The Half elf race combines what some say are the best traits of their elf and human parents: human curiosity, inventiveness, and ambition tempered by the refined senses, love of nature, and artistic tastes of the elves. To humans, it looks like elves, to elves they look human. They walk in two worlds but truly belong to neither. Some half-elves coexist with humans, but their emotional and physical makeup sets them apart. They observe friends and loved ones deteriorate while time barely registers for them. While their peers continue to live as children, others live among the elves, becoming restless as they grow older in the timeless elven realms. Many half-elves opt for lives of solitary wandering or team up with other misfits and outcasts to live adventurous life because they are unable to fit into either society.
In the waning light, Flint squinted. He believed he saw a man’s silhouette advancing along the path. Flint stepped forward into the tall pine’s shadow while standing to improve his vision. While the man’s body had the thickness and tight muscles of a human and his facial hair was unmistakably humankind’s, his walk was marked by an easy grace—Flint would have called it an elvish grace. Tan skin and a brownish-red beard were all that the dwarf could make out of the man’s face, which was hidden by a green hood. At his left side, a sword hung and a longbow was slung over one shoulder. He wore soft leather clothing that was painstakingly tooled with the kind of intricate patterns that the elves adore. The world of Krynn had no elves who were able to grow beards, though.
As the man drew near, Flint asked, “Tanis?” hesitantly.
The same. A broad grin broke out on the newcomer’s beard. Prior to the dwarf intervening, he held out his arms and lifted Flint off the ground in a bear hug. For a split second, the dwarf held his old friend close, but when he realized he should maintain his dignity, he jerked away from the half-elf and released himself.
Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, “Dragons of Autumn Twilight,”
Two Worlds:
Half-elves have a human appearance to humans and an elf appearance to elves. Despite not being as slender as elves or as broad as humans, they are equal in height to both parents. Men are just a little bit taller and heavier than women, with a height range of under 5 feet to about 6 feet and weights of 100 to 180 pounds. Men who identify as half-elves often grow beards and have facial hair to hide their elf heritage. Half-elves have features and coloration in between those of their human and elf parents, exhibiting a greater range of variation than either race would typically exhibit. Their parents’ elven eyes are typically what they have.
Half elf Race as Foreigners or Diplomats:
Although they are welcomed in human cities but less so in elven forests, half-elves do not have their own lands. Half-elves can occasionally be found in sufficient numbers in major cities in areas where elves and humans frequently interact to establish their own small communities. The only individuals who truly comprehend what it’s like to live between these two worlds are other half-elves, with whom they enjoy socializing.
But in the majority of the world, half-elves are so rare that it is possible to go years without running into another. Some half-elves choose to live alone, working as hunters, foresters, trappers, or adventurers in the wild. They rarely travel to civilization. They share the wanderlust of elves in that they are motivated by their long lives. Others, on the other hand, plunge headfirst into society, making great use of their charm and people skills in swindler or diplomatic roles.
Half elf Race Names:
Half-elves use elven or human naming conventions. When raised among humans, half-elves are frequently given elven names. Those raised among elves are frequently given human names, implying that they do not belong in either society.
GREAT AMBASSADORS:
Many half-elves learn how to get along with everyone from a young age, fending off hostility and discovering common ground. They are a race with human energy without being boorish, elven energy without being aloof, and elven grace. They frequently function well as mediators and representatives (except between elves and humans, since each side suspects the half-elf of favoring the other).
Half-Elf Variants:
In Faerûn, some half-elves have a racial characteristic in place of the Skill Versatility characteristic. Your half-elf character can choose to forgo Skill Versatility and instead take the elf trait Keen Senses or a trait based on your elf parentage if your DM permits it:
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Aspects of Half-elf:
Some of the traits that your half-elf character shares with elves and some that are specific to half-elves.
Ability Score Increase:
You gain two points in charisma, and two other ability scores of your choosing gain one point each.
Age:
Half-elves reach adulthood at around age 20, maturing at the same rate as humans. They frequently live longer than 180 years, which is a lot longer than humans.
Size:
Half-elves are between 5 and 6 feet tall, making them roughly the same size as humans. You are a medium size.
Speed:
You move at a 30-foot-per-second base pace.
Darkvision:
You have superior vision in low light thanks to your elf blood. Within 60 feet of you, you can see in low light as if it were bright, and in complete darkness as if it were low light. You can see Grayscale shades in the dark.
Family of Fey:
You are immune to being put to sleep by magic, and you have an advantage on saving throws against charm.
Versatility in skills:
You improve your proficiency in two of your chosen skills.
Half-elf Languages:
You have the ability to communicate in Common, Elvish, and one additional language of your choice.
Magic and Religion:
Half-elves frequently practiced both human and elf magical customs, for which they were equally well-suited. Half-elves, however, had no true magical traditions of their own, despite the fact that many of them in Aglarond chose to specialize in the schools of evocation and transmutation, much like the Simbul, the country’s founder.
Many half-elves worshiped the Seldarine in a manner similar to that of their elven parents, while others preferred human deities like Sune, whom they may have viewed as the source of their birth due to his gifts.
Half-elves have been showing increasing signs of devotion to Khalreshaar. They believe to be the daughter of Silvanus and Hanali Celanil and the first truly half-elf deity. Chauntea, Selûne, or Valkur were other human deities to which half-elves frequently felt drawn. In spite of her association with the drow, many half-elves living in Aglarond adopted the worship of Eilistraee prior to the goddess’ passing; this was a practice particularly popular among half-elf bards.