My rule is this:Use whichever version of a thing is better, but ONLY if you're not out to exploit something that can be done by mixing & matching. Likewise, ban any named combo(Coffee/methlock, MizzMage, etc).

For example:I had to not only make sure I had a damn good backstory reason to be a Mizzmage player in a game that allowed that, but I had to swear to not powergame using the build.

it taught me just how much builds like that induce trepidation & are seen as glory hogging among games, & Tables, not meant to be XP mills.

Quote from AnzioFaro >>

I'm reminded of the story arc in Star Trek: Deep Space 9, when they discovered that humans, and Klingons, and Romulans are all descended from a common ancestor. They're clearly distinct species now, but apparently the same genus. And Worf has a son named Alexander, whose mother is Ambassador K'Ehleyr. Her father was Klingon but her mother was a human. And she had a child. So she was a fertile offspring of an inter-species coupling. Now I know that citing Star Trek genealogies doesn't exactly make an air-tight scientific case (plus it further confirms that I am, in fact, a huge nerd). But if we're willing to suspend disbelief enough to say that our characters can hurl fireballs and read minds and raise people from the dead, then I don't suppose it's too much of an imposition to suggest that there might have been some hairy little feet pitter-pattering around Valinor after Bilbo and Frodo showed up.

 One of the Original Series novels had a throw away joke about Kirk seducing the beautiful leader of a newly discovered alien race not realising they evolved from fish and she was expecting to lay eggs and for Kirk to come along later to fertilise them 😂

Quote from AnzioFaro >>

Well, I mean, yeah, you would have to invoke magic to end up with a creature that's half elf and half dwarf. Absolutely. But aren't we already doing that? Isn't that what this game is? If we're willing to accept that elves exist, and dwarves exist, then we're kinda already heading down the magic road. Now we're just deciding which lane we're in. And I didn't mean my last comment to sound like I was disagreeing or anything. I'm just kinda fascinated by all the crazy wondrous stuff that nature can do. Heck, when I started playing D&D, dwarf and elf weren't just species, they were character classes as well. And that was fine way back then, because the whole game felt new. But over the decades it's natural to want to push the boundaries of creativity a bit, just to keep things feeling fresh. So a while back when I saw people discussing the possibilities of exploring the "other half" species options, that sounded cool. But I understand WotC is a business, so the primary concern was to get 5.5e up and running first, and all the extra little side ideas can be dealt with later. 

I'm reminded of the story arc in Star Trek: Deep Space 9, when they discovered that humans, and Klingons, and Romulans are all descended from a common ancestor. They're clearly distinct species now, but apparently the same genus. And Worf has a son named Alexander, whose mother is Ambassador K'Ehleyr. Her father was Klingon but her mother was a human. And she had a child. So she was a fertile offspring of an inter-species coupling. Now I know that citing Star Trek genealogies doesn't exactly make an air-tight scientific case (plus it further confirms that I am, in fact, a huge nerd). But if we're willing to suspend disbelief enough to say that our characters can hurl fireballs and read minds and raise people from the dead, then I don't suppose it's too much of an imposition to suggest that there might have been some hairy little feet pitter-pattering around Valinor after Bilbo and Frodo showed up. 

And now I'm just wondering what Legolas would've thought about that. I gotta stop browsing these Forums at 2 am. 

It really depends how you think of the races. To me, elves are basically humans infused with fey magic, so it makes sense that there are half elves. Dwarves, on the other hand, were created by some god (I think) and are therefore a distinct species incapable of interbreeding with humans.

But the lore states that elves were also "created by some god" - Corellon Larethian. And orcs were created by Gruumsh. 

Wait a minute. If Shrek and Fiona have kids, would they be ogres or half-ogres? 

Quote from AnzioFaro >>

But the lore states that elves were also "created by some god" - Corellon Larethian. And orcs were created by Gruumsh. 

Wait a minute. If Shrek and Fiona have kids, would they be ogres or half-ogres? 

Are you saying then that the gods are facilitating their created species making half species with humans? 

Not just with humans! Speaking of Shrek... Dragon and Donkey had kids! The gods might not necessarily be facilitating interbreeding with humans, but there doesn't seem to be much they can do to prevent their creations from fooling around with dang near anything or anyone. 

To paraphrase Steve Buscemi, "Do you think the gods stay in heaven because they too live in fear of what they've created?"