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

[Dannyalcatraz]

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 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.

SOME ≠ The majority.

Halflings have dialed up the preference for subterranean dwelling to the nth degree; they have a species-wide preference for sentimentality and a rural, non-expansionist lifestyle, not the occasional subculture. In both cases, this is something present in humans that the halfling’s fictional species exaggerates and makes into species-defining traits, much like all the other species have their “more human than human” aspects. Honestly criticizing Halflings on this basis necessitates criticizing elves, dwarves and the rest or the PC races on the same basis.

Muggsy Bogues is an excellent example of smaller athletes competing with humans much bigger than themselves, mostly on the basis of his agility, And yes, fully able bodied Pygmies are about 4 1/2 feet tall...none of which has anything to do with what I actually asked you to do. But 4‘6“ is 50% taller than 3’. That would be like comparing 5’3” Mugsy Bogues to someone 7’9”.

Restating: show me a 3’ tall 40lb human who can compete at an Olympic level of weightlifting, or who could at least bench 300lbs and squat 700lbs. Those are personal milestones I’ve achieved that wouldnt get me any points in competition, but are well within the range of what a Halfling could do in D&D. Hell, as I recall the charts (from older editions), a Halfling with 18 strength would be demonstrating strength in excess of world record powerlifters 8x their mass. That’s not human.

 

[Minigiant]

It should be obvious that the humans are the problem. They're all over the place, filling all kind of niches, and don't have any clear thematic unity to them. They don't even get a cool flavourful racial ability that makes them really stand out.

Humans clearly need to go.

That ironically is the problem.

In Middle Earth, the humans don't occupy the same terrain/culture niche as halflings.

In D&D, the base rules dwarves, elves, gnomes, orcs, etc have their own terrain/culture niches that humans don't occupy. Mostly ecause humans either lack the racial features to do them, have better options, or lack it in their base concept of the race.

But in most editions of D&D, halflings take up the same terrain and culture niche as humans. So if the DM isn't trying hard, the halflings will look redundant.

 

[Yaarel]

Prove it.

Where does it say this? Cite the page.

I believe @Hussar cited it earlier.

In the Halfing section in the Players Handbook 27.

"Halflings try to get along with everyone. ... [They say about] Humans, "Humans are alot like us. ... Go talk to the farmers and herders and youll find good, solid folk."

 

[Gammadoodler]

I think @Yaarel is interested in the sorts of ways that you can "dial up" aspects of humanity.

Elves express a certain conception of human perfection - in respect of ethereal beauty, charm and presence more generally, and the ability to change the world through magic. Some variants - eg certain interpretations of Wood Elves - reduce the supernaturalness and instead emphasis the connection to nature. In some other variants, the otherworldliness ceases to be an expression of perfection and instead becomes a flaw (and Moorcock's Melniboneans and Star Treks' Vulcans can be seen as closely related tropes in nearby fictional works).

But in the D&D game this Elvish-ness is expressed through things that humans can't do - depending exactly on edition this might be low-light or infravision, automatic magic or "fey step", preternatural resistance to magical enchantments, etc.

Dwarves express a certain conception of human greed and technology or manufacturing-oriented striving: they are miners, they love golds and gems, they are very clannish with traditions passed down through generations (like an artisan's family or guild), they have a certain hostility or at least stand-offishness towards outsiders. Much more often than is the case with Elves, a lot of this is presented as flawed rather than perfect.

In the D&D game this Dwarvish-ness is expressed through things that humans can't do - depending exactly on edition this might be infravision or darkvision, magic and/or poison resistance that reflects both their physical stamina (as workers) and also their disconnection from certain aspects of nature and the supernatural, and preternatural abilities underground (eg detecting distances, observing stonework, etc).

Halflings express a certain conception of simple human pleasures and relationships - self-respect without too much pride; a love of creature comforts but an ability to go without when duty and circumstance demand it (just like war-time rationing!); a general distaste for "action" or violent self-expression, but a willingness to "muck in" and get the job done if that's how it has to be.

At least as I understand it, Yaarel's objection is that In the D&D game this Hobbitish-ness is expressed through things that humans can do and be: being little, being brave, being a little bit lucky. I'm not sure that objection is quite as strong as seems to be asserted - eg I think 5e Halflings still have remnants of the AD&D feature that allows preternatural stealth, beyond what one might just expect from being small - but I can still feel its force. The mode of humanity that they express is not really captured in a distinctiveness in the fiction and the accompanying mechanics, but rather by simply doubling down, in the fiction, on the fact that they are bucolic, comfort-loving stay-at-homes who occasionally spawn plucky heroes.

(I will also add that I think pointing to their strength-mass ratio doesn't really help here. The fact that Halflings have workable strength is purely a trope to (i) make JRRT's fiction work and then (ii) make the D&D game work. It's not any sort of commentary on human biology or divergent evolution.)

Separately, the things

The 5e Elf is reasonably nonhuman, mainly from Fey ancestry, and it helps to emphasize the magic tropes.

The 5e Dwarf needs to be more clearly nonhuman. I feel "Darkvision" is a less helpful and less flavorful distinction from the Human, but at least it feels appropriate to the Dwarf underground concept. Note, the 4e Dwarf originates from the earth elemental giants − that feels nonhuman. The heavy hit points can help with the tough as a rock flavor. If the Dwarf turned to stone when dead, that might help them them feel less human. In one of my settings, I make them look like animate rock. One character has lapis lazuli skin, and metallic gold hair and eyes.

The 5e Halfling is ... Human. If I had a Human character but used Halfling stats, it would be seemlessly human.

Imagine making the Halfling Medium size? Seemlessly human.

"Fey ancestry" is a near direct analogue for "bravery". And it is the only mention of a relationship with the Fey in the entire elf entry in the phb.

It could have been called "willpower" for all the Fey elements it brings in. The amount you're willing to read into it is incredible.

 

[Yaarel]

Separately, the things

"Fey ancestry" is a near direct analogue for "bravery". And it is the only mention of a relationship with the Fey in the entire elf entry in the phb.

It could have been called "willpower" for all the Fey elements it brings in. The amount you're willing to read into it is incredible.

The Players Handbook has much to say about Elves. As do other D&D books. The description of the Elf comes from many descriptions.

 

[Gammadoodler]

I believe @Hussar cited it earlier.

In the Halfing section in the Players Handbook 27.

"Halflings try to get along with everyone. ... [They say about] Humans, "Humans are alot like us, really. ... Go talk to the farmers and herders and youll find good, solid folk."

You or @Hussar appear to have cut content. Full quote below. Hard to imagine why the missing part was left out.

“Humans are a lot like us, really. At least some of them are. Step out of the castles and keeps, go talk to the farmers and herders and you’ll find good, solid folk. Not that there’s anything wrong with the barons and soldiers—you have to admire their conviction. And by protecting their own lands, they protect us as well.”

 

[bedir than]

I believe @Hussar cited it earlier.

In the Halfing section in the Players Handbook 27.

"Halflings try to get along with everyone. ... [They say about] Humans, "Humans are alot like us. ... Go talk to the farmers and herders and youll find good, solid folk."

You had to remove words in order to make your case. "At least some of them are." That's not a citation that all halfings are like all humans.

You are also quoting the portion where the in-world halfings are specifically talking about the other races. The halfling description of a dwarf, is also human, for those who are unable to see anything but humans.

"Dwarves make loyal friends, and you can count on them to keep their word. But would it hurt them to smile once in a while?”

In fact all the descriptions of the races by other races are basically human.

 

[Yaarel]

You had to remove words in order to make your case. "At least some of them are." That's not a citation that all halfings are like all humans.

You are also quoting the portion where the in-world halfings are specifically talking about the other races. The halfling description of a dwarf, is also human, for those who are unable to see anything but humans.

"Dwarves make loyal friends, and you can count on them to keep their word. But would it hurt them to smile once in a while?”

In fact all the descriptions of the races by other races are basically human.

"At least some of them" refers to Human commoners who the Halfling resembles, but not the Human aristocrats.

 

[bedir than]

"At least some of them" refers to Human commoners who the Halfling resembles, but not the Human aristocrats.

So not even most, right? Just some?

 

[Don Durito]

That ironically is the problem.

In Middle Earth, the humans don't occupy the same terrain/culture niche as halflings.

In D&D, the base rules dwarves, elves, gnomes, orcs, etc have their own terrain/culture niches that humans don't occupy. Mostly ecause humans either lack the racial features to do them, have better options, or lack it in their base concept of the race.

But in most editions of D&D, halflings take up the same terrain and culture niche as humans. So if the DM isn't trying hard, the halflings will look redundant.

Okay then. Don't do that then? Find a niche that could be filled by humans and fill it with halflings.