Human + Half-Elf = ?

[FireLance]

Well, this is from the Dragonshards article Half-elves of Khorvaire (in the Eberron Campaign Setting), off the WotC website:

Half-Elven Blood

The genetics of the Khoravar (half-elves) are unusual. Many alchemists and sages are amazed that it is possible for humans and elves to interbreed at all. When a human and half-elf conceive, the resulting child has an equal chance to have the race of either parent. In all other cases - human and elf, half-elf and half-elf, and elf and half-elf - the result is always the same: a half-elf child. The Aereni (elves) claim that this is not a matter of physiology or genetics, but of magic; the blood of the elves holds the light of ancient Xen'drik, and once diluted it can never be regained. Whether this is true is a matter for each DM to decide.

Sounds like a good enough system to me.

 

[taliesin15]

Numenoreans? (re: human+half-elf=?)

This thread came back to me this weekend watching Fellowship of the Ring on TNT. I thought it might be of some relevance for folks wondering what to do in their campaigns to reconsider Tolkien. In the scene where Elrond urges Isildur to cast the One Ring into the fires of Mount Doom I realized: both are half-elves.

Some half-elves essentially lived like Elves (Elrond was one of the few half-elves I know of who passed into the West). Elven blood in men, I believe, was represented in the literature as "the blood of Numenor". There's all that stuff about the blood of Numenor being diminished in men--which meant men like Aragorn, who had old elvish blood, but much diluted, had a life span of something like 300-400 years, whereas more pure blood Numenorean kings I think lived more like 1000 years.

 

[Lord Morte]

Some half-elves essentially lived like Elves (Elrond was one of the few half-elves I know of who passed into the West). Elven blood in men, I believe, was represented in the literature as "the blood of Numenor". There's all that stuff about the blood of Numenor being diminished in men--which meant men like Aragorn, who had old elvish blood, but much diluted, had a life span of something like 300-400 years, whereas more pure blood Numenorean kings I think lived more like 1000 years.

IIRC half-elves are given a choice: live as men or as elves. Elrond chose elf, his brother chose man, and Arwen also chose man and hence gets to stay in Middle-Earth. The half-elves who choose elf aren't really that different from normal elves, exhibit A: Elrond.

I agree that the child of a half-elf and a human would have a 50% chance between being functional human or functional half-elven, but I do feel that the functional human should get something nifty from the bargain to represent the few elven traits buried amongst all that mundane human-ness, such as with the Numenorean kings. I'd say the easiest way to represent this would be a feat, such as the Orc Blooded one in Dragon 315.

 

[Adam Radenheimer]

roll a d4 1 is an elf, 2 and 3 are half elves, and 4 is a human

 

[steeldragons]

Just Human.

 

[Ravenzeye]

I woukd say we do it like we do with mix breeds of dogs. This is coming from a dog breeder.

Lab+ poodle= labradoodle 50/50
Labradoodle + lab = labradoodle (g2) 25/75
Labradoodle (g2) + lab = Lab
- 12.5% poodle, 87.5% Lab

 

[John R Davis]

If it is really important to the campaign then just discuss and pick.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Serious answer: Half-Elf.

Fun answer: Drow

 

[CleverNickName]

I'd let the player choose which parent their character favors the most, and use the stats for their choice.

If the player says "My mother was a half-elf and my father was a human, but I take after my dad," they'd use the stats for Human. They can call themselves whatever they like, but mechanically they'd be human.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

3/4 human + 1/4 elf = human with "elftouched" racial feat.

3/4 elf + 1/4 human = elf with option of "humantouched" racial feats and flaws.