This is flat out wrong. The other races cleared out the land centuries ago and made it livable. That doesn't equate to protecting Halflings now. There's nothing to protect them from now.
1) Wrong on the other races clearing out the lands centuries ago. Most settings have some pretty nasty stuff attacking even major cities within the past fifty to hundred years.
2) The PHB tells us the humans are protecting the halflings, just read the race relation bit from the halfling entry. It is literally stated there.
3) There are still plenty of threats in the world. Even if you assume there are no monsters, there are still evil cults, despots, bandits, ect. And most of the border regions DO have monsters.
The point is that these things happen a lot and get fixed by adventurers. Why worry about it when you are well out of the way and it will most likely be over with before anything comes to bother you?
Because that is Saturday Morning Cartoon logic. "Nothing bad will happen because the good guys will win the day". That isn't how real people would really react to a threat like that.
Yes, we the players figure the narrative is that we will go and stop the threat, but we also have to believe that if we don't, the threat will continue. Otherwise you get the problem with the players not caring, because the threat isn't real, it is just smoke and mirrors.
The army isn't going to be going near them. They are well out of the way and the army will be attacking cities and large towns that are out in the open. What's to worry about?
You realize that an "army of the dead" doesn't care about things being out of the way, right?
But again, you are literally just proving my point. Halflings are safe, they are too precious to be harmed, so they shall never fall under threat, even during an apocalyptic event, they are just tucked into those safe corners where the world will never end.
I think you meant repetitive. You make things relatable and vary them up. The Halfling lore is both relatable and different. It's refreshing.
I literally cannot relate to an entire race of people that nothing bad ever happens to, that can sip tea as the world burns because they are safe no matter what.
For rustic farm folk, they are more disconnected than the most secluded noble in their ivory tower.
And feel free to say I'm strawmanning or twisting your words, because you never said that "nothing bad ever happens". You don't need to say the the exact words for your intent to be quite clear. A literal apocalyptic army of the dead is approaching? Halflings don't need to worry "The army isn't going to be going near them. They are well out of the way and the army will be attacking cities and large towns that are out in the open." " Why worry about it when you are well out of the way and it will most likely be over with before anything comes to bother you?"
That tells us everything. Halflings are safe. Nothing bad will happen to them.
You're making a lot of assumptions there that are unfounded under the current lore. Halflings make close bonds. There's no way the Halfling adventurer would leave the rest of the party to face death and just run off. They're brave and loyal. The lore on adventurers also says that it's common for them to vary from the racial lore, so you're making a gross assumption what the Halfling would and would not be concerned about. That's up to the player running the Halfling. Not you and not the lore.
Did you even read my post or did you just want to level accusations at me? Like I said, he'll probably fight. The problem is he isn't fighting to protect his home. He literally cannot be fighting to protect his home, because his home can never be put in danger. It is too far out of the way, the threat will be over by the time it could even be found, if it even can be found, which it can't.
But the Brave and Loyal Halfling will fight for his friends, who are fighting to save their homes. And isn't the Brave and Loyal Halfling so wonderfully perfect for doing so? And isn't he not only Brave and Loyal but humble, only wanting the simple pleasures in life, a good fire, good friends, not like those elves and dwarves and humans that are so ambitious and greedy. But that's okay because the Brave and Loyal Halfling will help them anyways to protect their homes. Though, if they weren't so greedy and ambitious and were more like the Brave and Loyal Halfling, then their homes would already be safe, because that's why the Brave and Loyal Halflings home is safe, and they don't need to pay taxes either, because they make close bonds with people over their love of the simple pleasures in life, like a good fire and good ale, why that's why the dwarven army came to their rescue, and that elven army, and the human army too. Of course they didn't need to, because the Halflings can't be found.
Does it sound as saccharine and grating to you as it does to me? And while the Brave and Loyal Halfling Adventurer goes and saves the day, what are the other halflings doing? While the human commoners are praying in the temples for salvation, because they might all be killed by an implaccable army of the dead, what are the Halfling commoners doing? While the Human soldiers are staring at the rotted faces of their own death, what are the halfling commoners doing? Those same halfling commoners who never payed any taxes to the king, because they had an exemption, and so that contribution to the common defense was never made? Those same halfling commoners who everyone is really great friends with, but no one quite knows why they are such good friends. I mean, they are pleasant enough to talk to, but when the chips went down, they hide in their village, content to know that they are perfectly safe, while maybe one of them happens to be following a group of people who care about this kingdom and are fighting to protect it.
And that's enough for you. That one halfling adventurer happened to be involved.
Well Mr. Strawman, they can defend them because we and the lore never said that the communities can't be found. Only that it's really hard and rarely happens. And I've repeated this to you the several times you've made that Strawman argument. Rarely =/= never.
Right, once a hundred years or so, if the problem isn't resolved ahead of time by the humans, elves, dwarves and any adventurers who happen to be nearby.
Then the halflings might beat off a ogre, or maybe a few stupid goblins who don't know that human towns are really such better targets, because greedy ambitious humans have gold and jewels and other things goblins obviously crave, since they steal pigs and spoons and grains.