Half-Elves

Half-elves were the product of an elf parent and a parent of some other race, most often a human. To humans, half-elves looked like elves. To elves, they looked human. To everyone else, they looked to be somewhere in between the two.

Half-elves had no lands of their own, though they were welcome in human cities and somewhat less welcome in elven forests.

In large cities in regions where elves and humans interacted often, half-elves were sometimes numerous enough to form small communities of their own. They enjoyed the company of other half-elves, the only people who truly understood what it was to live between these two worlds.

See Player's Handbook, pg. 38

Half-Elf Variants

Some half-elves displaye more obvious signs of their elven ancestry. Your half-elf character can forgo the Skill Versatility trait and instead take a trait based on their elf parentage.

• A half-elf of drow descent can choose the drow's Drow Magic.
• A half-elf of eladrin descent can choose the eladrin's Fey Step.
• A half-elf of high elf descent can choose the high elf's Elf Weapon Training or Cantrip.
• A half-elf of sea elf descent can choose the sea elf's Sea Elf Training, Child of the Sea or Friend of the Sea.
• A half-elf of Usminai descent can choose the Usminai's Usminai Training, Fleet of Foot or Desert Born.
• A half-elf of wood elf descent can choose the wood elf's Elf Weapon Training, Fleet of Foot or Mask of the Wild.