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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Death By Surfeit" data-source="post: 974552" data-attributes="member: 8646">VVrayven, it's good to hear from you, and I look forward to the fruits of your spell list work. To be honest, I've had a similar weekend <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />.There is clearly some discrepancy over the availability of contraception, but I feel it would best be addressed when we're discussing the spells and equipment sections - the core conception rules I feel are a reasonable enough compromise. I would suggest we move on to discuss pregnancy instead.I’ve finally brought the interbreeding rules to term, and the rough rules are presented below for your reading pleasure and target practice. It isn’t as smooth as many of the rules we’ve composed, but was the best way I could find of handling the matter in a concise way – I felt it silly for the Guide to avoid the subject entirely. Read through, and tell me what you think; alterations, rewordings and outright rejections are welcome.Phew.DbS* * *INTERBREEDINGIn the myriad of creatures found across the Great Wheel, few have the common blood necessary to breed together. The following rules provide rules on which humanoid couplings can bear fruit, and guidelines for other unions. They are by necessity intricate and indefinite, and DMs are advised to use their good sense when deciding matters for the group.All relationships between races are given as one of three types: Related, Relatable or Unrelatable, and this governs the possibilities of conception and form of the child. As a unless two races are specified as Related or Relatable to each other, they are to be considered Unrelated.RelatedThe two races share common blood, being related at some point in their distant ancestry. When rolling for conception, use the higher DC of the two races. The child borne of this coupling has an equal chance of being of one race or the other. The Related format applies to races with a clear halfbreed status (such as half-elves with elves) or those with such similar characteristics that it seems logical that interbreeding could occur.RelatableThe races are distinct and separate, but there is the possibility of procreation. When rolling for conception, use the higher DC of the two races. Should the coupling bear fruit, the child will be a halfbreed, combining their characteristics, who is in turn Related to both parent races. The Relatable format applies to races who have defined halfbreeds between them (such as humans with elves).UnrelatableThe races are too different for any possibility of interbreeding to occur. Conception checks between these races automatically fail, even on a natural 20. Potent magics may be able to spawn combinations of the two; if so, the child will be a halfbreed, combining the characteristics of both races.Sidebar: HalfbreedsIn many campaign settings, halfbreeds are very much the exception to the norm. The rules above assume that this is not because of biological factors, but of social ones. Members of one race must overcome geographic segregation, social disapproval and not least differences in desires, emotions and lifespans that separate them from their partners in order to achieve a successful coupling, and this accounts for halfbreed’s rarity. The rules use the higher fertility DC of the two parents, but no additional modifiers: it is assumed that the more virile race makes up for any drop in interracial fertility, and so no further penalties are applied.SubracesSubraces of common humanoids, such as the myriad types of elves, dwarves and halflings are slight variants on their own race. They are considered Related to their fellow subraces, and follow the same characteristics of their species as a whole when breeding with other races. For example, aquatic, moon, wild, wood elves and drow are all Relatable to humans, and the child of such a coupling will always be a half-elf, regardless of which subrace of elf was involved.HumansHumans have far and above the most freedom in choosing a partner amongst hte humanoids; their seed is as flexible as their minds and culture. Humans are Relatable to elves and orcs, and Related to the offspring of such unions, half-elves and –orcs. They are also Related to halflings, the latter race having originated through the coupling of Humans and some lost species of yesteryear. Humans are also considered Relatable to fey (excluding sprites), producing elven offspring, or half-fey in the case of nymphs and satyrs.Elves & Half-ElvesThe many species of elves are considered Relatable to humans and Related to half-elves, but this is the extent of their ability to breed with other humanoids. However, elves are Related to many fey, with the exception of sprites, with whom they are Unrelatable; and nymphs and satyrs, with whom they are Relatable, forming half-fey. Half-elves are Related to both parent races, and may breed with feys as if they were humans (see above).Orcs & Half-OrcsOrcs are considered Relatable to humans, forming half-orc offspring. They may also interrelate with the bestial humanoids that take their characteristics, such as gnolls and lizardmen. Half-orcs are Relatable to orcs and humans, but no other humanoids.DwarvesDwarven subraces are usually confined to their own kind, and cannot breed with non-dwarves. They are, however, Related to gnomes, having bred with some since-lost race to produce the race.Gnomes & HalflingsGnomes and halflings were originally the halfbreeds of a long lost race that spawned them, and are considered Related to their existing racial parents (dwarves and humans, respectively) and each other. They typically eschew larger partners, however, because of size concerns.Yuan-TiYuan-Ti employ vile alchemy to infuse snake blood into the veins of captives and their own race, but simple procreation is a ready alternative. Abominations are Relatable to humans and purebloods, spawning purebloods and halfbloods respectively, and Related to halfbloods and snakes. Halfbloods are Related to purebloods and abominations. Purebloods are Relatable to humans and abominations, forming tainted one (SS) and abomination offspring, respectively, and Related to halfbloods and tainted ones. Tainted ones are Related to humans and purebloods, and Relatable to halfbloods and abominations, forming pureblood offspring.Nymphs & SatyrsNymphs and satyrs are powerful embodiments of masculinity and femininity, and this is reflected in their fecundity. They are considered Relatable to any humanoid, producing a half-fey child with the same gender as the fey parent. They may freely interbreed with each other, as they are of the same race.Bestial HumanoidsBestial humanoids such as gnolls, lizardmen, and kobolds are Related to the humanoid race and the animal or beast from which they acquire their characteristics: gnolls are related to orcs and hyenas, lizardmen to orcs and monitor lizards, and kobolds to goblins and raptors. Their humanoid kin generally spurn their company, and they in turn find relations with animals somewhat beneath them, so interbreeding rarely occurs.DragonsDragons are relatively infertile (accounting for their scarcity) but their seed crosses many racial boundaries; they are considered Relatable to any other living creature, producing half-dragon offspring. They may not breed with other varieties of dragons, however. Half-dragons are Related to their basic and draconic race, and may breed with others as though a member of their non-draconic parent race, with a 50% chance that their offspring will also be considered a half-dragon.GiantsCivilised giants (hill, fire, ice etc.) are Related to each other, but Unrelatable to other creatures. Ogres are Relatable to orcs and humans, producing half-ogre offspring. Half-ogres are Related to ogres, humans and orcs, but cannot interbreed with other humanoids.OutsidersOutsiders are infused with a quasi-divine power that allows them great discretion in interbreeding; those capable of breeding are Relatable to any living creature. However, outsiders embody unique concepts that cannot be easily tainted; they may not interbreed with other. Children borne of couplings with outsiders are the non-outsider parent’s race, but subject to the appropriate race. Those celestials and fiends capable of breeding produce half-celestials and half-fiend (MM) children, respectively. Other outsiders of strong alignment are treated similarly, but the child is subject to the celestial, fiendish, anarchic or axiomatic template accordingly (MM for first two, MotP for the others). Pairings with pseudonatural creatures produce pseudonatural children (MotP; NOT EHB rules). If an outsider does not fit in any of these categories, the result is left up to the DM, although the child will always be modified to Outsider status.Half-OutsidersHalf-outsiders are more restricted in interbreeding, and follow the patterns of a normal member of their basic race. The children of half-celestials, half-fiends, celestial, fiendish, anarchic and axiomatic creatures are planetouched (MM & MM2) according to their celestial parentage if the child is a humanoid; otherwise, the divine taint fades and their offspring will be a normal member of their race. Children of a planetouched, if humanoid, retain their parent’s trait.DeitiesThe deities can create races by their own hand, and so mundane procreation is of little challenge to them. They are Relatable to anything, including each other. Their children, rich with divine blood in their veins, are best represented by the application of the Paragon template (EHB), or Beast of Legend (SS) if the basic parent race is an animal or beast.Other Creature TypesOther creatures are generally Unrelatable to other races, unless specified above. Potent magic arts may allow living creatures to father children with other races, in which case they are considered Relatable. Typically, couplings with animals form anthropomorphic creatures (SS), those with beasts form tauric creatures (MM2/SS), those with elementals form half-elementals (MotP), those with fey form half-fey of a sort, those with giants form larger creatures (MM size increase rules), those with oozes form half-oozes (SS), those with plants form wood element creatures (MotP), and those with vermin form insectile creatures (SS). Those with beasts and animals may produce new bestial humanoids, at the GM’s discretion. Those with aberrations and magical beasts are extremely erratic, and best left up to the GM’s devices.Sidebar: Changing the RulesAs DM, you may exercise your discretion over all the rules above, changing them in accordance to your materials and campaign setting. If a rule contradicts something you’ve written into your campaign, sounds stupid or has adverse consequences, ignore the rules, or make up your own. If you have created or have access to material beyond those in WotC rulebooks, you may wish to extend the interbreeding rules accordingly. For example, if you have rules for half-dwarves, you could change Dwarves’ relationship to humans to Relatable. The GUCK offers a single extension of its own, in the form of the Half-fey template, so that nymphs and satyrs who would normally be Unrelatable (or Related) are instead Relatable to many species. Likewise, you may wish to restrict certain spells if you do not wish or are unable to accommodate the results in your game.</blockquote>

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