Halflings or Hobbits?

[On Puget Sound]

I use Talenta, or Hin, when my dino rider is speaking of himself. Others call him a halfling. Hobbits are a different race, specific to Middle Earth.

 

[tuxgeo]

I would love to be able to say that I call them "Nelwyn" -- but I cannot actually say that, because Ron Howard would be able to sue me if I did.

OK, so my actual answer is "Halfling," because that's their racial name according to the D&D rules (and we are discussing D&D in this thread, aren't we?).

 

[Summer-Knight925]

they both taste the same...

 

[havard]

Hin on Mystara

Hobbits on Blackmoor

One of my favorite races, regardless of name

-Havard

 

[Pseudonym]

I'm fine with halfling. Most groups tend to refer to themselves in their own language as "the people". I'd just say that "halfling" means that in their language while also being amusing in translation to the common speech.

 

[Dragonhelm]

And let us not forget Sovereign Stone's pecwae.

 

[David Howery]

Halflings. You can't call them hobbits! If you do that, the Tolkien estate lawyers will pop in, and your first born will vanish in a puff of blue smoke...

 

[Stormonu]

They're called hillenfaey in my campaign world.

 

[Viking Bastard]

Isn't the river thing kinda from Tolkien, though? Wasn't there breed of Hobbits that was the least isolated and who most humans were most familiar with, who lived by and traveled by rivers?

<edit>

Stoors: The Stoors were the second most numerous group of Hobbits and the last to enter Eriador. They were broader than other hobbits. They mostly dwelt beside rivers and were the only hobbits to use boats and swim. Males were able to grow beards. Tolkien says they were "less shy of Men". Sméagol and Déagol were apparently either hobbits of Stoorish descent or else close relatives of the breed.

</edit>

They're called hillenfaey in my campaign world.

And are they fey?

In my game, they're generally known as halflings (or "stuttlungar", the term in Icelandic), but they are fey-descended and have the fey name of Periadrin. Unlike the Eladrin and Siladrin (elf), they have mostly let go of their Feywild past and only break out the term on special occasions.

 

[slwoyach]

I treat hobbits and hin as two distinct races with distinct languages and cultures, but both are dismissively called halflings by the bigs. If you really wanna egg them on you can call the pecks.