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Can you even mix races in D&D 3.5e? Is it allowed to have a multi-race character?

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Your related previous question: How can I avoid a player's multi-race multi-class character breaking the game? \$\endgroup\$
    – V2Blast
    Feb 25, 2019 at 5:50
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    \$\begingroup\$ This could be more specific. I mean, half-elf is in the Player's Handbook, but the 1/9-changeling 1/9-dragon 1/9-drider 1/9-high elf 1/9-genasi 1/9-grithzerai 1/9-shardmind 1/9-tiefling 1/9-wilden is not. (Officially, 3.5 doesn't even have two of those 1/9s.) \$\endgroup\$ Feb 25, 2019 at 6:20
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    \$\begingroup\$ This is a better stack question than your other one. To get it re-opened you should include a limitation of how many races and a description of what it means to be "multi-race". Are we talking half/half (half-elfs for instance) or weird hybrids of multiple races? \$\endgroup\$
    – linksassin
    Feb 25, 2019 at 6:39
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    \$\begingroup\$ Are you asking whether one can pick two distinct races (e.g. "I choose Gnome and Orc") instead of one and apply them both to a character, in the lines of how one can multi-class? \$\endgroup\$ Feb 25, 2019 at 10:56
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    \$\begingroup\$ Duplicate: How are hybrids/cross-breeds calculated? \$\endgroup\$ Feb 25, 2019 at 18:48

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No

You can't apply multiple races to one character, except under unusual circumstances where some special feature explicitly says you can.

There are specific races called half-orcs and half-elves, for example (the unsaid other half is human), but you can't just be a "1/4 gnome 1/2 elf 1/4 human."

Of course there are some specialized templates, like half-dragon, all of which have rules of their own you'd need to read and understand and have GM approval to use. Same with using any monster race as a character, those have level adjustments and such - see the SRD section on Monsters as Races.

But

OK, having said that, from your other question it doesn't appear that you and your players are playing D&D 3.5e using the printed rules pretty much at all. You can't multi-race, you can't be multi-class at level 1 (you take a single class with a single level, unless you're using the Gestalt rules), and so on. Effectively you're playing Calvinball, not D&D.

And that's totally fine. You don't have to use the rules. Sure, let someone be 1/9 a bunch of races, you do you. But if you aren't using the real D&D, then we can't really help you with questions on this site because the only answer is "make it up yourself." We can deal with questions here that:

  1. Use the real rules - which require you to read those rules
  2. Use new house rules you've come up with that you can coherently explain to us

But that's about it. If you are trying to learn the real rules, feel free and ask us about them (but please show research effort by reading them first - you don't seem to have read any of the basic character creation rules given these questions). If you are trying to come up with house rules, we can give you balance feedback but you have to use your words and explain them in full.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ D&D 3.0 had rules for multiclassing at level one. Were those taken out for 3.5? \$\endgroup\$
    – Michael W.
    Feb 25, 2019 at 19:43
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    \$\begingroup\$ Yes, they were removed (the optional rule in the 3.0 DMG). Even if they existed, his "multiclass into 6+ classes at level 1" was not supported by them. \$\endgroup\$
    – mxyzplk
    Feb 25, 2019 at 23:46
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Any character can only use the rules for a single race. But generally it's fine to narrate that you have other races in your ancestry if you want.

For example, if someone came to me and said: "my character is one-quarter elf, one-quarter human, one-quarter gnome, one-eighth orc, and one-eighth dwarf", I'd ask them to choose a single race to use the rules for. So they might choose to use the rules for their human heritage, and then they'd get the human's extra feat and skill points, but they wouldn't get the elf's meditation or the orc's darkvision or the dwarf's stonecunning.

This character could still describe their appearance the way they wanted -- maybe they'd look mostly human, but a bit sturdier because of their dwarven ancestry, and they might have pointy ears because of their elven ancestry, et cetera.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ I did this with a half-orc that I wanted to be a 3/4 orc for story reasons, and it worked fine. Flavor and stats don't always have to go together! \$\endgroup\$
    – Cooper
    Feb 25, 2019 at 22:27
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There was a feat in 3.5 that you could take that added a race to your own as kind of a template, say you was a gnome and when you took the feat you selected Goliath, you would qualify for prc, feats, and racial substitute class levels and all that, but if a spell or a weapon with bane or anything that targeted the 2nd race it would affect you just the same... I don't remember the name of it but I was going to use it to make a human warrior/spelltheif /master thrower/whisperknife

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    \$\begingroup\$ Hey there Lunch_Necross! Welcome to RPG.se. Just so you know, we aren't a forum and anything down here in the answer section should directly and completely answer the question. In this case, your answer would be much improved by finding what the name of that feat is and adding the relevant text to your answer as support. Answers based off of hazy memories that could very well be wrong aren't going to be very helpful to people and we expect answers to be supported such that memory isn't an issue. So please, edit this answer to add more information about this feat! \$\endgroup\$ Sep 25, 2019 at 13:18
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    \$\begingroup\$ Hi, Welcome to RPG.SE! As this question is about 3.5 (note the [dnd-3.5e] tag on it) this feat might make a valid answer. However, it would be way better if you could find it, its name and where it is published. Take the tour if you haven't already, and check out the help center or ask us here in the comments (use @ to ping someone) if you need more guidance. Good Luck and Happy Gaming! \$\endgroup\$
    – Someone_Evil
    Sep 25, 2019 at 13:19
  • \$\begingroup\$ Here is a list of all the feats in 3.5. I wasn't able to find anything on there, but if you remember anything about it you may be able to find it easier. \$\endgroup\$
    – JohnP
    Sep 25, 2019 at 13:23
  • \$\begingroup\$ Were you perhaps thinking of the prestige class Stoneblessed? I can't recall any feats that do this either. \$\endgroup\$ Sep 25, 2019 at 17:29

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