Half-Elf

Born of man and elf, half-elves are stuck halfway in-between the two races and never being accepted fully into either society. They stand somewhere in between the two races in height, and are typically on the broader side closer to humans than elves. Unfortunately for them, their mixed bloodline makes it difficult to stand with either race. Those raised amongst the elves grow with astounding speed, reaching maturity within two decades. The half-elf becomes an adult long before he or she has had time to learn the intricacies of elven art and culture, or even grammar. He or she leaves behind his or her childhood friends, becoming physically an adult but culturally still a child by elven standards. Typically, the half-elf will leave the elven home, which is longer familiar, and finds her way among humans. If, on the other hand, the half-elf is raised by humans, the half-elf finds himself or herself different from his or her peers: 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 some feel like outsiders all their lives.
The half-elves, once again, stand somewhere in between the adaptability of the humans and the unchanging nature of the elves they are descended from. They inherit portions of both of their parent races, and so a half-elf born of a dark elf may be far more inclined toward a path of magic, while one with a high elven parent may be inclined toward sword play. Those descended from the Cetandari may seek a life of adventure, driven only further by their elvish aloofness, while those descended from a Kuneiri parent may prefer a more sedentary lifestyle studying magic. Notably, half-elves have a far stronger attachment to life than their elvish parents, likely due to their human blood.
There are numerous types of half-elves, due to the combinations possible from the human and elvish subraces. The most common of the half-elves is by far the Cetandari interbreeding with high elves, creating extremely adventurous people skilled with both swordplay and magic. Despite the vast numbers of different types of half-elves within the world, they are typically welcoming of one another within their homes and communities, seeing each other as kindred souls and some of the only people they can relate to. In fact, their upbringing of being distant from almost all others often leads them to being very accepting of almost anyone with the only large exception being orcs, half-orcs, and goblinoids.
Half-elves, like their elvish parents, tend to be somewhat reserved when it comes to large bouts of emotions, but are still more forthright with them than their parents. This is especially true amongst those raised by humans rather than the elves. They take great care for their work and see it as something worthy of all their efforts, especially relating to things their raising parents did. A half-high elf may see the art of swordplay as their true calling in life, working at it until they have mastered it beyond any of their peers, while one raised among Kuneiri humans may see spellcraft as far more important, even seeking lichdom under Khemb-Setia to continue their studies.
Half-elves stand alongside halflings for those most willing to intermingle with other races, and the two races often accompany each other in this respect. The natural respect halflings have for elves often carries over somewhat to half-elves, and half-elves are typically more respectful to halflings than their full-blooded elvish parentage. As such, the bonds of half-elves and halflings are often exceedingly strong—but the wanderlust of the half-elves often brings them far from their halfling companions unless those halflings have hear The Call.
Half-elves as a whole are not numerous enough to build entire societies of their people—nor does the though appeal to most of them due to their love of other cultures, peoples, and societies. Regardless of this, large groups of half-elves have gathered before within cities ruled by other races, spending much of their time together rather than dispersing among the others. The bond they feel to each other is likely a result of their elvish bloodline’s close relations to each other through their ancestral spirits. While the half-elves cannot conduct communion as an elf can, they still feel an intrinsic closeness to one another.
Half-elves most commonly live among humans or in areas with a lot of different races existing in close proximity—though refuse to live alongside orcs. However, they can be found almost anywhere in the world, from the small coastal villages where the half-aquatic elves often work as fishermen and similar jobs, to the inland fields of Cetandar where they work as traveling warriors, sellswords, and similar jobs to even the scorching desert sands of the Kuneirmeru where the half-mirage elves work alongside both their human and elvish halves as intermediaries, or following the community of either race.
Another skill half-elves are famed for is that of an alchemist. Their human adaptability combined with their natural elvish sense for magic makes them excellent at brewing potions of all sorts and kinds. Half-elf mages often end up specializing as brewers of potions later in life as a way to keep an income.
They are nearly as varied as humans in their versatility, but their elvish spirit makes it hard for them to remain heavily dedicated to a single task for any large span of time. As such, many half-elves know numerous skills of all types, but are rarely as skilled with them as a craftsman of another race. However, above all other things, what many half-elves see as their true calling is that of the diplomat. The people, born of two races with insight into each, often work exceptionally well as an in-between member for different factions.
Unlike full-blooded elves, half-elves are capable of growing body and facial hair, and it can be difficult to tell one apart from their human kin if they hide their ears and do not exhibit extreme signs of elvish parentage, such as the starry eyes of certain moon elves or the deep black skin of the dark elves.
Half-elves find themselves naturally drawn not only to other half-elves but to members of both their parent races, and couples between any of the three are not exceptionally uncommon. However, with their short life spans compared to that of full-blooded elves, those relationships are the rarest and the elvish half of the relationship may not stay around long enough to truly develop deep feelings as they understand the loss they would suffer later should they allow themselves to stay. The extended lifespan of a half-elf compared to a human often means they will long outlive their human spouse, leading to extreme heartbreak later in their lives. While they understand this, many half-elves still commit themselves to such relationships, even lacking the ability to expel their souls from their bodies like their elvish parents.
Above many other races, half-elves are extremely pious, throwing themselves into religion and following the deities of humans, elves, and almost any other race in an attempt to find some place in the world they fit in. As such, half-elves often find work as a priest or some rare half-elves are able to take up the mantle of a paladin. Most often they find themselves drawn to the deities of their two parentages, but it is not uncommon for them to follow the gods of halflings, gnomes, or even dwarves.

This is a stub

This article will be expanded upon in the future

This is a

Good Article

Table of Contents

Game Statistics

5th Edition

Ability Score Adjustment. Your Charisma score increases by 2, and two other ability scores of your choice each increase by 1, but two other ability scores of your choice are reduced by 1.
Size. Your size is Medium
Speed. Your base land speed is 30 feet.
Low-Light Vision. You can see in dim light as though it were bright light.
Elvish Bloodline. You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can't put you to sleep.
Languages. You can spead, read, and write Common, Elvish, and one language of your choice.

4th Edition

Ability Scores. +2 Charisma, +2 to your choice of Dexterity or Constitution.
Size. Medium
Speed. 6 squares
Vision. Low-Light

Languages: Common, Elvish, Choice of one other
Skill Bonuses. +2 Diplomacy, +2 Insight
Dual Heritage. You can take geats that have either elf or human as prerequisites (as well as those specifically for half-elves), as long as you meet any other requirements.
Group Diplomacy. You grant allies within 10 feet of you a +1 Racial bonus to Diplomacy checks.
Half-Elf Power Selection. Select an option for your half-elf character:
Dillettante: At 1st level, you choose an at-will power from a class different from yours. You can use that power as an encounter power.
Knack for Success: You have the knack for success power.

3.5th Edition

Creature Type. Humanoid (Elf)
Size. Medium
Speed. Half-elves' base land speed is 30 feet.
Elvish Bloodline. Immunity to sleep spells and similar magical effects, and a +2 Racial bonus on saving throws against enchantment spells or effects. For all effects related to race, a half-elf is considered an elf.
Low-Light Vision. Half-Elves can see twice as far as normal in dim light. Low-light vision is color vision. A spellcaster with low-light vision can read a scroll as long as even the tiniest candle flame is next to him or her as a source of light. Characters with low-light vision can see outdoors on a moonlit night as well as they can during the day.
Racial Skills. Half-elves receive a +1 Racial bonus on Listen, Search, and Spot checks, and a +2 Racial bonus on Diplomacy and Gather Information checks.
Languages. Automatic Languages: Common and Elvish; Bonus Languages: Any (other than secret languages, such as Druidic).
Favored Class: Any. When determining whether a multiclass half-elf takes an experience point penalty, her highest-level class does not count.

2nd Edition

Due to their elvish bloodline, all half-elves are 30% resistant to sleep and charm-related spells.

Pathfinder 2e

See the attached subraces for game statistics. Such subraces can be taken by Human characters.

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Elf
• Human

Related Organizations

• Church of Heschius Ban

Related Ethnicities

• Aquatic Half-Elf
• Dark Half-Elf
• Deep Half-Elf
• High Half-Elf
• Mirage Half-Elf
• Wild Half-Elf