you’re going to stick to typical culture and the best-optimised build for a Chromatic Dragonborn you might consider the following:
Choose a Chromatic Dragonborn if you like…
- Having deadly breath
- Being extra tough against a particular damage type
- Dragons
A Chromatic Dragonborn might not be for you if…
- Don’t want to get close to your enemies
- Hate dragons
If you think a Chromatic Dragonborn isn’t for you, not to worry, there are dozens of playable races for you to pick from, just check out our races guide to find out about all of them. For an alternative race with temporary flight, you could consider an Aasimar.
Racial traits
There are a few different versions of Dragonborn found across various sourcebooks in D&D 5e. The original version is found in the Player’s Handbook, but this version tends to be a little weak compared to other races. Fortunately, there have been subspecies and updates added. Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount gives you a couple of subspecies to play with while Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons gives you a full rewrite of the rules and giving you 3 subspecies in Chromatic, Metallic and Gem Dragonborn. These rules make Dragonborn work much better and these are the rules we’ll work with in our guide.
| Ability Scores | +2 to one ability score and +1 to another or +1 to 3 different ability scores |
| Creature Type | Humanoid |
| Size | Medium |
| Lifespan | About 80 years |
| Speed | 30ft |
| Languages | Common and 1 other language |
| Traits | Chromatic Ancestry, Breath Weapon, Draconic Resistance, Chromatic Warding |
| Proficiencies | None |
| Resistances | One of acid, lightning, poison, cold or fire |
| Darkvision | No |
| Innate Spellcasting | None |
| Book found in | Player’s Handbook, Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons |
Tactics
Choose your type with care: The challenging thing about all Dragonborn is that their resistance is the same as their damage type. Typically, this means picking a more common damage type will allow you to resist damage more often, but also means your breath weapon will be resisted more often too. However, with chromatic warding, Chromatic Dragonborn will find their resistance more important than other Dragonborn and should go for highly used damage types like fire and poison to get the most out of this. You can read our full research on damage types and their frequency here.
Making the most of a line breath weapon: The cones of the other 2 Dragonborn types tends to be easier to make work. Lines on the other hand are tricky as lining up enough enemies is often tricky. It does have better range though, but if you’re targeting a single enemy, you’re likely better off with a spell anyway. If you’re trying to hit multiple enemies (and not allies), you’ll likely want to be somewhere near the front of combat. You’ll also find more success in cramped dungeon corridors too.
Which classes work well for Chromatic Dragonborn?
Below I’ve put together a score for how well each class works with a Chromatic Dragonborn based on how well the racial traits work with each class:
Artificer⭐⭐⭐
Barbarian ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Bard ⭐⭐
Cleric ⭐⭐
Druid ⭐⭐
Fighter ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Monk ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Paladin ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ranger ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rogue ⭐⭐
Sorcerer ⭐⭐
Warlock ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Wizard ⭐⭐
*Star ratings scored out of 5
Best class for Chromatic Dragonborn
For each of a Chromatic Dragonborn’s abilities, they are of most use when the player using their attacks rather than spells making Spellcasters less effective in most cases. Your damage resistances will be of most use when in the thick of melee combat while your breath weapon, which does have a 30ft range, can be used as one of your attacks when using the attack action rather than taking up your whole action (if you have extra attacks that is like a fighter or barbarian). This is powerful as it always hits (if only partially on a successful dexterity saving throw) and can hit multiple targets as it shoots in a 30ft line.
One other reason that melee classes do better with a Chromatic Dragonborn is that the line when made from the back of an attacking party can make it difficult to avoid allies, more likely, you’ll want to be near the front where it’s easier to hit multiple enemies.
With this in mind, your best class options for a Chromatic Dragonborn are:
- Barbarian
- Fighter
- Paladin
- Monk
These classes benefit especially from a Dragonborn’s breath weapon as they get few (if any) area of effect options for dealing with large crowds.
A case can be made for certain other classes and subclasses for Chromatic Dragonborn. Battle Smith and Armourer artificers enjoy an extra attack and often like to be in the middle of combat. College of swords and college of Valor bards, hexblade warlocks and rangers enjoy similar benefits.
Worst classes for Chromatic Dragonborn
Essentially, you’re looking at most dedicated Spellcasters, especially those with options for area of effect spells and that don’t get extra attacks. This is especially the case for sorcerers and wizards who have much better spells to use and would be unable to use a breath weapon alongside an extra attack. These classes are better of using spells like fireball to thin the crowd and focus on a different race.
About Chromatic Dragonborn
Appearance
While Chromatic Dragonborn are descended from dragons and have many attributes in common, Dragonborn are in fact humanoids standing upright on 2 legs. They retain the scaled appearance, jaws, tail and other aspects of their dragon ancestors, though stand a considerable amount smaller in height. Chromatic Dragonborn all take on a skin colour based on one of; black, blue, green, red and white.
Personality
Chromatic dragons are generally evil creatures. This is particularly so in the Dragonlance setting where the chromatic dragons sided with Takhisis in the War of the Lance and other wars on Krynn. While many Chromatic Dragonborn may feel an affinity towards their chromatic dragon brethren, they are not predisposed towards evil or even more inclined towards it than any other race.
Most Chromatic Dragonborn tend to live in communities with other Dragonborn. Most seek mastery in an art or skill and are rarely satisfied until they’ve accomplished mastery of their chosen vocation. In fact, this is often the reason a Chromatic Dragonborn might leave their community; to go out into the world to develop their skills.
While Dragonborn are keen to attain self-mastery, this does not mean that they are unable to co-operate with others. In fact, they tend to disregard personal needs for the betterment of the group. Dragonborn take great pride in accomplishing their area of responsibility and feel a sense of shame when their contributions are subpar. This extends to an adventuring group they might find themselves with as well.
Chromatic Dragonborn names
Dragonborn tend to have names that use soft tones. Female names tend to start with letters near the beginning of the alphabet while male names tend to beign with letters in the middle of the alphabet.
Female Dragonborn names: Akra, Biri, Daar, Farideh, Harann, Havilar, Jheri, Kava, Korinn, Mishann, Nala
Male Dragonborn names: Ghesh, Heskan, Kriv, Medrash, Mehen, Nadarr, Pandjed, Patrin, Rhogar
A Dragonborn’s clan name is considered more important than their own name so Dragonborn will tend to use their clan name before their given name. Dragonborn clan names though can be long and tend to include both the clan’s name and events and signficiant accomplishments of the clan.
Dragonborn clan names: Clethtinthiallor, Daardendrian, Delmirev, Drachedandion, Fenkenkabradon, Kepeshkmolik, Kerrhylon, Kimbatuul
How to roleplay as a Chromatic Dragonborn
While all Dragonborn are different, many adhere to similar cultural and racial ways of thinking. Below are some ways you could approach roleplaying a Chromatic Dragonborn:
Loyalty to their friends: Most Dragonborn are extremely loyal to their friends and can be trusted, at least if that loyalty has been earnt. Respect deals and agreements made and back up your friends, even when the odds are stacked against them.
The path of self-mastery: Chromatic Dragonborn work in a huge number of vocations and specialties, but whatever their chosen vocation, they seek to become masters of it. Be disappointed with failures in your area of speciality and seek to master your skills diligently.
Respect when earnt: Dragonborn have a great respect for others that are masters of their own craft. Consider showing respect for a worthy foe that gave an excellent fight, perhaps showing mercy to another master of their art.
