Tiefling, half orc, half elf, satyr, centaur, mermaid, genasi, aasimar... All part human.
I don't see orc-elf for example.
I understand that some communities won't mate with others, but that typically applies for tribes, but it's a different story for heterogeneous communities and cities.
Do you think Wizards should make a book for balanced mixed races?
For orcs, the general idea is that they are evil, tribal and separate from most civilizations. Half-orcs come from either human barbarians (or just jerks who survive trying to join the orcs) or when an evil lord/god create an army to wage war. Beyond that, there is also a significantly less civil option that generally results in the death of the parent. Half-elves either come from a similar lack of civility, or a community and mutual attraction. Humans tend to be the parents cause they will get with anyone, but elves other races tend to breed only with similar looking people. Hence half-elves being human but half elf half dragon born less so.
For orcs, the general idea is that they are evil, tribal and separate from most civilizations. Half-orcs come from either human barbarians (or just jerks who survive trying to join the orcs) or when an evil lord/god create an army to wage war. Beyond that, there is also a significantly less civil option that generally results in the death of the parent. Half-elves either come from a similar lack of civility, or a community and mutual attraction. Humans tend to be the parents cause they will get with anyone, but elves other races tend to breed only with similar looking people. Hence half-elves being human but half elf half dragon born less so.
Other than that, like a fiend or celectial with other races, like aasimar and tiefling, but with other races. Or djinn with other races for genasi. Or even in society, like half gnome half dwarf..
To clarify, centaurs, satyrs, and mermaids aren't half-human, they're their own species.
Centaurs and satyrs are fey, right, but their ancestry is still hybrid, no?
No, I don't think they are, the only hybrid race I'm aware of is the Simic Hybrid.
You don't get a centaur from a human mating with a horse (gross), you only get them when two centaurs mate with each other, so for them you couldn't say they're "half-human" in the same way that a half-elf is, having resulted from an elf/human pairing.
To clarify, centaurs, satyrs, and mermaids aren't half-human, they're their own species.
Centaurs and satyrs are fey, right, but their ancestry is still hybrid, no?
No, I don't think they are, the only hybrid race I'm aware of is the Simic Hybrid.
You don't get a centaur from a human mating with a horse (gross), you only get them when two centaurs mate with each other, so for them you couldn't say they're "half-human" in the same way that a half-elf is, having resulted from an elf/human pairing.
Yeah, you are right about mating. So besides that, about the looks, the upper body of those races looks like a human, even if they have no connection to them. Maybe it's because of the ancient myths which were mostly human like.
And here in D&D there is also no djinn with other races(genasi), fiend with them(tiefling), celestial with them(aasimar), and such...
And here in D&D there is also no djinn with other races(genasi), fiend with them(tiefling), celestial with them(aasimar), and such...
As far as Tieflings, aasimar, and genasi go, they're never actually specified as half-human either. Reading the description for all the planetouched races, they all say they're resultant from extraplanar bloodlines mingling with those of *mortals*, not humans. All of the playable races are mortal, so you can have dwarf-genasi or elf-tieflings, the stats just aren't different.
So I guess the only remaining question is why there aren't orc-dwarves or gnome-halflings, but I think the answer can be reasonably chalked up to "that would be a LOT of extra races".
The rules for creating new races are in the Dungeon Master's Guide. Chapter 9. Under the section on Creating New Character Options. The sub-section on Creating a Race or Subrace.
Should there be a book on all the various crossbreeds and combinations you can get from the various races and subraces already presented? It would indeed take up a whole book. And for what? Player Character races aren't that major of a part of the game. If you're really going to try and create a ton of hybrid races with significant mechanical differences you've got an utter nightmare of rules bloat and balance issues.
By default the Human race is the most populous and dominant race in the game. Hybrids are kind of rare to start with. Perhaps there might be crosses involving the other races, but they are so vanishingly rare they aren't worth mentioning. Or perhaps one of the many quirks of the Human race is that they are the only race that can successfully create hybrids.
Humans are the most relatable, because it's what we are.
If you're going to get fantastical and 'out there' with races, species and such, it's much easier for the majority of an audience to have a baseline. In this case, humans are the foundation upon which we can then stretch our imagination. Without that context, it becomes more difficult.
No different than lord of the rings beasts being based on bats or rhinos. You need a base from which you can break, twist, turn, and extrapolate - otherwise, it becomes nightmarish and difficult to place rules and guidelines.
My guess is the "legacy" rules that are supposed to be in Tasha will allow DMs to produce "half" breeds even more easily than the current DMG allows.
Creating races and sub races is pretty easy stuff, which is why the home-brew section in DDB is so crowded with them.
There's some lore clarifications that need to be made here too I feel. Half Orcs and Half Elves due imply some sort of mating occurred between two members of different species. I want to say in the lore not sure whether in 5e or earlier editions there is something about human "flexibility" that makes them the "key" to the hybrid races. Not sure about Aasimar, but the other prominent plane touched, the Tieflings isn't necessarily produced through a devil "mating" with a human. Rather, Tieflings tend to be born of human parentage, and somewhere in at least one of the human family trees there was an infernal pact. That pact could have been had some sort of physical union, but I tend to see it more like infernal dealings are akin to powerful radiation on a human's chromosomes, a little more subtle because the texts indicate Tieflings manifest generations down the family tree rather than expressing in immediate offspring. I could see similar "immaculate conception" of people who spent a lot of contact with Celestials, leading to Aasimars showing up. There is apocrypha writing that discuss nephillim as either half-humans or progenitors of angel-human hybrids.
As far as the hybridity of Satyrs and Centaurs, as pointed out those are their own species not produced from any sort of interspecies mingling (though in mythology, Satyrs origins are a bit murky I believe while some centaur origin stories do have human/horse breeding. The minotaur is per myth the result of the mating of a woman and a divinely gifted bull). Also, if you look at a lot of depictions, the humanoid features are very much fey/elfin, musculature on the lithe side, pointed ears, horns....
Fun fact, the monster Chimera derives from the word chimera which was broadly ascribed to lots of imagined monsters with the features of different animals (there was also culinary chimera which were I guess forebears of turducken). More contemporary accounts would suppose they were Frankenstein creations of mad science or magic, but in their mythological moment they just "were" and not a product of some sort of breeding program.
Lastly, the Fey'Ri are a second edition and other edition race that was the product of a mix of magical and likely actual breeding between Sun Elves and Abyssal to create some sort of super soldier elf during the crown wars. LOTS of home-brew for that race in D&DB.
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Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
In the beginning there were only the Tolkien races. More were added with supplements and later editions. Orc/elf hybrids would make no sense in the Tolkien world since they were essentially the same race anyway; the orcs were elves corrupted by the evil god Morgoth. Humans and elves/orcs would have compatibility since they were both the children of Illuvatar. Half-elves and half-orcs were the only pairings that worked in that world.
But in D&D the idea (the original idea at least) was for your DM to create their own world populated by their own races and mythologies. You don't have to roll your own though, which is why the standard races are the way they are.
Humans are the most relatable, because it's what we are.
If you're going to get fantastical and 'out there' with races, species and such, it's much easier for the majority of an audience to have a baseline. In this case, humans are the foundation upon which we can then stretch our imagination. Without that context, it becomes more difficult.
Yes, and I'd take it a bit further and say that the entire fantasy literature genre is in some way or another an exploration of humanity. We don't read books to learn about elves. We read books to learn about ourselves through a fantasy version of ourselves that has certain traits exaggerated or minimized. So it's not surprising that humans take center stage in D&D and elsewhere.
Tiefling, half orc, half elf, satyr, centaur, mermaid, genasi, aasimar... All part human.
I don't see orc-elf for example.
I understand that some communities won't mate with others, but that typically applies for tribes, but it's a different story for heterogeneous communities and cities.
Do you think Wizards should make a book for balanced mixed races?
Edit: I have found this for mixing: https://stepintorpgs.wordpress.com/2019/03/22/dwelfs-and-dragoblins-more-hybrid-race-options-for-dd-5e/
To clarify, centaurs, satyrs, and mermaids aren't half-human, they're their own species.
Centaurs and satyrs are fey, right, but their ancestry is still hybrid, no?
For orcs, the general idea is that they are evil, tribal and separate from most civilizations. Half-orcs come from either human barbarians (or just jerks who survive trying to join the orcs) or when an evil lord/god create an army to wage war. Beyond that, there is also a significantly less civil option that generally results in the death of the parent. Half-elves either come from a similar lack of civility, or a community and mutual attraction. Humans tend to be the parents cause they will get with anyone, but elves other races tend to breed only with similar looking people. Hence half-elves being human but half elf half dragon born less so.
Other than that, like a fiend or celectial with other races, like aasimar and tiefling, but with other races. Or djinn with other races for genasi. Or even in society, like half gnome half dwarf..
To be honest, my guess is they don't want to make a MASSIVE list showing all the possible combinations of half-races.
Not have to be massive, but some that don't include humans, the most common ones.
I think they already have way too many races. But the rules allow for custom races if you want to create your own mix.
No, I don't think they are, the only hybrid race I'm aware of is the Simic Hybrid.
You don't get a centaur from a human mating with a horse (gross), you only get them when two centaurs mate with each other, so for them you couldn't say they're "half-human" in the same way that a half-elf is, having resulted from an elf/human pairing.
Where can I see those customize rules?
Yeah, you are right about mating. So besides that, about the looks, the upper body of those races looks like a human, even if they have no connection to them. Maybe it's because of the ancient myths which were mostly human like.
And here in D&D there is also no djinn with other races(genasi), fiend with them(tiefling), celestial with them(aasimar), and such...
In the Dungeon Master's Guide:
https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/dmg/dungeon-masters-workshop#CreatingaRaceorSubrace
As far as Tieflings, aasimar, and genasi go, they're never actually specified as half-human either. Reading the description for all the planetouched races, they all say they're resultant from extraplanar bloodlines mingling with those of *mortals*, not humans. All of the playable races are mortal, so you can have dwarf-genasi or elf-tieflings, the stats just aren't different.
So I guess the only remaining question is why there aren't orc-dwarves or gnome-halflings, but I think the answer can be reasonably chalked up to "that would be a LOT of extra races".
Dwarflings FTW! Hairy feet + massive beard = Awesome
The rules for creating new races are in the Dungeon Master's Guide. Chapter 9. Under the section on Creating New Character Options. The sub-section on Creating a Race or Subrace.
Should there be a book on all the various crossbreeds and combinations you can get from the various races and subraces already presented? It would indeed take up a whole book. And for what? Player Character races aren't that major of a part of the game. If you're really going to try and create a ton of hybrid races with significant mechanical differences you've got an utter nightmare of rules bloat and balance issues.
By default the Human race is the most populous and dominant race in the game. Hybrids are kind of rare to start with. Perhaps there might be crosses involving the other races, but they are so vanishingly rare they aren't worth mentioning. Or perhaps one of the many quirks of the Human race is that they are the only race that can successfully create hybrids.
<Insert clever signature here>
Humans are the most relatable, because it's what we are.
If you're going to get fantastical and 'out there' with races, species and such, it's much easier for the majority of an audience to have a baseline. In this case, humans are the foundation upon which we can then stretch our imagination. Without that context, it becomes more difficult.
No different than lord of the rings beasts being based on bats or rhinos. You need a base from which you can break, twist, turn, and extrapolate - otherwise, it becomes nightmarish and difficult to place rules and guidelines.
All things Lich - DM tips, tricks, and other creative shenanigans
My guess is the "legacy" rules that are supposed to be in Tasha will allow DMs to produce "half" breeds even more easily than the current DMG allows.
Creating races and sub races is pretty easy stuff, which is why the home-brew section in DDB is so crowded with them.
There's some lore clarifications that need to be made here too I feel. Half Orcs and Half Elves due imply some sort of mating occurred between two members of different species. I want to say in the lore not sure whether in 5e or earlier editions there is something about human "flexibility" that makes them the "key" to the hybrid races. Not sure about Aasimar, but the other prominent plane touched, the Tieflings isn't necessarily produced through a devil "mating" with a human. Rather, Tieflings tend to be born of human parentage, and somewhere in at least one of the human family trees there was an infernal pact. That pact could have been had some sort of physical union, but I tend to see it more like infernal dealings are akin to powerful radiation on a human's chromosomes, a little more subtle because the texts indicate Tieflings manifest generations down the family tree rather than expressing in immediate offspring. I could see similar "immaculate conception" of people who spent a lot of contact with Celestials, leading to Aasimars showing up. There is apocrypha writing that discuss nephillim as either half-humans or progenitors of angel-human hybrids.
As far as the hybridity of Satyrs and Centaurs, as pointed out those are their own species not produced from any sort of interspecies mingling (though in mythology, Satyrs origins are a bit murky I believe while some centaur origin stories do have human/horse breeding. The minotaur is per myth the result of the mating of a woman and a divinely gifted bull). Also, if you look at a lot of depictions, the humanoid features are very much fey/elfin, musculature on the lithe side, pointed ears, horns....
Fun fact, the monster Chimera derives from the word chimera which was broadly ascribed to lots of imagined monsters with the features of different animals (there was also culinary chimera which were I guess forebears of turducken). More contemporary accounts would suppose they were Frankenstein creations of mad science or magic, but in their mythological moment they just "were" and not a product of some sort of breeding program.
Lastly, the Fey'Ri are a second edition and other edition race that was the product of a mix of magical and likely actual breeding between Sun Elves and Abyssal to create some sort of super soldier elf during the crown wars. LOTS of home-brew for that race in D&DB.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
Stuff is all half-human because, as Star Trek told us, humans will mate with anything.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
In the beginning there were only the Tolkien races. More were added with supplements and later editions. Orc/elf hybrids would make no sense in the Tolkien world since they were essentially the same race anyway; the orcs were elves corrupted by the evil god Morgoth. Humans and elves/orcs would have compatibility since they were both the children of Illuvatar. Half-elves and half-orcs were the only pairings that worked in that world.
But in D&D the idea (the original idea at least) was for your DM to create their own world populated by their own races and mythologies. You don't have to roll your own though, which is why the standard races are the way they are.
Feel free to change them.
Yes, and I'd take it a bit further and say that the entire fantasy literature genre is in some way or another an exploration of humanity. We don't read books to learn about elves. We read books to learn about ourselves through a fantasy version of ourselves that has certain traits exaggerated or minimized. So it's not surprising that humans take center stage in D&D and elsewhere.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm