So will Half-Drow be in PHB

[jaer]

Your logic eludes me. Simply because elves and humans can mix does not mean any other combination is viable, not even human-dwarf and definitely not dwarf-dragonborn. I do not perceive this dumbness of which you speak.

I agree with you completely. Just because elves and humans can mate true, there is no reason to think any other race can. Human-elf pairings have been in fantasy for a long time, so they aren't going anywhere; they are too far ingrained in way too many stories (though, the could have just said half-elves show traits of one race over the other, so pick which one your character displayes).

As I understand it, Tieflings were once human as well in the distant past but were tainted in some way, corrupted by devils I think? Could be that teiflings can have children with humans (and elves and possibly other races as well), but that any child born from such a union careies the same blood-taint, and is therefore always a tiefling.

The curious part question is, why would elves breed true with humans but not with eladrins, with whom they share a common ancestry? Perhaps Eladrin blood is equally as strong as the teifling's - the children of elves (and humans perhaps) that breed with eladrin have too much of a fey nature within them to exhibit anything but eladrin traits. The nature of the feywild wins out over all else.

Maybe several races would breed true with each other, but only the human-elf pairing makes for a seperate and distictively difference race.

 

[Reaper Steve]

Technique only: when asking a question, especially a completely unfounded one out of the blue, do not title the thread as a statement of fact.

 

[Insight]

I agree with you completely. Just because elves and humans can mate true, there is no reason to think any other race can. Human-elf pairings have been in fantasy for a long time, so they aren't going anywhere; they are too far ingrained in way too many stories (though, the could have just said half-elves show traits of one race over the other, so pick which one your character displayes).

As I understand it, Tieflings were once human as well in the distant past but were tainted in some way, corrupted by devils I think? Could be that teiflings can have children with humans (and elves and possibly other races as well), but that any child born from such a union careies the same blood-taint, and is therefore always a tiefling.

The curious part question is, why would elves breed true with humans but not with eladrins, with whom they share a common ancestry? Perhaps Eladrin blood is equally as strong as the teifling's - the children of elves (and humans perhaps) that breed with eladrin have too much of a fey nature within them to exhibit anything but eladrin traits. The nature of the feywild wins out over all else.

Maybe several races would breed true with each other, but only the human-elf pairing makes for a seperate and distictively difference race.

The problem with allowing elves (and no one else) to breed with humans is that you have to start thinking about WHY elves can mate with humans but no one else can. It just doesn't make sense on face value. Especially if you don't allow eladrin and drow. Why are they biologically different? Are they different enough not to allow breeding?

It just seems odd to me that elves (and only elves) are biologically compatible with humans, especially with a lack of evidence to that effect.

 

[Doug McCrae]

Technique only: when asking a question, especially a completely unfounded one of the the blue, do not title the thread as a statement of fact.

Agreed. The thread topic should be changed as it's currently sucking knowledge out of the 4e forum.

Which isn't exactly blessed in that department at the best of times.

On the issue of half-races, yeah they should probably be removed altogether. But we all know if they do, half-elves will be in PHB2 and half-myconids in PHB8.

 

[Insight]

Agreed. The thread topic should be changed as it's currently sucking knowledge out of the 4e forum.

Which isn't exactly blessed in that department at the best of times.

On the issue of half-races, yeah they should probably be removed altogether. But we all know if they do, half-elves will be in PHB2 and half-myconids in PHB8.

LOL fair enough. I'm in the "remove them altogether" camp. Possibly in the "make them so rare that the DM has to make them custom for a given player" camp.

 

[med stud]

The problem with allowing elves (and no one else) to breed with humans is that you have to start thinking about WHY elves can mate with humans but no one else can. It just doesn't make sense on face value. Especially if you don't allow eladrin and drow. Why are they biologically different? Are they different enough not to allow breeding?

It just seems odd to me that elves (and only elves) are biologically compatible with humans, especially with a lack of evidence to that effect.

What level of biological details are you interested in? How deep do you want to go to explain why elves can crossbreed with humans while dwarves can't? I can't see why this is a problem. It's like asking why a lion and a tiger can crossbreed while a lion and a leopard can't.

Also, evidence? Elves are made up. The evidence is what you want it to be.

 

[Insight]

What level of biological details are you interested in? How deep do you want to go to explain why elves can crossbreed with humans while dwarves can't? I can't see why this is a problem. It's like asking why a lion and a tiger can crossbreed while a lion and a leopard can't.

Also, evidence? Elves are made up. The evidence is what you want it to be.

It doesn't make sense that elves (and only elves) can breed with humans when eladrin and drow could not. You can handwave it as "magic" if you want, but it doesn't pass the smell test for me. It sounds more like bowing to an ages old fantasy trope than trying to come to a logical conclusion as to how it would work.

 

[med stud]

It doesn't make sense that elves (and only elves) can breed with humans when eladrin and drow could not. You can handwave it as "magic" if you want, but it doesn't pass the smell test for me. It sounds more like bowing to an ages old fantasy trope than trying to come to a logical conclusion as to how it would work.

I still don't see why that would be a problem. In the split between eladrin, drow and elves, the elves got genes compatible with the genes of human beings while eladrin and drow didn't. There you have a pseudo-scientific explanation. For a magic explanation you can say that when elves and drow where separated from the Feywild they evolved in two directions to conform to the world. In doing that, the elves became able to crossbreed while the drow didn't. Eladrin where still creatures of the Feywild and were never able to crossbreed with humans.

 

[DandD]

This doesn't matter, anyway, because there are tons of half-whatever-monstrosities walking around. Half-Elves, Half-Orcs, Half-Dragons, Half-Insects, and such.
And they're not only limited to human-nonhuman-hybrids, but can also incorporate two non-human things to mate and give birth to whatever vile monstrosity springs out of the mind of the developers.