Are halflings hobbits in your game?

[Tsillanabor]

Too little difference between gnomes and halflings in previous editions, so we've rarely used them. If anyone wants to play one I'll probably introduce them as nomadic gypsy-types. In a world as vast and varied as mine, that could be a VERY interesting background.

 

[diaglo]

Too little difference between gnomes and halflings in previous editions,...

can you describe this idea more for me?

i'm not seeing it in OD&D(1974) or 1edADnD or 2edD&D Holmes or 3edD&D Holmes or Moldvay D&D.

not until about 2edADnD

unless you think Orcs and Goblins are alike too.

 

[Aaron L]

Halflings are nonexistant in my world, hobbit or otherwise.

 

[billd91]

Hobbits all the way, baby!

 

[The_Gneech]

Yes, hobbitses, my precious! The ones you see out on adventures, are oddballs.

I don't see anything inherently wrong with the "halflings = gypsies" thing, but I don't see anything inherently right with it either. Why bother? If you want gypsies, put in gypsies. It sorta reminds me of the silly notion the old WEG Star Wars game had about all Rodians aspiring to be bounty hunters just because Greedo happened to be one.

-The Gneech

 

[werk]

3e changed Halflings to break their association with Hobbits ... I was wondering if anyone ignored this change for their campaigns, and still had Halflings remain Hobbit-like.

Halflings are not hobbits IMC, never have been...never liked hobbits.

 

[Darrell]

I have nothing against hobbits, and love Lord of the Rings (books and movies); but I vastly prefer the 3.X halflings. If I were going to change one of the 3.X races into hobbits, it'd probably be gnomes. Get rid of any 'techno-experimentation' angle (because I absolutely despise the Dragonlance "tinker" concept), and make the race with Bard as their preferred class hobbits. Keep the diminutive human-like nomad race as halflings.

So....
Hobbits=Gnomes; Halflings=3.X Halflings.

Regards,
Darrell King

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Halflings are hobbitty in my campaigns. We tried the 3e-style halflings, but after two players had chararcter-meltdowns trying to wrap their heads around the new concept of halfling, we went back to the old style.

 

[Mercule]

If you said "halfling" IMC, the inhabitants would wonder what a "ling" was and whether the crossbreeding was pleasant (like an elf) or not so much (like an orc).

If you said "hobbit", the assumption would be that you were mumbling that they should take care of the horse ("hobble it").

I'd like to have wee folk in my game, but I haven't found any that don't annoy me. Gypsy halflings and tinker or bardic gnomes are the worst offenders, but there really aren't any satisfactory versions of either race. I allow gnomes, but it's more with a shrug and a groan than anything else. I didn't realize that apathy could be so painful.

 

[Hairfoot]

...never liked hobbits.

Neither did Gygax. The change was a long time coming.

Regarding the hobbitcaust, did the 3E designers ever explain the whys and wherefores of the change? It seems like something quite fundamental passed without comment.