D&D 5E Halfling "Monster" Stat-block

[Hriston]

Hello,

I'm running a game using tables from the 1E DMG and ended up rolling an encounter with halflings. The 1E MM has stats for regular troop-type halflings, same as it does for lots of humanoid/demi-humans, but 5E? Not so much.

Anyways, I whipped up a little stat-block for the occasion and wanted to share it and see if it sparks any discussion. How do you feel about the 1E approach where halflings (and other demi-humans) are given full treatment as a troop type versus the 5E approach where this is reserved for the traditionally evil humanoids?

Here's the stat-block:

Halfling
Small humanoid, lawful good

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AC 12 (leather or padded armor)
Hit Points 7 (2d6)
Speed 25 ft.

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STR 12 (+1)​

DEX 12 (+1)​

CON 10 (+0)​

INT 10 (+0)​

WIS 10 (+0)​

CHA 11 (+0)​

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Senses passive Perception 10
Languages Common, Halfling
Challenge 1/4 (50 XP)

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Lucky. When the halfling rolls a 1 on the d20 for an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw, it can reroll the die and must use the new roll.

Brave. The halfling has advantage on saving throws against being frightened.

Halfling Nimbleness. The halfling can move through the space of any creature that is of a size larger than its.

Actions

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Shortsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d6 + 1) piercing damage.

Shortbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, range 80/320 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d6 + 1) piercing damage.

Spear. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d6 + 1) piercing damage, or 5 (1d8 + 1) piercing damage if used with two hands to make a melee attack.

Sling. Ranged Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, range 30/120 ft., one target. Hit: 3 (1d4 + 1) bludgeoning damage.

Handaxe. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d6 + 1) slashing damage.

 

[Swarmkeeper]

Cool. It's quite similar to the Guard statblock in the MM (pg 347) except you give the halfling a higher CR. Guards are specified as "any alignment", so I'm not sure where you are getting the idea that statblocks in 5E are "reserved for the traditionally evil humanoids". There are plenty of other examples of non-evil humanoids in the MM. Also, most of the statblocks in the back of the MM specify "any race", so you can plug in halfling for any of them to meet your definition of a "troop". Halfling Scout. Halfling Cultist. Halfling Noble. Maybe I'm misinterpreting your question, though.

 

[Charlaquin]

Obligatory “I’m a monster, rawr!” joke.

 

[Hriston]

@DM Dave1 , thanks. The Guard's definitely in the direction I was going for, but it's an "NPC" rather than a "monster", and while I usually put those in the same NPC/monster category, there's a difference in the way 5E treats the two things. An NPC is more of a template while a monster is the finished product. I did consider using the Guard NPC, but I had specific ideas about what armor and weapons I wanted it to have and how high I wanted the AC and hit points to end up. I ended up basing it more on the Commoner than the Guard, but they were both influences. By non-evil humanoid/demi-humans I mean dwarves, elves, halflings, gnomes, and humans for that matter, which (apart from Drow) seem to be absent from the MM. I realize there's been some book published that has entries on some of these, but I'm not much interested in going beyond the core books.

Also, going by the DMG guidelines (which is what I used) the Guard is solidly 1/4. My halfling is on the fence at 3/16, and I rounded up. I could see going with 1/8 using the Guard for precedent.

Edited to correct math.

 

[Azzy]

By non-evil humanoid/demi-humans I mean dwarves, elves, halflings, gnomes, and humans for that matter, which (apart from Drow) seem to be absent from the MM.

It's not so much that they're absent from the MM, it's that the NPC stat blocks (adjusted with the relevant racial modifies) are intended to be used for them (so the MM isn't unnecessarily padded out with separate entries for each race). Whether that's a good or bad thing depends on one's POV. Of course, making your own specialized entries is a perfectly valid choice.

 

[MGibster]

Obligatory “I’m a monster, rawr!” joke.

I would have been disappointed if I hadn't seen that in this thread. Thank you.

 

[Hriston]

It's not so much that they're absent from the MM, it's that the NPC stat blocks (adjusted with the relevant racial modifies) are intended to be used for them (so the MM isn't unnecessarily padded out with separate entries for each race). Whether that's a good or bad thing depends on one's POV. Of course, making your own specialized entries is a perfectly valid choice.

Right, and I love NPCs as a tool for this reason, but at the same time, the entries for Goblin and Orc (for example) don't just tell you to apply some racial modifiers to an NPC Guard. They give you a fully realized regular troop-type for that creature. That's the difference I'm talking about.

 

[Azzy]

Right, and I love NPCs as a tool for this reason, but at the same time, the entries for Goblin and Orc (for example) don't just tell you to apply some racial modifiers to an NPC Guard. They give you a fully realized regular troop-type for that creature. That's the difference I'm talking about.

Right, I get you.

If you feel industrious, you could turn this into a series and do write-ups for each of demi-human and human "monster" entries from 1e for those that 5e hasn't covered.

 

[Laurefindel]

Looks good.
A « Halfling mayor » or a « Halfling Sheriff » boss would go nicely with it.

only criticism, the plethora of weapons is superfluous. Keep two, three at max. If this Halfling is supposed to represent a typical Halfling farmer, then keep the spear and sling. If it’s supposed to be a fighter of some sort, keep shorts sword and bow.

also, monsters of this magnitude usually have only one of two special ability, and they are typically less niche. But that’s a minor quibble

 

[NotAYakk]

"Halfling" is a bit generic. I'd make it "Halfling Deputy". Sort of the same thing as Guard, but more rural implications.

Drop str to 10 or 8 (they are the size of a child), up dex to 14. 12 con; this would represent physical conditioning. Maybe 12 cha, to represent a "folksy charm".

The long list of weapons I'd shorten. They are noise to me. Shortsword and Sling.

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Halfling Deputy
Small humanoid, lawful good

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AC 15 (leather or padded armor with shield)
Hit Points 9 (2d6+2)
Speed 25 ft.

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STR 8 (-1)​

DEX 14 (+2)​

CON 12 (+1)​

INT 10 (+0)​

WIS 10 (+0)​

CHA 12 (+1)​

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Senses passive Perception 10
Languages Common, Halfling
Challenge 1/8 (25 XP)

Skills: Stealth +4

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Lucky. When the halfling deputy rolls a 1 on the d20 for an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw, it can reroll the die and must use the new roll.

Brave. The halfling deputy has advantage on saving throws against being frightened.

Halfling Nimbleness. The halfling deputy can move through the space of any creature that is of a size larger than its.

Sling and Shield Trained. The halfling deputy can reload their sling while holding a shield in one hand.

Actions

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Shortsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) piercing damage.

Sling. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, range 30/120 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d4 + 2) bludgeoning damage.

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2 less HP, 1 less AC, 1 more accuracy and damage, and nimbleness/lucky compared to the human guard.

Set CR to the same as the Guard NPC.

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Shortsword represents this being a member of the "armed forces" of the community.

Sling represents the trope that halflings high dexterity means they are better throwers than humans are, and they have leveraged that by using slings in the security services. Shield and Sling training gives it an advantage over training their forces with a bow. It also helps distinguish halfling forces visually from other "non-humanoid" forces; most will use crossbows and bows, while the halflings are proving deadly with slings.