[PF] A player of mine wants to play a half-orc, half-halfling.

[AttilaTheGeek]

...so what racial abilities should I give him? I was thinking +2 DEX, -2 WIS, and low-light but not darkvision. Does that sound fair?

[Frathe]

...Or you could have him play as a goblin.

[Deepbluediver]

In the interest of full disclosure, I hate half-anythings.
What incredibly compelling backstory does the player have for wanting to play this odd combination?

Also, did the player say what kind of character (class) he wants to play? That would help us avoid making it either too powerful or terribad.


The racial stat changes for Halfings are:
+2 Dex, -2 Str

And for Orcs its
+4 Str, -2 Int, -2 Wis, -2 Cha

And half-orcs (half human) get
+2 Str, -2 Int, -2 Cha
This is just for comparison.

So Halfings are weak but speedy and Orcs are strong but dumb.
There's not really a lot of overlap.

And low light vision is kinda of a sucky ability, IMO. Most DM's go either full dark or not, because splitting the difference is hardly worth it.

Without knowing more, I guess my vote* would be to make it as follows:

• +2 Str, -2 Cha (strong and not stupid, but just plain weird)
• small size, but with 30 ft. movement speed (so faster than most other small creatures)
• Darkvison 30 ft.
• Orc Blood: For all effects related to race, a half-orc is considered an orc.

*second vote, my first vote is the same as Frathe; just have him play a goblin

[inuyasha]

goblin would be a good choice but i also think maybe i could come up with something interesting soon...hmmmmm

but i do vote goblin incase i cant think of something

[Grindle]

In the interest of full disclosure, I hate half-anythings.

I thought this kind of view died out a long time ago.

My vote is for halfings.

[Morbis Meh]

The racial stat changes for Halfings are:
+2 Dex, -2 Str

And for Orcs its
+4 Str, -2 Int, -2 Wis, -2 Cha

And half-orcs (half human) get
+2 Str, -2 Int, -2 Cha
This is just for comparison.

So Halfings are weak but speedy and Orcs are strong but dumb.
There's not really a lot of overlap.

And low light vision is kinda of a sucky ability, IMO. Most DM's go either full dark or not, because splitting the difference is hardly worth it.

Without knowing more, I guess my vote* would be to make it as follows:

• +2 Str, -2 Cha (strong and not stupid, but just plain weird)
• small size, but with 30 ft. movement speed (so faster than most other small creatures)
• Darkvison 30 ft.
• Orc Blood: For all effects related to race, a half-orc is considered an orc.

*second vote, my first vote is the same as Frathe; just have him play a goblin

This is pathfinder so the stat blocks you are quoting are incorrect, they are 3.5. Pathfinder stats are as follows:

Halfling: -2 Str, +2 Dex, +2 Cha

Half Orcs: +2 to one stat

One has dark vision, one has lowlight, generally dark>lowlight, Half Orcs get an intimidate bonus, Halflings get bonus on perception and climb/acrobatics. Both have weapon proficiecies with weapons with their name in it.

My recomendation:
Halfling Orc: -2 Str, +2 dex or Cha and +2 to any stat, keep the bonus to intimidate and perception, lose acrobatics, give darkvision and have them choose their weapon proficiency. Have them choose between Ferocity and Halfling luck and I think we're about done... or have them play a goblin like someone suggested

[Deepbluediver]

I thought this kind of view died out a long time ago.

My vote is for halfings.

Ok, I don't hate halfings, per se (though the name could use some work) but I intensely dislike the vast majority of the published and home-brewed cross-bred combinations.

This is pathfinder so the stat blocks you are quoting are incorrect, they are 3.5. Pathfinder stats are as follows:

Halfling: -2 Str, +2 Dex, +2 Cha

Half Orcs: +2 to one stat

Ah ok, my mistake.

However, that Half-orc is also half human (hence the shifting +2), and the PF Orc stats are exactly as I laid them out.

So unless it's actually a half-halfing, half-half-orc creature, then your summation isn't exactly kosher either.

If you just mashed both together, you'd end up with:
+2 Str, +2 Dex, -2 Int, -2 Wis, +0 Cha

Personally, I vote for -2 Wis and let Int be +0, because Strength and Dex boosts probably mean you are going for a melee class and Intellect penalties really eat into your skill-points.

I'll agree with the Darkvision, but I'd also have them keep the 1/day Orc-Ferocity, since half-orcs have that normally, plus Halfling Luck.
Let them choose one skill to get a +2 bonus on to represent their varied nature, and pick either halfling or orc weapons, depending on who raised them.
I still think small size with 30 ft. movement makes for an interesting race.