Post/Author/DateTime	Post
talion09 02-05-06, 02:00 AM	I was looking at the PGtE, specifically the Revenant Blade PRC, and I had an idea. Could a Half Elf (with ties to the Valenar through one parent) take the Revenant Blade PRC? The PRC lists "Race:Elf" as a requirement. So I then looked at the PHB 3.5 for the exact wording of the racial abilities. Half-Elf Racial Traits, Pg 19 "Elven Blood: For all effects related to race, a half-elf is considered an elf." --- So my question is, does the pre-req for a PRC count as an "effect" in this case? I'm tempted to say yes for my campaign and house-rule it as necessary because I like the idea, but I was wondering about the legality of it.
allenchan 02-05-06, 02:12 AM	Yes, you can satisfy PrC requirements with that. However, why you would want to is beyond me...
Straylight 02-05-06, 02:32 AM	By RAW, Allenchan is correct. However, Eberron makes a further distinction in the Khoravar by making them a true-breeding race of their own. Given that, I would not generally allow a Half-Elf to become a Revenant Blade. The precedent for this, if you're wondering, comes from the way Dragonmarks work in Eberron: Half-elves are considered a distinct race for the purposes of taking their dragonmarks. Half-elves can ONLY take the Lyrandar and Medani marks, and are NOT eligible for Phiarlan/Thuranni mark.
Rechan 02-05-06, 02:36 AM	By RAW, Allenchan is correct. However, Eberron makes a further distinction in the Khoravar by making them a true-breeding race of their own. Given that, I would not generally allow a Half-Elf to become a Revenant Blade. The precedent for this, if you're wondering, comes from the way Dragonmarks work in Eberron: Half-elves are considered a distinct race for the purposes of taking their dragonmarks. Half-elves can ONLY take the Lyrandar and Medani marks, and are NOT eligible for Phiarlan/Thuranni mark. That kind of makes the Elven blood ability even more useless, and thus the half-elf even more weak as a core race.
talion09 02-05-06, 02:52 AM	By RAW, Allenchan is correct. However, Eberron makes a further distinction in the Khoravar by making them a true-breeding race of their own. Given that, I would not generally allow a Half-Elf to become a Revenant Blade. The precedent for this, if you're wondering, comes from the way Dragonmarks work in Eberron: Half-elves are considered a distinct race for the purposes of taking their dragonmarks. Half-elves can ONLY take the Lyrandar and Medani marks, and are NOT eligible for Phiarlan/Thuranni mark. 1. Aren't Half-Elves "true-breeding" in the normal PHB rules? I'm assuming that by true breeding, you mean that the offspring of 2 half-elves would be another half elf. 2. About the Dragonmark issue, I think that is stretching it a bit. How is the Dragonmark issue a precedent for a PRC requirement?
Gnomeling 02-05-06, 10:31 AM	That's a key point about Eberron: it takes preexisting rules and concepts and actually uses them. Clerics could always be godless; Half-Elves could always produce viable offspring, it’s just that Eberron actually gives them a true culture which makes them unique and separate from both of their genetic forbearers. However, first generation Half-Elves still pop up where Elves and Humans mix and as such I’d rule that they still could take an Elf-only Prestige Class because a) it’s mechanically supported (Elf Blood, which has not been altered in Eberron in any way) and b) it makes sense. Elves have a big thing for ancestor worship which is pretty apparent and while Half-Elves may have human heritage, they still have a whole host of pure blooded Elven ancestors. An individual Half-Elf born of a Valenar mother and raised in a Valenar community to honor and emulate his ancient Elven forbearers could well rise high in the ranks of the tribe if he is able to prove his expertise in combat or magic and could well take on the mantle of a Revenant Blade. Another thing to consider is this article written by Keith Baker himself which states that while it is terrifically unlikely, it’s not impossible for a Half-Elf to become a noble among the Aereni: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ebds/20050530a. If that’s in anyway possible, I have no trouble seeing a Half-Elf Revenant Blade.
DarkWarriorKarg 02-05-06, 10:51 AM	1. Aren't Half-Elves "true-breeding" in the normal PHB rules? I'm assuming that by true breeding, you mean that the offspring of 2 half-elves would be another half elf. 2. About the Dragonmark issue, I think that is stretching it a bit. How is the Dragonmark issue a precedent for a PRC requirement? I agree. It's a non-sequitur. And so what if the character is a 10th generation (or more) 1/2 elf. Fact of the matter is, one of the 1/2 elf's ascendants could have been one of the ancient heroes. Which qualifies the character fluff-wise. Mechanically, it's already there. And if this were to happen to any 1/2 elf, it would be a PC, of course.
Psionycx 02-05-06, 05:57 PM	This is one of those DM judgement call scenarios. One other thing to consider is that most elves, particularly the Valaes Tairn, do not consider half-elves to be equal to elves. Half-elves are not seen as true members of the ancestral lines of the elven people. While half-elves, particularly House Lyrandar, are welcome to serve administrative roles in Valenar, they are not considered to have as worthy an ancestry as a true elf. So before a PC tries to adopt a PrC like the Revenent Blade they should have to role-play some extremely good rationale as to why they would be allowed to learn the mysteries of this class. Just as no half-elf has ever become a member of the Undying Court, but theoretically could, half-elves are not generally accepted into elite Valaes Tairn warrior culture. The player should therefore not be allowed to simply hand wave and say "oh well my mother was a Valenar" and consider that enough of a background. If they want to pursue this it should involve quests at the direction of Revenant Blades to prove their worthiness and demonstrate that they really have a connection to their sacred ancestry.