Why are Half-Elf/Half-Race Heroes so Common in Fantasy?

[Val the Moofia Boss]

Aragorn from Lord of the Rings, Tanis from Dragonlance, Drizzdt from Icewind Dale, Eragorn in the Inheritence cycle, Spock in Star Trek, Cecil and Aerith in Final Fantasy are the most famous, but I've also noticed it's not necessarily just half-elves that are big; come to think of it half-race characters are common in all fantasy. See, Med'an in Warcraft if you want to extend, Torres in Star Trek, Michael from Stargate, Darth Maul from Star Wars, and so on.

Is this just a trope played to give a character more potential back story and possible choices in a plot?

[Deleted]

Because it means a character will be different from the norm, whilst still retaining identifiable traits.

[Graeham]

I often find them to be very dull and more often than not they feel very much like self inserts. What's worse is when they're given super special traits and end up being more prominent and powerful than their parent races. Or they're supposedly meant to be shunned and hit with racist abuse but everyone mysteriously ends up loving them and ignoring their heritage.

[Zathrendar]

"Different" for the sake of being "different".

I tend to find them exceedingly boring. I'd prefer a pureblood, in most cases.

On some rare occasions it may be fitting but I have no particular liking or preference for hybrids.

[Soisoisoi]

What's with the random spoiler tags? o.O

[Zapgreen]

I don't think Darth Maul is a hybrid. Official site says Zabrak which appears to be the male version of Dathomirian?

Though, I assume the prevalence of Half-breeds is suppose to be some sentimental BS that love > all, etc.

[Val the Moofia Boss]

What's with the random spoiler tags? o.O

Because they're covering up plot important spoilers people may not know about, so that they may enjoy playing/watching/reading through the material and be shocked by the twist.

[Friendlyimmolation]

Because it lets those characters become more edgy and 2cool

[Stormcall]

Depends on how they're done. If the 2 races rarely mix with each other, it can make the half-breed an "outcast" sort, with all the (presumably) drama and conflict that comes out of that. It can be used to allow a character to mix with characters he normally wouldn't, say, in a world where orcs and humans are normally enemies, a half-breed orc/human might choose to follow his human side, thus allowing a story told from the human's perspective to have a legitimate reason to have a brawny, greenish skinned, pointy eared guy fighting alongside them(again, with the possibility of there being trust issues, one of his allies thinking ALL orcs are enemies, etc), it can allow characters to be more badass than both their parent races(ie Blade, he's got vampiric strength, speed, and agility, ages slower than humans, but isn't hurt by the sun, affected by garlic, etc)...sometimes it happens just cause the author thinks it's cool, it just depends on how they're used.

[Arrowstormen]

They're not that common. They are present, but this is a fairly small selection of fantasy novels.

[Shadowbane]

Because of the significance of blood or ancestry / lineage in the setting, which is usually quite a lot considering how many other fantasy tropes there are that tie into it - destiny, fate and so on. Otherwise, it wouldn't matter for two sticks whether someone was mixed race or not. It's a theme that can draw parallels to real life through things like racism. Besides, in an established fantasy setting with plenty of history, I'd honestly find it strange if there -weren't- half-and-half beings of different races.

[Evil Midnight Bomber]

Say you're an average human male in a fantasy world strolling through the forest. Suddenly, from the corner of your eye you see something jump down from a tree. You turn to look and are faced with this:



...that's why there are so many half-elves.

[Friendlyimmolation]

Say you're an average human male in a fantasy world strolling through the forest. Suddenly, from the corner of your eye you see something jump down from a tree. You turn to look and are faced with this:

[IMG]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/e6/f0/b2/e6f0b20178597c24bc73c61c3503bb1d.jpg[IMG]

...that's why there are so many half-elves.

except most of the time the elf would laugh at you rather than even touch you.

[Mellomania]

except most of the time the elf would laugh at you rather than even touch you.

But that's just most of the time though!

[Friendlyimmolation]

But that's just most of the time though!

THe first time I remember reading about a half elf in a book that didn't make me cringe whenever they opened their mouth was that one guy from those Dragonlance books, and he was still almost cringe. I think half elves are just a lazy way to make a character "special"

[Val the Moofia Boss]

THe first time I remember reading about a half elf in a book that didn't make me cringe whenever they opened their mouth was that one guy from those Dragonlance books, and he was still almost cringe. I think half elves are just a lazy way to make a character "special"

That would be Tanis Half-Elven. I don't remember him being cringeworthy, but rather everyone else's reaction to him being so.

[Evil Midnight Bomber]

except most of the time the elf would laugh at you rather than even touch you.

And that's why half-breeds are relatively rare. Otherwise Pure Humans would be extinct in only a couple generations.

[Sal the Shieldhog]

That would be Tanis Half-Elven. I don't remember him being cringeworthy, but rather everyone else's reaction to him being so.

Agreed with this.

As an aside, neither Drizzt nor Eragon are half-elven (Spoilers for the Inhertiance Cycle) at least at first for Eragon, though Drizzt was an odd character at the time of his creation due to his race.

Having characters that go "against the norm" is a way for them to stand out, to be different. It's not always done well, but in certain cases (I'm particularly fond of Drizzt and Artemis Entreri from the same author), it can be done well, or at least okay.

[Puupi]

Because men want to fuck things with pointy ears.

/thread

[Friendlyimmolation]

That would be Tanis Half-Elven. I don't remember him being cringeworthy, but rather everyone else's reaction to him being so.

Could be ot haven't read those books in years but I remember going oh god cringe about something involving him