"Half-" races

[jasin]

I'd take elf stats and have them be "half-elves", or "elf-kin". And then make the elves much more rare and farther towards fey creatures (stuff like -2 Str, +2 Dex, -4 Con, +4 Cha).

We did something like that once. Didn't really feature prominently in the game, but I still like the idea.

In fact, we used drow stats for pure elves. Going just by the mechanics, without the unusual coloration and the D&D-specific fluff, I think drow make for passable Celtic-inspired fey-style elves: graceful, smart, seductive, innately magical... all they need is some sort of cold iron vulnerability/aversion.

 

[AFGNCAAP]

For what it's worth, half-elves have a place in mythology (Norse myth, mainly). Which, of course, was a source for Tolkien, which in turn was a source for D&D, etc.

Now, I'd say if you want to toss out half-races, then all of them should be tossed out: tieflings, aasimars, genasi, mongrelfolk, half-dragons, changelings, shifters, kalashtar (which are a sort-of half-race from humans+Quori spirits, IIRC), etc.

However, I think it's easier to simply allow & stat up the races, & then have the DM rule what races are & aren't allowed than it would be to not include the races at all.

I like have half-elves, half-orcs, & the like in a campaign. I've used the concept for character backgrounds & plot elements for games before. I've even modified the gnome into a new race descended from dwarf & halfling pairings (I was considering either this, or dwarves being a race descended from human & gnome pairings).

I think the prominence and prevalence of the half-races will determine if they are given a name of their own, such as in the case with Eberron. If they're rare, then the "half-" label will persist in one form or another, in various communities.

Now, one potential option to show the biological adaptability of humans could be to have Feat chains for human PCs based on their half-demihuman heritage. It could also be used to show traces of heritage for human characters (perhaps a human with a half-elven grandparent inherited low-light vision, for example). The reverse could be done for demihumans with traces of human heritage.

 

[Mephistopheles]

I'd be fine with them leaving mixed races out of the PHB and doing a comprehensive treatment on them in another book. It doesn't make much sense to me to drop one or more full races out of the PHB but leave mixed races in. Easy enough for us to come up with our mixed races if we have the two source races to work from in the meantime.

 

[Klaus]

We did something like that once. Didn't really feature prominently in the game, but I still like the idea.

In fact, we used drow stats for pure elves. Going just by the mechanics, without the unusual coloration and the D&D-specific fluff, I think drow make for passable Celtic-inspired fey-style elves: graceful, smart, seductive, innately magical... all they need is some sort of cold iron vulnerability/aversion.

Take a page from the Killoren's cold iron anathema, and have cold iron weapons deal an extra 1 point of damage to elves, and elves suffer a -1 penalty to attack with cold iron weapons, and -1 to AC when wearing cold iron armor or shields.

 

[Driddle]

Delightful suggestions on the mechanics of mixed-race character mechanics. They're NOT in line with the initial topic, mind you, but lovely just the same.

Labeling. Names. Characterization of mixed heritage/racial backgrounds. The maturation of societal issues inasmuch as they appear in our gaming environment. ... No one cares?

 

[JVisgaitis]

Now, I'd say if you want to toss out half-races, then all of them should be tossed out: tieflings, aasimars, genasi, mongrelfolk, half-dragons, changelings, shifters, kalashtar (which are a sort-of half-race from humans+Quori spirits, IIRC), etc.

This I don't agree with even though I have been making a case for simplification. Stuff like half-dragons, tieflings, et. al. you don't have the choice of playing one or the other. In a normal campaign I can't choose to play a dragon. For circumstances like that where the half race is so different that its its own breed and you can't play both, I can see why having the stats makes sense. Its half-elves, half-dwarves, and half-orcs that I have a beef with.

 

[AFGNCAAP]

This I don't agree with even though I have been making a case for simplification. Stuff like half-dragons, tieflings, et. al. you don't have the choice of playing one or the other. In a normal campaign I can't choose to play a dragon. For circumstances like that where the half race is so different that its its own breed and you can't play both, I can see why having the stats makes sense. Its half-elves, half-dwarves, and half-orcs that I have a beef with.

True, but I really do think that only allowing some half-races, esp. half-races like half-dragons and half-fiends, doesn't help the case for limiting half-races. And, having half-races like that, IMHO, weaken the "feel" of wonderment and awe that creatures like dragons & fiends should & could bring to a game.

Palladium Fantasy, for example, AFAIK & IIRC, doesn't allow half-races at all, citing the logistical headache posed by players who'd want to have a character of bizarre lineage such as a half-vampire/half-dragon mixed with a half-elf/half-dwarf.

Ideally, I think a Feat tree for certain heritages (such as a human with elf, orc, or dwarf blood) would be feasible, while the Bloodlines approach would work better for creatures of greater power, like titans, giants, celestials, fiends, and dragons. Get rid of the individually statted half-races like tieflings, half-elves, changelings, and the like, and use this method instead. And, it'd allow for other half-combinations rather than just the human+creature equation currently predominant with races like tieflings, genasi, aasimars, shifters, changelings, half-elves, half-orcs, etc.

 

[Nyaricus]

Not sure I have an answer to the question, though. I mean, what else would you call them? I can't think of any other terms that aren't especially cumbersome. "Half-elf half-humans?" "Elf-men?" "Elven Americans?"

Elf Spawn has a certain ring to it

 

[heirodule]

Half-breed, that's all I ever heard!
Half-breed, how I learned to hate the word!
Half-breed, she's no good they warned!
Both sides were against me since the day I was born!

 

[Fobok]

I've never much cared for the half-whatever races either. My very first D&D 3e campaign, the very first session, one of my players asked, 'They have half-orcs, and half-elves, but where are the half-dwarf-half-halflings?' The fact that humans are the only ones that seem to be half-anything has since bothered me.