Interspecies

Love Knows No Bounds

"I care not if he is not of elven blood, nor if I live his life tenfold. I love him. All that matters is the time I spend with him here and now."

— Princess Faelwyn Kaelana to the King of Alandis

On Oryth there are many stigmas and an unfortunate amount of xenophobia among the different races. However, love is a mysterious entity that can infect the most unusual of couples. This often happens among adventuring parties or those involved in organizations where the two (or more) people are in frequent contact with each other.

Inherited Characteristics

Art By: Jacob Probelski

Physical

Physical characteristics differ from pairing to pairing, but some are fairly consistent among half-breeds, or “interspecies” as they are more commonly known. Skin-tone, height, and weight tend to be somewhere in between the two species, for instance, a human and halfling will often be much taller than a halfling, but much shorter than a human. This specific interspecies is often called a "quarterling" which tends to be used in a derogatory fashion.

Eye colors among interspecies often favor inheritance from the male side as the eyes are generally the first tool a person uses to attract a mate. This isn't always the case, however, as sometimes the females' genes shine through. Surprisingly, there is also an astonishing number of interspecies born with heterochromia.

Certain special characteristics, such as the ears of an elf, the tusks of an orc, or the beard-growing ability of the dwarves, are almost always a quality the offspring inherits to some degree.

Sensory

Many of the sensory abilities from the various species are often inherited from the males due to the societal evolution of the men, prehistorically, doing the hunting. Throughout the years, this has changed drastically among certain races, such as the orcs and many of the goblinoid races, making their blood run thick in the genetic forming of the child.

Magical

The magical prowess between the interspecies is almost always taken from the female as intelligence and wisdom are often strongest in females. Still, there are some pairings where this can be a toss-up, such as between two races that are especially magical like tieflings or gnomes. Even more peculiar is when magic is used for the crossbreeding process like when a transgendered, homosexual, sterile, or genetically incompatible person decides to bear a child using fertility magics.

Public Reception

The overall public reception of interspecies couplings and offspring is not a positive one. Couples are often gawked at or insulted and, in some cases, such as in the Tok Empire, are outright illegal. The punishment for being in an interspecies relationship is banishment from any town or society under Tok rule. Being an offspring in these areas isn't illegal, but there is still an alarming amount of hatred cast upon them nonetheless.

Some societies, however, are actively battling this prejudice and have taken the opposite stance as Tok. In the Kingdom of Hroff, for instance, it is actually illegal for anyone to act prejudicially against someone based on their race or sexual preference, including those they choose to partner with.

Art By: Handbook of Heroes

Conflicted Identity

Being interspecies brings its own challenges and difficulties. Growing up in a society that immediately notices you as "different" is an isolating experience where no matter what society you grow up in, you are seen as an outsider and "not the real thing". This is especially prominent among Half-Orcs due to the vast differences in both societies. Humans tend to see a half-orc as unclean, angry, or even outright monstrous where an orc can see a half-orc as small, weak, and impure. No matter the society they grow up in, they will face difficulties that typical people will never have to and could never completely understand.

Genetic Incompatibility

No matter how much love or time goes into a relationship between two (or more) people, some races simply can not create offspring in the typical sense. Whether because of a chemical difference in their genetic makeup or their mating process being far too dissimilar, they will never be able to bear a child. The Scholars of Oryth have compiled the following chart to compare two races to see if they are genetically capable of breeding with each other.

Chart By: White Wolf Publishing

Though not every combination has been scientifically or magically tested, fair speculation based on similar species listed can often determine if the two races can successfully mate. For example, a Dragonborn is the result of diluted Half-Dragon blood that began interbreeding and, over the years, became a "pure species". One can speculate that if the race is compatible with both a human and a dragon, that it can also mate with a Dragonborn to give birth to an interspecies child.

Magical Assistance

There are a few spells specifically designed to assist with fertility. These spells are common among Clerics who gain their power from a fertility deity such as Ehlonna or Myhriss. Though arcane methods exist such as Alter Self, there can be some unwanted side effects for the child-bearer and the child itself may be subjected to Wild Magic. One effective method of birthing a child through arcane means is through the Polymorph spell, however, this spell changes the genetic code of the shapeshifted person, meaning the resulting child will have the physical qualities of polymorphed shape, not the original genetic code of the person before the casting of the spell.

Conception & Pregnancy

Through the research of the Scholars of Oryth, they have discovered that certain species are much more fertile than others, affecting their chance of conception. Should they conceive of a child, there is also a variance of how long it takes for any given species to actually give birth to the child. Certain interspecies combinations can affect these numbers, but generally, the gestation period is aligned to the child bearer's species.

Chart By: White Wolf Publishing

Art By: S. Griffin

Sobriquets
Crossbreed, Halfies, Mongrels, Tainted, Impure, Mutts

Common Pairings
Human/Elf, Human/Orc, Gnome/Halfling

Lifespan

Tends Towards Mother's Species

Average Height

Averaged Between Parents

Average Weight

Averaged Between Parents