Conception Lore

[Jpec07]

I think it is up for debate if the default in any given fantasy setting is "separate species so not compatible" or "looks human so is compatible." I didn't mention half-orcs and others because of my 1000 character limit, which for new posters is egregious.

You can actually get around that if you edit your post after the fact. It's a relic from when they were developing ARR--some of the threads got nasty.

So based on evidence and insults, it seems Hyur may be compatible with Roegadyn as well as Elezan. Certainly besides size differences it can be said that the three are otherwise pretty similar in all other respects. There is a creepy Lalafell fetish among a few taller Eorzeans which I find unsettling for obvious reasons. Otherwise the only questions remaining would be Hyur comptability with Miqo'te and Au Ra as, unlike with Reogadyn and Elezan, there are more substantial differences between those groups. Both Miqo'te and Au Ra have tails and other non-human features which have no direct correlation to the Hyur body. So I would posit that a half-breed born of a Hyur/Miqo'te/Au Ra union would be less likely.

Allow me to delve into biology/anatomy/physiology here for a moment. I'll try to keep this to what you'd hear in a high school biology/anatomy class. We can assume fairly easily that all of the humanoid races in the game are mammals, because all of the females in some fashion have breasts, and presumably nurse their young (with the only exception possibly being the Lalafel - though they do exhibit sexual attitudes, as highlighted in this thread, and we can assume that Lalafel women at least have nipples--else why would they wear tops on their small clothes and swimsuits?).

It comes down to a question of whether the races come from different evolutionary lines, or if they are closely-enough related to conceive, and for their offspring to be viable. If the races are genetically similar enough, and their means of conception, pregnancy, and parturition are compatible, then they should be able to viably breed.

As regards conception, the only three races that might have difficulty are Lalafel, Miqo'te, and Au Ra. The difficulty with Lalafel, as I stated above, is that they don't seem to have breasts with mammary glands, and so might be too evolutionarily different from the other races for offspring to be viable. They might be able to conceive, but the size restriction might prevent a biologically female Lalafel from being able to carry a multi-species fetus to term. The stout nature of their bodies suggests that baby Lalafel would be extremely small. A biologically male Lalafel could theoretically impregnate one of the other races with viable offspring, but there still remains the question of fetal viability.

With Miqo'te, it really depends on whether they came from the Hyur evolutionary path or whether they evolved from a different cat-like race--in other words, how feline are they? Female felines are induced ovulators, which means their bodies release ova during intercourse due to protrusions on the male's genitals (which is why cats have litters with often extremely varied offspring). If biologically female Miqo'te are also induced ovulators, then they would not be able to conceive by another race without some form of mechanical/magical assistance. Provided that, though, they could likely carry multi-species offspring to term (this would also suggest that Miqo'te could more easily bear multiple offspring per pregnancy, but to my knowledge we haven't seen lore on this either way). This would also explain why Miqo'te courtesans seem so common, because unprotected intercourse with a member of another species would rarely result in pregnancy.

The Au Ra are really the only odd eggs here--pun intended. With Au Ra, it depends on how reptilian they truly are. If they lay eggs, there is little chance that they could successfully breed with any of the other species (regardless of if it's a male or female Au Ra involved). If they give live birth, however, then even if they possess a cloaca instead of the typical humanoid urogenital system, they could likely conceive and carry a viable fetus to term.

I don't imagine Roegadyn, Hyur, or Elezen would have too much difficulty conceiving or bearing fetuses to term, but again, it all depends on anatomy, physiology, and genetics. I don't believe we've encountered pregnant NPCs before, either, so we don't know how it works.

I also find it odd that there are so many fantasy settings where this type of issue keeps cropping up. If there are elves, then humans will find a way I suppose. Someone will find a way...