Races – 5e

Races Police Lineup MalesThe playable races for Dark Sun have mainly stayed the same with the exception of size of Half-Giants.

Race Ability Adjustments Auto languages
Human +1 to all Common
Dwarf +2 Con, +1 Wis Common and Dwarven
Elf +2 Dex, +1 Con Common and Elven
Half-elf +2 to Chr, and +1 to any other 2 Common and Elven
Half-giant +2 Con, +2 Str, -1 Int Common
Halfling +2 Dex, +2 Chr, and –2 Str Halfling
Mul +2 Str, +2 Con, -1 Chr Common
Thri-kreen +1 Str, +3 Dex, -2 Int, +2 Wis, -2 Chr Kreen
Fab Man +1 Str,+1 Dex,+2 Con,+1 Int, -1 Wis, +1 Chr Common

Core Races





Fab Man (New Race)

Fab Man Fabricated Man or “Fab Man” or just “Fab” for short, is a new bio engineered race created to do a single job and then be disposed of. Created and used only by the remaining Slave City States some of these beings have escaped and made it to other parts of Athas. The Fab Man’s skin is transparent leaving only the raw muscles and cartilage underneath visible, this makes them easy to recognize and most other humanoids find them repulsive. During their growing phase where they are matured to the age of 18 within 12 weeks they are subjected to intense stimulated education, filling their minds with vast knowledge but that leaves them with no real world experience on how to apply it and they can often be extremely naïve.

Half Elf


Half-Giant “Lesser-Giant”

Physically, the half‐giant is enormous, standing about 9 1/2 feet tall and weighing around 400 pounds. Half‐giants have thick hair, which is often kept braided (especially among females) or in a single tail that hangs behind the head and down the back. They dress in garb suitable to their occupation or environment. Half‐giants mature at about 24 years of age and can live about 170 years. In the past, they were much larger, but after millennia of inter-breeding with other races their height has decreased somewhat from about an 11 foot average to between 8 1/2 and 9 1/2 average today. Their stats remain the same but these smaller descendants are also called “Lesser-Giants”.


Members of this diminutive race find strength in family, community, and their Tribe. While their fierce curiosity is sometimes at odds with their intrinsic common sense, half lings are eternal optimists and cunning opportunists with an incredible knack for getting out the worst situations.




Second only to the half‐giant, the mul is the strongest of the common humanoid races of the tablelands. Muls grow as high as seven feet, weighing upwards of 250 pounds, but carry almost no fat at all on their broad muscular frames. Universal mul characteristics include angular, almost protrusive eye ridges, and ears that point sharply backwards against the temples. Most muls have dark copper–colored skin and hairless bodies.



Special Racial Notes as It Pertains to Dark Sun…

  • Dwarfs are hairless. This is why the Mul is also hairless as they are a Half-Human/Half-Dwarf mix.
  • Because of their mixed heritage (and possibly a play on the word Mule / Mul), Muls are sterile and cannot produce offspring. The only way to make a new Mul is through breeding a human and a dwarf.
  • Halflings were cannibalistic barbarians from the deepest wastes. In this modern version, they are more isolated bumpkins who live in small farming communities within the Forest Ridge. Because of the Nicos Produce lockdown of the forest ridge, many Halflings never leave the Forest Ridge. Apart from the fact that the livestock they care for is usually lizard or insect (instead of bovine, sheep, or pig), it looks a lot like the Shire. All the same, they are still quite xenophobic (and racist). The few who do venture into the cities go through quite a culture shock.
  • Elves are traditionally desert nomads, roaming the sands in large tribes. As such, they have a base run speed of 40’ instead of 30’ as listed on the website.

Racial Charts

Height by Race

Min Height Max Height  
Race Male Female Male Female Random
Human 60″ 59″ 76″ 75″ 2d8
Dwarf 50″ 48″ 58″ 56″ 2d4
Elf 78″ 72″ 94″ 88″ 2d8
Half-elf 70″ 68″ 82″ 80″ 2d6
Half-Giant 96″ 114″ 96″ 114″ 2d10
Halfling 36″ 34″ 44″ 42″ 1d8
Mul 66″ 65″ 78″ 77″ 2d6
Thri-kreen 82″ 82″ 86″ 86″ 1d4
Fab Man 60″ 60″ 60″ 60″

If you want to randomly determine your characters height, use the Min Height of the gender and race and add the dice roll from the Random column.

Weight by Race

Min Weight Max Weight  
Race Male Female Male Female Random
Human 140 lbs 100 lbs 200 lbs 160 lbs 6d10
Dwarf 180 lbs 170 lbs 220 lbs 210 lbs 4d10
Elf 160 lbs 130 lbs 190 lbs 160 lbs 3d10
Half-elf 120 lbs 95 lbs 156 lbs 131 lbs 3d12
Half-Giant 450 lbs 400 lbs 650 lbs 600 lbs 2d100
Halfling 50 lbs 46 lbs 70 lbs 66 lbs 5d4
Mul 220 lbs 180 lbs 320 lbs 280 lbs 5d20
Thri-kreen 450 lbs 450 lbs 470 lbs 470 lbs 1d20
Fab Man 174 lbs 174 lbs 174 lbs 174 lbs

If you want to randomly determine your characters weight, use the Min Weight of the gender and racer and add the dice roll from the random column.

Age by Race

Race Mature Middle Age Old Age Venerable Max Age
Human 15 40 53 80 80 + 2d10
Dwarf 25 100 133 200 200 + 3d20
Elf 15 50 67 100 100 + 2d20
Half-elf 15 45 60 90 90 + 2d20
Half-Giant 20 60 80 120 120 + 1d100
Halfling 25 45 60 90 90 + 4d12
Mul 15 40 53 80 80 + 1d10
Thri-kreen 6 N/A N/A 25 25 + 1d10
Fab Man 2 N/A N/A N/A N/A

If you need to determine the max age of a character add the number and dice roll from the Max Age column.

Daily Food and Water

Race Calories (active) Calories (inactive) Water (active) Water (inactive) Water (active) Water (inactive)
Human 3300 2200 1 gallon 1/2 gallon 2 gallon 1 gallon
Dwarf 3750 2500 1 gallon 1/2 gallon 2 gallon 1 gallon
Elf 3000 2000 1 gallon 1/2 gallon 2 gallon 1 gallon
Half-elf 3300 2200 1 gallon 1/2 gallon 2 gallon 1 gallon
Half-Giant 7200 4800 4 gallons 2 gallons 8 gallons 4 gallons
Halfling 1500 1000 1/2 gallon 1/4 gallon 1 gallon 1/2 gallon
Mul 4500 3000 1 gallon 1/2 gallon 2 gallon 2 gallon
Thri-kreen 4500 3000 1 gallon weekly 1 gallon weekly 2 gallon weekly 2 gallon weekly
Fab Man 3600 2400 1 gallon water + milk 1/2 gallon water + milk 2 gallon water + milk 1 gallon water + milk

Active vs Inactive: An active character is one who is moving around doing things, running errands, engaging in combat or working. Inactive means laying about being a couch potato.
Calories: This is the number of calories required per day to maintain current body weight. Eating less than the inactive calories every day will result in weight loss of the Con bonus per pound per week with a minimum of 1. You can also gain weight by the Con bonus per pound a week (1 minimum) by eating more then needed calories each day. Not eating at all See Starvation rules.
Note: We realize there are calculators to determine exact calorie requirements based on weight, height and age and you are free to use such tools to calculate more precise numbers but these numbers were created as a simpler system for game play.
Water: Not drinking enough water can lead to dehydration. See Dehydration rules.