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Half-drow/tiefling - is it possible?

In my next runt, want to play a half-drow. I also want to play a tiefling. Could the two be combined in a single PC?

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  • KamigoroshiKamigoroshi Member Posts: 5,870
    Given that both Draegloths and Fey'ri are a thing in the Forgotten Realms... sure. Even back in Planescape Genasi & Co. weren't limited to being of human stock.
  • AstafasAstafas Member Posts: 448
    edited March 2020
    Given that both Draegloths and Fey'ri are a thing in the Forgotten Realms... sure. Even back in Planescape Genasi & Co. weren't limited to being of human stock.

    Great! :-) What would be the trademarks not to miss?
  • KamigoroshiKamigoroshi Member Posts: 5,870
    Astafas wrote: »
    Given that both Draegloths and Fey'ri are a thing in the Forgotten Realms... sure. Even back in Planescape Genasi & Co. weren't limited to being of human stock.

    Great! :-) What would be the trademarks not to miss?

    Depends what you want to create, really. Easiest and fastest way would be to create a Haer'Dalis 2.0. Meaning using the generic tiefling racial traits, slapping them on a gray-skinned half-elf and begone with it.

    If you want to paint a one-of-a-kind Half-Drow Tiefling portrait, then I'd recommend starting by picking up an evil outsider of your choice and mold your appearance from there. Like having useless stumbs instead of a second pair of arms for a Glabrezu ancestry or something. You could also use the Planescape campaign setting's random tables for the Tiefling's appearance, abilities and even side effects. Or, you could concote your own things with the help of Pathfinder's Tiefling heritages. While beinga different IP, their tables are rather similar to the AD&D ones.
  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235
    IIRC, when combining a mortal race with a planar one, the planar traits override the mortal ones. So an Aasimar Orc would get the Aasimar stat bonuses. Unless there is a specific sub-race, like say, a Tanaruk (Orc/Fiend iirc).
  • KamigoroshiKamigoroshi Member Posts: 5,870
    Non-Human Tieflings
    The creatures of the depths of the Outer Planes do not limit their foul miscegenation to humanity. Elves, dwarves, halflings, and gnomes all have tales of tieflings in their histories, and those who appear among them now often suffer even greater stigma than those born to humans.

    Other humanoids see tieflings in their midst as well. Many of the monstrous races of the world have demonic origins—most notably gnolls, who still thank the Mother of Monsters for their birth. Ogres, orcs, half-orcs, goblins, and other creatures that call upon the powers of the evil Outer Planes are equally likely to see tieflings living among them, but unless a given race holds to a code of racial purity, tieflings are far less likely to be shunned by such populations

    <snip>

    In game terms, the difference between non-human tieflings and human tieflings is purely a matter of size. Unless they have specific tiefling-related size modifiers, the tieflings of each of these races are the same size as their non-fiendish ancestors. They gain any of the bonuses or penalties related to that size, but gain no racial bonuses except those of the tiefling; beyond size, their humanoid ancestry is purely cosmetic.

    Personally, I like how Pathfinder deals with non-human Tieflings the most: nothing changes between human tieflings and demihuman tieflings except their size. Though the various heritages and variant tiefling appearances still apply all the same.
  • AstafasAstafas Member Posts: 448
    Thanks for great help @Kamigoroshi and @ThacoBell! Loading up my brushes in Photoshop! :-)
  • ZaxaresZaxares Member Posts: 1,330
    Personally, I like how Pathfinder deals with non-human Tieflings the most: nothing changes between human tieflings and demihuman tieflings except their size. Though the various heritages and variant tiefling appearances still apply all the same.

    The fiendish blood in tieflings is so diluted that yeah, there really wouldn't be much difference between tieflings of different races aside from their size and maybe ancestry bloodlines for the purposes of determining whether a particular character counts as an elf/dwarf/orc etc. to be able to wield certain magic items. That seems like a fair compromise to me.
  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235
    I ran into this same question when making a half-orc/feytouched. I was ALMOST tempted to just combine their respective bonuses and penalties.
  • gorgonzolagorgonzola Member Posts: 3,864
    edited March 2020
    imo a half drow should retain at least some of the drow natural magic resistance, so i would give to the half drow tiefling let's say 50% of the MR viconia has.
    i would also give to him some char limitation, rep limitation would have been better, but is much more difficult to implement and as char and rep have similar effects in some aspects of the games, like dealing with shops, to have a low score in char and to have charname talk to the shop keepers, at least if not in bg2 underdark, instead of a high char npc would mimic well the disposition of a surface shopkeeper towards a party lead by a half drow.
    if every time you recruit viconia you loose some rep and if you find her tied to a pole ready to be burned alive to assume that to be half tiefling and half drow brings some disadvantage is the less i would do at your place.
    also playing bg2 i would not recruit keldorn as if maybe he would not try to kill charname as he does with viconia i don't see how i could rp that he joins the party.
    EDIT: beyond the unseeing eye quest that is a task that his order gave to him, so if the temple put a half drow in charge he maybe can not like it, but duty is duty for a LG paladin. a soldier can not and does not question about the officer that has the command.
    Post edited by gorgonzola on
  • shabadooshabadoo Member Posts: 324
    In 3 5 you could simply make Drow half-fiend. But you could use a similar procedure. Just create your Half-drow as the base creature, then add tiefling traits as appropriate. Ignore/remove any traits you believe would be overridden by one race or the other.
  • AstafasAstafas Member Posts: 448
    edited March 2020
    Deed is done: Meet Haelfur, the chaotic neutral half-drow/tiefling! (with some godly spices in the mix as well)

    Haelfur is of the unique multiclass barbarian/mage (unique in BG at least). The barbarian rage ability is a legacy of his demonic ancestry. Unfortunately, his drow blood is too dilluted to pass on any magic resistance. To add insult to injury, he did inherit the drow sensitivity to direct sunshine, so he always wears a wide-brimmed hat to shade his eyes.

    Normally cool and calculating (as most mages tend to be), bloodlust may take over when the battle gets too fierce. Haelfur will then abandon his spells (even in the middle of spellcasting) and instead wreak havoc with his two-handed sword with no regard to his own injuries.

    Haelfur is able to hide most of his horns under his hat and could probably pass for a regular surface half-elf if not for his dusky skin, white hair/beard and red irises. He has a decent starting charisma of 12 (who's to say his great-great-great-grandfather was not an incubi?) :-D but gets a -2 starting reputation (8 instead of 10, being chaotic neutral).

    zkr9njlzl5o5.jpg

    Post edited by Astafas on
  • AstafasAstafas Member Posts: 448
    edited March 2020
    Damn, can't get the Barbarian kit to work despite EE Keeper. I know I did get Berserker to work in a multiclass before, but Beamdog must have changed something (can't get Berskerker Rage to work either...). It's possible to add the kit ablities but not to use them (greyed out). Anyone know of a solution?

    EDIT: I might have found a solution myself. It seems to work to add XP in order to level up to level 5 (getting the rage that way activates the greyed out icon), then leveling down manually with EE Keeper again. Remains to be seen if I get all the good stuff at level 11, but I was mostly after the barbarian rage.
    Post edited by Astafas on
  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235
    @Astafas All you should need to do is set the level 1 abilities under the abilities tab. I haven't used eekeeper in awhile (it breaks a mod I regularly use), but there should be a button that opens a menu to grant all kit abilities of a specified kit. It lets you select what level(s) of the abilities you want. Just select levels 0 and1, and you have them. No level shenanigans needed.
  • AstafasAstafas Member Posts: 448
    ThacoBell wrote: »
    @Astafas All you should need to do is set the level 1 abilities under the abilities tab. I haven't used eekeeper in awhile (it breaks a mod I regularly use), but there should be a button that opens a menu to grant all kit abilities of a specified kit. It lets you select what level(s) of the abilities you want. Just select levels 0 and1, and you have them. No level shenanigans needed.

    Yeah, I tried that first and it didn't work. Was very surprised...
  • SkitiaSkitia Member Posts: 1,084
    Make sure that you actually have a memorized slot available. At level 1 you don't have any innate slots, so you're probably seeing 0 innate abilities to use. Use EEKEEPER to increase innate memory by one.
  • AstafasAstafas Member Posts: 448
    Skitia wrote: »
    Make sure that you actually have a memorized slot available. At level 1 you don't have any innate slots, so you're probably seeing 0 innate abilities to use. Use EEKEEPER to increase innate memory by one.

    I changed that as well. But it solved itself with the leveling up and down trick.
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