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Do We Really Need Half-Elves and Half-Orcs?
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<blockquote data-quote="Mercule" data-source="post: 7530537" data-attributes="member: 5100"><p>I have somewhat mixed feelings, but mostly come down on the side of half-things suck. No need for half-orcs or half-elves. I'm especially baffled at the current incarnation of half-elves where they're marginalized and semi-outcast by both elven and human society but somehow have a bonus to Charisma because they're what, likable, despite being second-class citizens? Especially good at begging the jocks to stop giving them wedgies?</p><p></p><p>That aside, there really isn't much justification to say that different species can breed successfully. Unless, of course, you're running a human-centric setting where everything is defined in relationship to humanity. In that case, go for the half-humans. Also, assume that humans are the only race with which a fiend, celestial, dragon, or whatever would care to breed with (or, at least, be able to do so successfully) because, well, humans are the axis around which the world turns. Don't like that? Cool. Don't have half-things. At least not unless you're going to stat up a half-elf/half-orc or an elf-tiefling, dwarf-genasai, lizardfolk-aasimar, etc. And, at that point, you're pretty much into such a swamp of racial abilities that you practically need to go to something like Hero, Fate, or Savage Worlds where you've got some variation on trappings or hand-waving. I don't think that's a good idea with the D&D rules-by-exception structure.</p><p></p><p>Really, though, I tend to think that non-human races should exist to do something that you couldn't do (well) with humans. There should be something actually alien about them. Now, I <u>can</u> do the super-cosmopolitan Eberron or Forgotten Realms. From a 35+ year veteran perspective, there is a sort of "old news" factor to elves and dwarves. Dragonborn are <u>different</u> -- at least they were a decade ago. That's more an argument for not having elves and dwarves in a lot of settings, rather than adding more on top. Too many races become white noise. If those races don't do much besides some stat bonuses (that the variant human could get, anyway), then they're white noise even before you add anything else. </p><p></p><p>I'm not opposed to non-human races. I actually strongly support having them. I just think the GM should always ask "Why are these here?" or "What does including these add?"</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Mercule, post: 7530537, member: 5100"] I have somewhat mixed feelings, but mostly come down on the side of half-things suck. No need for half-orcs or half-elves. I'm especially baffled at the current incarnation of half-elves where they're marginalized and semi-outcast by both elven and human society but somehow have a bonus to Charisma because they're what, likable, despite being second-class citizens? Especially good at begging the jocks to stop giving them wedgies? That aside, there really isn't much justification to say that different species can breed successfully. Unless, of course, you're running a human-centric setting where everything is defined in relationship to humanity. In that case, go for the half-humans. Also, assume that humans are the only race with which a fiend, celestial, dragon, or whatever would care to breed with (or, at least, be able to do so successfully) because, well, humans are the axis around which the world turns. Don't like that? Cool. Don't have half-things. At least not unless you're going to stat up a half-elf/half-orc or an elf-tiefling, dwarf-genasai, lizardfolk-aasimar, etc. And, at that point, you're pretty much into such a swamp of racial abilities that you practically need to go to something like Hero, Fate, or Savage Worlds where you've got some variation on trappings or hand-waving. I don't think that's a good idea with the D&D rules-by-exception structure. Really, though, I tend to think that non-human races should exist to do something that you couldn't do (well) with humans. There should be something actually alien about them. Now, I [U]can[/U] do the super-cosmopolitan Eberron or Forgotten Realms. From a 35+ year veteran perspective, there is a sort of "old news" factor to elves and dwarves. Dragonborn are [U]different[/U] -- at least they were a decade ago. That's more an argument for not having elves and dwarves in a lot of settings, rather than adding more on top. Too many races become white noise. If those races don't do much besides some stat bonuses (that the variant human could get, anyway), then they're white noise even before you add anything else. I'm not opposed to non-human races. I actually strongly support having them. I just think the GM should always ask "Why are these here?" or "What does including these add?" [/QUOTE]
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