There's the usual assortment of D&D character classes to choose from as well as the prestige classes added in Shadows of Undrentide. In addition, Bioware has added six new prestige classes: Champion of Torm, Dwarven Defender, Pale Master, Red Dragon Disciple, Shifter and Weapon Master. These classes tend to favor fighter and spell-caster types, and round out the prestige class offerings from Undrentide quite nicely, allowing for something special for nearly every base class.

Bioware didn't stop with a few new classes in the expansion. Hordes offers a lot more than your average expansion pack, like a slew of new character heads, portraits, spells, monsters, feats and skills. One of the most notable new skills is crafting, both for armor and weapons, and using materials such as mithril, iron, dyes and wood to create new items or to change the appearance of existing items. This means you can customize your look much more in Hordes of the Underdark, even after creating your character.​