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Two of the races you're allowed to use in D&D are half-elf and half-orc. My first character was a half-elf. Usually the other half is human but is it possible to have a character who is half-elf and half-orc?

Are any of the other main races compatible? I heard someone saying the dwarves were half-human and half-gnome but I don't think that's correct.

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It's always the GM's decision how this work in each specific campaign.

To my knowledge, there have never been any orc-elf crossbreeds in official D&D sources and no half-elf/half-orc ones either.

Dwarves being half-gnomes is also not in any D&D books.

Regarding dwarves, there is one notable exception. In the Dark Sun setting there are human/dwarf hybrids called Mul. Mul can not reproduce on their own and are only found as gladiators in arenas run by the immortal sorcerer kings (or used to be gladiators but escaped), so they appear to be all created with magic help and can not be produced naturally.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ The Kalamar setting also had Half-Hobgoblins. \$\endgroup\$
    – Slagmoth
    Mar 19, 2018 at 18:26
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    \$\begingroup\$ FR11 Dwarves Deep, by Ed Greenwood, published by TSR in 1990, claims dwarves are inter-fertile with humans, gnomes, halflings and elves. Personally, I don't believe that at all. \$\endgroup\$ Mar 19, 2018 at 20:03
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    \$\begingroup\$ Muls can be produced naturally, by a dwarf parent and a human parent. There is such a couple in the Prism Pentad novels. \$\endgroup\$
    – Adeptus
    Mar 20, 2018 at 0:10
  • \$\begingroup\$ Aren't Muls sterile? \$\endgroup\$
    – nijineko
    May 31, 2020 at 18:38
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Monster Manual p245:

The orcs' drive to reproduce runs stronger than any other humanoid race, and they readily crossbreed with other races. When an orc procreates with a non-orc humanoid of similar size and stature (such as a human or a dwarf), the resulting child is either an orc or a half-orc.

Any cross breed produces an orc or a half-orc. Half-orc characters can of course have appearance traits of the other race, but the stats will be as a half-orc.

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    \$\begingroup\$ Gruumsh's divine mandate of fecundity. \$\endgroup\$
    – Slagmoth
    Mar 19, 2018 at 18:25
  • \$\begingroup\$ Is a Hlaf-Orc always part Orc and part Human or can you have one which is part Orc and part Elf? \$\endgroup\$ Apr 6, 2019 at 14:28
  • \$\begingroup\$ @RichardYoung That would be a separate question. \$\endgroup\$ Mar 3, 2020 at 16:32
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In the Dragonlance books, if dwarves and gnomes mate, their offspring are called "gully dwarves" and are found to be living in dumps and slums, have extremely low intelligence and are frightened extremely easily. For that reason, the mating between these two races is forbidden.

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    \$\begingroup\$ Welcome to RPG.SE! Take the tour if you haven't already, and check out the help center for more guidance. Can you clarify how this answers the question about the compatibility of different races (or accurately, species) in D&D 5e? \$\endgroup\$
    – V2Blast
    Apr 6, 2019 at 2:01
  • \$\begingroup\$ citing which book and an excerpt that supports your answer will be very appreciated \$\endgroup\$
    – Vylix
    Apr 6, 2019 at 17:23
  • \$\begingroup\$ lexicon.dragonlancenexus.com/index.php/Aghar_Dwarf has a list of references. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/… cites one reference. \$\endgroup\$
    – nijineko
    May 31, 2020 at 18:42

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