| by Greg Jensen |
My favorite PC race in the AD&D game also is the race with the least written about it. Half-elves are living enigmas, spanning two cultural worlds, and are outcasts from both. Prejudice is a daily reality for half-elves. They are not fully accepted by either their human or elven contemporaries due to their mixed heritage and the stereotypes each race attributes to the other. Humans tend to see half-eves as frivolous and lazy wastrels, who will steal your money and your daughter without a thought. Elves (particularly Gray and Sylvan) tend to see half-elves as greedy and power-hungry, with little or no respect for nature. None of these assumptions are necessarily true.
Being raised in such an environment gives half-elves a unique perspective of the world. They lack the fierce racial loyalty of most other races, therefore they tend to rely more on themselves. This self-reliance, combined with relatively long life spans and learning ability, make half-elves the most versatile characters of all. If you count the multi-classed combinations, half-elves have more classes open to them than any other race.
The character kits presented in the PHBR series help to greatly expand a character's role and motivation. Most of the multi-classed combinations for half-elves have no character kits. This article alleviates this lack by presenting kits for multi-classed half-elves, finally giving such characters identity. Please note that no kits for single-classed half-elves are presented here as those presented in the PHBR series (Complete Fighter's Handbook, et. al.) are in most cases just as appropriate to half-elves as to humans. Also note that some kits from the Complete Book of Elves also may fit a half-elven chaacter. Check with your DM first, as some kits, such as the Spellfilcher and the Bladesinger, are usually available only to elves.