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<blockquote data-quote="Jack Daniel" data-source="post: 5613876" data-attributes="member: 694">In my campaigns, it varies greatly by the race or species in question.Anything that isn't to some degree magical can't naturally interbreed outside of its species.&nbsp; When creatures are indeed magical, they can interbreed, but they can't usually hybridize.Things which are magical -- demi-humans and goblinoids, dragons and extraplanars -- can easily conceive fertile offspring with each other or with humans, but these races nearly always breed true.&nbsp; That is to say, the child of two races will almost always belong to only one or the other of the parents' races, never a blend or a hybrid.&nbsp; In the case of wildly inhuman but very magical beings (e.g. dragons), it's a result of the innately enchanted nature of the magical being.&nbsp; For demi-humans and goblins, it's because these species are already genetically human anyway; they're just under a powerful, permanent, hereditary enchantment, and the offspring cannot exhibit the phenotype of two such enchantments at the same time.Hence, the child of (say) and elf or a dwarf will be either an elf or a dwarf.&nbsp; The child of a gold dragon and a halfling will be either a gold dragon or a halfling.&nbsp; The child of a human and a centaur will be either a human or a centaur (just like in the Xena TV series).Two exceptions to this rule are half-orcs and changelings.&nbsp; Half-orcs are a scrawny, sneaky, innately evil, contemptible, degenerate blend of human and orc, created by dark sorcery when a certain Evil Power decided that he wanted a breed of goblin that could pass for human at a glance and withstand sunlight.&nbsp; Plus, bonus, magically breeding half-orcs back with normal orcs/goblins gave rise to hobgoblins/uruks.Changelings, meanwhile, are the relatively rare (1%) result of a pairing between a human and a demi-human or fae being.&nbsp; Instead of being fully human or fully demi-human, the child will on these rare occasions be a human that exhibits fairy-like (and frankly elvish) traits.&nbsp; Some misinformed individuals have been known to call these hybrids &quot;half-elves,&quot; but changelings consider that appellation and insult, especially when their non-human parent isn't an elf.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Jack Daniel, post: 5613876, member: 694"] In my campaigns, it varies greatly by the race or species in question. Anything that isn't to some degree magical can't naturally interbreed outside of its species. When creatures are indeed magical, they can interbreed, but they can't usually hybridize. Things which are magical -- demi-humans and goblinoids, dragons and extraplanars -- can easily conceive fertile offspring with each other or with humans, but these races nearly always breed true. That is to say, the child of two races will almost always belong to only one or the other of the parents' races, never a blend or a hybrid. In the case of wildly inhuman but very magical beings (e.g. dragons), it's a result of the innately enchanted nature of the magical being. For demi-humans and goblins, it's because these species are already genetically human anyway; they're just under a powerful, permanent, hereditary enchantment, and the offspring cannot exhibit the phenotype of two such enchantments at the same time. Hence, the child of (say) and elf or a dwarf will be either an elf or a dwarf. The child of a gold dragon and a halfling will be either a gold dragon or a halfling. The child of a human and a centaur will be either a human or a centaur (just like in the [i]Xena[/i] TV series). Two exceptions to this rule are half-orcs and changelings. Half-orcs are a scrawny, sneaky, innately evil, contemptible, degenerate blend of human and orc, created by dark sorcery when a certain Evil Power decided that he wanted a breed of goblin that could pass for human at a glance and withstand sunlight. Plus, bonus, magically breeding half-orcs back with normal orcs/goblins gave rise to hobgoblins/uruks. Changelings, meanwhile, are the relatively rare (1%) result of a pairing between a human and a demi-human or fae being. Instead of being fully human or fully demi-human, the child will on these rare occasions be a human that exhibits fairy-like (and frankly elvish) traits. Some misinformed individuals have been known to call these hybrids "half-elves," but changelings consider that appellation and insult, especially when their non-human parent isn't an elf. [/QUOTE]

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