Last Updated: August 28, 2023

Introduction

The Half-Elf is a Heritage option for the Human Ancestry. However, unlike a typical Heritage, it grants access to a unique combination of Ancestry Feats: Human Feats, Elf Feats, and a small selection of exclusive Half-Elf Feats.

The Half-Elf’s feats have little to offer that you couldn’t get from Adopted Ancestry, but the combination of the Human’s Ancestry Feats and the Half-Elf’s Inspire Imitation can make for an excellent combination around the Aid action.

This article will not address Elf Feats or Human Feats. For help with Elf Feats, see our Elf Handbook. For help with Human Feats, see our Human Handbook.

Table of Contents

Disclaimer

RPGBOT uses the color coding scheme which has become common among Pathfinder build handbooks.

  • Red: Bad, useless options, or options which are extremely situational. Nearly never useful.
  • Orange: OK options, or useful options that only apply in rare circumstances. Useful sometimes.
  • Green: Good options. Useful often.
  • Blue: Fantastic options, often essential to the function of your character. Useful very frequently.

Half-Elf Heritage Feats

Level 1

  • Earned GloryCRB: If you’re going to be good at the Make an Impression action, you’re probably already investing in Diplomacy. At that point, why both adding another skill which you need to put Skill Increases into

  • Elf AtavismCRB: If you want an Elf Heritage, I’m curious why you’re not playing an elf. The best I can think of is to save yourself from taking Adopted Ancestry, but that’s a very niche build choice so I don’t see that happening often.

  • Round EarsCG: Extremely situational, and beyond very low levels you can solve this with spells like Illusory Disguise.

  • SociableCG: Trained in a skill and a Skill Feat. Good if you’re building a Face, but you don’t get enough Traines skills from your class and your Intelligence.

Level 5

  • Inspire ImitationCRB: Inspire Imitation offers a way for characters who rely on skills in combat to abuse their Reaction to help their allies use those same skills. For example: If you use Intimidation to perform the Demoralize Action, you could then Aid an ally in their own Intimidation check. This seems like a great combination, but it requires that you have multiple characters in the party built to use the same skills, and that’s a rarity in a game like Pathfinder 2e where there a ton of competencies to cover between a group of 3-6 people. You can also use Inspire Imitation outside of combat, but short of searching rooms and infrequent scenarios like climbing cliffs or leaping over chasms I don’t see many times that this would be useful. Even in those scenarios, if you’re not in combat you probably don’t need to track Actions closely enough that saving yourself an Action with Cooperative Nature matters.

    If you do take this, definitely take Cooperative Nature and anything else that improves Aid in order to maximize the benefits of Inspire Imitation.