How do you rule on quarter-races?

[Ciaran]

I agree that there shouldn't be mechanical benefits for quarter-race blood. But if you disregard this recommendation and provide such benefits, then you must have a corresponding penalty to balance it out. Otherwise, why would anyone ever play a human again?

 

[ChimericDream]

Agreed.

And here's something I just thought of. If you really want to play a character who has a little bit of this and a little bit of that in his bloodline, why not use the bloodline rules from UA? They allow for just this sort of thing, and would probably be the only way I'd allow things like this.

If you're looking for something a little less fantastic, you could make your own bloodline progressions and either remove or change the requirement for characters to take bloodline "levels".

 

[Primitive Screwhead]

Or, if you are really set on 'quarter-elf', etc.. simply design a set of feats..

Quarter Blooded: Elf (General)
You are born of a Half-breed and a Human. A percentage of your heritage shows through your features. You have pointy ears.
Benefit: You are affected by spells and effects that apply to humans and to elves. You only require 6 hours of sleep per night. You gain +2 racial bonus to saves vs Enchantment spells or effects
Special. This feat can only be taken with the Human's racial bonus feat at first level

Quarter Blooded: Dwarf(General)
You are born of a Half-breed and a Human. A percentage of your heritage shows through your features. You are generally stocky and bearded.
Benefit: You are affected by spells and effects that apply to humans and to Dwarves. You gain Stone-Cunning. You gain +2 racial bonus to saves vs spells and spell-like effects.
Special. This feat can only be taken with the Human's racial bonus feat at first level


Etc..

 

[RainOfSteel]

Quarter Blooded: Elf (General) [...]
Quarter Blooded: Dwarf(General) [...]

I like.

Copy, paste, whirrr.

 

[Drowbane]

You want to have a small bit of elf bood? Fine, have pointy ears. Had an orc grandfather? Well, then that explains why you have a good STR and a bad CHA.

Decribe your character how you want, just don't expect numeric bonuses for diluted blood.

Abso-frickin-lutely!

The child of an elf and a half-elf has a 50% chance of being an elf and a 50% chance of being a half-elf. Nice and simple.

I'd gone with...

Elf: 20%
Human: 20%
Half Elf: 60%

 

[Drowbane]

nothing to see here

 

[papastebu]

I run half-anything as an average of the bonuses/penalties of the two parents, whether this gives a +1 bonus or a -1 penalty makes no difference to me. Sometimes the numbers cancel each other out.

As to appearance, that's the player's prerogative. One of my past DMs allowed me to have a character that was fully Human, yet had glassy, jet-black skin. He was laboring under a curse.

If you want to get into the whole thing really deep, take anything that is genetic, like ability-score modifiers for race, and average the two sets as they stand, whether you are combining two totally different creatures or a half-breed and a member of one of its parents' races.

Anything cultural, such as stonecunning or the Elven training with swords and bows is discussed between DM and player, and the final ruling stands in future issues of the same culture.

Just as a guideline, I say that only certain races can breed with anything other than their own kind. Any creature with inherent magic, such as elves and dragons, can do so. Orcs have a very mixed-up genetic heritage, anyway, and so I allow them to crossbreed with any humanoid race, hence the half-orc. Dwarves can create the mul, from Darksun fame, with humans. In fact, humans are the only specie that uses magic that does not pass the ability through the blood.

There's more to it, long version, that I haven't, obviously, covered, but ya'll get the gist.

Steve

 

[Griffith Dragonlake]

In Grymwurld™, I treat quarter-elves as d20 half-elves. Half-elves are treated as d20 elves and Elves are treated as Half-Celestial/Elves except of course for the Drow which are Half-Fiend/Drow.

 

[Spatzimaus]

I do like that idea, especially since IMC we made most race's stat bonuses/penalties more drastic (+4s and -4s are common). But then what do you do about eighth-elves? You've just shifted the problem one step down the line, not that that's always a bad thing. I just like more permanent solutions, like "nothing less than half-race has any statistical benefit"

I was just reading 8-bit Theater today, and it was oddly appropriate.

 

[Griffith Dragonlake]

I do like that idea, especially since IMC we made most race's stat bonuses/penalties more drastic (+4s and -4s are common). But then what do you do about eighth-elves? You've just shifted the problem one step down the line, not that that's always a bad thing. I just like more permanent solutions, like "nothing less than half-race has any statistical benefit"

I was just reading 8-bit Theater today, and it was oddly appropriate.

I decided that for Grymwurld™ there is no statistical benefit of being 1/8 of any race. I kept the quarter-race idea because the term 'quartered' is a staple of the European Mediæval mindset, and I don't just mean 'drawn & quartered'…! Also, I like the sound of quarter-elf, kind of like quarter-horse.