D&D 4E 4E Halflings unrecognizable from Tolkien hobbits

[Clavis]

Because 4e kicked over the nostalgia antpile.

Next month we can expect a similar outcry over the omission of the Bec de Corbin.

What? There's no Bec de Corbin?

Now I'm REALLY upset! I've been pussyfooting around about 4th edition so far.

NOW the gloves come off!

 

[Dragonhelm]

Hobbits appear in two novels.

Well, a few more than that.

Yes, those two novels are immensely popular, but hobbits don't have anything like the traction of elves or dwarves, or we'd see them in someone else's work! I can't think of a "halfling" race in even crappy knockoff fantasy that doesn't alter the hobbit mold at least somewhat.

There have been some, but it is true that many hobbit knock-offs have had change. As mentioned elsewhere, we've seen a lot of variety in D&D halflings alone.

As for breaking traditions in D&D, it's been happening for over twenty years at a minimum, ever since Dragonlance stepped forward and said "No hobbits in this D&D setting." Dragonlance was hardly revolutionary in other aspects, either, so the fact that TSR staffers felt it was worth discarding them back then can't be laid at the foot of change for change's sake.

Kender came about for a few reasons. The Dragonlance design team was wanting to get away from some LotR-isms, so that's why draconians replaced orcs. The true inspiration for kender came from none other than Tracy Hickman. Tracy wanted to include a thief role, but had moral issues with heroic characters stealing just to steal. Kender were developed with the idea that they steal, but it isn't a conscious thing. They just don't have the same sense of property that others do. With this background, Tracy was able to have a thief in the party without having him be larcenous.

Kender also departed from hobbits in that they didn't hide in their hobbit-holes. They went out on wanderlust, leading them to one adventure after another. They were bred for adventuring.

Say what you will about kender, but they are the halfling race that broke the mold and served as a large part of the foundation for the 3e and 4e halfling.

 

[Steely Dan]

What? There's no Bec de Corbin?

Now I'm REALLY upset! I've been pussyfooting around about 4th edition so far.

Worry not; we still have the fauchard fork!

 

[Clavis]

Worry not; we still have the fauchard fork!

Then perhaps a glimmer of hope remains...

 

[Steely Dan]

Then perhaps a glimmer of hope remains...

And hope is the best of things.

 

[Plane Sailing]

I can see where the more "classical" gaming generation (I didn't say "older"!) is miffed at the changes, as it pulls away from the Hobbit theme. However, wasn't the true irony of LotR that such a silly, un-athletic, un-heroic, tubby, and chubby race (and main characters, for that matter) accomplished amazing feats through sheer force of will and dumb luck?

I think this is a misreading of hobbits, actually. Just like in "the raising of the Shire", big people underestimate the hobbits, but when roused they could do their bit very well, thank you very much.

The hobbits represented much of a vanished England that appealed to Tolkien, and as a Brit they appeal to me too. We like our gardens, our cups of tea, our politeness and our niceties - but when push comes to shove we are surprisingly tough and resourceful, as more than one oppressor has found out in the past. "A nation of shopkeepers" indeed, heh.

</pseudo patriotic hobbit supporting rant >

 

[Fifth Element]

Some people like having somebody else define things for them, and will accept whatever definitions they are given. I do not.

I don't think this argument has much traction. With respect to hobbits, you'd be arguing you only want a particular person to define things for you. You apparently have no problem with somebody else defining things for you, since anything fictional (by definition) has to be defined by someone.

I think your characterization of those who like the new halflings is also unfair. Another way of putting it could be "Some people like exploring new twists on old ideas, and are open to new things." That's just as fair.

 

[The Ubbergeek]

The hobbits represented much of a vanished England that appealed to Tolkien, and as a Brit they appeal to me too. We like our gardens, our cups of tea, our politeness and our niceties - but when push comes to shove we are surprisingly tough and resourceful, as more than one oppressor has found out in the past. "A nation of shopkeepers" indeed, heh.

</pseudo patriotic hobbit supporting rant >

Coming from a people that clashed with yours and british-origined settlers, no wonder I disliked this aspect. The 'Merry ENgland' came to me as hypocritical.

 

[mhacdebhandia]

I suspect the reason we don't see "hobbits" in someone else's work is because they know they'd lose their shirt without the history D&D and WFRP have. Think about it. Immediately after a big movie trilogy you "just happen" to come up with some sawed-off protagonist race. McKiernan's Iron Tower wouldn't get pubished today and Willow would go straight to DVD. "Hobbits" don't appear all over the place because they are iconic, not because they're unknown.

Elves and Dwarves, in contrast, appear everywhere because they are generic.

Nope. See, the elves and dwarves that appear everywhere are really really really obviously based on Tolkien's specific version of the creatures from myth. Elves and dwarves which are unlike Tolkien's are usually deliberate attempts to go back to the myths and take them in another direction, but that's pretty rare.

So if Tolkienesque elves and dwarves are "generic", and we see them everywhere, why don't we see short, homebody races everywhere in fantasy fiction? I say it's because they are not actually very interesting outside the context of Tolkien's specific purpose in creating them - and thus they are not very interesting in the context of D&D.

 

[mhacdebhandia]

The hobbits represented much of a vanished England that appealed to Tolkien

A class-stratified, idealised "vanished England" that ignores the hard work that the exploited "common people" Tolkien casually patronises in the figure of Sam and others had to do to keep "gentlemen" like Frodo in the comfort to which they considered themselves entitled.