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

[Mind of tempest]

They're anthro dragons. That doesn't fit everywhere. Same with any other anthro race or other really alien race.

(The lack of lore should be enough to stop the people who complain halflings have no lore.)

they lack lore out of omission but they are literally younger than me, unlike the halfling which has no lore and was in since before my father played.

I feel that a vampire is one of those things that cannot satisfactorily work as a level one D&D PC. In most fiction they tend to be depicted as rather powerful with a slew of special abilities, and if you depower them for the game balance they just feel wrong.

when did vampires become the topic?

I kind of liked how 4E's Open Grave established that most vampire weaknesses were just lies created by vampires to lure victims into a false sense of security.

that does sound like a dedicated sapient preditor of other sapients would do, weaponise culture.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

when did vampires become the topic?

I don't know... Someone was talking about them...

 

[JiffyPopTart]

Me, I'm still waiting to see all this great information about halflings that exists. Because, well, it certainly doesn't exist in the adventures. Maybe halflings get a lot more love in the non-adventure books? I'm not really a book buyer, so, I don't pay too much attention. But, since we're being repeatedly told how halflings are this incredibly popular race just chock a block with flavor that makes them so enticing to play, I'm certainly interested in seeing it.

Can someone point it out to me?

I'll take a stab at your question....

1. The popularity of a race choice in character creation has as much to do with the mechanics attributed to them as it does their lore. It's entirely possible a person might play a halfling because they want to reroll 1s and no other reasoning past that. Thus to some halflings are an enticing pick.

2. As has been said on every fracking page of this thread....there may not be enough lore for YOU to find halflings enticing but there is enough for others, myself included. In my campaign the halflings live in an area referred to as "The Greenway" and serve as a stopover spot for trade caravans and travellers crisscrossing between the human, elven, and dwarves controlled areas. They are known for their hospitality and exquisite baked goods.

3. Literally nobody on this entire thread has claimed halflings have "all this great information" that is "chock a block filled with flavor". Id be the first person to agree they aren't as popular in the history of DnD, however I believe that's true of every other race than the "Big Three". There is probably more lore and inclusion just for the gith in books and modules than there is for gnomes, halflings, half orcs, dragon born, and tieflings added together.

Do we give strikes against half orcs, half elves, and tieflings for not even being able to have lore at all because they are by definition individuals and not cultures?

 

[Mind of tempest]

I'll take a stab at your question....

1. The popularity of a race choice in character creation has as much to do with the mechanics attributed to them as it does their lore. It's entirely possible a person might play a halfling because they want to reroll 1s and no other reasoning past that. Thus to some halflings are an enticing pick.

2. As has been said on every fracking page of this thread....there may not be enough lore for YOU to find halflings enticing but there is enough for others, myself included. In my campaign the halflings live in an area referred to as "The Greenway" and serve as a stopover spot for trade caravans and travellers crisscrossing between the human, elven, and dwarves controlled areas. They are known for their hospitality and exquisite baked goods.

3. Literally nobody on this entire thread has claimed halflings have "all this great information" that is "chock a block filled with flavor". Id be the first person to agree they aren't as popular in the history of DnD, however I believe that's true of every other race than the "Big Three". There is probably more lore and inclusion just for the gith in books and modules than there is for gnomes, halflings, half orcs, dragon born, and tieflings added together.

Do we give strikes against half orcs, half elves, and tieflings for not even being able to have lore at all because they are by definition individuals and not cultures?

teifling managed to get lore in the near fluffless edition so I will let them stand otherwise yes I would also strike out those races.

 

[Faolyn]

I was strictly thinking of them as monsters, where they don't feel like recognizable vampires. The defining elements of Dracula aren't him draining energy from Jonathan Harker by slapping him around. This is better in 5E, but their vampireness isn't really front and center.

What would make them more vampire-y for you?

 

[lingual]

What would make them more vampire-y for you?

Permanent level loss?!? Jk. That was the way it was in older editions. It was horrible but it admittedly made them "horror".

 

[Neonchameleon]

So... halflings have one of these of traits. Maybe two depending on which lore you read

To recap:

• Thematically strong and inspiring enough to draw some people in - some people are definitely drawn in including me
• Mechanically decent without being overwhelmingly strong. - definitely qualify
• Distinctive enough to not appear redundant. - they'd be that without the gnomes.
• Not being excessively obnoxious to put people off - this has to be worse than a meh. Kender and some versions of kenku and full on Krynn tinker gnomes and krynn gulley dwarves are obnoxious enough to spoil other peoples' play experience. Meanwhile half-orcs and drow have strong racist overtones seen by many.

So halflings are on 3.5 out of 4 for being a good race with the 5e gnomes being the only thing preventing them going 4/4.

 

[Oofta]

To recap:

• Thematically strong and inspiring enough to draw some people in - some people are definitely drawn in including me
• Mechanically decent without being overwhelmingly strong. - definitely qualify
• Distinctive enough to not appear redundant. - they'd be that without the gnomes.
• Not being excessively obnoxious to put people off - this has to be worse than a meh. Kender and some versions of kenku and full on Krynn tinker gnomes and krynn gulley dwarves are obnoxious enough to spoil other peoples' play experience. Meanwhile half-orcs and drow have strong racist overtones seen by many.

So halflings are on 3.5 out of 4 for being a good race with the 5e gnomes being the only thing preventing them going 4/4.

I agree except that the issue with gnomes is just that - an issue with gnomes not halflings. Personally I can make rock/tinker gnomes distinctive, but forest gnomes? They've just never jelled for me.

On the other hand some people like them so it's my problem, not theirs.

 

[Faolyn]

Permanent level loss?!? Jk. That was the way it was in older editions. It was horrible but it admittedly made them "horror".

I rather wish that their hp max drain didn't return so easily. Like, if their hp maximum returned to normal after a week, sure. I feel that about a lot of the monsters that cause hp max drain.

 

[Hexmage-EN]

teifling managed to get lore in the near fluffless edition so I will let them stand otherwise yes I would also strike out those races.

4E ended up having way more fluff than people realize by the end. The first few books were disappointingly sparse, but an enormous amount of content ended up being published in the span of a few short years (both because the books themselves increasingly added flavor due to early criticism and because of monthly Dragon and Dungeon Magazines).

Here's what I can recall was established about tieflings in 4E in the default setting off the top of my head:

• Tieflings originated in a predominantly human nation that fought against the dragonborn empire of Arkhosia before the nobility swore pacts to the Nine Hells, creating the empire of Bael Turath and the first tieflings.
• Kruthiks were created and used by Bael Turath during the war against Arkhosia.
• A number of tiefling noble families still persist to the present today, though many are marked with unusual properties such as vampirism or elemental powers. One lineage in particular is cursed to uncontrollably bleed unless they wear red at all times.
• Some believe that the creation of the tiefling race included a condition that Asmodeus would one day be able to claim the souls of all tieflings alive at the time of invocation.
• An order of tiefling paladin/warlocks called the Crimson Legion served Asmodeus long ago, but now dedicate themselves to opposing the devil god.
• One city of Bael Turath became a Domain of Dread known as Sunderheart.