Advanced Race Codex. Half-Elves.pdf - RoseRed

Half-Elves
Inheriting Racial
Ability Modifiers
As seen in Chapter Three: Elves, there are many
subraces of elves, from aquatic elves to the dreaded drow.
Unlike half-orcs, half-elves do not inherit the ability
modifiers of their elven ancestors, but at your option,
you can sacrifice other half-elf racial traits in exchange
for the ability modifiers of an elven parent. To do so,
the standard half-elf gives up his immunity to sleep
effects and his racial modifiers to saving throws and skill
checks. In exchange, the half-elf gains the full ability
bonuses and penalties of his elven parent, and also gains
the parent’s favored class. This applies to all elven races,
including drow.
For example, wood half-elves would have the following
racial traits.
• +2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, –2 Constitution, –2
Intelligence.
• Medium: As Medium creatures, wood half-elves have
no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Wood half-elf base land speed is 30 feet.
• Low-Light Vision: A wood half-elf can see twice as
far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and
similar conditions of poor illumination. He retains
the ability to distinguish color and detail under these
conditions.
• Elven Blood: For all effects related to race, a half-elf is
considered an elf.
• Automatic Languages: Common and Elven. Bonus
Languages: Any (other than secret languages, such as
Druidic).
• Favored Class: Ranger. When determining whether
a multiclass wood half-elf takes an experience point
penalty, his ranger class levels do not count.
Half-Drow and
Green Ronin's
Advanced Bestiary
The half-drow presented here is the result
of drow and human crossbreeding. To create
unusual half-drow creatures, such as halfdrow/half-elves,
half-drow/half-troglodyte,
or other half-drow combinations, use
the template presented in Green Ronin’s
Advanced Bestiary.
Half-Drow
With an impressive array of racial features, spell-like
abilities, and spell resistance, the drow are clearly superior
to their hated surface-dwelling kin (at least in all ways
except their flawed souls). Like all elves, though, dark elves
can breed with humans, spawning a half-elf child different
than either parent. These individuals are strange, tortured
creatures, never brought into the world through the bond
of love or mutual affection. Instead, they are accidents of
rape or the result of experimental crossbreeding intent on
“improving” the human line.
Personality
Half-drow run the gamut of personalities, but most are
wrathful creatures, cursing the mixed blood that runs
through their veins, and hating a world that hates them
because of it. A rare few revel in their birthright, using its
power to achieve their aims. Some unfortunates admire the
drow and try to emulate them in manner and dress, living
on the outskirts of drow cities and hoping to be accepted
by their full-blooded kin. For most, ridicule and murderous
violence is their only reward.
Physical Description
A half-drow generally has most of the features of the
nondrow parent race, but skin, hair, and eye color are all
dark-elven. All the creature’s hair is shocking white, and its
skin is the tell-tale jet black of a drow. Its eyes are bright
gems of ruby crimson, and its ears come to at least a subtle
point.
Relations
Half-drow have no established relations with other races.
Most of the time they spend brief lives alone in the
wilderness, but sometimes they come to dominate a group
of humanoids by force. Half-drow trust nothing and no
one but themselves, and few creatures will rely on them.
Humanoids led by a half-drow are often only waiting for
the right moment to rebel.
Alignment
Half-drow tend to be self-serving, caring little for ideals of
order or freedom. Good and evil are often viewed as foolish
concepts that limit options.
Half-Drow Lands
Half-drow have no lands of their own. Instead, they scratch
out an existence in the wild reaches of the underworld or on
the outskirts of one of their parents’ home cities.
Religion
Half-drow usually care little for the gods, but should one
hear a divine calling, she usually responds with fanatic
fervor, proud and grateful to find anyone willing to have her.