Jasperak
Adventurer
In my experience, half-elves were the choice for players to use if they wanted to play a human type, but wanted to be able to multi-class.
The one drawback when comparing a half-elf to a human were the demi-human limits. Now the normal limits were something like 8th level in fighter and magic-user and 6th level or something for clerics, but I always gamed with the rules that having a higher score in your prime requisites increased the maximum level you were allowed. Most of the games never went beyond 10th-level or so, so this limit did not have the effect I think it should have.
One advantage of being a half-elf over a human was of course multi-classing. I saw too many half-elf fighter/magic-user/thief or fighter/magic-user/cleric characters than I can begin to count. This coming from groups when I was growing up in PA, to my experience with different groups in the military. With the half-elf being the only race that was able to take three classes, they had a distinct advantage over all other classes. Now since alot of my experience comes from the military, many campaigns started with characters higher than 1st-level, since we had so many players come and go.
Another advantage the half-elves had was the ability to cast spells in elven chain. Virtually every elf and half-elf had elven chain. Since 3e adds the chance for arcane failure in armor regardless of race, the 1e/2e half-elf has a distinct advantage over the 3e half-elf, regardless of having elven blood or not. In some games I have been in, half-elves were allowed to be bladesingers (you draw the next logical conclusion.)
As for the half-elf stereotype, I agree. But truth be told, the half-elf was IMHO always the best for role-playing for me personally. So many questions needed to be answered like which race did you get the elven blood from? Which racial philosophy did you prefer? And so on. I must say though, I cannot remember any half-elves that I have played that followed the Tanis stereotype
The one drawback when comparing a half-elf to a human were the demi-human limits. Now the normal limits were something like 8th level in fighter and magic-user and 6th level or something for clerics, but I always gamed with the rules that having a higher score in your prime requisites increased the maximum level you were allowed. Most of the games never went beyond 10th-level or so, so this limit did not have the effect I think it should have.
One advantage of being a half-elf over a human was of course multi-classing. I saw too many half-elf fighter/magic-user/thief or fighter/magic-user/cleric characters than I can begin to count. This coming from groups when I was growing up in PA, to my experience with different groups in the military. With the half-elf being the only race that was able to take three classes, they had a distinct advantage over all other classes. Now since alot of my experience comes from the military, many campaigns started with characters higher than 1st-level, since we had so many players come and go.
Another advantage the half-elves had was the ability to cast spells in elven chain. Virtually every elf and half-elf had elven chain. Since 3e adds the chance for arcane failure in armor regardless of race, the 1e/2e half-elf has a distinct advantage over the 3e half-elf, regardless of having elven blood or not. In some games I have been in, half-elves were allowed to be bladesingers (you draw the next logical conclusion.)
As for the half-elf stereotype, I agree. But truth be told, the half-elf was IMHO always the best for role-playing for me personally. So many questions needed to be answered like which race did you get the elven blood from? Which racial philosophy did you prefer? And so on. I must say though, I cannot remember any half-elves that I have played that followed the Tanis stereotype
