Half-Elves

Outsiders? I Think Not

We have two races in the Rulebook that are regarded as 'outsider' races. Unaccepted by the others. Presumably composed of forlorn individuals. We are talking about Half-Elves and Half-Orcs. I understand the attraction of these races for players who are going through some level of angst and want to roleplay being 'heroically alone' or some such.

And with that I beg to differ.

Let's look at the Half-Elves. When referring to a Half-Elf we are not necessarily referring to the direct progeny of a Human and an Elf. We could be referring to the child of a Half-Elf and another Half-Elf. Half-Elves (and Half-Orcs) have been around Golarion for a long time. Enough time for large Half-Elf populations to form. And within these large Half-Elf societies a Half-Elf will no longer feel out of place. By this time there could be entire towns, even cities, where Half-Elves are the majority.

I think the Rulebook, in focussing on Half-Elves being alienated, referrs to a time when Half-Elves as a race where new and there weren't enough of them to form their own societies.

So much for feeling like an Outsider.

A Recommended Race

With that, if you've always wanted to play an Elf, I would encourage you to strongly consider playing a Half-Elf instead. You get the Elven characteristics you want but you also get a more accessible, less aloof PC because of the human side.

Half Elf Advantages

Just like a Human you get to decide which ability gets a +2.

A big attraction for this race is multiclassing. Wizard-Fighter, Druid-Ranger, Barbarian-Cleric. It's like you get access to flavors of ice cream that are unavailable to other players.

The Half Elf Adventurer

A Half-Elf will most likely join a Pathfinder party than a full Elf because of the Human trait of adventurism and camaraderie.

Next: Half-Orcs