Cross Species Breeding in fantasy sifi

[Nickeris86]

I have been a huge fantasy/science fiction nerd for a long time and if I have learned one thing from playing table top RPG's is that if the party meets a hot elf someone is going to try and boink it resulting in a Half-elf running around. now i have no problem with cross species breeding's most of the time if the physiology is compatible. since this may be an issue in one of my books i wanted to see what others had to say about it.

[Thrythlind]

In most of my books, the body is mutable aspect of the soul as expressed through the mind.  We only remain incapable of changing because we fail to believe that changing is possible.

Also, I tend to operate on what I call the "template" theory of fantasy evolution: ie, if a particular person becomes powerful enough then they become the template for a new subspecies or species...the alterations they've created in themselves is passed on to their children

this is even perceptible in normal people, as a skilled martial artist will likely (not certainly) pass on a talent to their children and then that will be further enhanced by upbringing...

IE: I believe in equal parts nature and nurture...with talent being largely nature and skill being largely nurture

this particular concept means that pretty much any species is capable of interbreeding with any other, as long as those species are sentient enough to believe that it is possible...or even just hope so strongly that it is

[the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh]

It doesn't matter what your rules are provided that they are consistent and make sense, and also that if you are going to make them work magically/non-realistically you make it a different paradigm rather than screwing around with some feeble explanation of how "but DNA turns out to really work this way" when DNA doesn't. 

[Thrythlind]

It doesn't matter what your rules are provided that they are consistent and make sense, and also that if you are going to make them work magically/non-realistically you make it a different paradigm rather than screwing around with some feeble explanation of how "but DNA turns out to really work this way" when DNA doesn't. 

what I said without succumbing to rant mode

^_^;;;;;

[Aakaakaak]

It depends on your definition of breeding. If you're talking about the traditional method then it would be limited. (If you're going with standard theory, but remember, this is sci-fi. There really aren't any rules.) If you're including bio-engineering we're already splicing fish with plants. Glofish include a coral gene that make them glow under black/bluelight. Several other "splices" exist.

[The Corvidian]

The plumbing might be compatible, but there would be no offspring.

[Nickeris86]

The plumbing might be compatible, but there would be no offspring.

your reasoning?

[Apocrypha]

I think they might be saying, on a technical level, that even though the parts fit, the DNA might not be compatible to produce viable offspring.

[Shecky]

Depends. Are humans and the others all actually one species? I mean, look at the wild genetic variation in the human species as we know it; is it really that much of a stretch to think that humans, dwarves and elves might be the same species after all, just with environmentally-selected evolution intervening?

[arcanist]

its not unknown for two species to create a third. the problem is that the third is mosatly sterile. the onlys ones i know of though is the donmkey and the horse [mule] and lion and tiger [liger]. or you could make it the differrence between two breeds of dogs, but i think that that would be closer to the difference between native americans and aboriganal australians. hope i havnt offended anyone.

[MoSeS]

I think as long as they are humanoid it wouldn't be questioned.

But how do Centaurs, Minotaurs, Satyrs, and Mermaids get here?  

[the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh]

It depends on your definition of breeding. If you're talking about the traditional method then it would be limited. (If you're going with standard theory, but remember, this is sci-fi. There really aren't any rules.)

I would be inclined to say that one of the definitons of the boundary between SF and fantasy is that there are rules of some sort.

[MoSeS]

I would be inclined to say that one of the definitons of the boundary between SF and fantasy is that there are rules of some sort.

huh? I didn't realize that one fiction genre had stircter rules than another. Since it's all....... fictional.

Granted people have different opinions on how fictional ideas should function.

This could get really technical too because species in the strict scientific definition is the lowest classification on the scale.

For example, Homo Sapien and Homo Hablis, were Sapien and Hablis is the species, therefore by CROSS SPECIES, it would have to be anything in the Genus Homo.

There is another misnomenclature which is RACE. Many use race in place of ethnic background, but race refers to an entire species such as the HUMAN RACE.

[MoSeS]

The question is are Elves and Dwarves in the Genus Homo, if yes than cross species is definitely possible, but if they are in lets say Genus Australopithecus, it would be questionable because that signifies a split were the DNA becomes significantly different, though both are still in the Family Hominidae.


As for extraterrestrial aliens, well that would get really questionable, and in my opinion would be as likely as a horse and crocodile having offspring. But can easily be remedy with some simple writing, such as their home planet is physiologically identical to earths and therefore life evolved much the same as earth and reproduction is compatible.

But like I said, it's fiction, no one really question how Facehuggers really work, how they inseminate a being and take on the host's DNA. How do Predators breed? I've never seen a female Predator in the movies, not that I know of. The point is I don't think anyone would be turned away by cross race breeding as long as there is some simple explanation of how it's possible. It's not like anyone can really prove otherwise.

[MoSeS]

Here is the really tricky one though, not cross race, but cross beings, such as Vampires, Ghosts, Demons, etc.

Vampires were once human, now undead, should they be able to breed?

(click to show/hide)

They did it in Twilight.

And wheter you are a fan or not, you can't deny that it is a successful franchise.