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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Deadguy" data-source="post: 1722240" data-attributes="member: 2480">I have Hong to thank for making me sit down and think about the role of Templates in a D&D game. The important thing to remember is that this is a magical - a fantastical - world. As such, the weird and the wonderful do crop up. And we don't have to apply our real-world genetics to account for it. A half-dragon needn't be the literal first generation offspring of a dragon and a humanoid. It might represent the sudden strengthening of an ancient heritage. it might represent the imbuing of the essence of a dragon from a magical artifact. Heck, it can even just be one of those genuine magical mysteries, with no obvious explanation!Remember that at its root, a Template is just a mechanical tool for transforming a normal creature into something abnormal or atypical of the standard. A half-dragon needn't even represent draconic heritage, but rather something with qualities best represented by the dragon. There can be entire nations of half-whatevers that have never seen the 'whatever' - they are just a way for the DM to convey a certain nature. I've used the fiendish template to transform a tribe of orcs into something 'other' -  a truly corrupt and wicked people.At the last, it is only the DM who knows that "Half-X" label is written on his record sheet. All the players get is a description - and that's open to your interpretation as DM. Embrace the "halfism" with the though that you are producing either exceptional representatives of a race, or perhaps representatives of something that is quite, quite different and not encountered before.I will add, though, that it can be frustrating to have players try and use-and-abuse the system to produce customised races for a specific end. Unless I specifically put the half-races into general play, race is a matter for the DM to adjudicate. If any specific example is too jarring then disallow: as normal.</blockquote>

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