ABILITY SCORE MODIFIERS:
RACIAL LIMITATIONS:
    STRENGTH: 3/18
    INTELLIGENCE: 4/18
    WISDOM: 3/18
    DEXTERITY: 6/18
    CONSTITUTION: 6/18
    CHARISMA: 3/18
RACIAL PREFERENCES:
STARTING AGE: Cleric (40+2d4), Fighter (22+3d4), Magic-User (30+2d8), Thief (22+3d8)
AGE CATEGORIES: Young adult (24-40), Mature (41-100), Middle aged (101-175), Old (176-250), Venerable (251-325)
RACIAL TENDENCIES:
HEIGHT:
WEIGHT:
NPC ABILITY SCORE MODIFIERS:

Half-elves do not form a race unto themselves, but rather they can be
found amongst both elvenkind and men. For details of the typical half-elf
see AD&D, MM under the
heading Elf. <(Half-elf)>

Permitted Class Options: A character of half-elven race can play as a cleric (maximum of 5th level),
druid, fighter (max. of 8th level), ranger (max. of 8th level),
magic-user (max. of 8th level), thief, or assassin (max. of 11th
level).

TABLE II.D.: HALF-ELVES

Ability Score	Cleric	Druid	Fighter	Ranger	M-U	Thief (All)	Assassin
15	5	U	6	6	7	U	11
16	6	U	6	6	7	U	11
17	7	U	7	7	7	U	11
18	8	U	7	8	8	U	11
18/90	-	-	8	91	-	-	11
18/99	-	-	9	101	-	-	11
18/00	-	-	10	112	-	-	11
19	10	U	11	153	8	U	11
20	12	U	13	153	8	U	11

1: Intelligence 18, wisdom 18, and constitution 18 also required.
2: Intelligence 18, wisdom 18, and constitution 18 also required.
If both wisdom and constitution are greater than 18, the character can attain 12th level.
If both are greater than 19, the character can attain 14th level.
3: Intelligence 19, wisdom 19, and constitution 19 also required.

Multi-class Restrictions: A character of half-elven race can also opt to become a multiclassed
individual, i.e. cleric/fighter, cleric/ranger, cleric/magic-user,
fighter/magic-user, fighte/thief, magic-user/thief, cleric/fighter/magicuser,
or a fighter/magic-user/thief. Half-elven characters who choose the
cleric as one of their multi-classes aren't limited by that class' proscriptions
upon weapons usable, but they are quite restricted in level. Half-elven
characters who choose the thief class as one of their multi-roles are limited
to the weaponry and armor of that class when operating as a thief. All
earned experience is always divided evenly between the classes of the
multi-classed character, even though the character is no longer able to
gain levels in one or more of the classes. (See CHARACTER CLASSES, and
consult the various classes for more detailed information pertaining to
half-elven characters operating within the stated classes.)

Resistances: Half-elven characters have a 30% resistance to sleep and charm spells (if
the spells are cast upon them, a percentile dice roll of 31% or better is
required to allow the magic any chance of having an effect, and even then
the saving throw against spells is allowed versus the charm spell).

Languages: All half-elven characters are able to speak the "common tongue" of men,
their alignment language (q.v.), and the following: elvish, gnome,
halfling, goblin, hobgoblin, orcish, and gnoll. Half-elven characters of
above 16 intelligence are able to learn one additional language for every
point of intelligence above 16, so that a 17 intelligence indicates the
character can learn one additional language, and an 18 intelligence
indicates two languages can be learned in addition to those listed above.

* Infravision: Half-elves have the ability to see into the infra-red spectrum, so they are
able to see up to 60' in darkness, noting varying degrees of heat radiation.

* Secret Doors: Secret or concealed doors are difficult to hide from half-elves, just as they
are noticeable by elves. Merely passing within 10' of a concealed door
gives the half-elven character a 1 in 6 chance (16 2/3%) chance of spotting
it. If the character is actively seeking to discover such doors, he or she has
a 2 in 6 chance (33 1/3%) of spotting a secret door and a 3 in 6 chance
(50%) of locating a concealed door.

The Half-Elven Point of View
by Roger E. Moore

 

Dragon

-

Races

-

Dragon 60

Half-elves, the children of human-elf unions, are not in them
selves a true race. Such individuals are found throughout hu
man and elven societies, though not in any great numbers.
In appearance half-elves, male and female, tend to stand
apart from their contemporaries of either race. They are larger
han elves and smaller than humans, with the coordination and
mental sharpness of the former and the physical might and
oughness of the latter. Their facial features (ears in particular)
end to carry a strong elvish influence, though hair color, skin
color and texture, and eye color are largely derived from the
human parent.

Belanna Telmister (Shayanna)

Despite these differences, most half
elves see themselves as gifted and not
“strange.” They are proud of their heri
age and their abilities, and are widely
accepted in most societies. If there were
ever people who could make a claim to
having the best of two worlds, half-elves
would be the ones.

Even the inner nature of the half-elves
shows a confluence of human and elven
elements. A strong love of natural beauty
and the outdoors is usually picked up
from the elven parent, along with a strong
hint of chaotic variability. Whereas elves
are by comparison rather clannish and
avoid contact with non-elven races, half
elves are very outgoing and make friends
easily, perhaps a result of mixing the af
finity elves feel for all living creatures
with the adaptability of humans.
Half-elves appear very versatile, and
manage to fit into a fairly wide range of
social environments. They have a wider
range of possible character classes and
class combinations than any other race
or being. Because they possess souls,
half-elves may become normal clerics and druids; although the
former class offers a rather limited career, as druids half-elves
may achieve great power and influence. It would appear that
half-elves have not as much capability for (or love of) magic as
either humans or elves have, but they may reach reasonable
evels of skill nonetheless. Their druid-like abilities also help
make half-elves good at operating in the ranger and bard
classes.

The most profitable career that some half-elves may turn to
s, of course, thieving, in which they are marginally better over
all than even humans. Half-elves seem to be exceptionally good
at picking pockets; some believe this is because they present
such a friendly appearance that people don’t mind having them
near, and some say it is a function of their exceptional curiosity.
Evil half-elves make very good assassins, being able to pass
through elven or human society and disguise themselves as
members of either race. Only humans and half-orcs have
enough taste for such a career so as to do better at assassinstyle killing than half-elves.

Though long-lived, half-elves are not extraordinarily so.
They tend to share the faster-paced human view of time than
the all-the-time-in-the-world elven view. Still, with an average
lifespan of 250 years, they tend to feel that they need not rush to
do most things. They do seem to try to keep fairly active, and
many half-elves are drawn to a vagabond, adventuring sort of
life. Perhaps many of them feel some degree of separateness
from the lives of humans and elves, not completely at home in
either case even if otherwise welcome.
Individually, half-elves are quite varied
in personality. Some have more elven
traits than human and others vice versa.
A few manage to achieve a reasonable
balance between the two ways of seeing
things, mixing a deep respect for nature
and life with the generally human desire
to build and alter the environment, and
interact with other peoples on a more
frequent basis.

In religious matters, half-elves may
adopt either human or elven deities;
there doesn’t seem to be any particular
preference in either direction, though
the society in which the half-elf was
raised is usually the determining factor.
Most people think of half-elves only in
terms of those who are the first-generation descendants of humans and elves;
yet, such half-elves are fertile, and may
have children by other humans, elves, or
half-elves. Second-generation and further descendants will possess more of
the characteristics of whichever bloodline is predominant. It is not unusual for
otherwise normal humans on rare occasion to have infravision out to a range of several tens of feet, or
pointed ears, or a light build, to remind them of an elven ancestor; in a similar manner, there are elves who may be stronger
than normal, or have reduced resistance to sleep and charm
spells, or a broader build, passed on by a human ancestor. It
might have been more appropriate in the AD&D™ rules for
half-elves to have had such variable qualities, to better reflect
the unpredictability of genetics and heredity.

It is interesting to note that humans are apparently not the
only beings that elves can intermix with. Tallfellow halflings
bear distinct resemblances to their elven neighbors, for good
reason. Since halflings are closely related to humans in many
respects, this is not surprising. Half-elves of other racial mixtures are virtually unknown. Elves and orcs cannot interbreed,
which is interesting since both races can breed with humanity.

The Half-Elven Peoples

AT A GLANCE:
Half-elves are a mixture of man and elf, and occupy the middle ground between the two.
They are stockier than elves and lack the pointed ears, though they still have slender and finely chiseled facial features of the elven faces.
It is possible for a Half-elf to "pass" as a man or elf for brief periods, but usu. such duplicity is discovered.

ELMINSTER'S NOTES:
Half-elves are not a true race, but rather the product of the union of man and elf, and as such have no national or racial heritage other than that of the area they have been brought up in.
A Half-elf that had been raised in the Elven Court thinks like an elf; one from Aglarond thinks as a man, for the elven people have been long bred into the general population.

Half-elves appear as men, tending to be slenderer than most but not matching the thinness of the elves themselves.
Half-elves tend to take on some of the features of their Elvish sub-race:

    * Moon Half-elves tend to be pale with just a touch of blue around the ears and at the chin.
    * Gold Half-elves tend to be bronzed of skin.
    * Wild Half-elves are very rare and tend to have bronzed skin touched with green.
    * Sea Half-elves tend to be a blend of the fleshtones of human and elven parent.
        A child of a Lantan merchant and a Great Sea Elf will appear a like green.
    * Drow Half-elves are very rare and tend to be dusky-colored with white hair.

Half-elves may mate and breed, but will always produce the offspring of the other parent (a Half-elf/elf pairing will produce elven children, while a Half-elf/human pairing will result in human children).
Second generation Half-elves only result if two Half-elves marry (as is the case in Aglarond).

GAME INFORMATION:
Half-elf PCs have the limitations and advantages set down for Half-elves in the PH and DMG, regardless of the sub-race of the elven parent.
A drow Half-elf, in other words, would not gain all of the drowish abilities, and would be considered N'Tel'Quess by his people as well.

Here we go again
Dear Editor,
Page 11 of Unearthed Arcana says that ?no
instances are known of half-elves descended from
grugach stock.? However, in the article Arcana
update in issue #103, it says on page 12 that ?A
half-elf of wild descent cannot become a cleric, a
ranger, or a magic-user.?

Based on this evidence, either (a) The rule on
half-elves of wild descent from Unearthed Arcana
is removed; (b) An error was made in issue #103;
or (c) Wild elves can toss humans a long way.
Which is it?
    Nicholas Leahy
    Boise, Idaho
    (Dragon #105)
 

Thanks, Nicholas. I love multiple-choice tests,
and I love making corrections to an article about
corrections. . . . The answer, of course, is (b). I
used the offending sentence in issue #103 as an
example to illustrate how certain classes were
prohibited to certain half-elves, and I didn't stop
to think that no half-elves can be "of wild elf
descent" in the first place.

Technically, the statement is accurate — there
is no such thing as a half-grugach cleric, or
ranger, or magic-user. What it doesn't say is that
there is also no such thing as a half-grugach
fighter, or thief, or illusionist, or . . . . — KM