NAME
half-elf - the bastard race
DESCRIPTION
A half-elf is the offspring of a human father and an elven
mother, with some of the advantages and disadvantages of
both races. For example, half-elves do not have the ability
to see in total darkness like elves but they can see
perfectly well when it is merely dark. Half-elves are
stronger than elves but weaker than humans but recover mana
faster than humans but more slowly than elves. While not
immortal like elves half-elves can reach an age of several
hundred years. No reliable sources tell of an elf producing
offspring by a human woman, and half-elves are infertile.
HISTORY
Before the arrival of man elves lived like one cohesive
group of people where each person was a member of the elven
family. Everybody knew each other and conflicts were
extremely uncommon - in short: elves lived in near-total
harmony.
Half-elves are first attested in chronicles of the
aftermath following the war humans started on the elves,
seven years after their arrival in Forostar. It was said
that among the many ways to die at the hands of man,
receiving their seed was the cruellest. And yet death did
not always follow.
PRESENT DAY
In today's society half-elves are generally accepted by
other races, except for certain fanatics who openly curse
them for being hybrids. And most elves find it difficult to
fully accept the half-elves:
* Half-elves are a reminder of past shame and suffering.
* Humans are technically a demographical threat to the slow-
breeding elven race. If not careful they risk compromising
their pure bloodlines and the existance of the entire race.
* Elves reproduce slowly in complex social patterns. Female
elves who enter such relationships often end in death by
either suicide or even from sorrow. Elven development is so
slow that a single death affects the growth of the elven
race as a whole (aside from the general tragedy it brings).
A large proportion of the half-elves on the continent are
the product of an unapproved relationship, questionable
circumstances or even rape. Half-elves are reproductive
dead-ends for both races, and as such at the margins of
society.
Most modern humans consider the violence against the elves
as a negative aspect of history; but there are also humans
who consider half-elves a symbol of triumph and prosperity.
Bragging about their forefathers victories against elves is
not unheard of in pubs and taverns, just like having a
half-elven child is even considered a most valuable trophy
and evidence of power and strength.
PLAYING A HALF-ELF
Half-elves often move away into locations like sewers,
abandoned houses, desolate plains or nomadic tribes. It is
not rare that they end up in criminal contexts. Most adopt
a nomadic lifestyle, and it is surprising to discover a
half-elf that was not raised in secret, often inspiring a
fanatical loyalty toward their caretakers or their race.
Others seek to compensate for their mixed blood by being
ardently loyal to elven society, traditions and values.
Not seldomly do they become social climbers, and it is not
unusual for them to uphold orthodox views on their social
status. Equipped with a disarming frankness or
self-loathing that comes from being at the margins of
society, many openly give proof of the unfortunate
background of their own race.
Playing a half-elf sets you in the role of a character with
very likely a controversial background which provides a
rich, interesting, but also challenging, role-playing
experience.
SEE ALSO
dwarf, elf, human, halfling, tshahark, races
