Half-Elves (DSC)

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Half-elves are produced through the union of elves and humans. These characters of mixed breeding combine features of both races to create something unique. Indeed, half-elves can even produce children, unlike muls. Half-elves grow taller than humans but don't reach the height of elves, averaging about feet. They are also bulkier than elves, making it easier to pass themselves off as full humans than as full elves. Even so, all half-elves have telltale features that hint at their elven heritage. Despite their unique nature, half-elves don't form their own communities. They live in human societies, either in the city-states or among the tribes and villages that fill the wilderness.
A half-elf's life is typically harder than either a human's or an elf's. Intolerance from others is the main cause for this difficult existence, which often shapes and defines a half-elf's nature. As such, a half-elf rarely finds acceptance in either parent's society. Elves have no tolerance for children of mixed blood; their traditions demand that such children and even their mothers be cast out of the tribe. Humans aren't quite as harsh, and half-elves born into human society have a better chance of survival, but life isn't particularly enjoyable or easy. Humans will accept half-elves as allies or partners, but seldom will they accept them into their homes or families, and few will call a half-elf friend.
Humans have no faith in a half-elf's elven side, and elves distrust the human in these crossbreeds. Because of this, a half-elf goes through life as an outsider and loner. He wanders from situation to situation without a people or a land to call home. Thus, he is forced to develop high levels of self-reliance in order to survive. This self-reliance is a half-elf's greatest asset, and a half-elf prides himself on it. He learns not only the skills of survival but methods for dealing with loneliness as well. This may make a half-elf seem detached and aloof, but he will cooperate with companions when necessary. This air of indifference often hides a desire to gain acceptance from one side of a half-elf's heritage or the other, a pursuit that's usually in vain. Fortunately, however, other races don't have a basic dislike of half-elves, so these characters typically find companionship among dwarves or thri-kreen. Some half-elves also turn to the animal world for company, training creatures to be servants and friends.
Half-elves can select any character class; a number of multiclass options are available to them as well. These characters receive the following bonuses:
* All half-elf characters have infravision to 60 feet; their base movement rate is 12.
* At 3rd level (the starting level for all DARK SUN PCs), a half-elf receives a bonus proficiency: survival. This proficiency is free; it doesn't fill up any of the character's available slots. The player must specify the terrain type his character is proficient in. Terrain types for the world of Athas include stony barrens, sandy wastes, rocky badlands, mountains, scrub plains, forests, salt flats, and boulder fields. Note that the terrain type selected must make sense for the character. A half-elf who grew up in Tyr, for example, shouldn't select swamp survival.
* At 5th level, a half-elf can befriend one creature. The creature can be any animal native to the half-elf's survival terrain type, but it can't be larger than a human (medium size). The half-elf must find the creature while it's young and spend a full week with it to train it. After that time, the creature follows the half-elf everywhere and obeys simple commands. A half-elf can only befriend one creature at a time, and he must wait 100 days after the death of one befriended creature before beginning to train another. Choice of a half-elf's befriended creature is always subject to the DM's approval.
* Like their elven counterparts, half-elf characters have no special resistance to any type of spells, nor do they have the ability to find secret or concealed doors. They have been known to live as long as 130 years.