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 Half-Elven lifespan
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ElfBane
Learned Scribe

USA
275 Posts

Posted - 04 Feb 2020 :  23:00:09  Show Profile Send ElfBane a Private Message  Reply with Quote  Delete Topic
My memory of a HE's lifespan is that it's ~180 yrs. I don't remember what version of the Realms I was reading when I learned that, but it seems to be consistent throughout the versions iterations.

What I want to know is what is canon with my question. My question is as follows;
If HEs married only other HEs, would the ~180 lifespan remain the average? Or does the human element insist that the lifespan decrease to where it's the human average, or perhaps slightly above?

Thanks for any enlightenment!

Dalor Darden
Great Reader

USA
4211 Posts

Posted - 05 Feb 2020 :  00:50:11  Show Profile Send Dalor Darden a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Half-elves produce another half-elf when their mate is a half-elf...there is no slide toward humanity.

The Old Grey Box and AD&D for me!
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TheIriaeban
Master of Realmslore

USA
1289 Posts

Posted - 05 Feb 2020 :  01:59:35  Show Profile Send TheIriaeban a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Page 58 of the Races of Faerun states that two half-elves will have half-elven children

"Iriaebor is a fine city. So what if you can have violence between merchant groups break out at any moment. Not every city can offer dinner AND a show."

My FR writeups - http://www.mediafire.com/folder/um3liz6tqsf5n/Documents
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Ayrik
Great Reader

Canada
7966 Posts

Posted - 05 Feb 2020 :  06:52:43  Show Profile Send Ayrik a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Half-elves have at least 50% elven blood. Human parent plus elf parent, half-elf parent plus elf parent, half-elf parent plus half-elf parent.

Human blood is "dominant" vs elven blood.
Less than 50% elf blood results in a human. A human with maybe some elven traits (like slightly pointy ears, slender build, keen eyesight, pretty hair, etc) still treated as a human for all game stats and abilities.
More than 50% elf blood results in a half-elf. Even a single human ancestor mixed into a long lineage of pure elven ancestors will still produce half-elves, the bloodline can never again sire true elves although it might always be diluted (in as little as one generation) into "true" humans.

Lifespans for elves and for half-elves vary by rules edition. And (in most rules editions) can also vary by elf or half-elf subrace (some rules editions have one kind of generic half-elves, others have comprehensive tables detailing every possible combination). Half-elven lifespan is usually several centuries, long enough to outlive a few generations of humans yet not (or maybe just barely) long enough to properly bond with elves.

Half-elves with mixed elven heritage (sun elf plus moon elf or wood elf plus drow, for example) typically have a 50/50 chance of expressing as the elven or half-elven subrace of either parent. Although unusual blends and exceptions have existed in every rules edition. And certain half-elven populations in the Realms have apparently begun to breed into their own identifiable (half)elven subrace variant/ethnicity, just as human populations tend to do when isolated from other populations across enough generations.

[/Ayrik]
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TBeholder
Great Reader

2376 Posts

Posted - 13 Feb 2020 :  21:29:14  Show Profile Send TBeholder a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik

Half-elves have at least 50% elven blood. Human parent plus elf parent, half-elf parent plus elf parent, half-elf parent plus half-elf parent.
Human blood is "dominant" vs elven blood.
Less than 50% elf blood results in a human.

A simpler approach is that there's no "at least 50%", only 3 states (human, half-elf, elf) and symmetric 3x3 "multiplication table".
quote:
Although unusual blends and exceptions have existed in every rules edition.

There are "traces" in canon, yes. I can remember Belinda Moonglow (moon elf, human heritage), Ashemmi (moon elf, sun elf heritage). Though can't remember - was anything odd about Nihmedu?
Though this only affects the phenotypes, and never seemed to count for determining the basic result. Thankfully.

People never wonder How the world goes round -Helloween
And even I make no pretense Of having more than common sense -R.W.Wood
It's not good, Eric. It's a gazebo. -Ed Whitchurch

Edited by - TBeholder on 20 Feb 2020 18:17:00
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