Half Demons

Some would say that the term ‘half demon’ isn’t strictly accurate. It is true that, in some cases, it really isn’t. A half demon is a human who has demon blood as well. Sometimes this is because they have one parent who is a demon, or an ascended demon. Sometimes the link is more remote than that – a grandparent or ancestor. Obviously, the closer the connection, the stronger the ‘demon’ in the half demon will be, though even in the offspring of a demon and a human, the demon blood runs stronger in some than in others.

Notes:

• There are no half-angels. The offspring of angels are either angels, or human.
• The other 'half' of a half-demon has to be human. You could not, for example, have a half-demon who was half demon and half lycanthrope. Likewise, if the demonic blood was further up the family tree (for example, a grandparent), a half-demon would only appear if the rest of the bloodline was a mix of demon and human.

Abilities and Traits
The possibilities for a half demon are wide and the traits and abilities they have cannot always be predicted by reference to their parents, or even limited to the special abilities which a demon may develop. Some half demons demonstrate almost none of the traits of their parents, some appear to be almost totally demon. Most are in the middle – however it is impossible for the offspring of a demon and a human to be either entirely human or entirely demon. One way or another, their blood will be watered down.

The half demon has a multitude of different abilities, or the possibility of them. For some it's physical perks like strength, speed or resilience. For others it's mental abilities or claws, wings, a tail.

Half demons have a greater potential for developing special abilities. No matter what type of demon blood they have in them, or who their human parent was, it is definitely the case that physical, mental and magical powers are more commonly found in those with demon blood than in the general population. What abilities they do develop do not always bear any relationship to genetics or inheritability. They also often develop more than one special ability.

Drawbacks
Although a half demon may develop more than one special ability, these abilities are always a watered down version of what would be found in a pure demon or pure human. It is generally more that they have affinities for things rather than high level abilities. A half demon, for example, may have an affinity for fire, but they are not and never will be a fire elemental, or be able to gain the control and power that goes with being such.

Half demons have a mortal life span – they never inherit the life span of their demon parent/ ancestor.

Half demons still have a ‘tell’, however this is less obvious than a true demon tell and it is the case that the more powerful the demon blood in a half demon, the more obvious their tell is. Tells are just like demon tells--something that's always there that isn't really removeable. (such as if it's horns, they'll come back if the half demon, say, cuts them off)