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

[Dannyalcatraz]

As has been pointed out, most D&D species are modeled my dialing up certain aspects of humanity up to another level. Sooooo…this following attempt to counter my assertions is pretty weak.

Some humans live in caves.


Many reallife human cities have an "underground level", to avoid snow etcetera.

Disney World is an underground city.

Many reallife military complexes are partly underground.


Some reallife cultures de-emphasize monetary value.

Sentimental value is a reallife human factor.

(Heh, ironically, reallife human sentimentality appears to be one of the factors for keeping the Halfling around.)


Not sure how official that "metabolism" flavor is.

At the same time, some human children love to eat, and it is a common trope in kids shows.


Some of the reallife champion weightlifters are below average height.


Reallife Olympic gymnasts are noticeably smaller than average.



Not one thing so far is definitely nonhuman.

SOME humans having subterranean settlements is not the same as a species-wide preference for the same. (Reminder: I brought up the tunnels of Budapest and the mining community of Coober Peady.)

Sentimental value prioritized over monetary value is not a prevailing human trait like it is mentioned for halflings. Halflings have a ubiquitous backwards-looking sentimentality that lets them live as they do, no doubt because “that’s the way we’ve always done”. This also makes them less likely to be expansionistic empire builders. What they have is generally sufficient.

The metabolism may not be RAW, but it’s present in the fiction that inspired their inclusion in the game from earliest times, and- IME- is OFTEN an aspect of how Halflings get RPed.

As for height? Show me ONE damned adult Olympian (fully abled, not paralympian) athlete who is 3’ tall and 40lbs. Bonus points if you can find one who can bench 300+lbs or squat 700+lbs (which wouldn’t even be competitive in the Olympics, or I’D have represented the USA), but would be within the capabilities of a strong halfling.

 

[Yaarel]

As has been pointed out, most D&D species are modeled my dialing up certain aspects of humanity up to another level. Sooooo…this following attempt to counter my assertions is pretty weak.

But the differences of the Halfling from the Human seem especially weak, compared to other races.

SOME humans having subterranean settlements is not the same as a species-wide preference for the same. (Reminder: I brought up the tunnels of Budapest and the mining community of Coober Peady.)

Some human cultures develop and prefer subterranean livingspaces.

Sentimental value prioritized over monetary value is not a prevailing human trait like it is mentioned for halflings. Halflings have a ubiquitous backwards-looking sentimentality that lets them live as they do, no doubt because “that’s the way we’ve always done”. This also makes them less likely to be expansionistic empire builders. What they have is generally sufficient.

Reallife human cultures are like this. Compare beduin whose lifestyle is sacred: "thats the way weve always done".

Compare communal cultures, barter economies, gift-giving economies.

Plus sentimental value is part of most human cultures. Some individuals moreso than others.

As for height? Show me ONE damned adult Olympian (fully abled, not paralympian) athlete who is 3’ tall and 40lbs. Bonus points if you can find one who can bench 300+lbs or squat 700+lbs (which wouldn’t even be competitive in the Olympics, or I’D have represented the USA), but would be within the capabilities of a strong halfling.

One can extrapolate from the fact that smaller size has the ADVANTAGE for athletic agility.

Reallife Pygmy ethnicity is average 4½ feet, and surely has Small members. All of them are normal, athletic and healthy.

If the Homo Floresiensis are normal humans with insular dwarfism (a phenomenon due to inhabiting a smaller island), they too would include strong and athletic humans. Their average appears to be about 3 feet tall.

 

[Gammadoodler]

Or. Some people like the Small Human that Tolkien featured.



The Halfling is too human in too many ways. No one really argues against this point − not with any specifics anyway.

Everyone agrees the Halflings have a human culture, and Humans can be Small.

Demonstrably false. That you do not accept the arguments that have been made doesn't mean they haven't occurred.

 

[lingual]

But the differences of the Halfling from the Human seem especially weak, compared to other races.


Some human cultures develop and prefer subterranean livingspaces.


Reallife human cultures are like this. Compare beduin whose lifestyle is sacred: "thats the way weve always done".

Compare communal cultures, barter economies, gift-giving economies.

Plus sentimental value is part of most human cultures. Some individuals moreso than others.


One can extrapolate from the fact that smaller size has the ADVANTAGE for athletic agility.

Reallife Pygmy ethnicity are average 4½ feet, and surely have Small members. All of them are normally athletic and healthy.

If the Homo Floresiensis are normal humans with insular dwarfism (a phenomenon due to inhabiting a smaller island), they too would include strong and athletic humans.

It's probably physiologically impossible for a real life 3ft tall human to be that strong. I'm no doctorb at all though. I don't think human muscles can get that dense. Maybe gorilla muscles or something. I suppose you could counter this with saying there is nothing against the rules for making a 3ft human with 20 strength in the game.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Humans are a highly anomalous design, having given up a lot for exclusive bipedal gait and pubis crushing braincases. Considering divergent evolution and critters like chimps and bonobos, maybe halflings should have an STR bonus.

 

[Yaarel]

Demonstrably false. That you do not accept the arguments that have been made doesn't mean they haven't occurred.

An argument like, "they are sentimental," is too human.

It cannot be an example of "definitely not human".

 

[Vaalingrade]

An argument like, "they are sentimental," is too human.

It cannot be an example of "definitely not human".

Again, they're definitely not d&D humans.

 

[Yaarel]

Again, they're definitely not d&D humans.

The Players Handbook itself says the Halfling is like a Human commoner.

 

[Gammadoodler]

An argument like, "they are sentimental," is too human.

It cannot be an example of "definitely not human".

"It doesn't work because I say so" is not an argument.

But maybe this will help. Clearly their size, relative dexterity, values, and bravery result from structurally different neurogical, muscular, and endocrine systems. And what presents as halfling luck is really an additional form of perception that allows momentary glimpses into the immediate future, such that they can avoid catastrophe.

Obviously, these little gents and ladies are far different from humans. The only thing they really have in common is a similar assortment of limbs and facial features (which btw, humans share with most other humanoids).

I'm making this up. But as I mentioned earlier they are as nonhuman as you want to read them to be. Your choice to read them as human is a choice.

 

[Yaarel]

"It doesn't work because I say so" is not an argument.

This is basic logic.

If A is an element of B

Then it is false to say: A isnt an element B.


Some humans are sentimental.

If halflings are sentimental, that trait doesnt make them nonhuman.