D&D General why do we have halflings and gnomes?

[Oofta]

But that's all unofficial interpretation.

My halflings could be little happy murder ninjas with alchemist techniques and not break any of the ideasof the PHB since it barely describes any of it.

Hence my point.
How can halfling be iconic if little of the race is locked down and everyone is running different versions of it since the ggame isn't trying to weave the race into it?

It's my paraphrasing of what the PHB has to say about them

Kind and Curious​

Halflings are an affable and cheerful people. They cherish the bonds of family and friendship as well as the comforts of hearth and home, harboring few dreams of gold or glory. Even adventurers among them usually venture into the world for reasons of community, friendship, wanderlust, or curiosity. They love discovering new things, even simple things, such as an exotic food or an unfamiliar style of clothing.​

​

Halflings are easily moved to pity and hate to see any living thing suffer. They are generous, happily sharing what they have even in lean times.​

 

[doctorbadwolf]

The differences in focus and imagery

Are not indicative of what you seem to think they are.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Do you know why martial arts developed so heavily in the East? Do you know why many Ninja weapons were modified tools, like spades and sickles?

Because the governments over there forbade the use of weapons by the people, so to defend themselves they had to adapt. Those people saw the ability of the farmers and monks to defend themselves as a threat to their governments.

And a five second Google search shows me that similar policies were enacted in some European states.


So, imagine you are a human lord. Next to your lands is a halfling Shire. They aren't your people, not officially, but you notice they do have a large stockpile of weapons, armor, and have been training in the use of them. That isn't avoiding notice or avoiding offense like the PHB says. That is setting up fairly declaratively, "this is our land, and we will fight to protect it"

Consider the history of humanity. How long do you think it takes before some noble gets it in his head that it is better to strike first and conquer the halflings before they decide to expand their land? Plus, bonus, they have fertile farmland that can make him richer. Double Bonus, they are smaller and weaker than humans (in his mind) and should be easy to beat with a surprise attack.

Yes, I'm making assumptions. But these assumptions are based on seeing the most likely routes of history.

And , if you'd prefer to have hardened halfling warriors with heavy armor and crossbows and a strong military.... well then, you need to figure out how to square that with "agrarian farmers who spend most of their time relaxing, enjoying good food and good company"

I’d need all day to dig into all the baseless assumptions, logical leaps, and just plain nonsense, in your post.

Instead, I’ll say this. No, halflings training with weapons would not equate to “stockpiling” anything, from any perspective. No, there is no dichotomy between halflings as described in the phb and halflings who own arms and armor and know how to use them to defend their town.

You're reaching all over the place.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Being unafraid isn't what protects you from being gutted by a spear. Being unafraid isn't what protects you from an aura of magical death (one of the reasons I mentioned that specific low CR Demon).

Also, Brave gives advantage against fear, it doesn't make you immune. Halflings can still feel fear, they can still get scared, it is just harder to scare them.

And, don't forget, fear can save lives. Sometimes running away is the right answer. We have a fear response for a reason. Halflings bravely holding their shield wall against a charge of cavalry.... well they get crushed. They are three ft tall and under a hundred lbs, using polearms at disadvantage, against a few hundred pounds of armored horse, armored knight, and their devastating lances.

Bravery doesn't win fights alone. Panic can kill, yes, but bravery can also get you killed.

Good lord. Yeah, I’m just gonna stop interacting with you for a while, after your last several replies. It’s getting tedious. I don’t know why you’re so dedicated to the idea of halflings “not making sense” or whatever, and I don’t really care. You’re obviously completely unwilling to even engage with a different perspective.

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

Sure, the halflings might just run. Let the goblins and orcs raid and destroy their village, steal their harvest and hope they leave enough for the halflings to survive the winter and that only a few halflings are killed off in the attack.

Not quite the idealistic farming communities we are told to picture though.

You might want to re-read my comment.
Raiders who are just after food and shinies aren't going to want to risk their lives. If the resistance a target puts up means that there is a reasonable chance of them getting killed, they will back off.
The fact that their raiding force could probably take the village in the end is generally of no interest to an individual goblin if there is a good chance that they, personally, will get hurt or killed.

 

[Mind of tempest]

I have them because people enjoy playing them and I've had them in my campaign world for a long time. The default behavior and outlook on life is distinct and different from other cultures. While all races are to a large degree just a reflection of human characteristics, they fill a specific niche.

They are very unconcerned about power or glory and simply take life as it is. They will be the ones that bounce back from bad times faster, while they aren't suicidal they will be the ones that literally laugh in the face of danger. They rarely hold grudges and if life gives them lemons they'll be happy that they have lemons. When I play halflings they're always smiling and cheerful. No matter how bad things are, little can change their attitude and being negative won't change the circumstances. Think "Well, things look bad and we're all going to die. Unless someone has a better idea, how about a game of canasta while we wait?"

Besides, they make great evil NPCs. Think of small Harley Quinn's running around killing people all while being super bright, cheerful and extremely polite.

okay so we know why we have them.

would you concide thire implimentation in the world above the individule is not up to the same standard as the rest of the core?

 

[Oofta]

okay so we know why we have them.

would you concide thire implimentation in the world above the individule is not up to the same standard as the rest of the core?

Umm ... no. Their description is different, that's all. Most races don't have much more lore, it is largely left up to individual campaigns to fill in the blanks for all races not just halflings. There's more non-PHB lore for some of the other races, less for others.

 

[Minigiant]

It's my paraphrasing of what the PHB has to say about them

​

Kind and Curious​

Halflings are an affable and cheerful people. They cherish the bonds of family and friendship as well as the comforts of hearth and home, harboring few dreams of gold or glory. Even adventurers among them usually venture into the world for reasons of community, friendship, wanderlust, or curiosity. They love discovering new things, even simple things, such as an exotic food or an unfamiliar style of clothing.​

​

Halflings are easily moved to pity and hate to see any living thing suffer. They are generous, happily sharing what they have even in lean times.​

Again you keep avoiding the point.

If the party decides to get aid from the wood elves, the game hints heavily that you'd get some swordselves, archers, druids, and rangers.
If the BBEG mind controlled some dwarves, you'dexpect some heavily armored, axe and hammer wielding fighters and clerics in high numbers.
The game offers various cultures to humans and it expected for the DM to detail the encountered human towns in depth as they can look like anything. That is the human trait.

But for hallfings, you only get their personality and what they don't do. It's tilted heavily on one direction. They aren't treated equal to elves or dwarves.

 

[Oofta]

Again you keep avoiding the point.

If the party decides to get aid from the wood elves, the game hints heavily that you'd get some swordselves, archers, druids, and rangers.
If the BBEG mind controlled some dwarves, you'dexpect some heavily armored, axe and hammer wielding fighters and clerics in high numbers.
The game offers various cultures to humans and it expected for the DM to detail the encountered human towns in depth as they can look like anything. That is the human trait.

But for hallfings, you only get their personality and what they don't do. It's tilted heavily on one direction. They aren't treated equal to elves or dwarves.

Who's avoiding? They aren't known for military might. So? They aren't dwarves and elves. It's called "being different". On the other hand they're hospitable and will give you the shirt off their back. The game doesn't have to revolve completely around combat.

 

[Minigiant]

Who's avoiding? They aren't known for military might. So? They aren't dwarves and elves. It's called "being different". On the other hand they're hospitable and will give you the shirt off their back. The game doesn't have to revolve completely around combat.

The game doesn't revolve around combat but most of the rules are for combat.

I mean, there is a reason why games that follow D&D inspiration will nix halflings more likely than the rest. Because there isn't a shared thought of how halflings fit into a world in conflict.