How common are interspecies romances in Golarion?


Lost Omens Campaign Setting General Discussion


It stands to reason that many of the humanoid races can be attracted to each other. After all, how much difference is there really between a short Human male with a big beard and a Dwarf? But how commonly do such attractions lead to relationships? I imagine not being able to procreate does put a bit of a damper on things for some people, but not all.

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The Pathfinder RPG rules—and by extension, much of the setting—are filled with instances of cross-species romance. In many cases these are at least implied, as half-orcs, half-elves, the "genie-kin," half-fiends, half-celestials, half-dragons, and a modest number of sorcerous bloodlines likely trace their origins back to cross-species procreation. In the case of some bloodlines and half-outsiders, it's worth noting that magical experimentation, potent rituals, and the like can introduce equivalent influences (e.g. demon cultists can become fiendish or even half-fiends through sufficiently terrible rites). As for non-procreating couples, there are several examples of cross-species affection in the setting, such as the halflings of Kaer Maga's Halfway Houses or the bond (I recall a romantic connection) shared by Akina and Ondorum in Pathfinder Tales: Forge of Ashes.

I doubt such relationships are especially common, and it's worth noting that relationships and attraction can occur over a wide continuum of shared affection and respect.

To answer your question, though, I'd say "Common enough to result in Golarion's diverse ancestry, yet uncommon enough that a player can tastefully use it as distinguishing character development if desired."


Though it's worth noting that in one specific instance, they've gone out of their way to make it less common; dragons.

It gets hammered home quite a bit that half-dragons and draconic sorcerer/bloodrager bloodlines are rarely if ever the result of actual sexual relations, but rather magical influence and experimentation.

In any event my personal answer would be, "as common or uncommon as any given DM wants it to be for the purposes of the story they're trying to tell".

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