D&D (2024) Should 2014 Half Elves and Half Orcs be added to the 2025 SRD?

[Mind of tempest]

It didn't seem all that difficult to do for the last fifty years. Why are they having trouble now?

given they were made as purely xp speed bumps for 5 editions does not make them much of anything playable

 

[Mind of tempest]

I mean why does something need to look 'human' to be playable?

Nothing preventing monstrous looking orcs from still being morally good.

to little human and it is hard to identify with it also it has to be humanoid for most weapons and armour to make sense

 

[Remathilis]

So cross out representation in the game of mixed race folks who play?

Aasimar? Tiefling? Shifter? Dhampir? There are plenty of species that that are part mortal, part something else that can fill the same niche without busting out Punnet squares for game mechanics.

 

[Remathilis]

We don't know enough about him yet. He might have other traits not yet shown.

He also had Vulcan pon farr urges like a pure Vulcan and those emotional responses due to he human heritage caused him not to act like a pure Vulcan. That's why he had issues on Vulcan. He also survived a blood draining creature, because his blood isn't completely like a human, but still was affected to a degree, because he is part human.

As you note, the Doctor is a bit of an oddball.

Except that we know for a fact that Spock did, because it came up. And we don't know enough of Jacen to determine that he doesn't.

As for mixed features in fiction...

Wil Ohmsford who was more human than elf, but still was able to use the elfstones due to that bit of elven heritage.

Every changeling in The Dresden Files. Unless they go fully fey, they are a pretty even mix of human and fey with abilities in the middle.

Fleur Delacour from Harry Potter was mixed human and veela and had more abilities than human, but less than a full veela.

As you note, all the half-elves in Middle Earth, as well as the Dunedain and Numenorians who had powers such as mind speech due to their non-human bloodline.

Calis from Midkemia(Raymond Feist is the author) has an elven and a valheru parent and is more than an elf, but less than a full valheru in ability and power.

In David Drake's Lord of the Isles there a few human/other(can't remember the names) individuals with power beyond human, but less than the parent.

Neil Gaiman in Anansi Boys and American Gods. The scions of god and man are more than human, but less than full god with their abilities.

L.E. Modesitt in the Order War series. Those with magical powers have mixed blood from their ancestors, but not as strong because it's not pure.

Blade.

I could find a lot more if I tried.

Edit: All the half-gods from Percy and the Olympians. Hagrid. Luthien(half elf/half-maia). Aquaman who could breath in air and in water, unlike both parents, and was stronger than the other Atlanteans. Hellboy. Sisko who was half Prophet. More and just keep popping to mind.

How many of those are biological mixing of genetics and how many are supernatural entities? That may sound like a cop-out but consider this. A draconic sorcerer is said to have a draconic influence somewhere in their ancestry (be blood of the dragons, a draconic gift of blessing, etc). They get draconic abilities, but nobody says they're "half-dragons". They are humans (or whatever species) given some abilities of a dragon. They don't follow the rules of biological genetics, they're built different.

Many of your examples (but I admit, not all) follow that same idea. Shadow is a human with godly heritage. He's not a half-God. Probably closer to a Divine Soul in D&D terms. The whole Muggle/WIzard divide in Harry Potter doesn't change their species, despite the fact magic is genetically handed down. (So apparently is the Force in Star Wars). You wouldn't stat Aragorn as a Half-elf, nor Aquaman as a half-Triton. They are humans who have some special abilities that would probably reflect in a class feature, feat, or the like.

 

[Frozen_Heart]

to little human and it is hard to identify with it also it has to be humanoid for most weapons and armour to make sense

But even things like old style orcs and even things like warhammer lizardmen have armour and weapons which makes sense.

Reskinned human's arn't the only thing which can wear armour or hold weapons.

 

[mamba]

This mentality is why we only get bland kitchen sink settings from WotC. It's okay to say no to things. And of course, you are always free to say yes to any mix and come up with mechanics for it.

this is the PHB, not a setting. A setting can have unique races, can restrict races and otherwise be made interesting. It does not have to be FR-adjacent

I am also sure you can come up with a better mix and match that does not make things boring, A5e did

 

[mamba]

But even things like old style orcs and even things like warhammer lizardmen have armour and weapons which makes sense.

Reskinned human's arn't the only thing which can wear armour or hold weapons.

lizardmen and orcs very much are humanoid

 

[Aldarc]

And, we're back to "MY preferred combos are legitimate because the rules support them. YOUR preferred combos are illegitimate because they lack rules support and thus cannot happen."

I don't necessarily know about rules support, but I would think that the rules should be able to support playing the D&D Multiverse where half-elves and half-orcs do exist. In Eberron, half-elves have a fairly prominent role on the continent with two Dragonmarked Houses. I'm not necessarily sure that the "pick one" option would work particularly well for the Eberron Khoravar, who have been "their own thing" separate from elves and humans for at least 2600 years.

Honestly, I think at this point I would prefer NO intermixing period. None. No elf-human, no orc-human, no orc-ogre, nothing. Everyone swims with their own kind and is completely sterile to others. I'd rather have nothing, than an "only the good ones" system.

This seems to be borne more from wanting to make the issue "disappear" just by sweeping it all under the rug.

 

[Frozen_Heart]

lizardmen and orcs very much are humanoid

Orcs have always been humanoid, but they've also traditionally looked extremely not human, looking fully like their own unique species.

But in the 5.5e art, orcs have been changed to look like humans with grey skin and sharp lower canines.

 

[mamba]

Orcs have always been humanoid, but they've also traditionally looked extremely not human, looking fully like their own unique species.

yes, but they were always capable of wearing armor and using weapons.

This tangent started with

we could be sterotypes if we ever actually had any other species to compare ourselves to, actually in fact, we do! there are horses and dogs and crabs and lions and goats and bears and octopus

compared to this list, any species we do have is very much humanoid, and there is a reason for that