With so many fantasy races to play, you can often feel conflicted about which one to be. Sometimes you want the grace and power of an elf, but with a little more flexibility, a little more human. Sometimes you want the endless possibilities that comes with humanity, but just a little more specialized and exotic. Enter, then, the half-elf. Now, to be clear, being a jack-of-all-trades and a master of none isn’t usually a strong quality. It can be helpful sure, but more often than not, it’s better to be one thing or another. What would make a half-elf any better? By the end of this post, you’ll know the core in’s and out’s of being a half-elf and how to really shine at the table. Because, if you’re not killing it, you’re not playing it to the hilt.

Elf characters can have a strange mindset to adapt to, so starting from there and dialing it down should make for a pretty good half-elf, right? You could, but there’s much more to delve into. Elves are still distantly foreign to you, but more so than any other race, you can relate to them… to an extent. For you, time isn’t as much of a commodity as it is for a human. You can afford to wait for seasonal events and elvish celebrations that might come around every 50 years. However, by the same measure, it is literally a fraction of the life of an elf. That will always loom over you if you were predominantly raised among elves. What’s more (depending on the lore), you matured at a much faster rate than your peers, who were likely still children when you were becoming an adult. In their eyes, you might be a child still, one doomed to whither away under the weight of Father Time, just more slowly. Likewise, if you were born among humans, this is the very same feeling you might have about them. You might mature at their rate, but you’ll live to see generations come and go before meeting a (presumably) natural end. You are a person caught between two worlds and in some ways experiencing the worst of both. You might be nervous around elves, stuttering your dialog a bit to represent the reminder of your conflicting nature. It’d be easy to be morbid about it, were it not for when your mixed heritage shines. Because of these sentiments, you have a fundamental motivation for both avoiding them with wanderlust and adventure and a deep seated desire to bring people together. Many half-elves may play into one or the other, being an explorer or a town leader. But to bring out the true conflict of your heritage, aim to bring out both. Taking the attitude of diplomat is a tremendously good start. Look for conflicts that can be avoided with negotiations, especially if they’re about to boil over. Success would be great, but don’t worry about actually succeeding in resolving a dispute with negotiation. Your goal is to show you aim for an accord. If you fail, you can later (briefly) lament the fact you couldn’t resolve it. If you succeed, you can express your relief instead.

While the conflict they feel is real, their dual nature isn’t constantly at odds with itself. Humans are ambitious and elves delight in artistry. The combination of the two makes you jump at the chance to master a number of new skills. By a human standard, you might seem to dabble, but in truth, your elven artistry propels you to become adept at whatever things you put your mind to. Scholarly higher education? Wilderness survival? Locksmithing? Social skills? Athleticism? Your efforts push you to be a jack-of-many-trades and master of several. Whatever skills you acquire this way, research jargon related to it and sparingly use it in your speech. This should be plenty to relay your excitement at learning a new art.

Despite your best efforts, you simply cannot defy your biology. If you can’t stay with humans for long and can’t be peers with elves, what course of action is left to you? Your wandering means you’ve met a broad range of species. Is that the answer? You’ve likely bartered with dwarves, eaten with halflings, marveled at gnomish wonders, and more. You may be hard pressed to find a people, but for now, take great solace in being a people person. Don’t you? You’ll heed the need to arbitrate, you’ll wander from place to place, but they won’t truly be what you need: a place to belong. Only one thing can relate to you wholly and completely: another half-elf. A personal quest is a powerful motivator. The more personal it is, the more meaning to it. When playing a half-elf, it might very well be a character defining moment to finally, at long last, run across another half-elf. Though this depends on the setting you play in, in general, half-elves are rare. Consider, at some point in your half-elf’s career, making it your personal goal to find other half-elves. While it will surely be sad if nothing comes of it, to express this sentiment let’s that half-elfish conflict and unification really shine through. And all in one package to boot.

Half-elves are not at all as simple or plain as you’d might be lead to believe. By their very nature, they’re conflicted, whole, and alone all at the same time. It’d be enough to weigh on many a person, but a half-elf isn’t a normal person by default. Take this opportunity, the next time you make a character. When you pick half-elf, remember this advice. Because if you’re not killing it, you’re not playing it to the hilt.

-The Clark Side