Combining Half-Orcs and Half-Elves Into One Category... The Blooded

When it comes to fantasy species in RPGs there is never more debate than you find around the so-called "half" options. Whether it's arguing about which species can have children with which, what powers their offspring inherit, or stating that you need X amount of a bloodline in order to qualify for these species at all, these arguments often get pretty far into the weeds.

It was with these discussions in mind that I recently created the Blooded for my Sundara setting... a category of species that I hope gives more players more freedom, and expands options in a way that everyone can enjoy.

Because more options leads to better games all-around!

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What Are The Blooded?

I've been putting out more and more setting expansions with the Species of Sundara splat books for Pathfinder, and so far I've covered elves, dwarves, orcs, and halflings (and if you prefer the DND 5E versions you can get them here at elves, dwarves, orcs, or halflings). And in those books I've made it clear when individuals are capable of having children with other species, and when they aren't. Elves, for example, are capable of having children with any other sentient species... some partners may take more work (and pose more risk) but it is possible. While orcs are not as capable as elves, the fact that they can have so many children of mixed heritage is one of the reasons so many people believe that orcs were created by the elves (or, in some tales, that orcs were elves who had transformed themselves far enough away from their base species that they became something entirely new).

This, of course, led to the "half" question that has led to so many debates around so many tables. So I thought I would change things up with the creation of the Blooded as a category of creature.

My great-grandmother always said we had elven blood...

First and foremost, this eliminates the "half" idea that one parent was one species and the other parent was a different species. The status of "Blooded" simply means that whatever your heritage, it is dominant enough that particular traits manifested in you, conferring the species template. So someone may have had elven ancestors on their grandfather's side, but it's not until their birth that those traits manifested. Alternatively, someone might have orcish blood on their mother's side, but it doesn't become dominant until they've had children.

In addition to the Blooded not necessarily being the specific, first-generation offspring of an elf or an orc with another species, this species option makes it clear that anyone capable of having children with elves and orcs may fit under this category. This means you may have Blooded who are small-sized, combining halflings and elves. You may have an orcish child of elven blood. And so on, and so forth, according to the limitations put out in the respective splats. Other than those rules, and the fact that you only gain elven or orc blood as the dominant part of your Blooded heritage, the sky's the limit!

Lastly, there's been this pervasive idea in RPGs that so-called half-elves and half-orcs are always outsiders or outcasts in some way, shape, or form. Half-elves are stifled by their elven culture, and fetishized or misunderstood by humans. Half-orcs are sneered at by "true" orcs, and feared by humans. We've seen this time and time again, and I kicked this idea right to the curb.

Each of the five cultures laid out for elves and orcs has specific names and social niches for the Blooded within their ranks. I expanded on them, listing alternative species traits and abilities to represent their unique heritages, and talked a bit about the sort of treatment they receive, and the expectations (or lack thereof) that are placed on them. Because the Blooded aren't some new and strange phenomenon, so the cultures of Sundara have grown and changed over time to accommodate them.

And because I seem to have forgotten to put the link in here in the first place, check out The Blooded for both Pathfinder Classic, as well as Dungeons and Dragons 5E!

Don't Forget To Check Out The Rest of Sundara As Well!

I'm taking a short break from Sundara for the holidays, but I'll be coming back to add more to the setting once I'm back home and stuck in for more heavy lifting.  But while you wait, consider checking out the stuff that's already come out to bring yourself up to date while you get ready for new cities, new species, items, and more!

- Ironfire: The City of Steel (Pathfinder and 5E): Built around the Dragon Forge, Ironfire is where the secret to dragon steel was first cracked. The center of the mercenary trade in the region, as well as boasting some of the finest schools for teaching practical sciences, Ironfire is a place where discovery and danger walk hand in hand!

- Moüd: The City of Bones (Pathfinder and 5E): An ancient center of trade and magic, Moüd was lost to a cataclysm, and then buried in myth. Reclaimed by the necromantic arts of the Silver Wraiths guild, this city has once again become a place teeming with life. Despite the burgeoning population, though, it is the continued presence of the undead that helps keep the city running, ensuring that Moüd is not swallowed up once more.

- Silkgift: The City of Sails (Pathfinder and 5E): Built on the cottage industry of Archer cloth (an extremely durable material used for sails, windmills, etc.), Silkgift is a place that prizes invention and discovery. From gravity batteries that store the potential of the wind, to unique irrigation systems, to aether weapons, the city positively churns out discoveries... and then there's the canal they cut through the mountains that makes them a major center of trade across the region.

- Hoardreach: The City of Wyrms (Pathfinder and 5E): A center of power across an entire region, Hoardreach is ruled over by a Cooperation of five different dragons. A place for refugees and outcasts of all sorts, Hoardreach boasts some of the most unusual citizens and creations from across Sundara. Infamous for their sky ships, which require the cast-off scales and unique arcane sciences of the Dragon Works to take to the air, one never knows just what they'll find in this city built atop a mountain.

- Archbliss: The City of The Sorcerers (Pathfinder and 5E): A floating city in the sky, Archbliss has been a refuge for sorcerers for thousands of years. It's only in relatively recent years that the city has allowed those from the ground below who lack the power of a bloodline to join them in the clouds. However, while there are certainly amazing wonders to behold, there is a darkness in Archbliss. Something rotting away at its heart that could, if not healed, bring the city crashing to the ground once more.

- Gods of Sundara (available for Pathfinder and DND 5E): In a world with no alignment, and where the gods are often genuinely mysterious forces that are far too large for mortals to truly comprehend, the divine feels genuinely strange and unknown... something that really does have to be taken on faith. This supplement provides a sample pantheon for Sundara, but also provides instructions on how to easily make your own gods in a world where you can't cast a spell and tell whether someone is good or evil.

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