DId WotC make a mistake? (Half-Elves)

[Tarril Wolfeye]

I voted No because that Half-elf Template would only fit to a human.

If you absolutely want to make a template make it half-human applied to an elf. Everyone knows that humans will mate with anything that moves

Oh, you can also make a half-orc with a half-human template.

Hmm, maybe I'll try making this template up...

 

[Gez]

Half-elf, half-orc, half-ogre, half-troll, half-giant, half-minotaur, etc. are all, in fact, half-human.

(Well, WotC recently made half-troll into a template.)

It's probably a side effect of mankind's versatility...

Anyway, the half-something template are for innately supernatural creatures (dragons, celestials, fiends, faeries, elementals) that employ magic predominantly in these unnatural unions. Sometimes, sex is not involved at all, it's more the result of imbuing someone with magical energies that transform him/her (like the half-elemental templates).

 

[Aaron L]

Since 3E came out I've thought that half-elf and half-orc should be templates. I don't like them as full races - how common would they really be? And why are they always half human?

 

[TiQuinn]

I already think there's a glut of half-this, half-that templates out there already, and I certainly don't need more.

 

[Zappo]

I voted no... in the standard D&D "implied setting", elves (and orcs) only crossbreed with humans, so a template would be useless. There are templates for celestials, fiends and dragons, but IIRC it is explicitly stated in the template description that these creatures can crossbreed with just about anything, because of their highly magical nature.

 

[Buttercup]

I think this is a great idea. Of course, IMC elves are not a playable race. They're evil creatures of rumor and legend. The PCs have met one half elf, and one small tribe of good elves who split away from the evil ones several hundred years ago.

Other than the abberant good elves mentioned above, though, elves are ruthless slave breeders. They would think nothing of mating with a captive, or forcing two other captives to breed, if they thought the resultant offspring would be useful in some way, or even merely amusing. Note that none of these half breeds would be able to reproduce. Think mules.

 

[Viktyr Gehrig]

The way I see it, there are two basic categories of hybrid creatures in D&D-- those that are half human, and those that are half something else.

Half Humans, like the Half Elf and Half Orc, gain some of their non-Human parent's characteristics, like Elvensight or Orcish brute strength, but lose some of their human versatility-- reflected in the loss of the bonus feat and the bonus skill point. Because Humans are prolific and versatile, I believe there should be a hybrid form of most Humanoid races, to represent their incredible flexibility. (Non-mammalian Humanoids strike me as a good exception.)

Half Something-Else races tend to be templates, and these hybrids involve as much magic as procreation, and their template-source is highly magical in nature. Half Outsiders, Half Dragons, and Half Elementals all function in this way. The reason they are templates, unlike the hybrid races, is that their offspring lose none of the features of their more mundane parent-- which is why templated Humans, unlike half-Human hybrids, maintain their Human flexibility. (Similarly, templated non-Humans retain their racial characteristics.)

Where this breaks down for me are the Planetouched, as it strikes me as quite peculiar that the dilution of the bloodline of a templated creature (such as a Half Celestial or Half Elemental) would cause the offspring to lose their Human qualities-- aren't they becoming closer to their Human ancestry? It is for this reason that I have adapted the various Planetouched races into templates, to differentiate between a Genasi Human or a Tiefling Elf. (This precedent is also established by the various Draconic or Dragon-blooded templates I have seen.)

 

[Kemrain]

I voted No because that Half-elf Template would only fit to a human.

If you absolutely want to make a template make it half-human applied to an elf. Everyone knows that humans will mate with anything that moves

Oh, you can also make a half-orc with a half-human template.

Hmm, maybe I'll try making this template up...

I have to concur completely. Half-human templates all the way. If you're gonna start something, finish it.

- Kemrain the Half-Templated.

 

[dcas]

I voted no... in the standard D&D "implied setting", elves (and orcs) only crossbreed with humans, so a template would be useless.

Really? Not being to up to date on 3e I did not realize this. I assumed it was so for elves, but 1e describes orcs as being "fecund" and creating many cross-breeds such as orc-goblins, orc-hobgoblins, etc. (Elves are mentioned as a race with which orcs cannot cross-breed.) I assumed that given the new chaotic alignment of the Orc one might still find these types of cross-breeds.

I know this thread began as a question about half-elves; but a half-orc template might be a worthwhile endeavor.

 

[Brother Shatterstone]

I know this thread began as a question about half-elves; but a half-orc template might be a worthwhile endeavor.

I forgot about it to be honest....

Maybe an offshoot would be a good idea, as I would like to see if there was a different reaction all together over it. I think that more people would be willing to see a half orc template.