We're probably most of us aware that D&D has a certain reputation for creating strange and unlikely creatures from even stranger and more unlikely unions. Whether it be 3.x with its Half-Dragon/Demon/Devil/Angel/Whatever templates, 2e with its Orogs/Ogrillons/Cambions/Alu-Fiends/Etc, or even 4e with its retention of the Half-Elf/Orc/Dwarf, it doesn't look likely to be going anywhere soon.
But I was wondering... how many of us out there have ever taken deliberate advantage of this trope?
Who here has ever included an NPC couple based on a very unusual pairing - Elf and Dwarf, perhaps, or even voluntary male human with female orc? Or has done a quest that actually involves, in some notable role, two very different species that share a romantic or even sexual (off-screen, admittedly) relationship? The evil dragon that is kidnapping princesses of various races to create a powerful brood of half-dragon slaves - or its less common reveral in a dragoness that has fallen for a humanoid prince and abducted him to be her "mate", the elf princeling who hires the PCs to rescue a kidnapped human woman who turns out to be his lover/wife, that sort of thing.
So, I started this topic to see if there are any of us out there who have played in a campaign where interspecies romance actually did come up in some way during the campaign.
And this includes reflavoring races to be half-breeds ("Gnomes are the result of mating between an Eladrin and a Dwarf, with Halflings occuring when a Gnome mates with a Human or an Elf and a Dwarf mate", for example), for the curious.
I would say in some cases they do, and in some they don't. It is is more of a magical mingling of traits like in the film where Saruman is brewing up his half-orc Uruk-hai.
But half-elves yeah; can see that happening.
Whatever floats your boat or does not offend your sensibilities.
Human <---> Half-Elf <---> Elf <---> Gnome <---> Dwarf <---> Halfling <---> Goblin <---> Orc <---> Half-Orc <---> Human
The diagram was by no means perfect, but it helped new players get a sense for the basic, very general stylistic differences between the races.
As far as incorporating interspecies romance, no, I have not taken that step as a DM, though it is an interesting suggestion. I did, however, create a Half-Elf character who had a Human mother and a Half-Orc half-brother. It brought up interesting (and awkward) social situations where my character had to explain why he was so concerned for this Half-Orc.
excuse me, I have had alot of fun with Human-Orc pairings! what is so strang about a Female Orc and a Male Human consentually loving and sexing eachother?
to be fair, I am actually kinda glad you reminded me just how seriously messed up alot of typical people think it is, it keeps me in the frame of mind that such families would be ostracized in typical human societies for their "strangeness".
actually, I have a very interesting character named Kari Blackstone, who is a female Half-Orc Druid (with a single level of Barbarian). she has low Charisma, and is extremely shy, trying to hide that much with a standoffish demeanor. her mother is a Human Druid who is great with animals (Kari didn't quite inherit that, though she defintely gets along better with animals than people. she instead is an amazing survivalist and healer), and her father is an Orc Barbarian/Fighter. Kari herself has a secret crush on the Half-Elf Bard in the group she travels with.
her companions are Stonehoof (her Heavy Horse Animal Companion), Seran Nightfall (the Half-Elf Bard/Spymaster), Landon Barrelwood (the Halfling Sorcerer), Shila (the Border Collie), and the two un-named Mules who pull their wagon.
I also have a character in an Eberron Campaign who is one of my NPCs. Khamil Velderan d'Tharashk, a Human Bard. his Father is a Half-Orc Gatekeeper Druid, his Mother is a Human Bard from the Eldeen Reaches, and his Paternal Grandmother is an Orc Gatekeeper Druid. his Paternal Grandfather is a Human Ranger/Barbarian. this heritage hasn't been discovered yet by the main character (my little sister's Tairnadal Elf Barbarian).
I tend to feature interesting interspecies relations alot in my games. my brother had a character in a Forgotten Realms Campaign we did who had alot of half-brothers... one was Half-Orc, another was Half-Elf, yet another was Half-Dragon... and he himself could trace his heritage back through Elf, Orc, Dragon, Demon, Celestial, and just about any "magical" race! XD
we realy goofed off on this one, but it was an epic game. he had this sword that was the main central focus of the Campaign (that, and his hatred of the gods, in Faerun of all settings) and we were toying around with Legacy Weapons... I totally had fun with that Sword, because he never figured out some of the things going on. >w<
he thought I was jus throwing Dragons at him for the hell of it, or as divine challenges. nope, his sword actually called out to Dragons. XD if he were a divine spellcaster, hell even by just accepting some god's Ranger Spells, he could have made attempts to control those Dragons! XD but no, sine he refused the help of the gods, the Dragons just kept trying to eat him. =w=
it was an extremely powerful Sword, but because he spurrned the gods so stubbornly, I decided to make the Sword based on Divine Casting. XD for a while he couldn't even use it at all because it required a Str, Con, and Wis score of all at last 18 or else it would literally weigh 1 ton. he dragged it along everywhere he went! XD got realy great when he found teh Sunblade... especially after he finally had the stats to use his inherited sword. imagine this guy, a Human with an Elvish name, weilding a Longsword in his main hand, and a Bastard Sword in his off-hand. XD though, technically, he didn't have an off-hand, cause he was a Ranger by then...
sorry, I totally just remembered this is a thread about interspecies mating. ._.
where was I?
1. Midden Elf (Elf/Orc)
2. Bog Elf (Elf/Troll)
3. Plague Elf (Elf/Human)
4. Hobgoblin (Goblin/Elf)
As a player, I've had my share of characters that were in what some might see as unusual relationships. Most recently my elven mage married a goblin woman and moved to her tribe's camp. There have been a few difficulties, but I think he's well on the way to gaining the respect of the chieftan.
that seems odd, Daybreaker. o.O; is that seriously how it works in your Campaign? XD I'd love to see more detail on that.
and Jetshield, I huzzah for yur Elf! ^.^ good luck becoming an honourary Goblin. has he managed to be considered an official Tribesman yet?
Mecha, thankyou for the voice of reason. I often dabbled with the thought of the Humanoid Progenitor Race myself. I like to keep it vague though, just that little thought as to why there are all these beings that look so much alike and can reproduce as though they were a single species.
it's something the PCs have to figure out, if they even give that much thought to it. =w=
has he managed to be considered an official Tribesman yet?
The marriage ceremony made him officially a part of the tribe, but it granted him no tribal rank. The small amount of respect he had with the tribe was only through the rank his wife's family has. His willingness to work hard and his open admiration of their skills and ways has helped overcome a somewhat rocky start. Of course, being accepted as an apprentice to the tribe's shaman certainly hasn't hurt his standing.
aww, how sweet! ^.^ overcoming the hardships of a culture that is normally xenophobic, relying completely on his in-laws support, and realy putting himself out their to become one of them...
I can only imagine the hardships he faces from his side of the family... bringing his wife to an Elven Court will make a very memorable impression, I'm sure, and there are definite difficulties with bringing his parents to the Tribe for dinner or celebration...
how has his family reacted to his marriage? in my experience, Elves tend to be a very proud race...
His elder sister is totally behind the union. She served in The War and her unit was saved from anhilation by a force that included humans, orcs, dwarves, goblins, and gnomes under the leadership of the last known human Adept (a war priest to a god who died in the war), so she's a strong supporter of the minority movement to exend friendship to other cultures. She was the only elven guest at the ceremony.
His father isn't happy about it, but is willing to accept the union. From a few comments he's made, I believe he's starting to consider the advantages of possible trade with the tribe. The War's effects on the world were dramatic, and starvation and lack of resources is still a threat to survivors everywhere.
His mother won't even speak his name anymore. She's declared him dead to her, and has forbidden his younger brother to contact him or acknowledge his existance.
eesh. serious drama there.
I'm so diggin' the story. >w< realy gripping. I SO wanna know more! message me about it, I'd love to get the whole story. 
In a custom campaign setting, one the characters (a paladin) got involved with the high priestess of Heironeous. He later found out that she was a celestial, but by this point, she was already pregnant with his half-celestial child. We did another campaign in this setting, and this time the player played as the half-celestial son (and by this point, his dad was king of a nation).
This campaign world also featured a somewhat interesting romance between a gay orc and human. Obviously it did not result in a child being born, but we did get a nice laugh when a succubus utterly failed at trying to seduce him. Unfortunately, the human was killed, so the relationship didn't last too long.
In my campaign setting, this is how interspecies offspring work:
Human - Dwarf: Can produce a sterile half-dwarf (called Muls). This kind of relationship is somewhat accepted in human society, and completely outlawed in dwarven.
Human - Elf: Generally accepted by both races. The children live about 50% longer than humans
Elf - Dwarf: Incapable of producing offspring. Nearly unheard of, and not accepted by either race.
Human - Orc: In this campaign setting, orcs cannot cast magic, but half-orcs can. For this reason, orcs enjoy having half-blooded members in their clan, and sometimes go out of their way to get them. Humans somewhat accept half-orcs, but there is plenty of prejudice.
Orc - Elf: Produces offspring similar to a half-orc/half-human, but has pointier ears, and is sterile. Since they are capable of casting magic, orcs accept them in their clan.
I like the set-up you've got. I may start considering mutations and sterile half-breed races myself for my campaign....
many crossings are physically possible, but many produce messed up offspring, and are frowned upon by most cultures, and generally only result from the experiments of mad mage-scientests and **** over the course of warfare.
I haven't actually played in this setting enough for anything like this to happen though.
Their a female dragonborn paladin, and a male tiefling...custom class that reminds me of Nero from DMC.
I guess their kids would be d-born with tails!
I always figured that if an orc and an elf have a child, it's likely to be a human. That's where humans come from, and that's why elves and orcs don't like to talk about it.
Except this 'human' would still have pointy ears...
Historically there are a few.
Gremlin is the child of Kobolt (origin of Kobold) and Gobelin (Origin of Goblin).
Hobgoblin is child of Hob (Parent of Elf) and Goblin.