D&D General A Setting with Only Small Races/Species?

[jmartkdr2]

Now I am thinking in the "Household" setting by Two Little Mice, but that is a special case.

Of course you can do it, but let's remember small PC species were designed mainly for stealth classes. Who will be the tank? the dwarf, I guess.

In 5e, you can tank with dex just as easily in most cases. Not the halfling or gnome barbarians really suffer form the lack of heavy weapons - sword + board was always the tankier option.

 

[ProfessorDetective]

In 5e, you can tank with dex just as easily in most cases. Not the halfling or gnome bards really suffer form the lack of heavy weapons - sword + board was always the tankier option.

And a couple subs (Stout Halfling, Rock Gnome) get a CON boost, as well. So, a Barbarian isn't completely out of the question. They're just a bit more limited in weapon choice, here.

 

[CreamCloud0]

while i love small species i would ask the GM for some caveat about interacting with the heavy weapon property lest we end up with no STR/melee builds/classes.
simplest solution if you don't just want to ignore the disadvantage would be to let the Brawny feat negate the disadvantage for them.

 

[Tonguez]

Now I am thinking in the "Household" setting by Two Little Mice, but that is a special case.

Of course you can do it, but let's remember small PC species were designed mainly for stealth classes. Who will be the tank? the dwarf, I guess.

you dont need a tank, one of the fun aspects of playing small is that you need to face challenges with wits and nimbleness rather than strength and durability

 

[ProfessorDetective]

simplest solution if you don't just want to ignore the disadvantage would be to let the Brawny feat negate the disadvantage for them.

For Reference (it's UA): +1 STR, you gain Athletics prof. (Expertise if redundant), you count as a size larger for carry cap.

Adding "you may wield Heavy weapons, even if you were of Medium size" (or however the usual wording for that would be) would make sense.

Though, really, you don't need a massive greataxe to be a tank. You just need to be able to take/dodge a hit so your partners DON'T.

My monk can do that and she's only got her bare hands and feet. In this case, she'd be a Ghostwise Halfling (+1 to WIS, one-on-one telepathy at 30ft).

 

[CreamCloud0]

For Reference (it's UA): +1 STR, you gain Athletics prof. (Expertise if redundant), you count as a size larger for carry cap.

Adding "you may wield Heavy weapons, even if you were of Medium size" (or however the usual wording for that would be) would make sense.

i think it would be 'as if you were of Medium size'

Though, really, you don't need a massive greataxe to be a tank. You just need to be able to take/dodge a hit so your partners DON'T.

my point was less about tanking and more about how most of the best STR weapons all possess the heavy propery, the best i think you can get without it would be a d10 twohanded longsword or it's equivilants, and at least in the current version of the game heavy property factilitates GWM/SS's -5/+10.

My monk can do that and she's only got her bare hands and feet. In this case, she'd be a Ghostwise Halfling (+1 to WIS, one-on-one telepathy at 30ft).

 

[ProfessorDetective]

i think it would be 'as if you were of Medium size'

Oh, yeah. Typo. Thank you.

my point was less about tanking and more about how most of the best STR weapons all possess the heavy propery, the best i think you can get without it would be a d10 twohanded longsword or it's equivilants, and at least in the current version of the game heavy property factilitates GWM/SS's -5/+10.

Oh, that's a DPS issue. Yeah, I can see it, the ceiling is a half-step (it's only disadvantage, not outright forbiddance) lower for the shorties.

My best solution (beyond simply ignoring it) would be a stat threshold. Have at least a 15 in STR or CON? Cool, you can now use Heavy weapons properly because you're approaching super strength.

Or maybe heavy weapons are just not a thing here. Not like most folks can wield them, anyway. Most things large enough to are beasts, abominations, (maybe) dragons, (maybe) giants, or any interplanar entities that somehow slipped past the transmog effects. Heavy weapons may just not be in play.

 

[CreamCloud0]

Oh, yeah. Typo. Thank you.

Oh, that's a DPS issue. Yeah, I can see it, the ceiling is a half-step (it's only disadvantage, not outright forbiddance) lower for the shorties.

My best solution (beyond simply ignoring it) would be a stat threshold. Have at least a 15 in STR or CON? Cool, you can now use Heavy weapons properly because you're approaching super strength.

Or maybe heavy weapons are just not a thing here. Not like most folks can wield them, anyway. Most things large enough to are beasts, abominations, (maybe) dragons, (maybe) giants, or any interplanar entities that somehow slipped past the transmog effects. Heavy weapons may just not be in play.

If we’re removing heavy as a property i think I’d move GWM’s -5/+10 to using a weapon two-handed(including by versatile), which also has the benefit of increasing the applicability of GWM to a larger number of weapons

 

[jmartkdr2]

i think it would be 'as if you were of Medium size'

my point was less about tanking and more about how most of the best STR weapons all possess the heavy propery, the best i think you can get without it would be a d10 twohanded longsword or it's equivilants, and at least in the current version of the game heavy property factilitates GWM/SS's -5/+10.

I feel that the limitation would reinforce the theme: you're little guys, you don't wield big weapons.

There's a slight balance issue in that the hand crossbow is not the best weapon in the game (under 2014 rules; we'll see how that changes in a few months) which is a little annoying but I'm not worried that my players would immediately jump to the highest dps simply because it's the highest dps.

 

[Not a Decepticon]

I had recently a character concept I thought of trying if I ever get to play any multiversal-hopping campaign like Vecna: Eve of Ruin. A kobold Paladin/Warlock who thinks he is a barbarian, from a world of only small races that was a hero of War Against the Frogs - where the initial villains were Grungs and Bullywugs, but then it became Slaads and the world is now overrun with them. So the Kobold ventured to seek help of legendary god-like beings, whom no one has ever seen - the Tall People.