Reasons for having a half elf baby

[Zippomcfry]

Hey, its seems like all half elf characters come from involuntary sex these day.
So i dedicate this thread for other ideas of why to have a half elf on purpose. The easy explanation will be love, but might there be other reasons?

[Icyshadow]

Sealing an alliance between opposing factions, one being human and the other being elf?

[Sushewakka]

Political marriage is an easy answer.
There's also the "heartbreaker" option, wherein the sex is consensual but the male leaves the morning after never to return, and probably to find another female vulnerable to his charms in a different town.

[Mortuum]

I have never seen a half elf rape baby in my games.

I have however seen more than one that came from one-night stands fuelled by curiosity or attraction to the mysterious nature of elves.

The half-elf in my Skull and Shackles game was almost certainly the son of of the party's elf and neither would ever know. The elf was evil and was the sort to seduce people and then leave on the next ship.

I really like the alliance idea.

It could happen as part of a breeding program or a series of magical experiments with an aim to creating a super race with the advantages of both.

They could do it to fulfil a prophecy.

Conception during a religious ritual sounds probable, given who the elves like to worship on Golarion. I'm sure they're careful about that kind of thing, but such a method can hardly be perfect.

Most prostitutes can't afford to be choosy, so that's another strong possibility.

If elves and humans don't mix or get on in the setting there's always the fine tradition of heroes bedding worthy opponents.

[Icyshadow]

I think the "rape baby" backstory was used for the iconic magus, who is a half-elf.

[Remy Balster]

Uh...

Yall are missing a very neat one...

Both your parents were half elves.

[Remy Balster]

There is always the creepy one too...

Where your elf parent raised your human parent from a child into adulthood, then they hooked up, and eventually your human parent dies of old age before you're even an adult. Cuz.. humans don't live long.

[Eternia]

I made one to surprise the orcs in the group. The actual players were like 'do we hate him since he has elf blood? Do we fear his human resourcefulness? Oh god the ways of things!'
My only reply was 'Hello, I'm the Doctor. Just the Doctor. All of time and space anything that can ever happen and ever will. Where do we want to start?'
The barbarian: 'With this magically locked door weirdo'

[Zippomcfry]

Hmm i like the breeding program idea since the female elves of my current campaign are almost completely infertile. Any more ideas on that line. What would be the personal and social purpose of such a union? and how woud it be recieved? Just looking for inspiration here.

[Remy Balster]

And elf who was ostracized from the elven community an shunned, eventually turned to living within a human community. So, he decided to start mating with humans, and now some village somewhere has a dozen or more halfelf - halfsiblings.

[Blackstorm]

Hmmm. Nobody ever think about just, you know, love?

[Remy Balster]

Love is for Illusionists.

[Drogeney]

In a very different setting I have played in, the elves were dying out with around 60 years left to their race (not as long lived as stock elves). After assaulting humanity whom some of them blamed for this, the political leaders pulled them back since they cannot afford to waste lives any longer. Since they were unable to solve their fertility problem, they began "abducting" humans for breeding stock to create half-elves (something almost completely un-heard of) under the idea that something of them would survive this way.

They would infiltrate cities and find those on the fringes, the homeless, runaways, etc, whom would live short brutal lives but were otherwise viable breeding stock, and give them a better life in exchange for their services. Being a post war period, they had a lot of takers and the PCs got hired to look into it, just missing their quarry.

[Vod Canockers]

Because Pon farr rocks.

[Shalafi]

Blackstorm wrote:

Hmmm. Nobody ever think about just, you know, love?

Yep, I've just thinking the same. What about Aragorn and Arwen? Who could resist to a girl like her?

[Andrew R]

Intentionally breeding with elves to give your heirs a longer lifespan

[Kimera757]

Zippomcfry wrote:

Hey, its seems like all half elf characters come from involuntary sex these day.

So i dedicate this thread for other ideas of why to have a half elf on purpose. The easy explanation will be love, but might there be other reasons?

Hot sex? Male humans find female elves hot. Sometimes they reciprocate.

In some settings, elves are so infertile that elves often breed with humans (because half-elves get produced far more often).

In some settings, half-elves are common enough to form their own breeding population. Eberron and parts of Forgotten Realms (Aglarond) feature this.

[Remy Balster]

Some elf chicks don't like the scrawny pretty-boy look, and want a real rugged man.

[Ciaran Barnes]

Like a lumberjack.

[Mystically Inclined]

Now mix some of these ideas together and have two elf females talking to each other.

"I'm tired of these scrawny pretty boys. I want a man with muscles. Maybe I'll drop by a human village somewhere."

"That's dangerous, sister. 'Once you go human, your belly be bloomin'."

[EldonG]

Reason to have a half-elf baby?

They're so cute it's crazy, and they stay that way for at least 10 years? Mind you, that's a lotta diapers...

[Emmit Svenson]

A beautiful and unscrupulous elf takes advantage of human’s ridiculous inheritance laws.

She’s wed and buried seven human aristocrats so far, and her estates have grown vast. She has several half-elven children who look older than she does, and is encouraging them to start families of their own so that her great-great-great grandchildren can look after her in her old age.

[Master of the Dark Triad]

An elf and a human could have had sex on a dare or a bet of some sort.

[The Thing from Beyond the Edge]

alcohol

[Mystically Inclined]

The Thing from Beyond the Edge wrote:

alcohol

/thread :D

[Vod Canockers]

Ciaran Barnes wrote:

Like a lumberjack.

He's OK.

[Annika L]

Rebellious young elves out in the world and having fun? Young elf ladies intrigued by burly human guys? Young elf guys intrigued by fine looking human ladies and things just sort of happen...no rape needed. Adult elves looking for a bit of diversion....no one is all wise all of the time.

Besides half-elf kiddos are likely cute little boogers ;D

[williamoak]

I cant help but think about chef (from south park) singing about making sweet loeve to elven women.

As for male elves... maybe some of the "stuck-upedness" stereotypes are true in elves? In any case, humans like to get freaky (if the existence of half-elves, half-orcs, tieflings, suli, oread, etc., etc. are any evidence) so maybe they put an unusual amount of effort to it. Any human that's willing to be with a fire elemental has got some serious chops.

[VRMH]

"Surprise, wolf! I was actually a wildshaped Druid all along!"
"Eh... so was I."

[Renegadeshepherd]

If ur talking about breeding one there is no reason. They are weaker in magic than elves and less skilled/diverse than humans. Only at the individual level does it make sense.

As for this alliance theory... Just go watch thor and look and the character of Loki and tell me that theory holds up ;)

[VRMH]

williamoak wrote:

As for male elves... maybe some of the "stuck-upedness" stereotypes are true in elves?

I bet it's simpler: Elves are usually described as "lithe", and Elven males are still males. Human females... they got curves, man!

[Kimera757]

Renegadeshepherd wrote:

If ur talking about breeding one there is no reason. They are weaker in magic than elves and less skilled/diverse than humans. Only at the individual level does it make sense.

They have hybrid vigor. That might mean something, if fantasy genetics is anything like real genetics.

In the Warcraft universe, a half-elf descendent of a human wizard and an elf makes a better wizard. But each setting has its own "rules".

[williamoak]

I can only imagine our own internet misrepresentation weirdness rubbing off into pathfinder... A bunch of people try to sneak into the orgy of an "exotic" race, only to realize thei're all polymorphed humans...

[Lamontius]

I tried to read this thread but all I could hear in my head after a few posts was Bruce Campbell's voice monologuing 'it got into the thread and went bad' over and over

[Ciaran Barnes]

Kimera757 wrote:

Renegadeshepherd wrote:

If ur talking about breeding one there is no reason. They are weaker in magic than elves and less skilled/diverse than humans. Only at the individual level does it make sense.

They have hybrid vigor. That might mean something, if fantasy genetics is anything like real genetics.

Like the Liger.

[Vorpal Laugh]

A powerful caster could have put an curse on an area so human-human and elf-elf pairings were not viable. So all children then on were of mixed raced. Maybe it was to stop a conflict or just for kicks.

[Pillbug Toenibbler]

Heck, if a PC were raised from childhood that fraternizing with elves was forbidden, wouldn't that just make it more tempting? What if you'd had to listen to "Lord Elrond" drone on and on about it for a century to you hit adulthood?

Goblins ain't the only ones that like to just get down and get their freak on.

[Imbicatus]

Pillbug Toenibbler wrote:

What if you'd had to listen to "Lord Elrond" drone on and on about it for a century to you hit adulthood?

You know Elrond was a Half-Elf, right?

[Old Zathras]

Your elven race's low birth rate? Yeah, it turns out those elven souls are being reborn as humans (spoilers!)... so half-elves would be a good first step in getting those souls back, right?

[Pillbug Toenibbler]

Imbicatus wrote:

Pillbug Toenibbler wrote:

What if you'd had to listen to "Lord Elrond" drone on and on about it for a century to you hit adulthood?

You know Elrond was a Half-Elf, right?

Yes. I didn't mean THE Lord Elrond, which is why I put in "quotes." And for a half-elf, he sure had a quarterstaff up his tuckus. Which as long as he and the quarterstaff are consenting, it's not for me to judge.

[MagusJanus]

A meeting in which some human warriors entered an elf village, only for a fey witch to prank all of them by mixing love potions into the food and drink...

[Velcro Zipper]

You're Solomon?

Wait...sorry, thought I saw an "L" in there. Carry on.

[Bruunwald]

Zippomcfry wrote:

Hey, its seems like all half elf characters come from involuntary sex these day.

I assume there is a thread of some contention around here somewhere to which you are referring when you say "all" half elf characters are the result of rape (and also that it's very likely it was a single poster that raised your ire)?

Because I've never even contemplated, or heard, or read another gamer contemplating elf rape in my entire life before now. Much less seeing such a thing in a published adventure.

I say this as a person whose majority of characters over the years have been half elves.

[VRMH]

There's a Gnome cabal, trying to breed the ever-illusive "five-eights Elf".
Just so they can cross that with their "three-quarter Orc".

You know: for science!

[Kimera757]

Ciaran Barnes wrote:

Kimera757 wrote:

Renegadeshepherd wrote:

If ur talking about breeding one there is no reason. They are weaker in magic than elves and less skilled/diverse than humans. Only at the individual level does it make sense.

They have hybrid vigor. That might mean something, if fantasy genetics is anything like real genetics.

Like the Liger.

Maybe in some setting half-elves are sterile. Which would reduce the production of half-elves for selfish procreation-only purposes.

In two settings I'm familiar with (one homebrew, one a webcomic) half-elves are both magically superior and less fit than humans, in terms of often having sanity ... issues.

[Majuba]

Icyshadow wrote:

I think the "rape baby" backstory was used for the iconic magus, who is a half-elf.

Seltyiel is a bastard (in both senses of the word), but it wasn't exactly rape.

[Renegadeshepherd]

Imbicatus wrote:

Pillbug Toenibbler wrote:

What if you'd had to listen to "Lord Elrond" drone on and on about it for a century to you hit adulthood?

You know Elrond was a Half-Elf, right?

Technically not so. He was born of a human male and female elf yes. But he was granted the choice of living the life of man or elf, as was his brother, and he chose eleven life. So there is no distinction between him and all the other Noldor elves except for experience.

[Chemlak]

Is it wrong that my first two answers to this question are:

"If a daddy half-elf and a mummy half-elf love each other very much..."

and

"Child benefit."?

[The Thing from Beyond the Edge]

Renegadeshepherd wrote:

Imbicatus wrote:

Pillbug Toenibbler wrote:

What if you'd had to listen to "Lord Elrond" drone on and on about it for a century to you hit adulthood?

You know Elrond was a Half-Elf, right?

Technically not so. He was born of a human male and female elf yes. But he was granted the choice of living the life of man or elf, as was his brother, and he chose eleven life. So there is no distinction between him and all the other Noldor elves except for experience.

Actually it is not quite that simple.

Going back through Elrond's ancestry shows multiple interracial offspring on both sides...

[Tsoli]

My current character is half-elf. Her clan is pretty small, maybe 80 people who were originally composed of a handful of Elves and Humans trying to escape a war years ago and found a hallowed Grove. Elf and Human alike swore to protect the grove, and voila; after a few generations, everyone was half-elf (with some three-quarter and one-quarter elves thrown in there, too).

Eventually, partners would be related too closely and cause all kinds of genetic problems in a real-life scenario. But my point is that these elves and humans intermixed in order to create children to continue their legacies. In the end, the more parents and therefore the wider the genetic base, the longer their progeny could survive to carry on their legacy.

(For a great thought experiment along these lines, see Star Trek Next Generation episode "Up the Long Ladder")