Long term character (1/2 elf) married an aasimar. They had kids.
New campaign starting- and another player wants to play one of these kids.
What on earth is it?
Half Elf Sorcerer with the Celestial Bloodline.
An abomination. There's a reason all the world's deities forbid crossbreeding! :D
But seriously, handling racial interbreeding is always problematic. You could always rule that they are the same as the cross between a half-elf and human (and then define that) since planar traits aren't always passed from parent to child. Remember, aasimar aren't half celestial, they are human with a bit of celestial - at most, 1/4th, and probably much less. So, these offspring are 1/4th elf, 3/4th human, and the human bit *might* have a touch of something extra.
I'd say that the offspring should be medium sized with normal speed (obviously), have low-light vision, and gain a +2 to one ability score of choice. Human bonus feat, or skill focus feat (impacts next decision). Then I'd use percentages - 25% chance to have elven blood trait, 25% chance to have elven immunities trait, 25% chance to have Keen Senses trait, 10% chance to have darkvision, 5% chance to cast light or dancing lights at will as a spell like ability. These are all rolled separately, and increase the probability of the first 3 by 10% if they took Skill Focus rather than another feat. If they only get 1, or none, of the probability rolls, then they get +1 skill/level.
Edit: Actually, don't count Elven Blood when determining whether they get +1 skill/level.
I've always seen Aasimar (and teifling) as ressive trait that when it expresses itself in any humanoid race "overrides" the "normal" traits for that race.
As a player, I'm not sure I'd want to do all that rolling. I'd just let him pick whichever race seems most promising of the three.
Then have the GM do it. It is only 5 rolls, less than you'd do to get your stats.
The original post is the reason why I'm trying (and not really succeeding yet) to make a comprehensive list of races and their abilities when interbreeding. As of right now, the idea is that any starting character gets one HD in their race and gains the powers which come with it. Half-breeds would "come to their racial inheritance" if, instead of taking their first class level, they take another racial class instead. So, I could have a party with a human fighter 3, a halfling/elf bard 2, a gnome/aasimar sorcerer 2, and even a dwarf/orc/human cleric 1. Characters having powerful races for parents could gain their abilities by spending several levels on them. The whole thing needs refining and playtesting, though.
As a result of a witch's curse, the child is born a halfling, who consequently grows up thinking he's adopted.
It's magic. The kid could be human with elven and celestial bloodline, straight aasimar, straight half elf, straight human without any hint of anything unusual, or something wonky as a result of something else getting into the mix or divine fiat.
Elf. This is how elves actually get born. And now, the elves are after you and yours because you threaten to reveal their embarrassing secret.
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I've always seen Aasimar (and teifling) as ressive trait that when it expresses itself in any humanoid race "overrides" the "normal" traits for that race.+1
+1 again.
I would have the player (or parent) roll a percentage die, with a 10% chance of Aasimar and 90% chance of Half-elf.
.
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Alternatively, if you are attempting to make a mixed breed race, in the interest of not introducing power creep, I suggest the little tyke possess the following traits: +2 CHA & WIS (aas), Darkvision 60 feet (aas), All the Half-Elf traits (except for +2 to any one ability score), and Languages of Common/Celestial/Elven.
I would vote against allowing the character access to any other Aasimar traits, as what little I have mentioned makes the mix-breed a very appealing race choice that is not too overpowered.
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As a player, I'm not sure I'd want to do all that rolling. I'd just let him pick whichever race seems most promising of the three.Then have the GM do it. It is only 5 rolls, less than you'd do to get your stats.
Or just pick a race, like you do for every other PC you create. There's three choices based on the background, two more than most 2nd generation PCs get. As you pointed out, there's already plenty of rolls needed to create a PC, no need to almost double it.
You could invoke the old FR rule that when half-elves have children, they always get a child with the race of the other parent, i.e. aasimar in this case.
And really, one should not mix genetics into the game unless you want a headache. I've inflicted a few of those and received a few from my friends, mysteriously they usually involve drow and elven bloodlines;)
Yeah, you end up with 1/4th Elves, 1/4th Human, 1/2th Aasimar chars and it gets ridiculous fast.
So whenever an 1/2 Elve has kids it's the other race thats dominant.
Aasimar/Tiefling blood being super dominant is also a nice idea, for how else can it hold itself for so many generations after the "incident"?
Or just pick a race, like you do for every other PC you create. There's three choices based on the background, two more than most 2nd generation PCs get. As you pointed out, there's already plenty of rolls needed to create a PC, no need to almost double it.As a player, I'm not sure I'd want to do all that rolling. I'd just let him pick whichever race seems most promising of the three.Then have the GM do it. It is only 5 rolls, less than you'd do to get your stats.
Technically it's 4 options. If pure Human is an option, then Elf is also.
how would you handle this (for a beginning PC)? / What on earth is it?
Entirely depends on how you have defined your campaign world.
For our group, human is always the dominant bloodline, so it's:
Human + elf = half-elf
Half-elf + half-elf = half-elf
Human + half-elf = Human
Elf + half-elf = half-elf
Aasimar + human = Human
Aasimar + aasimar = 50% aasimar, 50% human
Aasimar + half-elf = Human (with a suggestion of Celestial Bloodline)
Phew.
(So... yeah. However you want to define it.)
I've always been inclined to see Teiflings and Aasimar as bizarre/miraculous occurences that really have nothing to do with mom and dad and everything to do with all the stars/sacrifices lining up properly. I would let the player choose either Half-Elf or Human. If the player wants to be a sorcerer then by all means it make sense to add some celestial bloodline action there.
If the player is wanting to be a bit of a rebel you could have some fun diving into that schism. Say the player pops out human...well he/she doesn't have that divine je ne sais quois. Neither does he/she have the half elf features of daddy. As the player grows up he/she is constantly less pious than mom would like so eventually you get the "eff it I'll never be good enough so watch me intentionally screw up mom"
...Or you could just make the offspring a Pugwampi...
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Aasimar + human = Human
Actually...thats only true after the 200 something generation of the celestial bloodline getting thinned down according to a FR book. And that is the only book I remeber that specifically mentions this. So generally aasimar + human = aasimar. So aasimar + half elf = aasimar unless the bloodline in the aasimar was already really weak in which case human.
Actually...thats only true
Aasimar + human = Human
*tap*tap*tap* pointing:
"For our group, human is always the dominant bloodline"and
"However you want to define it."
how would you handle this (for a beginning PC)? / What on earth is it?Entirely depends on how you have defined your campaign world.
For our group, human is always the dominant bloodline, so it's:
Human + elf = half-elf
Half-elf + half-elf = half-elf
Human + half-elf = Human
Elf + half-elf = half-elf
Aasimar + human = Human
Aasimar + aasimar = 50% aasimar, 50% humanAasimar + half-elf = Human (with a suggestion of Celestial Bloodline)
Phew.
(So... yeah. However you want to define it.)
Half-Elf + Elf = Elf
And I think two half-elves can produce a Human or an Elf. Or one or the other. It's confusing.|
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Actually...thats only true
Aasimar + human = Human
*tap*tap*tap* pointing:
"For our group, human is always the dominant bloodline"
and
"However you want to define it."
Then how are aasimars even born in your world? Human + celstial = half celstial. half celstial + human = human by that logic. Or do you bend that to make that an aasimar?
Yeah, in addition to the humor potential, they're starting at 1st level, so the aasimar traits (especially resistances) are a major benefit.
And there's another player, who if he gets wind of someone else getting any advantage, will then demand that he gets it too. Which then means that the other two, upon finding out that p2 got kewl stuff and then built an optimal character for that kewl stuff, will then want it too, and then we've got the traveling circus issue going (look! no base races here!).
Which makes me a little sad, because p1 wants the character because of all the backstory.
Thanks for the combining suggestions- those are what I'll probably have to tell him to use. I would not have thought of some of the variations that were suggested here
I removed their racial ability to cast daylight, took their elemental resistances and gave them a -2 Con penalty to even them out with other races.
There's a good table of interesting tiefling traits in Council of Thieves #1... I had my players roll on it, and it usually gives a strong but niche racial ability to make up for the loss of their other abilities-- about as strong as a feat. One PC had DR2/cold iron and the other could be healed by negative energy. Another PC who rolled off the table had a 60ft swim speed.
Just following along with what others are saying... you're talking about one parent who is half human and another parent who is at least three-quarters human.
Averaging things out, in the simplest of terms, the offspring is going to be effectively human.
To reflect "hints" of another heritage, I would do any number of things:
- If you are using traits, allow the character to take the "Adopted" trait and appropriate race traits (not to be confused with racial abilities) from there
- If you are using traits, have the character take Magical Talent and pick Light as their free cantrip. Fluff-wise, this would be a diluted version of the Aasimar's ability to cast daylight once perday.
- Allow the character to use the Racial Heritage feat from the APG (perhaps twice, for both races, if it would be of benefit).
- Celestial bloodline as others suggested
If you're okay with a little houseruling, I would say maybe allow some minor swapping of racial abilities--for example, create a human, but swap the bonus feat for Low-light vision (Halfelf) or Darkvision (Aasimar).
Then how are aasimars even born in your world? Human + celstial = half celstial. half celstial + human = human by that logic. Or do you bend that to make that an aasimar?
That's not even something to worry much about. Check out some of the flavor text of the aasimar in the Bestiary:
Aasimar heritage can hide for generations, only to appear suddenly in the child of two apparently human parents.
We're not really talking about a fixed equation of blood and ancestry producing an aasimar. They happen when the player making the PC or the DM making the NPC want it to happen. No further reasoning necessary.
In the case of the new PC for the OP - let the player choose from among the racial heritages of the parents. No sweat.
Just following along with what others are saying... you're talking about one parent who is half human and another parent who is at least three-quarters human.
Averaging things out, in the simplest of terms, the offspring is going to be effectively human.
To reflect "hints" of another heritage, I would do any number of things:
- If you are using traits, allow the character to take the "Adopted" trait and appropriate race traits (not to be confused with racial abilities) from there
- If you are using traits, have the character take Magical Talent and pick Light as their free cantrip. Fluff-wise, this would be a diluted version of the Aasimar's ability to cast daylight once perday.
- Allow the character to use the Racial Heritage feat from the APG (perhaps twice, for both races, if it would be of benefit).
- Celestial bloodline as others suggestedIf you're okay with a little houseruling, I would say maybe allow some minor swapping of racial abilities--for example, create a human, but swap the bonus feat for Low-light vision (Halfelf) or Darkvision (Aasimar).
+1
I cannot see how anyone could suggest that a half-elf could be born of this union since the offspring would only have 1/4 elven blood.
I would say that he is going to come out a plain-jane human since he will not have enough blood from either parent to reflect their heritage. Unless you determine that there is enough celestial blood that he is an Aasimar.
This is just homebrew territory. Work with the player to get him/her the desired traits for the character.
Also, what would the offspring between an Aasimar and a Tiefling?
This is just homebrew territory. Work with the player to get him/her the desired traits for the character.
Also, what would the offspring between an Aasimar and a Tiefling?
Balor.
Then how are aasimars even born in your world? Human + celstial = half celstial. half celstial + human = human by that logic. Or do you bend that to make that an aasimar?
Yeah, sort of. And half-celestial + human does equal human in our world. It turns out:
Human + Human (with a celestial somewhere way back in the family tree) = most likely human, with a very rare chance of an aasimar
Edit: Oh yeah, what Bill Dunn already said.
Half-Elf + Elf = Elf
As I alluded to in my post, not in our particular game (though I'd guess it's common in others' games).
Also, what would the offspring between an Aasimar and a Tiefling?
For us: 1% human, 99% incompatible.
This is just homebrew territory. Work with the player to get him/her the desired traits for the character.
Also, what would the offspring between an Aasimar and a Tiefling?
the offspring would be Human because the celestial and fiendish blood would cancel each other out. said offspring would also be sterile.
Start with a human, take away the skill bonus and instead give him a +2 to any save where his aasimar parent would have gotten resistance, possibly given him low-light vision. Make the PC take a trait called "Child of Wonder: You have an unusual parentage that alters your normal racial features." So in the end you loose the skill bonus and a trait to get a very specific bonus to certain saves and lowlight vision. IF you want to play up the elf influence give him another trait that gives him a +1 to Perception and makes it a permanent class skill.
Another option is to take a look at the tiefling option in the Council of Thieves Players Guide (which you can DL for free) and work up a aasimar thats playable at first level from that.
For Lamashtu's sake, don't try creating a medley of human/elf/celestial blend. Just have him pick one of his parent races and focus on that. Then encourage him to tailor his appearance to reflect his mongrel heritage. It's just easier and keeps you from setting a dangerous precedent. You don't want to encourage all your other players to start picking and choosing their favorite qualities for their mixed-race characters in the future.
Player: "See, his mother was an elf so I get her +2 Dex, low-light vision, and bonus to spell penetration, but my grandfather was a pure-blooded halfling so I inherit my bonus to all saving throws and resistance to fear from him. Dad's human, so I get bonus skill points and an extra feat at first level."
DM: *starts pulling out his hair by the roots and drinking pepto-bismol straight of out the bottle.*
My wife wanted to create a character for the Legacy of Fire campaign that was half-half-orc, and half-tiefling. I told her she could pick which of those two races to take after most, and then tailor her appearance to reflect an orc-blooded tiefling. It's just a lot easier, trust me.
Long term character (1/2 elf) married an aasimar. They had kids.
New campaign starting- and another player wants to play one of these kids.
What on earth is it?
I'd say your options are Human, Aasimar and amusingly enough Tiefling. Given that Aasimar are basically a "recessive" trait, the same could go for Tieflings. I personally would allow Half-Elf as well, but in theory the elf blood would be too diluted to allow for it in some people's opinion.
I see people suggesting to tone down abilities, but are Aasimar even considered to be that much more powerful now? I know the core races got a "boost" in the rewrite, looks like the Aasimar is considered on par now as a 1/2 CR encounter.
Long term character (1/2 elf) married an aasimar. They had kids.
New campaign starting- and another player wants to play one of these kids.
What on earth is it?
I'd say your options are Human, Aasimar and amusingly enough Tiefling. Given that Aasimar are basically a "recessive" trait, the same could go for Tieflings. I personally would allow Half-Elf as well, but in theory the elf blood would be too diluted to allow for it in some people's opinion.
I see people suggesting to tone down abilities, but are Aasimar even considered to be that much more powerful now? I know the core races got a "boost" in the rewrite, looks like the Aasimar is considered on par now as a 1/2 CR encounter.
the only reason it's even 1/2 of a cr is because of this thing called class levels. otherwise it would be 1/3.
heres what they get
+2 Bonus to 2 mental stats with no penalty to a 3rd and only 1 class truly benefits from both bonuses, the cleric
+2 racial bonus to diplomacy and perception, one of these 2 is a skill every nonhuman race has a bonus too
Resistance of 5 to 3 energy types, these resistances won't really apply that often nor will they be remembered past 5th level.
Darkvision 60 feet every nonhuman race gets either this or low light vision. sometimes both
and proficiency in all simple and martial weapons. interesting but a rather redundant trap. as you will likely only be wielding 1 weapon at a time, 2 at most. most martial weapons are a small step up from thier simple counterparts. most of the classes that benefit from these weapons are already proficient in the ones they happen to benefit most from.
a rather light package of abilities when compared to all else but the human.
You have a Half-elf and an Aasimar making a baby. Under conventional game wisdom, as it pertains to Half-elf/Human unions, the child wouldn't have enough Elf blood to matter. Aasimar are "touched" Humans, so there's that. This child would clearly have a preponderance of Human blood and not enough of the other types to matter.
I'd say the child is human, and if the player wants added crunch, too bad. This was an RP union and any benefit should be RP-based as well.
I'll just add that (can't remember where, FR, i think) if an baby's lineage included more than 50% elves, it would be an elf, otherwise it would be a 50% chance of human or 1/2 elf.
Also, no CR adjustment for Aasimar in PF.