RPG Evolution: The Trouble with Halflings

Over the decades I've developed my campaign world to match the archetypes my players wanted to play. In all those years, nobody's ever played a halfling.

Picture courtesy of Pixabay.​

So What's the Problem?​

Halflings, derived from hobbits, have been a curious nod to Tolkien's influence on fantasy. While dwarves and elves have deep mythological roots, hobbits are more modern inventions. And their inclusion was very much a response to the adventurous life that the agrarian homebodies considered an aberration. In short, most hobbits didn't want to be adventurers, and Bilbo, Frodo, and the others were forever changed by their experiences, such that it was difficult for them to reintegrate when they returned home. You don't hear much about elves and dwarves having difficulty returning home after being adventurers, and for good reason. Tolkien was making a point about the human condition and the nature of war by using hobbits as proxies.

As a literary construct, hobbits serve a specific purpose. In The Hobbit, they are proxies for children. In The Lord of the Rings, they are proxies for farmers and other folk who were thrust into the industrialized nightmare of mass warfare. In both cases, hobbits were a positioned in contrast to the violent lifestyle of adventurers who live and die by the sword.

Which is at least in part why they're challenging to integrate into a campaign world. And yet, we have strong hobbit archetypes in Dungeons & Dragons, thanks to Dragonlance.

Kender. Kender Are the Problem​

I did know one player who loved to play kender. We never played together in a campaign, at least in part because kender are an integral part of the Dragonlance setting and we weren't playing in Dragonlance. But he would play a kender in every game he played, including in massive multiplayers like Ultima Online. And he was eye-rollingly aggravating, as he loved "borrowing" things from everyone (a trait established by Tasselhoff Burrfoot).

Part of the issue with kender is that they aren't thieves, per se, but have a child-like curiosity that causes them to "borrow" things without understanding that borrowing said things without permission is tantamount to stealing in most cultures. In essence, it results in a character who steals but doesn't admit to stealing, which can be problematic for inter-party harmony. Worse, kender have a very broad idea of what to "borrow" (which is not limited to just valuables) and have always been positioned as being offended by accusations of thievery. It sets up a scenario where either the party is very tolerant of the kender or conflict ensues. This aspect of kender has been significantly minimized in the latest draft for Unearthed Arcana.

Big Heads, Little Bodies​

The latest incarnation of halflings brings them back to the fun-loving roots. Their appearance is decidedly not "little children" or "overweight short people." Rather, they appear more like political cartoons of eras past, where exaggerated features were used as caricatures, adding further to their comical qualities. But this doesn't solve the outstanding problem that, for a game that is often about conflict, the original prototypes for halflings avoided it. They were heroes precisely because they were thrust into difficult situations and had to rise to the challenge. That requires significant work in a campaign to encourage a player to play a halfling character who would rather just stay home.

There's also the simple matter of integrating halflings into societies where they aren't necessarily living apart. Presumably, most human campaigns have farmers; dwarves and elves occupy less civilized niches, where halflings are a working class who lives right alongside the rest of humanity in plain sight. Figuring out how to accommodate them matters a lot. Do humans just treat them like children? Would halflings want to be anywhere near a larger humanoids' dwellings as a result? Or are halflings given mythical status like fey? Or are they more like inveterate pranksters and tricksters, treating them more like gnomes? And if halflings are more like gnomes, then why have gnomes?

There are opportunities to integrate halflings into a world, but they aren't quite so easy to plop down into a setting as dwarves and elves. I still haven't quite figured out how to make them work in my campaign that doesn't feel like a one-off rather than a separate species. But I did finally find a space for gnomes, which I'll discuss in another article.

Your Turn: How have you integrated halflings into your campaign world?

 

[Horwath]

If we have only 4 core races:
Humans,
Elves,
Dwarves,
Orcs,

I would not mind.

If you are half elf/orc/dwarf just use either statistics and describe how much you look closer to one race over other.

 

[Chaosmancer]

They are giants. The ordning is their creation myth.

Is this another "the mother of giants slept around" bit of the lore? Because I don't remember the Goliaths being mentioned as part of the Ordning. I know classically the Firbolg rejected the Ordning, but I don't remember ever seeing where the Goliaths fit into that stucture (other than being lesser than everyone else, because they are shorter than everyone else)

 

[Chaosmancer]

I doubt that more than a very small percentage(single digits) of D&D players even read that comic. Any expectations players would have comes from the halfling ability. And while at some point the lore is supposed to be the lore, it's only supposed to vaguely be the lore. Those mediums suffer from the power of plot which supersedes D&D limitations. Using that medium to set your expectation for what happens in a D&D game is an exercise in frustration. It's just not going to match up unless you go to the DM first and get him on board with making it happen.

And only a very small percentage of DnD players ever read any of the DnD novels. And only a small percentage of DnD players ever purchased the Sword Coast Adventurers Guide. Saying "but it wasn't super popular and everyone didn't buy it" is indicative of nothing at all.

Additionally, it was AN EXAMPLE. Singular. One. But, it isn't the ONLY example. Again, I've quoted the creators of the game. I've quoted the rule books. I know that this was true in the novels. Sure, only a small proportion of DnD players have ever read Dragonlance (where Kender are halflings) and Forgotten Realms novels, but the fact that this is a consistent through line in multiple novels, by multiple authors and supported by the game designers and supported by the fluff in the rulebooks.... kind of looks to me like that is the lore of the game.

And then, you are right. It doesn't match up to the game, and it can be frustrating unless you have your DM force it into the game. Which is THE ENTIRE REASON I've talked about stopping with claiming halflings are unique because of their supernatural luck. Because the game can't support that narrative, so it is just a source of frustration and a burden of extra work on the DM.

14.5% of men are 6 feet tall. 0.000038% are 7 feet tall. That's how the 7 foot tall person feels special in a group of 6 foot tall people.

"Statistically I'm rarer than you, so my narrative of being tall shines through despite the fact that you are all tall as well."

Yeah. Doesn't work. They aren't going to bring up population statistics and claim to be special because they are rare. They want to feel like they are taller than everyone else. But in a world designed for people who are 5 ft something, the people who are 6'3" are getting the same "I am tall" story beats as someone who is 7'2"

I don't. I assume he makes it a lot more often than those without advantage.

Except you literally do. Every single time you give an example, you declare the halfling is unaffected. You have been treating advantage like immunity.

He's also not going to have the steady aim of a brave person overcoming and ignoring his fear.

And here we go again. Why is being afraid and shaking mean that you are not brave? You said you could be brave taking 6 to 12 seconds to steady yourself before descending a ladder, why is a man firing his weapon at a threat despite being afraid less brave than you descending a ladder?

1. It does. 2. I have acknowledged other types of bravery. Several times. It's just that the halfling has his ability AND all those other kinds, making him braver.

No it doesn't. Falling under the frightened condition has nothing at all to do with how brave you are.

 

[Maxperson]

It's far more common to see a cunning thief raised on the streets or a doughty warrior who tackles things several times their size on a regular basis, punishing anyone who makes the mistake of underestimating them!

My favorite halfling that I've seen played was one a buddy of mine played years ago during 3.5. She was a halfling fighter/whirling dervish. A pocket Cuisinart played with both a well done wide eyed innocence and a hard determination to see those who do wrong her and her friends see justice.

 

[Maxperson]

And only a very small percentage of DnD players ever read any of the DnD novels. And only a small percentage of DnD players ever purchased the Sword Coast Adventurers Guide. Saying "but it wasn't super popular and everyone didn't buy it" is indicative of nothing at all.

I'll wager(and I would win) that the number of D&D players who bought the Sword Coast Adventure Guide is orders of magnitude greater than those who purchased the comic book in question.

And it wasn't, "Everyone didn't buy it," it's "Almost no one buys it."

Additionally, it was AN EXAMPLE. Singular. One. But, it isn't the ONLY example. Again, I've quoted the creators of the game. I've quoted the rule books. I know that this was true in the novels. Sure, only a small proportion of DnD players have ever read Dragonlance (where Kender are halflings) and Forgotten Realms novels, but the fact that this is a consistent through line in multiple novels, by multiple authors and supported by the game designers and supported by the fluff in the rulebooks.... kind of looks to me like that is the lore of the game.

I read the books and the power of plot was great. Sturm, a high level knight with 80+ hit points was killed with a single spear thrust. Fizban somehow failed to cast featherfall in time and only got feathers. Dragons never made their saves vs. the dragon orbs. And more stuff that just plain doesn't match up to D&D.

And then, you are right. It doesn't match up to the game, and it can be frustrating unless you have your DM force it into the game. Which is THE ENTIRE REASON I've talked about stopping with claiming halflings are unique because of their supernatural luck. Because the game can't support that narrative, so it is just a source of frustration and a burden of extra work on the DM.

I would never be frustrated by the DM not allowing me to kill high level knights with a single spear thrust just because I read it in a book. I know that the novel and comic mediums do things differently and that I shouldn't expect those things to match up with the game.

"Statistically I'm rarer than you, so my narrative of being tall shines through despite the fact that you are all tall as well."

Yeah. Doesn't work. They aren't going to bring up population statistics and claim to be special because they are rare. They want to feel like they are taller than everyone else. But in a world designed for people who are 5 ft something, the people who are 6'3" are getting the same "I am tall" story beats as someone who is 7'2"

Special = rare is sort of how it works. Gold isn't special because it's all over the ground. Platinum isn't special because every grocery store has a ton of it. Rubies aren't special because they crunch underfoot as we walk outside.

And no. People who are 6'3" are not getting the same story. Perhaps you aren't a basketball fan, but the 7'+ crowd gets a LOT more talk than the shorter folks when it comes to mentioning height. You hear...

"Man! That Steph Curry is an amazing athlete. Did you see what he did to the Pistons the other night! It was unbelievable." and you almost never hear a thing about him being 6'2"

And..

"Man! Did you see Shaq move last night against the Celtics? He scored 50 points! And he's 7'1" on top of it!" and you hear about his height a lott.

 

[Chaosmancer]

OK, let me try this a different way.

Within the world of the game, halflings are considered to be braver than other races because they can face down terrifying things (i.e., things that cause the Frightened condition) far more easily than anyone else can.

Why is this? Because nobody in the game world knows the difference between being afraid and being Frightened, because nobody in the game has read the PHB. And that is why halflings are braver than anyone else. Nobody in the game world has the meta-knowledge that we players have.

So, you have completely abandoned your own statements that fear and the frightened condition aren't the same thing, to now claim that they are the same thing.

But fine, let's consider the game world. Most halflings are not adventurers. Most halflings stay at their homes and live quiet lives with no conflict. So, the vast majority of halflings never face down anything that is terrifying, so why wouldn't people know that halflings can do so far more easily than the other races?

Additionally, we the players DO have the meta-knowledge, and with the meta-knowledge, we know that halflings aren't braver than everyone else. Discounting that would be like saying that no one knows the true face of a changeling, it is a complete mystery... except it isn't. We know exactly what changelings look like in their natural form. Even though the wider world of DnD NPCs have no idea because they have never seen a changeling, that knowledge is something we have and part of the game.

And finally, since the condition is hidden as a mechanic from the people of the game world, and wisdom saves and D20's are hidden because of the game world... how would anyone know the difference between the human farmer who rolled a natural 19 and faced down a dragon, and the halfling who rolled advantage and got a 19 to do the same thing? They wouldn't be perceived as the halfling being braver than the human. They did the exact same thing. But since halflings face far fewer threats than humans, per the lore of the game, humans would roll saves against fear more often, and therefore succeed more often.

Yes, and this is something that affected NPCs. Unless the PCs were the cartographer, there is nothing wrong with saying that halfling luck manifested itself by a mismarked map. Because this is an NPC thing, it means that it doesn't have to affect the PCs in any way, shape, or form beyond being able to reroll 1s.

There is also nothing wrong with saying that this is an example of the world counting the hits and ignoring the misses and chalking up this saved village to halfling luck and never even knowing that there were fifty other halfling villages that got destroyed in various ways.

Right, nothing wrong with it except reinforcing in the player's mind that they have supernatural luck that should prevent bad things from happening to them. Because that is the narrative of halflings, a narrative that fails to be delivered unless they ask their DM to enforce it upon the world, so they can have the "halfling experience" they wanted when they picked the race.

Except that pretty much every race has plot contrivance as a racial power (or racial limitation). Why are humans the most common race? Because the game designers said so. Why aren't most elves super-high-leveled fighter/mages? Because the game designers said so. Why are halflings lucky? Because the game designers said so.

And because nobody actually expects that halfling PCs are going to be able to pull out amazing moments of supernatural luck.

Why wouldn't people who are constantly told in various media, in the game rulebooks, and by the designers of the game that halflings have amazing moments of supernatural luck not expect amazing moments of supernatural luck?

But, as to your other points.

1) Humans may or may not be the most common race, but since most people are human they default to human. This happens even when they intend not to, so it is likely to happen no matter what the game designers say, unless the players go out of their way to change it.

2) Most elves probably are very powerful mage-fighters. Player character elves aren't because that would disrupt the balance of the game. It isn't exactly difficult to explain to someone that starting as a 16th level Bladesinger isn't going to work when the rest of the party is starting at level 2. There is a disconnect between the game and the lore, but it is an easily understood and accepted disconnect, especially since the game doesn't give elves any mechanical bonuses to the number of class levels they have.

Neither situation is anything like halfling luck, which is (in theory) supported in the lore and in the mechanics, and presented as a core defining feature of the race. They even have had racial feats, paragon classes (in other editions) and prestige classes (in other editions) that revolve around them being supernaturally lucky.

 

[Chaosmancer]

I'll wager(and I would win) that the number of D&D players who bought the Sword Coast Adventure Guide is orders of magnitude greater than those who purchased the comic book in question.

And it wasn't, "Everyone didn't buy it," it's "Almost no one buys it."

So, you have the publication data and know how well it sold? You are aware of exactly how popular it was, where all it was published, and how widely spread it was? Well, I should say is, since it is still being sold and is rated quite highly, so people who look for other DnD comics are likely to find it.

Funny thing is, I know this was during 4th edition, an edition I'm fairly certain you've said repeatedly you don't know much about because you avoided it. So... you would have no idea if it was published or advertised anywhere or how widely spread it was. I mean, it was popular enough to get a definitive hardback edition. Which isn't common for comics at all.

I read the books and the power of plot was great. Sturm, a high level knight with 80+ hit points was killed with a single spear thrust. Fizban somehow failed to cast featherfall in time and only got feathers. Dragons never made their saves vs. the dragon orbs. And more stuff that just plain doesn't match up to D&D.

I would never be frustrated by the DM not allowing me to kill high level knights with a single spear thrust just because I read it in a book. I know that the novel and comic mediums do things differently and that I shouldn't expect those things to match up with the game.

Did first edition DnD have charts for the movement of Kyrnn's moons and how they affect magic? Yep, looks like they did. Quite a lot of rules about the movements of the moons and how they affect the wizards. Does that match up the novels? Again, yes, yes it does.

So, that matched up from the novels. You know, I read a Forgotten Realms book with this crazy thing called Spellfire, it ate spells and all sorts of crazy effects. Surely that didn't have rules? Oh wait, yeah it did. Even based closely on the narrative of the book I remember reading.

So, sure, I'm positive Sturm being killed by a single spear thrust was impossible under the 1st edition rules. But other story conceits seem to make it through as full rules and sub-systems. So, sometimes the books match the game and sometimes they don't. What makes halfling supernatural luck, mentioned by the designers of 5e as existing in 5e... not exist in 5e?

Special = rare is sort of how it works. Gold isn't special because it's all over the ground. Platinum isn't special because every grocery store has a ton of it. Rubies aren't special because they crunch underfoot as we walk outside.

And no. People who are 6'3" are not getting the same story. Perhaps you aren't a basketball fan, but the 7'+ crowd gets a LOT more talk than the shorter folks when it comes to mentioning height. You hear...

"Man! That Steph Curry is an amazing athlete. Did you see what he did to the Pistons the other night! It was unbelievable." and you almost never hear a thing about him being 6'2"

And..

"Man! Did you see Shaq move last night against the Celtics? He scored 50 points! And he's 7'1" on top of it!" and you hear about his height a lott.

So halflings can't be special at all, because they aren't rare.

And, no, I'm not a basketball fan, and we also aren't talking about basketball, we are talking about DnD. You might think this is a silly thing that has never come up, but I did have a game where multiple people picked a "tall" race to try and be the tallest person in the party. And it ended up coming up multiple times that they were all tall, and no one player (despite being objectively taller) was somehow unique in being particularly tall.

Which is the exact same thing with halfling "bravery" it doesn't matter if you can prove that defeat the mechanical condition more often than other races, because int a group full of brave adventurers, being a brave adventurer doesn't make you unique and special. It makes you part of the crowd.

 

[Maxperson]

So, you have the publication data and know how well it sold? You are aware of exactly how popular it was, where all it was published, and how widely spread it was? Well, I should say is, since it is still being sold and is rated quite highly, so people who look for other DnD comics are likely to find it.

Funny thing is, I know this was during 4th edition, an edition I'm fairly certain you've said repeatedly you don't know much about because you avoided it. So... you would have no idea if it was published or advertised anywhere or how widely spread it was. I mean, it was popular enough to get a definitive hardback edition. Which isn't common for comics at all.

Hmm. I assumed that since this was a 5e discussion that it was a 5e comic book. Are you telling me that this comic that's supposed to upset 5e players because the comic lore doesn't match game lore isn't even from 5e and therefore has about as much relevance as the ant that just walked past my pool outside? 4e halflings are not 5e halflings.

Did first edition DnD have charts for the movement of Kyrnn's moons and how they affect magic? Yep, looks like they did. Quite a lot of rules about the movements of the moons and how they affect the wizards. Does that match up the novels? Again, yes, yes it does.

Awesome. So we have a crap shoot where some stuff kinda sorta matches up, and some where it's absurdly different. Hell, even your example here isn't a perfect match up. The books didn't specifically say HOW the moons affected wizards. The Dragonlance D&D rules invented that whole cloth.

So, that matched up from the novels. You know, I read a Forgotten Realms book with this crazy thing called Spellfire, it ate spells and all sorts of crazy effects. Surely that didn't have rules? Oh wait, yeah it did. Even based closely on the narrative of the book I remember reading.

The Spellfire from the books was a LOT more powerful than the D&D version. So no great match up there, either. I read a lot of the FR novels from back in the day.

What makes halfling supernatural luck, mentioned by the designers of 5e as existing in 5e... not exist in 5e?

What makes the 4e comic book not match up to 5e? Well, different editions for one. Different mediums for two. Vastly different strengths for three. Horrible, horrible match up.

So halflings can't be special at all, because they aren't rare.

The racial ability is, though. I can't recall a single other race with Bravery as a racial ability. Can you?

And, no, I'm not a basketball fan, and we also aren't talking about basketball, we are talking about DnD. You might think this is a silly thing that has never come up, but I did have a game where multiple people picked a "tall" race to try and be the tallest person in the party. And it ended up coming up multiple times that they were all tall, and no one player (despite being objectively taller) was somehow unique in being particularly tall.

Cool. I have a friend who has an amazing Middle Earth game that he runs using his own system. There have been times where my Dunedain was by far the tallest one in the group, since Dunedain are known as the "tall men." And then there have been times where I've been in a group of Dunedain and we were all tall. None of that meant that the Dunedain aren't taller than other human cultures.

Another example. The entire group is halflings, so are all very brave! Being a halfling in a group of all halflings doesn't mean that the race isn't braver than other races.

Which is the exact same thing with halfling "bravery" it doesn't matter if you can prove that defeat the mechanical condition more often than other races, because int a group full of brave adventurers, being a brave adventurer doesn't make you unique and special. It makes you part of the crowd.

Being in a "crowd" of 3-5 other brave people doesn't mean that the halfling race isn't braver than the other races. It just doesn't work that way.

 

[Neonchameleon]

@Neonchameleon and others talk about the "everyman" niche. Well, to me, that's already covered with humans. Humans are, by definition, the "everyman". They have no magical abilities. They aren't blessed with god given luck powers. They are 100% completely organic. Free range if you will. So, why do we need an "everyman" niche race when we already have one?

Except as has been explained to you repeatedly it isn't. Humans in D&D are a race of badasses. They are the archetypal adventurer race and the race that rules the majority of countries in D&D and the race that mates with everyone; humans are and should be taken by all other species as sexy badasses. If you want to play an unlikely hero then selecting your race as human undermines the theme of your character because of just how powerful humans are in most settings. Selecting halfling emphasises it because they aren't.

And, of course, the argument of combining halflings and gnomes contradicts the whole "everyman" niche that halflings are supposed to inhabit since gnomes are very much not an "everyman" niche character.

Believe it or not (a) a race can do more than one thing and not all characters emphasise the unique thing of the races. Making rock gnomes into a subrace of halflings wouldn't leave them completely unchanged. A "halfling rock gnome" wouldn't lean into the wacky nature of the rock gnome so much as it would the craftsman nature.

 

[Neonchameleon]

@Neonchameleon. I would argue that halflings have not worked. That either the niche they fill just isn’t compelling or they are not compelling in selling that niche. I’m not sure which.

You missed two words in that sentence. They are not compelling enough to be played by you. They are compelling enough to be played by the groups I play with and, more influentially by Critical Role.

But it is pretty clear to me that they are just not compelling enough to be played. To me, that’s the bottom line. They are and always have scraping the bottom of the barrel. No amount of “fixing” will change that. They just are not very popular.

They are somewhere around 5% of all characters. That's a small niche but it is a definite niche of characters that are being played.

So replace them with something to get some fresh air into the game.

But yup it’s absolutely true that my choice of two is purely arbitrary. Of course it is. Not even sure why that’s an issue.

Because you said that two was what you wanted. The claim is that you pick two because two is what allows you to remove halflings. And that your goal is not to remove individual races but to remove halflings because you personally dislike them.

The issue at that point becomes that your goal is nakedly obvious. When it becomes clear that there are two races with a better case for removal than halflings, after swearing blind that it has always been two races, you admit that it is entirely arbitrary

My point has always been - make the phb reflect what is actually being played rather than what we want others to play.

Please stop changing what your point "has always been". We have memories. You were advocating mixing things up by removing two races. When it was pointed out that the two races would mean half-orcs and gnomes it suddenly becomes not the bottom two but "make the PHB reflect what is actually being played". You are moving the goalposts here.

As you do not even respect your own arguments there is no point continuing this. Goodbye