How many humanoid species are cross-breedable in your campaign?

[Kafkonia]

So you're the one responsible for the owlbear!

Can't claim responsibility for that, but I do have an antbear statted up (I haven't decided if that's disturbed crossbreeding or disturbed wizardry... or both), as well as a koborc. And one of these days I will get around to my mindflayer/beholder monstrosity. With the tentacles and the eyestalks, he looks almost the same right side up as upside down!

 

[reanjr]

I usually do no cross breeding (including half-elves and half-orcs). Opens up too many doors. If I allow half-elves and half-orcs, I also definitely allow orc-elf crossbreeds. I will also, in these cases, usually allow a total breeding free-for-all of the core races. Some are quite rare for various reasons, but all possible.

 

[green slime]

None

 

[paradox42]

IMC, there are several. Elves, Humans, and Orcs all descend from the same ancestral (elvish) stock, so they can still interbreed despite thousands of years (and generations) of divergence. Ogres and goblins are subraces of orc, so they can mate with others of that lineage.

Gnomes descended from dwarves originally (though it's wise not to tell modern surface-world dwarves that), so they can still interbreed, though the only place where it happens more than once in a blue moon is my setting's Hollow World. I call the halfbreeds "Gnarves."

Finally, lizardfolk have branched out into several subraces that have distinct appearances and powers, and though they can still interbreed it would be exceedingly rare and I haven't bothered statting up what such children would be like. Kobolds, basic Lizardfolk, Firenewts, Troglodytes, and Pterrans (a flying subrace that only exists in the Hollow World setting) are all descended from basic Lizardfolk.

Although Illithids and Aboleth are (in my game) related, they can't interbreed due to the manner in which the original racial separation occurred. Aboleths evolved in the oceans, and during the first great war which split up several races into "good" and "evil" subraces hundreds of millennia ago, many aboleths trying to escape the wars in the sea used their psionic powers to permanently transform themselves into a land-dwelling form. The fact that those in the sea learned to copy the transformation and thus continue the conflict on land was only sadly ironic.

 

[Arkhandus]

In the campaigns I've run so far and the ones I've got planned, only a few humanoid races could really interbreed, and not always. When I run a normal D&D setting, I just assume whatever compatabilities the Monster Manual presents (human+elf=half-elf, human+orc=half-orc, human+dwarf=derro, etc.).

My Rhunaria homebrew has no crossbreeding capacity; the races are just too different elementally/genetically/magically, so only certain kinds of shapechanging creatures, such as dragons, or powerful spirits, such as celestials, are magically and elementally flexible enough to crossbreed with them when polymorphed into the same race. So basically, half-dragons, half-celestials, half-fiends, (as well as half-axions and half-anarchials, my homebrew lawful and chaotic templates analogous to half-celestials and half-fiends; but Rhunaria has different L/C outsiders) and their descendants, are the only crossbreeds in Rhunaria.

My Aurelia homebrew has slightly less limited crossbreeding, in that Aurelian humans have such balanced elemental nature that they are compatible with various other humanoids and outsiders, while other races are either incompatible with each other or only compatible with a few others who share similar elemental make-up. Only certain crossbreeds are really common, though, like half-elves and half-orcs and certain planetouched.

 

[Lanefan]

First off, if things can interbreed their offspring can also interbreed, so the "half-x" idea needs to be replaced with a "part-x" idea.

I long ago realized that other things besides humans, elves, and orcs ought to be able to interbreed...particularly once you factor in shapeshifters like deities, some dragons, dopplegangers, etc. (thought process prompted by someone asking if their PC could be descended from a deity...I said no at the time, then thought later - why not, on a real long-shot die roll, and things just went from there).

But, sensibly enough, not everything can interbreed with everything. So, I sat down one day with a whacking great piece of paper and a few monster manuals, charted out the various creatures roughly grouped by type, then started connecting dots where it made sense to do so. The result was a truly frightening mess of lines and arrows that I'm not even going to try and replicate here.

Now, during roll-up, players optionally roll to see if there's something odd in their genetic makeup - I call it a "taint" - that may not affect the character at all, or may stand the character's racial makeup on its ear. (this is also how a player can get a PC of a race not normally allowed, if desired and lucky)

Lanefan

 

[Nyeshet]

Orcs are just distant enough not to be breedable (like the Neanderthals - and in fact I modified them to fit them to that concept, including living mostly in the colder regions of the continent).

Dwarves are a created race. Literally. There are no genders, no children. Each dwarf is created in a divine ritual that imparts life and knowledge into the ritually carved / forged statue, giving a seeming of flesh that will vanish not long after death. No other race knows of this, however. They merely presume the dwarves to be somewhat xenophobic - rarely leaving their underground halls and passages, not allowing their children or females near 'outsiders', etc.

I don't have halflings or goblins, but I do have a short race that serves sort of as both - humanoid with some plant like attributes, the green skin being especially dark in the summer and in the tropic regions. They do not need to eat as much (but their drinking needs remain unchanged). They are near enough to human that if an unusually tall member of their race were to breed with an unusually short member of the human race a child might result. It would be a rare occurrance, but I have stat'ed it out - just in case. Could make for an interesting NPC, if nothing else. These have little to do with the orcs - mostly because they are as common in the tropics (and uncommon in the arctic) as orcs are in the arctic regions (and vice versa in regards to the tropics).

Elves can breed with humans, but enough animosity exists between most populations of these two races that this would be rare - not even taking into account how uncommon a member of one race finds a member of the other attractive. I have modified this race as well. Some half-elves exist - often the result of couplings between a lord of one race with a menial servant captured from the other race during a raid, war, etc. Humans tend to treat the results of such couplings with suspition if not outright disdain / hostility, while elves tend to view them more with pity / contempt. Elves are also more likely to abandon the child - near a human settlement, granted, but abandoned nonetheless.

On a somewhat ironic note, this also means that a short elf (not even an unusually short one, as elves are already barely tall enough to be considered medium size IMC - and can take a feat at first level to count as small [with all the + and - that entails]) could interbreed with the tropic halfling / goblin - esque race mentioned above. Not quite certain what the result would be, as it didn't even occur to me until I started writing this.

Now I'll have to spend some time figuring that out!

The races IMCW are not integrated in the least. The halfling/goblin type race is reclusive, but humans are not too common in their jungles. Some go adventuring, but even then they tend to try to keep out of the sight of others when possible. The dwarves are borderline xenophobic after having nearly become extinct following a war a few millennia ago between the humans and the elves.

Some populations of the elves and even some rare and scholarly humans recall the reasons for the war, but most humans (and even some elven populations) only know the war as a seemingly universal myth / legend. Most modern elves had great- great- great- grandparents that fought in it. The stories of their adventures and exploits are still told. The reasons for the war, however, are immaterial. The humans recall enough of the conflic (even if only in myth) to be highly suspitious of most elves on sight. The same is true of the elves.

(In fact, it is even more true of the elves, for while it was there terrible magic that ended the war - and about a quarter of the life on the planet, including many of the deities - it was the humans - influenced by the fiends - that started the war and nearly exterminated the elves prior to the elves using such horrific means, as much to survive as to halt their fiend-tainted foes.)

The orcs (or, more accurately, the Nenthan) don't really care about other species all that much, as they are more focused on surviving their harsh environment. During the hard times that follow good times - when their population is large but suddenly stressed, they sometimes raid human lands. They do not feel enmity towards humans, viewing them instead as too 'different' to be 'people'. They basically view them as weak but very clever monkeys / apes. Humans tend to have a reverse view of the Nenthan - strong but very stupid monkeys / apes. (+2 Str, -4 Int, + to saves vs cold, + to some survival skills, - to climb / swim skills, a few other differences).

 

[Contrarian]

Tolkien.

Norse mythology.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

For some odd reason, it's generally accepted that humans share enough genetic similarities with orcs and elves to be able to produce viable offspring who can likewise reproduce. But very little has been canonized regarding halflings, gnomes, dwarves and other humanoids mixing with each other. I would assume their differences involve more than our outdated concept of "race" and actually imply separate species.

Half-elves have a long history. They show up in a lot of books, even Tolkien's (where they're very different). One of the best known DnD characters, Tanis, is a half-elf. I don't know about half-orcs; they were here in 1e, which I've never played, and I've never seen them in a book except as a "better" orc and always as a villain. (And by better orc, I mean just that. Nothing about the social implications, except maybe not being treated as well. They're never treated as a race.) Even in Eberron, they had to shoe-horn them in.

I have read a trilogy where one character is half-halfling and half-elf. Sure, they fall in love, but I would think it would take lust to actually produce the offspring.

I think part of it has to do with "beauty". I can't really picture a male human being attracted to a female dwarf the way they're presented in most settings, and I presume the same goes for female humans. (Deverry is the only exception I've seen.) Same goes for humans (we're all human, right?) with orcs. Stereotyped behavior would make cross-breeding less common. Elves just seem too arrogant to want to have a relationship of any kind with a human (elven PCs are far less arrogant than fictional elves), and orcs are so brutish (the stereotpye, that is) I can hardly picture a relationship between a female human and a male orc that didn't involve spousal abuse.

I would not expect small races to mate with medium races - mechanics aside, I simply cannot picture that being far removed from ... pedophilia. (Not trying to stir up trouble here, but I just can't see the positives.)

Halfling-gnome matings would have been pointless before Eberron came out; before then, gnomes were a comic race, not something to be taken seriously. Gah, now I'm thinking of kender-tinker gnome crossbreeds. My brain is hurting!

Humans and dwarves have crossed in Dark Sun (fairly frequently) and FR. In the DS setting they're common enough that they're basically they're own race. They're called muls because they're sterile. (They can make love, just not have offspring.) Muls make great gladiators and slaves (poor guys) because of their strength, endurance, and even their lack of intelligence. (Keeps down the slave revolts.) They're not that common, and it's kind of implied that most were created as a result of business transactions which may amount to rape. At least one mul child was conceived through love in the Prism Pentad series, but I have to say if that kid got squashed I would celebrate. No seven year old kid is that smart or competent, especially with a racial Int penalty. I got the impression that love between humans and dwarves is pretty rare on Dark Sun, even if the two races were able to find each other largely attractive.

FR had a half-dwarf who was killed in the "Fall of Myth Drannor" supplement. I know little about him, and don't know what caused the union. Maybe they talked about him in some other book I don't have.

I think adding more crossbreeds just annoys DMs. Making a new balanced race isn't easy, plus a lot of crossbreeds seem to involve rape or other situations the DM would rather leave out of their campaign.

 

[Nyeshet]

Half-elves have a long history. They show up in a lot of books, even Tolkien's (where they're very different). One of the best known DnD characters, Tanis, is a half-elf. I don't know about half-orcs; they were here in 1e, which I've never played, and I've never seen them in a book except as a "better" orc and always as a villain. (And by better orc, I mean just that. Nothing about the social implications, except maybe not being treated as well. They're never treated as a race.) Even in Eberron, they had to shoe-horn them in.

Very true. As I mentioned in regards to my campaign world half elves are a rarity, and half-orcs non-existent. It doesn't seem necessary or likely, so why bother with it. Half-elves are something of another matter, as less than twenty thousand years ago they and humans were the same race - at least IMCW. So elves and humans can interbreed - but such is unlikely due to their separate settlements and their general animosity / suspition towards each other.

I would not expect small races to mate with medium races - mechanics aside, I simply cannot picture that being far removed from ... pedophilia. (Not trying to stir up trouble here, but I just can't see the positives.)

I can see it happening amongst truly rare individuals in their societies, but the results of such would be nearly unique - perhaps once a generation or two. Far too rare to ever be considered, collectively, their own race.

In general, I note that there are some groups of humans in the world that are around four to four and a half feet tall. Similarly, I can see a race of two and a half to three foot tall people occationally having individuals or even families that approach the three and a half to four foot tall mark - true giants amongst their people, but barely reaching the height of the shorter members of the other race. If such short humans and tall halflings lived long near each other - say a few generations - than sooner or later it is possible that perhaps a couple will form. They would be within a half foot of each other's height - each just unusual for their race in an opposite way. For each other, however, they would be the right height - not unusual at all, at least in each other's eyes.

Halfling-gnome matings would have been pointless before Eberron came out; before then, gnomes were a comic race, not something to be taken seriously. Gah, now I'm thinking of kender-tinker gnome crossbreeds. My brain is hurting!

The idea of a half kender / half tinker gnome is . . . odd. If a large enough tribe of each group were trapped together in an isolated region for long enough - say a few thousand years - and survived the experience, then the resultant hybrid race would be . . . interesting. Maybe a sign of a coming appocalypse, but interesting none the less. What would the stats of such a being be, I wonder?

I think adding more crossbreeds just annoys DMs. Making a new balanced race isn't easy, plus a lot of crossbreeds seem to involve rape or other situations the DM would rather leave out of their campaign.

True. Very very true, on both counts. Most crossbreeds quite likely may have resulted from such. The half-elven situation is more or less such IMCW. Very rarely do half elves occur otherwise. The only other half-race (half-vrda, the halfling / goblin-esque race) is so rare an occurance that no real generalities can be made regarding them. As for half-elves/half-vrda, I don't think one of those has occurred before, mostly because I'm not sure if the two races have ever had any significant contact with each other. I'll have to think about that one.