Half-elves don't seem to be very popular around here. I personally like them because of their dual nature, but I do agree that their abilites could stand some tweeking to make them more attractive as a pc race comparable to the true races. Specifically, I think it's a little odd that they have some elven/human abilities at full strength yet lack others entirely. So, in an effort to make them true halfbreeds, how about giving them all of their parents' abilites, human and elven, but all at half strength? Is this a stupid idea or worth considering? What do you think?
+1 Dex, -1 Con
50% resistance to magic Sleep effects
+1 vs Enchantment spells/effects
Low-light vision = 150% Human norm
Proficiency with longbow/shortbow OR longsword/rapier, not both
+1 to Listen, Search and Spot checks
50% chance for auto Search check to notice hidden portals (when DM rolls for elves, roll two dice for the half-elf...one for the Search check and one for the 50% chance. If 50% fails, the Search check is moot.)
50% Elven blood (For all effects related to race, a half-elf is considered an elf 50% of the time. Roll to check whenever race is an issue.)
Does not trance, but needs only 6 hours of sleep instead of the normal 8 hours for pureblood humans.
AND…
2 extra skill points @ 1st level
1 additional skill point @ 3rd level and every odd level after that (i.e. 5th, 7th, 9th, etc)
***I couldn't decide how to half the humans' other abilities – the free feat, any bonus language, any favored class – so I chose to drop the free feat and leave the other two abilities as is***
Comments, suggestions???
In UA there is a skilled 1/2 elf variant, where you add the skill points bonus of a human to them. This has made them more appealing to players in my game.
Your ideas are on the right track, but problematic. Many of the things you talk about, like sleep and charm defenses, 1/2 elves already have. And with a mechanic like elf blood, there is no need to do the 50 percent. Not only do they have elf blood no matter what, but it is a relatively minor ability that is overcomplicated with a percentage roll.
Most racial abilties should be simple bonuses or penalties. You don't wnat to get too complicated.
+1/-1 to ability scores is a no-no in third edition due to the way ability score modifiers work. A player could put a 17 into Dex and a 15 into Con, in order to gain a bonus after racial modifiers with no penalty.
All those fifty percents might get a little troublesome. With abilities that only work half the time, the half-elf might spend his time cursing his luck -- he can use this elven sword, but not this elven helmet, for example. All the extra paperwork, too.
In my campaigns, especially so in Eberron where the khoravar (half-elves) are more frequently encountered, I use the "half-elves get a human's extra skill point" variant. The human is still good for his bonus feat.
I gave half-elves in my camapaigns the following bonuses:
+2 Cha- elves and humans are two of the most personable, magically inclined races. When mixed, their offspring are particularly strong in spirit.
-2 Con- Half-elves retain their elven frailty.
+1 Skill point per level- Half elves are almost as adaptive and quick to learn as their human parents.
I got rid of the elves' trance (they sleep like everyone else IMC), subsequent immunity to sleep, and auto-search for hidden doors (where the hell did that come from, anyway?), and replaced it with the following skill bonuses:
+2 Decipher Script, Knowledge (arcana and history), and Spellcraft.
Well, that's for high and gray elves. Wood elves (no wild elves in mine, just wood elves for any more primative elven culture) gain +2 Handle Animal, Knowledge (history and nature) and Survival.
So, half-elves gain +1 to all the aforementioned skills, with the exact ones depended on if they are half-high elven (the norm) or half-wood elven (much rarer). They remain a rare race in either case, since I don't see THAT many unions creating children; certainly not enough to create a very big population.
Otherwise, they are as per the RAW in the PHB. This makes them particularly good sorcerers, but also decent bards and rogues, and not bad clerics and paladins if you can take the Con penalty. I don't mind giving them a "class focus," something they're better at than other races, since every other race has that (except humans, and they are good at anything).
My version of half-elves (I'm only listing alterations from my homebrew):
Human Blood: For all effects related to race, a half-elf is considered a human.
Psi-like Abilities: As psi-like ability, a half-elf gains a random first level psionic power (selected from the first level Psion-Wilder list). A half-elf with a Charisma score of at least 10 gains two additional psi-like abilities from the first level Psion-Wilder list. Manifester level 1st; save DC 11 + half-elf's Cha mod.
Automatic Languages: Common or Marat (depending on upbringing).
Favored Class: Psion. A multiclass half-elf's psion class does not count when determining whether she takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing.