D&D General My Problem(s) With Halflings, and How To Create Engaging/Interesting Fantasy Races

[Zardnaar]

I have actually played a halfling in 5E.

Not my favorite race but I don't want them cut.

I like the Darksun and Eberron ones though.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Interesting, or perhaps not, that they fell off harder than Goliaths;

Goliaths where reprinted in Volo's, then RotFM. Genasi haven't appeared since Elemental Evil Player's Companion.

 

[Hussar]

You obviously care or you wouldn't be bothered when they are mentioned.

See this? This right here? The complete mischaracterization of what I said? This is really, really frustrating.

Please pay attention to context or put me on ignore. I'm sick and tired of having to correct other people's false assumptions over and over again.

I DO NOT CARE IF THERE ARE HALFINGS IN THE GAME!!!!!!!

I think they should go hang out in the monster manual to make room for more interesting concepts.

I DO NOT CARE IF THERE ARE HALFLINGS IN THE GAME!!!!!!

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I DO NOT CARE IF THERE ARE HALFINGS IN THE GAME!!!!!!!

Then why are you making such a fuss about them?

 

[Hussar]

Then why are you making such a fuss about them?

OMFG. Seriously?

Look, "all the fuss" that I've made, has been that I think they should be sent to the Monster Manual to make room for more interesting options in the PHB.

That's "all the fuss"? Apparently though, despite me not actually stating this anywhere, people have decided that I hate halflings, want them excised from the game, think they are bad, and a host of other things that are complete fabrications. I pointed out the quotes in the books because it speaks to how pointless it is to have them in the PHB. Even the dev's can't be bothered doing anything with them. Look for yourself. They are barely in anything and certainly never key to anything.

I'm making "all the fuss" because it's apparently not enough to simply disagree with my points. Apparently, it's much easier to fabricate a bunch of positions that I haven't expressed and argue with those. You'd think I'd said something improper about someone's mother for the reactions I'm getting here. Sheesh. Oh noes, I think that a race that has been the also ran for fifty years shouldn't be in the core four. O noes.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

Look, "all the fuss" that I've made, has been that I think they should be sent to the Monster Manual to make room for more interesting options in the PHB.

More interesting to whom? Also, IIRC, there are no stats for PC species in the MM.

 

[Zardnaar]

OMFG. Seriously?

Look, "all the fuss" that I've made, has been that I think they should be sent to the Monster Manual to make room for more interesting options in the PHB.

That's "all the fuss"? Apparently though, despite me not actually stating this anywhere, people have decided that I hate halflings, want them excised from the game, think they are bad, and a host of other things that are complete fabrications. I pointed out the quotes in the books because it speaks to how pointless it is to have them in the PHB. Even the dev's can't be bothered doing anything with them. Look for yourself. They are barely in anything and certainly never key to anything.

I'm making "all the fuss" because it's apparently not enough to simply disagree with my points. Apparently, it's much easier to fabricate a bunch of positions that I haven't expressed and argue with those. You'd think I'd said something improper about someone's mother for the reactions I'm getting here. Sheesh. Oh noes, I think that a race that has been the also ran for fifty years shouldn't be in the core four. O noes.

More people disagree that they get relegated to the MM.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

What we should really do is cut out the subraces. If we're cutting out the ability score bonuses they're somewhat redundant anyway as they mostly exist to spread around that extra point or two. Furthermore, if lots of people are playing non PHB races anyway, then the distinction between Mountain Dwarf and Hill Dwarf or Prairie Elfs and Transitional-Taiga-Tundra-zone Elf becomes even less important.

So we cut down the page count of each race and have 25 races in the PHB. Perhaps even suggest some themes for world building.

Classic: Greyhawk AD&D races
Fallen World: Nentir Vale
Gothic: Ravenloft
Magepunk: Eberron.

Yes, this I definitely support. I have always hated the subraces (imagine how racist that would be if we did the same with the humans, PHB just lists example human cultures as a part of the lore) and they're weirdly specific for generic writeup that should be usable to many setting. Just have more flexible base species and let people use that to create the subgroups.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I pointed out the quotes in the books because it speaks to how pointless it is to have them in the PHB.

You are working from the assumption that there is a fixed number of races in the PHB, and that halflings somehow bumped some other "more deserving" race from a place in the PHB. This is bollocks.

Even the dev's can't be bothered doing anything with them. They are barely in anything.

Just now you said they were

mentioned a half dozen times in book after book after book

Which is it? Are they constantly mentioned, or are they barely in anything?

never key to anything.

Lot's of things aren't "key" to anything, but still exist. I'M not key to anything, but I exist.

 

[Neonchameleon]

Look, "all the fuss" that I've made, has been that I think they should be sent to the Monster Manual to make room for more interesting options in the PHB.

Look, "all the fuss" is you making literally dozens of posts in this thread (I gave up counting when I hit 40 in the search function). You can shout as loudly as you like about how you don't care - but when I don't care about something I don't go on for dozens of posts in a single thread about it. And the more you post and the louder you shout (using block caps for shouting) the less anyone reading you believes you don't care.

If it had just been a casual opinion you could just have dropped it in as a post and three or four of us would have said "Nothing in the PHB except possibly gnomes scratches the same itch, and gnomes are more likely to be cut". And that could have been an end to it. You'd have been heard and disagreed with (and possibly agreed with).