Half-Elf (Race)

Humans and elves sometimes come together, either through passion or love;  the elf typically attracted to the human’s energy and the human to the elf’s grace. These pairings usually end quickly but they sometimes leave an enduring legacy—half-elves.

The most prominent of the races of mixed heritage, half-elves can be found throughout Athas, but have no lands to call their own. They feel out of place in the sprawling human empire, and they do not belong in the secretive elven retreats. They are a generally handsome and even-tempered race that do not truly belong to the world of either heritage.

Most half-elves have the curiosity, inventiveness and ambition of their human parent, along with the refined senses, love of nature and artistic tastes of the elf parent.

Overview
Half-elves are descended from humans and some ethnicity of elf (the specific type has little bearing on the half-elf itself). Most half-elves are a bit distant, a bit aloof but also possess a strange sort of manic energy. Regardless of the culture they are raised in, they are often cast in the role of outsider or misfit.

Central to half-elf psychology is the drive to bring disparate characteristics together. Half-elves are natural unifiers and mediators. The desire for synthesis and unity is strong in a half-elf, whether he’s trying to broker an agreement with a bitter rival or attempting to reconcile his own conflicting natures.

The term “half-elf” is not entire accurate. It is not a genuine measure of heritage, but rather a statement that they have strong elven blood in their heritage (at least one elven grandparent). They have a shorter lifespan than elves, yet are longer-lived than humans. As such, they must make an effort to adjust their lives to the communities they adopt. They must choose to accentuate their similarities or their differences—there is rarely ever middle ground for them—for wherever they go, they face prejudice as half-breeds bastards, cultural betrayers or outright abominations.

No true half-elf realms exist in Athas, but half-elves are far more prevalent in some lands than others.

Physical Traits
Half-elves have a blend of human and elf features, influenced slightly by the ethnicities of their parents (mostly the human parent). To humans, half-elves look like elves. To elves, they look like humans—indeed, elves call them Peredhel, or half-human. They tend to be a little taller than elves and a little shorter than humans. They are more slender than humans and more heavily built than elves. In general, they often look like attractive or awkwardly-built humans with slightly pointed ears (though not as long or point as an elf’s ears).

They tend to have whatever skin tone the human parent had. Unlike elves, half-elves can grow facial hair. They tend to have awkward builds, with long arms and big feet, and eyes just a little too big for their faces. Hair color can be any color of the elven gamut, including green or silver (even if the elf parent did not have either hair color, as elven hair color is less dependent on genetics than it is on metaphysical factors) and their eyes are commonly an vivid green.

Outlook
While elves and half-elves are respected and admired in many parts of Athas, humans in lands where elves are not commonly encountered can be resentful of elven blood. Elves are graceful, attractive, long-lived, mysterious and skilled with mighty magic, and humans who do not know them well can easily to regard elves—and by extension, half-elves—with envy, superstition and fear. In places such as Hlondeth and Aldor, half-elves are nothing remarkable, and they face little or no bigotry. In lands where there is a long history of elven-human conflict—such as Spira and Nimbal—her elven blood marks her as different and dangerous, with all the fears and suspicions one might expect.

Many half-elves respond to these suspicions and slights of their human neighbors by staying well away from them, preferring solitary lives in the wildernesses of Athas. Others instead take up a life of traveling and adventure, never staying in one spot long enough for prejudice to distance them from the locals. The half-elven mentality is often a fragile and occasionally an erratic thing. Though half-elves are not immune to the ravages of time, they suffer them much more slowly than humans. When they live among humans, they watch their friends grow old and wither, and mist accustom themselves to the rapid change of the world around them even as they remain largely the same. Because of this, they either grow nostalgic as they age or they learn to become even more adaptable and flexible about the communities in which they live, sometimes losing their sense of identity. It is a rare half-elf who learns to integrate the disparate elements of the human community with the elven half of their mind.

A Foot in Two Worlds
The life of a half-elf can be hard. If raised by elves, the half-elf seems to grow with astounding speed, becoming an adult long before they’re able to learn the intricacies of elven culture, or even grammar. She leaves behind her childhood friends, becoming an adult but still a child by elven standards. Tpyically, they leave their elven home, which is no long familiar, and finds their way among humans. On the hand, if they were raised by humans, the half-elf finds herself different from her peers in a different way: more aloof, more sensitive, less ambitious and slower to mature. Some half-elves try to fit in among humans, while others find their identities in their difference. Most find places for themselves in human lands, but most feel like outsiders all their lives.

Once a half-elf survives his lengthy childhood and adolescence, he emerges much more serene and poised than those of many other races—at least on the surface. Half-elves move with a fluid grace and have an intuitive knack for seeing the beauty in the everyday world. Like elves, half-elves tend to be patient and take a long-term view of the future. They are relatively unruffled by minor setbacks, realizing that such things mean little in the long run. Half-elves show more of an interest in song, poetry and art than most humans.

But in a half-elf’s heart and mind, it’s a different story. Human ambition and adaptability is in a constant tug-of-war with the elf’s patience and reverence for tradition. A half-elf truly reaches adulthood when he comes to some sort of accommodation with both halves of his nature. And when that happens, the half-elf starts looking for other things to mend, synthesize and unite.

The Foreigner Mentality
To a human observer, the typical half-elf retains the aloofness elves are known for. As a result, many humans consider half-elves to be almost as haughty as elves. Some half-elves who live among humans try to refute this attitude by taking pains to demonstrate how laid back and approachable they are. Those half-elves who succeed in making humans comfortable in their presence find that their affable eloquence helps them make their way in society.

Half-elves have a hard time convincing elves to treat them with respect. Most elves regard half-elves as stocky, clumsy and lacking in nuance and subtlety that elves prize. Unless he is unusually bright and observant, a half-elf always seems a little slower than usual among elves and may be treated as slightly inferior. If tensions are high between elves and humans, half-elves are treated even worse, sometimes seen as tainted or cursed. Among both humans and elves, the half-elf adopts the persona of the courteous foreigner. He speaks your language and wants to respectfully partake in your customs. He’s knowledgeable and fascinating, but you’re unlikely to forget he’s not from around here. This mentality means that half-elves are rarely shocked when they encounter a new and unusual culture. Those who embrace civilization become true cosmopolitans, sampling everything life has to offer. Their human blood gives them a zest for life, while their elf side lets them appreciate it all the more.

Adventurers
When half-elves choose an adventuring lifestyle, they tend to be better adjusted and more sure of themselves; they belong to no culture, not really, and thus they have a natural proclivity to travel and little desire to try to settle down. They meet a wide range of people, often developing large networks of contacts through their natural charm.

They are excellent companions on the road and are among the first to stand in the face of danger. Because many experiment with a wide variety of roles over their lives, they draw on a wider range of experiences that allow them to shine in nearly any situation. Their fierce devotion to their friends makes them among the most reliable companions in an adventurers’ dangerous lives.

The Half-Elf Life
Faced with trying to reconcile their presence in two societies that don’t quite mesh, half-elves sometimes adopt more than a foreigner’s mentality. They adopt a foreigner’s lifestyle, wandering between places where they can hide their heritage in anonymity or where an individual’s heritage doesn’t matter as much as it does in other locales—such among adventurers or mercenaries.

Half-elves generally adopt a middle position between the energetic lifestyle of humans and the languid way of life of the elves. Doing this is another way the half-elf reconciles his dual nature, but this compromising posture also sets them apart from the lifestyle and the outlook of either of his parents.

Leisure
Thanks to their long lifespans (compared to humans, anyway), half-elves have freedom to experiment with countless forms of amusement over the years. Most turn to the arts to find comfort, and in so doing become collectors or creators of fine works.

Like elves, half-elves tend have a hard time specializing into any single trade or occupation. They also share an elves’ willingness to devote years to a topic just to see if they are suited for it. A human might blanch at the prospect of spending five years training to be a painter, then deciding against it and putting down the paintbrush forever. But half-elves have more time and thus are inclined to spend more time pursuing and experimenting with such diversions.

They enjoy many of the same entertainment forms humans do. They like carousing and gambling, but they find the pleasures of such diversions all too fleeting. Half-elves also get a great deal of pleasure from the same leisure that elves enjoy, as long as they can muster the patience for the leisurely pace and esoteric manner that elves bring to their playing of games and their performances of songs. Those raised by elves are particularly fond of elven amusements, and they long for the elegance and beauty of elven leisure activities once they’ve been confronted with the harsh ugliness that occurs outside of their home realm.

Half-elves do not shy away from the blood sports in which humans participate; indeed, some half-elves find they have no other recourse when making a living than fighting for sport and coin. Gladitorial combat in particular finds more than a few half-elves among their number. They have a disdain for cockfighting or dog fighting however.

Arts and Crafts
Half-elves have an inherent propensity for creating beautiful works of art. They have their elf blood to thank for granting them a keen eye for seeing the majesty and subtlety of the natural world and the refinement and appreciation of it, while their human side gives them the energy to create with amazing speed and devotion.

Half-elf artisans show just as much pride and skill in their work as any other talented artist. Thanks to the race’s long-term perspective, items produced by half-elves are built to last the ages, but they also produce with aesthetics in mind. A half-elf’s patience may frustrate a human customer who needs a particular item in a hurry. On the other hand, elves may not appreciate half-elf craftsmanship, seeing it as rushed to completion. Art forms for which creation time isn’t an issue, such as improvised music, get high marks from elves.

Like elves, half-elves prefer working with natural mediums—wood, bark and softer items, such as cloth and paper. Half-elf craftsmen are not known for working with metals, although some of those who were trained as blacksmiths among humans can produce elegant works that incorporate fluid, natural forms.

Half-elves have a strong connection to music, much like elves; they find music calls to their souls and connects with them in a way neither humans nor elves could ever truly understand.

Magic
Because of the elf blood flowing through their veins, half-elves have a natural connection to magic. Many who pursue wizardry find that they are natural prodigies. However, the human side of them tends to eschew or fear magic, despite how natural it feels to them. For those half-elves who pursue wizardry, very few tend to specialize, preferring versatility and adaptability to sheer power. Sorcerers are surprisingly common in half-elf populations; there is a higher ratio of half-elf sorcerers per capita than there are among other races.

Half-Elves at War
In general, half-elves see battle as a necessary evil that should be confronted promptly in order to get it over with. A half-elf at war strives to combine human efficiency with elven grace. The result, embodied in a half-elf who is properly trained and equipped, is a combatant with an austere fighting style that wastes no movement and dispassionately dispatches foe after foe.

Half-elves receive martial training as appropriate for their home society. Elves are trained from an early age (relatively speaking) in how to handle a spear, blade and bow; most half-elves raised among the elves receive this same training. The techniques of the elves emphasize quick, daring moves, rapid swordplay, and hit-and-run tactics that take advantage of their keen senses, quickness, and reaction time. While half-elves are not as dexterous as full-blooded elves, they do their best to emulate those tactics. Half-elves that are part of an elf army are generally relegated to the front ranks, where their hardier nature and greater bulk (compared to elves) allows them to stay in the fight longer, while their more nimble kin pepper goes with arrows and strike from the flanks. Half-elves may resent this treatment, seeing themselves thought of as tainted half-breeds that are pressed into service in the most dangerous area of the battlefield.

If raised among humans, a half-elf learns the tactics of warfare common in that society. It should be noted, however, that even in a society that emphasizes brute force and blunt attacks, a half-elf still retains the gracefulness derived from his elf blood. If half-elves are common in a human dominated army, they find their niche in roles that use quick strikes and stealth—scouts, skirmishers and snipers.

Because they wander so much and associate with so many other races, half-elf mercenaries are a common sight among cultures across the continent. Half-elf mercenaries drift from region to region on the tides of war. More than a few half-elves have fought alongside gnomes, halflings and even more exotic allies. Dwarves are the least likely to employ half-elves, but some dwarf clans can appreciate their value as scouts and snipers when the situation calls for it.

Religion
Half-elves generally follow the religion of their home society; their religious tendencies are as varied as humans.

Clerics and Paladins
There are many half-elf clerics and paladins to be found among the Faith of the Pantheon; almost as many as there are humans. While this may seem strange at first glance, it’s actually quite easily explained—many half-elves are abandoned as children. While some find their to orphanages or worse, they grow up on the streets—many more half-elf babies are taken in by a local sept and raised in the Faith.

A half-elf, desperate to reconcile their dual natures, often turn to religion as a way to find a place to belong. This, in turn, spurs on intense devotion and faith from the half-elf that, eventually, manifests as divine magic.

Ethnicities
Given the wide variety of human and elf ethnicities, narrowing down a half-elves’ ethnicity can  be a tricky prospect. However, as far as half-elves go, they come in two main, general ethnic groups:
 * The Sunborn: The child of a human and an elf; as described above, that was raised in a human (or at least a non-elf) community.
 * Greenborn: The child of a human and an elf; as described above, that was raised in an elven community.
 * Spiderborn: The child of a human and drow. They tend to inherit a lot of the wicked and vile tendencies of the drow parent, with fewer of the drow’s weaknesses: a spiderborn half-elf can walk in the sun, for example. The half-drow are considerably rarer, and are almost never encountered outside of Azan, the Hold of Melkor, or Orre.

New Game Stats
Sunborn Greenborn Spiderborn
 * +2 to any one ability score.
 * Low-Light Vision
 * Elven Immunities: Immune to Sleep spells and similar magical effects, and a +2 bonus on saves vs. enchantment spells or effects.
 * Elven Blood: A half-elf count as both elves and humans for any effect related to race.
 * Keen Senses: +2 Perception
 * Adaptability: Receive skill focus as a bonus feat at 1st level.
 * +2 to any one ability score.
 * Low-Light Vision
 * Elven Immunities: Immune to Sleep spells and similar magical effects, and a +2 bonus on saves vs. enchantment spells or effects.
 * Elven Blood: A half-elf count as both elves and humans for any effect related to race.
 * Keen Senses: +2 Perception
 * Weapon Familiarity: The half-elf is proficient with shortbows, longbows, longswords, shortswords and rapiers. Additionally, he treats any weapon with the word "elf" in its name as a martial weapon. This ability replaces Elven Magic.
 * Elven Magic: Some elves raised among the elves train in the use of magic, allowing it grow within their spirit. You gain a +2 racial bonus to caster level checks made to overcome spell resistance, in addition to a +2 bonus on Spellcraft checks.
 * +2 to any one ability score.
 * Darkvision - 60 ft.
 * Drow Immunities: Immune to Sleep spells and similar magical effects, and a +2 bonus on saves vs. enchantment spells or effects.
 * Drow Blood: A half-drow counts as both elves and humans for any effect related to race.
 * Keen Senses: +2 Perception
 * Drow Trained: The half-drow is proficient with the hand-crossbow, rapier, whip and shortsword. They also treat any weapon with the word "drow" in its name as a martial weapon. This ability replaces Drow Magic.
 * Drow Magic: A half-drow may inherit and exhibit the magic of that race. Once per day, they can cast Dancing Lights, Darkness and Faerie Fire. They must have a Wisdom score of at least 11 in order to cast these spells and the DC is equal to 10 + WIS modifier. This ability replaces Drow Trained.