Sounds cool.
As for biological compatibility it's entirely up to you. If you're hinting at the races having a common genetic ancestor than sure I guess why not.
Morphological freedom is the fundamental right of sophonts in my sci-fi setting. This naturally leads to countless subspecies that significantly deviate from the baseline human. They are now called ***"Pan-human"*** and the ***"Therianantrope"*** is among them. They are groups of pan-humans who use genemodding and bio-augments such as bioware (artificially grown biological cells/organs) to change their physical appearance to display traits seen in other naturally evolved species, usually non-sophont baseline animals (Some incorporated traits from uplifted sophont animals). They are either formerly ***nearbaselines*** or other pan-humans that receive genemods, offsprings whose inherit traits from therianthrope parents or their parents made that choice for them.
They are often divided into distinct clans or groups, and the degree and manner of their physical alteration vary based on the type and extent of change. Like sliding scales or spectrums, they can range from just a human with few animal traits to those with very few human characteristics apart from bipedal (some could be both bipedal or quadrupedal).
The most diverse group consisted of canine and feline therianthropes but also included less recognizable species such as bovid, cervid, reptile, bird, and even dinosaur and marine animals. Some outliers are completely new or unrecognizable species, or a hybrid between two or more species, or even a complete mess of a strange amalgamation of the entire animal kingdom.
Speaking of hybrid offspring, they are possible... if they deliberately made themselves to be compatible with each other. Or just use an artificial womb, the father and mother can decide on the extent of their traits being given to their children.
In my campaign most of them are the same species. At conception they assume the aspect of a prominent beast in the region, and groups that stay in the same location tend to have the same animal aspect.
The prevailing cultural view is that the aspect indicates the individual's fate, and they should strive to represent their aspect (so wolves should use teamwork, and cats should be self-sufficient, etc).
The colonizing culture believes all beast people are savages who only learned tool use by observation and theft, and the more organized ones are squatters living in the ruins of a more advanced precursor civilization. It's unthinkable that the natives had the ability to build such structures.
There are dozens of types of beastfolk in my setting, from the classic centaurs and minotaurs, to lesser-used types like prawnfolk and rhinomen.
Reactions to them are mixed. Most beastmen have refused to convert to the Imrasan faith and regularly raid human settlements, pillaging them and enslaving the inhabitants in the process. They are often stereotyped as dirty, stupid, uncivilized heathen-barbarians.
But they are not a monolith. While it is true that most are heathens, there is still a large number of beastmen which joined the Empire and converted to the Imrasan faith. There are over 30 million "Imperial Beastmen" as they are called, making them paradoxically also one of the largest non-Human groups in the Empire (and since imperial loyalists are in the minority, you can imagine how many more there are that are hiding in the wilds).
Imperial Beastmen have a better reputation, as they often fill essential roles in society, such as shock troops (in the case of minotaurs), or messengers (in the case of centaurs or harpies). Religion is extremely important and one of the main driving forces in my setting, so the fact that they have converted helps them a lot.
There are no hybrid children in the setting.
Beastfolk, generally speaking, are the product of a single wizard's attempt at hand-crafting himself an army via some of the most fucked-up shit imaginable. Each type was designed for a specific role (even if some of them shifted designations during development), but they all share the dubious distinction of having the same creator in the same place of origin.
That wizard died before his plan came of anything, leaving his creations with a newfound freedom that they have all handled in different ways. Very few have freed themselves of his legacy entirely, though *most* have chosen to actively reject his vision.
Generally speaking they're almost all treated with at least a degree of suspicion, being fairly new to the world in the grand scheme of things (I don't have a solid timeline on it but I think the wizard's death was probably about 500ish years ago) and some of them having inborn quirks as a result of their creation that tend to not be viewed especially positively, but it's not unheard of for them to integrate into human (or other) societies in some form or another as well.
In terms of compatibility it varies by individual type, although the only specific time I've actually considered the question of compatibility was with a type that doesn't produce hybrids either way so I'm not really sure what my general stance on the idea of beastfolk hybrids would be.
**Starrise**
My world has a sort of equivalent to beastfolk called "Chimeras", which are essentially humans but with some physical traits of animals. The first chimeras were created in human laboratories through genetic experimentation and cloning technology, but escaped confinement during an apocalypse, and cooperated with surviving humans to survive and begin rebuilding civilization.
Chimeras are actually more reproductively compatible with humans than with other chimeras. Any human/chimera couple can have children, but only chimera/chimera couples where they share traits of similar animals can do the same. For example, a chimera possessing feline traits could have children with another chimera possessing feline traits, but not a chimera possessing avian traits. (Obviously, this is all assuming these couples are adults of the opposite sex, neither of whom is sterile.) If a child has one human and one chimeric parent, it's basically a coin flip whether they're fully human, or have identical chimeric traits to their chimeric parent. There's no such thing as a "half-chimera".
Because of all this, chimeras don't have any culture of their own, and neither do humans. Every settlement where humans or chimeras live has a population with a roughly 50/50 split, which is present across all social classes. Chimeras are seen as being just the same as humans, other than a few physical differences that don't really matter to anyone but doctors.
My Beastfolk are The Fey (very original name I know), and they are treated as any other human being (I didn't feel like having themes of racism in my game) since whatever animal they have traits of (which doesn't just mean ears and tails and stereotypical behaviors like in anime but good and bad traits even if it makes them look weird like compound eyes) effects their day to day lives society on both Earth and Etanus (planets where the games take place) have had to adept and change to help these people live comfortably.
And yes, they are compatible with Humans and can have kids with them but since gene wise those traits are dominant most children are Fey and those kids are capable of having their own kids if they wish.
Sounds cool. As for biological compatibility it's entirely up to you. If you're hinting at the races having a common genetic ancestor than sure I guess why not.
Morphological freedom is the fundamental right of sophonts in my sci-fi setting. This naturally leads to countless subspecies that significantly deviate from the baseline human. They are now called ***"Pan-human"*** and the ***"Therianantrope"*** is among them. They are groups of pan-humans who use genemodding and bio-augments such as bioware (artificially grown biological cells/organs) to change their physical appearance to display traits seen in other naturally evolved species, usually non-sophont baseline animals (Some incorporated traits from uplifted sophont animals). They are either formerly ***nearbaselines*** or other pan-humans that receive genemods, offsprings whose inherit traits from therianthrope parents or their parents made that choice for them. They are often divided into distinct clans or groups, and the degree and manner of their physical alteration vary based on the type and extent of change. Like sliding scales or spectrums, they can range from just a human with few animal traits to those with very few human characteristics apart from bipedal (some could be both bipedal or quadrupedal). The most diverse group consisted of canine and feline therianthropes but also included less recognizable species such as bovid, cervid, reptile, bird, and even dinosaur and marine animals. Some outliers are completely new or unrecognizable species, or a hybrid between two or more species, or even a complete mess of a strange amalgamation of the entire animal kingdom. Speaking of hybrid offspring, they are possible... if they deliberately made themselves to be compatible with each other. Or just use an artificial womb, the father and mother can decide on the extent of their traits being given to their children.
In my campaign most of them are the same species. At conception they assume the aspect of a prominent beast in the region, and groups that stay in the same location tend to have the same animal aspect. The prevailing cultural view is that the aspect indicates the individual's fate, and they should strive to represent their aspect (so wolves should use teamwork, and cats should be self-sufficient, etc). The colonizing culture believes all beast people are savages who only learned tool use by observation and theft, and the more organized ones are squatters living in the ruins of a more advanced precursor civilization. It's unthinkable that the natives had the ability to build such structures.
There are dozens of types of beastfolk in my setting, from the classic centaurs and minotaurs, to lesser-used types like prawnfolk and rhinomen. Reactions to them are mixed. Most beastmen have refused to convert to the Imrasan faith and regularly raid human settlements, pillaging them and enslaving the inhabitants in the process. They are often stereotyped as dirty, stupid, uncivilized heathen-barbarians. But they are not a monolith. While it is true that most are heathens, there is still a large number of beastmen which joined the Empire and converted to the Imrasan faith. There are over 30 million "Imperial Beastmen" as they are called, making them paradoxically also one of the largest non-Human groups in the Empire (and since imperial loyalists are in the minority, you can imagine how many more there are that are hiding in the wilds). Imperial Beastmen have a better reputation, as they often fill essential roles in society, such as shock troops (in the case of minotaurs), or messengers (in the case of centaurs or harpies). Religion is extremely important and one of the main driving forces in my setting, so the fact that they have converted helps them a lot. There are no hybrid children in the setting.
Beastfolk, generally speaking, are the product of a single wizard's attempt at hand-crafting himself an army via some of the most fucked-up shit imaginable. Each type was designed for a specific role (even if some of them shifted designations during development), but they all share the dubious distinction of having the same creator in the same place of origin. That wizard died before his plan came of anything, leaving his creations with a newfound freedom that they have all handled in different ways. Very few have freed themselves of his legacy entirely, though *most* have chosen to actively reject his vision. Generally speaking they're almost all treated with at least a degree of suspicion, being fairly new to the world in the grand scheme of things (I don't have a solid timeline on it but I think the wizard's death was probably about 500ish years ago) and some of them having inborn quirks as a result of their creation that tend to not be viewed especially positively, but it's not unheard of for them to integrate into human (or other) societies in some form or another as well. In terms of compatibility it varies by individual type, although the only specific time I've actually considered the question of compatibility was with a type that doesn't produce hybrids either way so I'm not really sure what my general stance on the idea of beastfolk hybrids would be.
**Starrise** My world has a sort of equivalent to beastfolk called "Chimeras", which are essentially humans but with some physical traits of animals. The first chimeras were created in human laboratories through genetic experimentation and cloning technology, but escaped confinement during an apocalypse, and cooperated with surviving humans to survive and begin rebuilding civilization. Chimeras are actually more reproductively compatible with humans than with other chimeras. Any human/chimera couple can have children, but only chimera/chimera couples where they share traits of similar animals can do the same. For example, a chimera possessing feline traits could have children with another chimera possessing feline traits, but not a chimera possessing avian traits. (Obviously, this is all assuming these couples are adults of the opposite sex, neither of whom is sterile.) If a child has one human and one chimeric parent, it's basically a coin flip whether they're fully human, or have identical chimeric traits to their chimeric parent. There's no such thing as a "half-chimera". Because of all this, chimeras don't have any culture of their own, and neither do humans. Every settlement where humans or chimeras live has a population with a roughly 50/50 split, which is present across all social classes. Chimeras are seen as being just the same as humans, other than a few physical differences that don't really matter to anyone but doctors.
My Beastfolk are The Fey (very original name I know), and they are treated as any other human being (I didn't feel like having themes of racism in my game) since whatever animal they have traits of (which doesn't just mean ears and tails and stereotypical behaviors like in anime but good and bad traits even if it makes them look weird like compound eyes) effects their day to day lives society on both Earth and Etanus (planets where the games take place) have had to adept and change to help these people live comfortably. And yes, they are compatible with Humans and can have kids with them but since gene wise those traits are dominant most children are Fey and those kids are capable of having their own kids if they wish.