So, my wife has finally agreed to join a game of pathfinder. For her character, she had this request:
(1) Half-Elf, Half-Orc
(2) A spellcaster
The best that I can think of for doing this is:
Race: Elf
Class: Crossblooded Sorceress
- Orc Bloodline (gives orc subtype and +1 damage on each die)
- Sage Bloodline (gives int for spells, bloodlines, etc)
This, sadly means getting -1 spells per level and -2 will saves.
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So I think that this would hit all of the requirements, but is it making a weak character? How would I optimize this? Or should I just roll up a half-elf with the orc bloodline?
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so she wants to be 1/2 human, 1/4 elf, and 1/4 orc?
Half-orcs and half-elves can take the feat, racial heritage, which lets you count as another race, taking that should meet the race requirements.
A half-elf with the orc bloodline seems to fit the bill reasonably well, but it does leave the PC with light sensitivity - something a half-orc doesn't actually have.
Chess Pwn's suggestion of the racial heritage feat also fits.
As an alternative, use the Ultimate Race Guide or the alternative racial traits listed at d20pfsrd.com and make some balanced trades to put together a character with the right flavor and then make whatever spellcaster you want.
Are you the GM? If not, you may run into an issue trying to mix the Crossblooded and Wildblooded archetypes (because Sage is a Wildblooded bloodline) -- officially, these are archetypes that modify many of the same class features and thus don't stack.
I think a half-elf with the Orc bloodline would be a more straightforward way to get what you want. The lifespan is certainly closer to what it should be for an elf/orc hybrid, with the only potential issue being that this character does qualify as human (but that can be downplayed).
If your wife really does not want to count as human, she could take the Dragon Soul alternate racial trait, which would cause her to no longer count as either elf or human (her choice). She would, however, be subject to negative effects that target dragons.
What does she want with 1/2 elf 1/2 orc?
If it is mostly just flavor, probably the easiest thing to do is pick on or the other, but choose some alternate racial traits that fit and just add some fluff. Mechanically, the character would either be a half-elf or a half-orc but thematically it could fit just fine.
For example, if you take a half-elf, add in the drow blooded to get darkvision and ancestral arms for a falcata you have a fairly credible half-elf half-orc. There are other ways you could come up with something similar, and I doubt most GMs would have a problem with that.
Mechanically, the character would only count as an elf or a human for things like bane, feats etc, but this is probably not an issue. Personally, I wouldn't have any problem as the DM trading out 'counts as a human' for 'counts as an orc' but that is an actual mechanical change, and some GMs wouldn't go for it.
This is probably better than choosing a bloodline or taking feats for nothing other than flavor. If of course you have some mechanical reason for being both elf and orc (and possibly human) then you would have to take one of those routes.
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A half-elf with Dragon Soul and the orc bloodline would definitely work mechanically in that she'd count as both an elf and an orc, but not a human. To tie it together thematically you could say that the sorcerous powers came from a half-dragon on the orcish side of the ancestry. Probably a red dragon given that the bloodline spells are a bit fiery.
If homebrew is an option you could try something like this:
+2 Str, +2 Int, -2 Cha
Keen Senses: +2 Perception
Orc Ferocity (as a half-orc)
Elven Immunities: Immune to sleep, +2 to enchantment
Darkvision 60ft
Mixed Blood: Count as elf and orc for effects related to race.
This is pretty similar in power to a half-orc, just with a different stat array and trading Weapon Familiarity and +2 Intimidate for Elven Immunities and +2 Perception. With these racial features I'd suggest an alchemist with melee capability (not necessarily full vivisectionist, bombs are still fun) which makes use of both the Int bonus and the orcish strength and ferocity, and isn't overly complicated for a beginner. If your wife wants more casting, my second suggestion would be a witch, which strikes me as the most thematic Int-based caster for a character with orcish ancestry (indeed, she could try the scarred witch doctor).
+2 to any single ability score would be a better fit, and ferocity is a terrible ability.
I would use the race builder to pick mix and match bits from half-or and half-elf to make your own elforc. Aim to be around 10-15 I'd say.
Medium humanoid (elf and orc subtype) with 30 movement (0 rp)
Flexible (2 rp): +2 to any two ability scores [I suggest STR and INT, a smart and strong half breed of the two]
Standard Language (0 rp): common, elf and/or orc (both or either imo)
Elven Immunities (2 rp): Members of this race are immune to magic sleep effects and gain a +2 racial bonus on saving throws made against enchantment spells and effects.
Darkvision 60' (2 rp): Members of this race can see in the dark up to 60 feet.
Low-Light Vision (1 RP): Members of this race can see twice as far as a race with normal vision in conditions of dim light.
Dual-Minded (1 RP): Members of this race gain a +2 bonus on all Will saving throws.
Elven Magic (3 RP): Members of this race gain a +2 bonus on caster level checks made to overcome spell resistance. In addition, they also receive a +2 racial bonus on Spellcraft checks made to identify the properties of magic items.
Total: 11 rp
You could swap a few things around or add a couple small things (like weapon familiarity twice [+1 rp each] for both orc and elf weapons) but that should be a good orc/elf race that isn't overly powerful and has traits of both.
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Another option to consider: If she doesn't mind using the Elf race as a chassis as originally proposed, try having her play an Elf Arcanist with the Blood Arcanist archetype and the Orc bloodline. Since an Arcanist uses intelligence for the primary casting stat, the Elf's racial bonuses work a bit better for this class than for a Sorcerer.
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+2 to any single ability score would be a better fit, and ferocity is a terrible ability.
+2 to a single ability score is the human / half-human model. Half-elves and half orcs use those stats because they are half human, and that human heritage could some with, for example, particularly high Constitution or Charisma even if it isn't associated with the elven/orcish heritage. An elf-orc hybrid
I like ferocity, personally, though I think it would be fair to swap it for sacred tattoo or some other orc-derived trait. Maybe Shaman's Apprentice (Endurance) plus weapon familiarity, or maybe scent (which you can get as an orc trait or feat). Personally I like the flavour of an elf-orc being a little feral...
I would use the race builder to pick mix and match bits from half-or and half-elf to make your own elforc. Aim to be around 10-15 I'd say.
Medium humanoid (elf and orc subtype) with 30 movement (0 rp)
Flexible (2 rp): +2 to any two ability scores [I suggest STR and INT, a smart and strong half breed of the two]
Standard Language (0 rp): common, elf and/or orc (both or either imo)
Elven Immunities (2 rp): Members of this race are immune to magic sleep effects and gain a +2 racial bonus on saving throws made against enchantment spells and effects.
Darkvision 60' (2 rp): Members of this race can see in the dark up to 60 feet.
Low-Light Vision (1 RP): Members of this race can see twice as far as a race with normal vision in conditions of dim light.
Dual-Minded (1 RP): Members of this race gain a +2 bonus on all Will saving throws.
Elven Magic (3 RP): Members of this race gain a +2 bonus on caster level checks made to overcome spell resistance. In addition, they also receive a +2 racial bonus on Spellcraft checks made to identify the properties of magic items.
Total: 11 rpYou could swap a few things around or add a couple small things (like weapon familiarity twice [+1 rp each] for both orc and elf weapons) but that should be a good orc/elf race that isn't overly powerful and has traits of both.
This is overly powerful. Compared to the elf you get:
Better stats (YMMV on Str vs Dex, but no one likes a Con penalty)
Darkvision 60'
+2 to Will saves
In exchange for:
+2 Perception
Weapon Familiarity
That is a very good trade for pretty much everyone, and if you give the hybrid weapon familiarity on top it becomes a no-brainer.
It is my opinion that custom races should err on the side of being less powerful than core races, especially if they are being made at the request of a specific player. You don't want other players to feel like the custom race is better than what they're playing, and it's quite easy to use the race builder to pick the most beneficial traits for a particular character (like giving this spellcaster elven magic but not orc ferocity).
As an example, I actually made an elf-orc hybrid for myself to play in a friend's game, and we ended up settling on +2 Dex +2 Con, low-light vision, orc ferocity, and elven magic. That's only 8 RP, and while the stats are nice for my kineticist I'd probably get more mechanically out of a dwarf, gnome, or halfling.
Thank you all for your help thus far. As an update, she ended up asking for a noble, where I'll be her bodyguard. Much easier to make mechanically. Feel free to keep discussing how to go about doing this, but my lady has spoken.
@ Grumbaki: Sorry to interrupt, but the campaign has officially begun. I still have you listed on the players roster. You and Jovich have been the most active members of my campaign process, are you still interested as Lidras Mitheredal? Please PM or respond on my OCC thread.