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Do We Really Need Half-Elves and Half-Orcs?
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<blockquote data-quote="Mercule" data-source="post: 7530717" data-attributes="member: 5100"><p>That's a fair statement, in theory, but is questionable in application. In worlds where half-elves are marginalized, they should start with a penalty to social interactions -- something like the 1E racial animosity tables, if you're a sadist. The minimum penalty you could really apply is a -1, which is what the +2 to charisma grants. So, the half-elf becomes a wash disguised as a bonus. If you remove the penalty for normal interactions, you've also removed the rationale for the bonus. Mechanically, you're actually better off hand-waving it and saying, "Half-elves are marginalized, but they've learned to work around it, so normal charisma. Go roleplay." Then give them a real stat bonus. Unless, of course, you're going to pull in Nietzsche and say that half-elves have been tempered by their adversity and done more than just offset, but that's a bit too deep for my tastes in D&D.</p><p></p><p>Settings like Eberron (and probably the Realms) that are fairly cosmopolitan and attach little stigma to PHB races, it could be argued that half-elves get the bonus to charisma by virtue of playing to the ideal of both races -- which is probably closer to the meta truth about why people play half-elves to begin with. That's a significant shift in the tone of D&D since AD&D and earlier, but it'd work. The lore just needs to catch up. I'm not a fan of structuring a race to be a Mary Sue lightning rod, so I find that explanation to be extremely unsatisfactory.</p><p></p><p>Either way, having a normal charisma seems best, to me.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Mercule, post: 7530717, member: 5100"] That's a fair statement, in theory, but is questionable in application. In worlds where half-elves are marginalized, they should start with a penalty to social interactions -- something like the 1E racial animosity tables, if you're a sadist. The minimum penalty you could really apply is a -1, which is what the +2 to charisma grants. So, the half-elf becomes a wash disguised as a bonus. If you remove the penalty for normal interactions, you've also removed the rationale for the bonus. Mechanically, you're actually better off hand-waving it and saying, "Half-elves are marginalized, but they've learned to work around it, so normal charisma. Go roleplay." Then give them a real stat bonus. Unless, of course, you're going to pull in Nietzsche and say that half-elves have been tempered by their adversity and done more than just offset, but that's a bit too deep for my tastes in D&D. Settings like Eberron (and probably the Realms) that are fairly cosmopolitan and attach little stigma to PHB races, it could be argued that half-elves get the bonus to charisma by virtue of playing to the ideal of both races -- which is probably closer to the meta truth about why people play half-elves to begin with. That's a significant shift in the tone of D&D since AD&D and earlier, but it'd work. The lore just needs to catch up. I'm not a fan of structuring a race to be a Mary Sue lightning rod, so I find that explanation to be extremely unsatisfactory. Either way, having a normal charisma seems best, to me. [/QUOTE]
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Community
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Do We Really Need Half-Elves and Half-Orcs?
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