D&D General So how do Half-Elfs feel different to Elfs?

[DEFCON 1]

This is wrong. It's not the exact same. The half-elf would not be a fish out of water, but rather a fish in a pond with a slightly different fish. Enough to feel different, but not enough to be out of water.

And I personally would say not enough to warrant making a special species write-up for them in the Species chapter of the PHB, when any individual player could just roleplay those aspects of their "mixed species" character if they wanted to. Getting three or four rather bland species features doesn't suddenly make them legitimate. They can be legitimate characters just by playing them as legitimate mixed species characters while gaining an extra skill and cantrip (or whatever lame species features you get from the Human or Elf write-ups.)

 

[Misanthrope Prime]

And I personally would say not enough to warrant making a special species write-up for them in the Species chapter of the PHB, when any individual player could just roleplay those aspects of their "mixed species" character if they wanted to. Getting three or four rather bland species features doesn't suddenly make them legitimate. They can be legitimate characters just by playing them as legitimate mixed species characters while gaining an extra skill and cantrip (or whatever lame species features you get from the Human or Elf write-ups.)

I'd go so far as to say that the cultural differences between half-elf and human and all permutations of elf are far greater than the cultural differences between high elves, wood elves, sea elves, even drow; and yet all these elf "subraces" have their own statblocks and reams and reams of paper have been printed about them over the past 50 years of D&D. Again, I'm biased, I do self-identify with half-elves, but I fail to see how the concept is any more or less legitimate than sea elves.

 

[Yaarel]

Elves are an important thought experiment:

Tomorrow, advancing medical technology solves all of the challenges to longevity. Humans stop aging and never die of old age. What do human cultures look like, a century from now, a millennium from now?

With magic analogizing accelerating technology, and the Elf species eternally youth, these are an opportunity to parse out such a reallife future.

 

[Maxperson]

And I personally would say not enough to warrant making a special species write-up for them in the Species chapter of the PHB, when any individual player could just roleplay those aspects of their "mixed species" character if they wanted to. Getting three or four rather bland species features doesn't suddenly make them legitimate. They can be legitimate characters just by playing them as legitimate mixed species characters while gaining an extra skill and cantrip (or whatever lame species features you get from the Human or Elf write-ups.)

Bland to you, though, equals appropriate to me. Abilities don't have to be unique to warrant inclusion in the PHB. The half-elf, despite those "bland" traits, it still one of the most popular races. They would not have the traits of a human OR elf, but a mix of the two.

 

[bloodtide]

A good elf is otherworldly, alien and not much like a human at all.

A good half elf...really like many 'half races'....the big point is to make them half/half of each race....mixed but apart. Spock is the Ur classic example here. And close behind him is: Tanis Half Elven, and eventually Arlyn Moonblade.

 

[Yaarel]

An Elf is a shapehifter who chose a Human form, and can be quite Human. But ultimately this species is a feature of nature, such as sunlight, magical energy, and spacetime timelines.

As sunlight influences everything with illumination and warmth, Elves influence everything with wellbeing. Elves associate positive fates for others. Part of becoming an adult is taking on these cosmic responsibilities to steer the futures of the multiverse toward the better and fairer outcomes (Good), in personal individualistic ways (Chaotic).

 

[Marc17]

Interesting. I put some thought into how my setting's elves are different than human, but haven't given that much thought to half-elves. There was the one nation of half elves, where the elves, instead of dying off, had mixed with the humans that encroached on their lands in pre-history. They live in a slightly more urban elvish permaculture society guarding nature and the fey from other human nations as their kingdom is better suited to survive than the pure elvish people they replaced. Then I thought about royal linage with elvish blood for other human kingdoms with respects to stability of government. Great under a good king or queen, horrible under a seemingly immortal bad king or queen.

I think in the end, half elves either be oddities in either culture and resolved to be their own thing or group together to form some culture of their own.

I could totally see Drow creating an entire branch of Drow half elves to send as agents into the surface world. Most human cultures wouldn't care as long as there was money for them involved and the Drow are played up as merchants (in D3 at least). Then the half-elf Drow handler, who is also probably their ancestor, can play the "You're not like them; they'll never truely accept you as one of their own. I'm the only one you can really trust. We're family." for added loyalty.

 

[kigmatzomat]

An Elf is a shapehifter who chose a Human form, and can be quite Human. But ultimately this species is a feature of nature, such as sunlight, magical energy, and spacetime timelines.

That might be for the faeries of the Feywild, but elves are flesh and bone. They aren't fey anymore. Magic circles don't hedge them, Forbiddance doesn't forbid them.

They are mortals. In their own way, they are like aasimar and tieflings, retaining only part of their planar heritage.