Homebrew Elf-Orc (Elkari) Species Details

Few races share a hatred of each other like the orcs and elves. In many ways they are quite opposite. One is beautiful, the other grotesque. One is strong, the other agile. One intelligent, and one easily outwitted by a rock. The truth is this contempt is a recent chapter in their history. And though these two races will often kill each other on sight, it wasn't always this way. Nobody is quite sure what happened to drive them apart. But when these two exceptional races were joined together, the children they bore were far greater than the sum of their lineage... and far more dangerous.

— Magus Helios the Red, human sage

 

Strong, agile and utterly unpredictable, the elkari are formidable. Elkari are the remnant of a time when orcs and elves fought side by side. Though they were born from a time when both races were amenable, they are barely welcome within either society today. As a result, many elkari have left the lands of their kin, preferring to live among more tolerant races. Elkari are considered to be extremely rare. 

Dexterous and Durable

Elkari are blessed with the graceful beauty of elves punctuated only by small tusks and squarer features. Elkari stand from 5 to just over 6 feet tall, yet lack the broad, bulky bodies of their orc parent, instead having slim builds with their natural muscle wrapped tightly beneath the flesh. Their skin tones tend to reflect that of their elven parent tinged with a hint of dull gray or green or blue.

There is an almost elegant quality to their purposeful movements, reminiscent of a great cat— powerful, yet precise and fluid. Elkari are not as strong as full orcs, nor as agile as pure elves, they instead embody the near-perfect balance between might and speed. They are impulsive and erratic, making them all but impossible to anticipate in battle; a trait which earns the respect of some of the parent races, if not full acceptance.

Turmoil Within

The elkari are a people that not only struggle with others, but also conflict with themselves. The whispers of the orc god Gruumsh do not directly reach their minds, kept at bay by their fey ancestry, yet his influence still burns in each and every elkari. It's this influence that amplifies their already chaotic tendencies, a gift also of their elf blood, and sees them act on instinct—unpredictable but often reckless, with little regard for law and order. It drives them to violence, and only the fine control granted by their elven heritage allows them to—mostly—rein in these urges.

Likewise, their elf blood steers them toward doing good—a task made difficult by the fact that they are widely shunned, along with their vicious cravings and aloof nature. These often futile desires commonly lead to frustration, and see more elkari maintain a neutral or evil alignment than any form of good.

Society

Some Elkaris can make a name for themselves as bodyguards and mercenaries in Elven society, however, they are relatively few and far between as they are mostly ostracized as abominations.

In Orc tribes the Elkaris are ironically better accepted than one might initially think. This is because, in Orc tribes, the strong rule the weak, and the more intelligent Elf Orcs can use their cunning to make their way up to the rank of chieftain. This is more common in the Badlands where tribes of wild Elves and Orcs often commingle.

Elkaris are most often live among Tieflings and human. Of the other races, humans are most likely to accept Elf-Orcs, and Elf-Orcs almost always live in human lands when not living among Orc tribes. Whether proving themselves among rough barbarian tribes or scrabbling to survive in the slums of larger cities.

Elkari-Names

Elkari are given names fitting to where they were raised. Those raised by a reclusive elf will have an elven name, whilst one raised by an exiled orc will bear a more gutteral sounding, orc name. Alternatively, like tieflings, some elf-orcs adopt a "virtue" name based on a word that they feel signifies their struggle to survive, or an important goal to them.

Look between elf names, orc names, and tiefling "virtue" names and choose one for your character.

Those given away to be raised by others, whether to guardians from another race, a monastery or faction order, or otherwise, could have any name relevant to those.

Elkari are known among the orc clans as the bloodless, or gahuta. And the elves refer to them as the cursed children, or hútanwë.

You bridge the gap between orcs and elves.

Elf-Orc (Elkari) Traits

Both your Elven and Orcish heritage have given you superior abilities.

Ability Score Increase

Your Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution scores each increase by 1.

Age

Elkari mature quickly due to their orc heritage, usually at the age of 14. Their elven heritage, however, increases their lifespans, and they have been known to live up to the age of 200.

Size

Elkari bridge the physique between elf and orc and are easily about 5 to over 6 feet tall. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Keen Senses

You have proficiency in the Perception skill.

Menacing

Because of your orcish ancestry, you can easily intimidate people with your stature and your strength.

Chaotic Dodge

Born from conflicting races, your very blood chaotic; no enemy can predict you. You may use your reaction to either give yourself advantage on a Dexterity saving throw, or force a creature to reroll an attack against you, taking the lowest of the two rolls for their attack. You can use this trait once per short or long rest.

Darkvision

Both your Elven and Orcish heritage have given you superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common, Orcish, and Elvish. Elvish is fluid, with subtle intonations and intricate grammar. Elven literature is rich and varied, and their songs and poems are famous among other races. Many bards learn their language so they can add Elvish ballads to their repertoires. Orcish is a harsh language but you know and understand it because of your ancestry.

Hybrid Physiology

You inherit some of the qualities of your parents' races. Choose three Hybrid Physiology traits from the list below.

Once per long rest, as an action, you can attempt to channel your lineage and change your chosen Hybrid Physiology traits. Roll a 1d4:

• On a roll of 1: You successfully alter one of your chosen traits.
• On a roll of 2: You struggle to tap into your ancestry, suffering 1d4 psychic damage, and the attempt fails.
• On a roll of 3: You tap into unexpected aspects of your heritage, changing two of your chosen traits instead of one.
• On a roll of 4: The strain of channeling your lineage overwhelms you, causing you to gain one level of exhaustion.

Hybrid Physiology

Trait	Description
Aggressive	As a bonus action, you can move up to your speed toward a hostile creature that you can see.
Heritage Training	Your Elkari heritage has honed your proficiency with weapons. Choose two preferred weapons. You are proficient with your chosen weapons. When wielding these chosen weapons, you gain "Ancestral Strikes." On a critical hit with one of these weapons, choose one: Bleeding Edge (Slashing): Target takes 1d4 slashing damage at the start of each turn until magically healed or DC 15 Medicine check. Rattling Blow (Bludgeoning): Target has disadvantage on next attack roll or saving throw before end of next turn. Piercing Precision (Piercing): Target's AC is reduced by 2 until end of next turn.
Fey Ancestry	You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can’t put you to sleep.
Cantrip	You know one cantrip of your choice from the Wizard spell list. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for it.
Saving Face	If you miss with an attack roll or fail an ability check or a saving throw, you can gain a bonus to the roll equal to the number of allies you can see within 30 feet of you (maximum bonus of +5). Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Relentless Endurance	When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 hit point instead. You can’t use this feature again until you finish a long rest.
Savage Attacks	When you score a critical hit with a melee weapon attack, you can roll one of the weapon’s damage dice one additional time and add it to the extra damage of the critical hit.
Trance	Elkaris don't need to sleep like their Elven ancestry. Instead, they meditate deeply, remaining semiconscious, for 4 hours a day. (The Common word for such meditation is “trance.”) While meditating, you can dream after a fashion; such dreams are actually mental exercises that have become reflexive through years of practice. After resting in this way, you gain the same benefit that a human does from 8 hours of sleep.

When you use this ability, the transformation lasts for the entire long rest, and you benefit from it. The next morning, a die roll determines if the change was successful. If your sleep is interrupted during this time, whether by attackers or other means, the attempt automatically fails, and you suffer one level of exhaustion. You must sleep uninterrupted for 6 hours during the transformation. During this period, you cannot use trance to hasten the process.

 

DM Guide for Balancing Hybrid Physiology Traits

If you wish to ensure balanced gameplay, you may consider the following guidelines and recommendations for managing the selection of Hybrid Physiology traits in your campaign. Feel free to use these as potential balance ideas, and adapt them as you see fit:

Trait Selection Limitation:

• You might limit players to choosing only one of the more powerful traits to prevent characters from becoming overly powerful compared to others.

Powerful Traits:

• Relentless Endurance: This trait is extremely useful for survival, allowing a character to avoid being knocked out.
• Savage Attacks: This trait enhances critical hits, which can significantly increase a character's damage output.
• Saving Face: This trait can significantly enhance a character's ability to succeed in crucial moments.

Situational and Utility Traits:

• Aggressive: Useful for positioning in combat, but less impactful overall.
• Heritage Training: This trait provides proficiency with weapons and additional effects on critical hits.
• Trance: Provides a different way to rest, useful for certain campaign settings.
• Fey Ancestry: Grants advantage on saves against being charmed and immunity to magical sleep.
• Cantrip: Adds a minor magical ability. Since it scales with character level, it remains balanced.

Combining Traits:

• Encourage players to choose a mix of traits that reflect their character's unique heritage and abilities without focusing too heavily on combat optimization.
• Example combinations:
  • Balanced Combination: Relentless Endurance, Aggressive, Trance.
  • Combat-Focused Combination: Savage Attacks, Heritage Training, Fey Ancestry.
  • Utility-Focused Combination: Cantrip, Trance, Saving Face.

By considering these guidelines, you can help ensure that the Hybrid Physiology traits add depth and diversity to your campaign without disrupting overall game balance. However, feel free to modify or ignore these suggestions based on what works best for your group.