Copyright 2009 Wizards of the Coast

Half-elves have been a part of D&D since races were first separated from classes back in AD&D 1st Edition. I guess they might have been inspired by Elrond from Lord of the Rings, who was said to be a half-elf. They appeared as a playable option right in the first PHB, but they’re only getting their monster/NPC entries here.

The Lore

I’m happy to report that Fourth Edition half-elves no longer follow the tired and somewhat problematic “outsiders to both parent cultures” narrative from previous editions! In fact, everyone likes them!

You see, half-elves aren’t just an “average” of their two parents. Yes, they’re sturdier than elves and pointier than humans, but they also have a lot of traits that are uniquely their own. Chief among those is a noticeable facility with social interaction and cultural adaptability.

Half-elves whose parents are a human and an elf can spend their early years in either of the two cultures, depending on their specific family circumstances. Their names and mannerisms tend to be taken from that culture. You can also have all-half-elf cultures and communities whose human and elven ancestors are several generations behind them. In all cases it’s very common for individuals to journey abroad for a while out of a sense of curiosity and wanderlust, and they tend to fit in well in any place where they linger for a while.

Of course, “Nice” doesn’t necessarily mean “Good”, and you can also find villainous half-elves who become bandit leaders or fall in with dark forces. They’re technically better-suited to be infernal warlocks than tieflings, given their stat adjustments.

The Numbers

We get three stat blocks here, more suitable for use as opposition than as allies, though they could also fill that role in a more morally ambiguous adventure.

Half-elves are Medium Natural humanoids, with a native speed of 6 and low-light vision. Everything else about their stat blocks comes from training.

Half-Elf Bandit Captain

This could be a murderous marauder or a Robin Hood figure. They’re a level 6 Skirmisher with the Leader keyword and 69 HP. They wear light armor, wield a sword, and carry a bunch of throwing daggers.

The sword is a basic melee attack that allows the captain to shift 1 square on a hit. Their basic ranged attack is a thrown dagger. A maneuver named Slash and Dash (recharge 4+) allows them to make a sword attack, shift 2 squares and throw a dagger. Their leaderly move is named Triggering Slash (recharge 5+), a sword attack that on a hit allows an ally to shift 1 square and make a melee basic attack of their own.

Half-Elf Con Artist

This is a Level 7 Controller with 77 HP. Whether they’re a lovable rogue or a dastardly deceiver depends on which side of the con you’re on. The con artist goes unarmored and clad in fine clothes, with a dagger hidden somewhere for protection. They’re trained in all the skills you’d expect them to have: Stealth, Bluff, Thievery, and Insight.

That dagger isn’t anything special, but it deals extra sneak attack damage if the con artist has combat advantage against the target. Their real weapon is manipulation, though. This is implemented as a trio of charm powers that target Will. It’s up to you whether they’re actual magic or just the con artist being very sly and convincing.

Deceptive Maneuver is an at-will melee power that causes the target to make a melee basic attack against an ally of the half-elf’s choice. The classic “getting between two enemies to make them hit each other”.

Silver Deception (ranged 10; recharge 5+) does no damage, but dominates the target until the end of the con artist’s next turn.

And Pathetic Appeal is an encounter power that targets every enemy in a close burst 5 and, on a hit, prevents them from attacking the con artist until they pass a save. If the con artist makes an attack roll against an affected target, they get an immediate extra save against this effect. “I’ve seen the error of my ways, honest!”

To close things out, Grifter’s Flight is another encounter power that allows the con artist to shift 6 squares and make an unpenalized Stealth check at the end

Half-Elf Baleful Thaumaturge

An epic-level evil wizard for all of your epic-level evil wizard needs. The stat block itself is Unaligned, so you could also use it to represent a wizard that’s merely edgy. No reason it has to be a half-elf either, the stats could apply to any Medium sapient. Their magic has a “blood and teeth” theme, which gives you a hint as to what kind of entity they learned it from.

The thaumaturge is Level 24 Artillery with 169 HP. They go unarmored, and wield a wand as an implement. Their basic melee attack is an Infernal Slam that targets Will. A hit damages the target, pushes it 3 squares, and allows the thaumaturge to teleport 3 squares. Their basic ranged attack is a Soul Bite spell (ranged 10 vs. Reflex) that does physical damage and gives the thaumaturge 10 temporary HP on a hit.

The “bitey” theme continues with their two special attacks. Wall of Shadow Teeth (recharge 5+) creates wall 2 squares high and 8 squares long within 10 squares of the caster. This wall bites, attacking anyone adjacent to it. A hit deals necrotic damage and immobilizes the target (save ends). It lasts for a turn but can be sustained with minor actions.

Mouths of Hell (close blast 5 vs. Will; encounter) deals heavy psychic damage and also gives the thaumaturge 10 temporary HP. This creates a zone of ghostly maws that lasts until the end of the encounter, deals 15 psychic damage to anyone caught inside, and gives the caster 5 temporary HP when it damages someone in this way.

The thaumaturge can also spend 5 temporary HP if it has them to teleport 8 squares as a minor action, with a spell called Bloody Step.

Sample Encounters and Final Impressions

There isn’t much of a theme to the half-elves in this entry, but I guess that’s the point. They’re as varied as humanity. Each individual entry has their own thing going.

The two sample encounters we get are a Level 7 one with a bandit captain leading a gang of humans and halflings, and a Level 25 one with an epic lich and its entourage of 2 thaumaturges and 2 slaughterstone hammerers.